“SUCCESS FAVOURS A PREPARED MIND” (DR. JAMES HILLIER) JAY HAWK JOURNAL : NOVEMBER 2014 NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER From the Principal’s Desk Our Remembrance Day will also report cloCeremony will take sures and cancellations place on Tuesday No- but the earliest and vember 11th at 11 am. most accurate inforParents are invited to mation is found on the attend and are asked to Board website. arrive at the school by 10:50 so we can start • James Hillier is in promptly at 11. (Our Zone 4. morning nutrition break •Now is a good time will be slightly altered for little ones to start to accommodate our practicing with coats, 11am assembly) boots and snow-pants. With winter weather When visiting the just around the corner school remember that please remember ... the front door is locked • If busses are can- during the school day. celled schools are Please have students arrive on time with all closed of the items they need •Closures are posted on for the day. Students the Board’s website arriving late or families (www.granderie.ca) by needing to drop off for6:30 am. Follow the gotten items makes a link to transportation. lot of extra work for the Local TV and Radio office staff that need to Important November Dates Reminders Eric Walter’s Presentation (K-8) 6th Progress Reports / Picture Retakes 7th Remembrance Day Assembly Interviews won a 7th place ribbon and Karissa won a 2nd In the event that there place ribbon. C'est fanis no answer at the door tastique! when you arrive it is likely that Mrs. Smith VOLUNTEERS is either on the phone NEEDED!!! or away from her desk. Please be patient. The Book Fair is Please make sure that back!!! We will rundogs are on a leash dur- ning the book fair from ing arrival and dismis- November 10 to 14. sal times and that they We are looking for volare properly cleaned up unteers to help in the after. mornings and after Congratulations to An- school for about an drew Bezkorow, An- hour. We will also be nalise Gadsby and Ka- open while the student rissa Banse on winning led conferences are bethe in school French ing done. Your help is poster contest. Their very much appreciated. posters were then sub- Please email Lise-Ann at mitted to the Norfolk Kneabone [email protected] County Fair where they represented James Hill- m if you are interested ier School. Andrew in helping out. answer the door. 11th 13th (pm) & 14th (am) School Council Meeting (6:30) 18th Earth Rangers Presentation (G1-G8) 25th Lockdown Rehearsal 26th November Pizza Days 4th,11th,18th & 25th • Nov 14th is a PD day. No school for students. • Please return all Read A Thon Log Sheets, prizes are being awarded November 7th • For school closures and cancellations we are in Zone 4 • Lost and found items will be on display during interviews Eric Walters and Earth Rangers are coming to JHS! Award winning Canadian author, Eric Walters, will be visiting James Hillier on Thursday November 6 to speak to students about his books and about writing. Since writing is an instructional focus at our school, this visit will support the learning taking place in classrooms. Students will have an opportunity to order books at a reduced price directly from the author and have them personally inscribed and signed by Eric Walters. Conservation Organization dedicated to educating children and their families about biodiversity, inspiring them to adopt sustainable behaviours and empowering them to become directly involved in protecting animals and their habitats. The 45 minute show will feature a science based message about the importance of protecting the environment. The show will be both engaging and interactive with live animals included in the presentation. The Earth Rangers are coming to For more information please visit... James Hillier on November 25th. Earthrangers.com The Earth Rangers is The Kid’s Citizenship—Grades 4-6 Participate in Writing Contest Students in grade 4, 5 & 6 are participating in Habitat for Humanity Canada’s (Habitat) and Genworth Canada’s Meaning of Home Contest in which they explain what “home” means to them . By entering, students have the chance to make a difference in their community. Genworth Canada will donate $5.00 CAD per entry to the Habitat affiliate closest to the entrant’s city of residence. Every participant also has a chance to win the top prize which consists of a $60,000 donation from Genworth Canada to the Habitat affiliate of their choice, as well as 5 runner-up prizes of $5000 donations to Habitat affiliates. to other great prizes. This project is the first of many this year and we are sure that our students will have a positive impact on our school and community. That’s not all! The winner also gets to host a pizza party for their entire school, and runners-up get a pizza party for their classroom, in addition Lockdown Rehearsal As part of our annual procedures locking the door, being quiet, turnwe are required to do 2 lockdown ing off the lights and by being out rehearsals during the school year of sight. (fall and spring). Teachers will go over the lockLockdowns are used when there is down procedure with their students an immediate threat to the safety on the days leading up to our reof staff and student at the school. hearsal date on November 26th. During a lockdown students and their teachers attempt to make Please speak with your child(ren) their classrooms appear empty by to help prepare them for this as it Page 2 can cause some anxiety. If you have any questions or concerns please contact either your child’s teacher or the office. Please note that if you are visiting the school during a lockdown (either real or a rehearsal) you are expected to participate in the lockdown procedures. J A M E S HI L L I E R Movember Dad’s Night Out This November Mr. Johnson, Mr. Hachborn, Mr. Braha, Mr. Corrigan, Mr. McGrath and Mr. Ouellette will be participating in Movember (Mr. Kronwald is already there) by growing our best moustaches. join us in growing a moustache Details will be sent home later in and supporting cancer research. the month. Get growing! Later in November Dads will be invited to an evening at James Hillier where staff share strategies and tips for fathers supporting their child’s learning. We would like to invite all dads to Parking Please remember not to park in the no stopping zones along St. George Street and Orchard Avenue and in the bus loading zones on Queensway Drive. time you receive the newsletter or in the very near future. We expect these changes to stop students and families from using the parking lot as a pick up location. Please use the sidewalk when leaving the school rather than Changes to the primary dismissal walking through the parking lot. If area should be complete either by the you are dropping students off or visiting the school please park at Queensway Baptist Church. Thank you. Progress Reports / Parent Teacher Conferences Progress Reports will be coming home on Friday, November 7th. Progress reports will indicate how your child is progressing in subject areas and in the development of their learning skills. We will again be using the student lead conference format but with a few changes. This year interviews will be scheduled in 15 minute intervals so families can have more direct contact with their child’s teacher. During the conference your child will show you completed projects, classroom work and will discuss progress and goals or areas he/she • will be working on during the • term. The goals for this conference format include… • • Being responsible for report- VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 • Learning organizational and leadership skills Your attendance with your child at this conference is very important as they will lead the conference, sharing their learning with you. The teacher will be present and will help facilitate as needed. Conferences are being scheduled for the evening of November 13th from 3:30-5:00pm & 6:00-8:00pm ing to you how they are doing and from 9:00-11:30am on Noin school vember 14th. Learning to communicate Mrs. Archibald, Ms. Hanratty, Learning to evaluate their Mme Field and Mme Sorensen will also be available for schedwork honestly and fairly uled interviews on both dates. Becoming accountable for work and behavior Page 3 November Feedback We’d like to know what you think. Please specify compliments, concerns, issues etc. for comment and response in next month’s newsletter. Fill in your child’s name below to ensure you are entered into our draw for free pizza! Compliments: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Concerns : ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Recommendations: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Name For Draw Prize :____________________________________ Class : _____________________