Stratford Northwestern Public School Martin Ritsma Secondary Principal Donna Gregus Elementary Vice Principal 428 Forman Avenue, Stratford N5A 6R7 Tel: 271 9740 Fax: 271 7834 stratfordnorthwestern.ca Engage, Inspire, Innovate... Always Learning May 1, 2013 Dear Parents and Guardians, Is it May already? Leaves are appearing on the trees, tulips and other spring flowers are blooming; after school I can hear the clink of the bat as baseball and softball players practice. The soccer fields are full of action and track and field season is here. I want to congratulate all of the students who have continued to earn great grades and made good choices this school year. However, it remains important for students to continue making their best effort and to remain focused. Maintaining good study habits, including completing assignments and homework on time, seeking and accepting extra help, coming to school and class prepared and on time and prepared to learn, effectively managing time, and getting a good night s sleep, remains important. Parents can help by continuing to monitor your child s progress and communicating with teachers when a concern arises. Our school is starting the process of planning for next year. I am inviting staff, parents and the community to take time to reflect on this year and make recommendations to me on how to improve the school. I would invite you to provide any feedback that you believe would make our school a better place. We all have an important stake in the success of our school and I hope you feel comfortable in sharing your thoughts with me. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Donna Gregus Grade 7/8 Administrator
KEEP INFORMED! Parents and students are reminded to keep informed on our school website. Most of the teachers post student assignments and homework on their websites. It can be accessed from our school site at: stratfordnorthwestern.ca Character Corner The Character Attribute for May is Fairness Treating everyone in a just an accepting manner. At school this could look like: Taking turns and waiting your turn Playing by the rules Raising your hand Not interrupting others who are speaking Allowing others to participate Sharing Not imposing on someone else s turn Not favouring one above another Following the rules and being honest Making every effort to get along with everyone Recognizing that fairness is not sameness. All students have different needs. Win or lose, do it fairly. Knute Rockne There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. Elie Wiesel Quebec Trip Update A reminder that the trip takes place May 28 31st. We will be having an information meeting at 6:00 on Wednesday, May 15th. The final payment for the trip is now due. Please send in any remaining payments and if you are unsure of your amount owing, please call the school or e mail caridesa@fc.amdsb.ca. Only 4 weeks to go!
Yearbooks The Stratford Northwestern Huskie Grade 7/8 Yearbook is currently being put together and will be handed out at the end of June. If you have paid your student fee at the beginning of the year, the book is included. If not and you would like to purchase a Stratford Northwestern Huskie Grade 7/8 Yearbook the cost is $12. Please have your money in to the office by the end of May, so that we know how many we need to order. Thank you, Mrs. Stewart (TRA) Huskie Hoopla We will be having a 3 on 3 Huskie Hoopla invitational basketball tournament on June 13/13. Games will be after school. There are Gr. 7 boys, Gr 7 girls, Gr. 8 boys, and Gr. 8 girls divisions. Teams will consist of a max. of four players. Teams from our AVMDSB will be invited. Registration forms will be available by May 10/13, cost is $64 per team with each player receiving a reversible jersey. Grade 7 and 8 Band The grade 7/8 band at Northwestern is up and running again after a long hiatus! We're practicing on Tuesdays & Thursdays after school, from 2:45 until 3:45, in the music room. If you want to get extra practice on your instrument in a fun and relaxed environment, come out and make some music! We're looking at a few performance opportunities before the end of the school year so talk to Mr. LeRoux if you are interested or have any questions. Band members mark your calendars. Our grade 7 and 8 band will be performing at our grade 8 Graduation on June 25th at 7:00 p.m. Grade 8 Graduation If you would like to be a part of planning our Grade 8 Graduation, we will be meeting outside the school office May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Please join us!
The Homework Club Northwestern Public Elementary School is very pleased to be able to offer our students an afterschool HOMEWORK CLUB! WHO? Grade 7 and 8 students WHAT? Your homework WHERE? ROOM 173 WHEN? Everyday from 2:45 until 3:45 WHY? Why Not! May 2013 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Read for 15 mins every night 1 2 9:30 10:30 Grade 7 Eric Wilson Assembly 4 5 5 6 Young Women s Conference KW 7 Camp Ki Way Y Grade 7 s 8 Camp Ki Way Y Grade 7 s 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Grade 8 Quebec mtg 6:00 p.m. 16 17 SNSS 50th 18 Reunion Weekend 19 SNSS 50th Weekend 20 Victoria Day 21 JDFR Assembly 22 Grade 8 Grad Meeting 7p.m. Office 23 24 9:00 a.m. Huskie Hoopla Kick Off 25 26 27 28 Grade Grade 7 Blue Jays Game 29 8 30 Quebec 31 Trip! Dates to Remember: June 7 PA Day No School June 25 Grade 8 Graduation June 27 Final day for Students June 28 PA Day
The Bully Project Safe Schools Committee Update During the month of May, students at Northwestern will have the opportunity to view the documentary Bully in their classrooms. Bully is a documentary directed by filmmaker Lee Hirsch and has a Canadian rating of PG (the movie is rated PG 13 in the U.S). The subject matter focuses on bullying and documents the real life journey of five American kids (and their families) over the course of one school year. The film examines the consequences of bullying, and the hope is that it can be a catalyst for change in how bullying is addressed in our schools and in our communities. These viewings will provide a unique opportunity for students to discuss important issues regarding bullying. After students see the film with their homeroom teacher, there will be follow up activities in the afternoon led by secondary student leaders who have been trained by the Safe Schools Committee to facilitate these sessions. The workshop will further explore the issue of anti bullying and creating safe schools by addressing the way we look at ourselves and how we react to conflict around us. It will also examine the methods that students might choose by exploring and demonstrating the terms RETALIATE, RUN, and REASON. The use and importance of humour to diffuse a situation will be examined and the ways to help students develop personal power from within to deal with the bully, or to stand up as a by stander. The movie trailer can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dvxotwig2e Inquiries can be directed to Donna Gregus and/or Sherry Key. They can be reached at the school (519 271 9740) or by email (donngreg@fc.amdsb.ca or [ mailto:sherkey@fc.amdsb.ca ]sherkey@fc.amdsb.ca). We expect that this movie will prompt much discussion and many questions. Permission forms will be sent home to confirm the date of the workshop so that parents can be aware and prepared to further investigate and discuss these very important issues at home.
Author Eric Wilson will be visiting SNPS this Friday, May 3rd. he will be sharing his experiences as a Canadian author with all three grade 7 classes. BIOGRAPHY ERIC WILSON Personal Details: Born November 24, 1940 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Married Flo Connolly in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1999 Has lived in Victoria, British Columbia since 1985 Education: B.A. in Education from University of British Columbia 1963 followed by a one year teacher training course at UBC Work Experience: Full time teacher in White Rock, B.C. as of 1968/69 Part time author beginning in 1970 first published novel in 1976 Full time author since 1985 with 21 published novels Personal appearances at schools to motivate students to read since 1976 Achievements: Created Tom and Liz Austen Mysteries as a Canadian series Over 2.5 million books sold in 10 languages around the world Over 2,000 personal appearances at schools to promote literacy Awards: Arthur Ellis Award for Lifetime Achievement from The Crime Writers of Canada Voted Author of the Year by the Canadian Booksellers Association in 1992 Three Silver Plate Awards from Spain for sales in excess of 100,000 Queen s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for his work in fostering literacy and promoting a love of Canada