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Martensville High School
Box 730, Martensville, Saskatchewan, S0K 2T0, 115 6th Avenue North
Phone: 931-2230; Fax: 931-2766; Attendance Hotline: 931-2350; Email: [email protected] Website: www.spiritsd.ca/mhs
Principal: Brad Nichol; Vice-principal: Peggy Mattila-Bains
“Learning, Understanding, and Caring for All”
Newsletter #8
April 2015
Sun.
Mon.
5
6
*Voyage Club
departure
Easter Break
(no classes)
12
13F
Tue.
Wed.
Thu.
20E
Sat.
1D
2E
3
*Spirit Day: “Day
of Pink”
*Spirit Day:
“Tacky Tourist
Day”
*Paperless Report
Card issued
Good Friday
(no classes)
7
8
9
10
11
14A
15B
16C
17D
18
*Skills Canada
competition in
Moose Jaw
19
Fri.
21F
22A
23B
4
*Voyage Club
returns
24C
25
*Artists United
Coffee House /
Test Drive for
Project Change
26
27D
28E
29F
30A
Virtue of
the
Month:
*MHS Glow
Dance @
Northridge Center
8:00 – 11:30
CREATIVITY…
“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can
think up if only you try” – Dr. Seuss
Principal’s Message
Hello Martensville,
The weather is turning and we are quickly looking toward the few short weeks left in our condensed
school year. After the Easter break we will essentially have 7 weeks left before final exams begin. There
is a lot to pack into this time and we know it is going to be a whirlwind.
We wish a bon Voyage to the MHS travel club as they leave later this week on their long anticipated trip
to Europe. The group of 40 students, parent chaperones, and staff organizers will experience England,
France and Germany over the course of two weeks. It should be a wonderful and transformative two
weeks.
Spring sports are up and running with Mr. Loeffler coaching Sr. Badminton and Mr. Fossum coaching the
Juniors. Shortly after the Easter Break, Mr. Bergermann will be posting information about our Track and
Field season. And…just to put any rumors to rest, there will definitely be a full Track and Field season
taking place this year at MHS. Congratulations to the MHS choir on their performances in the spring
music festival. We are proud of your accomplishments.
Speaking of spring, please make sure to note some of the changes to this year’s graduation ceremony on
Friday, May 15th. The changes are substantial and it is our hope that they will better accommodate
parents and students.
One of the changes taking place at grad is the presentation of awards. Academic awards and
scholarships will be presented to grade 12s at the graduation ceremony. In the past, all awards were
presented at our school’s awards day. This year we are changing our Awards Ceremony from the
spring to the fall. All academic and character awards for students in grades 9 to 11 will take place in the
fall.
Once again MHS has been chosen as a site for PISA testing. The Programme for International Student
Assessment is a global assessment that serves to inform governments locally and nationally. The results
act as a bit of a weathervane and are used to set policy initiatives. Our selected students will be writing
the test on Friday, April 24th.
We are excited to be promoting the Arts at our annual Artists United Coffee House that is coming up on
April 23rd. This great event will take place right after a Drive-a-Ford fundraiser that will be coming to
MHS on that same day. Details on the latter will follow.
From a number of perspectives this has been a pretty smooth school year. Many of the disruptions we
anticipated with the construction taking place right behind us did not happen. Further, according to our
Tell Them From Me survey, the lengthened school day also proved not to be a significant challenge.
As we begin planning for next year I can say at this time that we are not looking at an altered school
year. MHS will, for the most part, operate on the same calendar as all PSSD schools. We are expecting
to move into the new building sometime after September and may need to shut down for a day or two
when that happens. That being said, a lot of advance notice will be provided in advance of that time.
Thank you to all the parents who attended the last round of Parent-Teacher Interviews. Your
engagement in our pursuit of ever-improving students is always helpful. We learn as much as you do.
Good things start with good relationships and conversations.
Enjoy the Break. Happy Easter.
Brad Nichol
TERM 3 “REPORT CARDS”
Thank you to all the students and parents who attended parent-teacher conferences at the end of
March. The report card for term three is paperless. To access an up-to-date progress report, please log
on to PowerSchool on Thursday, April 2nd.
To view a student’s mark in a class:
 Select “Grades and Attendance” at the sidebar
 Click on the “Grades and Attendance” tab; marks for each class will appear
To view assessment of a student’s learning behaviours:
 Select “Grades and Attendance” at the sidebar
 Click on the “Standards Grades” tab; assessment of learning behaviours for each class will
appear
To view the teacher’s comments for each class:
 Select “Teacher’s Comments” at the sidebar
 Ensure that the “reporting term” is set to “Q1”; comments for each class should appear.
If parents do not have access to PowerSchool, please contact the school office. A paper report card will
be issued at the end of semester two.
MHS STUDENTS OFF TO SKILLS CANADA COMPETITION
Skills Canada is a national, not-for-profit organization that actively promotes careers in skilled trades and
technologies to Canadian youth. Good luck to the following students who will be attending the
provincial level of competition in Moose Jaw on April 17th.
Baking  Nikki Fry
Braiding  Kaela Kohnke
Carpentry  Stuart Andrews
Cooking  Brooklyn Lusignan-Beauchamp
Electrical Wiring  Wyatt Logan
Fashion Technology  Sydney Scott
Job Skill Presentation  Brittany Grose
Job Interview  Justine Berk
Photography  Dakota Kolomay
Martensville High School was also awarded a $5000 grant from Lowes based on the work already being
done in the area of Practical and Applied Arts, specifically in Home Economics. These funds will be used
to buy updated equipment to encourage students to participate in future Skills Canada Competitions.
Clubs & Athletics
Badminton
Good luck to our junior and senior badminton teams as they prepare for playoffs in April:
Junior Badminton Round 1 - Tuesday, April 14 @ Blaine Lake
Junior Badminton Round 2 - Thursday, April 16 @ MHS
Junior Badminton Final - Saturday, April 18 @ Warman High
Senior Badminton Round 1 - Wednesday, April 22 @ Hanley
Senior Badminton CVAC Final - Saturday, April 25 @ MHS
Senior Badminton Regional - Saturday, May 2 @ Meadow Lake
Senior Badminton Provincial - Saturday, May 10 @ Moose Jaw

Track and Field
Track and Field season will begin after Easter. Listen to announcements for training times and
information regarding the team selection process.

Choir
Congratulations to the MHS fine performance at the Twin Rivers Music Festival. They received marks of
86%, 87%, 87% and 88% in both of their classes. They also received a choral scholarship and plaque for
musical excellence.
TEST DRIVE FOR PROJECT CHANGE
FUNDRAISER
Thursday, April 23rd
In front of the MHS library
Barbeque: 4:30 – 6:30
Test drives: 4:00 – 9:00 p.m.
ARTISTS UNITED COFFEEHOUSE
6:30 – 8:30
Thursday, April 23rd
MHS Library
Join us for an informal evening of music,
poetry, and visual art that showcases the
talent of MHS students.
For each test drive of a vehicle, Project Change will
earn $20 for charity.
(see below for details)
Project Change at MHS has earned one of the limited edition Ford and Free the Children Drive 4 UR
Community events! We have been paired with Merlin Ford Lincoln for this unique fundraiser. Merlin
Ford Lincoln will be bringing brand new vehicles to the front of MHS on Thursday, April 23rd for a test
drive event. For each test drive that takes place at the school between 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., Ford of
Canada will donate $20 to Project Change. A BBQ will also be taking place from 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. in
front of the school.
The students have decided to donate half of the proceeds raised to Free the Children's Education Pillar
while using the remainder of the money to support local initiatives. More information will be released
once details are finalized. Are you able to help us promote this event at all? The students want to make
it huge in order to get as much out of it as possible. The event will be happening on the same evening as
the Annual Artists' United Evening. For more information please visit:
https://www.drive4ur.com/en/merlinfordsdrive4change or https://www.facebook.com/events/627395
684027542/
Breanne Cooper
MSH GLOW DANCE
8:00 – 11:30 at the Northridge Community Center
Thursday, April 29th
Tickets are $10 in advance; $12 at the door; glow paint & glow sticks available for $1
Career Guidance
A reminder to check out the "Guidance Update" section of our school website
at http://blogs.spiritsd.ca/martensvillehighschool/career-planning/. You will find the latest in PostSecondary programs, a listing of upcoming Scholarships and Bursaries, Career Events, Trades programs,
and Other Opportunities. Of particular note for April will be the Local Scholarships for which Grade 12
students can apply and details concerning the Summer Youth Internship Program for students who
would like to earn Apprenticeship credits over the summer. Please contact Ms. Bouchard at
[email protected] for further information about any of these opportunities.
Grad 2015
To aid in your planning for graduation day, the schedule for Friday, May 15th is as follows. Please note
that all events take place at TCUPlace.
2:00 Group Photo / Practice (Main theatre)
3:00 – 5:00 Graduation Exercises (Main theatre)
{The exercises will include presentation of scrolls, graduand address, guest speaker, and grade 12
awards and scholarships}
5:45 Banquet (Centennial Hall)
Dance to follow
Community Highlights
An Umpire Level 1 Clinic will be held at Martensville High School on Saturday, April 18th from 9:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m. The clinic is sponsored by the Martensville Minor Baseball Association, so there is no cost
to Martensville resident attendees, and lunch will be provided. Shoes appropriate for use in the MAP
gym are needed, and we may go outside if the weather is nice. Email Reg Lalach at
[email protected] to register.
Prairie Spirit School Division Notices
On March 9, the Board of Education approved in principle the following grade configurations for
Martensville schools for the 2017/18 school year:
o
o
o
o
Valley Manor – Pre-Kindergarten to 8
Venture Heights – Pre-Kindergarten to 8
The new school in Lake Vista –(P3) – Pre-Kindergarten to 8
Martensville High – 9 to 12
This grade configuration is a change from the plan that was developed prior to the building of the new
high school. A large determining factor is that the mandate from the provincial government for the new
school (Lake Vista) to be a K-8 school. The school board wanted the other two schools to remain
consistent with it.
This decision by the Board was made following much consultation with school administration and
through consultation with the three existing School Community Councils on November 17, 2014.
***Approving in principle means that feedback, new enrolment projections or other factors may
require a change to the grade configurations prior to school startup in 2017. That said, a change to
these configurations would require new information that would profoundly impact the approved grade
configurations.