school photo day on Tuesday, October 8All Kindergarten Students should be in attendance on Tuesday. There will not be any Kindergarten classes on Wednesday, October 9. Check the weekly schedules at the end of this blog post for more details.  Powerschool and Use of Technology update Thank you to those families who have downloaded the PowerSchool App, logged into PowerSchool and acknowledged the Use of Technology document. To those who have not taken care of the Use of Technology document, please use a laptop or desktop computer and use the following link to get started: https://rrvsd.powerschool.com/public/home.html The Red River Valley School Division has also created a website with helpful information to support you in this process. https://www.rrvsd.ca/our_community/parent_information/r_r_v_s_d_parent_portal Please call the school if that does not help you handle this task successfully. terry fox run - wednesday, October 9th please pay your fees We would like to thank those who have taken the time to log into their (or create a new) SchoolCash Online account and pay their fees (or a portion of the fees). We also appreciate those who helped us reconcile outstanding fees. Your assistance in taking care of this task is appreciated. Our School accepts all school fees online using our School Cash Online software. The information on how to set up your specific SchoolCash Online family account has been loaded into PowerSchool (the same location where find your student's report cards) Kindergarten students were sent home hard copies of the documents required to set up PowerSchool and SchoolCash Online. You do not require a credit card to successfully execute a payment using School Cash Online. You can link your account directly to one of your bank accounts and it will be withdrawn directly from that specific account when you complete your payment transaction. SchoolCash online will also allow for partial payments if families need to spread these fees over several days, weeks, or months. Link to School Cash Online --> SchoolCashOnline.com: Welcome A list of this year's fees includes:
If you require assistance setting up your account online, please contact Ms. LeBlanc at [email protected] (204.746.2612 ext 3222). If there are concerns about your family's ability to pay one of the above fees, there are two options:
the buddy program adds up to successOur grade 1/2's and 7s have been playing cooperative math games to help practice math skills. Math buddies encourage teamwork, communication, and problem-solving! Way to Go, MAVs! project 11 moose game fundraiser - grades 7/8 The Morris School 7/8 classes will be attending the Manitoba Moose Project 11 School Day game on November 21! In preparation, we are doing a Mom’s Pantry fundraiser to cover the cost of tickets, transportation and food. All ordering is done online through the Mom’s Pantry website until Friday, October 25th. If you or others are interested in ordering items to support the Grade 7/8’s, please visit https://momspantry.ca/. When you enter the checkout, you will need to the following information: Order Type: Fundraiser Order (Group Pickup) Order Number: 396366 Group Passcode: 38624 School Name: Morris School We will update you with a pick-up date when orders arrive at the school once fundraising is complete! ***If you are just supporting the class and not a specific student, you can put Renee Epler as the seller.*** Please feel free to contact [email protected] if you have any questions. Thank you in advance! staff vs students soccerIn the first edition of the 2024-25 Staff vs Students event, the students pitted themselves against a wily staff team. Solid team play, superior passing, and luck earned the staff a victory. Seeing the school spirit generated by the 35 minutes of fun was great! Way to Go, MAVs! mavericks athletic update Hockey Our MAVs hosted their home tournament this past weekend here in Morris. They went 2-1 in the round robin with victories over Sanford and Mountain. This qualified them for the bronze medal game where they defeated Stonewall decisively 4-0. What a great way to start the season! Volleyball Our Varsity Boys were the only team in action this weekend where they co-hosted the Red River Valley Invitational with Rosenort. The Boys finished 2nd in their pool to line up them up for a tougher path to a tournament championship. They defeated the Green Valley Pirates in the quarter finals which put them into a semi-final matchup with the Rosenort Redhawks. The semi-final was a thrilling 3 set match in front of a full house. The Mavs emerged victorious and moved on to play the Miami Marlins in the finals. Once again it took 3 sets to decide the winner of the match and when it was all said and done the Mavs walked out of the gym as champions. Well done Mavs!!! The JV Boys also traveled to Dominion City this past week to play RVS. The boys fought hard throughout the evening, but lost in a tight fifth set (25-23, 25-17, 15-25, 22-25, 16-18). Soccer Both our Girls and Boys teams saw their seasons come to an end this week in playoffs. The boys fell in the semi-final, while the girls fought hard in the Zone Final vs. Carman but fell short. Way to Go Mavs on competing in another stellar soccer season!   outdoor ed. overnight trip a success!Students took part in their fall overnight hiking camping trip to Epinette Creek Trails in Spruce Woods Provincial Park. Students hiked in 10 km on Tuesday, spent the night in tents, made some great food around the fire for supper and breakfast, completed some nature challenges, and hiked out the 10 km on the following day. All while carrying 30 - 45lbs of gear on their backs! This group of students was mature, engaged, and worked together extremely well in these conditions.      orange shirt daySeptember 30th marks the day we stand together in recognition of Orange Shirt Day. On this day, we honour the survivors of residential schools and remember the children who never made it home. By wearing orange, we show our commitment to reconciliation, truth, and respect for Indigenous communities. Let this be a reminder that every child matters, and it’s through education, awareness, and empathy that we move forward toward healing.  let's get the parent council band back together We encourage all parents to attend our first parent-council organizational meeting in quite some time. With the hope of resurrecting a PAC at Morris School, we will meet on Tuesday, October 1st in the Band Room. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Please contact Mr. Watson if you have any questions. acceptable use of technology implications We have officially finished the first month of school. Time has flown by. Unfortunately, during September, one task has been neglected by over 50% of our school community. Therefore, many of our school community members must handle some business before your students return to school on Tuesday, October 1. To those families who have completed the following tasks, we thank you for your attention to the details required at the start of each school year. In previous blog posts, we have asked our community members to download the PowerSchool App and agree to the Acceptable Use Policy that is part of the first login process. On September 18, 2024, at 4:01 p.m., you were reminded by the Red River Valley School Division (via email) that your student's access to technology will not be granted at the school after September 30 if you do not download the PowerSchool App and agree to the Acceptable Use Policy that appears after you log into PowerSchool for the first time. As of 5:09 p.m. on Sunday, September 29th, 143 K-8 students and 109 Grades 9-12 students have not had their parents or guardians take care of this task. These numbers are disappointing. As a result, students who use technology at school will not be allowed to use a school-issued device or our school's internet until we can confirm the tasks described above have been taken care of. If you need assistance downloading the PowerSchool App, please click the following link to access a video on how to do so. app.screencastify.com/v3/watch/snE3dSlQGMD20lRNmviD If you have already created an account...THANK YOU! If you need a password reset, watch the following video... app.screencastify.com/v3/watch/A87LV03JeqPrm82rmxRJ To ensure your student's school year is as seamless as possible, please take care of this as soon as possible. If you have issues, please contact the school directly. Gr 5-8 Divisional Soccer Tournament reportOn Thursday, Sept. 26, the 5/6 students traveled to Rosenort to participate in the RRVAA 5/6 Soccer Tournament. It was a hot and windy day! There were two boys' teams and two girls' teams, and the players showed great efforts and attitudes throughout the day, despite struggling on the scoreboard. Way to go Mavs! On Monday, Sept. 23, the 7/8 students also travelled to Rosenort to participate in their version of the RRVAA Soccer Tournament. Despite being short-handed (10 players total), the girls fought hard all day and earned the respect of their coaches and opponents. Our boys went undefeated all day, winning the tournament. Congratulations to all MAVs who dared to represent our school and to the staff volunteers for their efforts in organizing the teams and ensuring everyone played and had a good time.  kindergarten calendar changes October 8th is picture day and ALL KINDERGARTEN students are invited to attend for the full day. NO KINDERGARTEN CLASSES on October 9th. October 31st...KINDERGARTEN students are invited to attend for the full day. More information to be shared about this day as it gets closer! NO KINDERGARTEN CLASSES on November 1st. signs, signs, everywhere a sign  mavericks' athletics update Soccer Both Boys and Girls Soccer Teams have qualified for playoffs next week! The girls will host RVS on Wednesday here in Morris at 4:30 while the boys travel to play Shevchenko on Wednesday. Good Luck MAVS! Volleyball Our Varsity Boys started their season this week with back-to-back games vs. Rosenort. Unfortunately, they did not get the results they wanted but are looking to bounce back next week when they play RVS on Thursday in Dominion City (the Junior Varsity Boys will also join them on this trip). Next weekend (Oct 4-5) the Varsity Boys co-host the Red River Invitational Tournament with Rosenort. They will play round-robin games against MacGregor (2:45), Mikisew (6:25), and MCI (7:20) on Friday with playoff rounds to follow on Saturday. Hockey MAVs Hockey gets their season started with their Home Tournament from Oct 3-5. The team plays round-robin games against Mountain (Thursday 12:00 pm), CJS (Thursday 7:00 pm), and Sanford (Friday 5:45pm) to try to earn a spot in the Championship Game on Saturday at 4:30 pm.   outdoor education updateThe Outdoor Ed students visited Fort Whyte Alive on a beautiful fall day on Friday, September 27. The students spent the morning learning survival skills from a knowledgeable ex-military pilot with plenty of outdoor experience. He taught us multiple different ways to start fires, how to find cardinal directions in nature without any technology, how to accurately use a mirror to signal a plane for a rescue, different types of edible plants in nature, and how to create a ‘rescue burrito’ using just a tarp and string. In the afternoon, students tested their mapping and landmarking skills with a navigation challenge! Students toured the entire Fort Whyte area, looking for waypoints, using just a map and notable features on the land to find their way. [Mr. Watson's hometown is Rossendale, MB] Next up: The 2-day overnight hiking camping trip to Epinette Creek trails in Spruce Woods Park on October 1 & 2. Let’s hope for pleasant temperatures!  terry fox run & fundraiser As in previous years at Morris School, the Terry Fox Fundraising Run will happen in the fall. A kickoff assembly occurs on Wednesday, October 2nd, at 1 p.m. in the Junior Gym, with the actual run taking place on Wednesday, October 9th, between 2 and 3 at the Morris Stampede Grounds Track. Pledge Sheets will be handed out after (or at) the assembly. We encourage our students to seek ways to support this event. Teachers have been given access to the following resources to allow their students to become more aware of who Terry Fox was and how they can support his Marathon of Hope. Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1G20GedF7jNhCnC-4KJ5YIBZIWxqIf-lvWiwLKfTgTRQ/edit#slide=id.g94fb8166c4_0_0  grade 7/8 Fundraiser The Morris School 7/8 classes will be attending the Manitoba Moose Project 11 School Day game on November 21! In preparation, we are doing a Mom’s Pantry fundraiser to cover the cost of tickets, transportation and food. All ordering is done online through the Mom’s Pantry website until Friday, October 25th. If you or others are interested in ordering items to support the Grade 7/8’s, please visit https://momspantry.ca/. When you enter the checkout, you will need to the following information: Order Type: Fundraiser Order (Group Pickup) Order Number: 396366 Group Passcode: 38624 School Name: Morris School We will update you with a pick-up date when orders arrive at the school once fundraising is complete! ***If you are just supporting the class and not a specific student, you can put Renee Epler as the seller.*** Please feel free to contact [email protected] if you have any questions. Thank you in advance!     undergraduate awardsFor the second consecutive year since before COVID, our Undergrad Awards Ceremony took place at Morris School. Thanks to the staff, led by Mrs. Laurie Edel and Mrs. Jacqueline Dueck for organizing the event again this year. We also appreciate all the work our front office staff did during a busy time of the year to make this event work. Several current Grades 10-12 (last year's Grades 9-11) students were recognized for having overall averages of 80% or higher, for being involved in our athletics and/or clubs, and for a combination of those two things. The Maverick Award recipients have achieved honour roll status and participated in three or more extra-curricular activities throughout the school year. Congratulations to the following students:  October is approaching - pumpkins are ready!The blog staff received an email last year from Mr. David and Mrs. Lorraine Hamblin before the release of this week's post. A portion of the email included the following, "We had a big pumpkin patch and the girls (Erin, Addison, Claire, & Paige) are selling the pumpkins as a fundraiser for the school band programs. They have carving, pie, and all sorts of decorative pumpkins. We are east of Morris on Hwy 23 and then 0.9 km north on PR246. Payment can be made by cash or e-transfer to Lorraine Hamblin at 204-712-6170." A similar email was received again this year...we'll add Luke to the list this year! This is yet another example of the generosity our school community shows as people continue to step up to give of their talents, treasures, and time. We appreciate everyone who finds a way to make our school a better place. Thank you, Hamblins! Way to Go, Mavericks! let's be safe when using crosswalks  Our school is close to two busy highways. Highway 23 is right behind our school and Highway 75 is the main street in our town. Understanding that, we are reminding all of our students who walk to and from school to use the crosswalks and use them safely. Here are a few reminders:
outdoor education updateThe Outdoor Ed class is off to a ‘HOT’ start- students attempted their first survival challenge of being able to start a fire warm enough to roast a marshmallow, with nothing but a pack of matches and supplies they could find in the bush. Over the past three years of this challenge, all 63 previous students have been unable to complete this challenge, until this year! Congratulations to George R., Roderick F. and Bosco P. - the first Three (3) Maverick Outdoor Ed students to complete this challenge! Congratulations to Ian W, Tristan D., Declan R., and Shooter K. who successfully built fires that burned long enough and hot enough to boil and purify water on their first attempt! Ian W, only needed ONE match to succeed! Way to go. The students are prepping thoroughly for their upcoming overnight hiking camping trip to the Epinette Creek Trail system in Spruce Woods Provincial Park at the beginning of October.
October 1st - save the date! Parent Council mtg  We encourage all parents to attend our first parent-council organizational meeting in quite some time. With the hope of resurrecting a PAC at Morris School, we will meet on The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 1st in the Band Room. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Please contact Mr. Watson if you have any questions. save another date! September 25 parents: having trouble with powerschool? We appreciate the parents, guardians and students who have downloaded and set up their PowerSchool Apps. For those who have questions or issues, the Red River Valley School Division has created a webpage with basic instructions and troubleshooting. The link is: www.rrvsd.ca/our_community/parent_information/r_r_v_s_d_parent_portal If you have questions that are not covered on the list of things found on the webpage, please contact Ms. Danielle LeBlanc at the school ([email protected] or 204.746.2612 ext 3222)  a letter from our guidance counsellorsLinks below are as follows: https://sites.google.com/rrvsd.ca/morrisschoolkto6guidance/home https://sites.google.com/rrvsd.ca/morrisschoolgrade7-12guidance/home  We have several opportunities for our grade 11 and 12 students to explore careers, jobs, and educational options over the next few weeks. On October 8th, we are hosting the Manitoba Post Secondary tour. Local Manitoba Universities and Colleges will have booths set up in the gym. The postsecondary schools will have representatives available to answer questions. Each student can sign up for three university presentations. The registration permissions sheets were sent home today with all grade 11 and 12 students. Our students have the opportunity to sign up for the Canadian University Fair on November 7th. Over 30 Universities from all over Canada will be in Winnipeg with booths and recruiters ready to answer questions about their home university. November 7th is also Discovery Days in Health hosted by the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and the University of Manitoba. This program is for students interested in Health Care. Online sign-up starts in the Guidance office on September 26th with a limited number of spots for each school in Manitoba. Permission forms need to be filled in before September 26th as the forms are uploaded to the online registration. The New Buffalo Gathering at the U of Manitoba is on November 15th. All Indigenous students are invited to register for this event. We have reserved 12 spots for our school. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in attending.    scholastic book fair draw winnerCongratulations to Marta Penner from Mrs. Siemens' 1/2 class on winning the Scholastic Book Fair Draw. Marta was able to choose free books for herself and some free books to add to the 1/2 classroom. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support our Scholastic Book Fair last week!  grade 9 social studies go outside the class......to learn. Ms. Wray's Grade 9 Social Studies class had an amazing day at The Forks, taking part in the Manitoba Culture Days. After some free time in The Forks Market, we participated in a guided tour of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. It was a wonderful opportunity to explore many different aspects of Canadian history!
mavericks' athletic update Soccer Our Varsity Girls and Boys continued their regular season this week, despite the gloomy forecast. The girls defeated RVS at Dominion City 5-1 while the boys hosted Dufferin Christian, falling 3-0. This week the girls travel to Carman on Monday to play the Cougars while the boys travel to Vita to play Shevchenko on Thursday. This is the last week of the regular season with playoffs scheduled for Oct 2 and 3. Volleyball Grades 7/8: Mr. Watson and Mrs. Siemens hosted their first practice this Friday, packing the gym with many enthusiastic volleyball players. All 7/8 students are welcome to come out, please see the coaches, Mrs. K, or Mr. Lehmann for more details. Junior Varsity: We hosted our Junior Varsity tournament for both Girls and Boys this weekend. Both teams got off to a slow start in the round-robin but got stronger as the weekend progressed. The Girls defeated Shevchenko in a tight 3-set battle to finish 5th, while the boys battled with Rosenort in the semi-final, falling short in 2 sets. Varsity Girls: The Girls traveled to Warren this weekend for their first tournament action. They dropped a close 3-set game against Morweena to finish 8th.
     MAVs' Varsity boys volleyball capture 1st winsOur Varsity Boys competed in their first tournament of the season this weekend in Warren. They went undefeated the entire tournament, without dropping a set, beating Miami 25-23 and 25-16 in the final. Way To Go, MAVs!! undergrad awards - tomorrow!Grades 9-12 students are invited to the gym tomorrow (September 16, 2024) at 11:00 am for the undergraduate awards ceremony. We will recognize the Honour Roll, Extra-Curricular Involvement, and Maverick Awards. The ceremony will be followed by a BBQ lunch. October 1st - save the date! Parent Council mtg We encourage all parents to attend our first parent-council organizational meeting in quite some time. With the hope of resurrecting a PAC at Morris School, we will meet on The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 1st in the Band Room. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Please contact Mr. Watson if you have any questions.  mavericks athletic update Soccer Our Zone IV season got underway this week. The girls went 1 and 1 this week with a victory over RVS and a loss to Carman. Our boys also played RVS, dropping their first game of the season. The boys play Dufferin Christian in a home and home next week (Monday @ home, Thursday @ Dufferin) while the girls travel to RVS on Thursday. All soccer games start at 4:30. Volleyball Our Varsity Boys have their first tournament of the season this weekend in Warren, while the Varsity Girls head there next weekend for their first tournament. Our JV Home tournament will also be next weekend (Sept 20-21). The draw can be found below. The JV Boys volleyball team was chosen by coach Mr. Roberts following tryouts that were attended by 18 athletes. Sadly, with so many boys trying out, cuts had to be made. Mr. Roberts thanks all the boys who tried out for the team and congratulates those who are now JV Mavs. The boys' first action will be Monday, September 16th as they travel to Sisler High School for an exhibition match. Then...the big one - the Morris JV Boys home tournament with games on Friday, September 20th and Saturday, September 21st.   attention grade 7/8 MAVS!!Attention Grade 7/8 Maverick Student-Athletes:
 No Gr 7/8 Girls' Practice on Monday, September 16. cashless fee payment reminder Our School accepts all school fees online using our School Cash Online software. The information on how to set up your specific SchoolCash Online family account has been loaded into PowerSchool (the same location where find your student's report cards) Kindergarten students were sent home hard copies of the documents required to set up PowerSchool and SchoolCash Online. You do not require a credit card to successfully execute a payment using School Cash Online. You can link your account directly to one of your bank accounts and it will be withdrawn directly from that specific account when you complete your payment transaction. SchoolCash online will also allow for partial payments if families need to spread these fees over several days, weeks, or months. Link to School Cash Online --> SchoolCashOnline.com: Welcome A list of this year's fees includes:
If you require assistance setting up your account online, please contact Ms. LeBlanc at [email protected] (204.746.2612 ext 3222). If there are concerns about your family's ability to pay one of the above fees, there are two options:
save the date get involved!We encourage our students to become involved at the school. As you can see below, there are many ways to get involved. The names of the staff involved are listed, so approach them if you have questions about the club(s) or sport(s) of your interest. If you are interested in a sport or a club that is not listed, see Mr. Watson to see if something can be started.       K-8 Parents - sign up for strong beginnings!! Strong Beginnings is a MANDATORY assessment that occurs early in September for students in Kindergarten to Grade 8. On Friday, September 13 and Monday, September 16, children will attend school by appointment for approximately 60 minutes to participate in assessment activities. Kindergarten students are asked to book a 30-minute appointment during one of the time slots. The appointments on these days replace regular classes...so NO classes for Grades K-8 students on Friday or Monday. Grades 9-12 students...we'll see you at school! A Strong Beginnings session is an opportunity for teachers to extend and consolidate their understanding of each child to plan for instruction. This, in turn, will effectively address unique learning needs as early as possible in the new school year. Registration for Strong Beginnings opened up on Thursday, September 5th at 8:00 a.m. All Grades K-8 students need to be registered for Strong Beginnings by Thursday, September 12th at 4 p.m. We book online using our Conference Manager software. If you do not have a Conference Manager account, please access the site via our school's website or by clicking [HERE]. If you are new to the school, please create an account and add your student(s) to the system. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Watson. get involved!As we wrap up the first week of school, we encourage our students to become involved at the school. As you can see below, there are many ways to get involved. The names of the staff involved are listed, so approach them if you have questions about the club(s) or sport(s) of your interest. If you are interested in a sport or a club that is not listed, see Mr. Watson to see if something can be started. the robotics club wants you!! Morris School will be launching an Advanced Robotics team this fall for students looking for more complex engineering challenges and competition. Students who are enrolled in the new robotics class, or were on the team last year are welcome. There is a meeting on Wednesday, September 11 at lunch. Please stop by the tech room to see the robots and Mr. Jamieson if you have any questions or interest.  reminders re: Drop off and turnaround circleOur students enter and exit via different doors throughout the school. An illustration of these doors is included below. We would also ask that you do not stop or park your vehicles beyond the east edge of the school building (by the school's playground). This allows all vehicles to turn around using the circle at the very east end of Toronto Avenue. If a student is late or needs to be picked up early, please enter via the school's main doors.  Thank you, Truckers!Our grades 1-8 students and staff took advantage of an invitation from Rempel Insurance to support their "Honk Challenge" initiative that occurred this past week. Our students walked from school to Highway 75. Some safely crossed the highway using the crosswalk to line up beside the Rempel Insurance Offices. Other students lined the east side of 75 Highway, urging truckers to honk their horns, wave, and clap as the numerous trucks drove by. Apparently, we received over 1 100 honks in the time we participated. The event was supported by numerous businesses in town, the RCMP detachment, our local firefighters, our town's daycare, and the residents and staff at the Red River Valley Lodge. We appreciate being a part of an initiative like this. Way to Go, MAVs! parent council organizational meeting We encourage all parents to attend our first parent-council organizational meeting in quite some time. With the hope of resurrecting a PAC at Morris School, we will meet on The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 1st in the Band Room. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Please contact Mr. Watson if you have any questions. we are a cashless school Our School accepts all school fees online using our School Cash Online software. The information on how to set up your specific SchoolCash Online family account has been loaded into PowerSchool (the same location where find your student's report cards) Kindergarten students were sent home hard copies of the documents required to set up PowerSchool and SchoolCash Online. You do not require a credit card to successfully execute a payment using School Cash Online. You can link your account directly to one of your bank accounts and it will be withdrawn directly from that specific account when you complete your payment transaction. SchoolCash online will also allow for partial payments if families need to spread these fees over several days, weeks, or months. Link to School Cash Online --> SchoolCashOnline.com: Welcome A list of this year's fees includes:
If you require assistance setting up your account online, please contact Ms. LeBlanc at [email protected] (204.746.2612 ext 3222). If there are concerns about your family's ability to pay one of the above fees, there are two options:
  mavericks athletics update Only one week into school and our Mavericks Athletics are in full swing! Our high school volleyball teams are already underway with practices and tryouts. See below for the gym practice schedule for this week. If you are interested in getting involved, please see Mrs. Kurylko in the gym or talk to the following coaches:
High School soccer gets underway with their first games this Monday at our home field vs. RVS. Girls start at 4:30 with the boys immediately after. Good Luck, MAVs! JV Boys Volleyball had a very successful camp the last week in August. Their coaches, Mr. Roberts and assistant Zach Hamblin, were most impressed with how hard the boys worked and how much they learned during the 15 hours of instruction, drills, and court fundamentals. The roster will be announced on Monday and the team will have an exhibition match at Sisler High School September 16th. Their first tournament is at home on September 20th and 21st. The team looks forward to seeing and hearing from Maverick supporters at their tournament. Games begin Friday at 5:00. The varsity boys' volleyball team is back into the swing of things with practices on Monday at 3:30 in Morris and Wednesday at 3:30 in St. Jean. Talk to Mrs. Leflar or Mr. Cox for more information. Boys and girls interested in Grades 7-8 Volleyball should attend the information meeting tomorrow (Monday, September 9) at 12:20 in the senior years' gym. Please speak to Mr. Watson or Mrs. Siemens if you can't make the meeting but have any questions or are interested in playing. Calling all high school rugby players: an exciting opportunity has come to Manitoba! The MacDowell Rugby Academy, which is based out of BC and has recently added Owen Lewis to its ranks, is coming for an 8-week 7s rugby program. This training program is aimed at strengthening 7s rugby skills for JV, Varsity, Boys, and Girls with the help of international coaches and former Olympic players. On top of all of that, the named head coach for this program is none other than our own rugby coach: Mr. Justin Antoski! If you’re interested please click on the link below and get on it quickly as the academy begins next Thursday, Sept. 12th at Maple Grove Rugby Park. https://www.macdowellrugby.ca/manitobaacademy    Grades 5-12 canteen  breakfast club program newsThe link... https://rrvsd.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/9286/115/false/true?school=577&initiative=4     Welcome Back! Morris School is excited to see you! We hope your summer was full of adventure, relaxing, and enjoying the weather that our summer brings! We also hope that you are ready for the current school year. Our staff has been getting their classrooms and coursework ready for your return next week. We also want you to be aware of a few things before you step foot in the school.
   Please do not access the bus loop to park or drop off students. Thank you!  we are a cashless school Our School accepts all school fees online using our School Cash Online software. An email for Grades 9-12 parents was sent by Ms. Danielle LeBlanc with information on how to set up your SchoolCash online if you haven't set it up already. Grades 1-8 students will receive an email containing your student's student ID number and instructions on how to become an established user of the School Cash Online software. Kindergarten students will have information sent home on their respective first days of school. You do not require a credit card to successfully execute a payment using School Cash Online. You can link your account directly to one of your bank accounts and it will be withdrawn directly from that specific account when you complete your payment transaction. SchoolCash online will also allow for partial payments if families need to spread these fees over several days, weeks, or months. Link to School Cash Online --> SchoolCashOnline.com: Welcome A list of this year's fees includes:
If you require assistance setting up your account online, please contact Ms. LeBlanc at [email protected] (204.746.2612 ext 3222). If there are concerns about your family's ability to pay one of the above fees, there are two options:
please use safearrival At Morris School, one of our greatest priorities is ensuring that all our students arrive safely at school each and every day. To enhance our existing absence-checking procedure, we use a student absence reporting system called SafeArrival. This system reduces the time it takes to verify student attendance, makes it easy for you to report your child’s absence and easy for staff to respond to unexplained student absences. With SafeArrival, you are asked to report your child’s absence in advance using any of these 3 convenient methods:
These options are available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. Future, planned absences can be reported at any time. In addition, we will use the SchoolMessenger Communicate automated notification system to contact parents whose child is absent when the absence was not reported in advance. The automated notification system will attempt to contact parents at multiple contact points until a reason is submitted for the absence. If our system is unable to reach the designated contacts, office staff will follow up. If you report your child’s absence in advance using the SafeArrival toll-free number, website or mobile app, you will NOT receive these notifications. Please report absences in advance using SafeArrival instead of sending notes or calling/emailing the school. Staff uses the SafeArrival notifications to notify you if your student is absent (when you haven’t reported the absence in advance). If you have children attending other schools (for vocational programming, for example), please continue to report absences using the existing procedures for those schools. Thank you for your cooperation. Welcome to new staff As a new year begins, we will have some new faces in our building. We would like to welcome the following staff to Morris School:
A full listing of our teaching, library, & front office staff...
K-8 FAMILIES - STRONG BEGINNINGS (SIGN UP ONLINE) Strong Beginnings is a MANDATORY assessment that occurs early in September for students in Kindergarten to Grade 8. On Friday, September 13 and Monday, September 16, children will attend school by appointment for approximately 60 minutes to participate in assessment activities. Kindergarten students are asked to book a 30-minute appointment during one of the time slots. The appointments on these days replace regular classes..so NO classes for Grades K-8 students on Friday or Monday. Grades 9-12 students...we'll see you at school! A Strong Beginnings session is an opportunity for teachers to extend and consolidate their understanding of each child to plan for instruction. This, in turn, will effectively address unique learning needs as early as possible in the new school year. Registration for Strong Beginnings opens up on Thursday, September 5th at 8:00 a.m. All Grades K-8 students need to be registered for Strong Beginnings by Thursday, September 12th. We book online using our Conference Manager software. If you do not have a Conference Manager account, please access the site via our school's website or by clicking [HERE]. If you are new to the school, please create an account and add your student(s) to the system. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Watson. morris school building upgrades and changes Although many staff and students enjoyed a summer away from the Morris School, the action didn't stop. Thanks to Mr. Dyck, Mrs. Thiessen, and their staff as well as Mr. Dave Funk (divisional maintenance supervisor), the following changes occurred at our school.
ATTENTION GRADE 9 & 10 VOLLEYBALL BOYS!A reminder that Junior Varsity Boys' volleyball camp is August 26 - 30 from 10:00 - 1:00 each day. All boys in Grades 9 or 10. are welcome! Bring outdoor and gym shoes, a desire to be your best, and lots of high energy!!! Meet at the school's main doors by 9:45 am.         congratulations class of 2024!This past Tuesday afternoon, our school celebrated the Class of 2024 by hosting our convocation ceremonies. A total of 40 Maverick graduates received diplomas. Convocation took place in the Senior Years Gym. Our Class of 2024 are headed out to the working world, continuing their education in vocational studies, or headed to post-secondary institutions throughout Canada. We are proud of our group and wish them well with whatever they decide to do. Here's a list of our Maverick grads...
thank you, grad sponsors Our convocation is enriched by the generosity of our community. We appreciate the following sponsors of the awards:
report cards To avoid parents and students being inundated with information (sometimes in draft form), we have disabled public access to the PowerSchool portal until report cards are completed. Once the report cards have been published you will receive email notification that your report cards are ready to be viewed. A reminder to everyone that alternative methods of report card delivery will not be available. convocation is set for Tuesday, June 25Attention Class of 2024 and Families...Here are some important dates and times for you to know as you prepare to graduate this week...
 field day: a Great community event On Friday, Morris School hosted our annual Field Day. This day consisted of 10 different stations that students worked their way through. There were a variety of stations. Some stations were individual events such as long jump and ball throw. Some were team events such as the water bucket challenge and the obstacle course and some stations were all about fun such as the bouncy castle and water balloon fight! Our grade 7/8 students were a huge help running the stations and leading the groups around for the day, we could not have done it without them! All-in-all it was a great day and everyone had a ton of fun! Thank you to Mr. Ricard for organizing a day where our K-4 and 7/8 students came together, exercised, tested their talents and had fun. K-8 bump-up day Activities On the morning of Thursday, June 27th, our K-8 students will participate in a "Bump-Up Day" activity from 10:30 - 11:30 am. The Bump-Up Day is a chance for all the students to get together with their teacher and their classmates in the homeroom they will be joining in September. This will allow all of our students to get a sneak peek. Grade 8 students will have a brief introduction to High School during this time. Teachers will send an email home the day before (the 26th) to notify parents of their student's homeroom placement. All Kindergarten students will be in attendance on the 27th. In light of that, there will be no Kindergarten classes scheduled on June 26th. thank you, Mrs. Thiessen!After 14 years of supporting students and staff in a valuable way, Mrs. Noani Thiessen is retiring. On behalf of our school community, we thank her for her service to our school and wish her the best. We will miss your positive attitude and smile. Please visit often.  Consider purchasing tickets - June 27 (3:30) draw laptops, textbooks, library books!! CALLING ALL LAPTOPS, CHARGERS, TEXTBOOKS AND LIBRARY BOOKS!!! A reminder to all high school students that your items are now due, please return them ASAP. Unreturned laptops will be locked over the summer, so keeping them makes no sense as they won't be usable. Textbooks should be handed back to your classroom teacher as you walk into your exam. If you don't have an exam in a class with a textbook, please return those textbooks to your classroom before you leave for the summer. K-8 students please return your books to the library by Wednesday, June 26th. report cards To avoid parents and students being inundated with information (sometimes in draft form), we have disabled public access to the PowerSchool portal until report cards are completed. Once the report cards have been published you will receive email notification that your report cards are ready to be viewed. A reminder to everyone that alternative methods of report card delivery will not be available, if you do not know your PowerSchool login please contact Ms. Denny before, Thursday, June 27th.  mavericks in football modeSome Mavericks were involved in some football this past weekend. Jensen Bolduc, Ty Hamblin, Achilles Funk, and Tyson Funk earned a championship win in their flag football league, held at Maple Grove Rugby Park. Coached by Morris' own, Dave Funk, the boys prevailed in the U14 final with a 32-11 victory. Way to Go, MAVs! There were other MAVs involved in this year's Football Manitoba Spring Flag League. We congratulate all those involved! In other football news, Molly Sanders and Sophia Desharnais represented our girls' flag football team on Friday night at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' game. BellMTS was the game sponsor and invited our MAVs to be part of the pregame, the coin toss, and invited the girls to the BellMTS suite to watch the game. The girls were invited because of their involvement in the inaugural league AND for coaching at some camps all sponsored by BellMTS. Initial reports were that the girls had a good time.    use your school work to win at the stampede! Keep all your school work that your student has done and submit it to The Manitoba Stampede for a chance to win!! School Work drop off is Sunday, July 14 (1:00-3:00 pm) and Wednesday, July 17 (5:30-8:00 pm). The School Work Guide's link is below: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1v_U-ax5aV0s8ZQetjb-kPiG3v4bTN6jU/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword If you have any questions please email Mrs. Siemens at [email protected] improve your skills this summer! full day camp           Laptops, textbooks, Library books!! CALLING ALL LAPTOPS, CHARGERS, TEXTBOOKS AND LIBRARY BOOKS!!! A reminder to all high school students that your items are now due, please return them ASAP. Unreturned laptops will be locked over the summer, so keeping them makes no sense as they won't be usable. Textbooks should be handed back to your classroom teacher as you walk into your exam. If you don't have an exam in a class with a textbook, please return those textbooks to your classroom before you leave for the summer. K-8 students please return your books to the library by Wednesday, June 26th. exams continue this weekOur Senior Years' June exams continue this week. To have our Grade 12 grades submitted in time for graduation and award considerations, we administer our Grades 11/12 exams a few days earlier than our Grades 9/10 exams. The full schedule can be found below. Once exams have started for the respective grade levels, high school students should only be attending school or riding the bus on days they are scheduled to have an exam. If your student requires extra time at school to complete assignments, please contact the school (specifically, the subject area teacher) to make arrangements. We would also expect students, before their last exam, to please clean out their locker and return any books, textbooks, or any other school-assigned items that have been borrowed this year. Any items left in lockers after June 20th may be discarded or donated to the Morris MCC. If alternative arrangements for drop off and pick up need to be made, please contact the school.  thank you, mrs. huskaWe would like to thank everyone who stopped by this past Tuesday to visit with and send Mrs. Huska their best as she prepares to spend her last couple of weeks at Morris School. As per previous blog posts, after 30 years of service to Morris School, Mrs. Huska is moving back to her hometown of Grandview, Manitoba. Tuesday was a time to share memories, hugs, and cake. We appreciate everyone who took a part of their day to visit with Mrs. Huska. We also appreciate the staff and students who helped prepare and serve the cake and iced tea to those who showed up for a visit. band students collab with ecole heritageOn Monday, June 10th, Morris School welcomed special visitors from St. Pierre - the École Héritage Immersion School Concert Band and their lovely director, Ms. Liane Ouimet! Throughout the day, both bands played a variety of ice-breaker games, exchanged stories and laughs, performed for each other and with each other, indulged in pizza, and made music with Boomwhackers. It was a fantastic day of community-building and music-making! Until next year! student talents on display at the art showThis past Wednesday, our grades 7-12 visual art students' talents were displayed for our school community. Thanks to Ms. Wray, the Art Show housed in the library, multiple pieces of our students' artwork displayed our students' talent and growth over the school year. We thank Ms. Wray for her hard work, efforts, and talents get your tickets - draw June 27 (3 p.m.)Tickets for sale in the office...get yours now! 5/6s hit the diamond!On Friday, June 14 (one day after national softball day), the 5/6 classes were mixed into softball teams for an afternoon tournament. There was a lot of fun softball played in the heat, followed by Freezies and some time to hang out in the shade. grades 6-8 compete in track & fieldThis past Wednesday the 6-8's headed to the U of M for the divisional track meet. Great work athletes! A special shoutout to the following students:
       outdoor courts updateAs many students and parents have inquired, we felt a blog post was in order, I would like to provide an update on our new outdoor courts project, which many of you have been eagerly anticipating. The outdoor courts, which will serve as a fantastic resource for both our students and the broader community, are nearing completion. We are currently waiting for the weather to cooperate so that we can paint the final few lines on the courts. This step is crucial to ensure the courts meet the high standards we have set for this project. Additionally, there is some warranty work that needs to be completed by the contractor and their subcontractors. As it stands, and given that we are now into June, we anticipate that the grand opening ceremony for the courts will likely take place in September. Of course, we understand the eagerness of our community members to start using this new facility. If we can complete the remaining tasks sooner, we will promptly announce the opening via our social media channels. Please keep an eye on these platforms for the latest updates. In the meantime, we kindly ask that everyone stay off the courts. The gates are locked to ensure safety and to prevent any premature use that could compromise the final touches still needed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and patience. We are all looking forward to the day when we can officially open the courts and celebrate together. Thank you for your continued support of Morris School and our efforts to enhance the facilities available to our students and community. you're invited - say goodbye & thank you exams are here! note to parents/guardiansOur Senior Years' June exams are here! In order to have our Grade 12 grades submitted in time for graduation and award considerations, we administer our Grades 11/12 exams a few days earlier than our Grades 9/10 exams. The full schedule can be found below. Once exams have started for the respective grade levels, high school students should only be attending school or riding the bus on days they are scheduled to have an exam. If your student requires extra time at school to complete assignments, please contact the school (specifically, the subject area teacher) to make arrangements. Grades 11/12 Last day of regular classes - June 11th Grades 9/10 Last day of regular classes - June 14th We would also expect students, before their last exam, to please clean out their locker and return any books, textbooks, or any other school-assigned items that have been borrowed this year. Any items left in lockers after June 20th may be discarded or donated to the Morris MCC. If alternative arrangements for drop off and pick up need to be made, please contact the school. attention class of 2024 (that's you grade 12s)!!The final day to purchase Grad Dinner/Prom tickets is Wednesday, June 12th. Please meet that deadline if you wish you attend (and have others in your family attend) the Dinner/Prom.  congratulations mavericks rugbyA big congratulations to the Junior Varsity rugby team as they won the championship last night, beating Pembina Trails Collegiate 24-12. An excellent win and a dream end to their rugby season. That is two top 3 finishes for the rugby program, with Varsity winning 3rd and JV winning 1st. Way to go, Mavs!     A successful spring showcaseCongratulations to all Grades 6-12 Band, Grades 9-10 General Music, Grades 7-12 Choir, and Grades 7-12 Visual Art students on a fantastic Spring Showcase! Thank you to all who came up to support the music program and our hard-working students as well as to our staff and parent/student volunteers for making this event such a success! A special shout-out and thank you goes to Lorraine Hamblin, Laurie Sanders, and Heather Hamblin for organizing the fundraiser BBQ, to Mrs. Kurylko and Mr. Lehmann for letting us use the Senior Gymnasium on short notice due to the weather, to Mr. Les Dyck with helping prep the gym and helping us with whatever we needed, to Pat Schmitke from Bigway for his generous donation to the Morris School Band Program, and many, many more! It truly takes a village to put on something like this, so thank you to the Morris community for going above and beyond, and for going all-hands-on-deck for this event! Please join us in congratulating the following students for their award achievements that were presented on the night of the Showcase: Most Improved Grade 6 Band Student: Lucy Johnston Most Improved Grade 6 Band Student: Carson Hamblin Most Improved Grade 7/8 Band Student: Sapphira Wiebe Most Improved Grade 7/8 Band Student: Finn Gobeil Most Improved Grade 9-12 Band Student: Bethany Wiebe Most Improved Grade 9-12 Band Student: Nico Sun Most Improved Jazz Band Student: Erin Hamblin IMC Summer Arts Camp Scholarship: Erin Hamblin IMC Summer Arts Camp Scholarship: Cara-Lyn McDougall Most Outstanding Band Graduate: Annika Wiebe    sunny band trip to winnipegLast Friday, May 31st, the Senior Concert Band took a trip to the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music today for a workshop with the Director of Bands, Dr. Jacquie Dawson. The students had an inspiring and educational clinic in their state-of-the-art rehearsal room and left sounding like a whole new band, with new musical knowledge and even bigger smiles. Dr. Dawson said herself that the students were so focused, engaged, and responsive. The students were truly taking on any challenge Dr. Dawson presented before them, and even tested their chops in playing for an extended time (Dr. Dawson was so generous to go over the allotted time due to our coming early). With the sun shining, the Senior Concert Band celebrated afterwards with lunch and some time to explore The Forks. It was a wonderful day - way to go Senior Band! A special thank you to Mrs. Lorraine Hamblin for chaperoning and Mr. David Hamblin for driving us, as well as the Sanders family for their generosity in letting us use their Charter Bus! (Fun fact: Dr. Dawson worked with the Concert Band Miss Colobong was a member of when she was a high school student not too long ago! What a special, full-circle moment.) grades k-2 explore the manitoba museumOn Friday, June 7th the K-2s went to the Manitoba Museum and the Science Gallery. They learned about science inquiry through different experiments with balloons and bubbles. They also explored the growth and changes of animals. It was a great day full of learning and laughter! robotics updateMorris Robotics is up and running with new hardware and a new challenge for students interested in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx6HJSpopeQ&t=3s Students design, build, test, and revise their robots to score the maximum number of points in the time allowed. Part of the competition is controlled by a player using a controller, while the other part is autonomous, as players code their robots. You can see more information here. https://www.vexrobotics.com/v5/competition/vrc-current-game Students who are interested in a variety of roles, from designers, drivers, builders, match officials, referees, etc. please see Mr. Jamieson in the tech room. please return the school's laptops! Thank you! The end of the year is quickly approaching, Grades 9-12 students who received a laptop and charger at the beginning of the year are to return these to the office before you enter your last exam. If you don't have any exams, please drop them off by Friday, June 14. Please remove any stickers or other personal decorations from the machine. When you return them, please be sure that someone in the office checks off your name. Any laptops not returned will be locked by our tech department. thank you, first book canada First Book Canada is dedicated to breaking down the barriers to educational equity by increasing access to evidence-based best practices, books, and resources … This amazing organization held a pop-up free book distribution in Winnipeg from June 4th to 6th. Applications were sent in and Morris School was very lucky to be chosen to attend the event. Mrs. DeKezel and Ms. Christina Wiebe stocked themselves with bins and bags and headed off after school on the 6th to Winnipeg. The event was amazing and they were able to choose 200 brand new books for free! The books will be distributed in several different ways to get them into the hands of students and families. A big thank you to First Book Canada for making this possible! outdoor ed. heads downstairs for archery    |
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