Principal’s Greeting

This October sees our first formal report to parents on student progress. On Thursday, October 25^th our teachers will host our Student-Led Conferences. School will finish at 12.12pm with the bus running its route home for students at this time. Conferences will run between 1pm and 7pm and appointment letters will go home the week before. At Lucerne School we have found that student-led conferences are a very formative way to assess student learning as students report to their parents on what they have learnt themselves, taking responsibility for their learning. It is remarkable what they realize they have learnt. This year we are trying something new by hosting the conferences before the first written report so that parents and students can talk to the teachers and there is time for reflection and action before the first report card goes home. At the secondary level the conferences are likely to be a three way discussion between parent-student-teacher.

More Staff News for 2012-2013

Ashley Barker, who is our elementary school counselor has also taken on the role of secondary school counselor. She will be in school on Fridays to work with our secondary students as well as Tuesdays with the elementary school students. Her email is ashley.barker@sd10.bc.ca

Kim Reich continues with us this year as an Education Assistant but now works full time with us.

PAC AGM and Harvest Fest

PAC invite all parents to the AGM on Wednesday, October 3^rd at 7pm. If you are interested in standing for one of the executive positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary or Treasurer please let Paula Shandro, the Chair for 2011-2012 know prior to the meeting. Also, there will be the selection or nomination of three parents who wish to be on the School Planning Council for the year. Following this will be a regular meeting of PAC at which the Harvest Fest will be a major point of discussion and an opportunity to volunteer. PAC is looking forward to running this event on Friday, October 5^th from 9.30-12.30. There will be lots of activities including:

• Salsa Fest celebrating the first successful harvest from the greenhouse
• Soup making using our garden’s vegetables
• Salsa dancing to compliment the green salsa spice
• Farm animals to pet
• Putting the garden to rest for the fall
• Wacky Vegetables and Fruity Fruit display
• Baked items to share using local ingredients and canning displays
• Composting

During the school year, PAC will continue: to host parent meetings on social inclusion and anti-bullying strategies at home and school: work on choosing new playground equipment for the school: have input on the School Plan and Code of Conduct: examine a new curriculum in BC coming our way which will need further examination on the role of technology in learning and what levels of use we make of it at our school: continue to be a leader in our school garden and greenhouse. Do come along to PAC meetings once a month to share your ideas!

How to contact our school in three easy steps!

Still having trouble contacting us?! Then why don’t you try these three easy steps:

1. Phone 250 265 3638
2. Select option 3 as soon as you hear a reply
3. Select option 0 as soon as you hear that you have got Lucerne School

Chiyoko Reitmeier, our school secretary, will most likely answer the phone if you call between 8.15am – 12.15pm or 12.45pm to 3.30pm. Otherwise you will be able to leave a message on her voice mail.

Our school website has recent postings to let you know what to do in an emergency and how to contact a teacher.

Volunteers, Criminal Record Checks and Driver’s Abstracts

Our school values the support that it receives from parents and community members who want to volunteer time during the school day in the classroom, at special events such as the Harvest Fest and on field trips. However in order to work with our students School District 10 requires volunteers to have passed a criminal record check every school year starting in September. In the spring the RCMP brought in a cost of $20 per check. Unfortunately, this is not a cost that the school’s budget can take on so at this point in time we are asking any one who wants to volunteer to pay this cost themselves and keep the receipt until a solution is found.

If you wish to volunteer time in the classroom please first talk to the classroom teacher to discover if there is a way you can help. Volunteers cannot do a job that a paid member of staff is required to do. Any volunteer wishing to help regularly in the classroom will need to complete a Volunteer Application Form, also required by Board policy.

Any volunteer driver also needs to complete a Volunteer Driver Application Form, provide the school office with a copy of their driver’s license and insurance papers and request a driver’s abstract be forwarded to the Board office. All these forms are available from the school office.

While it may seem time consuming to fill in forms, please remember that the reason for them is to make sure that our students are safe.

Food to Make our Brains Think!

PAC’s hot soup program starts again on Friday, October 12^th. Students should sign up before hand to place their order and are asked to pay $2 towards the cost of the soup. Kootenay Savings Breakfast starts again on Wednesday, October 24^th at 8.15am – this is free to students all thanks to the KSCU team in New Denver fundraising for the program.

University Liaison Day

All Grade 10-12 students will take part in University Liaison Day on Wednesday, October 10^th. This is an opportunity to find out more about post-secondary education from regional and provincial colleges and universities. Please contact Ashley Barker for more details.

And finally…

…there were four major field trips in September. The reports back from all the teacher leaders were that our students were a delight to be with, that they really worked well together and that they learnt so much on each trip. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped on the elementary field trips and to all the teachers who were prepared to lead these trips. All students have received a letter dated September 17^th that requires parental consent so that all students can take part in local walking field trips. Please return these as soon as possible to the school office.