Jeanne Sauvé News

Jeanne Sauvé News Jeanne Sauvé F. I. Public School 215 Wharncliffe Road North London, ON N6H 2B6 Phone: 452-8250 Fax:452-8259 email: jeannesauve@tvdsb.on.ca website: www.tvdsb.on.ca/sauve 24-Hour Attendance Line: 452-8253 Principal: D. Wrack Trustees: J. Bennett, T. Roberts Superintendent: M. Moynihan January 2008 From the Prinicipal’s Pen I would like to wish everyone in the Jeanne Sauvé community a very happy new year. Please remember that anyone who wishes to volunteer at Jeanne Sauvé after January 1, 2008 must have a current police check OR have completed the annual Offence Declaration. You may pick up the appropriate forms from the office which then need to be taken to the police station. All visitors and volunteers must also sign in and out at the office. Thank you for continuing to help make Jeanne Sauvé a safe learning and working environment! Thank you to all of our parents & community members who contribute in so many ways. If you are interested in getting involved please contact the School Council/Home & School. New members are always welcome! If you have friends or neighbours who live in our community and are interested in French Immersion please pass on the following. We are now taking registrations for SK, Grade 1 and Grade 7. Our Open House will be in the school gym on Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.. Thank you again for taking the time to read our newsletter and send us your comments. Last month we received 51 parent responses! Here are some of your comments: T T T T The newsletter is a good source of information. Congratulations! I am pleased to help support a local charity! Great to see the new website. It looks great! Glad to see the school being environmentally friendly by offering the newsletter on line! BE SURE TO LET US KNOW IF YOU NO LONGER REQUIRE A PAPER COPY OF THE NEWSLETTER. LAST MONTH WE ONLY HEARD FROM A FEW FAMILIES. LET’S SAVE PAPER! Please complete the form below and return it to the school. Thank you for your support. We will draw one name per division from the forms returned and award a special Jeanne Sauvé prize to the student. Last month’s winners are: Sahar P., SK; Oliver T. Grade 1; Stefanie G. Grade 6 , Daniel Y.. Grade 7 . Congratulations! For those of you who prefer feel free to write your child’s name and your comments on a separate piece of paper. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------My child ___________________________ in Grade _____ brought home the January newsletter and I have read it! Signature of Parent/Guardian and comments: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Safe Schools Please remember that all parents and visitors to Jeanne Sauvé are to check in at the school office when visiting the school. In order to ensure student safety, as well as not to disrupt lessons, we ask that you not drop in to classrooms during the school day. Thank you for helping us to make Jeanne Sauvé a safe environment for all children. If you wish to speak with your child’s teacher please call the school or send a note in the planner to arrange a convenient time. Student Attendance If you know that your child will be absent or late for school, please call the school and leave a voice message on our attendance line - 519 452-8253. Lunchtime and Snack Time Please make sure you send food for your child’s lunch and snack. (Please also send in a spoon or fork if needed!) We are finding that quite a number of students are coming to school without snacks or sometimes lunch. We do not have food available at the office. Volunteering at Jeanne Sauvé We are always very happy to welcome volunteers at Jeanne Sauvé. There are several procedures to follow. These procedures are for all volunteers, regardless of how you are able to contribute to the school community: e.g. School Council members, Home & School members, parents helping on field trips, parents driving for school teams, etc. If you have not already applied for a Police Check, you will need to pick up a form from the office and take it personally to the police station for processing. The police will ask for two pieces of I.D. (one with photo) and a reduced fee of $10. If you had a Police Check done for Jeanne Sauvé last school year, you must complete and “Offence Declaration” form., (to be submitted annually). We also have a Jeanne Sauvé volunteer contract which all volunteers must sign. Please make sure you always sign in and out at the office. Used Batteries We would like to remind parents, staff and students that we collect used batteries. If you have batteries that you would like to dispose of, please bring them to the office where we have a box labelled for them. Nous avons l’Esprit Jaguar! (We’ve got Jaguar Spirit!) At the assemblies each month, we recognize students who have demonstrated their “Jaguar Spirit”. The four “Esprits” that we celebrate embody the values that we promote at Jeanne Sauvé. The values also align with the Ministry’s character development programme, On Common Ground. Everyone is encouraged to demonstrate “Esprit Jaguar” on a daily basis. L’esprit francais (French Spirit) • show great effort to speak French well • show enthusiasm for French language and culture Winners for December are: Patrick M., Kathleen R., Lizzy T., Paula J. T., Christopher D., Yousir A., Cate O., Medina C., Taylor R., Kevin P., Carson K., and Santiago O-G. L’esprit communautaire (Community Spirit) • get along well with others • show good teamwork • be an active participant in school and community life • show leadership qualities Winners for December are: Tyler B., Tarryn B., Nathan L., Lauren, Leith A., Younes E., Aiden C., Colton A., Caden R., Robyn P., Devan R., Sarah M., Suzanna K., Mairi B., Maya G., and Jaden C. L’esprit d’excellence (Spirit of Excellence) • demonstrate excellence in the arts, in sports or in academic courses Winners for December are: Brittany L., Margaret H., L’esprit d’intégrité (Spirit of Integrity) • demonstrate honesty • be responsible for your actions • respect and appreciate others • respect and appreciate your surroundings • respect the rules • give your best effort Winners for December are: Brynne T., Caleigh F., Billie M., Brendan D., Khalid A., Kayla L., Joshua P., John W., Michael W., Christian G., Kent H., Roxana M., Laurel G., Emma L., Megan B., Negar S., and Kimiko E. Congratulations to our “esprit” winners for December! Milk Program You may have noticed that we have not been offering the milk program so far this year. Mrs. Virginia Morley, a member of the Home and School/School Council, has agreed to take over the paperwork and book-keeping involved. Mr. Waring will prepare and collect the orders and coordinate the program at the school level while Mr. Sauder and Mr. Paturel will handle the actual distribution using volunteers from their classrooms. We hope to have the program up and running by Monday, 11 Feb. and order forms will be sent home shortly. In the past, the milk program has been a steady source of additional funding for the school, paying for many items for which there is no funding. These items include: busses and taxis for extra curricular, subsidizing cultural events and students who may not be able to afford certain activities, purchasing playground equipment, repairing and purchasing equipment, subsidizing the purchase of workbooks and other classroom materials, the Grade 8 Quebec trip and graduation, and the list could go on. The school has appreciated your support of the program in the past and looks forward to offering the program for the rest of the year. COLLECTING MONEY - HOW YOU CAN HELP As you are well aware, a lot of what is offered at school does not come free: pizza, trips, shows, etc. All such activities involve a significant amount of paperwork, including the receipt and accounting for money that is collected. Literally thousands of dollars in cash and cheques come in to the school every month. All the forms and money have to be collected and handled as efficiently as possible and the money has to be deposited in accordance with rules set down by the school board and the bank. This is a significant administrative load that has been added to the school, most of it landing on the shoulders of the parent or teacher organizing the activity and the school secretary who receives the money, checks the numbers, and deposits it all. Parents can help the organizers and secretary by doing two very simple things: first: if a cheque is requested then send in a cheque, and second: send in the cheque before or on the date due, late cheques and orders are very problematic. The school and the Home and School/School Council do their best to accept cash as well as cheques. They also do their best to accept late orders. Please consider that what may seem like a minor inconvenience to you can become a major problem to the volunteer who is doing all the work. Your cooperation in this area would be greatly appreciated. Primary Basketball Clinic (Grades 1-3) Our Primary Basketball clinic will begin the week of January 15th and end the week before March break. It will be coached by enthusiastic Grade 7 and 8 students and will be supervised by Mme Pelton. It will take place in the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays during lunch and afternoon recesses. Nominate an Outstanding Teacher The Premier's Awards for Teaching Excellence recognize outstanding teachers, and school and board staff. Do you know an exceptional educator? Nominate one for a Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Perhaps it’s someone who… • Inspires kids to read and to love reading; to write and to love writing; and to communicate with more than just words • Teaches students to be good citizens, by encouraging them to think locally and globally and showing them the importance of strong values • Supports struggling students – helping discouraged kids to get back in the game and motivating them to aim high. These are just a few of the ways Ontario's educators make a difference in the lives of students, families and communities across the province. But they aren't the only ways. Share your stories of how that special teacher made learning come to life. How that support staff member made a difference for students. Or when that school or board leader rallied a community to make a difference in the lives of their kids. Visit www.ontario.ca/teachingawards to learn more and download a nomination form. Nominations close January 28, 2008. A Poem by Vienna B. L’école c’est... un grand autobus qui vient me chercher le matin cinq jours dans une grande semaine, un sac à dos trop grand pour moi, beaucoup de travail et plein de devoirs. L’école c’est... les journées d’esprit avec le rouge et le noir, les bons amis qui jouent avec moi, les classes grandes et petites, et la récréation avec des profs partout. Me To We Food Drive A Big Success In September 2007, our Me to We club was formed. We started with the relatively small task of a holiday food drive with 1000 cans as an initial goal. Thanks to the tremendous support from students and staff, we were able to more than double our school goal! After three weeks in Decem ber , we finished with over 2200 cans collected. This food will help many families going through tough times in our community, as well as throughout London. Good job to all the students and staff who participated, and thanks also to the parents for their generous support. – Keir Jack (Me to We Club Member) Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. – Frankelin D. Roosevelt A Thank You Letter from the Children’s Health Foundation: La lecture en français Our School Improvement Plan is: “to continue to improve student learning & achievement in French Reading Comprehension and Response to Text”. In each newsletter we will report on one or more strategies or activities, which are happening around the school to promote this. Our Junior & Intermediate students have been challenged to read at home each day in French in order to earn ballots for the “Mandarin Challenge”! (Ask them to explain this to you!) Teachers and students are involved in a variety of reading activities daily, including “Guided Reading”. This is an instructional method used by teachers to provide individual reading instruction. By using small groups, teachers are able to teach explicitly good reading strategies, build vocabulary, check comprehension, and make observations about how the children read. Thank you to Billie M. for the following artwork: