Kanaka Creek Elementary School
Principal: Ms. Gwyneth Dixon-Warren
Vice Principal: Mrs. Laureen Hickey
April 1, 2015
Principal’s Comments: The month of March has flown by and everyone is ready for their April Break! I hope the next month provides everyone with an opportunity to slow down, relax and spend time with family. This month our newsletter is loaded with information about our school community. Please take the time to read through it with your child. A couple of additional comments: • Constable Sandra – RCMP School Liaison Officer will be at Kanaka in May to share a presentation on Social Media Awareness. The sessions will encourage students to further develop a sense of awareness regarding the importance of making importance choices when using social media as a means to communicate. • I would like to acknowledge our students at Kanaka – during our monthly assemblies and special presentations in the gym…our students have demonstrated excellent behavior...they are respectful, positive and appreciative of everyone presenting. • Many thanks to the PAC for their on-‐going support of our school community! We appreciate all you do! Enjoy your break and see you in May! Are you moving?? Please advise office staff immediately if your child(ren) will be attending a different school in September. As we will soon begin the process of staffing for next year, it is important that we have as accurate a picture as possible of our September enrolment. Transferring to Another School Parents who wish to have their children transfer to another school in the district need to obtain a 3 part Student Transfer Request Form from their current school, complete the transfer form including signature, and have the current principal sign and date it. The current school retains the form which is brought to the Principals’ Transfer Meeting. Phase one of transfers ends April 15th. Phase two runs from April 16th to June 10th and the final phase runs from June 11th to August 27th. If you require any further information during the break, please call our District Education Office at 604-‐463-‐4200. Sick Days/Late Days If your child is not going to be coming to school or is going to be late for school, please don’t forget to call us at 604-‐467-‐9050. You do not have to wait for the office to open, leaving a message with your child’s name and teacher’s name would be great. Student Safety in the Parking Lot Be safe students!! Please do not ride your bikes and scooters in the parking lot. Please walk them on the school grounds. Pets at School We ask that owners of pets not bring their animals into the school. Many adults and children are either allergic to dogs or uncomfortable when dogs are present. If around the school ground, please remember to pick up after your dog – sometimes we are left with quite a mess on our field. As a community, we need to work together to ensure the safety and comfort of all the adults and children on our school grounds throughout our day, especially before and after school. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Volunteeers We are so fortunate to have many parents give their time and energy volunteering at the school. However, student safety is important to us. With this in mind, we ask that if you are in the school assisting in a classroom or with a specific activity that you check in at the office, and if necessary, pick up a volunteer tag. Often parents will be in a classroom or out on the playground at recess and lunch to visit with their child, and although we do not want to discourage this, it is important that you are wearing a school identification tag to alert students and staff that you are not a stranger. Public Speaking The 2015 Kanaka Creek Public Speaking event for grades 4 to 7 was held on March 31st and April 1st. All of the speakers did an excellent job and it was tough to choose the top candidates to represent Kanaka Creek Elementary at the District Speak Off. Representatives are: Grade 7, 1st Place Sarah Scott – “Kids’ Opinions Matter”, 2nd Place Knight Klima-‐O’Connor “Consumerism” Grade 6, 1st Place Tayana Feldman – “Driving & Texting”, 2nd Place Daniel Smith – “Hand Sanitizer” Grade 5, 1st Place Ella Todd – “VOKRA”, 2nd Place Inaya McCormack -‐ “Autism and Non Verbal Communication Grade 4, 1st Place Zahra Squalli Houssaini -‐ “Competitive Cheerleaders”, 2nd Place Kloey Dawes – “Softball” Thank you to the teachers who prepared the students so well and to our esteemed panel of judges, Mr. Williams, Mrs. Carr, Ms. Tooker, Mrs. Hickey and Mrs. Sullivan. F.S.A.’s for Grade 4 and 7 F.S.A. booklets and scores have been sent home with all student who participated. Scores sheets have been stapled into the front cover of each book. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us. Satisfaction Surveys During the months of January to April, School District 42 is participating in the 2015 Ministry of Education Electronic Anonymous Satisfaction Survey Project in cooperation with all other school districts throughout the Province. Parents/Guardians can complete the Internet Electronic Anonymous Surveys any time before midnight April 30th, 2014, providing immediate satisfaction level results to the school and the district. Please follow the link below to complete your survey: https://www.awinfosys.com/surveyfull1/central/main/ParentSurvey.asp Sexual Health Workshops with Kathleen Hatley The PAC is once again sponsoring Sexual Health Workshops for all grade levels. These presentations will tentatively be held on June 19. A Parent Information session will tentatively be held on the evening of Monday, June 15 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the school library so parents can be informed of the content of the presentations. It is strongly recommended that you attend the parent information session if you have not previously attended one. Further details will be sent to you closer to the date. Permission forms for your child to participate in the workshops will be sent home sometime next week. Grade 6 Immunizations Will be on May 25th on the stage. Skiing/Snowboarding Refunds There are still some refund cheques for pick up in the office. If you have contacted the office with refund information but not picked up your cheque, it is waiting for you. If you have not yet contacted the office with refund information, please give us a call after the break. DSAC -‐ Pie in the Eye A big thank you to Knight Klima-‐O’Connor, McKenna Puffer, Annalise Gardner, Gabby Dujmovic and Spencer Faulkner of our D SAC student committee who raised $225 for Children's Hospital. You were all great sports to get a pie in the eye for a good cause. Also thank you to Mrs. Murphy who agreed to take a pie in the eye if the students raised over $200. Well done! Grade 7 News -‐ Lindt Chocolate Fundraiser!! Congratulations to the winners of the Lindt Chocolates baskets: Sadie Amery Division 20, Annalisa Teixeira Division 11, Cayden Nichols Division 10 and Mrs. MacDonald from our staff. $363.15 was raised for our Grade 7’s Leaving Ceremony. Next Grade 7 Committee meeting is on May 25th at 7:00 pm Lunches Requiring Cutlery We have a very limited number of spoons and forks in the office. If you are packing a lunch that requires cutlery, please remember to include it in your child’s lunch kit. Bake Sale!
On May 21st, Division 4, Mrs. Vos' class, is hosting a bake sale. All treats are $1.00. 100% of proceeds go towards this year’s humanitarian project involving a local organization called KidSport. Thank you for your continued support over the years. These annual projects allow students to work together to make a difference. ALBION F.C. Spring Break Camp for Kanaka! Albion FC is offering soccer camps, April 7 to 10 and April 27 to 30. For more information go to www.albionfc.ca TIMBERLINE RANCH is offering Day Camps in April just for Kanaka Kids! For further information please visit the website below: http://www.timberlineranch.com/seasonal-‐camps-‐and-‐events/kanaka-‐kids-‐camps/ PAC News • Congratulations to Roxanne Clarke, winner of the draw for the parking spot at Kanaka Elementary for the months of May and June. Thank you once again to the Faulkner Family and Cottonwoods Child Care for their generous donation. Next draw for July and September will be held in June so stay tuned for your chance to enter. •
Next PAC meeting is Wednesday, May 6th at 7:00 pm in the library. Everyone welcome. •
Kanaka Business Fair -‐ Don’t forget our business fair will be on Saturday, May 9th in the gym from 10:00 until 2:00. There will be many exciting vendors. •
Spring Plant Sale -‐ Delivery is May 9th at 10:00 am, just in time for Mother’s Day! We are hosting a Lice 911 parent seminar on May 20th at 6:30pm. Upcoming in July… o Canada day celebrations with Michael Mitchell o Circus school with Sand Northrop in early July. o Save the date for Summer Carnival July 9th! •
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Library Update: The winners of the "Love Your Library" Colouring Contest are Quinn and Ava W. (tie) Div. 12; Kelly and Emma (tie) in Div. 13; Ireland in Div. 15; Seaera in Div. 16; Sebastian in Div. 17; Robbie in Div. 18; Malena in Div. 21; Wyatt and Liberty (tie) in Div. 23; Kiera G. in Div. 24. In addition, Gabby D. in Div. 3 is the winner of the "Best Book/Worst Book" writing contest. All winners may drop by the library before or after the April break to choose your book prize. Thanks to everyone who helped to support this special month-‐long celebration of our school library. And the winner is ... Primary classes read and evaluated all of the nominees for the BC-‐only Chocolate Lily Book Prize, and the overwhelming choice for first place was (drumroll please) Not Your Typical Dragon, by Dan Bar-‐
el. Second choice was Once Upon a Balloon by Bree Galbraith. We will be sending our number in for the BC-‐
wide voting, and a province-‐wide winner will be announced in May. Lucinda
Teacher-Librarian
Building Resilience in Children
Tooker
Fairview Elementary PAC is sponsoring a free parent workshop on building resilience in children. With family lives getting more and more busy-‐-‐and with that, more stressful-‐-‐children need resilience to cope. Parents can build that resilience. Come to the workshop to learn how. Fairview Elementary gym, April 30, 7-‐9 PM. Counselors Message: Resilient people are able to cope with the ups and downs of life. Resilient people are like a bouncy ball, when encountering challenges, they bounce back without being damaged themselves and without hurting others or damaging things (as opposed to being like an egg that breaks or a rock that hurts others or damages things when encountering challenges). As parents we have a big influence on how resilient our children end up being. Learn more about how to raise resilient children here: • http://www.psychologyfoundation.org/pdf/publications/ResilienceChildrenBooklet.pdf • The Psychology Foundation also has lots of other helpful information for parents on their
website: http://psychologyfoundation.org/index.php/parents/ Feel free to contact me at any time: [email protected] Kanaka Afterschool Program with Bricks 4 Kidz “Mission to
Space Adventures” Part 1.
Wednesdays 2:30-3:45
May 13th-June 24th
7 sessions………….$84 + GST(4.20) = $88.20
More information on how to register coming after the May break!
CAN Family Festival 2015
Join us on Sunday, April 12, 2015 from 10am-2:30pm at Jack Poole
Plaza for a fun-filled day in celebration of World Autism Awareness Month! Enjoy live entertainment, food and family fun!
A Free the Children
Fundraiser
Goat-O-Meter
LEARN ABOUT HOW GOATS CAN CHANGE A FAMILY'S LIFE
Why give a goat?
For a family in a developing community, one goat can open a world of possibilities. A dairy goat
means daily nutrition from milk. Selling milk means ongoing income to pay for school fees or
medicine. Or a breeding goat can be an investment that will grow and one day multiply into a herd.
Goats are just one resource that we use to empower families. Free The Children partner communities
worldwide also gain income from farming, fishing, beekeeping, beading, knitting and rearing other
livestock. The best part: every project includes business workshops that equip people with skills that
will help them stay independent for the rest of their lives.
A year of empowerment. A lifetime of opportunity.
Please help Kanaka’s Me2We Group reach their goal of buying 100 goats. (We already have over 60
goats purchased!) If we reach our goal of 100 goats, the Me2We Team will treat
every students in the school to a Freezie
(Tear off and return to school)
Name:__________________________
Division:_____________________________________
$ amount contributed:__________________________________________