Monday, October 1^st, 2012

Dear parents and guardians,

Here we are officially in the fall season!  We have been blessed with beautiful weather in September and the outlook for October remains optimistic.   As the weather declines, please remind your children to dress appropriately for the weather.  Students will remain outside before school, at recess and lunch until the weather cools down.  This newsletter will be a combined effort between the school, P.A.C. and the Environmental Club to keep you informed of the many activities that are occurring at the school.  We trust that the students are settling down nicely in to their classrooms and are looking forward to another productive month.

Scholastic Book Fair:  The Scholastic Book Fair materials have arrived and the school will be sponsoring a book fair from Wednesday, October 10^th until Monday, October 22^nd.  Students will have a chance to view books and materials, along with family members, beginning October 10th.  Please feel free to drop by and look at the book fair during that week.  This is an excellent opportunity for parents and relatives to purchase materials for Christmas and celebrations.  The books are of good quality and it will be a very current selection.  We will order additional copies should we run out of the most popular titles.  The book fair will be open before school, at recess, lunch and after school for purchases.  If you are able to assist with this, please contact Mrs. Scheck through the office.  All proceeds from the book fair will go towards purchasing materials to use in classrooms and also titles for the library.  We thank you for your support in this fall book fair.

School Photos:  Mountain West Studios will be here on Thursday, October 4th to take student portraits.  Students are reminded not to wear green or solid white, as these colours do not lend themselves to a great picture.  Once the portraits are developed, students will receive colour proofs to take home.  Stop by the library if you would like your toddler’s pictures taken as the photographer may have extra time slots.

Fire Safety Week:  The Fort St. John Fire Department will be promoting Fire Safety Week throughout the schools and the city.  This event takes place October 7^th-13^th.  We will have one scheduled fire drill and one un-scheduled fire drill that week.  Students have been learning about fire prevention and escape routes in many of the classes.  Please discuss the importance of fire prevention with your children.

Upcoming Dates to remember:

Monday, October 8^th ~ School closed for Thanksgiving Day

Friday, October 19th ~ School closed for a professional development day

Monday, November 12^th ~ School closed for Remembrance Day

Thank you to all parents for returning the variety of forms that have gone home this month.  If you have not sent back the verification forms, computer use agreements or the freedom of information forms, please do so at your earliest convenience.  Thank you to families who have paid for their school fees.

Strong Start/WOW Bus October Calendars: can be found at www.earlylearning.prn.bc.ca .  These calendars are also posted at all entrances of the school.  If you have children from 0-5 years old, please stop in and have a visit with the Strong Start Staff.  This is a wonderful opportunity for all children in our district to participate in.

Soccer:  A big thank you to Mr. Peterson, Mrs. Lee and Mr. Merwin for coaching the soccer teams this year and for taking the teams to the tournament.  Students are truly enjoying this sporting opportunity. Any parents wishing to volunteer for a community coach in the upcoming season of volleyball, please contact Mr. Peterson.

Dieleman Fundraising:  We are almost ready to send out the Dieleman Fundraising catalogues.  There are many exciting items to purchase from these catalogues including stationery, jewelry, wrapping paper and gift items.  There will also be an opportunity for family and friends, both near and far, to order online.  This information will be included in the catalogue packages.  Catalogues will go out on or around Tuesday, October 6^th and all sales are due back in to the office by Wednesday, November 14^th. All items should be back to the school before the Christmas holidays.  This is an excellent fundraiser that helps to provide funds for the Paul Hann residency, classroom materials, technology and other fine arts opportunities.  Thank you for your support in this fundraiser.

Tumble Books Library:  The school has purchased a two-year license for tumble books on line library.  Families are free to access this website using the Robert Ogilvie login.  If you have a computer or have access to a computer, please log in to www.TumbleBookLibrary.com.   Our username is Robert Ogilvie and our password is books.  You will fine a great selection of picture books, chapter books, non-fiction, game/puzzles and National Geographic film clips.  Students will be learning how to use this resource at school in our lab as well.  There really is something for every member of your family, including toddlers, at this site.  We hope that you take advantage of this on line library.

October Lunch Orders:  The school will be starting lunch orders for Booster Juice, pizza and Subway beginning on October 17^th.  Please look for the order form to come home later this week.  Orders are due back in by October 11^th to ensure that we have enough time to coordinate orders.  If you are interested in helping with these lunch orders (either organizing or in delivering lunches), please contact Mrs. Knott.

Helping Hands:  Thank you to Mrs. Mycock for organizing the “Helping Hands” lunch volunteers. She is still looking for some adult helpers who would be able to volunteer at lunch 1-2 times a week giving an extra hand to help get the primary children ready to outside at lunch and back in to eat their lunch.  The extra set of hands is greatly appreciated with the little ones as we have an abundance of primary students this year.  If you are interested in participating in the volunteer activity, please call 250-329-9060 or email directly mycockbrittany@gmail.com.

Parking Lot:  As our school grows, the parking lot continues to be a bit of an issue.  Please remember that our students need access to sidewalks and walking areas.  It has been reported that some vehicles are parking on the sidewalks that are in the north staff parking.  This is blocking safe access for the students.  We would much appreciate it if all vehicles would back in to designated areas and keep the access clear for students’ safety.  We understand the frustration with our lack of parking spaces and are working with the School District #60 board office to try to rectify this situation.  In the meantime, safety of all students is a priority.

Community Forum: School District No. 60 invites you to participate in a special community forum on Graduation Requirements

A Community Conversation about the Future of Graduation Requirements

DATE:  Wednesday, October 3, 2012

TIME:  6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

LOCATION:  North Peace Cultural Centre

You are invited to join other students, parents, educators, employers and community members in a conversation that will help inform the development of future graduation requirements.  Please contact Jan Strandland at 250-262-6000 if you would like to register for this session.

On behalf of the staff at Robert Ogilvie Elementary School, we wish to thank you for your support in your child’s education.  We appreciate all the assistance in classrooms, the canteen, during noisy reading, volunteer time spent involved in P.A.C. and the Environmental Club.   Your assistance is greatly appreciated and encouraged.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kathy Scheck                                       Mr. Karl Peterson

Principal                                                         Vice Principal

Robert Ogilvie School                                 Robert Ogilvie School

Robert Ogilvie Elementary School

October Calendar of Events

School Closed9 10 11School Lunch orders due12  15Assembly @ 9:00 a.m.16 17Pizza Order Day1819Pro-D Day School Closed222324Booster Juice

Order Day25 2629Assembly @ 9:00 a.m.

30 31Subway Order Day

Happy Halloween

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PAC News – October Newsletter

Thank you to all of our parents that came to our first PAC meeting of the year in   September and thank you to the parents that have taken on positions on the PAC

Executive for this year. The following people have taken on positions:

President: Bonnie Anderson

Vice President / Grant Applications: Logan Fischer

Treasurer: Lynnett Rotlissberger,

Secretary: Brandy Utz

Environmental Club Chairperson: Brandy MacDonald

Fundraising Chairperson: Amy Plemel

DPAC Representative: Jerri-Lynn Peterson

School Planning Council: Holly Rowe, Logan Fischer & Bonnie Anderson.

We look forward to another great year with lots of things happening within the school, which is only possible with the volunteers.  Our next PAC meeting is going to be held Tuesday October 2^nd in the Library at 7:00PM and we hope to see you there!

Childcare is provided if needed.

We are currently working on Phase 3 of our playground as Phase 1 and 2 have been completed. These phases included: tire swings, 2 sets of our swings, curly slide and the igloo climber. This has all happened in the last three years!  Phase 3 is to replace the wooded structure and our goal of $40.000 will replace this structure with new playground equipment. More details are available by looking at the thermometer poster in the primary wing and also a timeline poster by the office. Unforgettable Memories, another local business, donated these posters.  Anyone that is interested in donating funds towards this project, your donation would be greatly appreciated.  Shell Canada has donated $5000.00 towards this project.  This came from a grant that Logan Fischer and our principal Mrs. Scheck applied to last year ~ we are very grateful for this donation!

Our Magic Shows are going to be on Tuesday October 16^th at 4:00PM & 8:00PM advance tickets are $10.00 each and tickets at the door will be $15.00.  You can purchase your tickets through the order form already sent home, at T&T Communications on the Alaska Highway and at their Kiosk in the Totem Mall, the Administration Office at the Totem Mall or at the school office.  We will be on location at the Totem Mall selling tickets on the weekends as well.  Tell your family and friends to come and see John Kaplan at our gym to support our playground project!  We are also looking for volunteers to help out on the day of the magic show from 12:00PM –11:00PM for the set up and taking down of the shows.  We are also looking for some parents to help at intermission with the different booths that are going to be set up with the magician souvenirs, cotton candy, concession etc., if you can help for any length of time or duties, please email us at: robertogilviepac@gmail.com or call Bonnie at 250-785-8195 ~ your help is appreciated.

We have two sponsors of the show so far.  Our Corporate Sponsor is T&T Communication so thank you to them for this generous donation of $2500.00 as this is paying all the expenses of our magician!  Thanks to Totem Mall as well as they have sponsored us with $250.00, which will help cover our raffle prizes and draws!  The Totem Mall is also letting us sell our tickets at their facility free of charge.  We appreciate this support and opportunity. We also appreciate the community support that we have received!

Fundraising Updates:  My name is Amy Plemel, and I am the fundraising coordinator for the 2012/13 school year.  Fundraising is off to a great start.  Along with the Magic Show, we also have a few ongoing fundraisers I would like to remind you about.

Mabel’s Labels:

This is an online fundraiser that offers quality labels for all your needs.  You can log on at:  mabelslabels.com.  At he checkout there is an option to credit your order to our fundraiser.  Please type Robert Ogilvie Elementary School in the space provided and your order will help us to reach our playground goals.

Bottle Drive: This is an ongoing fundraiser also.  We have an account open at the Bottle Depot for any household to donate their refunds.  After you have sorted your bottles, please inform the cashier before they start to ring in your order, to credit the Robert Ogilvie account.

M&M Meats ongoing fundraiser:

Any time you shop at M&M Meats let them know you are interested in supporting your school and they will give you a coupon to fill out and we will receive 5% profit from your purchases!  Spread the word to your family and friends!

Annual Bazaar:  

It’s that time of year again, and we are starting to plan for the annual home based business bazaar.  The Bazaar will be held Saturday, November 17^th in our gymnasium.  Like in previous years, we are offering our tables to members of our school first, and then to the community.  The tables are for rent at a cost of $30, or 2 for $45.  If you are interested in renting a table for your business please contact me at: 250-785-1640, or email amyplemel@shaw.ca .

We will have the canteen open again this year. If anyone is interested in helping out, please let me know.

Thank you for all your continued support in helping us re-build our playground. If you have any fundraising questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I would love to hear from you!