School Bus Safety
We are growing increasingly concerned about safety around our bus stops based on the reports we are receiving.  Our biggest concern lies with those bus stops where our learners have to cross the road to get to the bus during morning pick-ups.  We are receiving reports of children bolting across the street to meet their bus BEFORE the bus comes to a full stop and has its safety arm out and its red lights flashing.  Vehicular traffic does not stop for school busses without their red lights flashing which means that those children who bolt across the street may indeed be running into oncoming traffic.  This represents a tremendously important safety concern for us as I’m sure it does for our families.  Please take some time to review bus stop safety with your child over the weekend and again next week as they leave home to board their busses.

We ask that you review these safety rules with your children:

* Students are to form a line at the bus stop;
* Students should never run toward the bus or race other students to the bus; and,
* Students should not cross the road until the bus has come to a complete stop with the stop sign out and lights flashing

Lost & Found
We have amassed quite a collection of children’s clothing in our “Lost & Found” bin here at the school.  Please encourage your child(ren) to take a look in it to see if anything in it belongs to them.  You are also free to visit the school to take a look as well.  All unclaimed clothing will be donated to a local thrift store and all water bottles will be disposed of on Friday, February 1, 2019.

Treadmill
Do you have a treadmill that you are no longer using?  If so, we would love to take it off your hands.  If you have one that you would like to donate to the school, please drop me a note.

Spelling Bee
Our annual spelling bee is coming up on Wednesday, January 30, 2019.  Winners from the school contest will go on to participate in the local Scripps/Telegram Spelling Bee at Holy Heart Theatre later in February.  (Personal memory — I lost a class spelling bee when I was in grade six on the word “vacuum”!  Who knew that words could have the letter “u” appear two times consecutively?)

Skating Sessions
Thank you to those of you who have already returned permission forms for our upcoming skating sessions at the Jack Byrne Arena.  For those of you who haven’t yet done so, please do so as soon as practically possible.  Please note that we are unable to accept permission over the telephone on the day of the skating session; if you are unable to provide written permission, then your child will not be permitted to travel to the arena.

PCSP Winter Carnival
As part of its annual Winter Carnival activities, the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s is hosting residents at a St. John’s Edge basketball game.  This event gets underway on Friday, February 15, 2019 at 7:00pm.  The event costs $10 per person and includes admission to the game and bus transportation to the game (pick up locations at the town’s recreation centre and at Memorial United Church.  To register for this event, please contact Nicole Clark at 895-5677 or via e-mail at nicole.clark@pcsp.ca.  (You also have the option of pre-ordering your food at a discounted cost – ask Nicole for details.)

Open Minds
Our learners in grade three are participating in the Chevron Open Minds program at The Rooms this winter.  Mme Barrington’s class participated for the whole of last week and Mme Kennedy’s grade three class are finishing up their week today.  Our grade three classes in the English stream will be participating in the coming weeks.  This is a full week of on-site learning at our province’s largest cultural organization where they employ discover and inquiry based learning using cultural artifacts.

Mary Poppins Musical
Our learners in grades two, three, and four will take in the Mary Poppins musical being put off by students at Prince of Wales Collegiate at the Arts and Culture Centre on Friday, February 22, 2019.  Permission forms and cost details have already been distributed.  There is no fee for bussing for this event as it is being covered by a grant from the Department of Education through its Cultural Connections program.  Again, as with the skating sessions, students cannot participate without written permission; verbal permission is no longer acceptable on the day of the event.  Our learners are thrilled to take in this cultural opportunity.