Newsletter #7 December 1, 2015

Transcription

1 Newsletter #7 December 1, 2015 ST. ANNE SCHOOL 102 Ravine Court Saskatoon, SK. S7K 4H6 Principal: Mr. D. Johnson Vice-Principal: Mrs. C. Engel Office Coordinator: Mrs. I. Dormuth Trustee Liaisons: R. Boechler/D. Boyko/J. Carriere Tu DATES TO REMEMBER December Dec. 1 Advent Liturgy 9:15 am Dec. 2 Progress Reports and Christmas Dinner Note sent home Dec. 3 Gr. 2/3 to Rusty MacDonald Library Dec. 3 Gr. 5 & 5/6 Inquiry Presentation at 12:45 pm & 6:30 pm Dec. 7 Choir to Noon Festival of Carols Dec. 8 Advent Liturgy 10:00 am Dec. 9 Band Concert 2:30 pm Dec. 9 Gr. 3 s to WDM Dec. 10 Advent Liturgy Practice at the Parish 12:45 pm 3:15 pm Dec. 11 Christmas Dinner Dec. 14 Advent Family Liturgy 6:30 8:00 pm Dec. 15 Elmwood Christmas Party 6:00 8:00 pm Dec. 18 Assembly 12:45 Dec. 18 Last day of school Early Dismissal 2:15 pm January Jan. 4 First day of classes

2 St. Anne School Vision Statement St. Anne School is a faith-filled, collaborative, Catholic community focused on curious, capable, social, creative, and holistic life-long learners. Learning involves inquiry-based real life experiences in which students, families, community, and staff work together to share in the excitement of learning. Our school culture is flexible and involves diverse learning experiences in which all take risks in a welcoming, positive, respectful, engaging, and joyful environment in order to meet curriculum outcomes. Gospel Value for December HOPE I have hope when I can live for the future without knowing what the future may bring. I have hope when I place all my troubles in God s hands. I am a hopeful person. Principal s Message We are now in the first week of Advent, the season where we prepare for Jesus birth. Throughout Advent, we will be celebrating and preparing with weekly liturgies. You are all welcome to attend. The dates and times are listed above. These last few weeks of school prior to the Christmas break will be very busy and hectic as always. We have listed the events and dates of the numerous activities planned to keep you informed. Please join us for our Advent Family Liturgy on December 14th with many activities for the entire family to enjoy.

3 ADVENT FAMILY LITURGY Please join us on Monday, December 14 th as we will be gathering as a school community for an Advent Family Liturgy and gathering at St. Anne s Parish from 6:30 pm 8:00 pm. This is an opportunity to gather, celebrate the Advent season, and enjoy fellowship together as a school community. We will begin with the liturgy at 6:30 pm in the church and conclude with fellowship in the BJM Commons. All families are welcome. We look forward to seeing you on this evening. First Reconciliation Congratulations to the following students who will be celebrating their First Reconciliation this weekend. Mason H. Jannah P. Macie S. William S. BAND CONCERT The grade 6, 7 and 8 band students will be hosting their Christmas Band Concert on Wednesday, December 9 th at 2:30 P.M. in the school gym. Band students are asked to please dress in black and white, and to have all necessary supplies. Guests are asked not to arrive at the school until 2:15 p.m. Cookie Dough Fund raiser Thanks to everyone who supported our first ever cookie dough fund raiser. Our super sellers sold 210 units, and raised approximately $1, for our school. The cookie dough will be delivered to the school on Thursday, December 17, and will be sent home with students that day. CHRISTMAS DINNER On Friday, December 11 th, staff and students will be celebrating our annual Christmas Dinner. Our meal will include turkey, ham, gravy, and mashed potatoes, with numerous side dishes. Students from each classroom will be responsible for bringing the following items: Gr. 1/2 - Buns Gr. 2/3 - Desserts (nut free) Gr. 3/4 - Frozen peas and corn Gr. 5 - Desserts (nut free) Gr. 5/6 - Cut up veggies and dip Gr. 6/7 - Caesar Salads Gr. 8 - Caesar Salads Please send food items before 9:00 am on December 11 th. If there are any parents willing and able to help out on the morning of the Christmas Dinner, please let us know.

4 Nut Aware Please remember we strive to have an environment free of nuts for the safety of our students. Please do not send snacks or lunch with peanut or nut contents. St. Michael Community School Food Drive As Advent approaches we are going to be Reaching Out to Transform The World by supporting the families of St. Michael Community School. Throughout Advent we will be collecting non-perishable food items. We will have 4 boxes set out where students can place items in the box that corresponds to their House. We are challenging students to be the House who collects the most for St. Michaels families. CHOIR Our choir is performing at the Noon Festival of Carols at TCU Place on Monday, Dec. 7 th. Performance time is 12:00 noon. Please join us in listening to our wonderful choir. Why is the focus on students questions in Inquiry-Based Learning so important? Honouring student questions increases motivation, leading to higher levels of engagement, improved understanding, and a love of learning. A student who asks a question is providing the teacher with information about what he or she is interested in knowing and what their level of understanding is. Adapted from Hidi, 1990, p. 18 Here are the impressive questions students at St. Anne are currently asking: Gr. 1/2 Gr. 2/3 Gr. 3/4 How can I colour my world? Where do we see respect? How can I nurture my whole self? Gr. 5 & 5/6 How do we dig into our past to help understand and shape our future? Gr. 6/7 & 8 What is the impact of city planning on people and the environment?

5 Supervision Reminders We have noticed a growing number of students who are playing on the playground before and after school and coming to school prior to 8:30am. Please know that students should not be coming into the school prior to 8:30am as there is no supervision before that time. There is indoor supervision only from 8:30-9:00am. If your child needs care before or after school, we do have a Before and After School Program that is offered and available. Thanks for your cooperation. Before & After School Program Registration forms are available for the school year. Forms can be picked up at the program or from the school secretary. Please use one form per family. Any questions or concerns please call Medie Mendoza at The Lung Association/Saskatoon Blades Fundraiser St. Anne School is participating in a joint fundraiser with the Lung Association and the Saskatoon Blades. We are selling tickets to the Saskatoon Blades vs Medicine Hat Tigers game on Friday, January 8, The cost of each ticket is $15. $5 goes to The Lung Association, $5 goes to the Blades, and $5 goes to our school. This fundraiser runs until mid-december. Tickets will be delivered to the school during the first week of January. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, please pick up an order form at the office. All ticket forms must be returned along with the required payment of $15 per ticket by December 15.

6 Inquiry Guestbook As you walk through the halls, you will notice a lot of examples of student reflections and staff reflections. We want parents to offer their reflections of inquiry-based learning as well. At the front entrance on the coffee table there is an Inquiry Guestbook that we would like as many parents as possible to fill in. Your reflections can be in any format; can be brief or detailed; can include reflections on your children s learning, the environment, or something you saw or experienced at school. Thank you to those who have already contributed to the guestbook and we look forward to reading more parent reflections.

7 COMMUNITY NEWS St. Anne's Parish News We are now offering Daily Mass at 8:00 am on Tuesday to Friday to allow students, teachers, and others workers to attend Mass before work and school. Daily Masses will consistently begin at 8:00 am and end at 8:30. CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES Dec. 24 th - 5:00 pm, 7:30 pm and 11:00 pm Dec 25 th - 10:00 am Visit Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools on Twitter and Facebook Our school division has joined the Twittersphere. (And yes, that s an actual word in the Oxford Dictionary!) We Follow us to learn about all the latest happenings in our school division. Not a fan of Twitter? You can Like us on Facebook at Reading Strategies As a staff, we focus on specific reading strategies and we integrate them into modeled reading, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, and other subject areas. We will once again attach some of the reading strategies to each newsletter. Feel free to use the guiding questions with each strategy when you read with your child. The more practice students get with these strategies the more developed their comprehension should get.

8 Ideas to assist parents reading with their child Get ready to read! Be sure to find a quiet place to read without distractions. Set up a time every day to read with your child. Have your child pick out his/her favorite books. Make sure that your child selects books that aren t too difficult. Don t worry if the books your child chooses are a little easier than the ones he or she reads at school. Take turns reading. Before reading: Do a book walk look at the cover, title, pictures in the book. Predict what the book may be about. Look for difficult vocabulary and pre-teach. Relate what the book may be about to the child. Encourage your child to ask questions and to comment on the story and pictures in a book before, during, and after reading it. During reading: Give your child time to figure out tricky words, and show your child how he or she can learn from mistakes. Strategies for your child to try if he or she gets stuck on a word: Think about what word would make sense in the story or sentence. Sound the word out. Think of a word that looks and sounds similar Think about word families and patterns. Look for parts of the word that are familiar. Think about what word would sound right in the sentence. Check the pictures and the punctuation marks for clues. Go back and read again. Ask for help with the word. Strategies for your child to increase comprehension: Stop every little bit and ask the child what is happening to check on comprehension. Relate events to the child. Ask child to predict what may happen next. Encourage your child to think critically about the story. Does he or she agree or disagree with the author? Why? Think out loud about the story as you read, and encourage your child to do the same. For example, ask, Does this make sense? Why or why not? Show your child how to summarize a story in a few sentences. Discuss new words and difficult vocabulary meanings. After reading: Talk about a story after your child has read it, to make sure that he or she understands it. Give your child time to think about the story, and then ask him or her about it again a few days later. And last but not least, HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE READING WITH YOUR CHILD