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May’s News
Richm on d E du ca t ion C e ntr e / Aca d e my
Principal’s Message
May is upon us, and
hopefully we’ll see some
warmer weather. Over
the next two months,
there will be much happening!
On Tuesday,
May 19, the School Advisory Council will sign its
first Letter of Agreement
with the school board.
Both West Richmond
Education Centre and
Richmond Academy had
signed letters of agreement before amalgamation, but this marks a
formal agreement between the SAC from the
combined school and the
school board.
On June 1, we’ll see construction begin on a new
Technology Education
lab at our school. When
the school was built, conventional wisdom of the
day lead architects to
focus on teaching computer skills to young people.
What we have
learned over this last 15
years or so is that skilled
trades continue to be an
important part of the
local and provincial
economy. This new lab
will allow us to teach
courses that revolve
around woodworking,
carpentry, and other
skilled trades.
Later in May or early
June, we’ll also officially
open our new ball field
adjacent to the school.
Renovating this field has
May 4, 2015
been a mammoth undertaking, with students
from all senior high
grades taking part. We
are hoping to arrange a
teacher-student softball
game as the weather
warms up to christen the
new field!
On a final note, students
will receive the draft exam schedule early in
May.
Once released,
students will be responsible for flagging any conflicts to administration
as soon as possible.
Look for the final version in our June newsletter.
Volume 1 Number 9
Inside this issue:
Principal’s Mes- 1
sage
Award Winner!
1
Award Winners/
Grad Week Info
2
Leadership Visit 2
Sports/
Orientations
3
Bursaries and
Opportunities
3
Guidance News 4
Sincerely,
Lois Landry, Principal
Dates of Interest
Awards Galore!
While our students are
often award winners for
various contests and
competitions, some
achievements are particularly noteworthy. This
month, Jamie Samson is
one of those notable
award winners.
Jamie, a grade 12 student
at our school, was award-
ed the Silver Key for a
writing portfolio, along
with an Honorable Mention recognition for a
short story she submitted
to the Scholastic Art and
Writing Awards sponsored by the Alliance for
Young Artists and writers. Jamie’s works were
selected from more than
300,000 submissions and
only the top submissions
are awarded. Congratulations to Jamie Samson
for this tremendous accomplishment, and a
shout out to all of her
English
teachers
throughout her schooling for supporting Jamie
in this passion.
 Grade 8 Parent/
Guardian Info Session
at 6:30 pm—
Wednesday, May 6
 Grade 8 Orientation—Thursday, May 7
 Victoria Day: No
School—Monday, May
18
 Grade 4 Orientation—Tuesday, May
26
 Grade 8 Assessment—
May 26-29
 Special Olympics—
Friday, May 29
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Science Fair and Lieutenant-Governor Award Winners
The Strait Regional School Board
hosted a Regional Science Fair last
month, and RECA students were
well represented. We’d like to take
this opportunity to congratulate the
these students for the following
awards:
Caleb Hearn: Health (Intermediate
Silver);
Gabrielle Dorey: Innovation and
Information (Senior Silver);
Faith Samson:
Environment—
Elementary (Challenge Award)
Allie Fraser and Brenna Martell:
Health (Senior Silver), NSCC
Award food and beverages, St.F.X.
Nursing prize;
Isabella Samson: Best visual display
grade 5
Max Henderson: Energy and Resource (Junior Bronze);
Ainslie MacNeil:
(Intermediate Silver);
Discovery
Award Recipients, Allie Fraser and
Dante Samson. Both grade 11 students were recognized at a ceremony in Dalbrae on April 28. Congratulations to both students on
this impressive accomplishment!
In addition, we want to congratulate this year’s Lieutenant-Governor
Grade 12 Grad Week Information
There is much
going on in May
and June at
school, but believe it or not, we
are already planning for the end of June! Of particular importance is the graduation
week activities for students who will
receive their diplomas in June.
In many instances, we are required
to abide by Fire Marshal regulations
around how many people can attend various ceremonies, and some
events involve pre-ordering food.
In light of these restrictions, we
have prepared an easy-to-follow information sheet that should answer
any and all questions parents/
guardians have about how many
people can attend events, when tickets will be available, and where to
get them. You can access all of this
information on the front page of
our website: reca.srsb.ca.
If you require any additional information that is not spelled out on
that sheet, please feel free to contact
Lois Landry at the school.
Grade 5-8 Leadership Donations
Last month, staff from Leeside
Transition House offered presentations to our junior high students as
well as our Grade 5 to 8 Leadership/We Act Group. The students
were so moved by the information
they received at these sessions that
they embarked on a service learning
project to support this important
organization.
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Under the supervision of their advisor, Maureen Cosman-Burke, they
purchased more than $300 worth of
supplies for women and children
who make use of the home. They
delivered these items to the house,
and got a tour as well.
Congratulations to all involved for
great learning experience!
May’s News
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Sports at RECA
Now that Badminton has ended
(with special thanks to Gina Stanley
and her assistant Bernie LeBlanc for
coaching this season), we are on to
the spring sports: Softball and
Track & Field. Rob MacDonald
will be coaching the boys’ senior
softball, along with AR Fraser.
We’ll actually be hosting Provincials
this year the first week in June! We
have two new coaches for our girls’
senior softball team—Rhonda Covin
and Carla Martell. Though new to
the coaching leagues at Richmond
Education Centre/Academy, we are
very grateful for the time they’re
devoting to this team, and we’re
sure the girls will have a great season!
Pat Duggan has taken over the boys’
junior softball coaching, and Helen
Whalen continues to coach our
junior girls’ team. We look forward
to an exciting season this year, on
our home field! Special thanks go
out to Tommy Samson and the O2,
Construction Tech., and Co-op classes for finishing up the restoration
of the ball field that will enable our
boys and girls to play for many years
to come.
Our senior track and field team is
being coached by Brenda Burt who
has a number of new athletes on
the squad. We look forward to
hearing good things from this sport
as well! Thanks
to all who volunteer at the
school to make
sports a reality
or our students!
Scholarship Season and Information about Summer Jobs
As we move closer to the end of
June, more and more organizations
will announce opportunities for
summer employment or programs
as well as scholarship and bursary
application procedures. In every
case, either the organization or the
school sets very specific application
requirements and deadlines.
Graduates and their families should
be aware that we post all information that we receive from organization on our website under the
GUIDANCE tab on the right hand
side of the front page. We do not
make exceptions to those application requirements or deadlines. In
many instances, the requirements
include letters of reference from
school staff. Students and their
parents/guardians should be mindful of these deadlines, as we cannot
provide, for instance, same-day turnaround for letters of reference. Students should make sure they provide referees with several days’ notice when letters of reference are
required.
Grade 4 and 8 Orientations
May is a month when we spend as
much time preparing for the upcoming school year as we do addressing issues related to the current school year. On Wednesday,
May 6, the school will host an information session related to the
transition from grade 8 for parents
and guardians of students currently
attending RECA or EREC. The
Volume 1 Number 9
following day, students currently in
grade 8 at both schools will attend
an orientation session to learn how
Grade 8 Parent/Guardian Information Session
Wed., May 6th at 6:30 pm
the Academy will be different from
the Education Centre they are used
to.
We are also hosting the grade 4 students from Felix Marchand Education Centre on Tuesday, May 26 so
they can get a look at their new
school and ask any questions they
may have.
If you or your child would like
more information about RECA,
please feel free to contact school
staff at any time.
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Richmond Education
Centre/Academy
3238 Whiteside Road
PO Box 599
Louisdale, NS B0E 1V0
Phone: (902) 345-4949
Fax: (902) 345-4948
E-mail: [email protected]
2014-2015
Guidance News
GRADS OF 2015: Please remember to see guidance to
update your Graduation Profile sheets, outlining your postgraduation plans! If you have
selected a specific postsecondary institution, if your
plans have changed, or if you
have received any scholarships or bursaries, these details must be updated for use
by the Scholarship Committee.
bursaries! They are not only
selected by the RA Scholarship Committee. It is recommended that grads should be
checking the school website
daily or visiting guidance for
these opportunities. Some
have various requirements,
including essays, which can be
time consuming. It is your
responsibility to check for
eligibility and apply by deadlines!
SCHOLARSHIPS & BURSARIES: Students are reminded about the importance of
applying for scholarships and
VALEDICTORIAN 2015:
Grads are reminded that nominations are being taken for
this year’s valedictorian. Deadline is Friday, May 22 and can
be dropped in the nomination
box in Student Services/
Guidance Centre. Voting will
take place on Monday, May 25
at lunch hour in the same area.
The End of the Year is Near –
Part One
Are you a super student who
has a lot of study strategies but
could use a few more? Maybe
you try to study but still aren’t
prepared for tests? Or, perhaps
you are someone who never
studies because you don’t
know how? If any of these
sound like you, check out the
PowerPoint PDF presentation
on Studying Skills and Tests
by visiting the RECA website
(reca.srsb.ca) and going to the
Grade 5-8 page under the
Guidance tab, so you can be a
Stellar Studier!
As always, you can reach guidance department by phone at
(902) 345-4949 or by email at:
[email protected].