Apr. 2-15 - James McKinney Elementary

James McKinney Newsletter
News From the Eagle’s Nest!
Ne
Mr. Allan Osadchy, Principal
Miss Jil Ashton-Leigh, Vice-Principal
Mrs. Debbie Tablotney, School Assigned Trustee
Mrs. B. Khoo and Mrs. D. Groumoutis, PAC Co-Chairs
Mrs. Kathyrn D’Angelo, Area Assistant Superintendent
Date: April 2, 2015
Tel: (604) 668-6133 Fax: (604) 668-6517
Early Warning: (604) 668-6691
website: http://mckinney.sd38.bc.ca
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sports Day, year end field trips and farewell
assemblies. Please read on for details on more
McKinney news.
SOAR
Safe
Ownership
Accepting
Respectful !
Important Dates to Remember- Mark Your Calendars!
Apr 3
Apr 5
Apr 7
Apr 9
Apr 15
Apr 16
April 17
April 24
April 29
April 30
May 5
May 7
May 13
May 15
May 19
May 21
May 27
May 28
June 4
June 10
June 12
June 23
June 24
June 25
June 26
Good Friday (school not in session)
Easter Monday (school not in session)
DDA Clothing Drive
Montessori Math Night @ 6:30 p.m.
@ McKinney
Hot Lunch
Fruit and Veggie Day
Author Visit: L. Sherritt-Flemming
Terry Fox Walk/Run @ TBA
Author Visit: J. Stratford
Fruit and Veggie Day
Welcome to Kindergarten @ 9:00 a.m.
Volunteer Tea @ 2:30 p.m.
Hot Lunch
Professional Development Day (School
not in session)
RTA Annual General Meeting
2:00 p.m. dismissal
PAC Meeting @7:00 p.m.
Hot Lunch
Track and Field Meet
Fruit and Veggie Day
Hot Lunch
Sports Day
Third Term Reports Home
Farewell Assembly
Pro D (school not in session)
Admin Day
Principal’s Message:
We hope that everyone returning
from Spring Break is relaxed and
ready to head into our final term.
As always, our third term will be
busy and exciting with Welcome
to Kindergarten, the Parent Tea, Track and Field,
Changes in our School Day:
A reminder to parents that due to the recent
negotiations between the Ministry of Education and
the BCTF (British Columbia Teachers Federation),
the teaching blocks have had to change from 45
minute blocks to 50 minute blocks to allow for added
preparation time for teachers. As a result of this
change, McKinney’s recess break will now be at
10:25 - 10:40 a.m. and our lunch break will now be
from 12:20-1:10 p.m. On Fridays (our 1:00 p.m.
dismissal day) we will have a 30 minute
snack/recess break instead of two 15 minute breaks.
This break will now be at 11:15 – 11:45 a.m. Please
note - our school start-time (8:45 a.m.) and dismissal
time (3:00 p.m.) will remain the same for Monday –
Thursday, and 8:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Fridays.
A Big McKinney Thank You:
A BIG McKinney Thank you goes out to Ms. D.
Jordon and family for donating a “next to new”
concert upright Kowai piano to our school! Our old
piano was in need of much repair. Thank you also to
Mr. Ken Yeung for his help in securing this beautiful
gift of music to our school. And finally, thank you to
the Khoo family for donating a drum stool to our
instrumental music program!
Library News:
The Scholastic Book Fair was
very successful. We sold
approximately $4000.00 worth
of books and raised $1700.00
for our school library.
A
special thank you to Mrs. Suzie
Thomas for coordinating this
event and to the following
parent helpers: R. Mielke, K. Samy, W. McDonnell,
J. Nagata, C. Knott, P. Bains, D. Wowk, J. Chiu, G.
Cornejo and G. Nelson.
On April 17th, local author Lori Sherritt-Flemming
will be here for her book launch of her new book
“Hungry for Math Books to Munch On”. And finally,
on April 29th there will be an author visit for
divisions 2, 3 and 5 with Saltspring Island author
Jordan Stratford to share his new series the
Wollstonecraft Detective Agency.
Ongoing Events:
Basketball Update:
Students in grade 7 recently enjoyed
the Grade 7 Basketball Tournament
held at Steveston London Secondary
School in early March. We were very
proud of our girls’ and boys’ teams!
A huge thank you to the following coaches: Ms.
Sakai, Ms. Green, Ms. Ngan and Mr. Essex and to
our parent helper Mrs. Bridget Rebiffe.
Track and Field:
Track practices are starting up on April 20th.
Students in grades 3 to 7 will be having track
practices on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons
from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. with a rainout practice
scheduled for late Friday mornings. The Track Meet
will be held on May 28th.
Welcome to Kindergarten:
Parents and their children who will be starting
Kindergarten in September 2015 are invited to our
Welcome to Kindergarten event that will be held on
Tuesday, May 5th from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Children
will have the opportunity to play with their parents at
a variety of stations or centres such as play dough,
arts and crafts and story time. All children attending
will receive a tote bag filled with crayons, scissors,
foam letters, a CD with songs and three books.
Volunteer Tea:
All parents who have volunteered to help with our
school activities, class events and field trips are
invited to our annual Volunteer Tea that will be held
on Thursday, May 7th from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Babysitting is provided so please let the office know
if you need childcare. We hope you will join us.
KIDS’ CORNER:
Congratulations to Lyrra in division 8 (Ms. Sakai’s
class) for being the winner of the recent READY
Speech Competition that was held in Richmond.
PAC and RAM info:
Nutrition Month
Make it and take it, wherever the day takes you.
Nutrition
Month
2015
is
dedicated to helping people learn
how to eat well all day long –
whether at work, at school or at
play. With the right recipes, tips
and a little planning, anyone can
prepare nutritious meals and
snacks for anytime and anywhere. A little planning
goes a long way. Stock up on a variety of foods that
let you make up quick, nutritious lunches and snacks.
Top suggestions for stocking in cupboard, fridge
and freezer:
In the cupboard, have canned salmon, tuna and
legumes like black beans and chickpeas to boost up a
lunchtime salad bowl. Store whole grains like
quinoa, barley or brown rice to add for soups. Keep
flavored vinegars and oils for quick salad dressings
and flavor boosts.
In the fridge, have fresh fruits, yoghurts and nut
butters for smoothies. Pre-wash your leafy greens
and ready-to-go veggies to add to salads, soups or
snacks. Keep roasted meats, cooked poultry, cheeses
and hard-boiled eggs for sandwiches.
In the freezer, store whole grain pita and tortillas for
pockets and wraps at lunch. Frozen veggies for quick
soups and stir-fries or frozen berries for smoothies.
Keep leftovers from dinner in portioned out ready-togo containers.
Find more tips and recipes to Make It and Take It,
wherever
the
day
takes
you
at
www.nutritionmonth.ca To talk to a registered
dietitian, call HealthLinkBC at 811 from Monday to
Friday 8:00-5:00 pm.
ON-GOING INFO. & REMINDERS:
Parking Along Lassam Road:
P.A.C. Fundraiser: Cash for Clothes
Clean out your drawers,
Throw in the sheets,
Get rid of old drapes,
Even old cleats!
The PAC will be collecting clothes and housewares
on as a fundraiser. They are looking for: used
clothing, bedding, towels, shoes, purses, sewing
materials, pillows, dishes, books, glassware, pots and
pans, toys, games, electronics, craft supplies.
Collection bags and a notice about Cash for Clothes
went home with students on Thursday, March 12th.
Parents may drop off bagged items in the PAC server
and parent room on Thursday, April 2nd.
PAC Meeting:
The next P.A.C. meeting will be held on Thursday,
May 21, 2015 in the staff room. Please join us!
A friendly reminder to McKinney parents please do
not block our neighbour’s driveways. We have
several parents who continue to park on Lassam
Road and park their
cars blocking some
residents’ driveways.
Let’s all remember to
be respectful of our
neighbours.
Updating Email Addresses:
It is very important that the school have everyone’s
current email address. Please remember to inform
the school office if you make a change.
Hot Lunch Days at McKinney: The following
is a list of the dates for hot lunches for the remainder
of the school year: Apr. 15th, 29th, May 13th, 27th and
June 10th.
Hot Lunch Reminder:
All orders must be in at least 7 days before the lunch
date so that orders can be processed on time. Please
be advised that if your child is ill on a lunch date,
you are welcome to come and pick up their lunch but
we cannot keep the food for them for the next
day. Consistent with previous years, there are NO
REFUNDS as this is a PAC fundraiser. We
appreciate your support for our hot lunch program
as the funds go towards general fundraising within
the school.! Paper copies of the orders are now
available at the office for your convenience. We are
always in need of volunteers. There is a volunteer
page in the online system where you can checkmark
which dates you are available or you can email Dora
at Theodora.groumoutis@gmail.com.
Thanks to Mrs. Groumoutis and her parent helpers
for their ongoing assistance in organizing our hot
lunch program. Parents can go to our school website
@http://McKinney.sd38.bc.ca and click on the
Munchalunch link for further information about how
to order hot lunches for their children.
PEDs (Personal Electronic Devices) @ McKinney
At McKinney, we believe that valuable items should
be left at home as we cannot guarantee their safety,
this includes all personal electronic devices (PEDs).
Students are encouraged and strongly advised that
any cell phones, iPods, or other electronics (that
assist in learning or for emergency purposes) brought
to school must be stored away safely in their
backpacks, unless their teacher has given students
permission or has specified and informed parents
(such as in a note sent home at the start of the school
year) that the item is being used for educational
purposes during class time. Such items as mentioned
above may be unpacked once they leave school at the
end of the school day. James McKinney School
cannot be held responsible for lost or broken
electronic devices. The staff at McKinney School
continue to encourage children to play inclusive
outdoor games and activities at recess and lunch
breaks that don’t exclude others – something that
‘electronic games’ can and often do.
In order to use any technology safely, please make
sure that you have read the pamphlet distributed to all
families in September entitled, Common Sense
Technology Use. For safety and security purposes, all
Intermediate students’ musical instruments must be
taken home at the end of each ‘instrumental music’
day.
Thank you for your continued co-operation and
understanding regarding these important matters.
Ongoing Information…
Interesting Links:
http://www.bcedplan.ca
(BC’s Education Plan)
www.bccpac.bc.ca
(B.C. Confederation of PACs)
www.gov.bc.ca
(Ministry of Education)
http://McKinney.sd38.bc.ca
McKinney School Website
www.sd38.bc.ca
Richmond School District #38
Please bookmark this page (http://McKinney.sd38.bc.ca) as
our office is joining the Eco-Eagles in the quest to help make
our community greener!