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Ian Forsyth Elementary School Newsletter
A p r il & Ma y 2015
V o lu me 6, Is s u e 1
Have You Heard…
Pr in c ip a l Ma r y -J a n e S c o tt
V ic e -Pr in c ip a l C a r me l Mitc h e ll
Mad Science is back with four groups of your ‘scientists’
eagerly learning during their lunch break.
Yoga for Youth has begun with an overwhelming response
from our P-2 students. We have two groups each of 50
students taking part on Wednesdays. A HUGE thank you is
extended to Kevin Dougall from Shanti Hot Yoga!
Ian Forsyth Elementary School
22 Glencoe Drive
Dartmouth
Nova Scotia
B2X 1J1
Phone:
(902) 435-8435
Safe Arrival
(902) 435-8333
Fax:
(902) 435-8365
E-mail:
ifes@hrsb.ns.ca
http://ianforsyth.ednet.ns.ca
May Events
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Getting to Great
Surveys
Mad Science
Yoga For Youth
Home & School
Choir
Guest Authors
Irondale Ensemble
Professional
Development Day
Volunteer
Appreciation
Primary
Orientation
Assembly
Watch for information about the Safe Choice Babysitting
and Home Alone courses which will be offered at lunch later
this year.
To the delight of our students, Dance Club is back on
Fridays at noon!
Our annual Career Fair was a great success again this year.
Students in grades 3-6 had fun learning about a variety of
career choices from our guests.
Several students have registered to participate in the
BlueNose marathon. Good luck to all of our runners!
Getting to Great Surveys
It is Getting to Great survey time
again for students and staff! As
part of the Continuous School
Improvement process, we are once
again looking for feedback from
parents, students in grades 4 to 12
and teachers will have the
opportunity to complete Getting to
Great surveys on-line, beginning
Monday, April 20th through to
Friday, May 8th. All individual survey
responses are anonymous and
confidential; no one in schools will
see
individual
answers.
The
responses from each school will be
processed centrally at the school
board office then sent back to
schools as aggregate data. This
data can be used to determine what
things our school is doing well and
where more emphasis needs to be
placed. The information will also
help the HRSB identify areas where
gaps exist and where schools need
additional support. Parents can
access
the
survey
at:
http://survey.hrsb.ns.ca
Volunteer Appreciation
On Friday, May 22nd at 9:15 our
students and staff will host an
assembly and reception to show our
appreciation
of
the
many
volunteers who have supported our
students this school year.
We
invite all family members and
community members who have
generously given of their time
throughout the year to make Ian
Forsyth such a wonderful learning
environment!
Page 2 of 4
Ian Forsyth Elementary School Newsletter
IFES Donnie Matheson Memorial
Bursary
Thank you to all
of our parents
who took the time
to complete the
Getting to Great
Survey. We value
your opinions and
appreciate
your
time.
Parent Contact Information
If you have had changes to your contact
information, please inform your child’s
teacher or contact Mrs. Lardner in the
office. It is essential that we have the
most up to date information in the event of
an emergency or school cancellation.
Recently
we
have
encountered
considerable difficulty contacting some
parents.
Home& School News
Despite the chilly weather our family bingo
was a great success, raising approximately
$1100.00. Lots of fun was had by everyone
who attended.
Thank you to Nancy
Cashen, Krista Hetherington-Duffy and
Lynn Cashen for coordinating his event and
to our guest bingo caller Councillor Daren
Fisher.
Thank you for
supporting the
NS Heart and
Stroke
Foundation
through our
Hoops for Heart
and Jump Rope
for Heart
Fundraiser. Our
event raised
approximately
$700 with a few
more pledges
pending!
Each year our school sponsors a $500.00
bursary to a deserving former IFES
student graduating from Prince Andrew
High School who will be pursuing postsecondary education. This is the sixth
year the bursary will be awarded in
memory of former principal Donnie
Matheson.
The recipient will be
announced at the PAHS graduation on
June 29th.
Thank you to Zita Dove for coordinating our
Vesey’s Spring Fundraiser and to Trish Sapp
for her assistance in processing the orders.
We were very pleased with the response.
A total of $2,212.50 in profit was raised
Breakfast Program
The last day for breakfast program for
this school year will be Friday, June
19th. A huge thank you is extended to
Ms. Candy Spencer for all of her efforts
coordinating our program and to her
many community volunteers who make
breakfast possible for the students who
attend each day.
Volunteers are seldom paid;
not because they are worthless,
but because they are PRICELESS!
to go toward purchases based on the
students’ choices identified through a Report Cards
survey conducted in April.
Final report cards for the 2014-2015
school year will go home on Monday,
June 30th. Students will be dismissed
at 10:00. If your child will not be
present on the last day, please
provide us with a self-addressed
stamped envelope so we may mail
your child’s report. You may also
provide a written request in advance
Planning has already begun for our annual for someone else to pick it up on the
Fun Fest on Saturday, June 6th. If you are last day.
interested in assisting with the planning or
able to volunteer setting up or helping out
on the day of the event, please contact
Krista Hetherington-Duffy at 441-7727 or
kristamack24@gmail.com
Thank you to our Home & School
Association who will be supporting our
students by covering the cost of chartering
a bus per grade. This will be a great help
toward reducing the cost of end of the
year trips!
Page 3 of 4
Career Fair
th
On April 15 Mr. Marshall hosted another
successful Career Fair. The students in
grades three to six enjoyed learning
about the diverse professions of our
guests. We’d like to extend our sincere
appreciation to the following guests who
spent the morning with our students:
Chris Powell (Fire Fighter), Melinda Daye
(HRSB Chair and African Nova Scotian
Representative),
Martha
Brown
(Nurse/Instructor), Tyson Gannon (Sheriff
Officer), Jay Lunda (Sheriff Officer),
Ryan Sommers (DJ, Halifax Rainmen and
Radio Personality), Natalie Borden
(Director-Drug Information Systems, NS
Dept. of Health and Wellness), Kelli
Tynes (Real Estate Agent),
Jermaine
Mombourquette (Fire Fighter), and
Janine Nate-Williams (Fitness Instructor
and IFES parent).
Ian Forsyth Elementary School Newsletter
School Supplies
This year we will only be making
purchases of school supplies for grade
primary students. School supply lists will
go home with report cards on the final
day of school. Lists will also be posted
by grade level on our school website.
Moving?
If you are moving over the summer,
please let us know prior to the end of
June. This would be most helpful to us
when preparing class lists for September.
Class Lists
Teachers will soon begin meeting to
discuss class compositions for the fall.
Considerable time and thought is spent
creating balanced class lists. Should you
have specific requests please express
them in writing to the school planning
team. Please note requests are not
guaranteed. At this time we anticipate
three combined class, although much can
change between June and the first day of
school.
African Nova Scotian Student Math &
Literacy Support Grant
Earlier this year we shared that we were
successful on obtaining a grant to provide
math and literacy support to some of our
African Nova Scotian students. We are
pleased
to
report
25
students
participated in the program; 14 students
from grades P-3 and 11 from grades 4-6.
Students enjoyed receiving the support in
small groups and made gains in their
learning.
Parents expressed many
positive responses to their children’s
participation.
Food & Nutrition News
In the past month our students have been
busy baking, cooking and learning about
new foods and nutrition. Through a grant
obtained by the Boys & Girls Club, our
students have been preparing nutritious
breakfast items on a weekly basis. Each
class will have the opportunity to prepare
a nutritious breakfast food, such as
cinnamon zucchini muffins made with
apple sauce rather than sugar, for our
Breakfast Club before the end of the
school year.
Ms. Van Buskirk is also busy coordinating
a nutrition literacy project for our CrossAge Buddy activities.
Students are
working collaboratively with their book
buddies to prepare a variety of nutritious
snacks and meals. So far they’ve made
guacamole from scratch and prepared a
delicious Asian noodle soup (which they
shared with their principal!) The students
had fun working together and trying new
foods such as avocado and bok choy.
Primary
Registration
2015-2016
If you know
of any
children new
to our area
or who will be
5 years old
by December
31st and have
yet to
register for
school, please
encourage
their parents
to visit the
school as
soon as
possible. Our
staffing for
next year
begins in
early May.
Grade 6 Closing
Celebration
To celebrate their
time spent at Ian
Forsyth Elementary
School, a closing
ceremony will be
held for grade six
students on
th
Thursday, June 25
at 12:45 pm. All
families of grade
six students are
invited to attend.
Page 4 of 3
Ian Forsyth Elementary School Newsletter
Parent/Guardian Volunteers: Are You Ready For School Trips?
Many teachers are in the process of planning end of year school trips. Volunteers play an invaluable role
as chaperones on school trips. The HRSB Student Protection Policy requires that all volunteers must
have completed a police records check and a child abuse registry check before being able to volunteer
with children, including accompanying students on class trips.
Information about the Child Abuse Register can be found at:
http://novascotia.ca/coms/families/abuse/ChildAbuseRegister.html Once you complete the Child
Abuse Register Request for Search (Form A) and receive a copy of the search in the mail, provide a copy
to the office for our files.
Information on obtaining a Criminal Record Check through the Halifax Regional Police can found at
http://www.halifax.ca/police/CriminalRecordCheck.html There will be a $30.00 processing charge for
volunteers. We greatly value your support; however the school does not have the funds to assist
volunteers in completing this check.
It is highly recommended you submit the forms to the local police and NS Department of Community
Services well in advance of a school trip, as it can take a minimum of several weeks to have both checks
completed, or longer at busy times of the year.
We cannot emphasize the importance of having the checks completed in advance of class trips. It is
quite possible that students will not be able to benefit from such valuable learning experiences if
adequate parent support is not available.
Counsellor’s Corner: Making Mistakes
“Messing up is how you learn to fix things”. This line from the hit television sitcom “Black-ish” contains
some important ideas: making mistakes is common, can help you learn and can even make things
better. Mistakes can sometimes help you to be more creative; when you’re willing to take risks and the
mistakes take you in unexpected directions. Also, we can learn more about ourselves and how we
handle tough situations when we have to ‘make things right again’. Chances are, you’ll survive your
mistakes, and they will make you stronger and wiser. This is true at school, at home and in life in
general. Even though it’s okay to make mistakes, many children and adults are afraid of making
mistakes. People may worry about how they appear to others, feel negatively about themselves, or that
bad things happen if they ‘mess up’. Sharing adult experiences with children can help them feel more
comfortable with making mistakes. Try answering some of these questions together as a family.
• A mistake I made was…
• Here’s how I feel about mistakes…
• Something I learned from a mistake I made was…
• Something good that happened because of a mistake was…