PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Spring Musical:   Thank you to Ms. Yeung, Mrs. Humeniuk and Ms. Plavan for putting on another musical this year.  It is no small feat.  This year’s musical, “A Kid’s Life” was a lovely wholesome flashback with a modern twist.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a day without technology… and just play games from our youth…. I don’t know if I could do it.  Regardless, it was a lovely performance.  The chorus, leads, supporting cast and the “roadies” did a wonderful job.  Thank you, parents, for all your support.  A very nice way to end May!

Destination Imagination:  Welcome Back to our Destination Imagination Teams!  Our two DI teams from Div. 1 returned safely from Kansas City this week.  They did well in the Global DI Championships.  It was a wonderful learning experience for all the students involved.  Thank you to the families, parents, school community, and community agencies who helped support the venture.  This was Maple Grove’s fourth trip to the Globals.

Class Placement Requests:   The deadline for Class Placement requests was May 27th.  Thank you to those parents who felt it was necessary to submit a request.  When teachers start the placement process later in June, your request(s) will be taken into consideration.  That being said, there are no guarantees and staffing and school organizations will change between now and September.  So, my suggestion is let the dust settle; let the teachers place students where they feel your child will do best; and all will be well.  Trust me… the staff deliberate, discuss and debate the class placements with vigor and passion.  A considerable amount of thought, energy and effort go into organizing the school and where each student goes.   Thank you for following the criteria listed in the May 3rd blog post.

School Organization:   Schools are human organizations.  They will always be changing (e.g., enrollment, personnel) so please understand that it is challenging to say how things will look in September… and last for the entire school year.  But my best guess is the following:

We are saying goodbye to Ms. MacNiel.  She has decided to resign from her regular teaching position at Maple Grove and pursue TOC’ing and IB work on a part time basis.  We wish Alix all the best and we’re looking forward to having her come back and work with our staff on curriculum matters during Pro D Days.

Dr. Collins has decided to retire.  Steve was a part time teacher and professor at UBC.  He loved working at Maple Grove as it kept things real for him.  Well deserved Steve!  We wish the best for you.

Ms. Adams has decided to leave the enrolling Montessori classroom position and she will be working part time in Resource and Prep.  Ms. Adams has a young family and we completely understand her rationale for wanting to spend this precious time with her family.  We will be hiring a new Montessori enrolling intermediate teacher.

Ms. Seebaran is decreasing her time at Maple Grove and Ms. Tang will be increasing her end of the job share.  They will have a M,T and W, Th, F split.

Ms. Tseng will be on a temporary leave in September.  She will be returning in January 2020.  We will hire a TOC to fill that M, T position.

Ms. Boulanger is going to decrease her time to M-Th.  We will hire a Friday only person to job share with her.

Ms. Maria, one of our SSA’s will be decreasing her time at the school with a job share partner in order to pursue an education degree and go into teaching.

Ms. Peters is going to decrease her time next year.  She will work M, W, Th.  She will have a job share office partner on T + F.  We will continue to have Ms. Lincoln Th + F.

Finally, Ms. Smith and I are very pleased that we will not be moved for September.  We’ll both be back and we’re looking forward to continuing with the work/ projects and directions that we’ve got planned for the school.

Our tentative organization (which is subject to change) is:

Returning to Maple Grove in September

If you expect to return from holidays later than September 3rd, please be sure to fill in the “2019 Notice of Late Return Form” sent home on yellow paper this week.  If you expect to be back on September 3rd, you do not need to return the form.

Thank you for keeping us informed of any changes of address or contacts!

Track and Field

Tuesday, May 28^th was a day to remember as Maple Grove’s track team competed at the Regionals’ Track Meet at Churchill School.  Throughout the day, our students demonstrated excellent athletic skills and sportsmanship as they cheered on their team members. This is what several track team members said about the experience: “It was really fun watching all the people on the Maple Grove Track Team run because everyone looked so happy after they got their ribbons.” “I really enjoyed the relays because they included team work.” “I felt proud of the places I got in the races.” “What I liked most was having PE all day!” To support the team, numerous parents volunteered to help students get into their events, supervise the crosswalk and provide breaks at the long jump pit. Thank-you for always being there when we need you parents. Thank-you teachers for dedicating time to coaching students at lunch time practices and six mini meets. And, of course, thank-you athletes for your courage and energetic spirit. You are an amazing team!

Global Citizenship Club

On May 24^th, the Global Citizenship Club held a Walk for Water. These students put themselves in the shoes of thousands of children around the world who do not have access to clean water. Many of these children cannot go to school, because they have to walk for hours to get to rivers and lakes to collect water for their families to use. This water is often contaminated and not safe to drink, but it is the only source of water available. The Club walked with large jugs of water bringing awareness to other students in the school about why they were walking. Once the walk was finished, the club members watered the gardens and trees around the school.

The Global Citizenship Club raised $730 for clean water supplies for people in Haiti. $25 provides water sanitation supplies for one person for life. Together we are going to change the lives of 29 people! Thank you to everyone who donated to the Walk for Water.

We would like to recognize Teun Sjer who raised $500 all by himself! What an amazing accomplishment.

Safety Patrol at work!

Maple Grove Pac Website (Click to enter)

June 5 – 7 – Grade 6 Camp

June 7 – Welcome to Kindergarten and Welcome to New Students for 2019 2020

June 21 – Sports Day

June 24 – Grade 7 Grad

June 27 – Last Day of School for Students

June 28 – Admin Day

September 3 – Back to School