From the Office

Posted on by

Well it’s that time again for another piece of wisdom and information from Hanley Composite School’s office. It feels like we may have finally seen the start of spring weather and it’s sure a relief. We have a number of events planned for the last few weeks of school and I’ve tried to give you that list included in this newsletter on the back page.

Congratulations to our Drama club who performed “Broken Hearts Club” at Regionals after a very successful drama season including a tasty dessert theatre. Great job everyone!!

Our Senior Badminton Team had another strong season and we were proud to see Tawny move onto Districts in Girls Singles and Josh and Alexander move past Districts to compete at Regionals. That’s an awesome season!!

We’re in the midst of Track season with about 90-100 students from our school body taking part this week and next as well. It makes me proud to see such a high number of participating athletes from Hanley School.

We had a fantastic grade 7-12 presentation about Addictions by Allan Kehler on May 1. He was a dynamic speaker who captured the attention of the students with his message of personal struggles with substance abuse and the power of talking to overcome life’s issues.

Last week was the second and final week of Work Experience for the grade 12 students. It sounds like the students had a number of valuable experiences at the job sites and either are very grateful to be able to get back to the comfort of their valuable education, or are now, more than ever, looking forward to their work life after finishing high school.

That leads me to my next item. Hanley Composite School Graduation is planned for June 8 with Exercises at 7:30 in the school gym. Congratulations to each of our graduating Grade 12s on their hard work this year.

I want to recognize the great work Mr. Vedress has done this year at Hanley School. Mr. Vedress will be leaving us at the end of this week as we’ll be welcoming back Ms. Bishop-Moisan who has been away on a maternity leave. Welcome Ms. Bishop-Moisan and thank-you Mr. Vedress for all your efforts and classroom work with the Grade 6s and your coaching of Senior Boys Basketball and Track and Field. We’ll miss your contribution to our staff and school.

Mr. Anderson and I would love to talk to you if you have time to drop by the office. Take care and I’ll talk to you soon.

Chris Tucker
Principal

Grade 12 News

Posted on by

The grade 12’s have had an awesome year so far and are ready to wrap things up in this last month. In English we are finishing the novel Brave New World, and about to start Hamlet. In Physics, we just had worked on a Power unit and we  are moving on to Energy. In Biology we are working on Genetics.

Grade 11 News

Posted on by

It is a busy time of year as we continue to work hard and prepare for the end of our grade 11 year. In Chemistry, we just wrote an exam on Chemical Reaction, and participated in Mole Day. In Visual Arts, we are working on our creativity, which is leading into a hat parade. In PAA, we are decorating cakes. In IA, we are building the football shed. In Foundations, we are graphing. In History, we are investigating the battles of WWII and also, working on our independent projects.

Grade 10 News

Posted on by

Hanley, Saskatchewan, home of some of the last free-ranging grade tens in the wild mid-grass prairie region of North America. Come with us as we follow them on an epic journey of education through this somewhat tamed wilderness. On a typical day, your average grade ten stu- dent will rise and slowly make their way to school where they engage in a wide variety of social and educational activities. After some initial snacking and visiting amongst peers, students make their way either to Wildlife Management where they have been learning about chickens (a staple of the grade ten diet), or perhaps to Wellness, where they hone their physical abilities in either archery or track and field. Next, it is on to math, where the deep philosophical meaning of linear equations is revealed. From there, a typical student will go on to learn about cooking and selling food in Commercial Cooking, or per- haps the inner-workings of a housing design project in IA. In Science and History, students learn about covalent bonding among elements of the periodic table, or the French revolution. Finally, in ELA, they have been studying Schindler’s List, and the work that he did saving people in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Join us next month as we follow the grade tens as they enter into the final exam season, where stress and tension abound.

Grade 9 News

Posted on by

Well, we are all abuzz. Our Canoe trip is only 27 days away! It seems like only 180 days ago that we had 207 days to wait. Mr. Graham always says, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” He’s always making up sayings like that. He’s so wise, but he’s no “Renaissance Man”. A Renaissance man is someone who is good at many things from the arts to the sports to the academics.

We’ve wrapped up George Orwell’s Animal Farm and we have started a new novel study on books about the civil war in Sierra Leone, A Long Way Gone and Bite of The Mango. We are doing comparison studies of Canada and Sierra Leone. There is a lot that we take for granted in this land of ours, that’s for sure.

We’re continuing a very thorough unit in Health class about Family Life. Keep it going Mr. Tucker! This is good stuff. Some of you might find this shocking, but we are learning about electricity in science class. Did you know that things like lights and televisions run on electricity? Well, now we know that too! We have been looking forward to our Track meet and working hard preparing for it in Phys. Ed.

In Math we are learning about the amazing world of Circle Geometry. Mr. Herman loves circles and that passion is contagious.

Grade 8 News

Posted on by

In Social Studies we are com- pleting current events and preparation for several small current events quizzes. We are going to be starting the final plan preparations for our year- end trip to Regina. In Physical Education, we have finished Archery and we are doing both  Track and Field and some outdoor games. In Science, we just finished our cardboard boat races in Saskatoon at Harry Bailey Pool. In Health, we are doing a Drugs and Alcohol unit. In Math, we are working on Data and Statistics, while in English we are reading about “Voices from the Holocaust”. In Art, we are starting to research a project on dance. In Industrial Arts, we are working on our wood projects. Finally, in Home Ec., we are starting a unit to sew pajama pants.

Grade 7 News

Posted on by

The year is quickly wrapping up! We are just beginning a unit on poetry in English, a unit on Data and Statistics in math, the Earth and its Resources in Science, and a First Nations unit in Social. We are a busy bunch! By the end of the year we will have worked hard to enough to have earned our year-end trip!

We will continue our fundraising efforts with the Children’s Carnival and Sock Hop on May 18th, from 4:00pm – 7:00 pm. All funds raised from this venture will be used to offset costs for our field trip to Blue Mountain on June 15th. Please come out and support our Grade 7s as they have planned an amazing event. There will be a fish pond, hockey shoot, basketball shoot, cake walk, bowling and bean bag toss. There are prizes for each event. Also, we will welcome Inline Tattoos for the evening. Inline Tattoos will provide airbrushed tattoos for $5.00 each. These tattoos last for days and have brilliant colours! Hotdogs, pop, iced tea, and baking will be available through the concession.

In closing, I am looking forward to winding up the year on a positive note!

Grade 6 News

Posted on by

News and notes from the Grade 6 Classroom. In ELA we have been looking at Myths and Legends and how people tell stories. In Math we are taking a CHANCE studying probability. Our trip to Shekinah Retreat Center was an amazing experience filled with teambuilding, ziplining, and an exhausting hike (only minor injuries). We are hosting a fundraiser for our Moose Jaw Trip, selling raffle tickets to throw a pie in a teacher’s and student’s face! In Science, we have been SHOCKED to see how much there is to know about electricity. Finally, we are enjoying the warm weather. YAY!

Grade 4 & 5 News

Posted on by

Time has really flown by! With May underway and June coming quickly, I would just like to remind you of some important upcoming dates! May 16th is our first swimming lessons date so please ensure your student has brought their swimming gear! May 30th is our Elementary Track and Field Day! June 12th is our trip to Batoche, June 13th is our practice run for the Try-all-a-thon at Blackstrap and the Try-all-a-thon is on June 15th!

We have been busy as usual in our classroom! We are doing a Drama unit, and have just begun practicing scripts for some skits we will be performing. We will let you know when we will be ready for show off our drama skills! We have also been working on some novel studies and doing literature circles for the first time. We have also begun a new adventure with a program called ‘River city’. (Be sure to ask your child about this, it is pretty exciting stuff!) As always, please call or email if you have any questions or concerns!

Ms. Rancourt

Grade 2 & 3 News

Posted on by

Time is flying!! In Arts Education, the Grade 2/3’s have completed a second “Masterpiece of the Month,” and this time they learned about Van Gogh! The masterpieces will be displayed in the hall very soon!

Next week the students will be finishing their Spelling and Writing Trait lessons, and then we will be working on more reading activities, as well as an author study! The Grade 2/3’s have also created wonderful “Rainy Day” poems that are displayed in the hallway!

In Science we are learning about Structures and Materials, discussing the similarities and differences between nature- made structures and man-made structures. Towards the end of the month, the students will be building bridges out of a selection of materials.

The Grade 2’s are learning about 2-D and 3-D shapes in their Math Geometry unit. They are becoming experts at comparing shapes, and describing attributes of shapes, for example “a square has four vertices and four sides that are the same length.” Soon we will be moving on to a unit on Data Analysis.