From the Office – Sept 2019

Posted on September 19, 2019 by christucker

Well, the flag has dropped and the starter has called and we’re officially running again in a new school year! Welcome to our new students and their families. Our enrollment numbers have fluctuated a little more than we’d anticipated and we have some new faces and some returning faces in the school this year! Welcome to each of you and your families – our school looks forward to getting to know you better. What better way to do that that at our Pancake Breakfast we held on Sept 9. I know the students enjoyed it, as well as some parents I saw who were able to come in too!

We are pleased as well to get to know our two interns, Mr. Hall and Mr. Prokopchuk, who are working with Mr. Hutchinson and Mrs. Bain respectively. We hope your time in our school is memorable and you get a chance to learn a lot about your new profession! We are also welcoming back Mrs. McCubbing to our school this year in the Grade 5 room.

Our classes have had a positive start with lots already happening and some class trips also being planned. Classroom routines are being developed and I already see some homework being taken home. That’s awesome! Our enrollment projection was a bit higher than where we landed, but our total school population is almost exactly what we ended last year with.

Our extra-curricular programs are in progress as well. The SRC has already had a couple meetings to plan their year and plan their attendance at the School Leadership Conference this week! The Football team played on Friday as well as the Senior Girls Volleyball team has now gone to two tournaments already! The Junior Girls Volleyball team is also already competing and I’ve got a Junior Boys Volleyball team ready to start this week. I know our Cross Country team has also been practicing and getting ready for their own competitions this month. What a busy place!

I’ll draw your attention to some upcoming dates, including a PD day on Sept 27 and Oct 11 so no classes for students on those two days, as well as our annual fall TriConferences for parents and students to attend on Oct 22 5-7:30 and Oct 23 3:30-6pm. Our fall Meet the Staff BBQ that is sponsored by our School Community Council will also be held on the first night of interviews Oct 22 from 5:00-7:00pm. We hope to see you there and we’ll share a burger together and a chance to catch up. No school also on Oct 28. Our school is again going to host the Fall Flu Clinic in the school gym the afternoon and evening of October 29th .

We look forward to a funfilled busy year again with wonderful learnings, growth and excitement as we work with your students to help them move ahead in their education. We know that the best way to do that is through positive cooperative work with you at the home and community as well. Thank you for your continued support in that and we’ll look forward to seeing you soon. That’s all from me for this month. Monthly newsletters will follow like other years before. 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.

From the Office May 2019

Posted on May 15, 2019 by christucker

When we get to this part of the school year, I usually get reflective and talk about where we’re at and what’s coming up before June wraps up. I know we seem to be filled with getting ready for Track and Field Conferences, and the Band Trip next week, as well as an upcoming Kindergarten Orientation and Grade 12 Graduation, a number of field trips and some of those pesky final exams to end off the second semester.
Those 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. I continue to update the bulletin boards in the high school wing upstairs with program information and links or information for scholarships and bursaries. It takes some time to apply for most of them – students need to be proactive and start early.
And as we plan for one class to leave us, we also plan for one class to join us. Kindergarten Orientation is planned for the morning of May 29th. We’ll welcome our new Kindergarteners and they and their parents will have a chance to spend some time in the classroom and fill out some registration forms and learnings to look forward to for the fall.
Congratulations to our Drama club that had another great year and such good reviews by the crowds that got to see The Olympic Tryouts! Way to go, Mrs. Griffin, Mr. Hutchinson and the cast and crew! We’re very proud of you all!
The last athletics season of the year is wrapping up in the next couple weeks as track and field conference day is next week and Districts are at the end of the month. It’s the last sports season in our school each year and it runs into Elementary Track & Field and Play Day for the K-6 planned for June 12th.
This week we’re presenting our Learning 4 Life presentation about our School Goals around Literacy that we present to the division each year. Our school-wide reading plans as well as many cross-school interactions between class activities and reading groups and shared teaching projects have made strides in student reading results that will benefit students in their upcoming years of school work as well as their future career choices.
I’d once again like to encourage 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 for grades 10-12 is in the makings and will be sent home soon 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.

From the Office April 2019

Posted on April 17, 2019 by christucker

Our Spring Break is right around the corner this week and we’ve crammed a lot in again before some time away from school. As opposed to last year, I think the last couple months are liable to fly by for us as quickly, if not more so, than the previous eight months. As always my message is one of encouragement to you to help your students stay focused on strong finishes to their classes as we all enjoy the nice weather and temperatures that we’ve been looking forward to for what seems like such a long time. It’s easy to let off the pressure, but sometimes that strong finish is the difference between getting a scholarship or not, being accepted into the right college or other school, or clarifying an understanding in a course that is a prerequisite for another one next year.

The school division calendar for the 2019-20 school year has been finalized and is posted on the division website. I’ll get it attached to our school website as well to help you plan your family details.

With our upcoming graduation on June 14th, this is the time of year that grade 12s start looking at more scholarships and bursaries available for their courses in the fall. The ones sent to the school are always posted in the high school hallway and the https://ScholarTree.ca website is the next best place to start looking. It’s a lot of work but it does pay off in the end, literally. I know that a number of our graduates already have conditional acceptances to school in the fall and others have plans in place.
I’ve also had some recent questions about the Youth Apprenticeship Program as well as the Summer Internship Program as well. The Youth Apprenticeship Program is a fantastic way to get informed about apprenticing before choosing a career – and it has multiple benefits for the employer the student contracts with. Again, we’ve had a few students in the last two years apply and be offered work at trades jobs for the Summer Internship Program and not only get paid well but also receive Apprenticeship 20 credits on their transcripts for every one hundred hours of work. What a great opportunity! The registration deadline is May 8th if other students are interested. They need to get two teacher references filled out so don’t leave it until the last minute.

Our School Community Council meets next month on May 13th to hold our annual meeting. We’d encourage any parent who’d like to be part of the council to contact the school and ask me or Mr. Anderson about the role they play in supporting our school goals and other school projects as well. Any of the council members would also fill you in on the workings of the School Community Council.

Congratulations on the play The Olympic Tryouts for their wonderful results at Regionals last week. They The cast and crew did an awesome job at the drama night and dessert theatre performances. Mrs Griffin and Mr Hutchinson once again put on a super show.

Track and Field practices started this week after a quick season of badminton that didn’t see any players move on to Districts. Conference competition for Track is May 22 and Districts to follow May 31.

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.

From the Office March 2019

Posted on April 17, 2019 by christucker

We’re at that time of year again when the muck, the mud, the puddles and the slushy snow are causing some havoc with our playground as it warms up outside. Believe me I’m not complaining as I know we’re all loving the warm temperatures. This might be my plug for investing in a pair of splash pants for the elementary kids who go outside or see if last year’s pair still fits.

It’s a busy week again with the parent teacher student conferences on Wednesday night (5:00-7:30pm) and after school Thursday night (3:30-6:00pm) in the school. What a great time to come learn about how your students are doing and what wonderful learnings their involved in. We also are holding our annual Knight to Remember Wednesday evening during the interviews as well going from 3:15-7:00pm. Please keep in mind there is no school on Friday.

Drama is running a little later this spring. Drama night and the Dessert Theatre performance is scheduled for April 8 and 9. They go to regionals later that week.
Our Athletic programs are also moving right along as well. The Senior boys had a great season and competed at Regionals in Regina last weekend. What a great season there! Curling was wrapped up after our teams again represented well at Districts. Way to go everyone! Badminton is in full swing as well with junior and senior playoffs the second week of April.

A big thank-you goes out to the School Community Council for all their support of our school and it’s programs! They made a motion this winter to pay for the purchase and install of two new water-bottle filling water fountains in the school and the students are loving them. Thanks again for all that you do, SCC members!

That makes me think about the Community Calendars – there are some left over that were ordered but still haven’t been picked up. Please do so as soon as you can.
The Community raffle tickets are due back at the school at March 29 so I can send them in at the end of the month. Thank you to everyone for all your offered help to sell them. There are some tickets left for those who still would like to purchase one. All tickets books whether sold or not should be turned into the school March 29.

From The Office February 2019

Posted on April 17, 2019 by christucker

I’m writing this on what feels like our first day in a long time that we’ve had buses running and all the students here. The polar vortex we’ve been experiencing and with it the frigid temperatures and wind and snow again is a reminder of the extremes we can experience in Saskatchewan. Our Cold Cats club has had our own record days outside beat as I’ve counted over 20 indoor recesses that we’ve been able to take students outside so they can get some fresh air and exercise! I do see some warmer temperatures on the horizon ahead of us, but I also heard a meteorologist talking about cooler than normal temperatures sticking around for a while yet. I guess we’ll have to see where that takes us.

March is going to bring with it a busy schedule of days including the spring Tri-Conferences taking place the nights of March 20th (5-7:30pm) and March 21st (3:30-6pm). As always it’s a great time to come to the school with your student and celebrate the great learning they’re doing. Please call the school to book your interview if you haven’t already done so. Another reminder also that with the two evenings of interviews here there is no school then on Friday, March 22nd. K-9 report cards will be coming home March 14th. 7-12 report cards go home in April.

Next week has our grade 7-12 school Ski Trip scheduled to Table Mountain on Thursday, March 7th. It’s a great day for the students and we look forward to seeing them all on the hill.

Our grade 12s are currently in the middle of their second week of Career Work Experience. It’s a great opportunity to try a career on for size and see if it’s what they were looking for. Many times in previous years those placements have turned into part time jobs or career opportunities for the future as well as chances to start an apprenticeship.

For those students planning on pursuing a trades career and looking to apprentice with a tradesperson, the Youth Apprenticeship Program is a simple program to complete for a step ahead of other apprentices. We’ve also helped send five students in past summers to a Summer Youth internship in a trades area where they receive very good pay and up to 2 apprenticeship credits on their transcripts. See Mr. Tucker for further information for either program.

Badminton is starting up for both juniors and seniors with practices after school – playoffs are in April so it will be a short season due to the cold weather days. See Mr. Tucker to sign up! Our annual Knight to Remember evening will take place on March 20th – see in the newsletter for more details. It’s a great opportunity and supports a good cause. We also have curling season finishing up and senior basketball as well around the corner with playoffs coming soon – the senior boys basketball team has been having an awesome season and have a game record to be proud of!
Drama performances will be taking place in April but the Drama club has been practicing and learning lines and performance details for weeks already. I’m sure it will once again be an amazing show!

From the Office January 2019

Posted on January 24, 2019 by christucker

It’s cold today. It feels like one of those days I can imagine a polar bear and a penguin talking to each other and asking that age old Saskatchewan question of, “Is it cold enough for you?”

Our Cold Cats club has about seventy names of K-7 students listed and again it’s nice to see so many of them who took advantage of that option on the few indoor recess days we have had. We will continue to run this as an option to staying inside – please make your own wishes known to your elementary students about if you’d like them to head outside. We won’t be forcing students on the list outside if they want to remain in especially when the rotation has them in the gym at noon. That said if they intend on going out, make sure they have warm clothes and understand they have to wear them.

Semester one exams started on Wednesday this week and many classes are reviewing and studying to prepare. Next Tuesday January 29^th is the midway point of the year and a day for report cards to be prepared and planning to begin for Semester two. There are no classes on that day for all K-12 students. Semester two classes begin on Wednesday, January 30^th.

I want to encourage all grade 11 and 12 students who are interested to see me about finishing a Youth Apprenticeship Program. It sees students working through some simple apprenticeship assignments that will give them a step ahead of others who might be also looking to enter an apprenticeship agreement to start their career. It’s also important to note that we have had a few grade 12s already receive conditional acceptance to university programs starting in the fall. It’s an exciting time for them all as their life after grade 12 begins to take shape.

February break will start on Family Day, February 18^th. The Grade 12 Work Experience Week 2 will take place following the break as we’ve had in practice for a few years.

The School Community Council would like me to mention that we still have copies of the Community Calendars available at the office that families ordered this fall. The cost remains at $10 each. They are also looking forward to seeing their purchase of two new water fountains installed this year that have water bottle fillers. Thank you SCC members for investing in our school building.

I was very proud of the school and community to see so many donations this season to our call for clothes and food items to help those in need. What a great example for our students to see and witness the generosity and assistance for others.

I would also like to remind you that we have $5 tickets for sale on the Legion Community Lottery 2019. The prizes are pretty substantial items donated by Western Sales and the money taken in for each ticket sold stays with our school to support our own projects. Thanks for supporting it and please consider selling some tickets for us. A number of families already have and we can’t thank them enough!

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. Take care and I’ll talk to you soon.