Welcome to the “just over the halfway” point of this school year. I know we’ve been dealt our fair share of cold days this year but on average it feels like we’ve gotten away so far with a pretty mild season. The hill on the elementary playground continues to see a lot of action with the school krazy carpets and I’ll again remind you to keep sending ski pants and snow boots until the season ends. But the warm weather we’re in for the next few days will also make me think to mention the need for rubber boots soon. I’ve seen a number of awesome class projects in the halls including play backdrops and Valentines art in the works this week. We have inherited a turtle in grade 3 and I’ve seen plans for Mr. Herman Soup as well. What a fun place to be!
It was fantastic to see so many nice final grades on the transcripts for the grade 10-12 students after the end of the first semester. For our Grade 12s that means one last semester of classes in store for them and then continued plans for life after high school. I’ve connected with many of the students about their plans, and want to encourage others to come see me about Career Cruising information and ideas to help them if they’re still on the fence about what to do after June. Some grade 11s and 12s are also looking at finishing the Youth Apprenticeship program this semester – the benefits give students that finish a big step up with an employer when looking to apprentice in a trade. If you’re interested, see Mr. Tucker about a quick list of the benefits. We also have a handful of students taking advantage of the Career Bootcamps that are being offered this year – a series of evenings in designated career areas that help confirm what they want to do after graduating, as well as some Spotlight on Careers – one day events focusing on a specific field. The posters advertising these days are in the hallway outside the senior classrooms and more information and applications are with Mr. Tucker.
I’d like to wish Mrs. Koroll our best as she’s started her maternity leave this month. Mrs. McCubbing will move to working with the grade 3s full time until the end of June. Miss Vanderpost, who was an intern here last year, has been hired to do some work in the elementary classes that Mrs. McCubbing was teaching. Welcome Miss Vanderpost. There are a few days in the next month I’ll try to help you keep track of.
The Winter break starts next week Feb 18- 26 so please enjoy your Family Day on Feb 20 and the following days. The Grade 12 students have their Work Experience week two following the winter break Feb 27 to March 3 so I wish them well on their days at their job. K-6 report cards are going out on March 9 th. We also have TriConferences (K-12) the week after that on March 15 and 16 from 5:00-7:30pm – you can start booking with Mrs. Block to reserve your interview time. Grade 7-12 report cards will go out in April. Students will have a day off next month on March 17th as well as another for the Teacher Prep day on March 24th . Plans are moving ahead for the Heritage Fair on March 10th . I know that the grade 7-8 and the grade 9-12 ski trips are coming up next month on March 21 and 23 respectively. Notes with the permission slips and costs will be coming home soon. Start stretching now.
Well, that’s more than enough from me. For further information and updates from the students and classrooms, check out our school website at https://blogs.spiritsd.ca/ hanley/. As always, Mr. Anderson and I would love to talk to you if you have time to drop by the office or give us a call. Take care and I’ll talk to you soon.
Chris Tucker
Principal
Hanley School