February 2016 - Montecito Elementary

Principal:
Deb Taylor
Head Teacher: Holly Lloyd
 Emergency
Evacuation
 Me to We Update
 Ready Set Learn
Open Houses
 PAC Newsletter
 Community News
 March & April
Calendars
NEWSLETTER #6
FEBRUARY 25, 2016
Secretary: Rae Shuster
Trustee: Katrina Chen [email protected]
Happy almost March! It is hard to believe that Spring Break is so close. We are enjoying more
sunshine and milder temperatures and the students are excited to be outdoors. Like the buds
on the trees our students are growing in so many ways. It is wonderful to watch them blossom!
Our Intermediate Girls and Boys Basketball Teams have almost completed their season. Thanks
to the coaches, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Singer and Ms Cole, and to the hard work of the students, the
teams have enjoyed very good seasons. We are proud of how the teams have worked together
and have consistently shown good sportsmanship. Their skills have really developed due to
their commitment to working hard at practices. We have one girls’ and boys’ team going to
‘Competitive Day’ and the second boys’ teams participating in the ‘Play Day’. Congratulations on
a great season!
On February, 10, the Grade 7 Speaking Contest finalists: Alisa Arkhangelskaya, Max Bigg, Kartikey Garg, Ethan Hamner,
Audrey Tsung,and Sreeja Veeraghanta, did a very good job of presenting their speeches, titled, What If?, to an
intermediate student audience. It is one accomplishment to write a good speech but another to be able to deliver it to
an audience of peers. Unfortunately, only two students could go forward to the Zone Finals on February 24th. The
students that will be representing Montecito are Alisa Arkhangelskaya, and Audrey Tsung. Congratulations to everyone!
Grade 4 and 7 students have completed the Foundational Skills Assessments. Result will be sent to parents by March
31. I would like to remind Grade 4 and 7 parents, to complete the Parent Satisfaction survey as part of the Foundational
Skills Assessment process and can be found on the Ministry of Education website. Even if your child did not participate
in these assessments, you are encouraged to complete the survey. Letters with your anonymous identification number
were sent home in February.
Ski Program has completed two sessions. Everyone is enjoying learning new skills, either snowboarding or skiing.
Thanks to the parents who are supervising the afternoon free-skiing, Ms Cheung, Ms Hutchinson, Mr. Lum, Ms Poledica,
Mr. McConnell and Mr. Rattenberry and to our teachers, Ms Lloyd and Mr. Smith for supervising each ski day.
Tennis begins February 29 and will run until March 11. Students always look forward to this!
I would like to update you on a staff change. We are pleased to welcome back Mrs. Nicoll as she returns from maternity
leave. We also would like to extend a huge thank you to Ms Vukadinovic who has mentored and nurtured division 7
students since September. We are pleased that Ms V will continue to work with our ELL students on Thursday mornings.
We have a lot to be proud of at Montecito and of course we could not offer all of the many wonderful experiences to
our students if it were not for the commitment of our teachers, staff and parents. Thank you to everyone!
Finally, the entire staff want to wish you and your family a wonderful, restful, and fun Spring Break!
Sincerely,
Deb Taylor
PREPARING PARENTS FOR A SCHOOL EMERGENCY EVACUATION
ON MAY 12 AT 2:00 p.m. MONTECITO WILL PRACTICE A FULL EARTHQUAKE DRILL. This means all students and staff
will evacuate the building and we will practice a CONTROLLED RELEASE of students. Under these circumstances,
parents or assigned designates would come to the school, show ID, and sign-out your child(ren).
A CONTROLLED RELEASE is an important procedure for the safety of all the children. In the case of a high magnitude
earthquake, or other such emergency, there is the potential of disorder. In such a situation it is important that
parents know that their child(ren) are safe and that they will only be released to the right people.
Montecito Elementary School Newsletter
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca
More information
will follow after Spring Break!
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NEXT NEWSLETTER
Due to our two week Spring Break, our next newsletter will go home on
April 28. You will notice we have BOTH the March and the April calendars
included for your information. Please check the school website for the
most up to date information.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TEAM
The Grade 6/7 girls Basketball team has had a fabulous season. The girls have shown
tremendous growth, both individually and as a team, and have continually impressed Mr.
Hayes and Ms. Cole with their strong work ethic. The team has gone undefeated in the
regular season, winning all five of their league games. A highlight of the season included
an exciting 28-20 victory over Parkcrest, after being down 14-0 at the end of the second
quarter. The members of the girls’ basketball team are: Sreeja V., Allyson W., Samantha
M., Jacqueline K., Min Ju J., Dana J., Andrea F., Darya J., Carrie L., Katrina W., Kiley Z.,
Alisa A., and Shanieka S. The team is looking forward competing in Burnaby's
competitive playoff tournament on March 3, 2016, at Burnaby South Secondary. Good
luck, girls!
ME TO WE
Thank you for helping the Me to We Group raise money for Refugees coming to
Burnaby.
We have collected:
 25 toothbrushes
 25 tubes of toothpaste
 And over $60.00 in cash donations
We truly appreciate your support.
Written by: Carrie Leung and Shanieka Senanayake Jeffers from Division 2
MONTECITO SCHOOL COMMENTS
We would like to know the Newsletters are being read at home by parents and students. Please fill in the information
below and return it to the school and your child(ren) will have a chance to win a prize at our monthly draw. Draw
date for this newsletter will be May 11th . The prize winner from last month was Roman & Vincent Marzin. As
always, your comments are welcome.
 I have read the newsletter
Parent Signature ________________________________
Family Name: ______________________________________
1. Child’s First Name: ________________________________ Grade: ____ Div. ____
2. Child’s First Name:________________________________ Grade: ____ Div. ____
3. Child’s First Name: ________________________________ Grade: ____ Div. ____
Comments on any topic are most welcome:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Montecito Elementary School Newsletter
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_________________________________________________________________________________________________
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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From SD 41 Learning Technologies
When We Communicate
Technologies have offered many opportunities to communicate. The
internet is a source of information and social connections. What used to be
held to a select few, can now be used to amplify your voice. This is unlike
London, England’s Hyde Park Speakers Corner, but an instantaneous sharing
to the world of anything you post. For example, social media was the place
used to gather and share information on the recent west coast earthquake
that rocked the lower mainland, not the usual news channels. Social media
is now the most go to place for both news and for connecting with friends
and family (near and far). For many, there is no dividing line.
The challenge of amplication is that the quickness of our fingers is speedier than the thoughtfulness of our thinking brain (prefrontal cortex). Sometimes it helps to use a graphic as a visual cue reminder. This is a quick way for students (and adults) to self
assess whether they should or should not be posting content or consider the type of content they are posting. The acronym
THINK is an easy one to remember. (I think I see a rap in the future – any takers?) Perhaps this can also be used as a conversation
piece at home. Head on over to the Digital Citizenship blog for more (see the Montecito home page).
Montecito Elementary School Newsletter
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca
Page 3 of 7
NEXT PAC MEETING: Thursday, March 10th: 7-8:30, free babysitting is available!
ONGOING PAC EVENTS:
Munch A Lunch:
Order a hot lunch for your child and support the school at the same time! Delicious food from local
restaurants! http://www.munchalunch.com/schools/Montecito/
UPCOMING PAC EVENTS:
Bottle Drive: March 12-28
Another chance to Spring-Clean: look for your new bottle drive bags coming home in a backpack near you to
fill and donate over Spring Break.
Odyssey Night with Ms Lloyd: April 1st
Looking for a parent lead to help Ms. Lloyd run a fun family challenge night in the gym! Email
[email protected] if you are interested, or speak directly with Ms Lloyd.
Literacy Week: April 18-22
Spring-Clean your book shelves and board games: bring gently used books and games to school every
morning with a Book Swap at the end of the week! Unwanted books go to the Me to We Refugee Supply
Drive and the board games will be put into our Emergency Preparedness House Bins to entertain Montecito
students in case of an emergency.
Neufeld Farms
BBQ Season is just around the corner: stock your freezer and support your school!!! Order forms go out
Friday, April 22nd and are DUE FRIDAY MAY 2nd! Delicious delivery on Thursday, May 12th.
Pitch-In Day: Earth Day: April 22
Check out Volunteer Spot to see how you can support our students as they collect trash in our
neighbourhood to beautify our community and then recycle it properly back at the school.
Montecito School Garden
Are you an avid gardener? Would you like to be involved with creating a learning garden in our school? For
more information contact [email protected]
Call for Ideas - Multicultural Event Day
Montecito's Multicultural Event Day is set for Thursday, June 2 and the planning team is looking for ideas for
the activity stations. The event day will be similar to last year with an assembly at the beginning, followed by
students visiting stations that highlight different cultures and activities from around the world. If you have a
suggestion or activity idea (e.g. craft, game, dance, music, etc…) to showcase your country of origin, please
send to Susan at [email protected].
Volunteer Opportunities - Don't miss out!
Check out all our volunteer opportunities at http://vols.pt/5tKbsg. We have a number of upcoming and new
events that we need your help. Upcoming help is needed for the Spring Break Bottle Drive, Odyssey Family
Night and Pitch-In
Day/Literacy
Week.
Please consider signing up for a volunteer position, we havePage
many
Montecito
Elementary School
Newsletter
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opportunities
available at varying times during the day and evening. The children love seeing parents at the
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca
school - sign up today!
The Burnaby School District invites applications for
the following casual, on-call positions:
STUDENT SUPERVISORS &/OR CROSSING
GUARDS
Student Supervisors provide support for students
during the lunch break, ensuring student safety in
and around our schools and work during the school
lunch break period for 70 minutes.
Applicants for these positions will have a Grade 12
education, and demonstrated ability and experience
in working with children. Applicants must be
available to work throughout the District when
school is in session.

Applications can be submitted to:








READING CLUB







COMMUNITY
Human Resources Department
 District
Burnaby School
5325 Kincaid
Street
Burnaby BC V5G 1W5

[email protected]
You can also check for Information at www.sd41.bc.ca/community/
Crossing Guards provide support for students
arriving/departing from school, and work one hour
before school, and one hour after school.



Montecito Elementary School Newsletter
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca
Page 5 of 7
Please check the school website
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca/ (Scroll down to UPCOMING
EVENTS) for the most up to date information.
Mon.
Tue.
March 2016
Wed.
Thu.
1
2
3
4
Fruit & Veggies served today –
Fruit
Celery
Gr. 7’s to Burnaby North Course
Selection – 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Celebration of Learning
Assembly – 1:10 p.m. (All
Welcome!)
Munch-a-Lunch today
9
10
11
PAC Meeting – 7:00 p.m.
Gr. 7 Camp – Installment Payment #2
due no later than today
17
18
Tennis Program (Feb. 29 – Mar. 11)
7
8
14
Fri.
15
16
Spring Break – March 14 – 18
21
22
28
29
EASTER MONDAY –
School 23
Closure – March 2124– 25
School Re-opens TUESDAY, March 29
First Day Back
30
Spirit Day – Crazy Hair Day
NO SCHOOL TODAY
Montecito Elementary School Newsletter
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca
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31
Div. 5 & 6 to UBC Museum of
Anthropology – all day
25
Please check the school website
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca/ (Scroll down to UPCOMING
EVENTS) for the most up to date information.
Mon.
Tue.
April 2016
Wed.
Thu.
Fri.

4
5
6
Fruit & Veggies served today –
Snap Peas
Cathy Blythe Child Health
Educator – Parent Night
from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
 Div. 3 & 4 to Victoria
 Gr. 4/5 Track Meet @
Swanguard – 3:30 –
4:30 pm
11
12
13
14
Ce
Gr. 6/7 Track @ Swangard – 3:30
– 5:30 pm
International Day of Pink
(Wear Pink today)
PAC Meeting – 7:00 p.m.
18
19
20
21
Student Led Conferences –
3:15 – 6:30 p.m. (USUAL
DISMISSAL TIME
TODAY)
Gr. 4/5 Track Meet @
Swangard – 3:30 – 5:30
p.m.
27
28
 Fruit & Veggies served today –
Grape Tomatoes
 Student Led Conferences –
2:15-4:30 p.m. - EARLY
DISMISSAL TODAY
25
26
NON-INSTRUCTIONAL
DAY – STUDENTS DO NOT
ATTEND
NON-INSTRUCTIONAL DAY –
STUDENTS DO NOT ATTEND
Montecito Elementary School Newsletter
http://montecito.sd41.bc.ca
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1
 Munch-a-Lunch Today
 Odyssey Family Night
time t.b.a.
8


15
 Munch-a-Lunch today
 Celebration of Learning
Assembly – Literacy
Week Kick-off – 1:45
p.m.
22
 Earth Day – Wear blue
& green. Pitch-In Day
 Literacy Week Wrap –
up Assembly – 2:15
p.m.
 Neufeld Fundraising
orders go home today
29
Munch-a-Lunch today
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