orsley Central School orsley Central School orsley Central School Working, Caring, SucceedingWorking, Caring, SucceedingWorking, Caring, Succeeding

February 2017

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This Month:

Principal’s Message

Jump Rope for Heart

Superintendent's Message

Health and Safety Message

Trades Camp Information

March Calendar

T his month we really focused on safe and caring schools. All the staff at Worsley Central School work diligently to ensure that school is a safe and welcoming place for all students to attend. We recognize that when students feel safe and cared for they are better able to focus on their

academics and meet their learning targets at school. This month we worked on promoting kindness in our school. We want all students to work on proper social skills and developing healthy relationships. We have decided to reinstate the Pizza Party awards program. Each month one winner from each grade will be selected to make a pizza for themselves for lunch. In February we have been focusing on ‘Caring’ behaviors. Each day I share a caring quote with the students over the announcements to remind us all of the importance of showing kindness to one another. This month we celebrated Random Acts of Kindness, Pink Shirt Day and Valentine's Day. We created Pink Shirt day promises about not tolerating a culture that enhances or promotes bullying type behaviors. We created a bulletin board where students and staff wrote encouraging and kind words to one another. Students sold Candy Grams to be delivered to their friends. Students drew names and had to perform mystery Random Acts of Kindness for the person that was drawn, and students are taking part in the PRSD Pink Shirt Day contest. The winner will have their design on the shirts for next year and gain themselves a new iPad. Creating a safe and caring environment is important not just in the month of February but all year round at Worsley Central School. We have very active health classes, including special visits from our health nurse. We have school rules posted in our classrooms. We had special presentations from Crossroads about healthy relationships, and school-wide support from our Youth Education Support Worker. Safe and caring is always one of our top priorities at school and all staff are working very hard to create an atmosphere that ALL students are comfortable and able to learn in. Sincerely, Mindy Rowe

What is Jump Rope for Heart?

Imagine students skipping and playing with their classmates as they celebrate raising funds for crit-ical research. That’s Jump Rope for Heart. At least part of it, the other benefits are:

Motivate students to get active.

Reinforce healthy habits like healthy eating and physical activity.

Teach the importance of social responsibility and helping others in the community and across Canada.

Empower students to make a difference by supporting a good cause.

Boost school spirit.

Fundraise for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Jump Rope for Heart is celebrating it’s 35th Anniversary in 2017, close to 4,000 schools across Canada will embrace Jump Rope for Heart.

Students were sent home

with donation forms. Please

consider donating. Pledge

forms are due Mar. 7.

Superintendent’s Message

Safe and Caring Learning

Environments

As Pink Shirt Day (February 22, 2017) approaches, we reflect on the great opportunity we have in Peace River School Division (PRSD) to support and guide students in creating a culture of kindness and respect. We are very proud of our work in this regard and are pleased to share that our latest survey results show that 89.5% of our students, staff and parents feel that PRSD schools provide safe and caring learning environments for students. Pink Shirt Day is one day per year where we wear pink in a united stand to support healthy relationships, wellness and diversity. However, the work we do in this regard is on-going through various programs, initiatives and presentations focused on healthy relationships and personal well-being. Examples of such programs and initiatives include the work of our school based Youth Education Support Workers, Success Coaches, student leadership groups, mentorship programs, behaviour support programs, wellness programs, the focus on citizenship division-wide, daily learning incorporated into the curriculum and the important support that comes from community involvement and various agencies. Providing safe and caring learning environments for students is very important to us. We understand that in order for students to learn, flourish and reach their full potential, they need to feel safe, happy and cared for in a positive learning environment. We are very excited to share that in celebration of Pink Shirt Day this year, we are hosting a Pink Shirt Day T-Shirt Design contest open to all students in PRSD. The contest will create deeper thinking, creativity and generate more conversations amongst students about what it means to be a good friend, family member and citizen. The winner of the contest will be announced during Mental Health Awareness Week (May 1-7, 2017) and the winning entry will be PRSD’s Pink Shirt Day design in 2018. Thank you so much for your involvement and support and we invite you to join us on February 22, 2017 for Pink Shirt Day when PRSD students and staff will wear pink in support of healthy relationships, wellness, and diversity. Paul Bennett Superintendent of Schools Peace River School Division No. 10

Sock Hop on Pink Shirt Day

March Dates to Remember:

Mar. 2—Science Fair

Mar. 3/4—Junior Boys Basketball Zones at Worsley

Mar. 7—Jump Rope for Heart Event—1:26 pm

Mar. 7—Chinese Supper, Sr. Girls Basketball Fundraiser

Mar. 9/10—No School, Teachers Convention

Mar. 10/11—Sr. Boys Basketball Zones at Hines Creek

Mar. 10/11—Sr. Girls Basketball Zones at Ridgevalley

Mar. 13—No School for Students, PD Day for Teachers

Mar. 16—School Council Meeting 7:00 pm

Mar. 17—St. Patrick’s Day Supper, Hosted by Travel Club

Mar. 24—Declamation Contest Grades 1-6

Spotlight on Health and Safety

Kristy Shilka, PRSD Health & Safety Coordinator

Hazard Awareness

What is a hazard? A hazard is anything that can cause injury or illness to people, or

damage to property.

Every day we are aware of and assess hazards without realizing we’re doing it, it is

like second nature. We check the temperature of the shower water before entering,

wear a helmet while skiing, check our mirrors before backing out of a parking space, and lock the front

door behind us.

Many times we disregard our awareness of increased hazard risks and act through emotion and desires.

This is when a potential hazard turns into an incident.

In all that you do, please be aware of possible dangers and make choices that keep you and those around

you safe. Do your best to prevent incidents by anticipating, evaluating and controlling hazards. When inci-

dents occur in your workplace, community, school or home, use these experiences as teachable moments

for yourself and those around you. Hazard awareness and the response to potential danger is a very im-

portant life skill that helps to keep communities safe, happy and well.

What’s Been Happening in Mr. Willis’ Classroom

Math 8: The class has been working on decimal/percent/fraction conversions, and associated word problems.

Math 9: Students are learning to solve linear equations. This is an essential skill for high school mathematics.

Photography (grades 4/5/6 and 7/8/9) All students have been learning how to take good photographs, either on a

digital camera or on their digital device. Next we will be learning how to edit photos on a computer using editing

software.

Computers 7/8/9: The class is working on improving their typing skills.

Construction 7/8/9: Students are practicing their measurement and tool

using skills by making a simple picture frame. Shortly we will be resum-

ing construction of our 1/8 scale model houses.

Art 10/20/30: Art 10/20 students have researched various artists and

artistic styles, and presented their findings to the class. We have also

spent a lot of time learning to sketch properly in pencil. Soon we will be

exploring various media, including watercolours, pastels, and oils. Our Art 30 student has created an original de-

sign for a colouring page, and has also produced an original work of art in the impressionist style. Currently she is

working on a colour drawing of an eye … very challenging!

Ms. sMith’s 1,2,3 Class L.A. Our class is doing lots of fluency reading practice to increase their speed and accuracy when reading. Our Raising a Reader Program is really helping the students to increase their reading level and we are spending time each week to learn what proper sentence structure is. Math: In Math this month we are really stressing the importance of doing that extra practice with basic Math skills by spending time at home and at school on these two programs, Reflex Math and IXL. Grade One’s have been working on making number sentences from pictures, Grade Two’s have been working on odd and even numbers and Grade Three’s have been working on graphing and tallying. Social Studies: This month we had a guest speaker, Ms. Irons, come in and share her artifacts and experiences in Nunivak which is the capital of the community we are studying in Social Studies, Iqaluit. We also learned there are no penguins in the North Pole, only the South Pole. Presently we are draw-ing the flags of the 3 communities we are studying and the children are enjoying this. Health: This month we will be looking at how to handle bullies.

A Farm Safety Presentation was held on Feb. 6th

Fairview Crossroads Teen Dating Violence & Awareness Presentation

Feb. 24/17

Junior High Presentation Senior High Presentation

Each elementary class had a separate presentation based on different rural risks:

Kindergarten: - Passenger Run-over

Grade 1: - Bystander Run-over

Grade 2: - Rural Drowning Hazards

Grade 3: - Sound Induced Hearing Loss

Grade 4: - Increased On-Farm Involvement

Grade 5: - Rider Related Falls and Collisions

Grade 6: - Large Animal & ATV Involvement

The year is flying by and I can’t believe we are already to the end of February! In Language Arts students are just finishing up a major writing assignment. Grade 7 & 8 students wrote a fractured fairytale, while grade 9 students wrote a formal essay practicing for their upcoming PAT exam. Students followed the 6-traits of writing process and worked to add transition words and descriptive details into their work. I am thrilled with how much their writing has improved and the high quality work that has been produced. We are now going to be looking at poetry in the everyday world, starting with a review of figurative language terms.

In Social Studies students finished a unit of study on the Renaissance. I am so impressed with how serious they took the unit exam and the amount of work they put into preparing it. They are developing great study skills and it is reflective in the success they are seeing! We have now moved on to a unit of study on the Aztecs where we have been learning about Aztec society and how this shaped their worldview.

In Health students talked about the importance of being kind to each other. We talked about what kinds of things we see in a kind classroom and completed a kindness challenge where they had to display extra acts of kindness during Random Acts of Kindness Week. Students have also talked about self-regulation and different strategies they can use to self-regulate in the classroom. We also had a presentation from Crossroads in which they talked to students about Teen Dating Violence Awareness.

School Council Meeting Dates 2017 March 16 @ 7:00 PM

April 19 @ 4:30 PM

May 25 @ 7:00 PM

Our Grade 12 English is currently reading George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984. Through group projects and written assignments, students will explore 1984's themes, focusing on language and power, the individual and society, freedom and enslavement, and love and hate.

Grade 10 and Grade 11 Social Studies classes are organized around the themes of Globalization and Nationalism, respectively. During this first month we were busy establishing a working vocabulary of specific terms related to each of these themes, as well as connecting these respective themes, through projects and discussions, to each student's own sense of individual and collective identity.

Robotics Tournament Feb. 24, 2017 was the 2017 Peace Country Robotics Tournament, hosted by the Peace River

School Division. WCS put together a team of eager students, 'The Wildcats' who built robots from

LEGO Mindstorms kits. The five elementary students, with the help of senior high student coach

Josh Giesbrecht, programmed their two robots to operate for speed, strength, and durability.

Kinder-News

Kindergarten has been a busy place since Christmas. We are all trying our

best to “Show What We Know”, especially with rhyming. We love playing rhyming

games!

In Social Studies we are learning about co-operating with one another. Every

month we choose a positive statement to work towards and help each other reach

that goal. This month, we were working on “Standing Tall, Being Proud, Being

Ourselves and most important of all, Being Awesome!” In March, we will be work-

ing towards showing that “Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference.”

Every time we show that we understand our goal and try to achieve it, our name is

put in the treasure box for our Quality Kid draw. We sure like to see that happen!

In Home Reading, we have been working on decoding. It is a lot of fun sound-

ing out words and putting them together again! We are reading!! How exciting is

that!

Learning about static electricity!

I can't believe February is over and we are headed into March. It feels like yesterday, the stu-dents were practicing their lines and working on their two-step dance for the Christmas Concert.

The month of February was a quick one and we have been working hard on our Iroquois Confed-eracy assignment, Science Fair, and the final project for James and the Giant Peach. The stu-dents always enjoy our time in the science lab testing acids and bases, and constructing a sun dial to record the movement of the sun. We will be having our final test for our Sky Science Unit within the next two weeks, and will move into our Investigation Unit.

Thank you to all the parents helping at home, with writing stories, Science Fair, Social Studies homework, the James and the Giant Peach project and Math practice. There just isn't enough hours in a day, and I want to say thank you!

Next month we will be focussing on our Declamation speeches, the Investigation Unit, and review the consensus decision form of government in class. The days are getting longer and longer, and spring must be around the corner. Happy Days!

Grade 4/5/6

The Worsley Central School Science Fair will be held on the 2nd of March 2017 in the school gymnasi-

um. The students from grades 3 - 9 will be taking part in the Science Fair. The judging of students’

projects will take place between 10 and 12 am. Parents are encouraged to visit the school between 1

-3pm to view the amazing exhibits. The winners will have a chance to take part in the Peace County

Regional Science Fair on the 16th of March.

In Grades 7,8 and 9 students are currently working on the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, excreto-

ry and nervous systems. They will be examining the different systems in a dissected fetal pig in the

coming weeks. This will enable them to understand how the different systems work together in a hu-

man body.

Grade 6 Math students are learning to describe patterns and relationships using graphs and tables.

They will learn basic principles to demonstrate the preservation of equality in the next week. In

Grade 7, students have just completed a unit on fractions.

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