Principal’s Message

Dear Families,
This is indeed a short, compressed Term at school.  Things are busy and students are actively out and about in our local community.  We have sports teams (Jr and Sr Boys Basketball) rushing around playing local schools, as well as a girls in grades 3-7 noon hour soccer program host by ex-National Team player Carrie Serwetnyk.

  This week we were thrilled to have Dragon Dance performers from Angel Entertainment come by and share the secrets, magic, and good luck during the year of the monkey.  Master Danny and Student Master Kevin amazed the school, while Angel told the story of how the Dragon Dance came to be.

The students were very excited and happy to receive good luck and best wishes for the year of the monkey.  Special thanks to the parents who were able to spend the 30 minutes after drop off with us.  Also, thanks to Mr. Luu for helping to secure the group to book Maple Grove as one of their engagements.

  One of the initiatives I mentioned in last week’s blog is now ready for you to view.  VSB 2021 is a process to develop a strategic plan.  It is part of the VSB’s ongoing efforts to meet the needs of our unique district and ensure student achievement and well-being. The new strategic plan will provide a clear framework for action over the next 5 years. Over the next 6 months, a wide range of students, families, teachers, staff and stakeholders will share their ideas for the future of our District. Key questions include:

• How can we make sure that all students have equal access to quality education?
• How can we engage our students to reach their full potential?
• What role should our schools play in their communities?
• How do we set priorities and use resources most efficiently?

For more information; to sign up for updates and to complete the online survey, please go to www.vsb.bc.ca/vsb2021 and look for the corresponding links.

  Staff have signed up for a series of Pro D sessions on Social and Emotional Learning.  Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.  SEL programming is based on the understanding that the best learning emerges in the context of supportive relationships that make learning challenging, engaging, and meaningful.

Social and emotional skills are critical to being a good student, citizen, and worker. Many risky behaviors (e.g., drug use, violence, bullying, and dropping out) can be prevented or reduced when multiyear, integrated efforts are used to develop students’ social and emotional skills. This is best done through effective classroom instruction, student engagement in positive activities in and out of the classroom, and broad parent and community involvement in program planning, implementation, and evaluation.

There are essentially five competencies:

• Self-awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior.  This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.
• Self-management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.
• Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
• Relationship skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.
• Responsible decision making: The ability to make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others

Thank you to all our parents for your continued and ongoing support for the students at Maple Grove as we endeavour to engage all students with their learning and create an amazing educationally sound learning environment.

Enjoy your weekend!
Principal Evans

Grade 6 Camp

CALLING ALL GRADE 6 STUDENTS AND PARENTS!

Maple Grove’s Grade 6 Camp Fundraising Committee needs a few volunteers!!!

We will soon be asking students in grade 6 to sell as many Purdy’s chocolate bars as they can to their neighbours, friends and family members!  We need only ONE parent from all of our grade 6 divisions to step up and help their respective division to organize their class’ chocolate sales.  We will also need some grade 6 students to help us sell these chocolates at lunch and after school on days during the week of Feb 22.

Mr. Naipaul
Ms. Griffiths
Ms. Adams
Ms. S. Wong
Ms. Bartlett – Janie Pang

Please email me ASAP to let me know if you can help our grade 6 kids fundraise for their camp fees!

Cheers,  Karrie Bogart  ckbogart@shaw.ca

Pink Shirts Available for Pink Day February 24th

Thank you to all the Maple Grove families who got their orders in on time!  Pink Day is so popular this year that our supplier has run out of the colour we chose.  We will be getting a very similar colour for all the youth sizes. The adult sizes will be the same colour as the samples that we were given (see photo).

 Lots of families have been supporting Anti-Bullying and Acceptance by purchasing PINK wear.  Orders were placed on Thursday of this week, and we’re expecting delivery by February 22nd.  Each year, schools around the world recognize amazing acts of Acceptance in standing up for children who have been bullied.  Of course we strive to have social responsibility as one of our core values on a daily basis, but we join other schools across the country in February by celebrating a true act of acceptance that happened in Nova Scotia. (see last week’s blog for more info).

   Upcoming Events:

February 8 – Lunar New Year and Family Day Holiday – no school
February 9 – Professional Development Day – no school for students
February 12- Spelling Bee (1-3) gym (parents welcome)
February 17 – PAC Meeting (Montessori Parent Ed)
February 26 – PAC Movie Night (in the gym)