Parent Newsletter
Macdonald Drive Junior High, February, 2020
Macdonald Drive Junior High
Email: mdjh@nlesd.ca
Website: mdjh.info
Location: 110 Macdonald Drive, St. John's, NL, Canada
Phone: 709-753-8240
Twitter: @mdjh
Dates to Remember
Term 2 began Monday, February 3
Crush for your Crush sales - February 4-10
RNC presentations for Grade 7 - February 5 and 6
School Spelling Bee - February 7 - Period 3
Teacher Appreciation Days - February 9-15
Holiday - Monday, February 17
Chess tournament - February 22
Spirit Week - February 24-28
Pink Shirt Day - February 26
Parent information meeting for Canadian Student Leadership Conference - March 11 at 6:30 in Room 220
MDJH Science Fair - March 12, 1:00-5:30pm
Grade 9 Carnival - May 28
Provincial Reading and Mathematics Assessment - Spring 2020 - May 26
What's been going on...
Bell Let's Talk
Bell Let's Talk is an awareness campaign created by the Canadian telecommunications company Bell Canada to raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding mental illness in Canada.
On January 29, Macdonald Drive Junior High was one of five schools that participated in a special Bell Let's Talk breakfast in coordination with the Kids Eat Smart Foundation. All students in the school were treated to a breakfast of muffins and fresh fruit. Each class also completed a lesson on the importance of reducing the stigma around mental health and created speech bubbles with important messages related to mental health.
We would like to extend a big thank you to the staff, students and parent volunteers who helped to make this day such a great success!
Valentine Fundraiser for WISH
Student Council will be selling a Crush for your Crush. For $2, students can purchase a can of crush for their friend, their crush, their teacher, or themselves. Orders will be taken of February 3-6 during lunch. They will be delivered on Friday, February 14. All proceeds will go to our WISH campaign. Please support MDJH in granting a child’s wish.
MDJH Fundraiser
We’re launching our second school fundraiser of the school year. All proceeds go towards the MDJH technology initiative as we move to expand our school-wide access to chromebooks and wifi.
Orders are due by February 21. Please give them to the Homeroom Teacher. Delivery will be before Easter Break.
Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week is February 10-14. We would like to ask our school community to show appreciation for the staff of MDJH by providing treats at recess and lunch. As in past years, we would like to have different grade levels provide treats on different days:
Monday, February 11 - Grade 7
Tuesday, February 12 - Grade 8
Wednesday, February 13 - Grade 9.
If you are able to send along a treat, please email colettequann@nlesd.ca or jodisauve@nlesd.ca. All treats must be peanut and cinnamon free.
Spirit Week
Different days will have different themes, and lunchtime activities will be organized for students. Details will be announced during our daily announcements.
Here are the daily themes:Kids Eat Smart Breakfast Club
Our school is participating in a Breakfast Blitz, to help fill our KES Cupboards, on Thursday, February 27. We are asking you to please send along a breakfast item or a donation to support our school’s Kids Eat Smart Breakfast Club. If you wish, you may make your donation directly to our school program online at www.kidseatsmart.ca. Remember - $20 covers the cost of breakfast for a child for one month! It’s important that we fill our KES cupboards to ensure our children start their days well-nourished and ready to learn.
French Summer Language Programs for Students
Are you interested in learning French this summer? You can live in a French environment, meet new friends, and speak French by participating in one of the programs below!
Explore Bursary Program:
- Summer Program in French for Students Ages 13-15
Applications are still being accepted. Apply here! - Summer Program in French for Students Ages 16+
Applications are still being accepted. Apply here!
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development GovNL:
- Summer Program in French for Grade 9 Students
Application Deadline: Coming Soon! – mid late April
https://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/french/bursaries.html - Summer Program in French for Level I Students
Application Deadline: Coming Soon! – mid late April
https://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/french/bursaries.html
Coming up...
Spelling Bee
During January, all grade 7 and 8 students took part in a classroom level bee to choose two students from each homeroom to take part in the school-wide bee. The school spelling bee will take place in the library on Friday, February 7, 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.
Go CODE Girl - Workshop Opportunity for Girls
Memorial Engineering Outreach is pleased to announce that we will be hosting the Go CODE Girl workshop again this year. Go CODE Girl is an initiative created by the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering (ONWIE). ONWIE has worked with several universities across the country to make the experience accessible for female youth in other provinces as well, and we are proud to be one of them!
We have set the date for Monday, February 17, a day in which the majority of schools are closed. Given the time lost during the state of emergency, we are trying to make the most of opportunities to host events. Go Code Girl will run from 9:00am to 2:00pm in the S. J. Carew (Engineering) Building on our St. John’s campus. The workshop is designed for girls in grades 7-11. The day focuses on coding and digital literacy, highlighting opportunities for skill development and insight into the fields of computer engineering, electrical engineering and computer science.
There is no charge for this event, however spaces are limited and we anticipate it will fill quickly. Online registration will be available on Monday, February 10 at 12:00 noon. You will be able to access the registration from the page linked below.
https://www.mun.ca/engineering/community/outreach/upcomingevents.php
If you have any questions, please contact:
Kathryn Hong | Coordinator for Outreach Activities
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Memorial University of Newfoundland
T 709 864-3108
EN3011
Chess Tournament
Science Fair Judges needed!
WANTED: Science Fair Judges
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 opportunity to go on to the Regional Science Fair.
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.
Grade 9 Carnival
The Grade 9 Carnival is approaching! This year, MDJH will be hosting its Carnival on May 28, from 6:30 – 9:00 PM. Both the Student Council and School Council have endorsed this event. All Grade 9 students are invited to attend as it will be one of the last times to come together as the senior class of MDJH. The City of St. John’s Youth and Recreation Group are helping to organize the event.
Some of the activities that have been planned include:
- First Down Football Challenge
- Large Games
- Bouncy Castle
- Escape Game – Can you escape in 20 mins? NEW
- Clue Orienteering
- BBQ
- HoopZone
- Memorial Banner
- Wii Sports & Just Dance
- Karaoke
- Smoothies & Candy Shop
- Magician (Mark Weber)
- Photo Booth
- Video Games Room
- 15 ft. Dry Slide NEW
Students will recieve a card at the beginning of the evening and as each student completes an event, their card will be hole-punched and their names will be entered for a prize. We are looking for donations of small prizes for this activity. If you would like to donate an item, feel free to drop it off at the office. Donations could include: gift certificates, movie passes, basketballs, caps, etc. We will also be looking for parents/guardians to make mini cupcakes in batches of 50.
The food items available for students include: barbeque hot dogs, popcorn and fruit smoothies. Dress for this event is casual: shorts, t-shirts and sneakers. To help offset the costs, we are asking that each student bring in $20.00. If there are any concerns please let the office know.
All Grade 9 students will be given a permission form to take home and return (click here if you would like to download a copy).
MDJH will be holding the Grade 9 Carnival on Thursday May 28, 2020 from 6:30 – 9:00 PM. All grade 9 students are invited. The City of St. John’s Youth and Recreation Group are helping to organize the event.
Call for Volunteers - Grade 8 Parents/ Guardians
We are currently looking for Parent Volunteers to help supervise this event. In anticipation of your son/ daughters participation next year, we thought it would be fitting for grade 8 parents to participate. If you are able to volunteer for this event please fill in the sheet below and pass it in to your son/daughter’s Homeroom teacher.
If there are any concerns, please let the office know.
School Development Survey - Please Complete
Your input is valuable to your school, your district, and the provincial government. We would like to thank those who have already completed the Family Survey. For those who have not yet completed the survey, we sincerely appreciate you taking the time to fill out the survey before the deadline of Friday, March 20, 2020.
Directions for Survey-Taking:
You may access and complete the anonymous survey online – from a computer or mobile device – by visiting the website below:
https://www.research.net/r/SDFamily1920EN
Thank you for your participation and for being a valued member of your school community.
MDJH Music
Kiwanis Music Festival
Kiwanis Festival Practice February 11 and 12. Any MDJH students preparing for the Kiwanis Music Festival are invited to a practice recital in the bandroom on Tuesday, February 11, or Wednesday, February 12. This allows students the opportunity to practice running through their individual pieces before the festival. Sign-up sheets are available outside the bandroom door.
February Band Schedule
MDJH Sports
Looking for a coach
Grade 7 Girls Volleyball
Grade 8 Girls Volleyball
Grade 8 Boys Basketball
Boys Volleyball
Student Council News
Parent / Student Information Meeting for the Canadian Student Leadership Conference
The 36th annual student national leadership conference will be September 22 - September 27, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. The theme is “From the Roots Up”. 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. There are limited spaces so students will be placed on a list in the order the requests were received. You can visit the website https://cslc2020.studentleadership.ca/ for more details.
Registration opens April 1. All students who have expressed an interest will be registered, but may be put on a waitlist until registration ends and the number of student delegates for each province is allotted.
There will be a parent information meeting on Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30 in Room 220.
Regional Leadership Conference May 6
The Horizons Leadership Conference is a nation-wide project of the Canadian Student Leadership Association. CSLA is a not-for-profit educational association comprised of volunteer teachers that have been assisting advisors and student leaders for the past 30 years.
One of the core purposes is to promote education and the development of citizenship, employability, and leadership skills among students within Canadian schools. The Horizons Leadership Conference is intended to give student delegates the permission and the network to be positive change agents within their schools and communities.
MDJH student leaders will be hosting a conference Wednesday, May 6. More details will follow.
Celebrating Student Success
We want to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of the students of MDJH. We have a wall of celebration where we will place a certificate of acknowledgement highlighting participation and success in a variety of activities.
We want to know if your child has participated in any plays, musicals or has been on a team that has won some title or has been recognized in any individual competition. We need your help with this. Please let us know so we can proudly display this on our wall. Please email colettequann@nlesd.ca with Celebrate YOUR CHILD’S NAME in the subject line.
Photography Club
Photography club meets every second Wednesday from 3:00-4:30. Each month there is a photo contest. Club members are reminded to please submit their photos to twragg@hotmail.com
WE Create Change
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 $2000 away from 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 the wish of 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 grant a wish.
Grade 9 Baby Picture Slideshow
During the grade 9 school leaving carnival, we would like to show a slideshow of all of our grade 9 students. We will show their grade 9 school picture and another picture of them as a baby. To be included in this slideshow please email a baby picture to:colettequann@nlesd.ca.
Kids Eat Smart NL - February Recipes
Macdonald Drive Junior High
Our background picture is by former student Silvi Ivardi.
Email: mdjh@nlesd.ca
Website: mdjh.info
Location: 110 Macdonald Drive, St. John's, NL, Canada
Phone: 709-753-8240
Twitter: @mdjh