Dear Lynx Families,
An almost welcome to the final school week of 2022. For us here at Vanier it feels like it has marked the culmination of many projects that teachers have been working on since September.
Tuesday night we hosted an incredibly successful Winter Concert. The turnout from families was wonderful and it is always a pleasure to welcome our community to school events. We were also pleased to host the William Aberhart Jazz ensemble. A big thank you to that group for making time to come out and perform and to Ms. Ramos for continuing to build connections between our music program and those of the high schools our students will attend.
Thank you to the Vanier community for contributing to the Holiday Hamper campaign. We collected such a vast amount of items from families, local businesses and charity organizations that we were able to support not just those families in need at Vanier, but also at some of our feeder elementaries and neighbouring middle schools. I cannot begin to tell you how happy, appreciative and supported the families and staff at those schools feel. Also, a thank you to Ms. Fink for spearheading this initiative and to the Leadership students with Mme Anna for helping to sort through the items and prepare a happy holiday season for families in our community.
Thursday evening the GP Vanier wresting team attended their first competitive meet at Colonel MacLeod school. The team represented themselves, and Vanier, well, not just athletically but also behaviourally. The fact that former Vanier students have come back to help coach this team is another great example about how the support from a school community is vital to its success. The next meet will be on January 10th at Stanley Jones school.
Finally, this evening, we will be hosting our first Middle school dance of the evening. Thank you to Mme. Cosgrove and Mme. Dunn for organizing this event and to all the teachers who are volunteering their time to supervise and provide an opportunity for our students to participate in an event like this.
Bonne fin de semaine,
Chad Edmonds – Principal GP Vanier
Digital citizenship
I would like to thank parents and guardians for their support as we transition to an Away for the Day school. With the holidays approaching I imagine many of our students have made a request for new technology. To better support parents in the monitoring of these devices (whether new or old) I have included some parent guides to some of the most frequented social media apps. Please take a moment to read over some of these guides, or visit connectsafely.org
TikTok
Snapchat
Discord
Last Minute Stocking Stuffers
For anyone looking for that one last Vanier gift for their child(ren) we have Vanier water bottles and socks for sale. Between now and the holiday break you can buy a pair of socks and a water bottle for $20. Happy holidays!
Stocking stuffers
Alberta Chung Wah School
Alberta Chung Wah School are celebrating Christmas this Saturday the 17th, with student performances and Christmas carols. The activities will start at 11:00 in the gym. We would like to invite the GP Vanier School Community members to join us at this event, as well as the next one on Jan 28 for the Chinese New Year celebration.
Free Parenting Courses
Hull Services continues to partner with CBE to provide FREE, parenting courses through the Community Parent Education Program (CPEP). Valley View School will be hosting our next in person course starting on the evening of January 26th. Our courses run once a week for the duration of 8 evenings. The benefit of in-person classes is that parents with children aged 5 - 12 can attend and learn important skills in a fun and active manner in the children's group portion of the program
Please see attached flyer for more information
GP Vanier Yearbooks
We have a very exciting announcement to make! Our George P Vanier 2022-2023 yearbook is ready to order through your PowerSchool account! At GPV our goal is to sell 150 yearbooks this year, each yearbook is $30. The new thing this year is we are adding extra pages for autographs from friends and we are also adding a QR code that you can scan with a device for even more photos! Our yearbooks are made by the yearbook club at Vanier, a group of students that take the photos, do the advertising, and design the yearbook! Delivery date is still to be determine so please stay tuned for more. For any questions, please contact Mr. Cheng at mscheng@cbe.ab.ca.
French Language Exchange Opportunities
Thank you to those parents who attended our Explore meeting yesterday evening. We are pleased to share an opportunity for Gr. 8/9 students to learn more about short-term and longer-term programs in Quebec, throughout the spring and summer of 2023. Please note that these programs are not CBE sanctioned opportunities.
Explore is an intensive language immersion program that provides opportunities for English-speaking students to study French, and for French-speaking students to study English. For participants 16 and older, Explore sessions are offered during the spring or summer, which last between 31 and 33 days. For 13- to 15-year-olds, three-week summer sessions are available. Some virtual Explore sessions are offered for those who are unable to participate in person. The program contributes $2, 800 for each participant aged 16 years and older and $2,000 for participants 13 to 15 years of age to cover the costs of tuition fees, instructional materials, meals, and accommodation.
Web site - www.englishfrench.ca
Who can apply?
To be eligible, students must:
- be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
- meet the Explore institution’s minimum age requirement by the time Explore begins (13–15, 16–17, or 18+); and
- have been a part-time or full-time student for at least one term during the current school year.
Upcoming Dates
December 19-22: SPIRIT WEEK!
December 19: Holiday Character Day
December 20: Ugly Sweater Day
December 20: School Council Special General Meeting: Click here to join the meeting
December 21: Polar Express PJ Day
December 22: Winter Vacation Day – sunny destination attire
December 22: Last day before Winter Break
December 23 – January 8: Winter Break
January 9: Classes resume
January 19: Grade 9 Vaccinations
