Wednesday, June 12^th, 20123

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Time is passing at an incredible speed right now and it seems like a long time since a newsletter went out.  It is extremely busy at the school this time of year.  I must apologize for not getting you this newsletter earlier ~ many things this week to touch base on.  Students have enjoyed Doig Days, leadership activities, Inga Lake trips,  “Seussical the Musical”, community planting, track and field, Baseball BC workshops and swimming in the past few weeks.  There are still a wide variety of field trips coming our way!

Track and Field:  Thank you to Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Dressler for coaching our students at the track meet this year.  The team did very well and enjoyed the day.

Fun Day:  Friday, June 21^st will be our annual fun day.  Students need to come to school prepared to spend the day outside in the sunshine doing a variety of activities.  The morning events will include centers such as: ball throw, races, high jump, long jump, and obstacle course races. The afternoon will include free play activity and students will choose from a variety of stations.  We will conclude the day with some tug of war events followed at 2:00 p.m. with the second annual water gun fight – A.K.A. as a dangerous, wet and wild activity.  Students who wish to participate will need to bring their water guns and they should be marked with the student names.  It is also recommended that students bring a towel, sunscreen, hat and possibly and extra t-shirt.  Once wet, students will be staying outside.  Parents and guardians are also welcome to participate in our water gun fight.  We hope you can attend for part of this rip-roaring day!

Permission Slips:  Just a reminder that there is a lot of permission slips coming home at this time. We have tried to streamline them by stapling many forms together.  Please remember to send them back as quickly as possible as it makes keeping track of them a little easier.  The teachers have many fun activities planned for the end of the year.  We hope that the students will enjoy these trips J

School Fees: The School Board has approved our school fees for the 2013-2014 year as well as the School Calendar for 2013-2014. Our bell schedule will remain the same, which will allow for a two-week spring break.  Please see the school fee table along with the revised bell schedule below.

Our costs/fees will remain that same as last year.  Students who bring their own supplies will be required to pay cultural fees, bussing fees and agenda fee (if applicable).

2013-2014 Bell Schedule:

8:25   Supervision begins                    12:10  Lunch (students come in to eat)

8:40   Warning Bell                             12:30  Warning Bell

8:45   Classes Begin                            12:35  Classes begin

10:15  Recess                                     2:41   Dismissal

10:30 Warning Bell (5 minutes)         2:56   Playground supervision ends

10:35  Classes Resume                                 *students heading home**

11:50  Bell for going outside time*

RCMP Bike Safety: We are very fortunate to be able to have the RCMP bike patrol at our school in June to conduct safety training for students in our primary department.  Permission slips will be coming home soon.  Students will need to bring their bike and helmet to school to participate in this opportunity.

Flower Gardens:  We would like to send out some special recognition to a variety of people/businesses for their assistance with our flower gardens this year.  The FSJ Hospital Foundation allowed our staff to go to the old hospital flowerbeds and dig out some of the perennials for transplanting in to our front flowerbeds.   We also received a $100 gift card from Walmart and a $50 gift card from the Real Canadian Wholesale. Many parents and community members also sent us annuals and perennials for our beds.  Thank you to all parents and staff for helping with our flower gardens and vegetable gardens. A total of eight classes participated in planting at the school.  We also had a number of classes assist in planting the community vegetable garden (Miss Prontack) and the city flowerbeds at Centennial Park (Mrs. Forster, Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. DeGroot, and Mr. Flury/Mrs. Bulmer).  Thank you for all your efforts to beautify our community.

Special Guest:  On Tuesday, June 4^th, our school was blessed with a visit of former teachers Ms. Isobell Barnwell and Mrs. Margaret Little.  Both of these ladies taught at Robert Ogilvie in 1967-1968.  Isobell stayed for only one year and returned to her home in England.  She came back to Canada this June with her family and travelled all the way to Fort St. John so that she could show her family where her career started.  We had a wonderful day reminiscing with her about how the school and the community have both changed.  It was truly a memorable day for the staff and students. We are very thankful that Mrs. Little was able to join us for the day as well.  Mrs. Little taught for many years in our school and still lives in the area.  Thank you everyone for making this a great day.

I have included a calendar for the remainder of June.  There may be changes that come up due to weather changes.  There are only a few more weeks of school prior to summer vacation.  We look forward to seeing you at our fun days, field trips, assemblies and final assembly.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kathy Scheck – Principal

Karl Peterson – Vice Principal

Robert Ogilvie Elementary School

Week Ahead June 17-28th^th, 2013

Robert Ogilvie Elementary School

$1,200 BC Training and Education Savings Grant

As part of my ministry update on March 24, I let you know about the new $1,200 BC Training and Education Savings Grant for B.C. resident children born on or after January 1, 2007.

The Ministry of Education is asking if school districts can help inform families about the grant. To that end, four posters for each elementary school in the province are currently being mailed to school administrators.  An example of the posters is are attached, and it has also been translated into

If possible, please encourage schools to display the posters. In addition, the information below can be cut and pasted into school newsletters.

BC Training and Education Savings Grant

The Province of British Columbia recently announce a new $1,200 BC Training and Education Savings Grant for B.C. resident children born on or after January 1, 2007. To access the grant, families must open a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) before eligible child’s seventh birthday (or by February 28, 2014 for children born in January or February 2007). No matching or additional financial contributions are needed to access the $1,200 savings grant.  If families already have an RESP set up, no further action is required at this time.

For more information on how to open an RESP please visit www.canlearn.ca and for more information on the BCTESG visit www.budget2013.ca/featuredpages/education/