KENSINGTON INT/SR HIGH SCHOOL P.O. Box 340 Kensington, PE C0B 1M0 Phone 836-8901 Fax 836-8903 http://www.edu.pe.ca/kish Newsletter #4 December 2011 UPCOMING December 4 Town of Kensington Christmas Parade December 5-16..Give-A-Bit Campaign December 8.Grad potluck December 12..KISH Bingo December 15.KISH Christmas Concert December 20..Last day of classes in 2011 January 3..First day of classes in 2012 January 26-31 Senior high semester exams PRINCIPAL S MESSAGE So what do teachers, educational assistants and youth workers do on a PD day? It varies from day to day and year to year, but everything they do is to help them do their job better, which benefits staff and their students. This year KISH is working on a few areas including literacy and mental health and character education. On November 9, we invited Western School Board Superintendent Jane McMillan to speak to us about literacy. On November 25, we shared what we were already doing to improve literacy and we split into groups to make plans to improve student literacy. The staff has lots of ideas and, once these ideas are ready to implement, staff will share them with students and parents throughout the year. Last summer, some of our staff attended mental health information sessions, so they planned some related activities as well. The November PD days were very informative and useful, and we are confident that the students will benefit from them. POWER OF CHANGE In response to one of our school development goals, we are bringing an anti-bullying program titled Power of Change to KISH in the next couple of months. All students are invited to participate in this
day of activities that will promote acceptance and improving communication among all students. We are very excited about this program and the benefits it will bring to our school community. KISH CHRISTMAS CONCERT Our annual Christmas Concert will be held on Thursday, December 15 at 7pm in the school s cafeteria, featuring performances by our band and concert students, our drama group and individual student acts. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children. This promises to be a great evening of entertainment, so please plan to attend and support our students efforts. Junior high students will have an opportunity to see the concert in the morning and senior high students in the afternoon for only $2. GRADE 12 POTLUCK A potluck will be held on Thursday, December 8 starting at 4:45pm in the school cafeteria. Each grade 12 student is asked to bring a dish to share. Activities will be held in the gym after the meal from 7:00-8:30pm. SENIOR HIGH MID-TERM EXAMS Senior high students are reminded that final exams in semestered courses will be written during the period of January 26-31. An exam schedule will be in the January newsletter. Students in junior high will have regular classes during this period. KISH WEBSITE UPDATE Thanks to Mrs. Jennifer Spence for redesigning the KISH website. The site was changed to make it easier to update and to allow for some much needed extra space. A Quick Tour: Once you click Enter Site, the Home Page will appear which features This Week at KISH and Upcoming Events. On the right side bar you will notice school links (GroupWise, Students Achieve, KISH Library, and Junior High Homework), links to school documents (newsletters), technology links (Google, Gmail) and other links. Just above This Week are tabs for: 1. News Description of current or future activities as well as a newsletter link.
2. Contact Address, phone number, webmaster, staff names and email links. 3. For Students Links to Student Services and Kids Help Phone, to name a few. 4. For Parents Links to Student Services, SAS tips and much more. 5. Course Websites A list of staff blogs/websites. 6. Library A direct link to the KISH library site. 7. Athletics A list of sports teams and a link. 8. Band Calendar of Events and Band Blog. If you have any questions, please contact Marilyn MacDonald at mumacdonald@edu.pe.ca. KISH BINGO The next fundraiser BINGO will be held on Monday, December 12. The doors open at 6:00 and play begins at 7:00. This is a booklet bingo with half of the door proceeds used for the game prizes on a percentage basis. Booklets cost $6 for 3 up, $12 for 6 up and $20 for 12 up. The jackpot will be a minimum of $300 if 75 or more people are present and there will be several 50/50 special games throughout the night. Basic canteen will also be available. GIVE-A-BIT CAMPAIGN The KISH Student Council will once again be conducting the Give-a-Bit campaign from December 5-16 to raise money for toys for needy families in the Kensington area. The toys on sale can be viewed in the Student Council cabinet in the front lobby and collection of money will take place by homeroom. The toys will be given to the Kensington Lions Club for distribution. Thank you for your support of this worthwhile cause. 12 DAYS OF KISHmas The 12 Days of KISHmas will take place from December 20. Students can check out the poster at the back of the cafeteria and the daily announcements for information on each day s activities. PINK DAY In support of anti-bullying, KISH students and staff are encouraged to wear pink on Wednesday, December 14 to show their commitment to anti-bullying.
SCIENCE NOTES The school science fair for intermediate students will be held at the school on February 29, 2012. Students in grade 8 MUST do a project as part of their science course. Information on this process has already been shared with students in class. Students in grades 7 and 9 who are interested in taking part can speak to their science teacher for more information. Any students who are interested in science programs, such as summer opportunities, the annual bridge building contest and visiting an engineer, can check out the science department website on the school s website. LIBRARY NOTES The first Scholastic Book Fair held in November was a success, with sales over $1800! A special thank you to students, staff, custodians and parents who helped to make this event so rewarding. The volunteers involved with the Book Fair were Erin Coffin, Shelley McKenna, Breann Gillis and Liane Johnston. The crew members were Jenna Gorrill, Patrick Corcoran, Abby Donald, Jaimie Wood, Seamus Bannon, Brooke Johnston, Kassidy Smythe, Shannon McFadden, Jessica Lewis, Keegan Dyment, Colton Profitt, Bradley Paynter and Patrick MacMurdo. Great job! Literacy Reading Time is December 15 (period 3 for junior high students and period 2 for senior high). Book Week 2012 Writing Contest for Kids & Teens The Canadian Children s Book Centre is running a writing contest for kids & teens in celebration of TD Canadian Children s Book Week 2012 (May 5-12). The contest is open to students in grades 4-12 and one winner from each grade will receive a $250 gift certificate to the bookstore of their choice. Deadline for entries is February 1, 2012. More information is available at http://www.bookweek.ca/book-week/2012/book-week-2012-writing-contest. Give Your Child Just Right Books as Gifts. Buying books for your child to read is not like buying clothes. Parents often purchase items that their children will grow into. When choosing books for athome reading, select ones that your child can read now. Children need the enjoyment and satisfaction that comes from being able to read just right books fluently and independently. However, they do benefit from hearing more challenging books read aloud to them. KISH SURVIVOR CALENDARS FOR SALE Are you thinking about what you can get someone for Christmas? KISH Survivor Calendars 2012 are now available. All proceeds from the sale of these calendars will go to the Canadian Cancer Society in its fight to eliminate cancer. Special thanks to Buffie Boily for giving her time and expertise in taking all the photos for the calendar, Mike Smith for working on the front cover picture, Danny Perry from Colours Active Media for the layout and production, and especially to the survivors who agreed to share
their stories, giving hope to others. Calendars are $20 each and are available at Murphy s in Kensington, KISH School or by calling Heather Carver at 954-0197. KATIMAVIK A presentation for interested students in grades 11 and 12 will take place on December 6 from 10:30-11:30 in Student Services. Students will need permission of their period 2 teacher and attendance will be taken. This presentation will appeal to the student who wants to travel before or as an alternative to going to university/college after high school. Check out their website at www.katimavik.org. KISH ALUMNI BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT The KISH alumni basketball tournament has been changed to Sunday, December 18 with the following schedule: 1:00pm 1960s-1990s men vs current KISH boys team 2:30pm 2000-2005 men vs 2006-2011 men 4:00pm alumni women vs current KISH girls team 5:30pm men s consolation game 7:00pm men s final game CELIAC CHILDREN You are invited to a Meet and Greet on January 14, 2012 at the Summerside Sobeys Community Room from 10am-12pm. There will be cupcakes to decorate and ideas to be shared. If you are 18 or under and have Celiac, please come join us. For more information, contact cindy@century21.com.