November 2010 Good News Archive

The following is a list of Good News that has happened in our schools throughout the month of November, 2011.

We Remember Because... November 29, 2011 The Virginia Park Elementary Safe and Caring School Committee created a "caring tree" display for the school's main corridor. The purpose of the "caring tree" is to initiate and create student interest to become involved in thinking, writing and displaying their thoughts about a particular topic. The theme for November months is "We Remember Because..." Each student wrote their thoughts on the back of their poppy and hung it on our 'caring tree' display. We consider the grade 5's our 'experts' on this topic, as they are in charge of the Remembrance Day assembly this year. All students at Virginia Park thoroughly enjoyed participating.

Grade 7 Students Get Interactive at Villanova November 29, 2011 Getting Interactive was the theme for Villanova's Grade 7 Interactive Career Day on November 2, 2011. In an interactive career fair, presenters from a variety of fields, (ranging from post secondary, trades, and other types of employers) interact with small groups of students for short periods about their field. Activities, hands on situations, and simulations are used to entice students and keep them involved and attentive. Grade 7 students had the opportunity to interact with representatives from the RNC, the CBS Fire Department, the Town of CBS, the Coast Guard College, MUN, Carpenters/Millwrights College, Public Health, UA College, and Career Development Partnership Initiative. Students rotated through a series of career booths where they had the opportunity to participate in job related tasks, giving students a "first hand feel" for that chosen career option. Student response about the career fair, a joint effort between the school and the Career Development Partnership Initiative, indicate it was resounding success!

Eco Kids are Friends of the Beaches November 29, 2011 On November 1, students from Holy Name of Mary Academy and St. Lawrence Academy's Green Team took part in the annual beach cleanup. This year our school was chosen as a chapter of the "Friends of Beaches" program offered by Marine Institute Ocean Net. We were fortunate to have Justin Dearing, Marine Institute, visit our school and speak to our students on environmental issues. Following the presentation, students from grades 4-8 travelled to a nearby beach in our community and spent an hour collecting debris and garbage. In just a short period of time, 600 pounds of garbage was collected. It is hard to believe the things that were collected during the beach cleanup. We are on the right track getting our youth involved in such a worthwhile activity; however, everyone should try to do their part to keep our oceans and beaches clean and safe to use.

Rules for Ghouls Halloween Safety November 25, 2011 MacDonald Drive Elementary was selected to be the launch site for the annual "Rules for Ghouls" Halloween safety booklet. This booklet is a project of the St. John's Citizens' Crime Prevention Committee which is sponsored in part by Jungle Jim's and NTV. This launch took place on the NTV Evening News hour with Sharon Snow on Friday, October 21 at MacDonald Drive Elementary. Some of our students had the opportunity to be part of the featured presentation. We had great costumes, delicious Halloween treats, and even a visit from Spiderman! Everyone had a fantastic time and learned how to stay safe on Halloween night!

Musicians Promote Careers in Music November 25, 2011 It's not very often that a careers presentation to junior high school students breaks out into a concert and dance, but that is just what happened at Holy Cross Junior High on October 30 when musician, Mick Davis and His Skinny Jims, performed at the school. As part of the recent MusicNL conference, Mick Davis from the Novaks spole to the junior high students about careers in the music industry. Accompanying him were band members Elliott Dicks (The Novaks), Brad Power (Kujo), Bob Pike (Shanneygannock), and Trev Davis (The Big 5-4). The band launched into a rocking set of tunes from the 1950s and 60s, followed by a question and answer session. It was an afternoon presentation well enjoyed by all!

Fun In The Name Of Fundraising November 22, 2011 On September 30, 2011, the sun shone brightly on the community of Pouch Cove as 292 students, 30 staff members and a large group of family and friends gathered in the gym of Cape St. Francis School to prepare for the 7th annual Terry Fox Walk. A short video of Terry's life was viewed and then the atmosphere became electric as our gym teacher challenged the school community to raise $5,000 for cancer research. If the challenge was met, students would be rewarded by "super-soaking" our Principal, Mr. Sean Noah and Assistant Principal, Ms. Kelly Knott. Roll ahead to October 12, 2011, when a cheque for the amount of $5,866.00 was presented to Ms. Heather Strong, Provincial Director of The Terry Fox Foundation. Ms. Strong presented Cape St. Francis with a five year pennant/banner for our seven years of involvement with The Terry Fox Foundation. This banner will be proudly displayed in our gym. She also thanked the school for raising close to $17,000 in the last 7 years. We far exceeded our goal of $5,000! True to their word, our administrators, all decked out in snorkels, flippers, water wings and swimming caps, prepared for their "super- soaking!" Students armed with super soakers sprayed these two fine individuals all in the name of FUNdraising.

Wild about Learning at Elizabeth Park Elementary! November 22, 2011 Grade Six students of Elizabeth Park Elementary recently participated in a wild learning experience while attending the Brother Brennan Environmental Education Center. The cold and wet weather didn't dampen their enjoyment of the variety of outdoor environmental learning activities including orienteering, classifying organisms within the outdoor environment, climate change connections and creating mini plant books about plants that are found within Newfoundland and Labrador forests. Students were also provided with an opportunity to learn about Newfoundland and Labrador folklore through the telling of fairy stories at the fairy stump. Elizabeth Park Elementary provided updates through their Twitter page to inform parents and other students at the school about the various activities they were engaged in. This trip provided a meaningful opportunity to cover some science curriculum, while developing an appreciation for our local Newfoundland and Labrador environment.

Teachers Receive Arts Educator Awards November 15, 2011 Two teachers in the Eastern School District were recently honoured for their leadership and contributions in support of arts education. Lori Lane-Balsom of Hazelwood Elementary and Jacqueline Hyde of Booth Memorial High School were presented with the 2011 Arts Work Education Award at the annual Arts Work Conference held in St. John's November 7-8, 2011. Art teachers from throughout the province participated in conference workshops designed to develop teachers' skills in delivering the arts curriculum. The annual conference and awards program is sponsored by the Provincial Government through its Cultural Connections strategy.

Holy Spirit High 'Runs For The Cure' 15th Time! November 14, 2011 Holy Spirit High School participated in the annual CIBC Run for the Cure and contributed $5000 to the effort to find a cure for breast cancer. The school outperformed all other schools again in the drive to raise sponsorship money. It marks the 15th year in a row, since the run began in 1997, that Holy Spirit High School has earned that distinction. The special achievement banners hang proudly in the school. The School's administration acknowledges Principal Scott Crocker extended congratulations to Guidance Counselor April Porter-Crews, the Interact Junior Rotary Club, the students that sought pledges and participated, and the teaching staff and hundreds of students who made donations, and the many supporters in the Towns of CBS and Paradise. Special congratulations and thanks were given to Sarah Newhook, who raised $1500 herself. Cancer survivors, teachers, students, parents and friends participated in the run at Quidi Vidi on Sunday, October 2nd. Holy Spirit High School engages in 'Run for the Cure' each year in honor and gratitude for the life and service of two active staff members who succumbed to breast cancer - Ms. Nita Chambers (1999) and Ms. Darlene Howard (2005). Students have raised and contributed more than $50,000 in the 15 years since the Atlantic run began. The onsite Frog Pond Wetland Restoration Project is a memorial park dedicated to the memory of these two ladies.

Healthy Commotions at Laval High November 14, 2011 During Laval High School's Healthy Commotion Day, various activities were coordinated through all grade levels. In the morning we organized a "Walk to Breakfast." Students were dropped off at the end of the boardwalk and walked into school with their teachers. Students and staff raised $500 for our "grab and go" morning breakfast program. We provided nutritional snacks throughout the day, and in the afternoon there were cooperative activities with fun competitions between homerooms, including the spelling of the school's name on the school's soccer field.

Macdonald Drive Junior High Students Support Terry Fox Run November 8, 2011 Students of Macdonald Drive Junior High School have the distinct honour of being the top junior high school in the province for its contributions to cancer research through the annual Terry Fox Run. This year the school community raised $5,500, topping last year's total of $2,975! On October 14, 2011, Fred Fox, the brother of Terry Fox, visited our school and spoke to our students about Terry's dream. We were very touched and honored by his presence! Not a word could be heard in our gymnasium! Our students knew about Terry Fox but really did not understand the true meaning of his goals! They now have a sincere appreciation for Terry Fox and his desire to collect funds for cancer research and students expressed an interest in "paying it forward" and keeping Terry's dream alive

The Mad Hatter Tea Party November 8, 2011 The Grade 3 students in Mrs. Rose's class at Donald C. Jamieson Academy in Burin participated in a pre-reading strategy called a tea party. This strategy is used to get children predicting and making inferences about a story before they read it. Five different phrases were chosen from the story "Stellaluna" and distributed to the students. They had to mingle around the room and find four other people with a different phrase. They would read their phrases to each other and make predictions about the story before going to their assigned groups where they completed a couple of activities before the story was revealed. All participants were asked to wear a funny or fancy hat. They were served lemonade from a teapot and a cookie by the Mad Hatter!

No Pumpkins? No Problem! St. Andrew's Primary Students Bid Autumn a Pleasant Farewell November 4, 2011 Although the rain this past summer prevented the growth of a plentiful pumpkin patch, it didn't prevent the students of St. Andrew's Elementary from enjoying Taylor's Farm in Conception Bay South. On Tuesday, October 25, the grade one and two students of St. Andrew's Elementary enthusiastically dismounted the school bus, eagerly anticipating the natural wonders of Taylor's Farm. They were instantly captivated by eight goats, all of which hurried toward the children in hopes of luscious greens and friendly petting. After feeding the sociable goats, the students were escorted to a tractor and wagon for a tour of the farmlands. When they returned they enjoyed a light snack and hot chocolate. And no Conception Bay South visit is complete without a leisurely stroll next to the vast Atlantic Ocean where they excitedly collected shells on the beach.