Clearspring Middle School
December 2016
CHRISTMAS BREAK - December 23rd to January 6th
ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE
December has arrived! As always, school calendars fill up with concert practices and concerts, families become busy with shopping and family gatherings, and then there is the excitement of Christmas and the holidays that go along with that. And in the midst of all of that, we expect that we will continue learning at school.
I have been writing about HSD’s Deeper Learning Plan, and this month I want to write about what it means to be a learner. You might think this would be an easy task, but it is more complex than it looks on the surface. To get started, I checked the dictionary definition: “ To gain knowledge of, or skill in, through study, instruction, or experience.” That is a great start, but does not address what it takes to be a learner. To get at that, I asked some students. Most started by saying being a learner means to listen, to pay attention, and to do your work. After a bit of extra probing, most students added that they needed to think and to participate, and some even said they needed a growth mindset in order to push through the tough learning. I was impressed with our students’ ability to articulate their version of what it means to be a learner. As a school, we want our students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers who are fully engaged in their learning. For CMS, that’s our definition of a learner. I would love to hear from you what your definition of a learner is.
I want to thank all the parents of our school for your support. Our school is characterized by students who take their learning seriously and work hard, and also enjoy their work. When we have problems, we are generally able to work together to find resolutions. That is not to be taken for granted. We appreciate the opportunity to work with parents to address problem areas, so thank you.
As we look forward to the rest of this month, we know it will be busy, and maybe stressful, for most families. It is our hope that December can be a month of learning, and that the preparations leading up to Christmas can be filled with joy for everyone in the CMS family.
DECEMBER EVENTS
Friday, December 2nd - Term 1 Report Cards
Thursday, December 8th - Band Concert
Tuesday, December 20th - Grade 5 Christmas Concert
Wednesday, December 21st - Grade 5 Swimming (p.m)
Thursday, December 22nd - The Big Show
Thursday, December 23rd - NO CLASSES - Christmas Break Begin
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE
Monday, January 9th - Classes Resume
Tuesday, January 31st - Options Day
LAST DAY SCHEDULE
On the last day of school before Christmas, our school will celebrate the talents of our students in our 5th Annual Big Show. This talent show will take place on December 22 in the morning. In the afternoon, each of our Grade Level Neighbourhoods has planned some activities to do together, and most classes will spend some time with just their own classmates. This is a good day to spend together before we begin the Christmas holiday.
GRADE 5 CONCERT
Our Grade 5 Christmas Concert will take place on December 20th. We look forward to having ALL our Grade 5 students participating in the concert. It has always been a great celebration, and I am sure it will be that again.
Dress Appropriately
Bus Delays
School Closure
PARKING AND PICK UP AT CMS
We know that our school road design presents some difficult challenges. In general, if you are coming to school during the day, PARKING is available in the parking lot in front of the school or in the staff and visitor parking lot. If you are picking up a student, that is done at the front of the school. AVOID the bus loop, since that is also serving as a play area while we wait for our grass to grow.
Please be aware that we share the pick up space with KinderKorner Daycare, and they have a section of the pick up driveway dedicated for daycare pick up.
When we have special events, we have parking attendants who do a great job of assisting our guests with parking. Watch for their traffic vests and light wands.
Clearspring Middle School
Email: cms@hsd.ca
Website: cms.hsd.ca
Location: Steinbach Middle School, 1 Brighton Lane, Steinbach, MB, Canada
Phone: 204-346-9664