February 2015
Benito School
Presents
The Grade 6 students have been busy with
the Red Cross Babysitters Course, and we
have 8 new students who now hold their
licenses. Congratulations to Kaden
Blosha, Macy Broome, Liam Dodd, Emily
Forman, Wade Hack, Emily Mayuk, Storym
Osatchuk, and Hunter Pierce. Thank You
to Mrs. Kerr for instructing the course, and
to the Benito Child Care Centre for allowing us to utilize the facility for some of the
practical training.
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs.
Salmi who had a visit from the
stork on January 8th. It’s a boy!
Musical EXTRAVAGANZA
The Senior Kindergarten to
Grade 4 students travelled to
the ESRSS in Swan River on January 16th to attend a special
presentation featuring Mr. Gerald Laroche, a musician, storyteller and fulltime composer. Students were captivated
by his music and amazing harmonica playing. To view some photos of his amazing
artwork as well as his many accomplishments you can visit his website at
www.geraldlaroche.com
Where the Food is Fresh
-And So Is The Help!
An Evening of Food and Fun From the Fabulous 50’s
Friday, February 27th
&
Saturday, February 28th
Benito School Gymnasium
Gluten Free meal option available upon request
Doors open at 5:45 p.m.
**ADVANCED TICKETS ONLY **
$20.00 Each
Contact Bev at the school office 204-539-2466
Join Parent Council at our next
meeting on Thursday February 19th at
7:00 pm at the school. Look for our
upcoming fundraisers in March and
April. In March we are doing a Tupperware Fundraiser. Also in April we
are Partnering up with Lynn’s Plant and Things for a flower fundraiser, look for more information on these fundraisers in the coming
months. BSPC will also be looking for a new Treasurer and President
in April when we hold our AGM. We need volunteers for these positions so we can continue as a Parent Council group to assist our students and staff. Hope to see you at our next meeting!
Did you know that Benito School Parent Council has a Facebook
page with great information posted regularly. Just search and click
to join the group.
January
of the Month
I’m Great!
Jayden Gosselin is…
KINDHEART
Colton Englot is….
CAPTAIN ACTION
Energetic and Active
Marci Badowski is….
MISS SOLUTION
Great Problem Solver
Sarah Foster is…
ARTISTICO
Artistic and Creative
Matthew Shastko is…
MATH MAN
Jenna Zander is…
MISS MANNERS
Jessica Kushniryk is…
MUSICTRESS
Avery Blosha is…
SUPER FRIEND
Riley Negrave is…
HOMEWORK HERO
Emily Forman is…
BOOKGIRL
Charity Smith is…
MISS RESILIENCE
Strong and positive attitude
Maria Schneider is…
CONFIDENTRESS
Friendly and Self-confident
As a way to celebrate Valentine’s
the staff will be serving to all
students a pancake breakfast with
sausage, fruit and a beverage on
Friday, February 13 th at 9:00 a.m.
Day ,
Wednesday February 25, 2015 is
“Pink Shirt Day” at Benito
School and all around Canada. “Pink
Shirt Day” is a day we encourage all of
you to wear something pink to symbolize that we
as a society will not tolerate bullying anywhere.
Pink T-Shirt orders are set to arrive by mid-February
for those who placed orders.
Sensitive and Kind
Great Math Skills
Polite & Respectful
Music
A Good Friend; Kind & Helpful
Eager to get work done; Punctual
Independent Reader
ATV / Snowmobile Safety Presentation
Students in Grade 3 –8
will receive a presentation on ATV & Snowmobile Safety on the mornnd
ing of February 2 . Through real-life stories
and practical tips students will be instructed
on age requirements, proper riding gear, laws,
hand signals and more. This presentation is
conducted by seasoned
riders and experienced,
certified trainers in cooperation with Safety Services Manitoba.
Sports Report
It’s been a busy month with Basketball on the go for both boys and girls. Both teams have
plenty of players and are looking forward to our upcoming games and tournaments happening
soon. We have…
Basketball Exhibition in Benito on Jan 21
Basketball 1 on Jan 28
Basketball Jam Gr-5 on Feb 3
Basketball Jam Gr-6 on Feb 4
Basketball 2 on Feb 11
Basketball Invitational on Feb 21
Basketball Exhibition in Minitonas on Feb 25
Basketball Valley Champs on March 4
Results and updates will be posted on my school blog, The Snake Pit ( http://wmoncrief.blogspot.ca/ ), which can be
found on the school website at http://www.svsd.ca/benito/ . Stay tuned!
Intramurals has moved on from Dodgeball to Gatorball with students creating their own teams in their quest for the
Cobra Cup – good luck everyone!
Forms for Ski Trips to Thunderhill Ski Area have been sent home and have been being returned. Please get these
filled out and returned to Mr. Moncrief. Please send along fees as well. Ski Trip 1 forms are due on February 6 th and Ski
Trip 2 forms are due on February 27th. Please get these in sooner rather than later. Thank you!
We will be having our 5th Annual Broomball Bash on Friday February 6th at the Benito Recreation Centre. We will
be eating lunch at the rink that day with meals pre-ordered for those who handed in forms. If you did not order please
bring a lunch that day and be aware that warm ups will not be available. Games start at 12:30pm and end at 3:30pm.
Should be a fun afternoon of games and exercise.
Curling units will begin on Tuesday February 17th and go daily until February 27th.
The Cobra Curling Classic X will be
held on February 27th from 9:00am to 3:30pm. A canteen will be available throughout the day and pre-order form will
be sent out in the coming weeks. Please be on the lookout for those. Please see the curling schedule included in the
newsletter, sports board or The Snake Pit for a more detailed outline of classes and times.
A few THANK YOUS to pass along this month. Thank you to the Benito Recreation Centre for allowing us to use the
facility for all of our skating, broomball and curling dates. Thank you to Mrs. Riehl for running the canteen for us during
our upcoming Broomball Bash 5 and Cobra Curling Classic X. Thank you to BSPC for providing the awards for our Cobra
Curling Classic X as this just adds to the excitement of the day so much. Also, a big thank you to all of our parents and
volunteers who encourage our students to take part in extra-curricular activities, tie skate laces, cheer on our sports
teams and help make things work all around.
If you have a child in Grade 3, 5 or 7 please read the section about the new SVSD Aquatics Education Program
in the newsletter. Benito will be taking part in March and April this year and you will find information about this program in that section. Please take time to read it and expect forms to be coming home mid-February for students in
these grades (3, 5, 7).
Finally, I have been making preparations for our involvement in the Manitoba Marathon this year… yes, I am talking about marathon season with snow covering the ground. I would like to thank everyone who supported our Marathon Sub Sale this past January 30 and hope you enjoyed your meal. I have made a group reservation of rooms at the
Holiday Inn South this year instead of the Comfort Inn South. I have reserved ten rooms and if you would like one,
please let me know and will put your name on one – please do not phone the hotel to change the room over to your
name. When I finalize the rooming list I will let you know when you can do so. I already have four rooms spoken for so
six are remaining. I have been quoted $109.99 per room.
Play Hard, Play Fair – Mr. Moncrief
Hope everyone is staying nice and cozy and warm through January. In the music room we are getting back into a routine after the wonderful Christmas Concert the students put on before Christmas break. In the elementary grades we
have been learning some fun movement songs and the Grade 3/4’s have been learning some musical theory about
rhythm values and identifying notes. In band classes we have been learning some theory on tones and semitones and
major scales, and we have also begun on some pieces which I hope we will play at the Swan Valley Fine Arts Festival in
April. On that note, I wanted to mention that in addition to the large group portion of the Festival students have a
unique opportunity to play in a small ensemble or a solo. The grade 7/8’s will have an assignment regarding this and I
would like to invite any Grade 5/6’s who are interested to apply as well. All costs for the band portion are covered by
Band Booster so this is a free opportunity for your child to get another musical experience. I will be sending home
forms shortly with these classes.
Finally, I wanted to mention that we are quickly approaching Band Trip season. The first trip is March 12-14 to Dauphin for the Parkland Norman Honour Band. Students will get a chance to play with other students from Northern and
Central Manitoba and will get to rehearse with a special guest conductor, this year it is Mr. Kevin Doell from Sunrise
School Division. This trip is open to students from Grade 6-8. The next trip is the Brandon Jazz Festival from March 19
-21. Students would not play for this trip but would instead go to listen to various Jazz combos and complete listening
activities based on their performances. This trip would be open to any Grade 7/8 students. The final trip for the year
will be to the Springfest Music Festival in Regina from May 21-23. I would like to take all the Grade 7/8’s on this trip
so we could play for a special adjudicator and have an extra musical experience together. For all of these trips the
cost will be around $200 each and I will have letters coming home soon with all of the information and details. If you
have questions in the meantime please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Did you know music can……………….
Improve your child’s language and reasoning skills.
Improve your child’s problem solving.
Improve your child’s creativity.
Further cultural awareness and empathy.
Help your child learn sustained effort.
Improve your child’s teamwork skills.
Improve your child’s risk taking ability.
Mr. Salmi
Valentine’s Day Celebrations
Special activities are planned at Benito School on Friday February 13th to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
We will start the day with a Valentine Breakfast for all students complete with pancakes, sausage,, fruit and a
beverage.
Students in grades JK – 4 will be having a shared lunch, exchanging valentines and enjoying a variety of
games and activities. More information will be sent home very soon. The Grade 5-8 students will be spending
the entire day skiing and snowboarding at the Thunderhill Ski Club. Forms are due back by Feb. 6th.
SVSD Aquatics Education Program
This school year, the SVSD will start an Aquatics Education Program for students in Grades 3, 5 and 7 where
they will participate in the “Swim at School” program. Each student in these grades will be provided with ten
sessions where they will be exposed to a safe water environment where they will be encouraged to participate, increase their swimming endurance and learn about water safety.
Benito School will be participating in this program on the following dates:
March 10, 2015
March 17, 2015
March 19, 2015
April 07, 2015
April 14, 2015
Each date will be a full school day with students being transported to and from the Richardson Recreation
and Wellness Centre by bus. Expect to see forms coming home mid-February in preparation for this program.
For more information, please feel free to get in contact with Mr. Moncrief or check out the following website.
http://www.redcross.ca/what-we-do/swimming-and-water-safety/swimming-lessons/red-cross-swim-atschool
HOT LUNCH
The hot lunch ladies would like to Thank
Mrs. Fuchs and Skyler for making the desserts for last month’s hot lunch. Thank
you as well to all the students who helped
serve and to Mrs. Hominuk for her help.
Since February is a very busy month of
activities, there will be no hot lunch this
month. We look forward to serving Hot
lunch once again in March.
Thanks to the Royal Canadian Legion Benito Branch
for presenting our students with cash awards for
Remembrance Day Poster contest. Congratulations
to the winners pictured above:
In the Junior category: 1st Storym Osatchuk, 2nd
Laine Gogol, and 3rd Liam Dodd. I
n the Intermediate category: 1st Weston Keller, 2nd
Shannon Sobothniski, 3rd Cory Sorrell.
In preparation for
Manitoba Marathon,
we will be holding a
Burger and Hot Dog Sale
to help off-set some of
the costs. Forms will be
sent home Feb. 2 and
must be returned by
Feb. 5.
Burger Sale
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Congratulations to Skyler
Blosha. He participates in
Tigers Bowling, and he captured the "Beat Your Average" Championship for
2015.
Hamburger
$3.50
Cheeseburger
$4.00
Hot Dog Sale
Thursday, Feb. 19
Hot Dog $2.00
each
Benito School Parent Climate Survey Results, December 2014
Thanks to all of the households who completed the Parent Climate Survey, we had 14 surveys completed and returned.
Please find following your feedback summarized.
Percentage of
Respondents
Who Strongly
Agreed or
Agreed
Percentage of
Respondents
Who Expressed No
Opinion
Percentage of
Respondents
who Strongly
Disagreed or
Disagreed
A) My child is generally happy to go to school.
100%
0%
0%
b)
I feel that my child comes home from school having been safe throughout the day.
100%
0%
0%
c)
I can count on the school to let me know if my son or daughter is having
academic difficulties.
93%
7%
0%
d)
My child is learning the academic skills he or she needs.
93%
7%
0%
e)
When I have questions or concerns, school staff members listen to me,
and attempt to find workable solutions.
100%
0%
0%
f)
The school offers assistance and support to students with academic
problems.
86%
14%
0%
g)
My child has opportunities to participate in a variety of co-curricular activities, including music, sports, visual arts, drama and leadership.
93%
7%
0%
h)
The school publishes information to households through informative
news updates.
100%
0%
0%
i)
I feel welcomed when I visit the school, and have opportunities to participate in my child’s school learning through open houses, curriculum
nights, classroom volunteering, student performances etc.
100%
0%
0%
j)
Expectations of student conduct in our school are clearly communicated,
and discipline is consistent with the SVSD Code of Conduct.
100%
0%
0%
k)
I have opportunities to participate in a Parent Advisory Council.
93%
7%
0%
l)
The school offers assistance and support to students.
86%
7%
7%
Additional Parent Comments :

The Benito School Staff does a great job! We are lucky to have them.

Both my children are enjoying school. I am happy to see how much they have improved in certain areas.
i.e. reading and math.

The teachers and administration seem very invested in our children. It’s a pleasure sending our son.

School provides academic feedback but I have not seen any feedback from OT/PT My son receives assistance from academic/social needs because of this special needs status, however I feel other children not
considered special needs are not receiving enough attention and re struggling or being pushed through the
grades too soon.
On January 28th, the Grade 4 class participated in the My Vision 4 Me Day. Everyone immensely enjoyed
every aspect of the day. Thank-you to the staff at the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School that make this
day possible.
Welding is fun because it looked cool.
-Tristen
I liked when we made pie because we got to take it home.
-Ady
Welding was cool because I got my name
hammered into aluminum and I got to
bend metal. -Erin
At My Vision 4 Me my
favourite activity was
welding because I got
to weld.
-James
At My Vision 4 Me I loved the Art,
and the babies, making pie and
eating pizza. -Chantel
My favorite thing I did was getting my hair done because
they put hot rollers in my hair. -Ady
My Vision 4 Me was awesome because I got to get my hair
curled and my nails painted dark green with gold sparkly
crackle nail polish. -Erin
I loved the styling station because I got my hair curled and
my nail’s done. -Chantel
WHAT AN AWESOME DAY!
Swan Valley Recreation Report
Youth Sports Night – Swan River: Held on Tuesdays
from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at Taylor School. Runs until
March 24. For kids ages 5 – 12. FREE.
Youth Sports Night – Swan River: Held on Thursdays
from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at ESRSS. Runs until March
26. For kids ages 5 – 12. FREE.
Swim Lesson Registration: At the Aquatic Centre
Lifesaving Society Lessons. Preschool to Adult Classes
available. Register online at www.swanvalleyrec.ca
to get the link, or in person at the Centre. Register
deadline is 1 week before class starts. Call 204-7344119 for more information.
2015
Sun
Mon
1
2JK
Tue
4
ATV/Snowmobile
Safety Presentation
Gr. 3-8
8
9
3
Wed
5
3
Mini Basketball
Gr. 5
16
4
10JK
17JK
6
Mini Basketball
Gr. 6
Hamburger Sale
15
4JK
Thu
2
11
5
Fri
1
Better Beginnings
Skating &
Broomball
5
6
12
2
6JK
Broomball
Tournament
Gr. 5-8
7
Drama Practice
10:00-4:00
1
13JK
14
Valentine Breakfast
Better Beginnings
Ski Trip #1 Gr. 5-8
Skating K-4 - pm
Basketball 2
2:30-8:00 pm
18
Sat
3
19JK
4
Hot Dog Sale
Parent Council
Mtg—7:00 pm
Louis Riel Day
NO SCHOOL
5
20
Better Beginnings
Skating K-4 - pm
21
Basketball
Invitational
School Curling Gr. 3—8
22
Benito Figure
Skating Carnival
2:00-4:00 pm
23JK
6
24
1
Better Beginnings
25JK
2
26JK
Pink Shirt Day
School Curling Gr. 3—8
3
4
27
28
Cobra Curling
Classic Gr. 5-8
Dinner
Theatre
Dinner
Theatre