January - Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone enjoyed the Christmas Break and had many opportunities to spend time with family, take time to relax, and just have time to do some of your favourite things.  

Personally, I made the most of the break and even had time to read a few books.  That being said, I am looking forward to getting back into routine and seeing all of the students and hearing about their breaks. Hopefully the students are all rejuvenated and are ready to get back into the rigor of learning.  January is a great month to really work on improving work habits and putting extra effort into their school work.  

Kindergarten Days

8, 10, 15, 17, 18, 22, 24, 29, & 31

***Please note that there has been a Friday schedule change.

Friday, 25th has been changed to Friday, 18th.***

January Birthdays

Shaylynn Kuzyk - 3rd

Banner Bayles - 5th

Kinsley Te Rietstap - 6th
Grayson Johnson - 10th
Celeste Day - 22nd
Jacob Breedon - 23rd

Mark Your Calendars

Early Dismissal ~ 

Early dismissal will be on Wednesday, January 9th.  Students will be dismissed at 2:30.

School Assembly ~ 

The first assembly of the new year will be held on Thursday, January 10th at 8:30.  If your child is being recognized at the assembly their teacher will let you know.

Everyone is welcome to attend the assemblies. 

Girls' Basketball ~ 

Girls basketball will continue in January.  We have an extra game scheduled for Tuesday, January 15th against Willow Park Elementary.

The final tournament will be held on Friday January 25th and Saturday, January 26th at Calmar Elementary.  The tournament schedule will be shared with parents once it is available.  

Bell Let's Talk ~ 

Wednesday, January 30th is Bell Let's Talk Day.  Break the silence. Mental illness touches us all in some way directly or through a friend, family member or colleague. Stories of people who have experienced mental health issues and who are doing well can really challenge stereotypes. Most people with mental health issues can and do recover, just by talking about it.

More information about the Let's Talk initiative can be found at https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/our-initiatives/.

Gr. 3-6 Skiing ~ 

The Gr. 3-6 students will once again be hitting the slopes of Rabbit Hill on Thursday, January 31.  Everyone had a wonderful time in December so I hope the conditions are favorable again this time so everyone can have a great experience again.

Report Cards ~

Report cards will be going out on Thursday, January 31st.  Marks are live throughout the year but in order to prepare for printing the report cards we will have to disable PowerSchool marks the week prior to printing starting on Monday, January 14th.  

If you have any questions or concerns about your child's marks, please feel free to contact your child's teacher.

December Pictures ~

Here are a few pictures of events that took place the last week of December.

Week of December 17 - 21

It is Christmas concert time again!  Each year while we practice we wonderful if it will ever come together.  Each year the students and staff work diligently to make their magic happen.  My fingers are crossed that will hold true for this year. I guess we will find out Thursday.  

Here are some pictures of events that took place at school this week:

Mission Impossible ~

Winter/Christmas Sweater Day~

Five Days of Giving ~

Once again, thank you to everyone that donated to the Five Days of Giving.  New Humble Centre families out did themselves again this year.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated.  

Christmas Concert Decorating ~

Thank you to Cheryl teRietstap, Megan Olynyk, Joyce Bakker, Esther Korteweg, and Pam Hebner for helping with Christmas Concert decorations on Friday, December 14.  Your help is greatly appreciated!

Book Fair ~

The Scholastic Book Fair will be taking place from Monday, December 17 to the morning of Friday, December 21.  The Book Fair will also be open before and after the Christmas concert.

Christmas Concert ~ 

NHCS presents "T'was A Night Before Christmas" on Thursday, December 20th.  We will have an afternoon performance at 1:00 pm. and an evening performance at 7:00 pm.  This year we will be using some of our seating space for risers for the students so we are encouraging any extended family such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc to try to attend the afternoon performance if possible.  

***Please note that there is a change in schedule for our special visitor. Their visit will now be taking place at the school in the afternoon.  The special visitor will not be at the school for the evening performance.*** 

Doors for the evening performance will open at 6:30 pm . All students are asked to be in their classrooms by 6:45 at the latest.  

Donations to the Food Bank will be accepted at the door.

Refreshments will be served after each performance.  

Parking is available in the north field. Please leave the bus lane for elderly guests or people with accessibility needs.  Thank you.

Everyone is welcome to attend!  We hope to see you there.

Christmas Bake Sale ~ 

The Grade 5/6 class will be holding a Christmas bake sale on the Christmas Concert day.  They are asking for donations of items in sets of a baker's dozen.  If you are able to donate baking, please call the school and let Mrs. Austin know.  All donations are greatly appreciated.

Depending on the amount of baking donated, sales will take place after each of the performances.  All items will be sold as a baker's dozen for $5.  

PJs & Potluck Day ~

Friday, December 21 is our annual Pajama and Potluck Day.  Everyone is encouraged to wear their pajamas,housecoats and slippers to school that day. 

For lunch, we will be doing the whole school potluck.  You should have received a letter from the school with a request for what to bring for the potluck.  Thank you for contributing to the potluck!

Week of December 10 - 15

What a busy week we have had at New Humble Centre.  Everyone has been enjoying the snow that fell last weekend.  The students are especially enjoying the snow piles that are in the school yard.  

Mrs. Martinoff has been keeping all of our Christmas Concert performers busy at recesses practicing their lines.  All of the classes have been practicing their songs for the concert. It will be exciting to see it all come together!

Mrs. Eilander made a guest appearance at our monthly assembly.  She came to the assembly to present awards to the winners of the Bus Safety Poster Contest. Congratulations to the following students for winning at the District Level.

Johanna Arcand - Gr. 2

Makenna Miciak - Gr. 2

Madison Paul - Gr. 5

Brianna Leakey - Gr. 6

Madison Martinoff - Gr. 6

These students' posters will now be judged at the provincial level.

Student of the Month ~ 

Congratulations to the following students for being the well deserving recipients of the Student of the Month Awards.

Jayce Orlick - ECS

Jayden Korteweg - Gr.1

Sophia Day - Gr. 4

Jakob Kabanuk - Gr. 6

Pizza with the Principal for these students will be on Tuesday, December 11.  

Caught You Being Good Winner ~

Congratulations to Alissa K in Gr. 3.  She was the lucky winner of a Scholastic gift certificate.  Alissa's name was entered into a draw along with all of the other students that were 'Caught Being Good' during November.

Library Winners ~

Congratulations to Johanna Arcand and Ciara Tvait for being the library winners for November.  Johanna and Ciara both had their names entered into a draw because they did not have any overdue books in November.

Monthly Challenge ~

Congratulations to the Gr. 3/4 class for winning the 'Reading Rocks' challenge for November.  The Gr.3/4 class read the most minutes  of all the classes this month.  

The next Monthly Challenge is Diverse December.  Every time students or classes discuss various Christmas traditions they can add a point to their Monthly Challenge chart.  Please share your Christmas traditions with your child so that they can come back to school and share them with their class.

Mission Impossible ~

The gym has transformed into a Mission Impossible obstacle course for this week.  Ask your child about the course.  Stay tuned for pictures that will be posted next week.

Gr. 3-6 Skiing ~

The Gr. 3-6 students will be going to Rabbit Hill on Wednesday, December 12 for the day.  Students begin the day with a lesson and then get to practice what they learned for the rest of the day.

If you have a child in Gr. 3-6 and have not yet filled out the online permission form, please do so.  Thank you!

Ugly Sweater Day ~

Students are encouraged to wear an 'Ugly Sweater' or 'Christmas/Winter Sweater' on Thursday, December 13.  

December

Happy December!

I hope everyone is starting to get into the Christmas spirit.  For me, just taking in some of the Christmas markets that are happening around the area get me thinking about Christmas.  I hope that I get time to go out to the Leduc Country Christmas Lights.  They always do such a wonderful job with their light display.  It really is sad that this will be the last year that this event will be happening.

At New Humble, students are starting to practice for the Christmas Concert.  Lines are being rehearsed, songs are being sung and the recorders are being practiced in full force.  Soon decorations will be filling the hall and classrooms.  

It truly is a wonderful time of year!

December Kindergarten Days

4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, & 21

December Birthdays

Isabella Schipperheijn - 1st

Jayce Orlick - 28th 

Nate Orlick - 28th 

Jaimesen Huber - 31st

Jenna Koch - 31st

Mark Your Calendars

The Five Days of Christmas ~

The Five Days of Christmas will run from November 30 - December 6th.  Please help New Humble Centre School make this holiday season a little brighter for families less fortunate than ours. The items that we donate will go directly to local Christmas Elves. This is completely voluntary; you may decide to participate in only one day or in as many as you feel comfortable! Everything helps!

We have chosen a theme for each day. You can bring in one thing each day or drop it all off at once!

Feel Fresh Friday - Nov. 30 - Personal hygiene items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, etc.

Mouthful Monday - Dec. 3 - Non-perishable food items, treats, candy, etc.

Toys on Tuesday - Dec. 4 - Books, puzzles, board games, toys, crayons, Lego, etc.

Wishful Wednesday - Dec. 5 - Hair products, nail polish, jewelry, bubble bath, sport themed items, arts & crafts, family activities, etc.

Threads on Thursday - Dec. 6 - Blankets, toques, mittens, scarves, socks, pajamas, etc.

Girls' Basketball Game ~

The Girls' Basketball Team will be playing against Thorsby Elementary on Tuesday, December 4th at Thorsby.  

The girls have played three games so far.  Unfortunately they have not won any of their games but they have shown definite improvement on the court and are learning a great deal about the sport.  

Early Dismissal ~

Wednesday, December 5th will be early dismissal for staff meeting.  Students will be dismissed at 2:30 p.m.

Assembly ~ 

Our assembly will be held on Thursday, December 6th at 8:30 a.m.  If your child will be receiving special recognition at the assembly you will be contacted by your child's teacher.

Everyone is welcome to attend the assemblies.  We hope to see you there.

No School ~ 

There will be no school on Friday, December 7 for the students as it is a Professional Development Day for the staff.  

Gr. 3-6 Skiing ~ 

The Gr. 3-6 students will be hitting the slopes at Rabbit Hill on Wednesday, December 12th.  Please be sure that your child's permission form is completed. This will be available on line in the near future. 

We do recognize that December can present financial restraints on families.  If the cost of this field trip is prohibitive for your family, please stop at the office and talk to me so that we can waive the fee.  

Christmas Sweater Day ~ 

Everyone is encouraged to wear a Christmas Sweater on Thursday, December 13th.  If your child does not have a special Christmas sweater they could decorate any sweater with Christmas or winter paraphernalia.

Book Fair ~ 

Mrs. Micku will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair from Monday, December 17th to Thursday, December 20 in the library.  The Book Fair will be open during the Christmas concert.  More information about the Book Fair will be coming home with your child. 

Christmas Concert ~ 

This year the students will be presenting "A Night Before Christmas" on Thursday, December 20th.  We will have an afternoon performance at 1:00 pm. and an evening performance at 7:00 pm.  This year we will be using some of our seating space for risers for the students so we are encouraging any extended family such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc to try to attend the afternoon performance if possible.  

Doors for the evening performance will open at 6:30 pm . All students are asked to be in their classrooms by 6:45 at the latest.  

Donations to the Food Bank will be accepted at the door.

Refreshments will be served after each performance.  A special visitor will be making an appearance at the school for the evening performance.  

Parking is available in the north field.

Everyone is welcome to attend!  We hope to see you there.

Christmas Potluck/PJ Day ~ 

In keeping with tradition, we will be having our School Christmas Potluck/PJ Day on the last Friday before the holidays, December 20th.  Students are encouraged to wear their pj's and slippers to school this day. 

Mrs. Austin will be sending home the list of what each family is asked to send in for the potluck.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation in sending in food for the potluck!

Christmas Vacation ~

Christmas Vacation will be from Saturday, December 22nd, 2018 until Sunday, January 6th, 2019 inclusive. 

New Humble Centre School wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Week of Nov. 19th - 23rd

Thank you to the parents that were able to make it out to the school for the Social Media Presentation.  The session was very informative and there was some very good take away information.  

Did you know that some social media sites that your child(ren) may have an account on will never let them delete their account?  Did you know that some sites will let users post anonymously?  

Here are a few parent sites that have some excellent research about technology and children:  

1.  Centre on Media and Child Health - https://cmch.tv/
2.  Common Sense  - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
3.  Screenagers: Growing Up In The Digital Age -  https://www.screenagersmovie.com/latest-usage-research/
4.  Jo(e) Social Media Inc - http://www.joesocialmedia.com/

Girls' Basketball ~

Last Tuesday the girls' basketball team played against Calmar Elementary School.  The girls played an excellent  game but ended up losing by a score of 12 - 6.  Thank you to all of the fans that came out to watch the girls play!

Their second game of the season takes place on Tuesday, November 20 @ East Elementary School in Leduc.  We wish the girls the best of luck.

Mustache Day ~

The WE Club has selected Thursday, November 22nd as Mustache Day.  

Why Mustache Day?  This fun theme day is to coincide with Movember.  The goal of Movember is to increase early detection of men’s health issues and ultimately reduce the number of deaths from cancer and other treatable diseases. 

Tooth Talk ~

Dental Hygienists will be at the school on Thursday, November 22 to speak with the Gr. 3-6 students about dental hygiene.  

We would like to thank the Calmar Dental Clinic for sponsoring the Dental Health Education Presentations.

Kindergarten Fundraiser ~

The Kindergarten fundraiser, Fundscrip, will be wrapping up on Thursday, November 22.  There are many good gift cards that can be purchased through Fundscrip, such as Sobeys, Boston Pizza and Tim Hortons.  This is a great opportunity to purchase some gift cards and support the Kindergarten class at the same time. 

Viewing Your Child's Grades ~

If you are having trouble viewing your child's grades, I have posted an information sheet on our website.  To find the information sheet click Parent Support Document here or go to the website under Parents, PowerSchool. 

Week of November 12th - 16th

Thank you so much to everyone that was able to attend our Remembrance Day Ceremony.  Also, a special thank you to Mr. Pete Popowich, from the Calmar Legion, for attending and speaking at the service.

Greeters

Gr. Six Readers

Gr. 1/2 Class

Gr. 3/4 Class

Gr. 5/6 Class

Basketball ~

The girls' basketball team will be playing their first game of the season on Tuesday. November 13th after school.  The game will take place at Calmar Elementary.  Best of luck to the girls.  All spectators are welcome to come cheer on the team.

Picture Retakes ~

Picture retakes will be happening on Thursday, November 15th.  If your child is having their pictures retaken, please be sure to return the form to school.  Any students that were absent on the original picture day will also be having their picture taken at this time.

Kindergarten Fundscrip Fundraiser ~

The kindergarten class is currently participating in a FundScrip Fundraiser.  FundScrip sells gift cards and with each card purchased a percentage of the gift card is given back to the group.  The types of gift cards range from grocery stores to Starbucks, to Sephora to Canadian Tire.  

A list of retailers can be seen using the link below.

https://www.fundscrip.com/retailers

FundScrip can be accessed online where families can purchase and have gift cards shipped to their residence at any time.  The online order code is SMCHKA.

The kindergarten class will be utilizing paper orders as well in November.  If you would prefer a paper copy please email idell.mertins@blackgold.ca.

Paper orders are due back November 22, 2018.

All purchases will be ready for Christmas.

Thank you for supporting the kindergarten class.

November

I hope everyone had a fun and candy filled Halloween.  Here are some pictures of the Halloween fun that happened at school.

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents that came out to the costume parade!




Basketball season has begun with practices at lunch.  There have been some games scheduled for both the girls' and boys' team for November.  Mrs. Mertins will be coaching the boys' team and Mrs. Hawkins will be coaching the girls'.  If your child has expressed interest in playing, they will be bringing home an information letter in the next few days.

With the increase in enrollment this fall we have been fortunate enough to hire a half time teacher.  We would like to welcome Miss Jena Freund.  Miss Freund will be teaching Gr. 1 Language Arts and Math in the morning.  Her classroom will be in the portable.

WE Club News ~

It is time for our annual Operation Christmas Child drive. Operation Christmas Child provides families the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of needy children in many parts of the world by filling a shoebox with items for a boy or girl. Operation Christmas Child is completely optional. If you would like to participate, you can either email Mrs. Martinoff (nicole.martinoff@gshare.blackgold.ca) or come to the office to pick up a box(es), take it home, pack it and return it to the office no later than, Wednesday, November 14. (***Please be sure to include $10 which covers the cost of shipping the boxes overseas.)

Kindergarten Dayrs

6, 8, 13, 15, 16, 20, 22, 27, 29, & 30

(Please note that there are two Fridays this month)

November Birthdays

Tolson Huber - 4th

Alyssa Turner - 5th

Grady Ferguson - 12th

Madison Martinoff - 12th

Kobe Clark - 25th

Kash Huber - 25th

Lucas Messer - 25th

John Mollison - 25th

Isabella Schipperhejin - 30th

Mark Your Calendar

                           

Parent-Teacher Interviews will be taking place on Tuesday, November 6 and Thursday, November 8 from 4:30 to 7:00.  Information has gone home regarding the scheduling of an interview.  This is a great opportunity to come in and see how your child(ren) is doing and to connect with the teacher.  If you are unable to make it in to see your child's teacher, please feel free to contact the teacher to set up an alternate time.  

Please note that Mrs. Mertins will only be holding interviews on the Thursday evening.  

Early Dismissal ~ 

Early dismissal is on Wednesday, Nov. 7th.  Students will be dismissed at 2:30.

Assembly ~ 

Our assembly will be held on Thursday, November 8th at 8:30 a.m.  If your child will be receiving special recognition at the assembly you will be contacted by your child's teacher to let you know.

Everyone is welcome to attend the assemblies.  We hope to see you there!

Remembrance Day Ceremony ~

There will be a special Remembrance Day Ceremony on Friday, November 9th at 10:45.  Each class will be doing a special presentation at the ceremony.

Students are encouraged to dress up for the Remembrance Day Ceremony.

All visitors are welcome to attend the Remembrance Day  Ceremony at the school.

                                 

Mid-term Break ~ 

There will be no school on Monday, November 12th as it is Mid-term Break.  

Picture Retakes ~ 

Picture retakes will be taken on Thursday, November 15th.  If your child will be having their picture retaken please return the form indicating that you would like to have your child's picture taken again.