October Newsletter

Upcoming Dates

• Oct 5 Terry Fox Run
• Oct 8 Thanksgiving, No Classes
• Oct 16 Home & School Meeting, 6:30 pm, Birchwood Library
• Oct 18-19 PEITF Annual Convention, No Classes
• Oct 25 Parent/Teacher Interviews 6:30 - 8:30 pm
• Oct 26, Parent/Teacher Interviews, No Classes

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Our first set of Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held on Thursday evening, October 25 and all day Friday, October 26. Interview times will be sent out in the near future.

Student Fees

Each year students are required to pay a student fee. This fee covers student locks, lockers, winter carnival, special events, motivational speakers, materials for projects in Ind. Tech. and Home Ec., and other in-school activities that occur during the school year. Student Fee rates are as follows: $20.00 per student, $30.00 for 2 or more students from the same family attending Birchwood.

Band Fees

Students who are participating in the Band Program are required to pay Band Fees. This cost is for the rental of his/her instrument and is $60.00 for the 1st student, $50.00 for the 2nd student, $40.00 for the 3rd student, with a maximum of $150.00/family.
Please make cheques payable to the Eastern School District and drop off at Birchwood School office.

Terry Fox Run

Birchwood’s 10th Annual Terry Fox Run/Walk will be held on Friday, October 5, in the afternoon. All students and staff will participate in this worthwhile event. Students are to ask parents and friends for their support. All students are asked to pledge $2.00 for their participation. Let’s make this year’s Terry Fox Run/Walk a great success!

Breakfast Program

Our Breakfast Program is up and running each morning, beginning at 8:00 am. If you can volunteer to help out, please call the school and leave your name and phone number. Also, donations of cheez whiz, jam, and juice are always appreciated.

Sports Update

Reminder: Cross Country Zone Meet will be held Oct. 4th, (rain date Oct. 5th) at Simmons Field at 10:00 am. Students will be traveling to and from the site by bus. Students will leave school at 9:15 and arrive back by at 11:30. All students must fill out and return their permission slip to Mr. MacCallum prior to the meet. Intramurals are going very well. Anyone who still wishes to sign up, may do so. All Welcome!

Drama Club

The Birchwood Drama Club will begin meeting mid-October. This year the club will be doing an on-stage play with a small cast, producing and filming Stop Racism television commercials, and we will be filming a full length movie adapted, directed and produced by students. Students who are interested in participating in the Drama Club are asked to contact Ms. Connell Room 311.

Game Force: Video Game Designer's Program and Game Club

Game Force is a 5 day, Monday to Friday, 3-6pm after school program. Laptops and materials will be provided for the program. Interested students only are asked to contact Ms. Connell in Room 311 for more information and to sign up.

Library News

The Birchwood School Library is set to go and we look forward to another busy year. The books purchased with the special funding from the government last year, have arrived. There are many new and exciting titles for the students to enjoy. In addition to the regular funding from the school our collection continues to grow and develop. At a time when research shows overwhelmingly that early literacy is the number one predictor for the success of a child, this is good news indeed. Parents or guardians who are interested in volunteering in the school library are encouraged to contact Teacher-Librarian, Jo-Anne White.

Human Rights Program

Thirty grade nine students are participating in the Human Rights and Holocaust Studies program this year. Many of the students worked on completing their volunteer hours, which is a requirement of the program, over the summer. The evening education sessions began on September 24th and will continue on Monday evenings until the end of November. All of the students are taking part in fund raising efforts. The program will culminate with a trip to Washington, D.C., in May, 2008 when the students will have an opportunity to visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum as well as various memorials and museums in Washington.

“Signals of Suicide” Presentation

Birchwood Intermediate invites the Canadian Mental Health Association into the school each year to present a “Signals of Suicide” presentation to the grade 9 students.
In June, 2007, Sue Betts, Coordinator of the presentation at our school, was asked to speak at the CMHA annual “Golf for Life” Tournament, on behalf of the PEI schools. Miss. Betts spoke of the lasting, positive impact on the lives of the young people who take part in it.

Light Bulb Fund Raiser

The staff of Birchwood School would like to thank all students, parents, and friends who purchased light bulbs in support of the school’s first major fund raiser. The money raised will be utilized in assisting the different programs that Birchwood has to offer.

PEI Envirothon

Grade 9 students will be participating in the Envirothon, October 26, 27. It is an environmental competition that they have been training for since September.

Adventure Group

The Adventure Group will be back again this year, running an after school program every day from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. in the Birchwood art room. This group is well supervised and generally very respectful. This group has been very successful in the past and this year the group will also be open to students from other schools.

Pediculosis (Head Lice)

Now that we are back at school, it is important for parents to regularly check their children for pediculous (head lice). The policy of the school is that students be sent home, receive treatment and be nit free before they be allowed to return. These measures have to be taken to prevent the spread to others. Information and pamphlets are available at the school office.

Healthy Eating Alliance

The HEA students of 2006-07 participated in a Healthy Eating Strategy Launch to promote the new healthy eating policy for the intermediate and senior high schools. The members of the Birchwood HEA were pro-active the last school year and were instrumental in implementing healthy eating changes at Birchwood Intermediate, even before the policy was developed. Again this year, we will be organizing a HEA group and continuing to make positive changes to “eating” at Birchwood. As well, we plan to make physical activity a part of our program. We encourage families to make healthy eating a priority! Better Nutrition = Better Learning!

Tell Them From Me

Tell Them From Me is an evaluation system that allows students and teachers to voice their concerns and participate in school-wide evaluation in a non threatening way. It provides a means for the continuous monitoring of student outcomes and schooling processes, based on the best evidence from numerous studies on school effectiveness.
The research on school effectiveness and whole-school reform indicates that the principal elements of effective schools include:

• Effective learning time
• Structured and adaptive teaching
• High expectations for student achievement
• Teacher-student relations
• A positive classroom disciplinary climate
• Effective assessment practices
• Staff with a positive morale and a commitment to school improvement.

Home & School

A reminder to all parents of the Home & School Meeting, October 16, 2007, 6:30 pm in the school library. All parents are welcome to attend!

Community Events

Canadian Parents for French

The Queens County Chapter of Canadian Parents for French are hosting a Parent Workshop ("How can I help when I don't understand the language") on October 20th at the Royalty Centre (behind Charlottetown Rural on Enman Crescent) from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm. There will be supervised French activities for the children from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm. (Limited capacity - please register early) Please contact Shari MacKenzie at gold@pei.sympatico.ca or 675-2275 or Del Henderson at del_henderson30@hotmail.com, or 886-2045 (h) to register.

Minor Basketball

Late registrations for Charlottetown Tigers Minor Basketball are being accepted at Charlottetown City Hall until October 31. Boys and girls in grades 1 - 9 are eligible to play and all players receive a t-shirt and basketball to keep. The cost is as follows:
Grades 1 & 2 $50.00
Grades 3 & 4 $70.00
Grades 5 & 6 $70.00
Grades 7, 8, 9 $80.00
The program runs from October, 2007 until March, 2008.

Victoria Park Appreciation Day

Come out to Victoria Park and plant a tree, mulch a trail or take revenge on an invasive plant species. Have some fun in the Park !
Where: Victoria park. Meet by the ball clubhouse off Brighton Rd.
When: November 3, Saturday, at 10:00 am.
For more information contact: Beth Hoar, Parkland Conservationist, 892-3837.

Navy League

Each new school year, the Navy League of Canada (NLC) opens its doors to recruiting new cadets. Navy League cadets are boys and girls between the ages of 10 & 13. They come from many different backgrounds but all share a common interest and enjoy learning new skills and having fun. The Charlottetown Hyndman Corps (group) meets every Thursday evening from approximately 6:15-8:45 pm. at HMCS Queen Charlotte. Membership is free.