School buses are one of the safest ways for children to get to school.
Drivers travelling in both directions must STOP for a stopped school bus with its upper red lights flashing. When you approach the bus, stop at a safe distance to let children get on or off the bus and cross the road. Do not move forward until the red lights have stopped flashing or the bus begins to move.
Thank you for helping to keep our students safe!
Thanks to our MCs Taylor and Caillie, and our special guests; veteran Harry Welton and liaison officer, Corporal Sardinha, for a thought provoking assembly this morning. Our students were very respectful and the band did a great job. A reminder that Monday is a holiday in lieu of November 11th, and Tuesday is a non-instructional day. Enjoy the long weekend.
We are looking forward to our assembly tomorrow featuring student MCs Taylor
Menzies and Caillie Vickers. The legion has dropped off poppies for students and staff to purchase. Please bring a donation to your Core teacher to purchase a poppy and support our veterans. Our grade 8 band will be performing for the first time this year. Cadets are encouraged to come in full dress.
We had a fantastic October with a perfect combination of learning and fun at SMS. Please see below for a few of the many exciting events.
Students in Mr. Lynka’s class constructed their own early farm tools out of natural materials before testing them in the field. SMS is full of examples of teachers and students working together on meaningful and relevant
Our Leadership Team (of 72 students) has had a busy start to the year. They raised over $200 at Applefest and donated the proceeds to Second Harvest. Movie Night was a huge success with over $600 raised to support one of Salmon Arm’s refuge families. Orange Team (YAY Orange) won our Toonie Tuesweek Fundraising Challenge – thanks to our leadership students motivating students to participate and “sabotage” other teams (we have learned just how competitive Mrs. Penner is!). A number of the students are currently gearing up for WE Day in Vancouver where they will gain motivation and strategies to continue the fabulous activities for the year. Our team also put together a fantastic Halloween haunted house and dance on October 31. Thanks to an amazing group of students and their teacher sponsors, Mrs. Limber, Mme Vezina, Ms. Craig and Mme Weir!
As you can see from the photo above, Mrs. Lawson is going to be busy with her little pumpkin soon. Her last day is Friday, November 16th. We will miss her while she is on maternity leave and wish her the best. Mme Jègues and Mr. Matheson are interviewing to find a great new math and science 8 teacher this week.
As the colder weather approaches, a number of clubs will begin. Students are encouraged to listen to the announcements, check the tv displays and look for a poster on the bulletin board in front of the office. Chess club is already in full swing with up to 23 matches happening Thursdays at lunch in the library. Indigenous Boys and Girls’ clubs are meeting regularly as well. Last year’s clubs included art club, yearbook, drama, pinterest, coloring, magic cards, and a variety of intramural events in the gym. Intramural basketball starts this week. Stay tuned!
Thanks to the many, many coaches (listed in the October blog) who have made so many sports available during the Fall season. Mr. Smith will have a large group of basketball coaches to work with and Mr. Lazar will begin wrestling soon. Again, please listen to the announcements and check the tvs for dates and times.
November 15th is the deadline for our PAC fundraiser. Detailed information was emailed home to parents yesterday. Last year students sold so much chocolate, our PAC was able to support us with $5,800. Get your Christmas shopping done early and easily! Catalogues, details and order forms were sent home on the Thanksgiving weekend. Please feel free to contact us if you need another catalogue or more information. Orders can also be made on the website below:
https://sms.sd83.bc.ca/2018/…/06/purdys-chocolate-fundraiser
We are working hard to ensure our students are safe in the morning and after school. In addition to our crossing guards Wella and Kari on 30th, we have added a teacher to the lower crosswalk in the morning. A reminder that in the morning, there are three options for drop off. The least busy, at this point, is our lower parking lot. It is possible to turn right into the lot or access from Okanagan Avenue. This avoids having to turn right at the stop sign as you exit our lot. Field of Dreams is another good option to avoid the busy parking lot at the school. Unfortunately, a few drivers are making it difficult for the majority of parents following the rules. Please ensure you are driving less than 10 km an hour in our parking lot, obeying all traffic signs (no left turn into the lower parking lot or onto 30th) and giving our busses the right of way. On 30th, please ensure you are driving less than 30 km/hr in the school zone. Thanks for your cooperation in keeping all of our 660+ students safe!
We have added an attendance goal to our goals of literacy and numeracy. We know that students who attend school regularly are our most successful. Please encourage your student(s) to be here everyday; unless it is impossible due to illness. We are tracking attendance carefully and will continue to update you on our progress with this goal. Please let us know if you have a student who is struggling to get to school. We would love to meet with you and work as a team to help your child succeed.
As always, please feel free to contact any of our office staff (Kyla, Dee, Laura, Chris, Wendy) if you have any questions, comments or concerns. Enjoy today’s sunshine before the snow flies!
Student presentations will focus on lessons and content that is most applicable to each particular age group, and will cover all things digital, from digital citizenship and how to be a good digital citizen to the criminal consequences of cyberbullying. Some of the most prominent concerns currently surrounding student’s use of social networking sites and smartphones will be discussed. Topics covered will include: how to practice netiquette (online etiquette), how to recognize and respond to cyberbullying, the criminal and social consequences of cyberbullying behaviour and the possession and distribution of intimate images (sexting), self-peer exploitation, digital media habits and oversharing, digital addiction, piracy and plagiarism.
At this stage in a student’s school career they hopefully should be very familiar with their digital footprint online and how this is a representation of their real and online selves. Everything they post online will be public, permanent, and searchable. This is now more important than ever and we know that university and college admissions staff as well as prospective employers are now researching applicants’ online lives before they even consider a resume or transcript. Social media should be a platform for students to showcase their interests, skills, and accomplishments. Real world examples will be shown of the detrimental effect that social media and online behaviour has had Canadian youth moving forward with their lives.
The illusion of anonymity online will be spoken to in cautioning students from misrepresenting themselves online and creating false profiles. Geo-locational settings will be covered as well the dangers of social media and cell phone misuse. Finally, a discussion of personal media habits will engage the audience and prompt them to reflect on their own digital lives and how it is affecting them.
Students and families please take note:
Wednesday, October 31st we are inviting students to dress up for Halloween! Please follow Dress code guidelines when choosing your costume to ensure they are appropriate: no profanity/inappropriate language or symbols, no racist or discriminatory items, and no toy weapons or inappropriate accessories.
Students will have the option to participate in a school dance Wednesday afternoon or may take part in other organized activities. Thank you in advance and safe Trick or Treating!
