The lucky winner was Mr. Freeman Hawco, who takes home a grand prize of $7157.00!

A very special Thank You! goes out to Mr. Matthew Smith, the principal of Macdonald Drive Elementary, for agreeing to draw the winning ticket!

Thank you to everyone who supported us through this fundraiser! The proceeds of this fundraiser will go towards the creation of an outdoor classroom here at MDJH.

This month, all grade 7 and 8 students will take part in a classroom level bee to help choose two students from each homeroom to take part in a school-wide bee. The school spelling bee will take place in the library on Monday, January 27, during recess and period 3. Two students will be selected from our school to participate in the regional bee, which is sponsored by The Telegram.

Several MDJH students have previously won at this level, and were invited to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC! Our current champion is Maria Burton, a Grade 9 student, who won last year and was invited to go to Washington.

The 2020 MDJH School Science Fair will be held on Thursday, March 12, from 1:30-5:30 pm.

All grade 7 science students are required to complete a science fair project, and are encouraged to present it at the School Science Fair. For grade 8 and 9 students, the project is optional for extra credit. Grade 7 science teachers will spend a few periods launching the project in class later this month. It is fun to design, problem-solve and perform experiments and our students always come up with many creative ideas. The MDJH School Science Fair is always a big event with a high degree of community involvement from parents and other scientists. We are proud of our high rate of student participation!

If you have a science background and want to talk science with young people, we want you! Judges visit individual projects and engage the students in conversation about their work, giving each participant the benefit of a supportive, enthusiastic, and thoughtful audience for their learning. Then the judges help select the Science Fair winners, who will have the option of going on to the Regional Science Fair or other event depending on their type of project.

If you are able to participate, please contact me at nathaliebrunet@nlesd.ca

If you have a child in our school, you will be asked to judge a different grade.

If you know someone else who would like to be involved, please forward this information.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma, an internationally recognized university preparation program, educates students through a comprehensive curriculum to become creative, critical thinkers, effective communicators, and globally-aware citizens. Presented with close consideration of complying to provincial diploma requirements, IB is a challenging alternative for those who seek to expand their educational horizons. The Program offers high quality international education to a worldwide community of schools and is recognized as such by post-secondary institutions. There are more than 900,000 IB students in over 140 countries. This NLESD sponsored program is hosted at Holy Heart of Mary High School in St. John’s.

Grade 9 students and parents will be invited to an information session hosted by NLESD (Date to be determined). Applications will be accepted from Grade 9 students for entry to the IB Programme for the beginning of Grade 10 at Holy Heart. Deadline for applications is Monday, February 10, 2020. Upon successful selection to the program, current schools will be notified prior to March 1, 2020.

There are 4 scholarships available for students to apply for assistance if they have a demonstrated financial need.

For detailed information, please visit: http://www.holyheart.ca/ib/

For all inquiries related to the IB program, please contact Ms. Janet Toope, IB Coordinator.

• Contact Information:
  • email: Janet Toope (janettoope@nlesd.ca)
  • Phone: 754-1600/1601

Additional information about the International Baccalaureate Organization and the Diploma Program can be found at:

• www.ibo.org

MDJH Junior High is starting a beginning string program for any student interested in playing in an Orchestra. There are a limited number of violins, violas and cellos available. For more information about the program please see Ms. Comerford's website. https://mdjhmusic.weebly.com/

The Macdonald Drive Music department is having a Valentine's Coffee House Fundraiser next month to raise money for the music program. This will include various performances by students in our school. We are really looking forward to putting off this event!

The Grade 7 Boys Volleyball team is seeking a coach. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the previous coach is unable to continue. If you are interested, please contact scottmercer@nlesd.ca or donaldmackey@nlesd.ca

The practice times are as follows: Monday and Tuesday 2:30-4:00 pm at MDJH.

It is not too early to submit pictures for the 2019-2020 yearbook. If you have a team picture, please email to colettequann@nlesd.ca. If sending from a cell phone, please select "actual size" when emailing. This ensures the quality is not compromised when uploading to the yearbook site.

MDJH is a WISH school. In the last year and a half, we have raised $8000 for WISH by collecting change and through various fundraisers. We are close to our goal of $10,000 - the amount needed to grant a wish for a child. If we are successful in reaching our goal, we will grant this wish for a child in our own school community. There are wish jars in every homeroom for students to put change left over from recess or lunch and for other donations. If every student donated $3 we would reach our goal and be able to grant a wish.