February Newsletter

Dates to Remember

February 5, Grade 9 Grad Photo
February 7, Parent/Teacher Interviews (evening)
February 8, Parent/Teacher Interviews (No classes all day)
February 12, French Immersion Meeting for Incoming Grade 6 parents @ 7:00pm
February 15, Purple Day (Spirit Trophy) Anti-Violence– Peace Café (Cafeteria)
February 18, Islander Day (No School)
February 21, Winter Theme Dance 7:00 – 9:00 pm
February 21, Home & School Meeting at 7:15 pm
February 22, Winter Carnival (Amazing Race) Col. Gray Students
March 4, Marks Due
March 8, Regional Science Fair @ East Wiltshire
March 8. Second Term Report Cards Sent Home
March 18-22, MARCH BREAK

French Immersion Meeting

Birchwood School will be holding our annual French Immersion Information Meeting for parents on Tuesday, February 12th at 7:00 pm in our library. Parents of Grade 6 students who may be interested in the Grade 7 Late Immersion Program are invited to attend.

Grade 9 Grad Photo

Grade 9 Grad Photos will be taken at the school by Life Touch Studios on Tuesday, February 5th.

Winter Carnival

On Friday, February 22nd, we will be celebrating our school winter carnival at Birchwood. The morning will start off with our annual pancake breakfast in the cafeteria followed by the Col. Gray Leadership Team coming to Birchwood and running a wide variety of games and activities for our students.

Coaches Corner

Athletes of the Month:
Simon Wright (AA Boys’ Basketball)
Keisha Judson (AA Girls’ Basketball)
Jack Fraser (AA Boys’ Basketball)
Madelyn Campbell (AA Girls’ Basketball)
Kayleigh Trainor (Wrestling Team)

"AA" Boys’ Basketball Trip:
Good luck to the Boys "AA" basketball team as they travel to the M.E.Callaghan tournament February 8th and 9th. Go Cobras, Go!!

Wrestling Team:
Just a reminder to all students in grade 7, 8 and 9, boys and girls, are welcome to join the wrestling team Tuesday and Thursdays after school from 3-4pm in the cafeteria.

Art Club

Art club will go on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-4pm. All boys and girls are welcome in grade 7, 8, and 9.

Grade 7 Off Grounds Day

Grade 7 students will be allowed to go off school grounds with parent’s permission on Friday, February 28th. Please make note of the date. (The grade 7 students have been very responsible so far with their off grounds days). Great job!! :)

Library

Getting a child to read for fun, may not always be an easy task. Start by allowing them to read something they enjoy. Try a magazine subscription geared toward your child's age group (National Geographic Kids, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Discovery Girls, Dig, etc.). Create an environment rich in literature, this does not mean you have to buy a lot of books. There are lots of internet sites available for reading and printing online books: Page By Page Books, Free-ebooks.net, Read Print (lots of classics), Bibliomania, By Gosh...and the list continues. Making construction paper book covers for your new books and creating a library space could be a fun family project. This would be a very inexpensive way to start a library at home. The best way to encourage a child to read is to model reading and share your enthusiasm for a good book!

Reminder

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the library is open after school for Homework Club. Students do not have to sign up for this, just show up with the materials they need for their work.

Cobra Council

February 15: Peace Assembly AND Purple Day; please, wear something purple and help your class win the Spirit Challenge. Also take part in the Peace Assembly, in the cafeteria at lunch, to acknowledge the importance of Prince Edward Island Family Violence Prevention Week (Feb. 10th to the 16th for more information see the PEI FVPS website: http://www.fvps.ca/).

February 21: Winter Themed Dance, 7-9pm, $5, cafeteria, be sure to wear socks you don’t mind showing off! A canteen will be available. The Art & Writing Contest entries are due today, the theme is fantasy.

February 22: Winter Carnival!! Dress in your gym clothes, because you will be working out and having a blast.

Thanks to Cali, Carson, and Megan for starting up our new Refundables Program. We will collect juice boxes and cans, along with water bottles, or any other refundable items. We are hoping to raise a little money for the school from items we used to just throw away.

Community News

Arts Guild – “Not So Grimm Tales”

Thirteen students from Birchwood, Queen Charlottetown, East Wiltshire, Bluefield, Colonel Gray, and Charlottetown Rural are performing in Not So Grimm Tales during a Night of Fairy Tales at the Arts Guild. Teacher Ms. Squire is one of the directors and Birchwood students Vanessa Rice and Katie Haines are performing. Come on out and support talented PEI youth!