Parent Newsletter

Dates to Remember:

Regular classes

Final Exams: Wednesday, June 15—Friday, June 17, 2016

Last day of school—Thursday, June 23, 2016. Dismissal at 12:30 pm.

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MDJH

June 10, 2016

MDJH Exams 2015-2016

Grade Wednesday am June 15 8:30 – 10:30

Thursday am June 16 8:30 – 10:30

Friday am June 17 8:30 – 10:30

7

Math 7 Science 7

8

ELA 8

9

ELA 9 District Common Exam

Science 9 Math 9 CRT

Grade Wednesday pm 12:15 – 2:15

Thursday pm 12:15 – 2:15

Friday pm 12:15 – 2:15

7

ELA 7

8

Math 8 Science 8

9

Parents are asked to note that there is a study hall in the cafeteria for students who are seeking a place to study before or after an exam. Please contact the school in the event your child is sick. Bus times are the same during exams.

Last day of school:

It will be a regular start to school on the last day, Thursday, June 23rd. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 pm. Report cards will not be released prior to 12:30 pm.

Focus on Finals

With approximately two weeks to finals, pleased encourage your child to keep their attention focused on their daily work and to prepare for the final June exams in Science, English Language Arts and Mathematics. School attendance is imperative to a child’s success in school. Parents are encour-aged to check PowerSchool to ensure their child has completed and passed in all assigned work prior to exams. We would like to see all stu-dents experience a successful end to their school year.

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Celebrating

Student’s

Successes

We want to acknowledge and celebrate the

accomplishments of the students of MDJH.

We have a wall of celebration where we will

place a certificate of acknowledgement

highlighting participation and success in a

variety of activities. We want to know if your

child has participated in any plays, musicals

or has been on a

team that has won

some title or has

been recognized in

any individual com-

petition. We need

your help with this.

Parent

Volunteers

We will be seeking parents to help out with the breakfast program and School Council in the fall. . Please contact the administra-tion if you are interested in helping us out.

Sarah Osmond: sa-rahosmond@nlesd.ca or Craig Squires: craigsquires@nlesd.ca

Congratulations

We had a very successful Fine Arts night on

Tuesday, June 7th. Special thanks to Ms.

Grace Dunsmore, Ms. Amy Wilson and Ms.

Katie Sullivan for their efforts with the music

program. Thanks to Ms. Colette Quann and Ms.

Alanna Penney for the student exhibitions in

photography, paintings, sculpture and sketches.

Music Donation

We are very please to announce that the Tulk family has generously donated a bass guitar and amplifier to our music program in memory of their son , Blair, who interned with us last year. We are very appreciative of their kind and generous offer.

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Safety on and off School Grounds

It is very important that all students exercise caution on and around school grounds at all times. We have a lot of on-going construction around our building.

Students need to use crosswalks, be aware of construction zones, act and behave accord-ingly when going off school property for lunch (parks and eating establishments), and refrain from using the MDE playground.

We strongly encourage you to be alert and careful at all times. As well, to drivers, please adhere to speed limits in our school zone and be extra alert.

Yearbooks

You can now pre-order yearbooks for the 2015-2016 school year. They are available at a cost of $20. Order forms are available at the office or from Ms. Quann or Ms. Sauvé .

ALL MDJH STUDENTS are included in the yearbook. It is not just a book for Grade 9. It is a nice keepsake for all junior high students that highlight school events and memories. Our yearbook includes all school events from September 2015- June 2016 and are deliv-ered next fall.

Yearbook Photos

Many school groups and activities ongoing. Anyone having a team or group photo to submit to the yearbook can please email their photo to ColetteQuann@nlesd.ca.

MDJH Team Pictures Needed

Thanks to everyone who has sent in pic-

tures. We are still looking for pictures of

many of our teams. It would be much ap-

preciated if a parent, coach, or student

could pass along a picture by emailing Ms.

Quann at colettequann@nlesd.ca. If you

are emailing a picture taken from a cell

phone, please select actual size when you

email as changing the size will alter the pic-

ture and the quality of the picture will be

poor so we will be unable to put it in the

yearbook.

Europe 2017 Any student interested in going to France and Italy during Easter of 2017 should see Ms. Quann for information. Email Colette Quann at colettequann@nlesd.ca for de-tails. There is a $100 discount offered to anyone signing up before the end of June.

MDJH Digital FYI: What every parent should be aware of

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Teenage Brain on Social Media

The same brain circuits that are activated by eating chocolate and winning money are acti-vated when teenagers see large numbers of "likes" on their own photos or the photos of peers in a social network, according to a first-of-its-kind UCLA study that scanned teens' brains while using social media.

In an experiment, the researchers showed teenagers 148 photographs on a computer screen for 12 minutes. Each photo also displayed the number of likes it had supposedly received from other teenage participants -- in reality, the number of likes was assigned by the researchers.

When the teens saw their own photos with a large number of likes, they saw activity across a wide variety of regions in the brain. The researchers also observed activation in regions that are known as the social brain. In deciding whether to click that they liked a photo, the teenagers were highly influenced by the number of likes the photo had. Teens react differently to information when they believe many or few of their peers have endorsed it, even if these peers are strangers.

In the teenagers' real lives, the influence of their friends is likely to be even more dramatic. Expect the effect to be magnified in real life, when teens are looking at likes by people who are im-portant to them.

Should parents be worried about social media?

Social media have both positive and negative features. Teenagers and young adults be-friend people online whom they don't know well, and parents are right to be concerned. That opens up the possibility of a child being more influenced by people who may engage in more risk-taking behavior than your child or your child's immediate friends. Parents used to know their child's friends, but when they have several hundred friends, there's no way parents can know who they are.

Peer pressure to conform has long existed, but online likes are different. In the past, teens made their own judgments about how everyone around them was responding. When it comes to likes, there's no ambiguity. The data seem to reflect that teens' self-identity is influenced by the opinions of others. It's important for parents to be aware of who their teens interact with online and what these friends and acquaintances are posting and liking.

For the photographs -- neutral, risky and even their own -- the teens were more likely to click like if more people had liked them than if fewer people liked them. The conformity effect, which was particularly large for their own pictures, shows the importance of peer-approval. Seeing photos that depict risky behavior seems to decrease activity in the regions that put the brakes on, perhaps weakening teens' "be careful" filter.

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What Does DM Mean?

An abbreviation that is widely used in texting and on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere on the internet. DM = Direct Message

Cafeteria Service

Please note: Our cafeteria service will conclude on Friday, June 10th, 2016.

Note:

There will some items in the vending ma-chines for sale.

Breakfast program

Please note: The MDJH breakfast pro-gram will finish for the year on Friday, June 10, 2016

PARENT NEWSLETTER

Macdonald Drive Junior High

110 Macdonald Drive

St. John’s NL

A1A 2K9

Phone: 709-753-8240

Fax: 709-753-1243

E-mail:

leoetchegary@esdnl.ca

Page 6 JUNE 10, 2016

Public Announcements

Page 7 JUNE 10, 2016

Date: June 12tth, 2016

Dear Parent/Guardian:

A case of head lice has been detected at MDJH. Anyone can get head lice, mainly through direct head to head contact but also from sharing hats, combs, hair brushes, headphones, helmets, hair accessories, and other per-sonal items.

Parents or guardians may feel frustrated or embarrassed, however the problem has nothing to do with stand-ards of cleanliness. Please do your part to prevent the spread of head lice by checking your child daily for the next few weeks and weekly thereafter. Lice infestation is much easier to treat if caught early.

If your child has head lice, please start treatment immediately and notify your child’s school. A booklet titled, Managing Head Lice at Home, is available through your school or school nurse. This booklet can also be found electronically on the Eastern Health website: www.easternhealth.ca

Once a case of head lice has been found all family members should be checked as well.

If you have further questions please contact the Public Health Nurse.

Sincerely,

Shirley Powell Sarah Osmond Public Health Nurse Principal 752 4899 753 8240

École Intermédiare Macdonald Drive Junior High School