EAST WILTSHIRE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER January 2012
January 3 First Day of Classes 2012
11 Home and School Meeting - 7:00 p.m
18 & 19 Graduation Pictures
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24 Grade 9 Immunizations (Storm Date January 31) |
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2,3 & 6 Grade 9 Exams |
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14-16 Scholastic Book Fair |
Spelling Bee
Our school spelling bee will be held on Friday, January 13th. The winner of
this event will represent East Wiltshire at The Guardian Regional Spelling Bee
at U.P.E.I. on February 25th, 2012.
Grade Nine Exams 2012
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Thursday (Feb 2) Language Arts A.M. Science P.M. |
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Friday (Feb 3) Math A.M. Study Time P.M. |
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Monday (Feb 6) French A.m. Social Studies P.M. |
9:05 - 9:50 - Study Period/prepare for exam
10:00 - 11:30 - Morning Exam (Teachers may begin early if necessary)
11:30 - 12:40 - Lunch / Study (In regular fourth period class)
12:40 - 1:05 - Lunch / Study (In regular fifth period class)
1:15 - 2:45 - Afternoon Exam
2:45 - 3:05 - Silent Reading (Exam overtime if needed
Note: On exam days, first period ends at 9:50. The Exam begins at 10:00
Teachers may begin early if more time is needed, making it important for students to be present for first period.
Period five will end at 1:05 so students are ready to start writing at 1:15.
In the case of a school closure (storm, etc...) the exams scheduled for that day will be written on the day following the closure. Students should bring home all study materials so they are prepared.
In the case of a one hour delay, the exam will begin as soon as students
arrive.
Science Fair
The school science fair will be held on Thursday, Feb 23rd during the afternoon. To date there appears to be very little interest. All students interested in taking part in the school science fair must have a project proposal sheet in to Ms. Deveau by Tuesday, January 31.
The Regional Science Fair will take place here at EWS on Thursday, March 8th. This is an all day event and students from all the schools from the Eastern School District are represented at this fair.
Honors Band
The PEI Intermediate Honors Band will perform on stage at the Homberg Theatre at Confederation Centre on Sunday afternoon, January 29, at 3:00 PM. The Honors Band is made up of selected grade 9 band students from across the island. Each year; the Honors Band is directed by a guest conductor. Our director this year is Mr. Rowan Fitzgerald, recently retired band teacher from Queen Charlotte Intermediate School. At this concert the Honors Band will share the stage with the UPEI Wind Symphony directed by Dr. Karem J. Simon. During the second half of the performance they will perform Johan De Meij's Symphony #1, Lord of the Rings. The first half of the program will feature the Honors Band including eight grade nine band students from East Wiltshire who are: Alice Hwang, Chantal Newton, Beata Simpson on flute; Erika Puiras, Heather Simpson on alto saxophone; T.J. Neill on French horn; Nicholas Wilkie on trombone and John-Luke Boudreau on tuba. Tickets for the concert are $10 adults, $5 for students and seniors and can be purchased from Honors Band students or at the box office of the Confederation Centre.
Band Web Page
Mr. Nabuurs has been having computer problems. This has meant the Band Web Page/Homework page has not been up to date for the past month or more. We hope to have this problem fixed by next week and encourage you to start checking the page regularly again. You can find it by clicking on "Band News" on the right of the black bar at the top of the page. Thanks for your patience with this issue.
Band Group Emails
If you wish to be included in Mr. Nabuurs group emails for band, simply send
him an email listing your son or daughter's name and homeroom teacher's name in
the subject line of the email. You will then be up to date on all goings on in
the band program. His email address is fanabuurs@edu.pe.ca
Math Coaching
Math Coaching will be offered to students of all grades every Wednesday
afternoon until 4 pm. Most math teachers in the school have decided to
help and have created a schedule that allows 2-3 teachers to be on hand to help
with homework or extra practice on math skills. Depending on the interest
level, more sessions could possibly be offered. This is a great way to
practice basic skills, prepare for tests, and for Grade Nines, prepare for
upcoming exams. The location will be in the morning announcements on
Wednesday mornings. Hope to see you there.
East Wiltshire Home & School
There will be a home & School meeting at East Wiltshire School on Wednesday, January 11/2012 at 7:00 pm. All are welcome to attend.
Library
There will be a second Scholastic Book Fair in February during Parent/Teacher Interviews. We’ll be having classroom visits from Tuesday, Feb 14 until Thursday, Feb 16 in the Library. During Parent/Teacher Interviews the Book Fair will be in the lobby. Our goal for this Book Fair will be $1500.
The Library continues to be open after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 4pm. This is a good opportunity for Grade 9 students to prepare for exams. Students are encouraged to come and study in groups or on their own.
Drawing Club
The Drawing Club will start up Monday, January 16 in the Library. This club is for those students who like to draw. It runs Mondays after school from 3:15-4:00. Students can sign up in the Library.
Friendship Bracelet Club
Students have requested a club devoted to making Friendship Bracelets, so we’ll start that up at the same time as the Drawing Club and run it out of the Library as well. If you’d like to make some Friendship Bracelets or show others how to make them, please sign up in the Library.
Student Council News
The Student Council ran some successful fund raising campaigns during the month of December. They sold candy canes, joined with the peer helpers to sell cupcakes and held a Christmas dance. Thank you to everyone for helping out with these activities and many thanks to the students who bought cupcakes and candy canes! We’ll have a little lull in activities now until after exams. There will be a dance in February.
Royal Canadian Sea Cadets
Interested in trying something new ? Consider joining the Sea Cadets!
This exciting program is open to any youth who has reached their 12th birthday and has not yet turned 19. Sea Cadets do many things including sailing, canoeing and safe boating; biathlon; drill; marksmanship; music and the possibility to attend summer camp; they learn about naval history, they tour ships and they can get involved in the Duke of Edinburgh program or practice public speaking.
The Charlottetown Corps - #23 Kent - meets every Tuesday evening during the school year from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at HMCS Queen Charlotte.
There is no entrance fee, cadets become eligible for academic credits, and the program offers experience for a lifetime!
Pamphlets providing more information are available so drop by
HMCS QCon Tuesday evenings, or contact CO Lt(N) Curtis Doucette at
368-0414 ext 256, for more information.
Intramural update
Intramural Athletes of the month are picked based on the following criteria - participation, positive attitude, sportsmanship and team work. The following students’ have been selected so fat this year.
Congratulations and great to see so many students taking part in the noon hour sports program.
EWS Cross Country Ski Club
The Cross Country Ski Club is looking for any students interested in cross country skiing. All are welcome, no experience necessary! The club will run on Thursdays from 3:20-5:00pm. Students will be transported from the school to the Brookevale Nordic Centre (down the road from the alpine centre) and are responsible for their own transportation home. The total cost is $9.00/week for ski rental and trail pass. Students who have their own equipment can have it dropped off at the school and it will be transported to Brookevale for them. Information sheets and permission forms can be picked up from Ms. MacRae in room 807. Any questions or concerns, please contact Ms. MacRae.
Literacy Items
7A & H with Mrs. Coffin: Students have been learning about identifying
Audience and Purpose in media texts. We read a comic strip this week and
now classes are creating their own comic strip for a different audience. They
have come up with a wide variety of ideas and have had to focus on a different
setting, problem/conflict/event, and resolution. This activity reinforces
the tools they use to identify the audience in any media text and it captures
their imagination! I can't wait to see their final products!
8C with Mrs. Mutch: 8C is currently working on a book club unit from new
novels added to the collection at the Teacher Resource Centre. The
focus is metacognition, or "thinking about thinking", and sharing
thoughts about novels in a more realistic book club setting. The novels
being read are: The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick, Jake,
Reinvented by Gordon Korman, Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman, Half Brother by
Kenneth Oppel, and A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin.
Grade 9LA with Mrs. Foy: It is never too late to correct a mistake. . . a very common mistake that is widely used and accepted. Grades 9A, 9C, and 9E/Fand 8H are working on their literacy skills by replacing the word "seen" with "saw"! No more "I seen you at the movie on Friday" or "We seen that too". These hard working students are taking the lead, changing their ways, and making the word "seen" a word from their past, past participle, that is :)
8G with Ms. Green: The 8G’s just completed an analysis of the typical pattern of the hero in various movies and books. We studied the path of "The Hero’s Journey" as outlined in Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth: The Hero with a Thousand Faces using Finding Nemo as our study guide. We also watched an abbreviated version of Benjamin Bidlack's speech called "The Hero's Journey in Modern Life" given at the Mindshare Conference in April, 2010. Afterwards, students selected a book or movie of their own choosing and analyzed it to see how the stories fit the pattern. Every story studied fit the pattern from The Wizard of Oz to The Little Mermaid to Zookeeper and beyond. Two students elected to write their own story using "The Hero’s Journey" as a guide.
7G with Ms. Smith: Students were working on the first unit "Step
Up" in English where it looked at individuals stepping up or taking a stand
about various issues. The class as a whole decided that they would like to step
up and take a stand for something important in our community. The class decided
to collect pennies for two weeks to go towards purchasing turkeys for the CBC
Turkey Drive. Students were able to collect $255 and donated 19 turkeys to the
Turkey Drive. Thank you to all students and staff who donated pennies.
Healthy Eating Tips Quick & Simple Weeknight Suppers!
The week nights can be busy with work, school, sports practices and games, lessons, homework and friends. Preparing supper can sometime seem like a hassle. It can be tempting to stop into a fast food drive thru or pick up something you can cook in the microwave.
Here are a few tips to help you prepare a healthy meal that is quick and simple!
It all starts with a little planning and organization. First step is to have a week’s worth of menus in mind. Choose some options that are popular with everyone. Once you have a main dish such as tacos, spaghetti, or oven baked chicken you will just have to add a vegetable and/or fruit and perhaps a whole grain roll to complete the meal.
Another tip is to keep your kitchen stocked with quick and easy to prepare food. Whenever you shop, look for specials on rice, pasta, beans, etc. as well as frozen and canned fruits (in juice) and vegetables. Having a wide variety of quick and easy to prepare foods will make supper time less stressful on everyone.
One last tip is to involve the whole family in the planning and preparation of supper. Choose age appropriate jobs for the kids - for example: choosing the fruit for dessert or setting the table. When everyone is involved it makes supper time a more relaxed and enjoyable time.
Try this quick and easy suppertime favorite:
Green Macaroni and Cheese
Preparation time: 5 minutes/Cooking time: 10 minutes
freshly ground black pepper
1. In food processor, pulse spinach, lemon juice and olive oil for 15 seconds, until roughly pureed (don’t overdo it).
2. Cook macaroni according to package directions until al dente (tender to the bite). Drain and return to pot. Add spinach mixture, tossing to coat evenly. Stir in cheese and almonds. Season to taste with pepper.
Source: Dietitians of Canada Simply Great Food Cook Book, 2007
