1951 Estevan Road Principal: Jacquie Poulin
Nanaimo, B.C., V9S 3Y9 Secretary: Linda Cowling
Phone: 250-754-5442
Fax: 250-741-8310 Date: November 18th, 2003
It is hard to believe that we are well into our
third month of this school year already!
The last few weeks have been very busy with Thanksgiving, Hallowe’en,
Remembrance Day, cross-country, along with all the great learning activities
happening in each classroom everyday.
Thank you to all the parents who took part in our
student-parent-teacher conference week.
Your involvement is a crucial part of your child’s education. I am confident that students, parents, and
teachers will be working together to successfully reach the many goals set
during the conference sessions.
Looking forward to many continued successes as the
year progresses.
Jacquie Poulin
Your child/ren will be bringing home their first
report card of the 2003/2004 school year on Friday, November 28th. As in the past, parents are to retain
the report card and return only the signed envelope. If there is any aspect of the report you
would like to discuss with your child’s teacher(s), please indicate this on the
envelope.
When reviewing your child’s report card, it is
important to remember that children, especially very young ones, acquire skills
at different rates and times. As well,
the report card is just one way used by teachers to report your child’s
progress at school. The school
encourages parents to continue to take an active interest in their child/ren’s
progress, and, should there be any concerns, to work in concert with the school
to support the child/ren’s learning.
An overview will be provided by each classroom
teacher to indicate the curriculum that will be covered during the next school
term. The overview will be sent home
separately from the report card, or can be part of a classroom newsletter. Regardless of the format used, the overview
is an important document for parents, as it provides a point of reference for
what will be covered during the next school term.
If schools
are closed due to snow, or any other problems such as power outages or bad
weather, announcements will be made on local radio stations (WOLD 106.9 FM and
WAVE 102.3 FM) by 7:00 a.m. on the day of the closure. Please do not call the radio station
– tine in and listen for the announcements, which will be made on a regular
basis. Thank you.
Once again, we will be collecting foodstuffs for the
Salvation Army Christmas Food Drive. If
you have any non-perishable items (canned or packaged) which you are able to
share with others, please send them to school, between Monday, December 1st,
and Friday, December 12th.
Thank you again for helping us to think of others.
OUR SINCERE
THANKS…..
….to the Nanaimo Daybreak Rotary Club, which, as part of its Literacy Drive, has just donated a number of new books to our library. We certainly appreciate this generous gesture, which will be of good use to our students and staff.
PRINCESS ANNE SCHOOL’S NEWSLETTER, November 17, 2003 p.2 |
Congratulations to the Boys Touch Football
teams. They had a great year, it was
super to see their skills improve with each and every game. The students on the team were:
Dylan Moore, Blake Walsh, Joey Brunton, Josh Prince,
Tim Latour, Taylor Mueller, Spencer Grant, Sam Hansl, Hayden Kirkpatrick, and
Casey Bock
Many thanks to our volunteer coach, Dave Moore. He gave a lot of his time to being here for
practices and games, thanks so much, the boys had a super season!
In October, our self-managers program was
implemented once again. Students have
the opportunity each month to apply to become Self-Managers. When their applications are accepted, these
students have permission to be in the school at 8:35 am, at lunch recess, and
at little recess, as long as they are conducting themselves in an appropriate
manner and have their self-manager badge on.
Listed below are the students who earned Self-Manager, effective
November 1st:
Tori McKenzie, Lisa Tran, Georgia Grant, Eva Morgan,
Jessica Sibley, Amber Ryan, Katie Dunbar, Jewels Greenhough, Martina Rye, Ben
Hall, Kendra Howland, Sam Hansl, Corey Henwood, Melanie Ribicic, John Lee, Kyle
Curtis, Alyssia Bell-Surette, Kayla Balmer, Hillary Hertzberg, Sarah Latour,
and Robin Tait.
Congratulations to these students. Any others wishing to be considered as new
self-managers must complete a form, have it signed by their parents and a staff
member, then return it to Mrs. Poulin by the end of each month.
The North Zone, Small Schools Cross-Country Meet was
on Tuesday, October 28th. We
had 25 students participate in this event.
It was a beautiful day for running, and some great trails to run
on. The event was held at Neck Point
Park, with the start and finish on the Hammond Bay Elementary School
fields. Below are the students who
participated in this event:
Tyke Boys –
Carson Balmer, Micah Prince, Michael Ribicic, Josh Bell-Surette, Rohit
Nagi, Connor Robertson,
Mitchell Vipond
Tyke Girls – Amber
Ryan
PeeWee Boys – Maurice Dawson, Zac Wilton, Corey
McEwen, Hayden Kirkpatrick, Blake Walsh, John Lee, Josh Wilton
PeeWee Girls – Jessa Arnold, Katie Dunbar, Katriana
Tarala, Melanie Ribicic
Bantam Boys – Danny Tooke, Brig Stevenson, Casey
Bock, Liam Robertson, Adrian
Choromanski, Jon Jones
Two of our students, Mitchell Vipond and Katriana
Tarala, qualified for the District Cross-Country Meet which was held at Rotary
Bowl on Thursday, November 6th.
Congratulations to all the runners, you did a
fabulous job representing Princess Anne Elementary School!
Our students are certainly working hard towards their fitness goals and active lifestyles. Once again, our Running Club is going strong. We already have a number of students who have earned their 25 km ribbon in the month of October, way to go! Here are the students who received their ribbon in October:
25 km Runners – Tyson Nahanee, Michael
Ribicic, Daniel MacDonald, Drew Curtis, Kate Mason-Betts, Levi Legault, Nathan
Dawson, Riley Burnside, Tristan Moshuk, Angus Brookes, Lisa Tran, Brice
Brookes, Katie Dunbar, Tim Latour, Ieysha Matthew, Corey McEwen, Rohit Nagi,
Connor Robertson, and Mitchell Vipond
Way to go everyone, keep on running! Special thanks to Mr. Shaw for organizing
this club and ensuring our students receive their ribbons throughout the year.
PRINCESS
ANNE SCHOOL’S NEWSLETTER, November 17, 2003
p.3
Our Virtues Program has been moving forward quickly
again this year. We have focused on a
number of virtues in our assemblies, classrooms, and throughout the school
day. It has been great to see students
practicing the virtues that we have covered in class and attempting to apply
them to their everyday activities. The
virtues we have reviewed so far this year are:
Responsibility
Respect
– for self, others, and property
Co-operation
Many students have been recognized for a variety of
reasons throughout the month of October.
Here are our Royal Recognitions for October:
Division 1:
Responsibility – Casey Bock, Hayden Kirkpatrick
Respect – recognized
three times – Adrian Choromanski
-- recognized twice – Kayla Balmer, Alyssia Bell-Surette, Casey Bock, Kyle
Curtis, Spencer Grant, Corey
Henwood, Hillary Hertzberg, Sarah Latour, John Lee, Ivana Mazurski, Melanie Ribicic
-- recognized once – Kendra Howland, Jon Jones,
Liam Robertson, Kelly Schmidt, Robin Tait, Danny Tooke,
Zac Wilton
Co-operation – recognized three times – Adrian Choromanski,
Hillary Hertzberg, Sarah Latour, Robin
Tait
-- recognized twice – Kayla Balmer, Alyssia Bell-Surette, Casey Bock, Kyle
Curtis, Sam Hansl, John Lee,
Ivana Mazurski
-- recognized once – Thor Brenner, Spencer Grant, Corey Henwood, Kendra
Howland, Melanie Ribicic,
Liam Robertson, Kelly Schmidt, Brig Stevenson, Danny Tooke,
Josh Wilton
Division 2:
Responsibility – Jessa Arnold, Harrison Grant, Jewels Greenhough, Tim
Latour, Dylan Moore, Rohit Nagi,
Ayla Wagner
Respect – recognized
twice – Ian Farrow, Josh Prince, Martina Rye
-- recognized once – Maurice Dawson, April Hansl,
Tim Latour, Ieysha Matthew, Connor Robertson,
Blake Walsh
Co-operation – Katie Dunbar, Ben Hall, Tim Latour, Ieysha Matthew,
Julius Monague, Josh Prince, Connor
Robertson,
Katriana Tarala
Division 3:
Responsibility – Quince Sholberg
Respect –
Maggi Benoit, Sydney Creighton, Zac Creighton, Georgia Grant, Tori McKenzie, Micah Prince, Amber Ryan,
Lisa Tran
Co-operation – Maggie Benoit, Angus Brookes, David Dagasso, Vernon
Dawson, Emma Dunbar, Georgia Grant,
Eva Morgan, Michael Ribicic, Amber Ryan, Jessica Sibley
Helpfulness
– Amber Ryan
Division 4:
Responsibility – recognized twice – Levi Legault, Daniel
MacDonald
-- recognized
once – Tyson Nahanee
Respect – Ryan Brigden, Justus Davey, Nathan Dawson,
Meleah Desjarlais, Kate Mason- Betts
Co-operation – recognized three times – Tanya
Brunton
-- recognized
twice – Meleah Desjarlais, Kate Mason-Betts, Merenya Prince, Tyrel Thornton
-- recognized once – Tyson
Nahanee, Shawn Przada
Congratulations to all our students, a tremendous
list of students recognized here.
Thank you for reinforcing the following safety
guidelines with your children:
Also, should you notice anyone on the school grounds
after hours causing damage or using unsafe behaviour, do not hesitate to call
our local police. In this way we can
keep our grounds safe and our building in good repair.
PRINCESS ANNE SCHOOL’S NEWSLETTER, November 17, 2003 p.4 |
Please note that Mrs. Cowling, our school secretary,
is in the office from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm, which are reduced hours from previous
years. After 12:30 pm, Mrs. Poulin may
be in the office to answer the phone, but will also be in classes teaching or
elsewhere in the school. If a message
is left on the school answering machine after 12:30 pm, the message will not be
received until the next morning. It is
important to understand that messages left on the answering machine in the
afternoon for students will not get to them until the next day. If there is an urgent message, the school
board can be contacted and they will be able to contact Mrs. Poulin. Thanks for your understanding with this
matter!
Please help us keep our school grounds safe for all
students. Please do not use our
handicap parking spots at all, unless you have a certified handicap parking
sign in your vehicle. Although it
is closer to the school, please do not use this area as a pick up or drop off location
as many of our students walk past this area when coming in and out of the
school. Thanks so much for your
co-operation with this matter.
Princess Anne students were treated to an exciting
and energetic performance by Axe Capoeira earlier this month. This group was comprised of five members of
one family, and all have a Brazilian heritage.
In the course of 45 minutes, students were exposed to traditional music,
singing, and dance from Brazil, as well as shown some of their traditional
instruments. Their athleticism,
combined with music and dance, was incredible.
At the end, everyone had a chance to join in a dance with the group and
get caught up in the excitement and energy of their music. Many thanks to the P.A.C. for continuing to
financially support bringing these groups to our students.
Many thanks to our staff and students for a
wonderful Remembrance Day Assembly.
Our entire assembly was led by Grade 6 and 7 students from Mrs. Kanachowski-Biggss
class. Special thanks to the following
students for taking on the leadership of our assembly:
Dan Tooke, Robin Tait, Zac Wilton, Brig Stevenson,
Hayden Kirkpatrick, Rebecca Reilly, Alyssia Bell-Surette, and Hillary Hertzberg.
Also, thanks to the students in both Mrs. Mayor’s
and Mr. Shaw’s class, who did a superb job singing “Make a Difference”.
“Children should be given as much opportunity and
encouragement as possible to practice their reading. Beyond the basics, children’s reading facility, as well as their
vocabulary and conceptual growth, depends strongly on the amount they read.” - by
Marilyn Jager Adams
Children learn to read:
o
By
being talked to
o
By
being read to
o
By
being given the chance to read
o
With
the support of their family, friends, and school
o
By
watching other people in their lives read
Let your children see you read! Show them that reading is a part of your
daily life. Talk about what you
read. Talk about what they read.
When you read out loud:
o
Your
child will learn to listen, remember, understand, and explain.
o
Your
child’s imagination will grow.
o
Your
child will learn how to think and how to learn.
o
Your
child will discover new worlds.
o
Your
child will get used to the way stories sound.
This will make it easier to learn to read.
o
Your
child will learn to like books and to read on their own.
PRINCESS ANNE SCHOOL’S NEWSLETTER, November
17, 2003 p.5
DAILY PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY and HEALTHY
EATING
The emphasis in
our schools for daily physical activity continues into the fall. It has been great to see so many students
involved in the Zone Cross-Country meets.
The energy they have brought to the meet, both in the racing and in the
cheering, is a positive sign towards fitness.
Once again we
have some articles, written by members of the community, to include in our
newsletter that helps to promote daily physical activity and healthy eating at
home, at school, and in the community.
Hope you enjoy!
PUTTING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
INTO YOUR DAY - Written by Kim Gagliano
Often when
we’ve made the decision to incorporate more exercise into our daily routine we
feel the need to rush out and start spending money. We spend a fortune on books, videos, gadgets, gym memberships and
equipment that more often than not is quickly tucked under a bed and forgotten
about. Getting fit has nothing to do
with spending money and everything to do with effort and commitment.
Make fitness a priority in
your family and then seek out activities that you can enjoy together. Our homes, back yards and local playgrounds
are full of opportunities to move, climb, stretch, pull, reach and bend.
Stairs, chairs, monkey bars, slides, ropes, see-saws, swings and ladders are
all “exercise equipment” that is free and easily accessible.
Do push-ups on the incline of your staircase
(preferably carpeted) rather than horizontally on the floor, this makes them
somewhat easier. Stairs can serve as an
excellent devise to stretch out your calf muscles. Stand on the bottom step with your heels hanging over the
edge. Lower and raise yourself, going
down each time only to where you feel comfortable. Step up and down on a sturdy
kitchen chair or up and down off your back porch. Soup cans make excellent free
weights and bath towels can be used while stretching in place of athletic
bands.Housework and gardening are excellent aerobic activities. Add some music and put a little extra oomph
(and a few dance steps) into sweeping, scrubbing, weeding, raking or window
washing. Give the kids a broom or mop,
with their help you will have more time to play at the park or go for a bike
ride later.
Host a mini Olympics in your
backyard. Invite neighbours and friends
to take part. The possibilities are
endless for events that incorporate skipping, hopping, jumping, running.
Remember those three-legged and sack races?
Kids still enjoy games of “Tag”, “Simon Says” or “Follow The
Leader”. Provide your kids with
sidewalk chalk and skipping ropes.
Take the dog for a walk or borrow the neighbours dog
and take them both for a walk.
Walk to and/or from school. It’s a great way to start the day and can do
a lot to relieve the stress of a crowded school parking lot. It’s better for the environment and will
save you a little gas money too. A
walk home after a busy day is a great way for the kids to wind down. Use the time to “catch up” on their day or
practice their spelling words, counting, or multiplication facts. Getting homework done before you even get
home frees up valuable “play time”.
Don’t want to walk all the way home?
Go ahead and sprinkle in a little hopping or skipping.
A “Walking School Bus” is an
excellent program that is free and easy to implement. It only requires that parents or caregivers take turns picking up
neighbourhood children along a route to school. It is also a great way for the kids of differing ages to get to
know one another a little better.
The opportunities
to add movement to our daily lives are endless. We just need to make it a priority and then let our imaginations
run wild. Keep it fun, simple and get
the kids involved. Discuss the
importance of fitness and share your commitment to it with them. “Monkey see, monkey do”. It may not always seem like they are
listening but they are taking note. Routines and lifestyle changes now will prevent our little tatter
tots from becoming a future generation of coach potatoes.
Eat smart, play hard and be
well!
What
is low in cost, an essential nutrient , available almost everywhere and often
neglected? Water is what our bodies
must have as an essential nutrient. We
need it regularly for without it we cannot survive for more than a few days.
Water
in the body serves as a transportation system.
It is important in body chemical reactions. Water regulates our body temperature. This is especially important during exercise. Extra heat generated by exercise is given
off by the evaporation of sweat. As our
bodies are made up of almost two thirds water we need to remember to use it as
a regular drink.
Other
fluid choices might include 2 – 3 servings of milk or other calcium and vitamin
D beverage choices and a serving of juice to make up a daily intake of 6 – 8
cups of fluid. Too much of these
beverages however may take away from consumption of other nourishing foods.
We need to take a
look at the increased use of pop and other sweetened drinks on a regular
basis. A recent American study
indicated that an extra soft drink a day gives a child a 60% greater chance of
becoming obese. It is like having
liquid candy in that a 10 ounce can contains 10 teaspoons of sugar. (The study included pop and other sweetened
drinks including iced tea, lemonade and other drinks made from powder and
sugar.)
A
plan for fluid health includes water used as a between meal thirst quencher and
keeping juice intake to a cup or less per day.
Water bottles make good companions!
For more information contact Jeri at the Health Centre, 755-6256.
PRINCESS ANNE SCHOOL’S NEWSLETTER, November 17, 2003 p.6 |
The photographer will
return to Princess Anne on Wednesday morning, November
19th for
the photo retake session. If your child
missed the first photo session, and you would like him/her to have a photo
package, order forms are available at the front office. If you are not satisfied with the first set
of photos, please return the complete package, no later than 9:00 a.m., on the
19th. We would appreciate it
if you could let us know if your child will be taking part in the retake
session, so that our morning will go smoothly, and we won’t miss anyone. Thank you.
Be sure to mark Wednesday, December 17th
on your calendars as that is our Family Christmas Craft Night at Princess Anne
Elementary. Plan to bring out your
whole family and join us in a night of festivity and craft making, a great way
to spend an evening with your family and the school community.
Once again, our
school is involved with Island Farms Dairy and their ‘Daisy Dollars’ program,
to earn money for our various needs.
We are asking all families
to assist us. Please cut and send your
UPC codes to the school, and put them in the envelope on the wall outside the
school office. Each one is worth a
minimum of $.03 each. It all adds up! Thank you.
(Please note that we are
also happy to receive your recycled
drink boxes, cans and bottles, as well as used ink cartridges for your computer
printers. In addition, our Parent Group
is collecting Fairway Market sales tapes, as well as Campbell’s Soup
wrappers. Thanks for your help with
these fund-raising drives.)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d
finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging and less tugging.
I’d see the oak tree in the acorn more often.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I’d model less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.
-
Diane
Loomans
Wednesday, November 19 –
Photo Retakes, beginning 9:00 a.m.
Friday, November 28 – Term 1 Report Cards
Monday morning, December 1 – Kindergarten Grade 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 students to
‘Charlotte’s Web’, Port Theatre
Monday, December 1 – Presentations to the School
Board about closure of small schools, 6:00 p.m., NDSS gym
Friday, December 5 – 9:15 am - Fine Arts Performance
– HOJA – at Cilaire
Saturday, December 13 – Christmas Craft Fair and
Tree Sale, sponsored by the PAC.
Helpers appreciated! 754-6166
Tuesday, December 16 – School Wide Skate, 1:00-2:00
p.m., Frank Crane Arena
Wednesday, December 17 – Family Craft Night – 6:30
pm
Friday, December 19 – Schools Close for Winter Vacation,
1:55 p.m.
Monday, January 5, 2004 –
Return to school for the Winter Term.
Bells ring out at 8:45 a.m.
Monday, February 23 –
Professional Development Day - no
school for students.
Tuesday, February 24 –
Program Implementation Day - no school
for students.
Monday , March 15 to
Friday, March 19, inclusive – Spring Break.
Schools closed.
- submitted by Pat Hall, Chair
Thank you to everyone who helped out and attended
our breakfast meeting last Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by MLA Mike Hunter, and Trustees Doan, Garnish,
Dale, and Polling, as well as Neighbourhood Association President Bill Forbes,
Principal Jacquie Poulin and several parents/guardians of Princess Anne
students. At the meeting, we informed
MLA Hunter that it was our impression that budget shortfalls at the District
level had been caused by government refusal to fund all three years of a
three-year imposed settlement of the
teachers’ contract. We requested that
he help us by acting to restore that money, so that local school boards would
not have to act so drastically to avoid deficit budgeting. This was in accordance with information that
senior administrators provided at the Princess Anne consultation meeting of
October 29th.
Parents also raised points to trustees to give them
pause to consider keeping the school open.
Suggestions for revenue generating projects were put forward:
1. Consider
Princess Anne for a pilot project for a District full-day kindergarten, based
on the money-making West
Vancouver District model.
The unique nature of Princess Anne as a naturally evolving ‘Magnet School’ was reinforced repeatedly.
I would like to personally thank, from the bottom of my heart, the people who showed such profound courage in telling their very personal stories in such a public way, in order to stand up for this school community. You have my heartfelt admiration.
A reminder of the important School Board meeting, at
which Small School Closures will be discussed, and PRESENTATIONS WILL BE MADE,
on Monday, December 1st,
beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the NDSS gym.
If you would like to make a presentation on behalf of our school, you will need to contact Cathy Kelt at the
School Board Office, 754-5521, by November 24th. If you are doing this, please call Pat,
754-6166, so that we can be sure that all our bases are covered. Please plan to attend this important
meeting. Thank you.
Our annual Fabulous Craft Fair and Christmas Tree
sale is fast approaching – Saturday, December 13th. The Craft Fair is booked and the trees have
been ordered. We will also have our
successful baking table. If you are
able to help us with this huge undertaking, please leave your name and number
at the office, or give me a call, Pat, 754-6166. ** Heather McEwen, one of our new parents, has reserved a table,
at which she will be selling very special cards, made from recycled
card fronts.
If you have any card fronts to pass on to her, please leave them at the
office. Proceeds from the sale will be
returned to our Parent Group. A great
and generous idea!