The break for school runs from Dec 22nd to Jan 6th. We look forward to seeing everyone again January 7th as high school starts to prepare for the semester one exams to end those classes.

On behalf of the staff here, I’d like to wish you our very best and hope that you are able to enjoy the upcoming holidays. We hope you can all rest, relax, recharge and renew as we move into 2019 and look forward to what a new year provides us all.

I’m finding it once again an amazing thing that we’re already at the week before Christmas holidays! Where do the school days go? The snow seems to be disappearing all around us with the warm temperatures the last couple weeks. The sun has reappeared after that week of frost and fog we put up with – and with the sun
some melting temperatures. Hopefully we’ll still see a whiter Christmas for
everyone to enjoy and for some snow activities to help pass the break.

If you were here for the Christmas Family Fun Night then you had a chance to enjoy some songs, games, snacks and crafts. As always it’s a great chance for us to get together and celebrate the Christmas season together. We also were selling the Community Calendars for those who wanted to pick theirs up. If you’ve ordered one this
year, please pick it up at the school office. Same price as previous years for ten dollars. We were also selling some Football clothing items as well as the Cold Cats shirts. They are still available for those who want them.

There were a lot of opportunities this month to contribute to some food hampers and I want to celebrate what a great response we had, whether it was support through food donations, money donations, or a combination. We are committed to keeping those donations for local families who can use them. Thank you for your generous spirit during this season. I’m proud of you all for your part.

The Grade 12s made it out to their first week of Work Experience in December. What a great program that is and the students are lucky to have the opportunity available to them to “try a career” on for size to confirm that it’s for them or (and just as important) that it’s not for them. The second week is coming up in February on the week following the school Winter Break. We’ll keep you posted. Grade 12 students, keep checking the
bulletin boards for Careers info as it comes to the school. Scholarship and bursary info is also found at the link on the bulletin board.

Parents, remember that the PowerSchool program has a parent access feature that you can register to use to check up on how your son or daughter is doing through their assignments. There are a number of great features available, including just seeing a snapshot of their progress. It was a handy tool for students and families to access when we were having division report card program glitches with printing out the paper copies. Contact us to help you sign up for this if you want to give it a try.

Our basketball teams have been already into practices for a couple weeks, and I know that curling and drama are in the preparations for their seasons as well! What fun it is to be a student!

That’s all for now. 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. Talk to you soon.

It’s that time of year again when we need to offer a reminder about a few division policies regarding cold weather because we’ve had a taste of it already, and I think it’s a safe bet that more of it’s on its way before we see spring.

Remind your students to wear the proper warm clothes to school again this season, including snow pants for elementary students headed outside to slide around and play in the snow, as well as for any of our students being picked up by bus.  Bus Drivers do have the authority to refuse students entry to the bus if they don’t have proper clothing for cold weather.  In the case of a breakdown, all students should have proper clothing to ensure they are safe and warm on the bus while waiting for support to arrive. While on the topic of bussing – a reminder that a combined temperature and wind chill that drops to minus 40 degrees will cancel buses for the day. If a bus doesn’t run in the morning, it will not run in the afternoon. Classes will never be cancelled on those days – the school is required to remain open for those students who do make it to school, including those whose parents drive them in.

We will be continuing this year with our Cold Cats club for students in grades K-7. Again, remember that this is an option on the indoor recess days for students who still want to go outside for some fresh air and outdoor play. I’ll be supervising them on those days on the playground until they’ve had enough. They can go back in when they get cold or once they’ve had enough, but it’s sure great for many of them to get some fresh air and exercise, even though its that cold. Please ensure those students are prepared with warm clothing and accessories so they can enjoy the recess. Call or email the school to sign up your Cold Cat student to be on our list. We even have Cold Cats shirts for sale!

The grade 11 and 12 students enjoyed another morning earlier this month at the annual Career Fair in Saskatoon.  Planning should be well underway for students to narrow their options for careers or education following grade 12.  For those students who are still struggling with ideas, help is always available from Mr Tucker who can lead the students to directions to start looking for answers.  I’ll also encourage any students who are considering an apprenticeship opportunity to spend some time to complete the Youth Apprenticeship Program this year as it offers many benefits to the student and the employer.

Our Christmas Family Fun night will take place on Dec 12 and the annual Christmas Lunch for students and staff will again be on the last school day of Dec 21. 

Just a reminder that the Grade 12 Work Experience week one is scheduled for the first week of next month, December 3 – 7.  Students are expected to meet with their work placement employer for their interview in preparation for the first day that week.  Good luck to each of the students as they spend a week in their chosen career areas.

We started sending progress reports home last week with students in elementary grades. Our system has had some troubles this go round so I want to thank you for your patience as we wait for the updates to the program and get the paper copies sent home. The first quarter of the year has passed us very quickly. Congratulations to students on all your wonderful marks and achievements already this year.

We had a wonderful fall of extracurricular teams doing well representing our school. Congratulations to the Senior Girls Volleyball team on their push that ended at Regionals! It was also a great season for the Junior Girls who played at District playoffs this year and also to the Senior Boys who had a team.

The same congratulations to the Football team for a well-played season and a tough provincial game against Hafford! The school is very proud of all players and coaches across the school for such great seasons thus far this year! As always, our students proved again that they are wonderful representatives of Hanley Composite School and their conduct continues to make us proud.

That’s all for now.  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. Talk to you soon.

School visits, field trips, track and field practices, and a few meetings are making the month of May fly by for me. If someone can explain what the weather is doing these days I’d appreciate some information. Do the shorts come out of the closet? Can I pack up my winter coat yet? I’m not sure how to describe my relationship with the weather-person lately. Keep your fingers crossed that our upcoming outside activities have good conditions.

As I’ve written and explained previously, Hanley and Dundurn Parents, I’m constantly reminded what wonderful students we have at Hanley Composite School and many of us here are kept young by the fun interactions and smiles that working with them brings to us each day. We continue to be proud of their accomplishments, and their strides in growth and maturity each year. We, like you, are so pleased to see their progress each year and look forward to that continuing.

Plans for graduation continue to move forward as well as preparations for students’ lives after grade 12. If you have some questions about courses that we can help answer, or have some developments about future plans that you’d like to share, we’d always love to hear about what the students are planning on doing once their lives here move on.

Congratulations to our Drama club that had another great year and such good reviews at Provincials including winning the Overall Best Production for their play THE HOTEL. They received a number of awards and once again were lucky to see some great productions from other high school students. Way to go, Mrs. Griffin, Mr. Hutchinson, and the cast and crew! We’re very proud of you all!

We’re continuing to plan our Learning 4 Life presentation about our School Goals around Literacy that we present to the division each year at the end of May. This year’s implementing of a sustained school-wide reading time every day has made a wonderful impact on the amount of reading that’s taken place – studies show that extra reading time given where students can pick their own book, has a vast impact on their personal literacy, which then transfers into improved reading and comprehension in all subject areas. I am once again proud of our school and the progress that so many students are making in their reading. Our graduation rates (95% average over the last 10 years) continue to be higher than the school division’s which in turn are higher than the provincial average. For more information or details, please drop by or send me a note.

I’d like to encourage all the students to make all the effort needed to finish strong this year and if they have final exams, to give themselves lots of time to study. A final exam schedule will be in the makings and sent home next week by email to all families.

Well, that’s all for now. For further information and updates from the students and classrooms, check out our school website at http:// 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

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

Well I think this is the snow and cold we were hoping we’d do without this winter. Remind your students to wear the proper warm clothes to school again this season, including snow pants for elementary students headed outside to slide around and play in the snow, as well as for any of our students being picked up by bus. Bus Drivers do have the authority to refuse students entry to the bus if they don’t have proper clothing for cold weather. In the case of a breakdown, all students should have proper clothing to ensure they are safe and warm on the bus while waiting for support to arrive.

The grade 11 and 12 students enjoyed another morning this month at the annual Career Fair in Saskatoon. Planning should be well underway for students to narrow their options for careers or education following grade 12. For those students who are still struggling with ideas, help is always available from Mr. Tucker who can lead the students to directions to start looking for answers. I’ll also encourage any students who are considering an apprenticeship opportunity to spend some time to complete the Youth Apprenticeship Program this year, as it offers many benefits to the student and the employer.

Just a reminder that the Grade 12 Work Experience week one is scheduled for the first week of next month, December 5th -9 th . Students are expected to meet with their work placement employer for their interview in preparation for the first day that week. Good luck to each of the students as they spend a week in their chosen career areas.

Progress reports are being sent home this week with students in grades 1-12 as the first quarter of the year has passed us very quickly. The report is a common format for all the students in those grades, incorporating the behavioural comments onto the same report as the academics, yet still reporting them as separate items.

I wanted to give my congratulations to each of our sports teams that competed already this fall, doing a great job of representing Hanley Composite School in the extra-curricular areas. I’ve heard a ton of awesome comments about how polite and well-mannered our students can be as either hosts in our school, or while we’re on the road. Great job, everyone!

A special congratulations to the boys on the football team for their Provincial win last weekend! Great job guys – it was a great game to watch and cheer for.

That’s all for now. 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. Talk to you soon. Chris Tucker Principal Hanley School

I’m looking forward to some sunshine.

Parents, here’s your annual reminder about the proper clothing and jackets that need to accompany students who are bus kids as well as those who will be outside at recess breaks. Bus drivers who don’t think that students have proper warm clothes with them in cold weather are directed to refuse transport in case of a bus problem on their route. I’ll also take a minute to remind all drivers about stopping and not passing a bus that has it’s stop arm out and lights flashing until that stop arm is retracted and the flashing lights are off. One last reminder is about our school zone speed of 30km/h during school hours and not parking in our school bus drop off zone in the parking lot during the day.

Our first night of TriConferences was last night and again it was so great to see the high attendance from parents in to meet new staff and share some supper with us as well as celebrate the learning taking place at Hanley Composite School. The School Community Council supplied the BBQ burgers and fixings and made for a nice atmosphere here last night – thanks to Ken Froese, Kelvin Orsen, Shannon Froese, Trish Anderson, Andrea Townsend, Amy Grindheim and Leah Weisbrod. Your volunteerism made for a great evening.

We’re again planning on taking the Grades 11 and 12 to the Career Fair on November 7 in the morning and return for period 4. We’ll be stopping at Dundurn on the way to Saskatoon to pick up students there as well. We will bus the students to Saskatoon so they have an opportunity to stop at the various booths to discuss their career options with the institutions and job programs that are present. It’s always a valuable experience for students to attend. Sometimes it confirms some future plans – sometimes it creates new ideas. Please fill out the permission form that we’ll send home as well as email, or call the school to confirm permission. I’ll require parents to discuss with me the reasons why they don’t give permission as it’s such an important part of high school.

Congratulations to all the students we were able to recognize at the Awards Program earlier this month. It was nice to have all the students in attendance who were currently attending classes as we recognized last year’s students for all of their hard work and perseverance.

Our extra-curricular programs have been busy this fall. Congratulations to Hailey E for her Cross Country Provincial experience. We have three volleyball teams competing most weekends in October. The football team hosts home games starting this Saturday as long as they continue to do well. The SRC is doing a great job with events around the school, including taking a lead on the Book Fair in the library this week. Swimming lessons are winding up next week and piano lessons are continuing as other years. Good luck to all of the students on their seasons as they compete and with all their work and preparation.

We’re planning on some Halloween activities on Oct 31 – please see the email we sent home about toning down some of the scarier costumes. A costume parade is still in the works as well as a Saber Awards assembly to follow. I do love these fun days.

The upcoming days to keep in mind are October 24: No School and what looks like Picture retakes on October 28. November 7 is the Career Fair trip, the Remembrance Day Program is on November 10th and November 17th is the annual Flu Clinic in the gym. That’s all for now.

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