October 2 to 6, 2023
October 2 to 6, 2023
SCHOOL NEWS
This week at JJN:
Oct. 2 - NO SCHOOL - Day in recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Oct. 3 - Celebrate Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux; Patron Saint of JJN (Oct. 1)
Oct. 4
Oct. 5
Oct. 6 - Thanksgiving Liturgy 2:00 p.m./JJN Spirit Wear Day/ No Kindergarten classes
Upcoming Events:
October 9 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Day
October 12 - Picture Retakes
October 13 - JJN Freaky Friday Fall Ball (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)
October 13 - No Kindergarten classes
October 13 - Grade 6 Strathcona Wilderness Field Trip
October 13 - Boston Pizza Hot Lunch (Order deadline October 8)
October 17 - School Council Meeting 7:00 p.m.
October 18 & 19 - Parent Teacher Interviews (K to grade 6)
Emergency Protocols
We have practiced two evacuation drills to date. We will be practicing more in the upcoming weeks (two more Emergency Evacuation drills - unannounced; a Lockdown and Shelter-In-Place drill).
This is a great opportunity to talk with your children about emergency preparedness. For more information on our Division-wide school emergency plan - CLICK HERE
JJN Staffing Update
We would like to welcome our new staff (as of September ) to JJN: Jacqueline Wheeler is our new School Office Support person and Carmen Hunting is our new Educational Assistant. As well, Mrs. Dominique Poshtar will be on leave for a while, so we are in the process of hiring a replacement teacher to come in while she is away.
Cross Country Running Districts
Congratulations to all students who participated in Cross Country Districts this week. Running a race is not just about competition; it's also the camaraderie among fellow participants, the cheering crowd, and the sense of accomplishment at the finish line!
Upcoming Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent teacher interviews will be held on the evenings of Wednesday, October 18 and Thursday, October 19. An email to sign up for your interview time will be sent later next week.
Lost and Found Free Year
We are aiming for a lost and found free year. Here are the items remaining this month. Parents please label your child's clothing to make it easier to return to them, if lost.
SCHOOL COUNCIL & FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF JJN
School Council and Families and Friends of JJN - Volunteer opportunities
We would love to have parents join our dynamic School Council or Families and Friends of JJN Society (JJN F & F).
If you would like to learn about what you can do to support your child's learning, as well as fundraising and engagement initiatives in the school, please contact:
Ashely Dascavich - School Council Chair @ jjnearingschoolcouncil@gmail.com
Katelyn Boyko - President of JJN F & F @ friendsofjjn@gmail.com
School Council Meeting
October 17 @7:00 p.m. at JJN (childcare by grade six students provided)
Positions open - contact our school council chair if you are interested assisting with any of the positions:
- School Council Vice Chair
- Compassionate Friends Committee
- Playground (extra helpers needed)
- Yearbook (extra helpers needed)
Families and Friends of J. J. Nearing
Families and Friends of JJN are hosting a Freaky Friday Fall Ball! Please join us on Friday, October 13th from 6:00-8:00PM for an evening of dancing, socializing and fun! Tickets are $20/family and will include a drink, chips and glowsticks. Please purchase your tickets ahead of time through your child’s Healthy Hunger account. Costumes are encouraged but as we understand Halloween isn’t until a couple weeks later and kids might not have their costumes yet, they are optional! As always, we are looking for volunteers to help make this event a success! If you can volunteer in any capacity, please reach out to Kaitlyn by email at friendsofjjn@gmail.com. Thank you and we can’t wait to see you October 13th!
Email: friendsofjjn@gmail.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ffofjjnearing
Instagram :https://instagram.com/ffofjjn
Hot Lunch Program
To accommodate our Rec Academy students, hot lunches for Grades 1-6 will move to Fridays. All dates for the year have been booked and are available for order on www.healthyhunger.ca.
If you are new to Healthy Hunger, follow the steps to create a new account at www.healthyhunger.ca and register your child(ren) to place their orders. If you have an existing account, you can login as usual, but will need to re-register your kids with their new teachers before ordering. The deadline to order is always 5 days prior. After that deadline we do not have access to add late orders or cancel existing orders.
If your child is absent on the day of hot lunch, you have the option to either pick up their lunch at the school after 12:45 pm. If you wish to pick up, please let the office know no later than 11 am on the day of the lunch. If we do not hear from you, your lunch will be donated to another student.
If you have any questions or issues with ordering, please email Carly at hotlunchjjn@gmail.com.
October 13 - Boston Pizza
October 27 - Subway
November 17 - Tim Horton's
November 24 - IHOP
December 8 - KFC
December 15 - Dairy Queen
January 12 - Boston Pizza
January 26 - Rice Bowl Deluxe
February 2 - Tim Horton's
February 23 - KFC
March 8 - Pizza Hut
April 12 - Subway
April 26 - Dairy Queen
May 10 - McDonald's
May 24 - Boston Pizza
June 7 - Pizza Hut
June 21 - Dairy Queen
Partners in Prayer
Partners in prayer is a group of parents who meet once a month to pray for the needs of our school community. If you are interested in joining, please contact Grace at gracekully2@gmail.com. All faiths welcome.
Yearbook
We are in need of parents to assist Rolland with the yearbook. All work can be done from home!
Please contact Ashely Dascavich on the school council gmail if you are interested in learning more.
PARENT INFORMATION
Alberta Education Seeking Input for Social Studies Draft Curriculum through Public Engagement
The public engagement will consist of four phases. We are currently in the first phase and would encourage all GSACRD families to participate and share their perspectives.
Message from the Ministry:
Feedback received from Albertans and education partners during the previous engagement on the draft K-6 Social Studies curriculum indicated common areas for improvement, including volume of content and learning progression, developmental appropriateness, pluralism, diversity and inclusion, local and Alberta context, current events and First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives. Alberta Education will be considering previous feedback, as well as incorporating feedback received through new engagement activities to develop the new draft Social Studies curriculum.
Phase one – Preliminary engagement
As part of the first phase of engagement, we are gathering information about what Albertans would like students to learn in the Social Studies curriculum through a survey and discussion guide on Alberta.ca. We developed a discussion guide that can be used as a tool to facilitate conversations within communities and help Albertans organize their feedback before completing the survey.
The survey will remain open until October 16, 2023.