The beat of drums, African drums, began a very full week at cole College Heights Elementary. Staff and students were treated to African singing, drumming, and dancing by the musical trio of Jackie`s Village.
Movember continued to be front and center with silver coin donations continuing to grow. A special mustache day ended this student leadership initiative which saw staff and students sport their own "staches" to match those of M. St-Denis, M. Chiappetta, and Mr. Nipp. A huge thank you to everyone for supporting this very worthy cause.
Both the girls and boys` volleyball teams enjoyed their recent playday at Vanway. A special thanks to all teachers sponsors, supervisors, and parent drivers for helping make the day a success and to Vanway for hosting.
Buddy reading has been a popular activity throughout the school. It is so great to see the big and little buddies sharing a good book and the love of reading.
Yoga is the current Intramural offering Thursdays and Fridays at lunch until the Christmas Break. Many students haven been taking advantage of the relaxing atmosphere under the guidance of Mrs. Watts and Mme Gouin.
Students aren`t the only ones having something extra to look forward to at school. Many staff members are enjoying the rich conversations occuring from being a part of the first staff book club of the year.
***
Hart Highlands Elementary School students will be receiving their report cards the second week of December. Intermediate students have the opportunity to earn Honour Roll standing for their work. Students who receive an A or B in the four major areas (Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies) and receive "Supports Learning" in work habits, effort, and attitude will receive Honour Roll recognition.
Division 5 students and teachers are working together to lead the food drive for the Elizabeth Fry Society. There will be boxes in the school where students will be able to place donations of non-perishable food items. To be more environmentally friendly we will be moving away from a paper newsletter. Our newsletter can be easily found on our webpage at www.hhld.sd57.bc.ca - paper copies will be made available upon request.
***
Today, the students of the Montessori High school in PGSS will be coming into Highglen Montessori to talk to and do some transition work with the intermediate students who have plans to continue with the program. With the District wide Non-Instructional Day on Friday, Good Vibrations is hosting a Family Movie Night on Thursday.....come in your jammies, bring pillows and blankets and enjoy the movie with fellow students and their families.
Students in Mr. Jeffery's class have been enjoying "Fun Friday" every two weeks. Last week was Nerd Day with a lot of tape on glasses and bow ties! On Friday, Dec. 7 the students will be dressed in purple for Purple Day.
The students have been watching the construction of the ice rink by district staff and can't wait for the ice to be in so they can enjoy skating during their lunch break. Parent Volunteers will help with maintaining the rink surface.
***
Ecole Heather Park's Elementary school's recent Family Movie night featuring Brave was a huge success. Over $1000 was raised by the Grade 4 and 5 classes at our school (Mme. Lane, Mrs. Sapun, Mrs. Bracey, Mr. Laupitz and Mr. Marchelwitz) towards the year end field trips to Barkerville (Gr. 5) and Fort St. John (Gr. 4). Great teamwork and support.
On Wednesday, Nov. 21st, our PAC hosted a Dr. Seuss themed staff appreciation luncheon: Hats off to the staff. From delicious food, to amazing decorations, to wonderful quotes, we were overwhelmed, very appreciative and want to send out "a super stoo-pendous thank you" to our PAC.
On Thursday, November 22nd our Korean ESL students presented a PowerPoint presentation to their fellow classmates on Korean culture. The students had the assistance of a Korean interpreter, Young. The students presented on a number of cultural items including location of country, meaning of the flag, clothing, school, food, music, and dance, buildings past and present, Korean brands, sport, friends and family. XiaoXue Liu, the district settlement worker and Truman Spring, the district administrator of the ESL/ESD program were also present. Afterwards everyone enjoyed a snack of a juice box and roasted seaweed, a Korean product. The cultural awareness was amazing and helped everyone understand Korea and these students much better.
On Friday, Nov. 23rd, Mrs. Todd's/Mr. Parry's Gr. 7 class sponsored a popular Superheroes themed day. Staff and students alike got into the spirit of things, with traditional heroes and imaginative ones like Gardening Green Thumbs Girl to Grumpy Old Man and beyond roaming our hallways.
By the time this is printed, our choir, under Mme. Shaw's skilled leadership, will have participated and sung their hearts out at Christmas Nights of Music at Vanier Hall. Can Christmas be far behind?
***
A number of primary classes at Southridge Elementary School had the opportunity to take part in SOAR (Sharing Our Activities and Resources). The coordinator introduced students to curling, tennis and golf over the course of three days. Students learned the basic rules, about equipment and had a chance to try each of the sports out for themselves. The SDRG school community filled 94 Christmas Shoeboxes this year and the Grade 5 Bake Sale raised $154.00 for the World Wildlife Foundation's Panda Fund.
Congratulations to everyone involved. Mrs. Fisher and the Intermediate Choir have been practicing for the upcoming Christmas Concert. The students sang beautifully at the Christmas Nights of Music performance held recently at Vanier Hall.
***
The next SD57 hosted Parent Math Night in the series will be held Dec. 4th from 6:30-8:00 at the Van Bien Training and Development Center. This month's topic will be everyones favorite FRACTIONS ! We'll cover the five meanings of fractions, comparison, equivilancy, and the four operations. Audience: Parents of students in gr 3 and up. Pre-register with Mr. Brian Hatcher via [email protected].
***
Submissions for Around Our Schools column may be forwarded to [email protected]
