February 9, 2015

Millarville Community School

130 Millarville Road 403-938-7832

http://millarville.fsd38.ab.ca

Principal’s Message Valentine’s Day and Teachers’ Convention week are coming up and, on behalf of the staff, we hope this is an opportunity to reconnect and take some time to be with your families. Because February is a short month, we need to start looking ahead to March’s parent/teacher conferences. This year, we are encouraging more student voice in these conferences and have planned to host Student Led Conferences. During Student Led Conferences, children have the opportunity to show you the great things they have been learning. It is amazing to see the growth this time of year and it is all the more enjoyable when your child gets to share that with you. Your child will take you through learning artifacts and classroom activities that should help you gain a clear picture of their progress this year. As you go through the conference, you might have some questions about your child’s learning. You are welcome to make an appointment with the teacher to talk about it at a later time or call your child’s teacher to discuss it on the phone. We want you to be informed about your child’s progress. The more you are involved with your child’s learning, the more successful he or she will be.

To facilitate these conferences, we ask that you register for an account as soon as possible via the website below. Please register for a time by the end of the month. Thank-you for support in this collaborative, student centered endeavor.

Glenn Gibson (gibsong@fsd38.ab.ca) Be Awesome, Be Better, Be a Team Player

Upcoming Events: February 13 – Monthly Assembly – Grade 2 Hosting February 16 – 20 Family Day and Teachers Convention week (No classes) February 27 – Erin’s Wing Ski Day March 5 – Student-Led Conferences

Student Led Conference Booking March 5, 2015 http://mcs.schoolappointments.com Booking opens February 11, 7:00 pm Booking closes February 28, 10:00 pm Please book with only your child’s homeroom teacher.

February/March 2015 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Sunday

9 10 11 12 13 14/15 Millarville Messenger Publication Grade 5 Fieldtrip to Glenbow

Gr 6 BB vs Percy Senior BB @ Home vs Edison

Jump Rope Demonstration Kinder Friday Assembly (Grade 2 Hosting)

16 17 18 19 20 21/22

Family Day No classes

Day in Lieu School Closed

PD Day at MCS Teachers’ Convention

Teachers’ Convention

23 24 25 26 27 28/1 Millarville Messenger Publication

Jump Rope for Heart Day 2015-16 Kindergarten Open House 6:30 pm Parents only please!

Grade 5-8 Ski day at Castle Mountain

March 2 3 4 5 6 7/8

Community Library AGM @ 3:00 pm 7:00 pm School Council - John Bailey (Superintendent of FSD) & Oilfields admin team in attendance

9:00 am Oilfields transition meeting with grade 8 students

Student Led Conferences 3:15 - 8:00 pm

Staff Learning Day No school for students

School News Briefs

Amazing Volunteer

Thank-yous!

Mrs. Friesen, Ms. Sanftleben, and Mrs. Francis for bringing their babies to Kinder last week.

Grade 3 parents who made and served delicious international dishes.

Basketball tournament helpers - chili cooks, concession workers, time keepers and more!

Millarville Directory

2015 Millarville directory is getting ready for spring publication. If you have changes to your phone number or would like to be included in our super handy book, please email millarvilledirectory@gmail.com We are also looking for local businesses to advertise in our book. It goes out to more than 1500 families in the Millarville and Priddis area. Send us an email and we can send you the cost of the ad spaces. Thanks again for your continued support.

UWALK has been developed by the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation and is funded by the Government of Alberta. UWALk aims to help Albertans find their stride and support them moving forward. The MCS staff would like to invite you to join our UWALK community. Sign-up

at UWALK.ca and search for Millarville Community School.

Let’s keep moving Millarville!

School Fees

Just a reminder that school fees for the 2014-15 school year are now past due. If you have not yet paid, please do so as soon as possible. If you have concerns or would like to set up a payment schedule, please contact Mr. Gibson or Mrs. Gregson in the office at (403) 938-7832. Thank-you!

2015-2016 Kindergarten

Registration Evening

All parents of prospective Kindergarten students for the 2015-2016 school year, are invited

to attend an information evening on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

Future Kinder students will be able to visit our school later this spring. Please contact Mrs.

Wendy Gregson or Mrs. Christine Lederer at 403-938-7832 for more information.

It’s time to Cowboy Up!

The Millarvillle Community School Fundraising Society kindly invites

families to our bi-annual community event, The Spring Round-Up!

Please mark Thursday, March 19 from 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., on your

calendars! This fun-filled evening will feature a Silent Auction, Basket

Raffles, a Western Themed dinner option, a Family Dance and

Games.

We are looking for generous donors to our Silent Auction and Basket

Raffle items from any and all members of our community. Your

child’s teacher will provide more information about how each class

will be supporting this fundraiser for our school.

Please contact Mrs. Gregson, Mrs. Lederer, Ms. Davis, or Mr. Gibson

for more information - and watch this space as the date

approaches!

Kinders are inquiring into how people learn to walk, talk, and bowl. We

invited some baby experts (our moms and baby siblings) into answer our

questions! And this week, Dr. Branch comes by to give us another

perspective.

The Grade 1s are researching arctic animals and invited their parents in to

see what their animal would need to pack on a trip to another habitat.

The Grade 2s are comparing different kinds of Tall Tales and are excited to

host the assembly this Friday to share what they’ve learned and an

original song.

The Grade 3s held a special tasting party and critiqued many types of

foods that represented the countries of Ukraine, Tunisia, Peru, and India.

Many risk takers in the room that afternoon!

The Grade 4s have been busy researching a special Alberta Maverick

and will share their knowledge in a few different ways in the next couple

of weeks.

The Grade 5s are wrapping up their unit of inquiry by filming “Canadian

Minute” videos. We are looking forward to celebrating our special

Canadian identity.

The Grade 6s are writing a newspaper article about the mystery they have

been examining as part of their Evidence and Investigations unit.

The Grade 7s are building and assessing the effectiveness of thermos

bottles and thermometers.

The Grade 8s have created a “Choose Your Own Adventure” series,

featuring famous characters from the Renaissance. Here’s the links to a

couple of amazing stories.

http://keplersjourney.weebly.com/

http://leonardodavincihum8.weebly.com/

Keeping School Families Informed: FSD Leadership Blog

Foothills School Division (FSD) is committed to informative and accessible communication

with our school families and other community stakeholders. As part of our efforts to keep you

informed about important divisional news and noteworthy trends that impact your child’s

education, Foothills has introduced the FSD Leadership Blog.

You can access the blog by clicking on the icon on FSD’s website homepage (directly

beneath the “Events” box) or by visiting http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/superintendents-blog/

Those who contribute to the blog include: Superintendent John Bailey; FSD’s assistant

superintendents responsible for learning, employee services and corporate matters; our

Directors of Early Learning, Inclusive Learning, Staff Development, Learning Technologies,

Distributed Learning; and our Principal of Divisional Programing (e.g. French Immersion,

English Language Learning and Summer School).

Among the topics that have been addressed so far this year:

Student assessment in FSD and our focus on developing “assessment capable

learners: http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/2015/02/supblog/9754/

Bell’s “Let’s Talk” mental health awareness campaign and what FSD is doing to

foster mental health and wellbeing in our students:

http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/2015/01/post/lets-talk-mental-health/

The role of technology in lifelong learning, and tips for parents/guardians on how they

can keep up with rapidly evolving technologies and help keep their children safe

online: http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/2015/01/supblog/the-holiday-domino/

Divisional priorities http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/2015/01/post/the-new-year-in-fsd/

Cyberbullying prevention http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/2014/11/post/9053/

How to foster effective school and family relationships:

http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/2014/10/supblog/effective-family-school-relationships/

Space challenges in our Okotoks schools

http://www.fsd38.ab.ca/2014/09/post/school-overcrowding-in-okotoks/

New information is uploaded on a weekly basis throughout the school year.

We invite you to check out the FSD Leadership Blog on a regular basis, post your

comments, or get in touch with us if you have questions or want more information on a

particular topic.

Did you know that Foothills School Division’s executive

leadership and Learning Services team members blog

on a regular basis, addressing a variety of educational

topics that are relevant to your child’s learning?

Community News

MILLARVILLE AND DISTRICT

RECREATION BOARD

The Millarville and District Recreation Board is accepting applications for funding for non-profit organizations for the coming year. Each year the board receives a grant from the Municipal District of Foothills No. 31 and disperses the funds to deserving groups. If you would like to apply for a grant, please send a letter stating your request along with a budget for 2015 and a financial statement for 2014, to Box 59, Millarville, Alberta T0L 1K0. In previous years funding has been provided to the Millarville Sports Association, Millarville Community Library, Millarville Community School, Oilfields High School, West End Band Program, various 4-H groups and individuals in sports and dance who have competed at a national or international level. The deadline for applications is March 15

th. For

further information please contact Norma Dawson at 403-931-3580. We are always looking for new community members to sit on our board, so if you are interested please give Norma a call.

MILLARVILLE COMMUNITY LIBRARY The Annual General Meeting of the library will take place on Tuesday, March 3

rd at 3:00 pm.

Everyone is welcome to attend and we are looking for new people to sit on our board. The average age of our board members is getting up there and we need some new younger blood to revitalize our library and make us more in tune with new technology. Many of our daily volunteers go south in the winter and we may have to cut back our hours if everyone goes away at the same time. Right now we have sixteen regular volunteers and four spares which usually means we can stay open over thirty hours each week. If your children are in the school, maybe you could find a half day each week or every other week where you could volunteer. It is a fun place to work and you do not need any previous library experience – we will train you! If you are interested, please call the library at 403-931-3919

Upcoming classes at the

Millarville Community Library eBooks – everything you need to know – Thursday, Feb.12

th at 3:00 pm

Library Apps – your library is mobile- lots of free apps-Thursday, Feb.26

th at 3:00 pm

Basic Cakes and Cupcakes – Friday, Feb.27

th

at 7:00 pm For more information check out the FCEC guide or call the library at 403-931-3919

Millarville Community Foundation AGM

March 10th at 7:00 pm Learning Commons

For more information contact Shanna sbdunne@xplornet.com

RACE DATE & TIME: Saturday, June 13, 2015 START LINE: Oilfields Arena, Black Diamond

FINISH LINE: Millarville Farmers’ Market

HALF MARATHON: $65 to May 29, $75 to June 5 and $85 to June 8. 12 & over.

HALF MARATHON RELAY: Two people (9.2 km & 11.9 km) $110 per team to

May 29, $130 to June 5 and $150 to June 8. 12 & over.

COBS CINNAMON BUN RUN –$55 to May 29, $65 to June 5, $75 to June 8.

Eight miles, “Bunners” eat cinnamon buns on the way!!! “ (12 & over)

KID’S EVENTS POST-RACE – sack races, three-legged races, etc, no entry fee, no registration

(11 & under)

SWAG – unique, hand-crafted finishers medal fashioned by a local artisan,

Unique wick T-shirt, other Farmers’ Market swag.

SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE between the start and finish lines pre and post-race.

Go to www.millarvillehalfmarathon.com for details and contact information.

Come cheer on Mr. Gibson and Mr. Hanson in

the bunner run!