Principal’s Greeting
Our school growth plan this year opened with the following quote from A.C. Grayling: “To read is to fly; it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.” Summer vacations are a time to climb to the top of mountains, to look down on wide terrains, to have ideas, to share experiences and to explore. However, this year we have seen an explosion of a love for reading in our school so, over the summer, if your children are wondering what to do or pretend they are bored, encourage them to read so that they can fly even higher.
Thank you to the staff of Lucerne for your year of dedication, to our many volunteers who give their time generously and to the students who make this school such a fulfilling place to be.
Staff Changes for 2011-2012
Richard James retired at the end of April having been custodian at Lucerne for 18 years. He was proud of the work he did to keep this school looking spotless every morning and rightly so as this school is a pleasant environment in which to learn because of him. We know that he will be making the most of every minute of his retirement on his bike, on the lake and listening to the music that used to fill the hallways once students had gone home.
Kelly Roberts, our Grade 3 and 4 teacher, will be leaving us this June. She is a dedicated, caring teacher who has brought a joy of learning to the students in her class. Being ‘the new teacher’ in a school is not always easy but Kelly found her niche quickly and has contributed to Lucerne in so many ways beyond her class room responsibilities. We hope that a position will open up for her again in our school one day and we thank her for a wonderful year.
Terry Taylor has been appointed to the new position of District Principal of Learning. This role in the district will enable her to bring her passion for learning and for students to all schools in the district by leading initiatives in learning. She will continue to be Lucerne’s secondary school counselor and also will teach English 11/12 and Writing 8-12 from September.
Due to a reduction in custodial hours allocated to our school Janet Quesnel’s part time position as custodian will not continue next year. Janet, like Richard, took care of our school with commitment and pride. She will continue to maintain our garden border and interior plants making our school attractive for all.
Zave Reinhart’s position will also cease at the end of the month due to a reduction in education assistant hours. He has had a great year working in Strong Start and pre-school with one of our students and has been an invaluable member of staff willing to step in and roll up his sleeves when needed.
Heather Jenkins will join us from Naksup Elementary School to teach the Grade 2,3 and 4 class in September. She attended school in Nelson and has taught in the Kootenays for many years. She has lived in many different places and still considers the Kootenays the best place on Earth to live! She enjoys biking, gardening, walking and reading.
Stan Strebchuk will take up the position of custodian from July, stepping into Richard’s shoes. Stan has worked in the district for many years as a custodian and an education assistant. He is looking forward to being a regular member of the team.
‘Punctuality Rocks’ in June
Well done to Thomas Steenhoff whose name was pulled out of the draw for students who have attended school every day this month and been on time. Thank you to all parents and guardians who have really done every thing they can to get students to school on tine as it is so vital to get the day started without delay.
Class configurations for 2011-2012 and rooms
Based on current enrollment predictions the elementary school will be made up of three home rooms in September: K-1 with Ms. Rachelle Champagne downstairs in room 148, Grades 2,3&4 with Ms. Heather Jenkins also downstairs in room 149 , and Grade 5,6&7 with Katrina Sumrall in room 121. If there are significant changes in September these configurations could change. Our school will be welcoming Full Time Kindergarten for the first time and therefore we believed it vital that this new initiative could gain the focus it needed in our multi-graded school configuration.
Supply lists
Supply lists are in elementary report cards and available on the website. Secondary students also need to have supplies for class and should have with them:
Pens, pencils, coloured pencils, glue sticks, binders, loose lined paper, graph paper, scissors, ruler, scientific calculator and protractor
All students should change for PE and have indoor shoes suitable for PE lessons in the gym. Flip flops and ‘holeys’ are not suitable for sport.
Secondary School Drumheller Field Trip
Secondary teachers will be busy planning a cross-curricular field trip for secondary students to Drumheller, Frank Slide, St.Eugene’s Mission, Banff and Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. This will be the second year of taking all secondary students on one field trip together. Details are in a letter that is enclosed in the report card envelope. The dates for the diary are: Monday September 19th to Friday September 22nd. As this field trip takes place when ‘Fall into Learning’ usually takes place we will be running an elective week ‘Winter into Learning’ at the start of Semester 2.
Criminal record checks and driver’s abstracts for volunteers
Every school year requires that any volunteer who works with students in school, after school or on field trips needs to complete a criminal record check for volunteers which is free. Although we have just had a Grade 5-7 field trip, for example, with the start of the new school year these will be need to be done again. Why not get this piece of paperwork done in September? Just pop along to the RCMP station and fill in the form or pick up a form from the school office.
Any parent or member of staff who transports children on a school event needs also to have a driver’s abstract sent to the school district office. These are available by visiting the local ICBC insurance office or calling 1-800-950-1498.
And finally…
Have a great summer everyone but don’t forget this important date….school starts on Tuesday, September 6th at 9am ending at 12 noon with the school bus leaving school at 12.05pm. See you then!
