1951 Estevan Road                                                      Principal:    Jacquie Poulin

Nanaimo, B.C., V9S 3Y9                                            Secretary:   Linda Cowling

Phone:  250-754-5442

Fax:      250-741-8310                                                 Date:     March 30th, 2004                                           

 

 

PRINCIPAL’S  COMMENTS

 

It is hard to believe that the end of March is here already, and based on our weather it has not been able to decide if it is going to go as a lamb or a lion!  I hope everyone had a good Spring Break and had a chance to re-juvenate and re-energize as we head into the final term of the 2003-04 school year. 

 

Over the next three months we will be very busy at Princess Anne.  I took some time to fill in a master calendar with all the activities happening in the remainder of the year and it is quite full.  Swimming lessons are coming up, a trip to the Port Theatre to see Robert Munsch (Kind. – Gr. 3), waterslides for Gr. 4 –7, Rathtrevor trip for the whole school, school wide swim, monthly cross-grade activities and cross-grade reading – just to name a few. 

 

Of course, students continue to be actively engaged in their learning and are demonstrating great progress.  Based on the last set of report cards that just went home, our students have continued to make steady progress in academic, aesthetic, emotional, physical, and social areas.   I would like to take this time to compliment our students for their hard work, our parents for their commitment in supporting their child/ren, and our staff for their dedication to each and every child’s learning. 

 

Looking forward to a fabulous third term, let’s make it a great one!!

 

Jacquie Poulin

 

RUNNING CLUB

 

With a bit more co-operation from the weather, and some very dedicated students, we have a lot more names to add to our running club this month.  Congratulations to all our keen runners and ribbon earners.   Here are the students who earned their ribbons in February:

 

25 km Runners – Rebecca Reilly, Kayla Balmer, Alyssia Bell-Surette, Thor Brenner, Melanie Ribicic, David Dagasso

 

50 km runners – Ayla Wagner, Josh Bell-Surette, Emma Dunbar, Tori McKenzie, Quince Sholberg, Ryan Brigden, Adrian Choromanski, Drew Curtis, Amber Ryan, Jewels Greenhough, Ben Hall, Corey McEwen, April Hansl, Ian Farrow, Eva Morgan, Kat Tarala, Martina Rye, Arron Lamoureux, Kate Mason-Betts, Sydney Howlett, Riley Burnside, Daniel MacDonald

 

75 km runners – Harrison Grant, Connor Robertson, Tyson Nahanee

 

Way to go everyone; keep on running!  Special thanks to Mr. Shaw for organizing this club and ensuring that our students receive their ribbons throughout the year.

 

THE  VIRTUES  PROGRAM and ROYAL RECOGNITIONS

 

Our Tree of Virtue continues to grow each week, I am starting to think the wall will not be large enough to hold all the leaves until the end of the year.  It is heartwarming to hear the stories and anecdotes shared when Royal Recognitions are handed out at the Monday Morning Assembly.  Congratulations to all our students for working hard to ensure Princess Anne is “A Great Place to Be”!  The recent virtues we have focused on were Helpfulness and Commitment.

 

Helpfulness is being of service.  It is doing useful things for people, such as things they cannot do for themselves, something they do not have time to do, or just little things that make life easier.  It is important to be helpful to ourselves too, by taking care of our bodies.  There are times when we need help from others.  That is a good time to ask for help.

 

Commitment is caring deeply about someone or something.  It is the willingness to give your all to a friendship, a task, or something you believe in.  It is the ability to make decisions and follow through on them.  It is keeping your promises.

 

Here are our Royal Recognitions for February:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Division 1:

Helpfulness – recognized four times – Josh Wilton

-          recognized three times – Melanie Ribicic

-          recognized twice – Hillary Hertzberg, Hayden Kirkpatrick, Sarah Latour, Robin Tait, Danny Tooke, Zac Wilton

-          recognized once – Kayla Balmer, Alyssia Bell-Surette, Casey Bock, Thor Brenner, Adrian Choromanski, Kyle Curtis, Spencer Grant, Sam Hansl, Kendra Howland, John Lee, Taylor Mueller, Brig Stevenson

Truthfulness – Adrian Choromanski

Perseverance – Jung Hwa Choi

Commitment – Sarah Latour

Reliability – Melanie Ribicic

Responsibility – Alyssia Bell-Surette, Sarah Latour, John Lee, Melanie Ribicic, Zac Wilton

 

Division 2:

Enthusiasm – Mack McLellan

Perseverance – recognized twice – Maurice Dawson, Jewels Greenhough, Mack McLellan, Dylan Moore,

Mitchell Vipond

-          recognized once – Jessa Arnold, Josh Bell-Surette, Brice Brookes, Ian Farrow, Harrison Grant, Ben Hall, April Hansl, Corey McEwen, Connor Robertson, Martina Rye, Ayla Wagner, Blake Walsh

Kindness – Maurice Dawson

Reliability – recognized twice – Katie Dunbar, Harrison Grant, Rohit Nagi

-          recognized once – Brice Brookes, Connor Robertson, Mitchell Vipond, Blake Walsh, Kat Tarala

Responsibility – Jewels Greenhough, Mack McLellan

Helpfulness – recognized twice – Kat Tarala

            - recognized once – Jessa Arnold, Ben Hall, Ieysha Matthew, Dylan Moore, Mitchell Vipond

 

Division 3:

Helpfulness – recognized twice – Eva Morgan

            - recognized once – Carson Balmer, Maggi Benoit, Angus Brookes, Jaren Little, Jessica Sibley

Perseverance – Maggi Benoit, Sydney Creighton, Amber Ryan, Jessica Sibley, Mikaela Vipond

Reliability – Sydney Creighton, Zach Creighton

Responsibility – Angus Brookes

 

Division 4:

Perseverance – Justus Davey

Compassion – Riley Burnside

Reliability – Justus Davey, Nathan Dawson, Levi Legault, Daniel MacDonald, Kate Mason-Betts, Merenya

Prince, Tyrel Thornton

Helpfulness – Drew Curtis, Kate Mason-Betts

Responsibility – Merenya Prince

 

Congratulations to all our students, an outstanding number of students recognized for exemplary actions!

 

SELF-MANAGERS

 

Once again we have another student to add to our Self-Managers list.  Effective March1st, the following student has been a self-manager at Princess Anne:  Zach Creighton  Congratulations Zach.  Any others wishing to be considered as new self-managers must complete a form, have it signed by their parents and a staff member, and then return it to Mrs. Poulin by the end of each month.

 

STUDENT  LEADERSHIP

 

Our Student Leaders have been busy with a variety of activities.  They took on the daunting task of counting the money for Jump Rope for Heart, including a very large collection of pennies that needed to be counted and rolled – a big job that they completed.  Thanks!  A couple of the leaders also changed our bulletin board to shamrocks and a “Happy St. Patrick’s Day, at Princess Anne we are lucky to have . . . “ – be sure to watch for the April version coming soon.

 

A couple of upcoming activities that the student leaders are planning are another pyjama day on Wednesday, April 7th and an Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday, April 8th.  Watch for the posters up around the school, advertising the events that the student leaders are working on.

 

AUTHOR  VISITS

 

Our Librarian, Mrs. Hurwitz-Adams, has organized three author visits for students at Princess Anne.  Kindergarten to Grade 3 students will enjoy time with Maria Coffey on Tuesday, March 30th.  Later, on April 20th, the Grade 4/5 students will have a visit from John Wilson, a well known children’s author.  And finally, on May 6th, the Grade 6/7 students will listen to and interact with author Gayle Friesen.  Having an opportunity to listen to authors gives students a chance to hear about what goes into writing a book, and often inspires children to do some writing of their own.  Thanks to Mrs. Hurwitz-Adams for organizing these visits.

 

 

 

DAILY  PHYSICAL  ACTIVITY  and  HEALTHY  EATING

 

We move from Heart Month to Nutrition Month, two themes that go hand in hand.  March is Nutrition Month, a great time to focus on what we eat each day and ensure that the fuel we give our body will allow us to be more active.  Here are a couple more articles to offer ideas and suggestions.  Hope you enjoy! 

 

March is Nutrition Month:

 

With the slogan “Eat Well, Play Well”, the Dietitians of Canada are focusing on healthy eating for school-aged children and youth as the theme for their campaign.

 

Nanaimo schools participating in daily physical activity sessions are a step ahead of the rest of the country!  The school age years are ones of rapid growth and development.  Healthy eating and active living are key elements allowing children and youth to reach their full potential, while laying foundation for a lifetime of healthy living.  Nanaimo schools are creating a strong example of these by elements

 

With so much emphasis on the increase of childhood obesity, we need to work together at home, at school, and in our community organizations to promote and support children being active and eating healthfully.  A community coalition entitled “Move More Eat Well” (MMEW) has been meeting over the past year.  This network of people from health education, recreation and parent groups has been focusing on how we can support healthy choices as a community.  We invite you to participate.  Our next meeting will be Monday, March 8, 2004, at 4:00 pm at Nanaimo Health Centre, 1665 Grant Avenue.

 

The Dietitians of Canada website has many great resources to tap into at www.dietitians.ca.  There you can have your food intake analised nutritionally, play nutrition games, visit a virtual kitchen, or get help with meal planning.  Dietitians of Canada surveyed its members to find suggestions for simple ways to promote healthy eating and active living in school age children.  Here are their suggestions:

 

At Home:

¨       Be a role model.  Teach children to eat well by example.  Focus on sensible portions of healthy foods from Canada’s Food Guide to Health Eating.

¨       Choose “other” foods such as soft drinks, candy and fried snacks less often.

¨       Involve the kids, regardless of their age, in planning and preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner.

¨       Get ready for breakfast the night before (e.g.-set out the toaster and cereal boxes, set the table, cut up fruit).

¨       Try something new.  Recipe ideas can be found in the Dietitians of Canada cookbook, Great Food Fast or Cook Great Food, and on our website:  www.dietitians.ca/eatwell.

¨       Mix and match home-prepared foods with convenience items like roasted chickens or bagged salads, to save time.

¨       Seek out nutritious foods when eating out.  Choose baked, broiled or roasted items instead of those that are deep-fried; enjoy salads, baked potatoes, chili or soup served with a whole grain dinner roll; drink milk or fruit juice, instead of soft drinks.

¨       Be physically active.  Plan family activities like hiking, cycling, walking, in-line or ice-skating.  Try new activities together.  Examples include yoga, tai chi, and gardening.

 

At School:

¨       Children are more likely to eat a lunch that they have been involved in creating.  Let your children choose some of the foods that will go into their lunch bags.

¨       Teach children to include at least one choice from each of the four food groups of Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating to create a nutritionally balanced lunch.

¨       Children sometimes have less than 15 minutes to finish their lunch at school.  Consider sending one or two portable lunch items, such as an apple or cereal bar that can be enjoyed outside the lunch period.

¨       Growing, active children need plenty of fluids to perform at their best.  Invest in a water bottle.  Make sure water bottles are cleaned well between uses.

¨       Mix it up.  Offering a variety of foods helps prevent boredom and makes lunch a meal that your child looks forward to.  Examples include: hummus, pita bread wedges, raw vegetables, yogurt, fruit juices; whole grain tortilla filled with tuna salad, celery sticks, grapes, chocolate milk; cold pizza, yogurt, oatmeal muffin, fruit juice.

¨       Support nutrition education programming in school.  Need some ideas?  Visit the Mission Nutrition* website: www.missionnutrition.ca.

 

Need Help Figuring Out What Qualifies as Physical Activity?  Check Out These Suggestions.....

There are numerous activities that can be worked into the day that do not involve going to the gym, or an exercise class. Some alternative ideas are listed below:

Clean your house.  Vacuuming, mopping, and dusting can be quite a work out, and kids can help!

 

Do anything that gets you up and moving, and most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!!!

 

DATES  TO  REMEMBER:

 

Tuesday, March 30 – Author visit – Maria Coffey – Kindergartem – Gr. 3

Friday, April 2 – Hot Lunch Day

Wednesday, April 7 – Pyjama Day

Thursday, April 8 – Cross-Grade Activity

Thursday, April 8 – Easter Egg Hunt

Friday, April 9 – Good Friday – Schools closed

Monday, April 12 – Easter Monday – Schools closed

Tuesday, April 20 – Author visit – John Wilson – Gr. 4/5

Wednesday, April 21, 10:15 a.m. – Rick Scott Concert

Thursday, April 22 – Class/team/whole school photos  (Class photos  free of charge.)

Friday, April 23 – Hot Lunch Day

Friday, April 23 – Gr. 4 – 7 Swim, leave at noon

Friday, April 30 – Cross-Grade Reading

Monday, May 3 – School Based Pro-D – No school for students

Tuesday, May 4 – Gr. 6/7 to Healthamongus event

Tuesday morning, May 4- swimming lessons start for Grade 1-2 class

Tuesday, May 4 – Kindergarten – Gr. 3 – Robert Munsch at the Port Theatre

            - Kindergarten students come in the afternoon

Wednesday, May 5 – Gr. 6 Immunizations, 12:45 p.m.

Wednesday, May 5 – swimming lessons start for Kindergarten class

Wednesday, May 5 – Gr. 4/5 to Healthamongus event

Thursday, May 6 – Gr. 2/3 to Healthamongus event

Thursday, May 6 – swimming lessons start for Grade 2/3 class

Thursday, May 6 – Author visit – Gayle Friesen – Gr. 6/7

Friday, May 7 – Kindergarten and Gr. ½  to Healthmongus event

Friday, May 7 – Hot Lunch Day

Monday, May 10 – Friday, May 21 – FSA testing for Gr. 4 and Gr. 7 students

Friday, May 14 – Gr. 3 – 7 School Track Meet

Monday, May 17 – Tuesday, May 18 – Gr. 4 – 7 Camping Trip, Thetis Island

Friday, May 21 – Hot Lunch Day

Friday, May 21 – Gr. 4 – 7 Swim, leaving at noon

Monday, May 24 – Victoria Day – Schools closed

Tuesday, May 25 – Gr. 3 – 7 Zone Track Meet, Rotary Bowl (behind NDSS)