January 19, 2012
Beach Day tomorrow!
In spite of the weather (or maybe because of it!), we will celebrate Beach Day tomorrow. Please encourage your children to come dressed with accessories such as sunhats, beach towels, sunglasses, etc. These items will be worn indoors tomorrow to help us imagine that summer is here.
In reality, however, it is winter and the children have been reminded all week about the appropriate clothing suitable for the outdoors. It is now time for boots, hats, gloves and winter coats to ensure that we can play safely at recesses. In addition, children have been reminded to stay off the playscapes and the field and to walk carefully on the paved areas. When inside, they need to take care in the halls and up and down the stairs. Students should wear a good pair of indoor running shoes to ensure their safety while in school. We would appreciate it if you could review these rules at home.
Grade 6 Classes Take on St. Donat
Forty nine of our grade 6 students arrived home last night at 7:30 p.m. after an exhausting but glorious four days in St. Donat, Quebec. We left from John Fisher at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, arriving at St. Donat at 3 p.m. The four days were completely action packed. Not only did we enjoy three half days of skiing under the guidance of fantastic and experienced teachers, but we also got to experience cross-country skiing, tubing, outdoor broomball games, and snowshoeing under the stars with a bonfire to top things off. Those were only the outdoor activities! We also had language workshops, Quebecios history lessons, and music sessions that resulted in a recorded CD of each of the French legends. In the evenings we enjoyed a talent show and a marvelous evening of song and drama. The musicians were fantastic and the staff engaged many of our students in the drama productions which were most entertaining and educational. Overall, this was a truly extraordinary and completely unique French experience. The students enjoyed all of the activities completely in French and we were thrilled to observe over the course of this trip that they began to speak automatically in French.
Please check out some of the pictures taken on the trip by clicking here.
New Addition to John Fisher
We are pleased to announce a new addition to the John Fisher family. Mme Gagne gave birth to a baby girl on January 13th. The baby, Helaina, weighed in at 9.2 pounds. Mother and baby are both doing well. Congratulations!
Penguins Win First Hockey Game!
Congratulations to the team on our first win today against Brown PS. With 10 skaters including the goalie, our bench was thinner than usual — so way to go Penguins. A special hurrah for the six grade 6 players (Matis, David, Aidan, Michael, Elizabeth and Max) who came in and played so well despite their legitimate fatigue from the fantastic trip to Saint-Donat.
Thank you to Thom, Kathy, Margot, and Christine for driving today. Thanks to John, John and Christine for preparing the players before and during the game. Thanks to the fans, too.
We are playing against John Wanless next Wednesday, Jan. 25th at Forest Hill. Students will dismiss at 11:15.
I know that Rindy and Petra can drive next week – another three drivers would be great. Please email me to let me know if you can help with that. – Sarah Pryor
An Announcement from Mme Tyrie’s Class
The students of room 16 wanted to help children in need for the holiday season. We decided to donate our own money to a charity called Plan Canada. Then we wrote letters to our parents asking them if they would match our donations. This charity helps children and adults in developing countries. Together we have raised $405.
We also chose the gifts we wanted to donate from a catalogue. We spent our money on 10 mango trees, 2 anti-malaria bed nets, 1 birth certificate, 2 peanut butter projects and 1 motorcycle ambulance. The great thing is that most of these gifts were multiplied by companies so the value of our $405 turned out to be $2960.
To learn more about Plan Canada just go to www.plancanada.ca/giftsofhope.
Toy Drive
The Student Council has arranged a Toy Drive for the school. If you have toys that you don’t use anymore, we can make good use of them. Please bring any gently used toys , games, puzzles and books to Room 19. Any items donated will be taken to a women’s shelter. Thanks so much for all your help.
French Immersion Information Night
Parents of children who will be entering SK in the Fall of 2012 are reminded of the French Immersion Information Night which will be held at 7 p.m. at the school on Monday January 23rd. In addition to school staff, Genevieve Robinson, French Instructional Leader for the TDSB, will also be here to answer any of your questions. Registration for French Immersion is available on-line at www.tdsb.on.ca/pars. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2012.
Glenview Open House
An Open House Evening at Glenview will be held on Tuesday, January 24th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This evening will be of particular interest to parents of students currently in Grade 6 at John Fisher.
School Council Update
First off, on behalf of all the Grade 6 parents, I’d like to give a well deserved Thank You to Mrs. Bromley, M. Lalonde, Mme Pryor and Mme Adams for taking the time away from their families to escort our Gr. 6 students on an outstanding trip to St. Donat, Quebec – a great time was had by all. As well, I’d like to thank Principal Di Ciero for all her time and effort in taking care of all the pre-trip administration and for the communication during the trip.
Just a reminder – the snow has arrived and the streets around the school will become more congested. Parents please try and use our Kiss and Ride program that is available each morning on Keewatin. This will help to alleviate some of the congestion and frustration as the streets become narrower.
Next Wednesday is our School Council meeting at 7:15 p.m. We are looking forward to having PC Marcie Beaven-Brindle with us to talk about Internet Safety.
Merci beaucoup, Arliss Collins, Chair – School Council 2011-2012
Milk Ticket Sale
The next milk ticket sale will be on Thursday January 26. Order forms went home in this week’s envelope, or you can download a copy here. We also remind you to please fill in your child’s name and room number on their milk ticket. Contact Valerie Solway (mvsolway@yahoo.com) or Heather Betel (hbetel@site.uottawa.ca) if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you!
And so, how were those cookies?
Now that most of us have had the chance to try the cookie dough from the fundraiser last fall, we thought we’d write to ask for feedback on the cookies and the fundraiser, since it was the first time we have done this at John Fisher. What did you think? Would you buy them again next year? More or fewer? How was the timing for you? Do you have any other comments or suggestions? Please feel free to email Catherine at catherine@jarmain.ca if you would like to share your thoughts. Thank you!
PDF