April 2015 - SD68 School District

Rutherford Elementary School
5840 HAMMOND BAY ROAD
NANAIMO, B.C. V9T 5M6
PHONE 250-758-5331
FAX 250-751-0829
Jeff Hasenauer, Principal Barb Suttie, Secretary
http://schoolsweb.sd68.bc.ca/rutherford/
NEWSLETTER
Newsletter 9
April,2015
DEAR PARENTS
Spring has sprung. As we enter the final months it is
important for students to continue to follow their
school routine as much as possible. Setting aside time
to study and read each day will help each student
remain focused on school and their goals.
As always, things are busy at Rutherford. Some
recent events: the conclusion of basketball, beginning
of track and field; Mad Science assembly; the Terry
Fox Run for cancer research; a fire drill with bell
ringing; new Lockdown procedures (drill in the near
future – will be announced in advance); Smash This
Badminton; the arrival of our new student ipad
purchase.
An ongoing thanks to the Rutherford PAC for all they
do for students: various fundraising; garden
maintenance; hall displays; and recently the purchase
of Daily 5 literacy texts and cases for student ipads.
Jeff Hasenauer
Principal
KINDERGARTEN
FOR 2015-16
REGISTRATION
Registration
for
Kindergarten
for
September 2015 is well underway.
Complete
information
about
registration will be available on the school district
website www.sd68.bc.ca.
A Special Note About Grade 7-8 Registration
Our
Grade
7
students
are
automatically
"transitioned" to Dover Secondary, as Dover is the
high school that our school "feeds" in to. There is no
need to apply for Dover Secondary as this is
automatically taken care of for your child.
Grade 7 students, with the consent of their
parent/guardian, who wish to transfer to a secondary
school other than our designated high school (Dover)
are required to complete an Out-of-Catchment
application form and submit this form to the high
school your child wishes to attend. The out of
catchment registration started on Monday January
5 and concludes on Tuesday, March 31st .
Applications are on a first come, first served,
basis so early registration is encouraged. There is
more information at www.sd68.bc.ca. Follow the
registration link and the various forms are there.
There is no guarantee that your out of catchment
request will be granted at the high school level,
however the form is needed at that school to start
the process. Please let Mr. Hasenauer know if this is
the case for your child and/or if you have any
further questions about this process.
If you currently live in the catchment area of
another high school and your child plans to attend
that high school (ie not Dover) please ensure the
student registration forms are completed and
submitted to that high school. There is no out of
catchment form necessary in this case; however
registration needs to be done prior to June 15th . If
this is the case for your child please let Mr.
Hasenauer know.
CLASS PICTURE DAY
WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN
SCHOLASTIC BOOKS 50% SALE
Class picture day is on Wednesday, May
27th.
Each year Rutherford looks forward
to welcoming the newest group of
Kindergarten students to our school.
If
your
child
is
attending
Kindergarten in September,
2015 please make sure you register a.s.a.p. in the
school office. You and your child are invited to come
to an important orientation session at the school on
Tuesday, June 2nd from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Each year-end Scholastic Books holds a Half-Price
Sale in our school district. This year Rutherford will
be hosting the sale. Invitations go out to school
staff and PACs in our district and surrounding areas.
The sale will be held:
Wednesday April 22 2:40-3:30pm
Thursday April 23 8-9am, 2:40-6:00pm
Friday April 24 8-9am, 1:40-7:00pm
Monday April 27 8-9am, 2:40-6:00pm
Tuesday April 28 8-9am, 2:40-6:00pm
Watch for a notice with more
information about the sale and request for volunteers
to help make the sale a success and add some great
books to our school library.
ARE YOU MOVING?
If you are planning to move
away from the Nanaimo area
or are transferring your
child(ren) to another school
next year, please advise the
office as soon as possible. Your co-operation greatly
assists us in determining our numbers and school
organization for the 2015-2016 school year.
BASKETBALL
The basketball season has finished for
all of our teams. The Bantam girls
coached by Mrs. Carole Ory and Mrs.
Wendy Byrne had a strong season that
finished the first week of April. The bantam boys
coached by Mr. Rick Hart and sponsored by Ms. Lycan
have had a strong season. Finishing 1st place in the
district.
Thank you to our other coaches and sponsors for
their time and dedication: teacher Garrick Neumann
(pee-wee boys; volunteer Walter fields and parent
Theresa Patenaude (pee-wee girls). Also thank you to
all of the parent drivers that transported students
to the away games. Congratulations to all of our
players on a great season.
PARENTAL PLACEMENT REQUESTS FOR
NEXT YEAR
We would like to clarify our position on parental
requests for placement of students in certain classes
and with certain teachers. Parents should understand
the assignment of students into classes each year is a
careful process where considerable time and effort
is spent by staff. Only parental requests based on an
educational reason will be considered. Parental
requests should be placed in writing with sound
educational reasons given. It must be stressed there
are no guarantees of class placement based on
parental request. Requests must be received
(addressed to Mr. Hasenauer) by May 29th.
RUTHERFORD DRESS CODE
With the warmer (we hope soon) weather, comes the
need to wear lighter clothing. Please remember that
school is a workplace for your child/children and what
may be acceptable attire at the beach or other
places may not necessarily be acceptable at the
workplace. At Rutherford, we follow the SD #68
Dress Code guidelines and add our own guidelines with
respect to “revealing” clothing.
TRACK AND FIELD
As part of our school-wide athletic program, classes
from grades 3 to 7 will participate in a Track and
Field Meet at the Rotary Bowl on Tuesday, May 12,
2015 for the above grade levels. We still need
parent volunteers to help judge, measure or record
events. Please contact the office if you are able to
help out. Events will run from approximately 9:30
a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
SD #68 Guidelines
Appropriate dress is considered to be that which:
 Is safe
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

LITERACY
Is free of any reference to alcohol, drugs,
gangs,
hate,
obscenity,
profanity,
racism/discrimination, sex and or violence
Is not disturbing or distracting to others
within the school setting.
Did you know that more than half of Canadians (55%)
do not have the minimum skills necessary to meet the
information demands of today’s world? Literacy levels
affect family in-come, health and quality of life.
Canadians with lower levels of literacy are more likely
to earn less and use computers less frequently.
Conversely, higher literacy skills correlate to greater
involvement in community groups and volunteer
activities. Working in partnership with the school to
enhance your child’s ability to access information is
the best way to enable them to achieve their goals
and reach their potential in life. Research tells us
there is a predictable reading slump occurring around
Grade 4. One might assume by then that kids can
read well enough on their own, but this is precisely
the time when reading material becomes more
challenging. We often say: In the primary grades,
children learn to read and in the intermediate years,
they read to learn.
Tips:
Rutherford Dress Code Guidelines:
In addition to SD # 68 guidelines, Rutherford has
adopted the following dress code guidelines:
The appearance of any young person is primarily the
responsibility of that individual and his/her parents.
We expect students to maintain the type of
appearance that is not distracting to teachers or
other students to the detriment of the educational
process of the school. At Rutherford school, staff,
in conjunction with parents, has agreed that we would
like to maintain a dress code. Some guidelines are:
 hats are not worn in the building
 beach wear or clothes that are revealing (low
cut tops, short shorts, exposed underwear,
spaghetti straps, muscle T-shirts, haltertops,
bare midriffs and backs are not
acceptable)
 items of clothing that display offensive
graphics/writing are not appropriate for
school (vulgar language, racist or sexist
comments, suggestive sexual thoughts,
advertising drugs and alcohol)
 tops must meet bottoms.
 students should not cover their heads unless
it is for religious reasons sanctioned by their
parents.
 for female students, heavy makeup (thick
eyeliner, eye shadow and lipstick) is not
appropriate at elementary school.
1. Don’t stop reading aloud to them once they can
read independently—instead, simply take turns
being the narrator.
2. Set a monthly goal in terms of reading minutes.
Chart the progress and then reward your child
with a new book, sticker or bookmark.
3. Encourage your child to develop an interest in
different literary genres, such as adventure,
mystery, fantasy and poetry.
4. Develop the habit of giving books or magazine
subscriptions as gifts for birthdays or other
special occasions.
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR SHOW
DATES TO REMEMBER
Over the past several weeks, some of our students
have been participating in PowerPlay Young
Entrepreneurs, an engaging, hands-on program that
empowers students to develop their own businesses.
These enterprising students have committed to
building new skills and are now ready to display their
business plans and market their products. Our Young
Entrepreneur Show will be held at the school on
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 1:00-3:30pm in the gym.
There will be a variety of crafts and lots of creative
surprises. Prices generally range from 50 cents to
$4.00. Please come and join us. We look forward to
seeing you there!
May 4
May 12
May 18
May 19
May 26
May 27
June 2
June 4
June 5
June 12
June 24
June 24
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Pro D Day
School Track Meet
Victoria Day
PAC Meeting 7:00 pm
Zone Track Meet
Class Photos
Welcome To Kindergarten
District Track Meet
Primary Fun Swim
Fun Fair - 5-8:30pm
Year end Assembly
Last Day of School
RUTHERFORD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
COMMENT SLIP
Newsletter No. 9
IT IS IMPORTANT that all comment slips are
signed and returned to the school to indicate that
you have received this letter. If you have any
comments regarding the information in this
newsletter, you may also include them below.
Thank you.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Student’s Name: _______________________
Div.: _______
Signature of Parent/Guardian:
____________________________________
Slips returned by Wednesday, May 6th will be
included in a draw for a Little Caesar’s Pizza. Last
Month’s Winner – Emily Purkis
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