We are putting a big push on for the last week of ticket sales for the 50/50 draw for Easter Cash! The maximum Grand Prize could be a whopping $10,000! Tickets are $2 each, and the winner will be drawn on April 17, 2019.

As an incentive for ticket sales, we are offering a top seller’s prize which will be a $200.00 gift card for Best Buy. Sellers also have a chance each week to win a prize for a local fast food restaurant. Finally, there will be ice cream treats for the top selling class. Each student will be given a booklet of 10 tickets. If you need extras, just let us know.

All proceeds will be used for new educational technology for our students. If you would like to make a monetary donation in lieu of selling tickets, that would be warmly welcomed. The ticket sale deadline is April 12, 2019, so please return any unsold tickets by then.

We want to thank you for your help with this fundraiser and, as always, for your wonderful support.

We have reached a couple of milestones on our Children’s Wish Fundraising Campaign! As we have raised over $5000 toward our goal of $10 000, Mr. West has put his face and hair on the line. He graciously agreed to be pied in the face by Student Council President Daniel Blackmore in front of the MDJH student body. The weapon of choice was Lemon Meringue. In the next week, Mr. West agreed to have his hair dyed pink.

Keep an eye out for more milestones, as your donations help bring us closer to our goal of making a child’s wish come true. We are half-way there! Another $5000 and we will be able to grant a wish by June!

Our school science fair on March 14 was a great success. It showcased mostly Grade 7 students, with the addition of a few determined scientists in Grades 8 and 9. In all, we had 109 projects registered, with thirteen judges drawn from the St. John’s scientific community.

Judges were very impressed with the overall quality of the projects and enjoyed the experience of talking with our students. The Science Department teachers are proud of all our students who participated and we are excited to announce the top projects of the MDJH Science Fair 2019. These students will represent our school at the Regional Science Fair at the Regional Husky Energy Science and Technology Fair on April 12-13, at Holy Heart of Mary High School. Ms. Riggs will accompany them.

Grade 7

• Liam Power, 7-2

• Alex Hollett and Noah Ryan, 7-3

• Emma Pittman and Abby Lynch, 7-5

• Jackson Porter, 7-6

• Sydney Chislett, 7-6

• Richelle Squires, 7-6, and Lily Skinner, 7-5

• Heather Smart and Elizabeth McKay, 7-6

• Sara Stuckless and Lauren House, 7-8

• Maria Antle and Erin Blundon, 7-8

• Adeola Oloruntobi, 7-9

• Tanish Bhatt, 7-10

• Merrin Winter, 7-11
  
  

For students in Grades 8 and 9, the science fair project was not a course requirement. The intrepid souls who took on the extra challenge will also have the opportunity to present it at the regional Science and Technology Fair.

• Grace Brown and Sophia Hawco, 8-6

• Ellie Piercey, 8-6, and Eliza Somers, 8-5

• Julia Andrews, 8-8

• Leila McCrate, 8-9

• Sarah Healey, 9-5

• Cameron Jeans, 9-7

• Declan Workman, 9-8
  

Announcement: It Takes All Kinds!

An All-Grades GSA Conference

Macdonald Drive Junior High School is proud to host a Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Conference for LGBTQ+ students and their friends from Grades K to 12.

Date: May 4, 2019

Time: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm for K-6, and to 7:30 pm for Grades 7-12

Place: Macdonald Drive Junior High School (110 Macdonald Dr, St.John's)

Registration: Grades K-6: $20; Grades 7-12: $40 (including meals and afternoon snack)

Conference t-shirts can also be ordered for an extra $12

Age-appropriate programming for all will be offered within the times indicated. Student groups should be accompanied by a teacher sponsor from their school. Parents/guardians of younger students are asked to accompany their child.

Registration is now open at the following link (please note that you will need to be signed in to your @nlesd.ca email account in order to register). All participants, adults as well as students, are asked to register individually and indicate the name and email of their teacher sponsor. An accompanying parent/guardian can take the place of a teacher sponsor.

We ask that registration fees be collected by the teacher sponsor and brought to the Registration Desk on the day of the conference in the form of a cheque made payable to Macdonald Drive Junior High.

For additional information, please contact Mme Brunet in room 124 at MDJH, or by email at nathaliebrunet@nlesd.ca.

Places are limited, register early!

Registration closes April 12, 2019.

Anticipated Schedule (may be subject to minor adjustment)

10:00-10:30 Arrival and Registration

10:30-11:30 Whole Group Session: Gathering of All (Guest speakers)

11:30-12:30 Small Groups (talking circles, age-appropriate activities)

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30-2:30 Play for All (choice of art/singing/physical activity)

2:30 K-6 Students leave, day continues for Grades 7-12

2:30-3:30 Learning Workshops Session I

3:30-4:00 Afternoon snack

4:00-5:00 Learning Workshops Session II

5:00-6:00 Supper

6:00-7:30 Diversity Show

Thank you to our Kids Eat Smart Club Volunteers! On April 8-14, 2019, we will celebrate Volunteer Week and we want to say thank you to our entire school community, parents, student volunteers and anyone who gives of their time at our KES Clubs. We would not be able to operate without your dedicated support, and we are proud to share with you, that you are part of over 6200 volunteers who help KES Clubs every school day. So for everything you do, thank you! Together we are making a difference.

The next Canadian Student Leadership Conference will be September 24 - September 29, 2019 in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The theme is Empowering Inner Resources. The conference theme will flow through the keynote speeches, leadership workshops, volunteer opportunities, and cultural experiences of the conference. Any current Grade 8 student interested in attending this conference next year should see Ms. Quann. Parents can email colettequann@nlesd.ca to express a desire to have their child attend this conference. There may be room for one or two more students so please email ASAP before these spaces fill up. You can visit the website https://cslc2019.studentleadership.ca/ for more details.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted pictures for the yearbook. Please send any team pictures to colettequann@nlesd.ca. If sending from a cell phone, please select actual size to ensure the quality is good for uploading to the yearbook.

Photography club meets every second Wednesday from 3-4:30. Each month there is a photo contest. Club members are reminded to please submit their photos to twragg@hotmail.com

Ingredients:

• Pancake mix

• Scrambled eggs

• Mini chocolate chips

• Pieces of orange (for nose)

Directions:

Pour pancake mix onto a heated grill into an egg shape. After it is cooked, cut it in half in a zig zag pattern. Place the bottom half on a plate.

Make some scrambled eggs and place on top of the pancake for the chick’s head. Place the top of the pancake egg on the plate.

Use 2 chocolate chips for the eyes and a small piece of an orange for the nose.

Recipe & Image Adapted from: https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/peeping-pancake-breakfast.

Ingredients:

• Pancake mix

• Large strawberries, sliced

• Large watermelon, sliced

• Large pineapple, sliced

• Blueberries

• Plastic skewers

• Flower shaped cookie cutter

Directions:

Using your favourite pancake recipe, cook your pancakes in mini portions. The pancakes can be made fresh or prepared the day before and refrigerated in an airtight container.

Using the cookie cutter, cut flower shapes in the fruit slices. Cut a small hole in the center of the flowers if you choose to insert a blueberry. Stack the mini pancakes, 4 to 5 high. Push a fruit flower onto the plastic skewer, then push into a stack of pancakes to hold it all together, with the flower on top. Repeat for the remaining pancakes.

Adapted from:

https://www.eatsamazing.co.uk/family-friendly-recipes/healthy-breakfast-ideas-recipes/fruit-flower-topped-mini-pancake-stacks-recipe