Dear Lynx families,
Welcome to March, and perhaps an end to the frigid temperatures. While this is a short month, with spring break scheduled for the end of the month, it is lining up to be a busy one.
Cabane à sucre school tour this past Tuesday was a great success! This is an exciting lead up to Semaine de la Francophonie/French Week from March 20 – 24. There were two performances, one in French and one in English. M. Andre had the students up singing, dancing and playing spoons.
Basketball tryouts will begin March 13th. If your child is interested in trying out, please have them watch and listen for upcoming announcements at school. Once the practice schedule is finalized we will share this out with families as well.
We have started a Math Club for our Grade 7 & 8 students during lunch hours on Wednesday. Our first meeting saw 35 students working on some math puzzles. Next week the students will be introduced to Quantum Tic-Tac-Toe!
Finally, I have spent some much needed time this week connecting with many of the grade 9 students who are going on the Eastern Canada field trip in April. It is wonderful to get to speak with students about themselves, their goals, their aspirations and life outside Vanier. It really does reinforce my belief that we are laden with absolute superstars here at G.P. Vanier.
During my conversations with students, I often ask students if there is anything I can do as Principal to support them or to make Vanier a better school. Whilst this is often met with an awkward silence, every now and then a student will bring up an idea that sparks a great conversation. Below there is a blurb from a Grade 7 student who wrote me a thoughtful, well put together email about her desire to make a difference after hearing about the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. This email led to further conversations about her project, what was behind her interest and what sparked it. In the end, it is hard to disagree with a student who just wants to support others and make the world a better place...
Bonne fin de semaine,
Chad Edmonds – Principal GP Vanier
Coaches needed for basketball
"We are looking for one more volunteer to take on the coaching role for our Senior Girls Basketball season. This year, the season runs from March 13th to May 28th. There would be two practices every week, as well as two game nights per week. You would have a teacher from GPV attend all games and practices, who would be responsible for paperwork, communication, and organization of all events.
If you are interested in helping GPV athletics, please reach out to Ms. Johnson at jdjohnson@cbe.ab.ca. Keep in mind that if you are volunteering, you must have a current criminal record check; you can call the main office to make sure it isn't expired."
Gary Weinman Award
This is an award open to our grade 9 students. It is a $500 award and two recipients can receive the award.
Gary Weimann was an active parent at GP Vanier involved with the school at many levels, including Chair on the Parent Council for many years. A loving father and husband, Gary lived what he believed – giving of himself and his time to the communities he lived in – his family, his children’s school and their neighbourhood. This award was established to honour Gary and to inspire his ideals in the hearts and minds of today’s youth, who are tomorrow’s future.
If you are interested in applying, click here for more information. We will be sharing this information with our grade 9 students here at school as well.
Turkey/Syria fundraising effort
Dear GPV parents and students,
My name is Kalia, and I am a grade 7 student. I would like to inform everyone that my friends and I will be starting a fundraiser in the next few weeks. You’re probably wondering, what type of fundraiser, and why?
I’m sure most of you have heard about the tragic earthquake that happened a few weeks ago in Turkey, Syria, and other countries. My friends and I feel really sad, and we know a couple people in our school from those places. We believe we need to do something about it.
We are going to sell stickers, colouring sheets, bookmarks, and a lot more. Each item will be priced differently, and we are also accepting canned food, packs of bottled water, tents, or inflatable mattresses.
We will be donating to World Vision and Red Cross.
Everyone is welcome to contribute funds or necessities. I hope everyone can support us in helping those people in the cold winter in Turkey and Syria.
Loonies for Literacy
Thanks to all our families, we are currently sitting at $632.00, only $368 from our goal of $1000. Also, we have currently outraised every other school in Calgary!
Upcoming Dates
March 8: International Women’s Day
March 9 & 10: Parent Teacher Conferences
March 13: Sugar Shack, On mange de la tire!
March 15: MRU Music Field Trip Grade 7
March 17: Climbing Trip ENVOE9
March 16: Healthy Hunger order due TODAY
March 20 - 24: Semaine de la Francophonie/French Week
March 20 - 24: Artist in Residence – Mat Maitlandt
March 21 & 22: Grade 9 Field Trip Journey 2050
March 24 & 25: School Council Casino Fundraiser
March 25 – April 2: SPRING BREAK
April 3: Back to School
