Grade 4 & 5 News

This weather has really convinced us that Spring is on the way! We have accomplished a lot in the last month and are keeping our momentum. We just finished up with our Novel Study Bridge to Terabithia. We had the chance to build a Bridge to help out the main character Jess get to Terabithia and had a great time using our imagination and building skills! Come check out the bridges if you get a chance!

We are learning about the History of Canada in Social Studies and are now learning about the time of the Fur Trade and Treaties. This next month is going to be an interesting adventure in all subjects. The Changing Properties of Objects in Science, The Fur Trade, The Treaties, Drama and a new novel study, Holes. We have also become little horticulturists recently; you will see results in the near future! Looking forward to seeing new and familiar faces at Parent-Teacher Interviews on the 21st and 22nd, please call the office to book an interview!

Grade 2 & 3 News

Greetings from Grade 2/3! My first few weeks with the students have been very exciting, and I look forward to the rest of my time with them!

In science, the grade 2/3 students have been learning about the properties of liquids, solids, and gases. For the next while, they will be examining materials in the world around them and become aware of their properties: how they look, feel, sound, or change. In math, the grade two’s have been learning addition up to one hundred and will soon be starting subtraction to one hundred. The grade two’s have also been reviewing and becoming experts on place value! In health we started a new unit on character education and have been learning about self-esteem and compassion so far. To go along with our character education unit, each student will have a chance to be “Student of the Week” and bring special items to share with the class. In Arts Education the students are very excited about their “Masterpiece of the Month” pictures that are based on artwork by Andy Warhol. They will be displayed in the hallway very soon!

Kindergarten & Grade 1 News

March has been an exciting month with all the changes in weather! Lots of snow and now lots of mud! Please remember to send your child’s splash pants and rubber boots to school each day. Also, some extra socks in their backpack would be in handy just in case! The K/1 leprechaun traps are amazing! A lot of creativity went into these. We had a great time building them with our 4/5 Care Partners! The Grade 1s have been writing some excellent stories during Writer’s Workshop. The theme is to write what you know about. It has been interesting to see what they’ve come up with! The Kindergartens have been enjoying Discovery time! We come up with exciting and interesting questions and use different research tools to find answers. Next, they will research an animal and create a display of their findings. In math the Grade 1s continue to work on adding and subtracting with numbers to 20 and the Kindergartens are working on how we use numbers to solve problems. I look forward to seeing everyone at interviews!

From the Office

Our second semester has taken off on a good start and we’ve been helping all the students get settled into their new classes and timetables. Thank you to parents who have taken such interest in their student’s timetables and course selections. Thank you as well to so many parents who do such an important job of informing the school if your son/daughter is going to be absent.

The month is once more flying by and while short, it has been filled with many items since I last wrote a “From the Office.” It was nice to see a small but interested group of parents attend the School Community Council sponsored “Math Night for Parents.” Trish Reeves was out from our Division office to discuss the provincial math curriculum and the program that our schools follow. Some good discussion took place along with the reinforcement for elementary parents to stay in good contact with their student’s teacher and continue to ask good questions about how best to help their young mathematicians.

Our students have been wrapping up some seasons in both curling and basketball. Congratulations to those students who’ve been involved for their hard work on one of our school teams while continuing to focus on keeping up good grades as well. Good luck to the Senior Girls Curling at Regionals this weekend!

I was fortunate to tag along on the Grade 7 Ski Trip to Table Mountain last month and want to tell you that I was very impressed by such a good group of young students. Congratu- lations to those students on such a good day of team building and to Mrs. Bain for her efforts to help them grow together.

Hanley School was also able to invite Duncan Seimens from the Saskatoon Blades to give a talk to the grades 6-9 about a drug prevention program called Project Face-Off that took place on Jan. 24th. Duncan and a member of the Saska- toon Police drug detail were in to encourage students to make better choices in their future.

I would like to highlight how proud I am of our SRC and their work on the Breast Cancer Awareness volleyball tournament they organized. They raised over $2100 and the day went smoothly from start to end. I continue to be very impressed by the commitment and talents that our students are capa- ble of and would like to en- courage all of our students to find a way to contribute their talents to our school as well.

We continue to have some more staffing shifts this year and February is no different. Mrs. Burgess has left us for the remainder of the school year as she is away on a medical leave – Miss Anderson has taken over her classes. Also, Mrs. Romanchuk is starting her maternity leave after this break. Congratulations Mrs. Romanchuk! – Miss Gabora will be filling her Grade 2/3 teaching position for the remainder of the school year.

Well, I started typing this not sure how much I would have to say and find now there was a lot. Mr. Anderson and I would love to talk to you if you drop into the office. Take care and I’ll talk to you soon.

Mr. Chris Tucker Principal

Grade 12 News

Once upon a time, there was a group of Grade 12 students who were starting their last semester of school.  These students were separated into two groups: the first group had English first thing in the morning and learned about Inner Beauty and how society shapes our thoughts on what beauty means, while the second group made resumés in preparation for their future.  Every day after English, the first group took a treacherous journey across the dreaded hallway to Prakashland to learn about Physics and Kinematics.  Some of these Grade 12’s were brave enough to risk the perils of Calculus, but before they could face that feared Mathematical Dragon, they needed to review and practice their previous Math training. Biology was considered to be of use for both groups of students, so all declared “Yes, we will Biologize!” And they did, by exploring the building blocks that make up the Human Body.  Amidst all of this rigorous learning, the youthful Grade 12’s kept themselves in top shape in Physical Education. They also set forth on their most exciting adventure yet: Planning Graduation. Oh the wonders of being in Grade 12. The End.

Tori

Grade 11 News

We are busy into the second semester. In math, we just wrote an exam on the properties of angles and triangles. In History, we are researching personal projects. In PAA, we are learning about international foods. In IA, we are looking at the theory of building houses. We also, have just started building saw horses.  In Chemistry, we are examining the functions of the Lab, including scientific method, lab equipment and safety in the lab. In Visual Arts, we are exploring world cultural art. Have a great February break!

Grade 10 News

Well, the grade 10’s somehow managed to survive their first set of final exams, albeit with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now we’re hard into second semester and finally have them convinced that when a new class starts in Term 2, your marks from Term 1 don’t count towards it.  Really.  On that note…  In ELA the young adults are talking about morality, what’s right and what’s wrong.   Which makes discussing political philosophy in Social all the more painful, I’m sure.  In Commercial Cooking, the kids are preparing for the Food Handler’s Safety Course aka How To Feed People Without Killing Them. Since the teachers are all enthusiastic consumers of Commercial Cooking’s meals, we’re very glad that they’re taking this first step. Drafting is the focus of IA. In Wellness, they’re just wrapping up Basketball. Wildlife Management has been examining aquatic and snow-based life forms.  Math has the students doing unit conversion between Metric and Imperial and in Science, the boys are examining Species At Risk.  Have a great break!

Grade 9 News

In this season of love and Valentines, we thought it would be fitting if we told you, the dear readers, about some of the things we love. We love school and learning. We love it when Mr. Tyndall starts a new unit in Science class, especially a unit on electricity. We love doing water color painting and geometric toothpick structures in Art class.  We loved the Polynomials unit in math and we are very sorry to see it go.  We love healthy minds and healthy bodies, so of course we love Health class.

We love reading new books, stretching our minds and asking ourselves big big questions.  We just finished reading The Sunflower by Simon Weisenthal. It is a very powerful and important book that everyone should read. We used our Social Studies class to further explore some of the lessons learned of more current world events such as in Bosnia and Rwanda.

We love listening to our new record player while we work.  We love the classics.  Always have, always will.

Thanks for reading.

Grade 8 News

In Social Studies we are looking at the issues of the history of Treaties and First Nations. In Physical Education we are trying to organize going to the rink/curling rink to have some fun! We will be starting a Badminton Unit shortly.  In Science we are looking at Forces, Fluids and Density.  Finally, in Industrial Arts, we have started to draft in 3D and complete Isometric drawings. Health class is focusing on Emotional Maturity and Career Guidance is finishing a project on Finances and Budgeting after getting a job from an online work experience game. Math has us doing a Perimeter and Area review. Then we will begin a section on Volume and Capacity. While in English we are working through the novel “The Giver”.  In Art Class we are studying Frescos and are starting a Fresco project.  In Home Ec. we just started a new semester and right now we are doing a review of Lab Procedures, Kitchen Equipment, Kitchen Safety, and Proper Use of Equipment.

Grade 7 News

We are well on our way into the third quarter of the year!  The year is flying by.  We had a fabulous time at Table Mountain in January – great weather, awesome kids, fabulous chaperones, and a wonderful bus driver!  Thank you to all who attended and/or contributed to the day. I know the class and I are already looking forward to our Blue Mountain trip in June.

Academically, we have been busy!  Math has our class exploring Decimals, and in English, we are just beginning our Challenges Literature Circles. In social class, we are doing a comparative study between Russia and Canada.  We are currently focusing on the physical geography aspect of this study.  Finally, in science, we are investigating Mixtures and Solutions!

Tri-Conferences are to be held in March.  If you would like to see me regarding your child’s progress, please do not hesitate to call the office for an appointment. As always, please call me if you have any questions or concerns (544-2511).