Principal’s Greeting
Wednesday, February 29th is the 5th Pink Shirt Day when we say “Bullying Stops Here.” We continue to hear from across Canada stories of extreme bullying that have devastating impacts on school students and their families. While the conduct of students at Lucerne is usually very high, we as a staff and a community would be naïve to believe that it doesn’t happen at all. We all need to be particularly vigilant of how students talk to their peers, their friends and their classmates on social networks and educate them in their ownership of what they post to the Web. During this last week of February there will be anti-bullying initiatives led by the student council. We hope that everyone will wear pink on February 29th.
PAC
Wednesday, February 1st is the first PAC meeting of 2012. The meeting starts at 4.30pm and all parents are welcome to attend. PAC is always looking for volunteers to help serve hot soup on Fridays from 11.15 to about 1pm. Contact Paula Shandro if you can help occasionally. The minutes of PAC meetings are posted on the school website in the section following the tab ‘Recent Posts.’ PAC also invites parents to share web links or titles of books and resources on bullying by leaving a comment on the post http://less.sd10.bc.ca/index.php/category/pac
WKTEP Student
Welcome to Ms. Signey Fredrickson, who joins us at the end of February to complete her teaching practicum for a BEd degree with West Kootenay Teacher Education Program, affiliated with UBC. She will be teaching in the Grade 5-7 classroom until the end of May. Ms. Fredrickson is a scientist and has already shared her passion for scientific enquiry with the class in the Fall.
Figura Theatre Performance
Figura Theatre (Bernd Ogrodnik) is based in Iceland, where Bernd also serves as master puppeteer for the country’s National Theater. With formal training in classical music, woodworking, children’s book illustrations, and movement arts, Bernd has been a prominent figure in the world of puppetry since 1986. He has toured his performances across Europe, Canada, the US and Asia. His marionette and puppet creations are frequently featured in film, TV, museums and theatres around the world. Figura theatre performs for Lucerne students on Monday, February 6th at 9.30am. All are welcome.
FSAs
FSAs are taken each year by all students in Grades 4 and 7 in BC public schools and publicly-funded independent schools. At Lucerne this year our students will be completing the assessments during the weeks of January 30th – February 16th.
The primary purpose of FSA is to help schools, school planning councils, school districts and the province evaluate how foundation skills are being addressed and make plans for improvement. The secondary purpose is to give parents, teachers and principals information about individual students. FSA provides a “snapshot” of how well BC students are doing on foundation skills. It helps answer important questions such as “Are students learning vital skills they will need later?” Parents can look at the Ministry website: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/assessment/fsa/info/welcome.htm to find answers to further questions.
Term 2 /Semester 1 Report Cards for Secondary Students
Secondary school report cards are due home on Friday 10th February. Due to ongoing strike action by the BCTF the report cards will continue to show information on attendance and courses taken only for Grades 8-11. Teachers will report Grade 12’s grades for scholarship and university/college entrance purposes. Although there will not be formal report cards, teachers are still required to report to students and parents progress grades and will do so through phone calls and emails. They can also meet with you if you request this. The next elementary report cards are due in March before Spring Break.
Kootenay Savings Breakfast
The next Kootenay Savings Breakfast is on Wednesday, February 8th from 8.15am. Thanks to the team from KSCU who really cook up a good feast for the day. We are looking for volunteers who can tidy up afterwards as students are in class –to tempt you…come and have breakfast first! It’s breakfast burritos this time around.
Head Lice
No cases of head lice have been reported yet this school year but as the weather starts to warm up we could see their return. Head lice are common in school-aged children but remember that they DO NOT cause disease. However, itchiness from head lice can be irritating and uncomfortable for children. Head lice spread easily to others, so it’s important for families to help prevent and control its spread. Outbreaks are more common following vacations. To prevent head lice:
- Please check your child’s head every week for lice
- Teach your child not to share head gear (i.e. hats, hair, accessories, scarves, helmets, combs)
If you would like more information on head lice and treatment the school has copies of the advice from Interior Health or go to www.interiorhealth.ca Students should remain at home until treatment is complete and the school would appreciate it if parents do keep us informed off any incidences so the class and/or grade can be told to check.
Grad Photos
Mountain West will be here on Wednesday, 8th February to take Grad Photos in the afternoon. Grade 12 should sign up for a time on Monday, February 6th in the office.
And finally…
Skiing is over for our elementary students for another school year but as long as it snows Summit Lake will be open for business. Do take your children up there so they can show off their skills to you. After the first day of skiing a pair of boots went missing – please have a look at home for a black pair of boots with blue lining that are numbered 255B.
