Monday, April 30^th, 2012

Dear parents and guardians,

A new month is ahead of us and with it spring is in the air!  Although, April was a short month, it was very busy at the school.  Spring does seem to be here now and it is great to see students outside enjoying the nice weather.  During this next month, we encourage you to keep routines at home regarding meals and bedtimes as students still have lots of learning to do at school.  It is also recommended that younger students bring a change of clothes as the playground is wet and muddy.   With two months left of our year, we will rapidly see an increase in learning and activity.  Please find our latest school updates in this newsletter.

Report Cards:  In accordance with directives from the Ministry of Education and School District 60, report cards are being sent home on Monday, April 30^th.  These report cards are very similar to information and reporting sent home to parents prior to spring break.  Attendance records have been added to comments and any information in regards to students’ academics that have changed in the recent weeks.  As with any report card, please contact your child’s teacher should you have additional questions, concerns or comments.

Attendance Issues: While reading report cards last week, it became apparent that many of our students are having attendance issues.  We have been in school approximately 140 days so far this year.  Many students have absences of over 30 days and some students have a high ratio of late arrivals.  Students who miss this amount of time are in danger of falling behind in their academic progress.  They also have a difficult time maintaining friendships and social interactions.  Please instill the habit of being at school and on time for your child.  It is very difficult and disruptive for a child to enter the class after it has started.  Also, when a student is late, they are missing the same subject or lesson each time they are late.  For some, that has been as much as 50% of the year.  Active teaching begins at the 8:45 a.m. bell.

Badminton:  We have had over 30 students playing badminton since the beginning of March.  Thank you to Mrs. McCracken for assisting in this sporting activity.  The season wraps up with a tournament on Thursday, May 3^rd and Friday, May 4^th.  All the best to the players that are attending the tournament.  We know you will represent our school very well.  Baseball and track and field will be the next sports on our agenda.  Any parents wishing to assist with these sports please call the office.

Leadership: The leadership students will be starting a Mother’s Day raffle on Monday, April 30^th.  All proceeds from this basket will go towards student initiatives.  Tickets can be purchased daily for .50 each or 3 tickets for $1.00.  Thank you to the leadership students and Mrs. Buchholz for organizing this event and other events.  The tickets will be available until Thursday, May 10^th.

Requests for next year’s classes: Planning has already begun for next year.  If you have a request for your child for next year’s class, please put it in writing with an educational reason and drop it off to the office.  Remember that teachers spend a lot of time considering the best placement for all students at the end of June and again in September.  All parent requests will be considered, but are not guaranteed.  Please complete the form at the bottom of the newsletter (if you did not return it in April) to let us know your plans for the coming year.

We are currently taking registrations for 2012-2013.  If you have new neighbours that have moved in, please let them know this information.  We are also asking that families who are leaving our school let us know as soon as possible so that we can plan our classrooms accordingly.

Families currently on variances will need to complete variances for the 2012-2013 school year if planning to stay in our school.  Variance forms can be picked up at the office.  Please refer to the School District 60 variance policy which can be found at:

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

Pitch in Day: Thursday, May 10^th is Pitch in Day for the City of Fort St. John. Our students will be helping with this activity by cleaning up the playground and the areas around the school.  Please have your children dress in clothes that they don’t mind getting dusty.  The City appreciates our continued support to keep our neighbourhood clean.

Scholastic Book Fair: The Scholastic Book Fair for May has arrived and viewing will begin on Thursday, May 3^rd.  Books will be available to purchase on Monday, May 7^th beginning at 8:00 a.m.  We are able to re-order books and posters that sell out quickly.  As a spring reading special, Scholastic Books will offer a free “My Cute Kitten” stuffie with every purchase of $25.00 or more.  Students are also eligible for a draw as well with all purchases.  The Scholastic Book Fair will open for purchases after school every day until Thursday, May 10^th.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Reading Contests: The students and staff have been actively participating in many “Read Canadian Books” contests for the past month.  We have learned that we have books in our library for every letter of the alphabet.  Students and teachers have been reading up a storm.  We would like to congratulate Mr. Halliday and Ms. Yates for being the most competitive staff members so far and Mrs. Shuster’s class for completing the A-Z contest first.  Many classes are very close to completing their A-Z contest sheets.  Students and staff are encouraged to read daily, complete the reading calendar and contest sheets.  Al l participants will receive some sort of incentive/prize and certificate as well as have their names entered for main draws.  Remember to READ Canadian to celebrate Canadian Children’s Book Week from May 5^th-12^th.  All contests close on May 12^th and contest sheets can be turned in the week of May 14^th.

Speech Contest:  Our school speech contest will be held on Wednesday, May 16^th at 1:00 p.m. The top three speeches will represent our school at the District Speech Contest on Friday, May 25^th.  Please come and listen to the speeches if you are available. They are always entertaining and delightful to hear.

School Planning Day:  On Friday, May 11^th the school will be closed for the annual School Planning Day.  It is during this day, that we review our School Improvement Plans and make adjustments to our school goals and focus for the following year.  SPC reps attend this meeting along with the staff to review our school plan, data and make recommendations.  Any parent is welcome to attend this meeting.  If you wish to be part of this planning day, please contact Mrs. Scheck.

Early Learning Calendars: The May Early Learning Calendars can be found at: http://www.earlylearning.prn.bc.ca/.  These calendars outline the Strong Start and WOW bus

schedules, as well as a blog written about early learning benefits.  There is a lot of useful information about opportunities in our community for the early learners.  Please pass this website on to your neighbours who may benefit from these activities.

Saving Our Boys Workshop: Bert Bowes Middle School will be hosting a workshop by Daniel Vecchio called “Saving our Boys: Our Duty of care” on Wednesday, May 2nd at 7:00pm.  In this workshop/lecture, teachers and parents will learn how fundamentally important it is to engage and nurture the boys in our schools to find their emotional voice (emotional literacy) and success.  If you are interested in attending the workshop, please contact Bert Bowes Middle School at 250-785-6717.

The school year is quickly speeding up! We will have lots of other events to update you on in the next few weeks.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kathy Scheck                                                    Mr. Karl Peterson

Principal                                                                      Vice Principal

Name:  ________________________

Please check the correct statement:

My child/children will be attending Robert Ogilvie next year: _______

My child/children are in grades: ______________

My child/children will not be attending Robert Ogilvie next year: ______

My child/children will be attending: ___________________

I will be purchasing school supplies from the school: __________

I will not be purchasing schools supplies from the school: ______

Please enter my children _________________________ for the newsletter draw

Calendar of Events

Robert Ogilvie Elementary School
May 2012

District badminton tournament 4:00 p.m.4

District badminton tournament all day7

Book Fair Week

Dance presentation @ the Cultural Center for some classes8

Assembly @ 9 a.m.

PAC meeting @ 7:00 p.m.  in the library9

Daddy and Me night

6:00-7:30 p.m.

(for 0-5 year olds)10

City Clean up Day

Parents welcome to join our classes11

Non-Instructional Day –Planning Day

Families in Motion gym night @ Duncan Cran

6:00-7:30 p.m. – all families welcome141516

School speech contest

1:00-2:35 p.m.1718

Talent Show21

Victoria Day

School Closed222324

Doig Days

Grade 4 students25

District

Speech Contest28293031