Bear Blast
Week of May 2, 2022
Working together; succeeding together.
We are priviledged to share Treaty 6 Territory traditional lands of the Cree, Dene, Saulteux, Ojibway and the Metis Nation.
Slava Ukraini! Слава Україні! Героям слава!
Casual Custodians Needed
We Have the Best
Case in, point when it comes to footwear. To most people, what a child wears on their feet may seem insignificant. But when you multiply any "little deal" by 220, it becomes a big deal. We were finding that the large winter boots, with treads designed to grip ice and snow, were tearing up the finish on our floors. We asked the students (not told, buts asked) that they remove their big boots when they got to the school and explained why. The result? Most (vast majority) of students removed their boots with only a small handful having to be reminded. We had the occasional students push back (as they do as they learn their place in the world) but with such a high degree of cooperation it was easy to work through it with those handful of students. As a result, we have a learning space that is much more pleasant for everyone to work and learn in.
Another example is our student lounge project. We have decided to use our stage space as a student lounge for grades 7-12. The SRC is currently working to furnish it and to meet the needs and wants of the student body. As you might expect, there were some concerns regarding cleaning and behaviors. Our solution to these concerns was to give it to the students. Mrs. Mielke and Miss Wallen have worked with the SRC to develop a set of expectations for the lounge. It will truly be a lounge made by our students for our students. To date, we have had minimal trouble and it has easily been worked out through conversation and planning rather than discipline or removal. We want PPCS to belong to our students, as a staff we work there, but it really should be the students' school.
I could go on and on, but I will give just 2 more examples. We have purchased several sleds and shovels for the students to use during the winter (at their request). We were finding that students were not reurning them at the end of recesses. This resulted in the sleds being damaged or disappearing. The solution was again to give it back to the students. We asked our grade 6s to ensure that the sleds were brought inside at the end of each recess and noon hour. They have done a great job, even mitigating some issues with students not bringing the sleds to the front door and leaving them out in the playing fields. The students were requried to use some conflict resolution skills to solve the problem. They also got a first hand look at trying to organize 100+ students to do what you need them to (essentially herding cats).
Last but certainly not least. We had a social media issue creep into our building recently. A trend on tik tok called "guess who" has showed up. This is a trend where clues about a student's identity are posted with the tag "guess who" which seems harmless enough on the surface. However, like many things on social media, negative cyber bullying aspects have taken over. As it is in the social media world (where we, unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, have less influence than we would like) we rely on the digital citizens to help us out (we see ourselves as more digitial tourists). Our students (most) have expressed their disgust with the trend and are working to sniff the perpetrators out. As a result, several accounts have been reported and shut down. We would ask, that we help our kids out with this one. Check with your student if they have heard of this trend and more importantly if they have been a victim (we sometimes cannot keep up). If they have and depeding on the severity, we would encourage families to contact the RCMP so a file can be started. Our students have done a great job of pushing these accounts into the shadows, but the anomynity of the online world creates some sense of power, so this one needs all hands on deck.
In short, we have awesome kids and this is because they come from awesome families. Thank you for being awesome, for having awesome kids and for sharing that with us. I will close by sending a shout out to the PPCS Bears who took it upon themselves to do some positive graffitti, drawing chalk Ukrainian flags around town. This just shows that our kids have a great sense of right and wrong and social justice...Slava Ukraini!
PAA Seeking Projects
Seen Around PPCS (and Beyond)
Math 9 March Mathness 2022
Team Dream Machine (Navaeh S and Nadine F).
Runners Up...
Team Purple Piglets (Amia K and Saige A)
Grade 7s Learning About Globalization
Grade 89 Art Studying and Composing Pop Music
Upcoming Events
May 27 - Bike Rodeo
June 16-17 - Greenwater Days (tentatively)
June 22 - Celebration of Learning (tentatively)
June 23 - Awards Night (tentatively)
June 28 - Last Day of Classes
June 29 - Grad 2022
Summer Art Classes
Athletes of the Week
This week's male athlete is Jaxon Holinaty. Jaxon was a huge playmaker back in the day as part of Steve Nash basketball and has continued his love and passion for the game to our Junior Boys basketball team. Jaxon was always pumped to be on the team and showed a great deal of improvement throughout the season. His love for the game is evident in the effort that he puts in.
Thank you to both athletes for their contribution to our school community.
We Want Fans in the Stands
- You only come if you are feeling well.
- Sanitize your hands upon entering and frequently while in the building
- Show our Bears how awesome they are by cheering loudly (albeit through a mask).
- Be considerate of the choices of others.
Hot Lunches are Back!!
Jigs Corner Stop Cafe
(Please order by Tuesday)
Chicken Tenders and Wedges ($6)
Carolines
(Please order by Thursday)
Poutine ($6)
Youth Group (Beyond Discovery)
Awana Kids Club
For Kindergarten-Grade 6!
It’ll run each Thursday from right after school gets out until 5:10pm.
Kids can come to the old elementary school (QCP) and enter through the back double doors!
Games, live music, and learning time every week!
Free to register!
Call Heidi at 306-278-7883 or Desi at 306-865-6350 if you have any questions!
Welcome back to #bestyearever
Porcupine Plain Comprehensive School
Email: ppcs@nesd.ca
Website: ppcs.nesd.ca
Location: 403 3rd Avenue East, Porcupine Plain, SK, Canada
Phone: 306 278 2288
Facebook: facebook.com/PPCS2011
Twitter: @Porcupine_BEARS