Gabriola Elementary School
680 North Road, Gabriola, BC V0R 1X0
Principal:
Secretary:
Phone: (250) 247-9342
Dave Travers
Jody Lennox
Fax: (250) 247-8639
May 31st, 2017
Upcoming Dates To Remember
GABRIOLA SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Monday
Tues – Fri
8:40 – 1:32
8:40 – 2:32
May 29th to June 2
May 31 – June 2
Thurs. June 1
Mon. June 5
Wed. June 7
Thurs. June 8
Mon. June 12
Wed June 14
T-Th June 13 – 15
M-F June 12 – 16
Mon. June 19
Wed. June 21
Fri. June 23
Tue. June 27
Thurs. June 29
Thurs. June 29
Fri. June 30
Bike to Work week
Book Fair
LiD showcase 1:45 p.m.
Permaculture day a.m.
Hot lunch
District track meet
Permaculture day a.m.
PAC 4:00 p.m.
Grade 7’s in Bamfield
Whale bone exhibit at school
Permaculture day a.m.
Hot lunch
Fun day
Grade 7 dinner 5 p.m.
Year end assembly (10:45) and BBQ
Student’s last day – Report cards
Administrative Day
Principal’s Message
It continues to be a great year and the staff is ready to finish the year off strong. As we continue to
get ready for the next school year, we have started hiring our new teachers to replace three retirees.
Yes, three people are leaving the team and a fourth will be on leave. We will be saying goodbye to
Ms. Gilroy, Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Tufnail and bon voyage for one year to Ms. Gurr. Thanks to all
parents ahead of time for your trust as we work to create learning environments for your children
next year.
Welcome to our new secretary Jody Lennox. Jody joins us bringing a wealth of experience and she is
very much appreciated.
Where are we with SFU and our Place-Based vision? Well we did not get our grant to formally
partner with SFU but the vision to be Placed-Based is still very much alive. We have not given up
on future ideas to formally partner with SFU. Thanks to April Vannini and Ms. Reynolds for their
leadership in this area. Gabriola is rich with a variety of community offerings and as a staff we plan
to work with our community as we teach our students the new BC curriculum.
Dave Travers
Here are some more in depth events that are happening.
Learning in Depth (LiD)
All year, and in some cases longer, students have been going deep in their understanding of various
assigned topics. June 1st 1:45 to 2:25 the public can come explore what students have learned
through various displays. In the morning, students will have an opportunity to view each other’s
work. One lucky scholar from primary and one from intermediate will win a science book.
School Track meet
Thanks to our coaches, staff and parents that pulled together to make the school track meet a
success. We had about 50 students move to the zone track meet on May 30th and now we are off to
Districts June 8th. Thanks to Tina Lynch for having the vision to bring together excellent coaching.
Welcome to Kindergarten
May 11th we welcomed our next year kindergarten students. We had over a dozen attending our
afternoon where we gave parents information, showed off the school and gave our new students
there first little taste of school. Can’t wait to have them all here in September.
Ready Set Learn
The last Ready Set Learn happened on May 26th. Karen MacDonald led the group and did a great
job. Her efforts were rewarded by the fact that it was very well attended. Families enjoyed having a
series of sessions this year giving a chance for everyone to form positive relationships. It was great
to see lots of new families checking out the school.
Rock and Roll and Beyond – Spring concert
I hope you did not miss this event. Tom Bradbrooke did it once again. This time he put together a
historical musical extravaganza called “Rock and Roll and Beyond”. Buddy classes sang songs
spanning the past 70 years accompanied by our very own G.E.S. rock band.
Thank you, thank you very much to our special guest performances by the Summer Singers, the
Rollo Stones and Ms. Mara’s Dancers.
Jump Heart and Stroke
Well done Gabriola. We raised over $1000 for Heart and Stroke and we did it by jumping! May 9th
all students had an opportunity to show off their skipping talents at long recess while listening to
motivating “Jump” based tunes.
Book Fair
Gabriola Elementary PAC is proud to host their first Scholastic Book Fair. Come and browse the
latest and greatest books that Scholastic is offering this Spring and enter to win free books for your
child’s classroom! The hours are:
Wednesday May 31st
11:45 am- 12:15pm
2:15pm-3:15pm
Thursday June 1st
10:30 am-12:15pm
1:45pm- 3:15pm
Friday June 2nd
11:45 am- 12:15pm
2:15pm-3:15pm
The PAC could also use a few parent volunteers to help out with the book fair. If you are interested
in helping out contact April Hilland at [email protected]
Grade 6/7 Initiatives
Division One has received their second set of reusable bags for sale. They have five new designs, all
student created and it’s a 100% cotton, gusseted bag instead of a sleeve this time. The price is still
$6.00, which is a bargain! Please feel free to email Ms. Gilroy at [email protected] if you would like
to order one (or a few), or send a cheque into the office with your request.
Let’s work together to create a zero-waste island! Our children’s futures will be brighter as a result.
Hay ch q’a
Ms. Gilroy
Canada 150 Project
Check out the amazing button blanket recognizing that Canada is 150 years old. Thanks to the
vision of Ms. Gilroy and special thanks to Graham Sheehan – main artist and Jared - tiler. All
students had an opportunity to make a tile from our very own Gabriola clay.
Mentor program
This school year with support from the Boy’s and Girl’s club some students received mentors from
the community. Many thanks to the mentors for giving of themselves and to the PAC for supporting
this program. Thanks to Wenda Allan and Angela Pounds for their efforts
Appreciation Tea
Well the power tried to stop us from appreciating all the volunteers that make Gabriola great but it
couldn’t. May 25th during long recess we held an Appreciation Tea to say thanks to parents and
community members for being so giving. We couldn’t do it without you!
SD 68 is looking for Homestay Families
Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools is currently seeking caring and supportive homestay families
who would welcome the opportunity to share their home with an international student.
The students are generally 15 to 18 years of age and would attend the high school in your
neighbourhood. The district pays a stipend to homestay families.
If your family is interested in this rewarding experience to share our Canadian culture, and offer
support and guidance to young international students, please contact Diane Carswell, Homestay
Coordinator at [email protected].
e-Registration
The district has centralized the registration of students. All new students planning on attending
Gabriola elementary will register by going to the school district website and clicking register in the
top right corner of the webpage. Joanne, our secretary, can help you out.
Grade 7 students going to NDSS Do Not need to register we will transition them to NDSS, If you are
planning on going to a different high school next year, you will need to e-register.
Also if you are planning on attending an academy next year you will need to look into signing up.
Volunteer Driver Forms and Criminal Record checks
It is great to see so many parents helping out with school events. Please remember that a criminal
record check needs to be done if you plan on helping and if driving students volunteer forms need to
be completed.
Telephone Messages
Please try to use the planners for messages and reminders of dentist, doctor appointments
and after school arrangements for your children. If there is a change and we receive a call in the
office, we will page the students come down to the office before lunch recess or at the end of the day
to inform them. There is a phone in the front foyer for students to contact parents – however, we
encourage students to make play dates prior to coming to school in the morning. We do our best to
get the message out but pre-planning is the best way to communicate with your child
School closure due to weather
Please listen to 106.9 or 102.3 for school closures due to weather. SD 68 website will also let you
know if schools close due to weather.
Newsletter Distribution/Updates
One small way that you can help us reduce paper usage and save the costs of printing is to sign up
to receive the newsletter by email. Our school newsletter will be emailed near the end of the month.
Have you subscribed for our email newsletters and Updates?
Please visit our website and subscribe for our school Subscription News Listsrv. 
You can find a link to sign up on our school webpage, or you can email
[email protected].
IMPORTANT: When you sign up, you will receive a confirmation email with a link that you need to click
to complete your subscription. If you do not do this step you will not be signed up yet on school listserv for
any school information, newsletters etc.
If you don’t receive the confirmation email, be sure to look in your Spam or Junk folder.
ERASE* Bullying! (*Expect Respect And a Safe Education) You can help ERASE bullying by using
the new on-line Reporting Tool. http://www.erasebullying.ca
Allergies
At GES we have a number of children who have serious, life threatening
allergies to food such as nuts and seafood. Please avoid sending foods to school
with nuts and peanut butter.
If you indicated the presence of serious allergies or existing medical conditions on your child’s
Student Verification Form, you will be receiving an additional form to be completed and returned to
the school. You will be asked for the details of your child’s condition. This information is kept on
hand to assist our first aide personnel in the event of an emergency.
Thank-you for your ongoing support to ensure the safety of all our students.
BC SCHOOL FRUIT & VEGETABLE PROGRAM
The BC Schools Fruit & Vegetable program continues again this year serving up fresh and ready to
eat. All the fruit and vegetables provided are BC grown and our students learn the healthy benefits
of fruits and vegetables and the types of produce grown in BC.