McKIM SCHOOL
February 2017
Stacy DeCosse - Principal
[email protected]
Cell 250-342-1455
Ed Main – Vice Principal
[email protected]
689Rotary Drive, Kimberley, BC V1A 1E4
Telephone: 250-427-2283
Website: www.sd6.bc.ca/mms
“Take care of yourself, each other and this place.”
Snow Daze
What a crazy February it has been so far! We appreciate everyone’s patience as we regrouped after the big dump of
snow on Monday. All this snow has given us some great climbing hills, digging piles and sledding slopes. The kids are
having a great time outside!
This month we are working as a school to collect money and food for the food bank. They get very depleted after Christmas and we are making an effort to help fill their shelves in winter. Also, the week of Feb 14 – 17 we will be working on
the art of Random Acts of Kindness that involves doing good deeds for others without looking for recognition. Feel free to
try it at home too.
Intensive French
The Grade 6 Intensive French class has had a wonderful 5 months being immersed in french literacy. Students are now
able to have full french conversations about themselves and their families, food, clothing, sports and more! Students
have participated in reading, writing, art, making crêpes, cultural activities and lots of talking during the intensive phase.
Beginning in March students will receive french lessons for 1 hour every day and spend the rest of the day working within the english curriculum. Mdm Stang is thrilled with the amount of french that the students have acquired in this short
time and knows that they will continue to have great success in the second half of the year.
The Grade 7 Enhanced French students continue to learn french every day, are reading and writing at higher levels and
thinking critically in french.
Information about 2017/18 Intensive French Program
Once again McKim will be offering an Intensive French program to students who will be in grade 6 in the 2017/18 school
year. Information packages will be sent home with grade 5 students at the end of February.
Applications are due to the office by 12:00pm Friday, March 17th. First priority is given to siblings of students who are
currently in the IF Program. If there are more applicants than spots available, we will have a lottery. Dates and times for
demonstration lessons for students and a parent information night to follow.
School Not in Session
Please note that school will not be in session for students Monday, Feb. 13 (BC Family Day) and Monday, Feb. 20
(Professional Development Day for teachers).
Hot Lunch
Thank you to PAC for organizing monthly hot lunches for our students. This program will rely on
parent volunteers to come help distribute the lunches, so if you are able and want this program to
continue this year, please sign up to help these ladies with the program.
Student Transitions
We are well underway in our planning for transitioning grade 3s to McKim and grade 7s to Selkirk. We will be coordinating meetings with Lindsay Park, Marysville and Selkirk to plan with all schools. We will have tours and activities so children are familiar with the building and staff. Mr. Dolgopol and I work closely together to plan appropriate transition activities for the grade 7s and he will be in Feb. 15th for his initial visit with them. We provide extra support and transition days
for those students who need it. If your child is feeling anxiety about the transition to their new school, please contact us
so we can put a plan in place to help ease any worry. If you are feeling anxious, please call us as well!
Planners
Our student planners can be an excellent communication tool between school and home. Please check your child’s
planner each day. Teachers use planners to inform you of school events, walking field trips, classroom activities, homework, student behaviour and important reminders. You should also feel free to use the planner to communicate with the
teacher.
PAC Meeting - note the date change
Our next meeting will be Wed, Feb. 15th at 6pm. If you have anything you would like added to the agenda please email
Shannon at [email protected].
Music News
We are looking for donations of a variety of items for the music program: 1-5 gallon buckets, soup and
coffee cans (large and small), any large garbage pails/cisterns/oil drums, and circular saw/cut-off saw
blades (which will be ground down to make them safe for students). Also a reminder for grade seven
students and parents that there is a trip to New York on offer for Selkirk students during spring break of
2018. Any parents looking for more information can email [email protected] .Thanks, Mr Heyde
Ski Day Fun!
The grade 4/5 ski day was fantastic. Aside from the cold start, it was sunny and beautiful. All
students need to have a lesson before being allowed to ski with their groups, so there has
been a change to the program and now there is a 2 hour lessons from 9:30 – 11:30. Thank
you to PAC for helping to offset the cost of the extra lesson time so there was no extra
charge to parents! It worked out great that kids had lessons, then met with their parent volunteer for the afternoon, had lunch with them then went out to ski for the rest of the day. We
were sad to have to postpone the 6/7 ski day due to the school closure, but have rescheduled it for Wednesday March 8th. We will need to update volunteer forms so please watch for
them closer to that date.
Brain Bites
We know that the more kids read the better they will read; but what if your child struggles with reading? What if it is a fight
every time you try to make them read? It is not easy, but here are some tips and strategies to consider for all readers.
 Let your child read anything they want – Archie comics, hockey stats, graphic novels; they all count as reading, as
does reading on the internet. There are plenty of opportunities for kids to have to read if they are on line with your
guidance. If your child only wants to read about horses or dinosaurs – let them, especially if they are resistant to reading other things. The more they read, the better they will get at reading and the more that will boost their confidence
for when they are ready to try new topics.
 Reading with and to your grade 4 – 7 student is still a good routine at bed times. Our kids are still kids and that bit of
one on one time with an adult is still a valuable thing. If you have a struggling reader, then it’s ok if you do the reading
and they follow along. One of the most painful things to do for almost anyone is to read aloud if you don’t feel confident reading! Don’t make your child read aloud if they hate it. (Reading aloud is not a good indication of understanding/comprehension. Some kids understand a lot of what they read but just freeze up when asked to read out loud.)
 Be a good role model about reading whether it’s novels, the newspaper, on-line articles, looking up how something
works, recipes, etc. It’s easier to believe reading is important if you see others in your home reading.
If your child reads independently, ask them questions about what they are reading. Here are
some to get you started:
Tell me what your story is about.
Describe the main characters.
What do you think will happen next?
Why do you think that happened?
What message do you think the author is trying to send?
What do you think the lesson/moral of the story is? Why do you think that?
February 2017
13
14
14-17
15
20
21
22
23
27
27
28
Family Day - no school
4-2 swim
Random Acts of Kindness
PAC @ 6pm
Non-instructional Day for Pro-D - no school
4-2 swim
Gr 4/5 hot lunch
Gr 6/7 hot lunch
Assembly @ 1pm
Intensive French packages go home with all grade 5 students
4-2 swim
March 2017
8
9
14
15
16
17
20-31
Grade 6/7 ski day
Report cards go home
4-2 swim
Gr 4/5 hot lunch
Gr 6/7 hot lunch
Intensive French packages due to office
Spring Break
Bake Sale - Tuesday, Feb 14th
Mr Bowes 7-3 class is having a Valentine’s Day Bake Sale
Everything just $1
Fundraising to go curling!