- Lawrence Grassi Middle School

École Intermédiaire Lawrence Grassi Middle School
610 7th Street
Canmore, Alberta T1W 2H5
Principal: Nadine Trottier
Email: Nadine.trottier@crps,ca
Attendance Line: 403-678-6006 – Press 1
Office Staff: 403-678-6006 - Press 2
GRASSI TRAILS
“Reach for the Peaks—Atteindre le sommet”
2016
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear LGMS Families,
Thank you all for attending the Parent-Teacher interviews to support our students and set goals for the remainder of the year!
March is Nutrition Month! Our grade 7 and 8 students from the Foods Option prepared delicious, healthy smoothies for all
classes, along with a short presentation on the nutritional values of this yummy snack! Special thanks to our Parent Council
for donating money for the ingredients. Try out some of the activities in the Cooking Club Manual which provides a hands-on
opportunity for students to learn about healthy eating and valuable cooking skills. Our We Day students also had their second
bake sale. This time it was with the focus of preparing healthy snacks. Who knew eating healthfully could be so mouthwatering!
Back in the Fall, I shared our Restorative Justice approach with our students when resolving conflicts. We have used this approach at the office and found it to be extremely beneficial in empowering students to reflect on their behavior, as well as on
the impact of their choices on others, and thus finding a solution to make it better for the victim. We have now laminated the
steps for all teachers, educational-assistants and lunchroom supervisors so we can use common language. My next step will
be to train We Day students to assist their peers on the playground. Click here to see the Restorative Justice Chat.
With Spring fast approaching, students and teachers are very excited about working in our community garden! Teachers
have met with Christian from Edible Life and created numerous curriculum-based projects. We just can’t wait to get started! Special thanks to Ms. Kelly Smith for facilitating our work in the garden.
In March, Grassi hosted the 4th Annual CRPS Science Fair. There were many inspiring projects and I would like to thank our
students who participated in this event.
In terms of PD, administrators have gone through their third and last rounds of the N.E.I.L. to move our practice forward in
deepening our own understanding of the Teaching Effectiveness Framework, while providing constructive feedback to teachers to move their teaching practice forward to improve student learning. We also attended the Rural Symposium Conference
in Banff and made connections with other administrators to share and compare our successes and challenges in education.
Grade 7-8 teachers have continued to add changes to the pilot report card and some have met with a representative from the
Calgary Consortium to embed and report on both competencies and content.
Lastly, we wish to congratulate our Band students, under the direction of Ms. Murphy, for winning the Battle of the Bands
event last week. This event involved all bands within and outside our School District! What talent!
Nadine Trottier
Principal
Remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all
the latest happenings at Lawrence Grassi Middle School
Important Dates
Mar. 28-Apr. 8
April 11
April 13
April 15
April 18,19,20
April 27
April 29
April 30
May 10
May 11
May 12
May 16
May 17
May 20
May 25
June 3
June 6-11
June 13
June 14
June 15
June 16
June 17
June 17
June 20
June 22
June 23
June 23
June 30
SPRING BREAK
Students return to school after Spring Break
Pizza Day
PLC—Students dismissed at 12:01 pm
Grade 7 and 8 Band Students—Annual Band Trip to Edmonton
Pizza Day
PLC—Students dismissed at 12:01 pm
Deadline for nominations for Word Smash
Grade 6 FLA—PAT Part A
Pizza Day
Grade 6 English—PAT Part A
Grade 6 English—PAT Part B
Word Smash—May 17th at The Banff Centre
Full Day PLC
Pizza Day
PLC—Students dismissed at 12:01 pm
Grade 7 & 8 Quebec Trip
MADD presentation
Grade 6 FLA—PAT Part B
Grade 6 English Part B
Grade 6 Mathematics PAT
Grade 6 Science PAT
PLC—Students dismissed at 12:01 pm
Grade 6 Social Studies PAT
Grade 6 Field Trip to Calaway Park
Grade 8 Farewell 2016 1:30—2:30
Grade Farewell 2016 Reception & Dance 7-10 pm
LAST day of school—students dismissed at 12:01 pm
Report Cards go home
Grade 8 Final Walk at 11:45 am
Chess Club and Writer’s Workshop continues to run every Tuesday during the lunch hour.
Please check the LGMS Week-at-a-Glance or the front page of our website (lgms.crps.ca) for more updates.
Word Smash
Canadian Rockies Public Schools will be holding the 4th Annual WordSmash event on May 17th at the
Banff Centre. Only handwritten forms will be accepted. Please hand in the completed application form to
your classroom teacher. Make sure you contact you child’s teacher as she/he may have already nominated
your child.
Upon acceptance, students will receive a link to a google form for the completion of their registration. This
year, we have 84 spots (that is up by 20 from last year) As usual, nominations are on a first come first serve
basis. Once the spots are full no more nominations forms will be accepted. The deadline for nomination is
April 29, 2016.
Please click here for the Nomination Form.
Music Notes
Congratulations to our LGMS Concert Band for their
amazing performance at Our Lady of the Snows on
March 17th. The students represented Grassi with pride
and class, performing two pieces: Terminal Velocity and
Dynamite which was a crowd pleaser!
We won first place! Way to go guys and gals!
Also, a reminder for all Grade 7 and 8 Band Parents:
Our annual Band trip to Edmonton is quickly approaching. I will be sending home permission
forms with the students before Spring Break.
Have a fun two weeks off!
Ms Murphy
Science Fair
Lawrence Grassi Middle School hosted the 4th Annual CRPS Science Fair on March 22th. Our school welcomed students from Banff Elementary, Banff Community High School, Canmore Collegiate and Exshaw School. Congratulations
to all participating students for all their hard work and knowledge in their projects.
Congratulations to Quinn Blyth who
will take his project “What kids know
about Global Warming” to the National
Competition in Montreal!
Awesome results for Finn Manktelow and Matthais
Gasser who are off to Montreal as well. Way to Go!!
*More results will follow in the April newsletter
Grassi Garden News
Spring is here and teachers are starting to plan wonderful projects connecting curriculum with our school garden. With the addition of our new greenhouse, even more learning opportunities
are made possible.
Opportunities include an abundance of hands on projects in the
garden, building, growing, creating, researching, problem solving, thinking critically …..the possibilities are endless.
Parents, if you are interested in being involved in some capacity,
such as sharing your time or expertise, please email Kelly Smith
kelly.smith@crps.ab.ca Working together we can achieve so
much more!
Gym Shorts
It certainly looks like Spring has Sprung. March Madness has hit the LGMS gym. Basketball is ending and badminton is starting. All LG teams have finished basketball league play and are wrapping up practices. The
grade eight boy’s basketball team won their home tournament on March 19 with victories over the Banff
Bears and Our Lady of the Snows catholic academy. Well done boys!
Team tryouts for badminton have been underway in intramurals for a few weeks now and will continue
every day after-school after Spring Break. When the teams have been formed, all teams will practice Monday
and Wednesday 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Good luck to all participants. We have also started badminton in class as
well. The physical education department sells badminton racquets at $30.00 each.
Enjoy an active Spring Break everyone!
Canmore Minor Soccer will be offering a mini referee course on April 16th for anyone born on or before May
15 2004. Anyone interested can contact Tim Stafford or info@canmoresoccer.com to book a place. No cost
to referees. Those who took the course last year, if they could be reminded that they need to re-register on
refcentre.com if they intend to referee U10 and under soccer this season, and to contact me once they have
done so.
Athletic Wear
This year we have been working hard with Sue Pigott and Jason Thompson to come up with an athletic logo
that better reflects our culture of community here at LGMS. We are pleased to announce that a logo has
been chosen and will be used on all future athletic team uniforms. At this time, to celebrate this new design,
we are going to make available hoodies, T-shirts and shorts for all school students. In the future the hoodies
may be limited to athletes and the t-shirts and shorts for all PE participants. Keep your eyes peeled for the
paper and digital order forms in the near future and order soon to avoid disappointment.
Activities and Learning at
Lawrence Grassi Middle School
Mme Santerre’s class participating in chemistry labs
Grade 5 students involved
in anti-smoking sessions
Mme Santerre, Mme Delorme and Mme Couture’s class attended
the raising of the Franco-Alberta flag at the Civic Centre in March
Grade 5 students participating in the Tipi Raising
Ceremony also at the
Civic Centre
Many students took part in the World
Cup Skiing Events at the Canmore Nordic
Centre cheering the athletes on. A group
of students caught up with Canmore’s
famous skier Sara Renner.
Katie Wilson from the University of
Lethbridge paid a visit to several Grade
4 and 5 class rooms in March. Her topic was Let’s Talk Science and helped the
students remove DNA from bananas.
Katie is a former student of LGMS and
has gone on to do her PhD in Chemistry
at U. of L.