April 2016 Newsletter - East Antigonish Education Centre

East Antigonish
Education Centre/Academy
April, 2016
April in Brief
Parent/Guardian Teacher
Principal:
Vice Principals:
Jim Keay
Joanne Landry
Paul Brown
Amanda Marchand
Mary Pelrine
Dauphine MacHattie
Leisa Brow
Ernie Pellerine
Guidance:
Secretarial:
Building Operator:
Parent Teacher sessions will take place Thursday from 6-8 at
the Paq’tnkek gym. No appointment necessary. Everyone
welcome! Friday’s sessions will be at the school from 1-3.
(P-6 require appointments by calling 902-232-2810. No
appointments necessary for 7-12).
Parents are encouraged to visit the Lost and Found at the
school for any items your child may have misplaced.
The Dinner Auction April
10128 Route #4
Monastery, Nova Scotia
B0H 1W0
Ph. (902) 232-2810
Fax (902) 232-3829
I would like to thank our school community ahead of time
for once again supporting our upcoming Dinner Auction on
April 30. All proceeds will be divided up, and used to
decrease the cost of graduation fees, extra-curricular
activities as well as our playground project.
Given the past successes of the Dinner Auction, all are
encouraged to purchase tickets and attend this excellent
fundraiser for our school. Hope to see you there!!
Open House
School Office Hours
Please note that school office hours, including phone
coverage, are from 7:45 am to 3:15 pm.
There are times when additional events are not added to
the monthly school calendar on the paper copy of the
newsletter. I strongly encourage you to visit our school’s
website to view the most updated calendar of events:
http://eaeca.srsb.ca/
We will be hosting our annual “Bring Your Family to School
Evening” at EAECA April 28 from 6:00 – 7:30pm. Everyone is
welcome to attend our Open House. All areas of the school
will be open for public viewing. Once again we will having
demonstrations, entertainment and activities!!
Thank you,
Jim Keay
Principal
April 17-23 is Education Week 2016
(As taken from NSTU website)
Education Week will take place from April 17 - 23, 2016
under the theme Media Literacy, Empowering Critical
Thinking in a Digital Media World/ Les compétences
médiatiques : savoir faire preuve d’esprit critique à l’ère des
médias numériques.
Education Week provides a special opportunity for the
education community to acknowledge educators and
partners for their outstanding work relative to the
Education Week theme. A ceremony will be held on April 18
from 2 to 4 pm at a venue to be confirmed.
This year’s theme focuses on the importance of media and
digital literacy and celebrates educators’ involvement in
developing the skills required to understand, create, and
critically interpret print, screen-based, and digital text.
These media are a primary means of daily communication in
our students’ world. Education Week 2016 recognizes
educators who are teaching students to become respectful,
responsible and ethical digital citizens.
Education Week is a cooperative project between public
education stakeholders in Nova Scotia. The communication
officers from the NSTU, the Nova Scotia School Boards
Association (NSSBA), and the Department of Education, a
volunteer director of the NSSBA, the president of the Nova
Scotia Federation of Home and School Associations
(NSFHSA), a representative from the Association of Nova
Scotia Education Administrators (ANSEA) and the executive
director of the Fédération des parents acadiens de la
Nouvelle- Écosse (FPANE) comprise the committee. The
chair of the committee rotates between partners. This
year’s committee is chaired by Angela Murray, NSTU’s
Public Relations & Communications Coordinator.
Up Coming Events
April 6 -- Report Cards sent home
April 7/8 – Parent/Guardian Teacher meetings
April 28 -- Open House
April 29 -- Regional In-service Day (no classes)
April 30 -- Dinner Auction
May 23 -– Victoria Day – No Classes
June 22 -- Grad Dinner
June 24 -- Prom
June 27 -- Graduation
East “Shout Outs”
The East would like to give a HUGE shout
out to the following for their recent
donations to our school:
Darrell Connors:
Delivered several
large logs to our playground area which will be used to
create a seating area for our construction zone inside our
fenced area!! Thank you Darrell!!
St. F.X. pre-service teachers: Thank you for all your hard
work and dedication. Good luck in your future endeavors!!
Constable Morgan MacPherson: For presenting to our grade
9 students.
Gabby Melanson, Tricia Myette, Kelly Delorey and Kim
Melanson for their continued support with the breakfast
program.
As always, your generosity is very much appreciated by staff
and students!
Peanut Smart School
Due to severe allergies, East Antigonish
Education Centre/Academy is a Peanut
Smart School from Grades P-12. This
prohibits any peanut butter or other
products containing peanuts/nuts. This
also means that no food items can be
brought into the school that “may contain traces of nut”.
Parents are asked to be vigilant in packing their child’s
lunches. If you have any questions about the types of
products you can send in your child’s lunch/snacks, please
call the school for information.
Peanut Tip of the Month:
Always remember to encourage your children to wash their
hands before coming to school, especially if they ate a
peanut product at home. This can avoid cross
contamination.
SchoolsPlus
Guideposts from Guidance
SchoolsPlus is a comprehensive and collaborative
interagency approach to educating and providing service to
the whole child and family with the school as the centre of
service. The focus of SchoolsPlus is to support students and
families by helping them in attaining timely and effective
services which meet their identified needs.
We hope everyone had an enjoyable March and Easter
break, and are back feeling rested!
We will be partnering up with the EAEC Early Years Centre
and KidsFirst as they offer The Incredible Years program to
families on Thursday evenings. We hope to see lots of
parents and students out each week and look forward to
getting to know you!
Marguerite MacGillivray - SchoolsPlus Facilitator
Tara Hassin - SchoolsPlus Community Outreach Worker
April is a busy month here at the East and Guidance is no
exception!
Potential Grads:
Keep checking the scholarship calendar which is available on
the school website, your Google classroom and my weekly
emails! Also, you should see me ASAP if you haven’t applied
to post secondary yet, as well as attending Career Cruising
workshops or making an appointment with me on either
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Day A or C! I am away on April 4 so appointments will need
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to be made on the following Day A, April 14 . There is also a
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very special PSP activity planned for Tuesday, April 12 . You
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will be receiving permission slips the week of April 4 .
***Evening session on applying for Student Loans (Student
th
Assistance) will take place on Tuesday, April 5 at 6 pm in
the Performing Arts Room. A representative from the
Student Assistance Office will be present to provide
information on the program and answer any questions you
may have.

School Advisory Council (SAC)
The final meeting date is May 25
Happy Spring, families of East Antigonish:
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
Bus Passes
Parents: Parents are asked to ensure
that your child has a note for a bus pass
each day it is required. Passes will only
issued with a note. Phone bus pass
requests are not accepted!
be
Students are asked to request bus passes at the office as
soon as possible in the day to avoid a rush at the day’s endpreferably before recess. Due to combined bus routes and
students being dismissed simultaneously, there is an
increased number of students on the buses. Please be
aware that there may be times when a student may not be
able to travel on a specific bus due to lack of seating for that
bus.

Students who would like support with their postsecondary and career options should be making
appointments with Guidance. I have the better part
of Day Cs set aside for this purpose. There will be
sign up sheets posted on my new message board
for this purpose.
Career Cruising sessions will continue in April: these
are lunchtime workshops held twice a month to
allow students to use this website to explore career
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options: April 6 and April 17 are this month’s
sessions.
A Junior Achievement program for the Grade 10s,
“Dollars
with
Sense”,
teaching
Financial
Responsibility, will be scheduled for later this
month or into May.
All students:
 The next installment of Grade 6 lunch bunch will
begin on Thursday, April 7th. Chill Academy will
take place in Guidance on Thursdays from 10:4511:45 for 8 weeks.

Lunchtime yoga (12:25-12:45)
Two Wednesdays per month for Grades 6-8
Two Tuesdays per month in the Performing
Arts room for students in Grades 9-12
Two Fridays per month in the Family Resource
room for Grades 3-5
Amanda Marchand, M.Ed., CCC
Guidance Counselor, Yoga 11 Teacher
Youth Health Centre News
The Youth Health Centre uses a strengths-based approach to
develop healthy relationships with youth and engage them
in leadership opportunities, personal skill/values
development and supportive programs & services/agencies.
To learn more about the developmental asset approach go
to http://www.search-institute.org/
Youth Health Center hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
or Friday from 8:15-2:45. If you have any question about
the Youth Health Centre, feel free to contact Christina
Williams Public Health Youth Health Nurse Coordinator, at
Christina.williams@nshealth.ca or (902) 232-2810.
A big thank you and congratulations go out to our schools
Jack.org Chapter for hosting a lunch and learn this month
with Jack.org guest speakers Sarah and Julissa from STFX’s
Jack.org Chapter. Jack.org is the only national network of
young leaders transforming the way we think about mental
health. With initiatives and programs designed for young
people, by young people, we will end stigma in our
generation and increase the wellbeing of Canada’s young
people. While 1 in 5 people will have a mental illness at
some point in their lifetime, 5 in 5 people have mental
health, and that means that this conversation leaves no lives
untouched www.jack.org. Sarah and Julissa shared their
passion for ending the stigma around mental health and
how important it is for everyone to take care of their mental
health the same way that we take care of our physical
health. Our very own East Jack.org Chapter were energized
by Sarah and Julissa and have some fun activities planned in
the next few months, so stay tuned.
Other upcoming events:
Celebrated every year on April 22, Earth Day is the largest
environmental event in the world. More than six million
Canadians—including nearly every school-aged child—
participate in an Earth Day activity in their communities.
Our School’s Green Thumbs team will help our school
celebrate Earth Day by organizing a variety of activities
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th
during the week of April 17 -25 .
This spring, EAECA students and staff will be organizing a
Health Fair for students in grades 9-12. This day will be a
great opportunity for students to take part in a variety of
activities to support their physical, emotional, mental and
spiritual health. If Parents/Guardians have suggestions
around topic areas for youth or topics they might like to see
offered for parent/guardian sessions feel free to contact
Mrs. Marchand, our schools Guidance Counsellor or Mrs.
Williams, our Youth Health Nurse at 902-232-2810.
(From left to right) Jessica-East student, Julissa-Guest
Speaker, Codie-East Jack.org Co-Chair, Sage-East student,
Sarah-Guest Speaker, Celeigh-STFX Education Student, and
Christina-East Youth Health Nurse
If you have any question about the Youth Health Centre,
feel free to contact Christina Williams, Public Health Youth
Health
Nurse
Coordinator,
at
christina.williams@nshealth.ca or (902) 232-2810.
Early Years Corner
Psychology for You
Psychology for You is an educational series of videos to
support parents/guardians with key parenting issues and
concerns. Join us at the East Antigonish Family Resource
Room (EAECA) to watch one of these videos and share
refreshments. Our School Psychologist will be available for
discussion or to answer any questions after the video
presentation. Sessions will take place the first Wednesday
of each month.
“But I’m not tired…”
Sleep in Teens, Good Habits and Pitfalls
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Wednesday, April 6
7:00-8:30
Parenting the Young Worrier
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East Antigonish Education Centre/Academy’s Jack.org
Chapter host Lunch and Learn in the Youth Health Centre
Wednesday, May 4
7:00-8:30
Mealtime Strategies for Picky Eaters
Wednesday, June 1
7:00-8:30
st
EAECA is continuing to offer a ‘Before and After School’
program for children ages 4 to 10 years. The program starts
at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m., each day. Full day care
will be available during in-service days. The cost is $5 before
school, $10 after school, and $30 for full days. Space is still
available. Please contact the school if you would like to
register your child or if you have questions about the
program. Please contact the Early Years Centre by calling
the school at 902-232-2810 ext. 1217.
**************************************************
Incredible Years Parenting Program
The staff of the EAECA Early Years Centre, Kids First Family
Resource Centre in Guysborough, and SchoolsPlus are
offering a parenting program based on “The Incredible
Years®” programs.
Incredible Years programs are used worldwide in schools
and mental health centres. The goal is to help parents deal
with young children's behavior and support them in their
social, emotional, and academic development.
The program will be offered for 6 weeks, on Thursdays
evenings from 5:30-7:30pm, beginning on March 24. Supper
and child care will be provided. Support for transportation
to and from the school is available.
EAECA School Website
The East Website is updated regularly and the main page
contains a convenient monthly calendar for you to
reference. You can find us at eaeca.srsb.ca so please visit
the site for scheduled events, parent/guardian information,
important dates and more.
Microwave Use
When sending food to the school to be microwaved, please
remember we can only reheat food. Cooking something
takes too much time and is dangerous in terms of
temperature and students walking through the hallways
with their food. One item in particular which is problematic
is Kraft dinner containers. Unfortunately we will be unable
to cook these types of food items. Please contact the school
if you have any questions or concerns
Children's Story Time!
Families with children under four
years of age are invited to participate
in a Children’s story time program on
Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am that
rd
began March 23 at the Early Years Centre at EAECA in
Monastery.
Expect to read awesome books, sing fun songs, and have a
great time. This program is a partnership between The
Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library and the Early Years
Centre at the East Antigonish Education Centre/Academy.
Please contact the library at 902-863-4276 or call the Early
Years Centre at 902-232-2810 ext. 1217 to register or for
more details.
To register for the program, please call the Early Years
Centre at 902-232-2810 ext 1217 or Kids First Family
Resource Center in Guysborough at 902-533-3881.
**************************************************
Kids First Family Resource Centre is offering a 7 week Parent
and Child program “Jump, Jiggle and Jive” at East
Antigonish Education Centre/Academy, Monastery from 910:30 am Fridays from April 8 to May 20, 2016 for ages 18
months to 5 years. Please bring indoor shoes. Parents must
accompany children.
There is a snack break during the program.
If you wish to bring a snack, please ensure it is peanut free.
Carolyn Webber
Lead Early Childhood Educator
Early Years Centre
**Check out our Facebook page: EA Early Years Centre**
Indoor/Outdoor Footwear
Just a reminder to all parents and students that it is
necessary for all students to have an indoor pair of sneakers
for Phys Ed as a costly gym floor has
been installed.
Also, due to the
weather changing the students are
bringing in a lot of dirt on their feet and
outdoor footwear should not be worn
inside during inclement weather.
Important Medical Info
Parents/Guardians are asked to contact the
school if your child has a medical condition or
allergy which we should be made aware of (if
you have not already done so). This will allow
us to take some proactive measures to ensure
the safety of your child. Please note that prescription or
non-prescription medicine (ie: Tylenol, cough medicine) will
not be distributed to a student without a completed school
medical form. Please refer to SRSB policy to view the
Board’s new policy “Administration of Medications and
Medical Procedure: IVB-2.
Volunteering & Extracurricular
Activities Transportation
Parents/Guardians,
grandparents
or
community members who are interested in
doing some volunteer work at the school,
either on a regular basis or for special
activities/events, should contact the school.
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As of June 4 2015, the SRSB has a new transportation
policy in terms of student travel (IV-B-6) to extracurricular
activities. In order to transport students (other than their
own children) parent/guardians/volunteers will have to do
the following:
1. Completed a criminal record check and a child
abuse registry check. (These are good for three
years)
2. If transporting a student complete a J form and this
will require the school have a copy of
 Driver’s license
 Vehicle registration
 Proof of insurance
 Proof of inspection
 Winter tires necessary when applicable
 Teacher/Chaperone consent form
3. Confidentiality Form
4. Volunteer Application Form
Parents are a very important support in the running of
extra-curricular and sports activities at the school. We very
much appreciate your efforts and support! Please call the
school if you have any concerns or questions.
EAEC/A Leadership Committee
The WE Leadership Committee would like to send a huge
thank you to our school and home communities for your
ongoing support of our fundraising initiatives.
Over a very short period of time during November, students
in the school and their families supported a very successful
Food Bank Drive which resulted in an amazing 1150 lbs of
food! That's enough for approximately 900 meals. The
winning class, Mrs. Margaret Boyle's Grade 3/4, brought in
306 lbs while Ms. Maria Gough's Grade 6 class came in a
close second with 279 lbs of food.
We have now just completed ticket sales on two baskets
which has raised over $1000.00! This ticket money will go
toward the building of a water well for a school in India.
Winners of the baskets were Suzanne Melanson and
Theresa Tremblay. Thank you to everyone who bought and/
or sold tickets! Our top ticket sellers were Gabby Melanson,
CJ Longmire and Sam Young.
Stay tuned for further initiatives from our great group of
future leaders!
Denise Bekkers
Chartwell’s
We are now on Facebook! You can find us at
“Chartwells At East Antigonish Education Centre”
and
remember to “Like” us! Check out our website for daily,
weekly and monthly specials!
Art Supplies Needed
Our Art class is in need of any plastic lids that you are about
to recycle.
NS International Student Program (NSISP)
Summer Camp
The Nova Scotia International Student Program (NSISP) was
founded as a way for students from around the world to
learn more about the language and culture of Nova Scotia.
Since 1997, NSISP has welcomed thousands of students and
has grown to include over 800 host families in communities
across the province.
L’Arche Antigonish Summer Day Camp Program has a
limited number of spaces available for this summer’s
session. If you are interested in enrolling your child, please
contact Carl MacDonald by phone at 902-872-3714 or via
email, carlmacdonald@larcheantigonish.ca .
New
participants will be interviewed before being accepted into
the program.
Hosting an international student means the opportunity to
bring the world home. The learning you will gain and the
connections you will make will be a life changing experience
for your whole family. When you invite an international
student into your home, you’re not just getting a
houseguest... you’re gaining a family member.
What is the L’Arche Summer Camp Program?
In 2003, a number of parents of children with disabilities
asked l’Arche to start a summer program. In response to
this request L’Arche started a summer day camp for school
age children who have a developmental disability.
For more information on the NSISP Homestay Program
contact your local coordinator Denee Mattie at 902-8701951.
Strait Regional School Board 902.747.3670 (ext. 2223)
donalda.rooyakkers@srsb.ca nsisp.ca
Supplies Needed
Mrs. Delorey is accepting donations of used snow pants and
splash pants for student use. We welcome donations of
sizes 5-14. Snow pants can be in used condition; if your child
has outgrown a pair this winter, and they have some wear
please donate them here.
Also, Mrs. Delorey is looking for donations of shoe boxes.
The boxes are used for task boxes in YSF. Thank you!
The summer camp program is a recreational/social activity
program for youth (ages 8 to 21 years) who have a
developmental disability. The focus of our program is fun
and friendship. We are located in the middle of the town of
Antigonish and are involved in many community activities
and weekly outings.
How is the program funded?
We receive no government funds for this program. The staff
positions are covered by grants, although the number of
grants we receive varies from year to year. Each participant
pays $25 dollars per day. Other program costs are covered
by donations and fundraising. The actual cost is
approximately $75 per day per participant. We are grateful
to the Knights of Columbus who let us use the John Paul
center for a nominal fee. Payment is required before the
program start date. Cheques are payable to lL’Arche
Antigonish.
L’Arche Summer Camp 2016 Dates/Hours
Antigonish Minor Ball Registration
Antigonish Minor Baseball will be holding registration for
Kinsmen Minor Baseball and Challenger Baseball for the
2015 season on the following dates:
Monday, April 4th
Wednesday, April 6th
Tuesday, April 12th
Thursday, April 14th
All registration sessions take place at Dr. John Hugh Gillis
Regional High School from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
nd
rd
Wednesday July 4 to Friday August 26 .
9:00 – 3:30 Monday to Friday
Jean Paul Centre, Main Street Antigonish
For
more
information,
http://www.antigonishbaseball.com
please
visit
Income Tax Support
Volunteers with the Community Income Tax Volunteer
Program are available to come to EAECA to assist you in
completing your 2015 Income Tax Return.
You may be eligible for support if you have a simple tax
situation and meet the suggested family income level.
If
you
are
interested
in
receiving support, please contact EAECA at 902-232-2810.
Eastern Nova United Soccer Club
P.O Box 398- Mulgrave, NSB0E 2G0
The Eastern Nova United Soccer Club was formed to provide
youth the opportunity to play soccer competitively in the
Highland Soccer League. It is based out of Mulgrave, but the
teams are made up of players from areas such as Linwood,
Tracadie, Monastery, Havre Boucher and Route 344.
A schedule of games takes place from mid-May to
the first week of August. These games are on weekdays only
(Monday- Thursday) @6:30. This doesn’t interfere with
summer weekends. Travel will be to Mulgrave, Antigonish,
New Glasgow, Truro and Amherst.
In our first season, we had two dedicated soccer
teams but this year we are expanding!!! We have coaches
for the following age groups:
U 18 Boys (1999/1998)
U 16 Boys (2002/2001/2000)
U 18 Girls (1999/1998)
U 16 Girls (2002/2001/2000)
U 13 Girls (2005/2004/2003)
This year we are inviting players from the
Guysborough and Canso areas to join our soccer club. We
are always in need of more coaches and volunteers, if you
are interested please let us know as we are happy to have
you.
Registration forms can be picked up at the office.
If anyone is interested in joining a team, coaching, or
becoming a volunteer contact Travis Snow @
t.snow62508@ns.sympatico.ca or (902)-747-2659
Heather Brennan @ Heather.Brennan@townofmulgrave.ca
or (902)-302-0736
Joe Brennan @ 631-2397
or like our Facebook page “Eastern Nova United Soccer
Club”
Registration forms will be available at the main office at
EAECA!!
April
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
1
3
4
A
5
B
6
C
Report Card Day
Gr. P-12
10
11
F
12
G
13
7
D
Parent/Guardian
Teacher
6-8 pm @ Paq’tnkek
Gymnasium
H
14
Saturday
H
8
2
E
9
*Inservice (am only)
*Parent/Guardian
Teacher (pm only) 1-3
pm (no classes for
students) @ EAECA
A 15
B
16
Grade 7 Immunization
2nd round
17
Education Week
Media Literacy
18
C
19
Swim Trips
Grades 3/4 - 6
D 20
E
Techsploration “Goes
to School”
21
F
22
Playground meeting
@ 7pm.
24
25
H
26
A 27
G 23
School Assembly
P-6/7-9/10-12
School Based
Heritage Fair
B
EYC Parent Focus
Group at 7:00 pm
28
Open House
6-8 pm Everyone
welcome!
St. F.X. Pre-Service
Teacher’s Last Day
C
29
D
Regional In-service
Day
No classes for
students
30
Auction at
6 pm in Msgr.
Donnolly Hall in
Tracadie