Stephenville Primary School

Stephenville Primary School 72 West Street, P.O. Box 5500 Stephenville, NL A2N 3P5 Tel: 709-643-2331 Fax: 709-643-9335 www.k12.nf.ca/stephenvilleprimary

Building a Team – Working Together

MEMO TO: Parents/Guardians FROM: Gerald Morgan, Principal & Jill Benoit, Vice-Principal DATE: October 23, 2012

1. School Development Day #2: REMINDER

Please note that school will be closed for students tomorrow, Wednesday, October 24th. School staff will be involved in School Development and Professional Development activities.

2. Friday Family Fitness Fun Fair – Grade 2 Students

This Friday, October 26h, Stephenville Primary Grade 2 Students will be hosting a Friday Family Fitness Fun Fair during dinner time between 12:00-12:30PM. This event is in conjunction with “The Kids Live Well Half-Marathon Challenge” that is presently on the go at the school. We are inviting all the parents/caregivers of any child in grade 2 to attend this fun filled 30 minutes of physical activity. At a school and district level we are actively promoting physical activity for the whole family; we need your help to demonstrate to your children the value that being active can play in their lives. Hope to see you on Friday. Don’t forget to wear good footwear.

3. School Photo Retakes

School photo retakes are scheduled for Monday October 29th. Please indicate if you wish to have your child’s photo retaken. Orders for the proofs sent home last week should be returned to the school by Tuesday, October 23rd.

4. Kids Eat Smart – Walk to Breakfast

Our school will be participating in the “Kids Eat Smart Walk to Breakfast” this Friday, October 26, 2012, from 8:15 – 9:00 a.m. This is an annual province- wide school based event hosted by TD Canada Trust and Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador, to help create awareness in every school community about the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. Students who are well nourished have longer attention spans, better problem solving skills, and perform better in school. Students who are active have higher self esteem, more self discipline, higher academic performances and are more likely to have a healthy body weight. Together we are working to promote healthy minds and bodies and ensure success for all our students. On “Walk to Breakfast” day, students, parents/guardians, and family members are encouraged to walk to school together. After the walk, participants (students, parents/guardians, and family members) can enjoy a healthy and nutritious breakfast together. If the weather is bad, the walk will take place inside the gym.

To help support our program, we invite you to participate by making a financial or food donation to our Kids Eat Smart Breakfast Club and participating in the walk at our school.

If the weather is poor and you need to drive to school, please park your vehicle in the Stephenville Elementary School parking lot and walk across to our building. This will assist with congestion in our parking lot. Stephenville Primary School 72 West Street, P.O. Box 5500 Stephenville, NL A2N 3P5 Tel: 709-643-2331 Fax: 709-643-9335 www.k12.nf.ca/stephenvilleprimary

1. School Development Day #2: REMINDER

Please note that school will be closed for students next Wednesday, October 24th. School staff will be involved in School Development and Professional Development activities.

2. Vegetable Fundraiser – A GREAT Success!

Parents/Guardians are advised that the vegetable fundraiser was a great success. We sold approximately 650 bags and raised approximately $3500.00. This will be used to purchase Ipads and other technology resources.

A Big thank-you is extended to everyone who assisted us with this initiative.

3. Operation Christmas Child Program

Again this year our school will participate in “Operation Christmas Child” and fill shoe boxes with goodies and prepare them to be sent to needy children in third world countries. If you would like to assist with this initiative, you can send along an item(s) from the list below to your child’s teacher. These items will then be sorted and placed in special shoe boxes. Possible items include small toys, school supplies, hygiene items, small books, etc. The deadline for sending items to school is Friday, November 16th. Thank you for your support.

4. Friday Family Fitness Fun Fair – Grade 3 Students

Tomorrow, Friday October 19th, Stephenville Primary Grade 3 Students will be hosting a Friday Family Fitness Fun Fair during dinner time between 12:00- 12:30PM. This event is in conjunction with “The Kids Live Well Half-Marathon Challenge” that is presently on the go at the school. We are inviting all the parents/caregivers of Grade 3 students to attend this fun filled 30 minutes of physical activity. At a school and district level we are actively promoting physical activity for the whole family, we need your help to demonstrate to your children the value that being active can play in their lives. Hope to see you on Friday. Don’t forget to wear good footwear. (We apologize for the short notice…)

5. School Photo Retakes School photo retakes are scheduled for Monday October 29th. Please indicate to if you wish to have your child’s photo retaken. Orders for the proofs sent home last week should be returned to the school by Tuesday, October 23rd.

6. Reminders about our School Day

8:15 a.m. The school doors are unlocked at 8:15 a.m. Please do not drop students off before this time, 8:40 a.m. School Day Begins 10:20-10:35 Recess 11:45-12:30 Lunch 2:40 p.m. Dismissal

7. Kids Eat Smart – Walk to Breakfast

Our school will be participating in the “Kids Eat Smart Walk to Breakfast” next Friday, October 26, 2012, from 8:15 – 9:00 a.m. This is an annual province- wide school based event hosted by TD Canada Trust and Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador, to help create awareness in every school community about the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. Students who are well nourished have longer attention spans, better problem solving skills, and perform better in school. Students who are active have higher self esteem, more self discipline, higher academic performances and are more likely to have a healthy body weight. Together we are working to promote healthy minds and bodies and ensure success for all our students.

On “Walk to Breakfast” day, students, parents/guardians, and family members are encouraged to walk to school together. After the walk, participants (students, parents/guardians, and family members) can enjoy a healthy and nutritious breakfast together. If the weather is bad, the walk will take place inside the gym.

To help support our program, we invite you to participate by making a financial or food donation to our Kids Eat Smart Breakfast Club and participating in the walk at our school.

If the weather is poor and you need to drive to school, please park your vehicle in the Stephenville Elementary School parking lot and walk across to our building. This will assist with congestion in our parking lot.

8. HALLOWWEEN Activities

Wednesday, October 31st, is “HALLOWEEN”. This will be a special day for children in our school. Individual classroom teachers will notify you of special events planned for their specific classes. The children will receive treats from a special friendly Halloween character. Grade 1, 2, and 3 children can bring their costumes for the afternoon session if they wish. Kindergarten children can wear their costumes in the session they are attending. We ask parents to make special note of the following:

Children cannot wear costumes depicting violence in any way! This would include knives, daggers, blood, and other gory items. We must always keep in mind the age of our children and the lasting impressions that many of these things make. Stephenville Primary School 72 West Street, P.O. Box 5500 Stephenville, NL A2N 3P5 Tel: 709-643-2331 Fax: 709-643-9335 www.k12.nf.ca/stephenvilleprimary/ www.k12.nf.ca/stephenvilleprimary

1. School Photos - Reminder School photos will be taken at our school on Wednesday and Thursday, October 10th and 11th. All children will have a proof photo taken for school purposes. Proofs will be sent home later, with the prices for various packages, so orders can be placed. Please return the information card attached to this memo by Tuesday, October 9th.

The schedule for photos is as follows: WEDNESDAY, OCT. 10 THURSDAY, OCT. 11 8:50 – Mme. Elliott (a.m.) 8:50 – Mme. White 9:10 – Ms. Ryan (a.m.) 9:20 – Ms. Alexander 9:30 – Ms. Ivany (a.m.) 9:50 – Ms. Childs 9:50 – Ms. George 10:35 – Ms. Morgan 10:35 – Mme. LaVallee 11:05 – Ms. Froude 11:05 – Ms. Blanchard 12:40 – Ms. Green 12:30 – Ms. O’Gorman 1:10 – Mlle. O’Connor 1:00 – Ms. Ivany (p.m.) 1:40 – Mr. Bennett 1:20 – Mme. Elliott (p.m.) 1:40 – Ms. Ryan (p.m.)

2. Vegetable Pick-Up

640 bags of vegetables were ordered….SUPER!!!

Parents are advised that the vegetables have arrived at the school and are ready for pickup. Please make sure you pick up your orders before tomorrow, Friday, October 5. Parents can pick up their orders anytime between 8:00a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Please note that parents are responsible for picking up all of their children’s orders, as the bags are too heavy to send home with the children.

3. School Development Days #1 and #2: (Change for SD Day #2) Parents and guardians are asked to note that schools in the Western School District will be closed on Tuesday, October 9, for a School Development workshop. Please note that our second School Development Day has been changed to Wednesday, October 24.

4. Thanksgiving Holiday:

Please note that school will be closed Monday, Oct. 8, in observance of The Thanksgiving Holiday. 5. ROOTS of Empathy Program: We are looking for a volunteer family to participate in our Roots of Empathy program this year. If you have a baby that is around 2 months old or know someone who has a baby that age, and would like to become our Roots of Empathy family, please contact Ms. McLean at the school. The program requires one visit per month of parent(s) and baby. The program is offered in a grade two class in the school.