HAZEL M. KELLINGTON SCHOOL Allen Hanke BOX 696 Scott Freeman Principal NEEPAWA, MB Vice-Principal Ph. (204) 476-2323 ROJ lHO Fax (204) 476-3449

www.hazelmkellington.weebly.com

NEWSLETTER #8 March 27th, 2015

Dear Parents

As we head into Spring Break, thoughts of spring are definitely in the air, despite the recent wintery setback! We are all looking forward to the return of the warm weather. We are hoping when we return after Spring Break that the playground will be dry enough so we will not need to use the barricades to block off the street for the kids to play!

Although our last scheduled set of parent teacher conferences have come and gone, we want to make sure you know that you are welcome to discuss your child’s progress at any time. It is extremely important that school and home maintain excellent communication throughout the entire year, so that everyone is able to best support each child’s learning.

When we speak of learning, everyone has a slightly different idea of what we are talking about. Many people will automatically think of academic learning – reading, writing, math, etc. There is also social learning – learning how to navigate complex relationships; and emotional learning – learning how to recognize and monitor emotions as well as how to use this information when making choices. In all types of learning, making mistakes is a very important part of the process. In school we will see kids who are not willing to take an academic risk. This limits their ability to learn, for if one is too afraid to even try something, they will struggle to learn it. Mistakes are also a natural part of social and emotional learning – and this does not just apply to kids! Making mistakes is a natural part of growing, as we all continue to “learn from our mistakes”. It is natural to feel disappointment when a mistake is made, but learning to appropriately deal with disappointment is also an important part of growing up. At times, as parents, we tend to want to protect our children from being disappointed. We may go to great lengths to try to avoid our children being disappointed: letting them always choose the channel on the TV, making sure to always cook the food they like, making sure they always get the birthday presents they want, and trying to ensure that they never get a low grade on anything. These types of things can be fine at times, but we need to make sure that kids do not come to expect that those around them will always cater to their every need, for this is simply an unrealistic situation. Our children learn so much when given the opportunity to experience some disappointment, for then they have the chance to problem solve the situation. Not only is it impossible for us to protect our children at all times from disappointment, it is actually detrimental to their development. Helping children learn that they cannot always get what they want is part of life. We need to give them the tools to deal with the emotions, so they can maintain healthy relationships with those around them. Allowing them to feel disappointment from time to time, validating their feelings, and gently guiding them through the process will hopefully provide them with the skills they need to be able to better cope with disappointment in the future. Disappointment, unfortunately, is a part of life. Learning that you have the skills to get through a disappointing time, and in the process maybe learn something, is very reassuring. Allowing our children to experience disappointment along the way, and then providing them with a positive problem solving model is something they will utilize for the rest of their lives!

We have recently started a new attendance procedure in our school. For those students who are absent without the school having been previously informed, we are now calling home to verify the absence. We encourage you to contact the school as soon as you know that your child will not be attending. This allows us to mark them “Excused”, and means that we will not have to call you in the morning. Thank you - we appreciate your ongoing cooperation in this matter!

IMPORTANT DATES March - June DARE Program (gr 5) Monday, April 6th School starts after Spring Break (Day 5) Wednesday, April 22nd Secretary’s Day Friday, April 24th Spring Fling Thursday, May 7th Incoming Kindergarten Parent Meeting 7:00 pm Tuesday, May 12th Lions Band performance Monday, May 18th NO SCHOOL – Victoria Day Tuesday, May 19th Needles for all grade 4’s

Parent Council Meeting May 20th & 21st Grade 5 Operetta at Roxy Theatre Friday, June 5th HMK Track Meet (rain date June 8th) June 10th-12th HMK/NACI Grade 5/6 Camp Trip Mid-June Noon Swimming and Grade 4 Swim Instruction (exact dates TBA) Wednesday, June 17th BPSD Recognition Evening Friday, June 19th Divisional Track meet (rain date June 22nd) Tuesday, June 23rd Grade 3 field trip to Portage Wednesday, June 24th Year-end assembly at 1:30 Friday, June 26th NO CLASSES - Admin Monday, June 29th NO CLASSES – Admin Tuesday, June 30th Last day – early dismissal

Oak Hammock Marsh “On the Go”

On March 10th, 11th, and 12th we hosted the “On the Go” program from Oak Hammock Marsh. This program involves each class selecting a program for their class to see. There are a wide range of sessions to choose from, and this year the ones presented in our school were: Rain or Shine, Plants and Seeds, Creatures of the Night, Surviving the Freeze, Settler’s Pastimes, Plant Ecology, World of Wetlands, and Beaver Tales. Two interpreters from Oak Hammock Marsh did all of the presentations over the 2.5 days they were in our

school, and did a very good job! We would like to thank the Whitemud Watershed for once again sponsoring one of the days of presentations.

Munsch Upon A Time We were very fortunate to have Prairie Theatre Exchange come to the school on March 11th to present “Munsch Upon A Time”. This was a compilation of five Robert Munsch stories adapted for the stage: “Give Me Back My Dad!”; “It’s My Room!; “The Fire Station”; “David’s Father”; and “The Paper Bag Princess”. Once again, Prairie Theatre Exchange (along with several school volunteers)did a wonderful job of performing for us. We would like to thank Beautiful Plains School Division for providing the opportunity for our kids to see such high quality live theatre!

Basketball The grade 5 afterschool basketball program has come to an end. There were 32 students that took part in the program. Students learned the basics skills needed for basketball as well as participating in game play. We will be starting a Thursday afterschool badminton program after Spring Break.

Westman Science Fair To follow up our own local grade 5 science symposium which had 84 student participants, 24 of these students travelled to Brandon on March 17th for the Western Manitoba Science Fair. The students did a fine job of finding their assigned spots, despite having to navigate through more than 470 projects and 680 participants. After setting up their displays, each young scientist was interviewed by at least two judges. Following the judging portion of the day, the students were entertained with a Science show and participated in “Science Olympics” activities. It requires a good deal of time management, creativity, and perseverance to complete a quality project, and good communication skills to present it. Parents play an important role in the Science Fair experience too, in encouraging the child to complete the project, yet recognizing the need for the project to be completed as independently as possible. Ten of HMK’s young scientists came away with recognition from the judges as well: Dawson Jakubowski “Contemplating Corrosion” – bronze medal; Liam Major and Dustin Cook “Panicking Pulses”– bronze medals; Ty Joss and Ethan Lizotte “Memory Madness” – bronze medal; Arwen Chapmen “What’s Popping?” – bronze medal; Bryce Christopherson “Super Cool Sounds” – bronze medal; Sidney Poettcker “Live, Love, Light” – Silver medal; and Cheska Siopongco and Micaela Tamorada “The Fizzy Egg” – silver medal. Honorable mentions go out to: Macy Wither and Hailey Pasloski –“Taste This!”, Kyla Wahoski and Kiana Gunnarson-Epp – “Germ Invasion”, Shane Kuharski and Brennah McLaughlin – “Sneaky Stealthy Sugars”, Ashton McGhie –“Catapult Chaos”, Chlark Wandag – “Extreme Catapult”, Nathan Babcock and Andreas Holm – “How’s it Growing” , Jacob McCharles and Lennon Carr – “Chaotic Catapults”, Miranda Kasprick and Jenna Bray – “Battle of the Sugars”. A big thank you to Mrs. Tomoniko for helping organize the trip to the Western Manitoba Science Fair and to Kyla deWit, Karla MacDiarmid, and Chester Estomagulang for helping chaperone the trip

DARE Program Our grade 5 students have started the DARE Program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). This program is sponsored by the RCMP, and is being delivered by Constable Dobson of the Spruce Plains RCMP Detachment. The program involves 10 sessions, which will be spread out over the next couple of months. The students will learn about the effects that drugs and alcohol can have, and will also develop strategies for saying no to peer pressure. We would like to thank Constable Dobson and the Spruce Plains Detachment for making this program possible for our students!

Cub of the Week Our Cub of the Week program continues to be going strong. Over 220 PAWSITIVE CUB NOMINEE slips were collected in the month of March. Our March winners to date were Keyli Falk and Kassidy Smith. You can see some of the student’s thoughts on what CUBS are in the infographic to the right.

Neepawa and District 48th Fine Arts Festival Knox Presbyterian Church HMK's Noon Choir as well as our Grade 1 and 2 classes will be participating in Neepawa's Fine Arts Festival April 14th and 15th at Knox Presbyterian Church. Choirs will be adjudicated by Sarah Hall who has a Bachelor of Music Vocal Performance degree from Pennsylvania, a Master of Music degree in Vocal pedagogy from New England as well as a Master of Musicology degree from the New England Conservatory. Parents and friends are more than welcome to come out and hear our choirs perform. Admission at the door. Tuesday, April 14th 9:00am - HMK Choir Choral Workshop (approx 45 min.) 7:00pm - HMK Choir performing at the "Singing Celebration" Concert including a variety of Choirs and vocal solos. The choir is first on the program followed by the NACI Chorale. Wednesday, April 15th 9:15am - Grade 1 Classroom Choirs -Miss Taylor's Class -Mrs. MacPhee's Class -Adjudication 9:45am - Grade 2 Classroom Choirs -Mrs. Doerksen's 1/2 Class -Mrs. Keller's Class -Adjudication 10:15am - Grade 2 Classroom Choirs -Mrs. Murray's Class -Mrs. Funk's Class -Adjudication

HMK CUB RUN CLUB HMK is excited to announce the launch of the Cub Run Club for students. Multiple studies have shown that cardio exercise promotes better mood, concentration and academic performance. According to a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist John Ratey, “Even 10 minutes of activity changes your brain.” Additionally, social running is fun! Run Club will take place on Day 3 at noon hour. Students will run a designated course with adult supervision. Once they return to school they will have time to eat their lunch. All students in Grades 2-5 are welcome! Parents, please join us for your lunch hour. Thank you to Mrs. Jennifer Byram, Mrs. Myrna Denbow and Mrs. Jodie Byram for organizing the Cub Run Club. Run Club dates: Apr.10, Apr. 16, Apr. 20, Apr. 28, May 6, May 14 Spring Fling The date for this year’s Spring Fling will be Friday, April 24th. For those of you who are new to the school, the Spring Fling is a family affair where parents bring their kids to the school to have an evening of dancing and fun! We want to make sure that the message is clear that the Spring Fling is a family dance – it is not a boy-girl event! We want to make sure all parents know that kids are to come with their family, rather than asking “a date” to go to the dance with them. Once at the dance the kids can find their friends and all have fun together – at this age no one needs to feel as though they have to find someone to go to the dance with! We hope that this will help alleviate some of the pressure we know some kids have felt in the past! Be sure to mark April 24th on your calendars – it’s always one of the highlights of the kids’ school year! THANKS TO:

Classroom Volunteers: Sister Aline Comeau, and Gail Wutke.

March Hot Dog Volunteers: Connie Creasy, Kelly and Blake Roe. Neepawa Shop Easy for donating all of the wieners and buns for our last hot dog day of the year! Proceeds from our BBQ hot dog sale alone are just over $432! Thanks also to Blake and Kelly Roe for coming over to BBQ all of the hot dogs! Parents Who Came to Tie Skates and Supervise for Noon Skating It was another successful year of noon skating! The help provided by parents during noon skating was greatly appreciated. Without extra adults there to help get the kids skates tied, it would hardly be worthwhile running the program over the lunch hour! Thanks again for helping give kids the opportunity to get out on the ice, many of whom are learning to skate for the first time!

The Neepawa Natives Hockey Club for coming in through the entire month of February for “I Love to Read” month. The players took turns coming into the school and reading to the kids, and did a great job!

Anne Kuharski and the Yellowhead Staff for accommodating our noon skating program and looking after us while we are at the rink!

Public Service

You Are Invited to Celebrate the 20th Birthday of the

Beautiful Plains Community Foundation at the Spring Celebration Family Dance

Saturday, April 18, 2015 Yellowhead Hall, Neepawa

Free Dance Lessons 6:00 - 7:00 pm Dance 7:00 - 11:00 pm

Admission - Donation at the Door Music by: Expressions Entertainment

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Students: Return this slip by Friday, April 10th to be eligible for newsletter draws. _______________________________ ______________________________ Student Parent