The grade 10’s are well into semester two and are working very hard. They’ve just finished Of Mice And Men in ELA. Factoring has been the focus in Foundations 10. Wellness has the kids lifting weights and batting an almost weightless birdie around in badminton. In Wildlife Management, they just finished watching March of the Penguins and have also been studying hunting and trapping. If Mr. A plans a trip to Antarctica anytime soon, at least we know the kids won’t starve. Science has had a similar focus as they study the populations of humans and other animals on the planet. In History, they just finished watching Wag the Dog. Food Safety is still the topic du jour in Commercial Cooking (so hopefully we won’t have any bad reactions to the soup du jour). And finally, in IA, the kids have been making house plans a digital reality as they learn Computer Assisted Drafting. Have a great month!

Communism, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, welding, exploring Nationalism, wind turbines, alternative energy resources, grain studies, badminton, candid discussions on health issues and relationships, solving literal equations, re-writing National anthems…What are we describing here?? Some kind of fantasy camp for Superheroes?? Nay, it’s simply a day in the life of the grade nines here at Hanley Composite School. We can hardly believe how fast this year is flying by.  Next week brings the end of winter and the beginning of a long awaited spring. Despite the fact that the piles of snow are quickly disappearing, homework continues to pile up around us, but we are still managing to love every minute of this very “critical year in our adolescent development.” (We learned that in Health class).

In Social Studies we are finishing our examination of First Nations history, pre-contact, post-contact (fur trade), and modern-day issues. In Physical Education we are finishing Badminton and a few classes at the Curling Rink. We start Fitness testing very soon! In Health we are looking at Emotions and how we can learn to control them, and not let them control us. In Career Guidance we are studying Multiple Intelligences and how we can understand them to help us in selecting career paths. In Art we are doing studies on Impressionism now. In Industrial Arts, we are drafting BIG Isometric drawings, and looking forward to studying the new power tools we get to use this year in the shop. Finally, in Home Ec., we are working on our Flour Mixtures Unit. In Math we have just finished having an exam. While in English we working on the novel “The Giver”.

Spring has sprung and we couldn’t be happier in Grade 7! Our month has been a busy one! In ELA we are continuing to explore our novels in Literature Circles, in math we have begun a unit in Measurement, Science has us looking at mixtures and solutions, and social is reflecting about resources and management.

I would like to take this time to thank all the families of the Grade 7 students for providing our class with amazing treats for our potluck! The efforts and involvement of the students and families are greatly appreciated! We will be doing some fundraising in the next few weeks. We will be having a bake sale on March 22 and a float sale the following week. We are raising funds to purchase prizes for a Sock Hop/Carnival the Grade 7s are planning for April 20. The funds raised during the carnival will help to offset costs of our year end trip to Blue Mountain.  More information about the Sock Hop/Carnival and year end trip will be sent out later this month.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school. The phone number is 544-2511, or I can be reached via email: Nicole.Bain@spiritsd.ca.

Tri-Conferences are next week and I look forward to meeting with many of the parents to discuss their child’s successes and progress this year.  If you would like to meet with me, please contact Carey Block at the school and she can schedule a space/time for us to meet. Take care and enjoy the weather!

Hello from the Grade 6 classroom. Here is a brief list of current events. Our 6’s are studying child labour in ELA with the novel “Iqbal”. In Physical Education we are looking at gymnastics and combative games. We are wrapping up Flight in science and will soon be moving on to Electricity. In Health, we are studying Nutrition. Outside of academics, we are looking forward to curling with the Dundurn grade 6 class. Happy Spring,

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 21^st and 22^nd, please call the office to book an interview!

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!

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!

Friday March 16th 8:00-11:00pm (doors open 8:00-9:00)
Grade 7-12
Tickets are $5 at the servery or $6 at the door
If you buy your tickets early you will be entered in a draw to win a mini fridge

Remember to wear green!

Anyone interested in team try-outs for the Summer Games Volleyball Team Try-outs should download and complete the Summer Games Info & Registration Form.