Monday, March 12^th, 2012

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Will we or won’t we have spring and when will it arrive?  That is the question today as I get ready to write this newsletter.  The weather seems to be constantly changing from cold and nasty to warm and windy.  The playground is quite hazardous presently with standing water and lots of ice.  It would be a good idea for students to wear splash pants, rubber boots, mitts and hats.  Students may wish to pack extra dry clothes as well as slipping or falling may mean that they get soaked.

Kindergarten Registrations:  Kindergarten registrations are being accepted for September 2012.  Please advise family and friends living in our area of this information.  We have one full class registered so far.  Parents need to bring birth certificates and immunization records when registering.

5^th Annual Parent Conference: The 5^th Annual Parent Conference will be on Saturday, April 21^st from 8:30-4:00 at North Peace Secondary School.  There will be presentations for parents of children of all ages.  The morning will start will a keynote address by Paula Schmidt.  She will be talking about understanding a 21^st Century learner. Following the keynote there will be four, two-hour sessions by:

• Charlotte Diamond – internationally renowned children’s entertain on how to use songs and musical play to promote language development
• Dr. Joanne Crandall – international educator and presenter on how to develop self regulation in children of all ages so the become independent and self assured
• Paula Schmidt – has a long history of helping organizations and individuals become successful. She will talk about the importance of parent involvement for children to be successful and what it looks like to be a parent of a 21^s century learner.
• Larry Espe – our School District superintendent will speak on individualized learning and the importance of providing opportunities for students to be actively engaged in their learning.

Following these sessions, there will be a FREE lunch! In the afternoon there will shorter breakout sessions.  Parents can register on the website at www.prn.bc.ca or at their school.  Also there is FREE child minding for children 3-12 years old. For more information, you may contact Pat Lang at 785-6125.  Registration packages are also available at the office.  This is a wonderful educational opportunity for parents.

Families in Motion: Together with School District 60, Fort St. John Friendship Centre, Fort St. John Child Development Centre and North Peace Community Resources Society we will be offering a gross motor development pilot project from February-May on a rotating schedule.  Living in the North we recognize that climate affects the level of our activity, especially in the winter. Our goal is to work together to build awareness of the importance of gross motor development in children 0-6 years of age and impact basic physical literacy and skills through planned activities. The next session will be held at Bert Ambrose Elementary on Friday, April 13^th from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Family Friendly Community:  Several community organizations have created a website that services families with young children in our region.  It is a one-stop information source for everything from our early learning programs (Strong Start, WOW bus, etc.) to contacts for childcare, women’s resources, community events, etc.  We hope this will be a valuable resource for parents of young children who would like the opportunity to participate in free activities around Fort St. John.  Please check out the website at:  http://familyfriendlycommunity.ca/home .

P.A.C. Update:  The next P.A.C. meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 13^th at 7:00 p.m. in the library.  Please join the P.A.C. at this time and learn about the many ways you can be involved in our school.  Thank you to Mrs.  Wells, for planning and organizing the ice cream float sale for Valentine’s Day.   Her time and effort is greatly appreciated.  Thanks also to: Mrs. Plemel, Mrs. Buchholz, Mrs. Utz, Mrs. Schonwille, and Mrs. Dowe.  Your time and efforts are appreciated. Thank you to all of the parents and children that participated by ordering an ice cream float as it was very popular!  Vessey Seeds orders have been sent in and should be arriving soon.  Thank you for your support of this fundraiser.

Speech Arts: Please find attached a letter from Mr. Stephen Petrucci, Director of Instruction with School District 60 regarding the Speech Arts competition.  This is an excellent opportunity for students to develop public speaking skills.  Registrations can be dropped off at the Cultural Center by Friday, March 24^th.

Student Leadership:  Thank you for supporting our bake sale and Pink Day Buttons on February 29^th.  Funds from the bake sale will be used to purchase books in the library.  Students have also participated in a poster contest for Pink Shirt Day.  We had over 200 entries and have sent out six entries to CKNW Radio in Vancouver.  We are hoping one of our entries will be successful.

Pink Shirt Day: Thank you to all students, staff and parents for participating in our Pink Shirt Day activities.  We had some staff and students go and make a presentation to City Council on Monday, February 27^th.  As a result of that presentation, City Council proclaimed that Wednesday, February 29^th would be Pink Shirt Day in Fort St. John.   Alaska Highway News has written a wonderful article on Pink Shirt Day.  Please visit their site for access the story and some great pictures of our assembly: http://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/article/20120301/FORTSTJOHN0101/303019981/-1/fortstjohn0101/be-a-buddy-not-a-bully.

Pink Shirt Day Proclamation – City Hall on Monday, February 27^th

Girls Xplore Sportz: Northern Pacific Sports is running an 8 week girls only program. This is a fun, non-competitive program for girls ages 8-13. Our goal is to provide the girls a great experience trying a different sport each week. The program has been scheduled for April 25 to June 13 on Wednesdays from 6-7pm.  To register, please contact Stephanie Peters, Pacific Sports Coordinator at 250-794-3308 or register at her office at the Pomeroy Sports Center.

Sports Updates:  Thank you to our coaches (Mr. Peterson, Mr. Flury and Mr. Pengally), for coaching our boys and girls this season.  Our grade 5/6 boy’s team placed second in the district tournament.  Badminton will start this week and students in grade 5 and 6 are encouraged to come out to the practices.  Rumour is that Mrs. McCracken and Mrs. Scheck are hoping to give Ambrose School a run for the title this year J

School Fundraiser:  The Spring Fundraiser through Dieleman Fundraising was sent home a few weeks ago.  Orders are due back by March 20^th but can be returned before that date.  Funds generated from this effort will go towards purchasing items needed for our school.  Your participation is appreciated.

Many In Motion Community Celebration Set For March 21, 2012: The City of Fort St. John has been announced as a Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Celebration

Community.  The Difference Makers from the community are to be recognized on March 21, 2012.  Twenty-five years to the date of his Man In Motion World Tour commencing its historic cross-Canada journey back to British Columbia, Canadian icon Rick Hansen is continuing his dream of a healthier and more inclusive world with the Rick Hansen 25^th Anniversary Relay. For a number of communities that were not on the original Man In Motion World Tour route such as Fort St. John, the Rick Hansen

Foundation will partner with municipalities to recognize local Difference Makers at celebratory events, whereby these individuals will be passed the Rick Hansen Medal, and will also receive their own replica medal from the Royal Canadian Mint.  Community members are invited to join the celebration as Fort St. John Difference Makers are recognized at the Many In Motion Community Celebration on March 21, 2012 at the Pomeroy Hotel & Conference Centre from 7:00pm – 8:30pm, doors open at 6:30pm. This event is free and open to all ages.  Intermediate students will have an opportunity to attend a special celebration for the Many In Motion tour on the morning of March 21^st. More information will be released next week about this event.

Variance Policy: As we begin to plan for September 2012, we need to remind families on a variance to Robert Ogilvie School that variances need to be renewed each year.

Please find the District Policy for variance at:

http://www.prn.bc.ca/wp-content/Variance_Letter_2012.pdf

We will be following the guidelines set forth in this variance policy.  Please remember to request your variances early as they will be looked at by date of variance application.

Report Cards: Please find information on report cards that was posted to our District Web Site at: http://www.prn.bc.ca/wp-content/Sample-Report-Card-Letter.pdf.  Please be advised that second term report cards will be similar to first term report cards, stating attendance and a general comment from the office.

Please contact your child’s teacher for information regarding their progress.

Early Dismissal Days:  Wednesday, March 21^st and Thursday, March 22^nd are Early Dismissal Days in School District 60.  Classes will be dismissed at 1:36 p.m. (one hour early).  Parents are welcome to contact teachers to discuss their child’s progress.  Teachers will be available from 1:36 -2:36 p.m. these days for calls or meetings.

Library News:  We have received lots of new books for students to read J  Parents of pre-school children are welcome to bring their children in to sign out books as well.  We will be hosting a reading contest for the month of April that will focus on the topic “Read Canadian”.  We have a great selection of Canadian authors and illustrators and are excited to promote their wonderful stories.  More information will follow in the April newsletter.  We will have a Scholastic Book Fair in May.  All proceeds from this book fair will go towards purchasing material for our library.  May 5-12^th is TD Canadian Children’s Book Week.  The Canadian Children’s Book Center promotes this event annually.  The library will be participating in a few activities to encourage our students to read Canadian books.  We have recently order a book called “Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig”.  Can you imagine what might be in this book?

We are in the final two weeks before spring break.  Here is hoping that the weather remains nice during the break so that we can get outside for some fresh air.  School will begin after spring break on Tuesday, April 10^th.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kathy Scheck                             Mr. Karl Peterson

Principal                                               Vice Principal

Robert Ogilvie Elementary               Robert Ogilvie Elementary

Calendar of Events

Robert Ogilvie Elementary School
March 2012

Calendar of Events

Robert Ogilvie Elementary

April 2012

Easter Monday

School Closed10

Schools re-open after spring break111213

District Band performance

9:30-10:15

10:30 grade 5 meeting with band teacher

“Families in Motion”

6:00-7:30 @ Bert Ambrose School (0-6 yr olds)1617

Regional

Science Fair

@ NPSS1819202324252627