April 2015 Newsletter

FRANK J. NEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
5301 WILLIAMSON ROAD
NANAIMO, B.C. V9T 1L1
PHONE – 250-729-8045
FAX – 250-729-8058
Principal – Ms. S. Young
Secretary – Mrs. Buckland
Web Page: Web Page: schoolsweb.sd68.bc.ca/fjney
NEWSLETTER
Principal’s Message
Dear families,
Our school continues to be a positive, productive learning environment! Our grade 3 classes are
participating in the district sponsored “Swim to Survive” program, our intermediate classes have had or are
having information sessions on mean vs bullying behavior presented by Const. Wilson (our school liaison
officer), the DARE program has started in grade 5, and we will be celebrating earth day with a variety of
activities including a community clean up. Towards the end of the month, all classes will have Kerri Isham
present the sexual health curriculum (a parent session is offered on April 16th – more information below), and
our excellent basketball teams will be finishing their seasons and grade 3 – 7’s will be participating in the joint
Seaview/Frank J. Ney track meet on April 30th.
Staff has also been busy with a number of initiatives during our Professional Learning Community time
including: reviewing the W.R.A.P. project at intermediate and making plans for next year, looking for curriculum
connections and the school/community garden project, physical activity lesson planning, numeracy scope and
sequence, and primary language arts assessment. In the next couple of months we will be examining our
school Response to Intervention planning and supports and reviewing and developing our school goals for next
year.
And last, but not least, we have some parents who have been very busy as well: thank you to our PAC
fundraisers, hot lunch organizer, PAC committee members, parent drivers, parent volunteers, and parents who
support their children every day at home!
Enjoy the blooms,
Susann Young
April 7, 2015
APRIL VIRTUE:
Since we moved the traffic “cops” out of the drop off area,
we have noticed smoother movement through the parking
lot during busy times, so we will continue in the same
manner.
COMMITMENT
What is Commitment?
Commitment is caring deeply about something or
someone. It is the willingness to give your all to a
friendship, a task, or something you believe in. It is
the ability to make decisions and follow through on
them. It is keeping your promises.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Registration for September 2015 is well underway.
If you have not registered yet, we strongly recommend
you do so, as we will soon be starting to look at class
organization this month.
To obtain an assured space in your catchment-area
school, you must register by June 15, 2015. If you know of
any children of kindergarten age in the neighbourhood,
we’d be pleased if you passed the word.
UPCOMING DATES:
Apr 13
Apr 16
Apr 20
Apr 22
Apr 21
Apr 27
May 4
May 11
May 11
May 18
May 19
May 25
May 25
May 26
May 27
Hot Lunch
Kerri Isham Parent Workshop 6 – 8 pm
Bake Sale / PLC Early Dismissal
Earth Day/Lights Out
PAC Meeting - 6:30-8:00 pm
Hot Lunch
Non-Instructional Day – School Based Pro-D
PLC Early Dismissal
Hot Lunch
Victoria Day Holiday – no classes
PAC Meeting – 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
PLC – Early Dismissal
Hot Lunch
Zone Track Meet
School Performance – Jacky Essombe – 1:35
ATTENTION CHILDCARE PROVIDERS /
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL
FACILITATORS
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On Tuesday May 5 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m., Frank J. Ney
will be hosting our Welcome to Kindergarten event. We
encourage Childcare Facilitators that provide Before and
After School care to our community’s children to be sure to
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contact the school before April 30 to register a table at
our event. This will provide our new families with choices
for care for their children as they enter school. We
encourage Facilitators to come prepared with pamphlets or
information sheets about your program and facility. Please
contact our office to register with your company’s name
and contact number if you would like to attend this event.
PARKING LOT UPDATE
Thank you to drivers for pulling over to drop off and pick
up, and to those parking at Harry Whipper Park.
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MacGregor, Terri Mack, Sarah Turner and Vikki
VanSickle
2015 SATISFACTION SURVEY:
The Diana Krall Plaza is the center of fun and activities on
BookFest day. Over the lunch hour there will be face
painting, bubble-blowing, musical entertainment by the
Stratford Hall Taiko Drummers, and a healthy, affordable
lunch available from Nanaimo Foodshare. Mulberry Bush
Bookstore will be onsite for you to browse or buy books
from our many wonderful presenters, and at the end of the
day make sure to stick around to meet the authors and get
your books signed!
Grade 4 and 7 parents should have received information
about the Ministry of Education’s “Satisfaction Survey”.
Parents and staff may complete the survey by going to the
website:www.bced.gov.bc.ca/sat_survey/access.htm and
using the passwords provided in the letter to log in.
Deadline to complete the electronic survey is Thursday,
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April 30 . Grade 4 and 7 students will complete their
surveys (takes 5 to 10 minutes) within the next two weeks.
Free Pre-school sessions will be held in the Nanaimo
Museum including Musical Storytime, Babytime and
Preschool Puppet Show.
SCHOOL DRESS CODE
As we approach summer and more sunny days, parents
are reminded to review the following guidelines with their
children.
Find out more about presenters and check out the
BookFest schedule to choose your 3 sessions at
http://www.porttheatre.com/events/may-2015/bookfest2015/. Tickets are $10 per child for 3 sessions, to a
maximum of $25 per family.
School is a place to work and learn and, as such, students
are expected to dress in a manner that is conducive to this
expectation. At school we rely on the good sense of
students and their parents rather than a strict code as to
what is suitable to wear to school.
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The 54th annual Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair
(http://web.uvic.ca/~virsf) will take place April 12 and 13 at
the Elliott Lecture Wing of the University of Victoria. It
would be wonderful to see you there. There are 160 grade
4 to 12 students who are excited to show off their projects
to you!
hats are not worn in the building, except in the
classroom with the teacher’s permission
beach wear/leisure wear or clothes that are revealing
are not acceptable (i.e. low cut tops, spaghetti straps,
muscle t-shirts, halter tops, bare midriffs, bare backs)
items of clothing that display offensive graphics/writing
not appropriate for school
shorts/skirts at a reasonable mid-thigh length
tops must meet bottoms
PAC NEWS
April, 2015
STUDENT INFORMATION CHANGES
Keeping student information accurate and updated is very
important. If a child becomes ill during school hours, or in
case of an emergency, it is imperative that we have correct
phone numbers in order to make contact. Please advise
the school of new contact information, or an alternative
number that can be called.
NEXT PAC MEETING
Tuesday, April 21st
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
School Library
LIBRARY NEWS
Everyone is Welcome!
Coming soon:
Frank J. Ney Spring Scholastic Book Fair is on April
8th to the 14th!- Mark your calendar for this great event!
All proceeds go towards purchasing new books for our
library!
Spring has arrived! I hope everyone had a good Spring
Break. The PAC is busy planning a number of fundraisers
and events over the next couple of months. The money
that we earn though fundraising makes a really big
difference for the students of Frank J Ney . For instance,
this money is used to bring musicians and artists into the
school, to purchase new classroom technology, to bring in
special education programs like Kerri Isham’s Power Up
awareness program and the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education (D.A.R.E) program, and it also gives teachers
an allowance to buy supplies and materials to support their
classroom programs. The largest expense for us this year
is outdoor play equipment. We have recently purchased a
variety of balls, hoops etc. for the intermediate students to
play with at recess. Also, we have ordered a couple of
new pieces of playground equipment for the primary
playground area. You see... your fundraising dollars are
making a difference! Thank you for your continued
support!
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The sale will run on Wednesday, April 8 afterschool,
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Thursday the 9 , Friday the 10 , and Monday the 13
during the morning, lunch break, and after school, and
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Tuesday the 14 during the morning and lunch break.
Hope to see you there!
VANCOUVER ISLAND CHILDREN’S BOOK
FESTIVAL
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Saturday, May 2 , 11am-3pm
Various locations in downtown Nanaimo
BookFest is a wonderful, fun-filled day for children and
adults that will be taking over downtown Nanaimo
Saturday, May 2nd. Renowned authors and illustrators
from across Canada are invited to present their work, tell
stories about their creations and lives, and inspire youth
through literature and art. The 2015 lineup will be
presenting in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre and
the Nanaimo Art Gallery's Art Lab, and includes:
Catherine Austen, Lucky Budd, Mike Deas, Wallace
Edwards, Bill Helin, Gary Kent, Kim LaFave, Roy
Here is a break down of fundraising dollars so far this
year:
Bake Sales - $935
Poinsettias - $159
Hot Lunch - $1872
Gift Cards - $26
Magazine Subscriptions - $525
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Popcorn - $1465
Raffles - $1483
Smencils - $224
Mabel’s Labels - $21
Donations - $239
Labels fundraiser will be posted on the PAC Facebook
soon so stay tuned!
Garage Sale
On Saturday, May 2 from 9am - 1pm we will be having a
community garage sale in the school gym. This is a huge
fundraiser for the school. Last year it brought in over
$1700!
The next PAC meeting will be Tuesday, April 21, from 6:30
- 8:00pm in the school library. If you are a parent or a
caregiver of a FJN student then you are a member of the
PAC. Please feel welcome to join the meeting, if only to
come and listen and meet other parents. Free child
minding is available.
If you have any garage sale items to donate for the PAC to
sell, please drop them off at the school gym on Friday,
May 1 from 8am to 8pm.
Coming Events & Fundraisers
Maybe you’d rather sell your own stuff and make a little
money? No problem...Tables are available to rent for $25.
Contact Brenda Larson regarding table rentals on the PAC
Facebook or at frankjneygaragesale@gmail.com .
Body Smart: From Child to Teen (Parent Workshop)
Kerri Isham is coming to give a Power Up parent
workshop in our school library on Thursday, April 16
from 6pm -8pm. This work shop is sponsored by the
PAC and free to all FJN parents and caregivers.
Kerri is the certified sexual health educator
implementing the body awareness and sex education
program to our students. Take this opportunity to
educate yourself and become informed about what
your child will be learning at school. Hopefully you
will be better prepared to answer the questions that
your child will bring home and to have open
conversations about their sexual health.
Volunteers are needed both Friday and Saturday.
Contact Shelley Roy if you are able to help.
roys@telus.net
Cob’s Bread
Did you know that the School can get money back if you
shop at Cob’s Bread? Just identify yourself as a Frank J
Ney parent when purchasing something at the store. If we
spend $500 or more total in a year the school will get 5%
back. Easy Peasy!
Scholastic Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair will be in our school library again
from
April 8 -14. So many great books..so hard to choose! The
fair will be open before school, at Big Recess, and again
after school. Come and check it out.
Monique Grimmer
PAC Chair
fjnpacchair@gmail.com
Hot Lunch
Take a break from packing your child’s lunch and
order lunch instead.
Order online at www.FJNPAC.weebly.com. The
upcoming hot lunch menu is:
April 13 - Extreme Pita and Pizza
April 27 - Soup & Salad day
May 11 - Hot dog day
May 25 - Pizza - Little Caesars
June 8 - DQ Treat Day
Spring Baskets
Spring has sprung at Frank J Ney! Spring baskets from
Devry Greenhouses will be available for sale again this
year. Order forms will be coming home soon with your
child on Wednesday, April 8th. If you would like to order:
1. Fill in the order form with your child’s name, class
information
& what you wold like to purchase.
2. Payments can be made in cash or cheques (made
payable to
Frank J Ney PAC).
Due date for the order forms and payments is Wednesday,
April 22nd. Please return to your child’s teacher.
Pick up date will be Tuesday, May 5th. Time to be
announced.
Boys and Girls Raffle
Coming soon... Enter to win Taryn the Maplelea Doll or a
634 piece Ender Dragon Minecraft set. Each prize valued
at around $100. Tickets will be $2 each.
Mabel's Labels
Mabel’s Labels are personalized labels that are perfect for
labeling your kid’s items. They stick to lunch containers,
school supplies, clothes, backpacks etc... They can be put
in the dishwasher and dryer. They are also useful for
labeling items at home or at work. As a Frank J Ney
fundraiser, the school receives 20% from all items
purchased. The campaign ends on May 31, 2015 and it’s
all done on-line. A link to Frank J Ney 2015 Mabel’s
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