Principal’s Message
Greetings!  I just wanted to thank everyone for making me feel so welcome during this first week back at school.  I’ve had numerous staff, students and parents come up to me and welcome me to the school.  Also, the office admin team has been most welcoming and it’s awesome to be reunited with Ms. Sleep again after 4 years working at separate schools.
I feel blessed to be working with such a dedicated group of educational leaders.  The staff are very knowledgable, conscientious and dedicated to teaching and learning.  I further would like to acknowledge and thank all the students who had the courage to walk up to me on the playground and make the new Principal feel welcome… this speaks volumes about the quality of our Maple Grove student body.  Finally, I would like to thank all the amazing parents for stopping me in the hallways and welcoming me.  Our PAC exec is fantastic and all the parent volunteers are wonderful.  Further to this, even parents who aren’t part of the exec have been most welcoming and supportive.  Thank you everyone!

We have a lot of initiatives going on at the school and I will be speaking about these in future emails.

I want all parents to be aware that a lot of paper will be coming home in the next week. Please be prompt in replying as some of our school events are time sensitive depending on the return of consent forms etc.  On this note, please be aware that our Outdoor Day Camp is happening on Tuesday, September 22.  This is an all day event that was discussed with staff and our parent group last year.  The focus is to expose our students to various forms of outdoor education and for them to develop an appreciation for the natural environment verses the built environment.  Thank you to Ms. Sleep.  She has been instrumental in organizing all the events, outings and activities for students.
Your’s in Schooling,
Principal Evans

Division 3 (Ms. Wong & Ms. Barriera’s class)
If you’re a parent of a student in Div 3 please know that Ms. Wong keeps a blog that relates to her class. She is always mindful of student privacy. She usually password protects postings with pictures. Contact Ms. Wong for details or look to the Right hand column index for a link to her blog.
Here is the address: mgdivision3@wordpress.com

Message from the Maple Grove PAC

Hello Parents & Guardians,
The Maple Grove PAC Welcome package has been sent home today–please look for it in your child’s bag.  We encourage you to take the time to go through all the information provided and fill in the required paperwork.
We also encourage parents to follow our new forms of PAC communication which have been created to maximize the students’ experience at school by keeping parents and guardians informed.
By following you’ll be in-the-know about all the exciting new projects, key stories and special events that the PAC organizes.
Here are the ways to keep up-to-date – instantly at your fingertips:
https://themaplegrovepac.wordpress.com

Twitter: @MapleGrovePac
The PAC feels so privileged to be a part of this school family and are excited to have a partnership with you to help all our children have a great school year!
Happy weekend,
Monica Tang
Chair, Maple Grove PAC

Important Dates to Remember

Please note that a full school calendar was emailed in a previous blog.  The following dates are only selected dates in the near future that we feel require your attention.  A full calendar can be found at out website or Welcome Back blog.

September 16th – Meet the Teacher Social BBQ- Start at 3:15 in the gym.
September 18th – Terry Fox Run – Maple Grove Park at 1:15
September 22nd- Outdoor Camp Day
September 21st – to 24th – Book Fair
September 30th – Parent Conferences.  Early Dismissal at 2:00 pm
October 1 – Parent Conferences.  Early Dismissal at 2:00 pm

Maple Grove’s first Student Assembly of the Year

Welcome to our first assembly of the year.  Today we had a special presentation from Div 16, Ms. Bartlett’s class.  They started the year off right with a welcome in every conceivable language.  Thank you Div 16.  We also had a musical presentation from one of our intermediate students, Cheryl Lin.  We discussed upcoming events, welcomed new students and staff, introduced students to staff, introduced our PAC Chair and Vice Chair (Monica and Alison) and shared elements of our Code of Conduct.  It was indeed a great start to the school year.

Friday Morning Coffee, Curriculum and Chat Continues

This morning, the tradition continued.  Every Friday morning our fantabulous PAC, with the assistance of our energetic teacher-librarian, Mrs. Tornroos, hosts a Friday morning coffee time in our library.  The get together starts around 9 and lasts until about recess.  Our parents are partners in the education process and we look for many ways to connect and reach out to them for their input and support.  This process helps to build strong community relations. We also discussed our Annual Terry Fox Run coming up a week today, as well as our Meet the Teacher BBQ and Camp Day.

Terry Fox Run

On Friday, September 18th at 1:15 pm we will be over at Maple Grove Park.  There we will run, jog and walk around Maple Grove Park for about 20-30 minutes in recognition of Terry’s Marathon of Hope.  We will be collecting donations throughout the week-if students are so inclined to donation they are most welcome to do so. We want to acknowledge Mr. Naipaul for supporting the event and helping to organize it.

PAC BBQ

On September 16th, our PAC is sponsoring a Welcome Back BBQ

The event starts at 3:15 pm.  It’s out intention to gather in the gym, do some quick staff introductions and PAC Exec introductions and say a few words about the year ahead.  Parents will have an opportunity to meet their child’s teacher and then socialize. (This is not a time to discuss the individual progress of students.  As staff will only have been with students for a week, it is unrealistic to expect any kind of reporting out.  Please be reminded that our Goal Setting Conferences are in the last week of September- this would be a more suitable time to discuss teaching and learning outcomes.  Thank you in advance).  There will be some senior student running games on the field for younger students and, of course, food for all.  Thank you to our PAC Exec for organizing this awesome event!!!

Chinese School Calendar

Please find the embedded calendar for our Chinese School
MAPLE GROVE中文學校15-16 校历 (1)

Please find the embedded flyer/brochure for our Chinese School
MG Conversation flyer %283%29

VSB Settlement Workers 

Rhythmic Gymnasitics

Rhythm Gym is a non-competitive fitness program for boys and girls which aims to foster lifelong fitness for kids aged 1-10 year of age.  Focusing on the important developmental steps leading to lifelong “physical literacy”, Rhythm Gym is a unique program that combines basic gymnastics floor apparatus and active movement skills with the manipulation of small hand held apparatus with the added energetic and fun components of rhythm based movement and dance with great music that will surely unleash the creative spirit in all kids.
Inspiring and preparing young kids for a healthy and enjoyable future where the concept of lifelong fitness comes naturally is what RHYTHM GYM  is all about!
Please find the link below to the Website for more information.
Also, there is 15% off if you mention the add that is attached.  You can  mention, Julia Oprea, who is a student at Maple Grove at the point of registration.  http://www.rhythmgym.ca

Fundraiser at Queen Victoria Annex

The hard working PAC at Queen Vic has already got a fundraiser up and running.
You might be interested, too! Thanks for taking a peek.  Ernest & Celestine Poster