April 2012 Newsletter - St. Joseph`s School

St. Joseph’s School
April 2012
Principal: Valeeta Walsh ([email protected])
Secretary: Suzanne McKinnon
Trustee: J. Vanhaelemeesch
Superintendent: C. Montreuil
Parish Priest: Father Franjo
Website: http://stj.bgcdsb.org
Prayer for Easter
Help us Lord, to rise above
ourselves. Break our hearts of
stone so that we truly may shine
as children of light and love.
www.catholicgreetings.org
SCIENCE FAIR Congratulations!
Congratulations to all of our Grade 4 to 8 students for
their active participation in creating science or
technology projects and for their presentation skills the
day of the St. Joseph’ s School Science Fair. No overall
winner was proclaimed. The students below received
marks of over 80% and will be attending the Bluewater
Regional Science and Technology Fairs.
Best wishes to all participants at the regional fairs!
Junior
Joey Paulin, Worms and Plants; James Clazie, Oil Effects on Marine Life; Austin Belanger-Electricity; Kylie
Starrs, What Colours Do Hummingbirds Like; Danielle
Persad, Citrus Fruit; Teagan Gruberbauer, How to Make
a Battery; Christian Perico, Waves that Travel; Linneah
Reynolds, Did This Get Your Attention?; Natasha
Szulist, Subliminal Messages; Quinn Mayer, Polymers;
Emma Osborne, Allergies.
Intermediate
Riley Clazie, Flame Test; Mike Bohnert, Solar, Wind
and Hybrid Turbines; Robert Starrs, Wind Turbines; Alia
Reynolds, Chemistry of Hair Highlights; Aidan Akerman, Guided by the Stars; Theresa Walsh, The Ups and
Downs of Blood Sugar; Nicole Brown, Black Light.
584 Stafford Street
Port Elgin, Ontario
Phone (519) 389-5495
Fax: (519) 389-3126
April’s Virtue: Forgiveness
I am practicing forgiveness when …
I forgive someone who has hurt
me, just as
Jesus has forgiven me.
I take responsibility to repair
harm when I have hurt someone.
I work for reconciliation and peace in my family,
school and community.
Congratulations!
We offer our blessings and
best wishes to
Jenna Underwood and Jeff Stewart
who were married at St. Joseph’s Church on
March 10, 2012. Ms Underwood will now
be known as Mrs. Stewart.
May the Easter holy days be a time of prayer and holidays
for you and your family. School is closed April 6-9, 2012.
St. Joseph’s School Council Corner
Please join us for our next St. Joseph’s School Council meeting on
Wednesday, April 4th @ 6:30 PM in the Literacy Room.
Everyone is welcome.
Elmira Poultry Fundraiser
Order forms are due back April 10th. Chicken orders must be picked up between 3:45 and 5:45 pm on Monday April 30th. Thank you for your support.
Mark Tuesday May 1st on your calendar! Plan to join us for an interactive learning evening to
enhance relationships with children. More details to come later this month.
Next meeting: Thursday May 3rd at 6:30pm in the literacy room.
Websites for Learning
Check out these websites and learn with your child(ren).
Www.education.milk.org—online learning activities about dairy education, virtual farm tours, Canada’s Food Guide
Www.earthday.ca—Take up Canada’s earth day challenge. Be involved in the national action plan.
Www.funbrain.com—math and reading games
Catholic Education Week: Walking in the Light of Christ
“I am the Light of the World,
whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12)
Catholic Education Week 2012 will be celebrated from May 6 - May 11.
We invite you join the Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board for our 7th annual Catholic Education
Week Dinner, as we celebrate walking in the light of Christ.
We are very pleased to welcome Bishop Douglas Crosby as our guest speaker for the evening.
When:
Tuesday May 9
Where:
Walkerton Knights of Columbus Hall
Hwy 9, between Walkerton and Mildmay
Roast Turkey Buffet:
Keynote Address:
Tickets:
6:30 p.m.
7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
$15.00
Tickets are available from the office of your local school, or from Sarah Borth at the Catholic Education Centre, Hanover - 519-364-5820 X236
We encourage you to join us for this event which is sure to affirm, challenge, and inspire everyone.
Congratulations!
Melissa Shields and Natasha Szulist placed
first in the Knights of Columbus Free Throw held on
February 28th. Congratulations! Way to go!
We thank the Knights of Columbus and in
particular our Mr. Voisin for organizing and running
the Free Throw competitions.
Music
Festival activity is in the air at St. Joseph’s. The Primary Choir, Glee and
both bands are preparing to perform in
Walkerton at the Walkerton Rotary
Music Festival. Please read the information carefully that comes home with the permission form, as
there is preferences for what the children should be
wearing and we are looking for parent volunteers.
Glee will be performing on April 24 at 1:45 p.m.,
and the Primary Choir will be performing at 10:30
the same day. The St. Joseph School Band will perform twice at 9:20 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.. on April 25.
The Beginner Band will perform on April 25 as well
in the afternoon at 2:15 p.m.. Please read the information attached to the permission forms very carefully and to also find the location of each performance. The festival usually runs on time, but can easily fall behind. Please note that the Beginner Band
participants will not make it back in time for the bus
at the end of the day. Please look for the information
coming home. Thanks, Mrs. Renaud.
Notre journée de découverte au ROM
Est-ce que tu savais que le monde ne va pas terminer le 21 décembre, 2012?
Est-ce que tu savais que les Mayas croyaient que les personnes se sont fabriquées de maïs? Notre classe
ne savait pas non plus avant hier!
Quelle expérience formidable!
Hier, nous sommes allés en voyage au ROM pour apprendre au sujet de la civilisation
ancienne du peuple Maya. Nous avons eu une journée mémorable!
Nous avons appris tellement d’informations, voici quelques points intéressants:
La journée a commencé dans un planétarium où nous avons vu les étoiles. Les Mayas peuvent voir leur
histoire de création au ciel, à travers les étoiles. Ils peuvent voir 3 étoiles qui représentent une tortue et un
dieu (qui sort de la tortue) et ses deux jumeaux Héros. Nous avons pu voir ces trois étoiles aussi. De plus, on
pouvait voir un triangle d’étoile avec une étoile à l’intérieur qui est vraiment une nébuleuse (une place où les
étoiles se forment).
Plus tard, nous avons appris comment le jeu de ballon était joué. Ce n’est jamais un bon jeu pour les joueurs
visiteurs, car ils sont des prisonniers qui doivent perdre toujours (c’est une règle) et ils sont tués après le jeu.
L’après-midi, nous avons visité la salle spéciale du musée pour explorer les différents artefacts du peuple
Maya. Nous avons imaginé le goût du chocolat chaud avec des épices intéressantes. Seulement, les rois et
les personnes très importantes avait le droit de boire le chocolat chaud. Nous avons appris comment ils
écrivaient les numéros. Nous avons aussi appris au sujet de leur calendrier. Les masques étaient très
élégants pour les personnes riches. Les masques étaient mis sur les visages des personnes mortes. Si le
masque était fait de Jade, la personne était encore plus importante et très riche.
Notre classe a beaucoup appris, nous avons vraiment aimé cette expérience. Nous sommes très curieuses
et nous allons continuer notre apprentissage au sujet des civilisations anciennes.
Classe 5/6 années
Helping Your Child With Writing
Make it real. Your child needs to do real writing. It's more important for the child to write a letter to a
relative than it is to write a one-line note on a greeting card. Encourage the child to write to relatives and
friends. Perhaps your child would enjoy corresponding with a pen pal.
Suggest note-taking. Encourage your child to take notes on trips or outings and to describe what (s)he saw. This could include a
description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend themselves to note-taking.
Brainstorm. Talk with your child as much as possible about his/her impressions and encourage the child to describe people and
events to you. If the child's description is especially accurate and colorful, say so.
Encourage keeping a journal. This is excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings. Encourage your child
to write about things that happen at home and school, about people (s)he likes or dislikes and why, things to remember or things the
child wants to do. Especially encourage your child to write about personal feelings--pleasures as well as disappointments. If the child
wants to share the journal with you, read the entries and discuss them--especially the child's ideas and perceptions.
Write together. Have your child help you with letters, even such routine ones as ordering items from an advertisement or writing to
a business firm. This helps the child to see firsthand that writing is important to adults and truly useful.
Use games. There are numerous games and puzzles that help a child to increase vocabulary and make the child more fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building a vocabulary builds confidence. Try crossword puzzles, word games, anagrams and cryptograms designed especially for children. Flash cards are good, too, and they're easy to make at home.
Suggest making lists. Most children like to make lists just as they like to count. Encourage this. Making lists is good practice and
helps a child to become more organized. Boys and girls might make lists of their records, tapes, baseball cards, dolls, furniture in a
room, etc. They could include items they want. It's also good practice to make lists of things to do, schoolwork, dates for tests, social
events, and other reminders.
Encourage copying. If a child likes a particular song, suggest learning the words by writing them down--replaying the song on your
stereo/tape player or jotting down the words whenever the song is played on a radio program. Also encourage copying favorite poems or quotations from books and plays.
Www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Writing/index.html
Code of Conduct Under Review
GRADE 8 GRAD PHOTOS
The St. Joseph's School Code of Conduct is currently under review and is being revised. Ashley Clark,
former grade 7/8 FI teacher (currently on
maternity leave) is leading the review process and is currently seeking input from staff, students, parents and
guardians. Ashley attended the school council meetings in
February and March to gather input from parents on the
proposed changes, but would like to continue to gather
input from all those willing to share.
If you are interested in seeing a copy of the
proposed code of conduct and would like to have
input, please contact Ashley by email at
[email protected] or leave a message at the front
office for her. Ashley would be happy to send you all of
the information electronically or prepare an envelope to
send home with your child, whichever is more convenient. Your input is greatly valued and appreciated!
Grade 8s will have their graduation
photos taken on
Tuesday, April 17th
beginning at 9:30 AM.
Fran Sanagan will be
supplying caps and
gowns for the photos.
For girls Fran will also
supply
flowers.
GRADE 7 and 8
The remaining balance for the Grade
7/8 trip is due on April 12th.
Thank you.
ARTS TAX CREDIT
You may be able to claim up to $500 per child for the fees paid in 2011 that relate to the cost of registration or membership of your or your spouse's or common-law partner's child in a prescribed program
of artistic, cultural, recreational, or developmental activity.
The child must have been under 16 years of age (or under 18 years of age if qualified for the disability
tax credit) at the beginning of the year in which an eligible arts expense was paid.
To qualify for this amount, a program must:
♦
be ongoing (it must last at least eight consecutive weeks or, in the case of children's camps, five consecutive
days);
♦ be supervised;
♦ be suitable for children, and the program must also include a significant amount of activity that:
♦ is intended to contribute to the ability to develop creative skills or expertise, acquire and apply knowledge, or
improve dexterity or coordination in an artistic or cultural discipline (such as literary arts, visual arts, performing
arts, music, media, languages, customs, and heritage);
♦ provides a substantial focus on wilderness and the natural environment;
♦ helps children develop and use particular intellectual skills;
♦ includes structured interaction among children where supervisors teach or help children develop interpersonal
skills; or
♦ provides enrichment or tutoring in academic subjects.
Organizations are in the best position to determine if the programs they offer are eligible. Make sure to get a receipt
from organizations that provide art programs for which you paid to enroll your child. More information on eligible
programs and activities can be found at www.cra.gc.ca/artscredit.