June Newsletter

Dates to Remember

June 10, Sports Day/Sneaker Day, and Recognition Awards
June 15, 16, 17, Grade 9 Exams
June 16, Retirement Celebration in Cafeteria, 3:30-5:00 pm
June 20, Grade 7 Trip to Camp Seggie
June 21, Grade 9 Trip to Moncton
June 22, Grade 8 Trip to Sands Pit
June 23, Grade 9 Closing Ceremony
June 27, Last Day for Students
June 30, Last Day for Staff

Staff Happenings

We invite you to our retirement celebrations on June 16, 3:30-5:00 pm in our cafeteria. We look forward to honoring our retiring staff members: Kathy Pilkington, Sherry Gallaway, Ron Murphy and Donnie McKinnon. Hope you are able to join us for this celebration!

Grade 9 Closing Ceremony

We will have our Grade 9 Closing Ceremony on Thursday, June 23 at 7:00 pm in the Gym. We ask students to be here at 6:30 pm and we look forward to honoring our Grade 9 students on that evening!

School Text Books

Please remind your son/daughter that they will be responsible for returning all text books at the end of the school year. There will be a replacement fee for any book not returned and report cards will not be issued until all outstanding fees are submitted. Thank you for your support.

Sports Update

The Girls' and Boys' Softball teams had a lot of fun and enjoyed their season. Coaches Mr. Brioux, Mr. James, Ms. Rioux, Ms White and Ms. Smallman would like to wish the grade 9 players future success at the high school level and look forward to coaching again next season!

Thank you to the athletes who participated in the zone three track and field competition on May 24. All athletes sat together and encouraged and cheered each other on at the UPEI track where the event was held. The coaches Mr. MacCallum, Mr. Diamond and Mrs. MacAdam were all impressed with the outstanding behavior observed.

A special congratulations to the following athletes who advanced on to the provincials:

•  Sarah Peters, Bantam 400, First
• Gbemi Oguntona, Bantam High Jump, Second
• Melvin Sim-Turay, Bantam High Jump, First
• Melvin Sim-Turay, Bantam 400
• Emma Moore, Bantam 800, Fourth
• Bailey Andrews, Bantam Discus
• Chad Wilson Midget 400

Birchwood Hockey Academy

We are really excited to introduce the Birchwood Hockey Academy to our school in the fall of 2011. The program will run Wednesdays October through March. Applications for the program are due June 10. For more information you can contact John Brioux at: jxbrioux@edu.pe.ca or call the school, 368-6870.

Library News

All books (overdue or not) will be due back on June 10th. Please help your student search for library books around the house.

Summer is right around the corner, here are a few tips to bring reading into your summer routine:

• Set the example by reading in front of your kids and talking about what you’ve read with your family. The public library even has book club kits, so you can read together.
• Set aside daily reading time, especially on those hammock/beach days.
• Visit the public library often, not only do they have great books, but they also have regularly planned events, book clubs for all ages, etc. Check out this link for free online services, as well as, local library news and events: http://www.library.pe.ca/
• Read to each other; this is a great way to build relationships and reading/listening skills!
• For those long road trips, borrow audio books from the public library.
• Find summer reading lists online and select a few books with your child that you plan to read before the end of the summer. This site has some great suggestions:
  http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/forparents/tp/summer_reading.htm

Thank you to all the library monitors! The library cannot run without you! I hope everyone has a great summer!

Birchwood Breakfast Program

The staff and students of Birchwood Intermediate would like to thank all volunteers and supporters of the daily Breakfast Program. Your time and dedication made this program a great success. Again, Thank You! See you in September, 2011.

Game Force 2011

Congratulations to Sam Ferguson, A.J. Baldwin, Jack Baldwin, Brent Conohan, Jayden Bell, Dylan Vokey, Adrienne Wright, Dakota Legere, Ben MacAusland, Ghenyk MacDonald and R.J. Arsenault who completed Game Force 2011, a video game development program. Thank you to Ms. Frances Squire and Mr. Fred Irving for facilitating this after school program for our students again this year.

Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah)

It has been over 60 years since the Holocaust. Year-round we try to teach and inform others about Human Rights. We also teach about history and the horrors of the Holocaust. We confront the questions of what happened? How did it happen? How could it happen? Could it happen again? We attempt to fight against ignorance with education. There is one day in the year when we make a special effort to remember. Upon this one day, we remember those that suffered, those that fought, and those that died. Six million Jews were murdered. Many families were completely decimated. Thank you to Mr. Leo Adler who was our keynote speaker this year, and thank you to Ms. Squire's grade 9 Language Arts students who organized the Yom HaShoah ceremony this year for students and staff.

Community Events

Puppet Camp - August 15-19, Ages 9

The Confederation Centre of the Arts is offering a week long exploration of puppet creation and manipulation, movement and scriptwriting, culminating in a public performance. Monday to Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. $190.00. For more information: www.confederationcentre.com  and click on Arts Education.

Soccer

Next Level Training Academy (located inside the Stratford Indoor Soccer Complex) is organizing a youth fitness expo similar to what Sport PEI put on earlier this year. The emphasis of this trip is to educate young children on team work, teach sports specific fundamentals and have fun while playing sports. Cost is $5 per student.

East Coast Spirit Cheerleading

An open house/registration on June 5th from 3-5pm. They are located at 165 Maple Hills Drive in the airport business park, entrance at back of building. Drop in and see what the sport of competitive cheerleading is all about.

Babysitting Course

Island First Aid Services of Stratford, will be offering a "What Every Babysitter Should Know" course this coming Saturday, June 11at the APM Center in Cornwall. The course will run from 8a-4p, costing $35+GST per person. Course materials include a student activity book, a certificate suitable for framing and a wallet sized certificate. Registrations are limited to the first 30 students and can be done online at www.islandfirstaid@eastlink.ca  or by calling 367-3555. Any questions can be sent via email at islandfirstaid@eastlink.ca  or by calling 367-3555 Students are asked to pack lunches, as the canteen will not be open, and the instructors will not be permitting students to wander to nearby establishments to eat.