mother nature hits us with some moisture......in the form of SNOW! Our dry spring got a bit of moisture boost this week! It affected the number days we were in school, but it didn't affect the enthusiasm of our students. Way to go, MAV's! Grades 1-8 class placements requests It's that time of year where we work to create homeroom classes for our students in Grades one through eight for the 2021-22 school year. Our school is open to receiving parent requests as it pertains to any social consideration our team should consider when creating our homeroom classes. If you have a request, please email Mr. Watson. To be clear, our school will not consider requests for specific teachers. Scholastic online book fair - up & running!Shop the Scholastic Book Fair and support the Morris School Library at the same time! Morris School's Link Address is: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5153807  Guidance website: Gr 7 to 12 students & families Mrs. Edel, our Senior Years' Guidance Counselor, has updated her website and encourages all students and their families to seek out the website as a resource. The website can be found at https://sites.google.com/rrvsd.ca/morrisschoolgrade7-12guidance/home?authuser=0 Some examples of information that can be found on Mrs. Edel's website include... Mental Health Supports The COVID-19 pandemic brings a high level of stress and anxiety as it rapidly changes the way we work, socialize, and live. Caring for your mental health is important in these times. If you need help or know someone who does, you are not alone. The Province of Manitoba has established a hub of services available for all Manitobans, including:
Visit the Province's Mental Health Services page for more information and resources. Peers Being There to Support Others: https://bethere.org/Home Mindfulness for Youth: http://mindfulnessforteens.com/guided-meditations/ Crisis Support: http://klinic.mb.ca/crisis-support/ Kids Help Phone: https://kidshelpphone.ca/ Southern Health-Santé Sud - Wellness Support Line The Southern Health-Santé Sud Wellness Support Line is a confidential phone number anybody can call. A mental health clinician is ready to listen, support and refer you to local resources. https://www.southernhealth.ca/en/home/wellness-support-line Mental health supports for students 16 years of age: http://www.manitoba.ca/covid19/bewell/managestress.htm coding experience hosted by women in comp sci The event is open to all levels and is being hosted in collaboration with the group WICS (Women in Computer Science, Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Manitoba). This workshop aims to close the Gender gap in Computer Science and empower girls to pursue STEM careers. The link to register is https://www.genequ.net/event-details/closing-the-gender-gap-in-computer-science-coding-workshop Outdoor Education build some sheltersDuring the past few weeks, the Outdoor Education class has been studying and building outdoor shelters. Before we headed outside, the class had to create a story and situation of how their group became stranded in the wilderness. They then had to research different styles of shelters they think they could build in this type of environment. We then ventured out into the wilderness where each group had to locate the perfect location for their shelter. They then spent 6 classes building their shelter using only what they may have had in their pack and what they could find in the bush around their shelter. Each group did a fantastic job building a shelter each member could fit into and survive in for an extended period of time. Here are some photos of the finished shelters for each group. still accepting kindergarten registrations Kindergarten Visit Day Information We are currently looking at scheduling visit days later this spring for the 2021-2022 Kindergarten students.This visit will involve the opportunity to pick up the Kindergarten Readiness Bags and will consist of an approximately half day visit at the school on an even school cycle day. Please ensure your child is registered at your earliest convenience as they must be registered in order to be invited. Please refer to the Kindergarten Info Presentation which can be found at the following link for more information regarding the Kindergarten program, how to register, and the Kindergarten Readiness Bags being shared this spring. https://morris.rrvsd.ca/news/what_s_new/kindergarten_2021_22  early years students participate in livestreamOur school is hosting NED’s Mindset Mission, a live streaming school event for the K-4 students. A world-class performer takes our students on an interactive educational journey filled with storytelling, illusions, yo-top tricks and humor. NED’s message and memorable friends inspire students, promote academic achievement, and support our school goals. Never give up Encourage others Do your best® Our school received this program at no-cost because another school community has paid-it-forward to us. Now it’s our turn—you can help by purchasing a NED-messaged yo-top and accessories. A yo-top is both a mindset tool and tangible reminder of NED’s message. While learning to yo, children will make mistakes, try again, and improve. Read more at www.MindsetMission.com/yoyos.  class of 2021...Grad photos (April 29 & 30)       
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Report cards/progress report update After some well documented issues with Maplewood, we are anticipating emailing Senior Years Progress Reports and K-8 report cards out this upcoming week. If you don't receive your student's report by Friday, April 16, please contact the school. We appreciate everyone's patience as we waited for Maplewood to solve their issues. April online Book fair ready to go! Shop the Scholastic Book Fair and support the Morris School Library at the same time! Morris School's Link Address will be: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5153807 The Book Fair will run from April 12 to 26 Attn: Class of 2021 - Grad Photo Information   Grade 3/4 continue to learn about structuresOur Grade 3/4 classes had a new structure challenge this week. Through the design process, they are learning a ton about structures, planning good use of limited materials, working together under pressure, and how to be a solid contributor to a team. Way to go, MAV's! vote for st. adolphe in kraft hockeyville As per our last blog post, St. Adolphe is vying for this year's Kraft Hockeyville title! Voting is open now and will close on Saturday, April 10 at 4 pm. Check out the following link: www.krafthockeyville.ca/#/landing yearbooks for sale! This has been a school year like no other! Order your yearbook for your students to look back on the memories of 2020-2021! Orders can be made online or sent in to Mrs. Dekezel (cheques made out to Morris School).  family studies taking care of egg babiesMorris Students are Egg Parents!!! Morris students in our Gr. 11 Family Studies class are getting a little taste of what parenthood could look like by adopting some Egg Babies for the week! Students were tasked with taking care of a very delicate, very unboiled egg from Monday to Friday of this past week. Every student decorated their egg with a face, hair, clothes, etc. and had to carry their baby around with them wherever they went in a secure “car seat”. Some students choose to have their babies in “Egg-Care” (at 5 cents an hour), while others brought their babies everywhere they went. Students were to base their days on specific scenarios that was given to them by Mrs. Lucier. Some days were smooth and easy, while other days they had an extremely fussy Egg Baby that did not let them get any sleep! We have many students who made it through the week with their Eggs still intact, while a few others had some Egg-cidents! Good Job, Mavs! You made it through the whole week and all did an awesome job! Check out some of the students with their Egg Babies! Grade 7/8 Post-Hobbit assignment gets creativeGrade 7/8s are completing their "Thorin Poster" assignments in ELA. After reading The Hobbit, the students were challenged to demonstrate their knowledge of the character Thorin Oakenshield: his history, personality, motivation, relationships, and how he changes. Although The Hobbit centers around Bilbo Baggins, Thorin is a very central character to the story as he is the catalyst for the entire adventure. He embarks on a quest to win back his kingdom of old from the clutches of the evil dragon, Smaug. Here are some examples of student work. march madness crowns a championThanks to all those who participated in the MORRIS MAVERICKS 1st Annual MARCH MADNESS BRACKET CHALLENGE! After the dust settled and the tournament ended, here are your winners: Overall Champion- Mr. Lehmann 111 pts Top-ranked Lowe Farm teacher: Mr. Antoski 107 pts Gr. 8 Champ- Tyson Wiebe 105 pts Gr. 6 Champ- Ben Houle 102 pts Gr. 12 Champ- Natasha Claeys 84 pts Gr. 11 Champ- Zach Norris 77 pts Hope you enjoyed the MADNESS!  camp-in-the-box with Mr. moore (the sequel) Mr. Moore's Grade 5/6 class jumped into another Tim Hortons Camp Camp-in-the-Box activity this week. This"Tree Hugger" activity is meant to teach leadership as well as requiring these students to use their senses to be aware of surroundings.    maplewood - we're up & runningThe long wait for Maplewood is over! All links on the website have been restored. Your Parent/ Student logins should be fully functional at this time. Should you have any issues please contact Ms. Denny LeBlanc at dleblanc@rrvsd.ca K-8 report cards will be going out the week of April 12th along with the High School Semester 2 Progress Reports. maverick bingo!Morris School, thanks for Mr. Lopez & Maverick Media, hosted its inaugural Bingo Game. The stakes weren’t as high as Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo, but you couldn’t tell by the intensity & engagement in the building. Fun was had by staff & students alike. Way to go, MAV’s! getting artsy in 5/6 Petty's room (virtually)The 5/6 Petty class welcomed former Mav Hillary J. to lead us in a virtual art class. She led them in a drawing activity and kids got to draw some funny cartoons. Thanks Hillary!!!!! april book fairThe next Scholastic Virtual Book Fair will be coming soon - April 12 to 26! Morris School's Link Address will be: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5153807 Watch for more details after Spring Break!  grad gear online store up & running Our online Grad Gear Store is up and running. The deadline for orders is Thursday, April 8. The link to the store can be found on the school’s website by the end of the day. You can access the link under the “For Students—>Graduation 2021” menu and submenu. You can also click on the following link... grad photo - the sequel Grad pictures have been confirmed for Thursday, April 29th & Friday, April 30th. We will let you know once online booking is open. A Grad update letter has been emailed to parents and is also available on our Website. If you have any Grad related questions, please send an email to morrisschoolgradinfo@rrvsd.ca . march madness leaderboard updateMr. Lehmann has combed through the results and double checked the standings. You'll find the result of his extensive work below. Good luck to all involved! Many upsets led to some brackets being blown, but we'll see how the next couple of weekends play out!  March madness...? In poetry?!?!?Mr. Antoski's Grade 5/6 class took part in their own version of March Madness, but in poetry?!?! The Poetry Madness Bracket was meant to simulate March Madness as poems battled one another in single-elimination voting to move-on to the next round. First, the students selected 32 poems independently and emailed them to me to fill-in the bracket. Once they were randomly placed, our tournament began. Each day, we would read two poems, then discuss their form (Pattern, Shape, Acrostic, or Haiku) and their subject. Once we established those details, we began a full-class, student-led debate over which is the better poem. As the students debated, the teacher's only job was to make sure everyone had a chance to speak and that they argued valid points and not simply the subject. After the debate ended, we would do anonymous voting and the poem with the most votes would move on to the next round. It was a lot of fun and a great opportunity for students to practice debating and become excited about poetry! Puppy Love by Terry Boswell (3A) won the competition, beating Snowball by Shel Silverstein (5B). Way to go, MAV's!   a neighbouring community vying for kraft hockeyville title Some of our staff members live in St. Adolphe. St. Adolphe has been names as one of the four finalists in Kraft Hockeyville. We think it would be very neighbourly and a huge sign of support if you consider voting (more than once) to help St. Adolphe bring home the prize! Mrs. Limpright, one of our great staff members wrote the following to assist in gaining support. Hello Everyone, I have some very exciting news to share with all of you. The St. Adolphe arena was in the running for Kraft Hockeyville and last Saturday on Sportsnet it was announced that we made the top 4 out of all of Canada! This means our community has a chance at winning the top prize of $250 000 towards improvements to our current arena and an NHL exhibition game in our rink. We could really use the funds to help repair the north wall of the building that has a mould problem, to add/expand dressing rooms (especially to accommodate our growing female hockey program) and to replace our broken ice plant so we can make ice for next season. A community from Manitoba has never won Kraft Hockeyville in its 14 year history. In order to have a chance at winning, we need as much help as we can get. Voting takes place Friday, April 9, at 8 a.m. Central Time until Saturday, 4 p.m. CT. I would be forever grateful if you could help my husbands hometown by getting the word out there and by casting a vote (or several) on April 9th and 10th. You can vote as many times as you want, you just have to create a login and user name on the following website by clicking on "SIGN IN OR REGISTER": https://www.krafthockeyville.ca/?locale=en&phase=top4announced On this website you can also check out the St. Adolphe video by clicking on the image that says "Saint Adolphe, MB". My brother in law is the President of St. Adolphe Minor Hockey so he was interviewed by Sportsnet and is one of the men speaking in the video. Near the end of the 1 minute video, my two children are also seen playing ball hockey along with my two nephews, so this whole process has been quite exciting for my family personally as well. We are a small community and your support would be greatly appreciated! You can also join in on the fun by following our journey on the following social media sites: FB @stadolphehawkeyville, Instagram stadolphe_hockeyville , Twitter @adolphe_st Any likes, shares, retweets, verbal shares, etc. are helpful in spreading the word and potentially getting us more votes so that is another way you can help as well. https://www.krafthockeyville.ca/?locale=en&phase=top4announced http://www.cbc.ca/1.5958526 Thank you so much for your support, Jessica Limpright jazz band experiencing a latin flare!The Jazz Band has been doing a unit on Latin jazz music this month. The students have learned about Latin musicians, rhythm and percussion, improvisation, the "son clave" and "rumba clave" patterns and they even dabbled in some salsa dancing! They finished off their latin celebration with some salsa dancing and salsa eating today! mr. moore's 5/6 class does camp-in-the-box! Our Grade 5/6's committed to the Tim Horton's Camp experience in the fall of 2019. It was to be an experience that had our students attend the Camp once in the fall and once in the spring. The goal of the camp is to develop community minded leaders. Due to the type of year we've had, our Grade 5/6 classes have missed out on three of the four camp experiences we were to have. Kudo's to the Tim Horton's Camp staff for putting together a Camp-in-the-Box experience for our students to get a bit of an experience here at Morris School. This week Mr. Moore's class went outside and tried out the Owl & Mice game. It began wildly, but after injecting some additional guidelines and strategies, fun was had by all! Way to go, MAV's! grade 1/2 letters to the easter bunny!The Grade 1/2 students have been learning about opinion writing this week. We read a fictional letter that the Easter Bunny wrote to us. He has decided to retire to spend more time with his family so the 1/2 students have been trying to find a replacement. They looked at all of the forest animal applicants and considered their strengths and weaknesses for the job. Each student chose an animal they felt was suitable to fill the Easter Bunny's big shoes and came up with reasons why they made their decision. All of the students really enjoyed forming their own opinions and sharing them with the class. Happy Easter Everyone! Tactile artistry keep churning out projects!!!The grade 7/8’s Tactile Art Class made some sun catchers to get us in the Spring Spirit! Grade 3/4 designing structuresMrs. Edel's Grade 3/4 class is working on a structures unit. Their task this week was to build bridges with toothpicks and marshmallows. A support column was allowed, it needed to span 15 cm and hold weight. Here are some snapshots our her students at work! Way to go, MAV's! gets your yearbooks HERE!!! This has been a school year like no other! Order your yearbook for your students to look back on the memories of 2020-2021! Orders can be made online or sent in to Mrs. Dekezel (cheques made out to Morris School).  Mehgan's musings...Our school's AFM counselor, Mehgan Smith has provided us with a number of good resources this week. We'd thought we'd share them with you. If you or your student is affected by addiction in some way (directly or indirectly), Mehgan is here for you! She is in our school from Tuesday to Thursday each week. Thank you, Mehgan for providing your services to our school.       march madness arrives at Morris School!It's time for MARCH MADNESS - When the top 64 teams in NCAA basketball compete to see who is the best team in the nation. Thank you to all of the staff and students who entered the bracket challenge! Updated standings will be posted in the hallways and on the announcements after each round of the tournament. Thank you to Mr. Lehmann for organizing the event for our school. Let the MADNESS begin!  April book fairThe next Scholastic Virtual Book Fair will be coming soon - April 12 to 26! Morris School's Link Address will be: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5153807 Watch for more details after Spring Break! the maplewood saga continues The news concerning our school administrative software, Maplewood, is still not good news. The company continues to work to get it functional for our school (and other schools throughout the country). This has delayed our report cards that were scheduled to be out prior to our parent-teacher conferences. We appreciate your patience. 2020-21 Yearbook for Sale This has been a school year like no other! Order your yearbook for your students to look back on the memories of 2020-2021! Orders can be made online or sent in to Mrs. Dekezel (cheques made out to Morris School). A creative and responsible month in accessThis month the Access students have been busy making things! Mrs. Laura Ducharme has been sharing her expertise in Métis beadwork and rock painting. Both activities take much patience but we’re proud to show off our accomplishments and works in progress!  Access students also had the RealityWorks Realcare Baby experience this month! The infant simulators require realistic care and need to be changed, fed, rocked, burped and handled carefully with neck support. The babies generate a report at the end of the simulation describing their level of care, how quickly needs were attended to and any missed events. Students had fun learning and caring for the babies in class but those who took it home for the full care simulation endured a long weekend of sleepless nights. A big thank you to Sanford Collegiate for lending us the dolls and Mrs. Kendal Berezowski for all her help getting them here.  Grade 9 Social Studies define canadian identity The Grade 9 social studies class has been looking into the concept of Canadian Identity. Is there a singular Canadian identity? Do all Canadians "feel" Canadian? The students were tasked with recreating the Coat of Arms of Canada to better reflect its history and people. The current Coat of Arms has been found to over-represent the empires that colonized these lands (particularly the British Empire,) and under-represent Indigenous Peoples as well as Canada's ethnic diversity. Here are a couple of designs that students have come up with so far. The next unit the class will be exploring deals with cultural conflict in Canada's past and today. The focus will be on English - French conflict (colonizer vs colonizer with emphasis on the dynamics of political, cultural, and economic power) and the continuing conflict that pre-exists the formal confederation of Canada: Indigenous People vs Colonizers. The class will be exploring the Oka Crisis, hydro production in Manitoba and the impact on First Nations communities, and continuing to look into the relocation of the Sayisi Dene. Way to go, MAV's!  Debby Wiebe  Carol Simeonidis Mr. Moore's class promote fire safetyMr. Moore's Grade 5/6 class has been learning and reviewing the topic of Fire Safety recently. One of their assignments was to create a poster to assist in reminding people about important aspects of Fire Safety. Way to go, MAV's!      minor ball registration has been extendedWe received the following message from our Minor Ball contact this past week... We are extending baseball and softball registration by one week. You now have until March 26th to sign up. Morris Minor Ball is also still looking for volunteers, if you are able to volunteer please email the board at morrisminorbaseball@gmail.co      parent-teacher conferences - March 18 & 19 Another set of parent-teacher conferences have been scheduled for Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19. Our conferences run from 4 - 8 pm on Thursday and 9 am until noon on Friday. Conference bookings open at 6 pm today (Friday, March 12) and will close on Wednesday, March 17 at 8 pm. You can access our booking software by clicking on the following link (https://morris-rrvsd.schoolsoft.com/login.jsf) Our March parent-teacher conferences will be over the phone or via Google Meet. Based on the experience we had in November, the majority of our parents preferred conferences over the phone. IF you would like a Google Meet, please indicate that in the comment section when booking an appointment with one of our faculty. Please contact either Danielle LeBlanc or Mike Watson if you have any questions regarding your conference or any support you require in booking a conference online. another week of maplewood being down Our school, like many others, are patiently waiting for the Maplewood software to be up and running again. This has affected a number of administrative duties within our school including daily attendance recording, contact information queries, and our all-important report card period for Grades K-8. We will do our best to keep you in the loop regarding the software being accessible as well as a date where you can expect report cards to be issued (the majority electronically). Grade 5/6 learn about nutrition factsMr. Antoski's Grade 5/6 class recently completed a unit in Nutrition. In addition to some engaging active learning lessons, one of the class' culminating assignments was to create a nutrition poster. Each student made a poster based on something you would find on a nutrition label and each explains: what the nutrition is, what it does to the body, an interesting fact, and pictures of the foods that contain it. Way to go, MAV's!  K-4's celebrate black history monthThe K-4 students researched and wrote about important Black Canadians throughout February. They enjoyed reading stories and watching videos about inspirational Black Canadians. A big thank you to Mrs. Destiny Klassen for taking all of the students research and making a beautiful quilt in the Junior Gym. Way to go, MAV's!  The one and only ivan - a big hit in Grade 3/4!This week, 3/4's finished reading our novel, The One & Only Ivan. As a cross curricular activity, the students had a STEM challenge to build an animal cage to see what cage design could hold the most weight (in books!)...the goal was to hold two hardcover books without collapsing. Students were only given two pieces of cardboard, a ball of modelling clay, and 5 straws, to be used any way they desired. In Ms. Mahara's class, their winner was Tyson Funk with 19 books, with second and third places to Thane Knutson (16 books) and Colten Welter (13 books)! The students also used a recipe and their knowledge of fractions to create "Me Ball" treats. Way to go, MAV's! 2020-21 yearbooks for sale This has been a school year like no other! Order your yearbook for your students to look back on the memories of 2020-2021! Orders can be made online or sent in to Mrs. Dekezel (cheques made out to Morris School). Kindergarten class exploring coloursThe Kindergartens have been exploring colours and learning about different types of paper. They were excited to use watercolour paints on coffee filters this week to create rainbows for a St. Patrick's Day craft. Next week they will be writing about what they would buy with a pot of gold! Way to go, MAV's! Grade 7/8's portray two sides of Bilbo!The 7/8s created pictures to portray the "Two Sides of Bilbo" for their novel study of The Hobbit. Bilbo's character has two sides - his comfortable Baggins side and his adventurous Tookish side. Throughout the story Bilbo's Tookish side develops as he faces increasing challenges to transform from a regular, predictable hobbit to a brave and clever adventurer who gets his companions out of trouble time and again. Check out some of the artwork the 7/8 students have created!  Mikyla H  Bethany W  Georson L  Tamarah A-C  Charity P  Drayden A kindergarten registration Our school is currently accepting Kindergarten Registrations. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions we will not be hosting our annual Open House. If and when we are able to increase the number of guests in our school AND/OR the weather is nicer to host something outside, we will do so and keep you in the loop. In the meantime, our Kindergarten team of Mrs. Charron and Mrs. Harrison have created a slideshow that gives you some sense of what Kindergarten will look like for our students. If you click this link (https://rb.gy/mleurl) you will access the slideshow. For all those who register, Mrs. Harrison will contact each family directly to have a conversation as well as answer any questions you may have. She will also be providing each family with Kindergarten Readiness Kits sometime in the spring. We will promote this distribution event when we get closer to the date. In the meantime, please access our website or call our school if you are interested in registering for Kindergarten. town of morris hosting spring break camp minor baseball registration continues attn women! two conferences just for you!Morris School received the following emails from Project Pulse and Skills Manitoba this week... We at Project Pulse will be hosting another virtual event. We welcome you and your students to join us at the Professional Panel on March February 13th, 2021, from 3:00 - 4:30 PM CT over Zoom. The panel will consist of exceptional women in the field of research. Attendees will learn about the experiences of the panellists, including (but not limited to) their careers, their personal experiences, the journeys they took and what influenced them to their choice of career. This panel will greatly support attendee’s visualization of what lies ahead of them if they choose a path in the S.T.E.M. field or are curious about what it is like to study towards becoming a S.T.E.M. professional! Professional Panellists:
We are only able to accommodate a certain number of participants within the virtual call, so interested students must RSVP to secure their spot/attendance and submit any questions in advance. Please see the following link to a Google Form to register for this event: https://forms.gle/ZmMX9yPgCEMTVvPN8 Skills Manitoba.... Skills Manitoba and over 30 industry, education and government partners want to invite you to a Virtual Interactive Young Women's Conference for grades 6-12 on April 7, 2021. IT'S EASY TO REGISTER, AND IT'S FREE: EVERYONE WELCOME!! Please Note all students need to register individually in order to participate in the Scavenger Hunt and be eligible for our Fabulous Prizes as well as Big School Prizes! Register here: https://skillsmanitoba.vfairs.ca/       Monday, March 8 - who should be in school?There seems to be a bit of confusion regarding who is in school on Monday, March 8th. Grade 11/12's are in school. Seeing as it's a even Day of the school cycle, Kindergarten's next day is Tuesday, March 9th. Please refer to our updated school calendars by accessing the following page on our school website. (https://morris.rrvsd.ca/calendar/school_calendar) K-8 report cards delayed Due to an issue with our school administrative software (Maplewood), we will have to delay the distribution of our K-8 report cards. The distribution is on track to occur sometime between March 10 and March 18 (the first date of our upcoming parent-teacher conferences) UNLESS Maplewood staff don't meet their proposed working date. In the meantime, please ensure the school has the correct email address for you to receive a digital version the report card. If you require a hard copy of the report card, please contact Ms. Danielle LeBlanc (204.746.2612 ext 3222) or dleblanc@rrvsd.ca. parent-teacher conferences - march 18 & 19 Our school will be hosting a set of parent-teacher conferences on March 18 (evening) and March 19 (morning). An Invitation to register for conferences will be sent out next week via email to parents. Community minded Grade 1/2'sMrs. Blanchette's Grade 1/2 class has been learning about the meaning of community as a place where people live & work together. This week they focused on the buildings we have in Morris. Way to go, MAV's! Future engineers or crash prevention tech's!In grade 10 Science class, we are working through our Physics unit. Specifically, we are studying the relationship between velocity, acceleration, breaking, momentum, and impulse. In this lab, the students had to design a capsule to protect their egg when dropping it from a distance of 15ft. The students were only allowed to use seven pieces of printer paper, tape (1.5 meters), and two plastic bags. This lab represents what it would be like if you got into a car accident, the importance of wearing a seatbelt and the importance of having airbags. There were a couple of successful capsules but we did end up with some scrambled eggs!! mavericks in the news!Our local newspaper highlighted the recent Pink Shirt Day and Morris School was included in the article. Way to go, MAV's!  I love to read month - bookmark contestCongratulations to the following Grade 1/2 Bookmark Contest Winners! 1st - Jillian Hamblin 2nd - Carson MacGregor 3rd - Rachel Wyatt Congratulations to the following 3/4 Bookmark Contest Winners! 1st - Solomiia Khlyvniuk 2nd - Yzobelle Naje 3rd - Ty Hamblin Congratulations to the following 5/6 Bookmark Contest Winners! 1st - Olive Chornopyski 2nd - Taleah Heinrichs 3rd - Samantha Storck Grade 3/4's "traveling the world"Our Grade 3/4 classes have been studying other countries and each student has selected a country to research & present. The projects are well underway and our students are learning a great deal and sparking an interest in traveling (once we are able to) with their knowledge of the country and all that each country offers! Way to go, MAV's! Grade 5/6's work on their Touchdown Dances!The Grade 5/6 Phys. Ed. classes were working through a dance unit. As a part of learning the variety of dance "numbers," they were tasked with choreographing a touchdown dance for their respective groups. It is apparent that they will be able to allow CFL players to borrow the moves when the CFL returns to action! Way to go, MAV's! hockey academy resuming The Morris School Hockey Academy will resume at the Morris Multiplex Arena next week. The Hockey Canada Skills Academy, Hockey Manitoba, the Provincial Government, and the Morris Multiplex have protocols in place that allow for this to be a safe endeavour. So, our Grades 5/6 & 7/8 HCSA students, starting next Wednesday, March 10th and Friday March 12th. Hockey Academy will continue on a regular Monday, Wednesday, & Friday schedule until April 30. Please contact Mr. Barry Lewis (blewis@rrvsd.ca) if you have specific questions! Grad 2021 Gear - the samples are in!As per last week, the Class of 2021 has decided on their Grad Gear vendor. We appreciate all your work and the decision making process required to arrive at your decision...nice work!! The samples arrived today. We will allow our students to look at these samples in a COVID-19 friendly way. After that, the opening and closing date for the online store will be established. After the store closes, we anticipate the ordered goods arriving four to five weeks later. Here's a look at the draft version of the online store. If you have questions, see Jana Olayan.    Grad photos - the sequel Grad pictures have been confirmed for Thursday, April 29th & Friday, April 30th. We will let you know once online booking is open. A Grad update letter has been emailed to parents and is also available on our Website. If you have any Grad related questions, please send an email to morrisschoolgradinfo@rrvsd.ca . after school hockey! Minor baseball registration    Thank you, Students!Due to COVID-19 protocols (won't it will be nice when we don't have to lead sentences off with those words!?!), our student have had to get used to some new bathroom protocols to ensure we are not crossing cohorts. Our Grades 1-6 students have been following a cone system. Our students have had to place a cone in front of the doorway to let other people know there is someone in the washroom as there is a capacity of two allowed in the bathroom at a time. In Grades 1-4, the bathrooms are coed. This requires an extra set of cones (2 for the boys; 2 for the girls). Our students have adapted so well that we need to give them a "shoutout" on our blog! The picture below features Carson from Mrs. Roberge's Grade 1/2 class. It has been reported that Carson, "always remembers to use his cone, I never have to remind him. I told him he was such a good example!" Way to go, MAV's!  virtual Family Math NightOur school division has provided our K-6 families with a FREE virtual event that should be a ton of fun and reinforce important Math concepts all at the same time. A poster with more information is below. If you are interested, please email Mr. Watson by noon on Monday to reserve a spot. We also need to order the supplies each family will receive in advance, so please ensure you register by the deadline (Deadline: Monday, March 1 @ Noon). Thank you to Ms. Gay Sul (Divisional Math Coach) for organizing this event! We appreciate it.  Mantracker Mondays & Tobogganing tuesdays!Thanks to the great planning of the Leadership Group, our students want to keep experiencing the fun they had during the Winter Activity Days. So...back by popular demand, Mr. Watson will host Mantracker Monday's and Tobogganing Tuesday's for Grades 9-12 students. The first event will be Mantracker on Monday, March 1st for Grade 11 students (sorry Grade 12's....we can't cross cohorts...it'll be your turn next time). Tuesday, March 2nd will be Tobogganing for Grade 9 & 10 students. Mantracker participants meet outside the front office/front foyer by 12:15. Tobogganing participants, meet at the top of the bus ramp at 12:15.   Taking advantage of the weather!This past week the weather was mild. On this day, the wind was calm! That allowed Mrs. Bially to be outside AND take advantage of the school’s parachute. We appreciate our Phys. Ed. staff for being outside, embracing it, and providing our students with unique, engaging, & creative activities. Way to go, MAV’s! Class of 2021 Grad Gear coming soon...The Class of 2021 has decided on their Grad Gear vendor. We appreciate all your work and the decision making process required to arrive at your decision...nice work!! The next steps are getting samples in, creating an opening and closing date for the online store, and receiving the ordered goods four to five weeks later. Here's a look at the draft version of the online store. If you have questions, see Jana Olayan. Grad PHotos - the sequel!! Grad pictures have been confirmed for Thursday, April 29th & Friday, April 30th. We will let you know once online booking is open. A Grad update letter has been emailed to parents and is also available on our Website. If you have any Grad related questions, please send an email to morrisschoolgradinfo@rrvsd.ca . Snow much fun in the access classroom!!Over the past two weeks, the ACCESS class celebrated Festival du Voyageur virtually by cooking up some French Canadian traditional food. While we ate we listened to fiddle music, watched some Red River jigging and took in a bit of Festival’s online programming. We were also lucky enough to receive some fresh snow and made maple taffy by boiling down a cup of maple syrup and drizzling it onto a pan of packed, clean snow. We rolled it up on a spoon and enjoyed a sticky, sweet treat. Finally we fried up some pickerel (we pretended we caught it on our ill-fated ice fishing expedition) and even tried doing some traditional Metis beadwork. Even though most of the snow melted we were still able to try cross-country skiing and make snow sculptures! Mr. Nelson Norris was kind enough to come and demonstrate the tricks of his trade with our class. We shoveled snow into cardboard boxes to form the shapes and gave the snow a chance to harden. A few days later when it was colder again we built an inukshuk out of the pieces, made Snoopy and even carved our own owl sculpture. Thank you Mr. Norris for sharing your time and expertise with us! We are so lucky to have such kind and generous people in our community. He ho!    Pink shirt day a great reminder!Our school celebrated Pink Shirt Day this past Wednesday. Pink Shirt Day serves as a great reminder for all of us that bullying occurs and impacts numerous people in our school community and beyond. It also allows us to examine how we can have a role in not allowing it to happen by simply being kind and showing some empathy and tolerance to those who are different from us or those who we don't agree with on various topics! We appreciate our students and staff who try to practice this on a daily basis. attention grade 8 to 11 students: next year!! Although we have a few months left to close out this school year, the planning for the 2021-22 school year has begun. Part of that planning process is the Elective selection process for our Grades 8-11 students. Over the next few weeks, Mrs. Edel will be speaking to the group of 2021-22 Senior Years students about the elective courses they would like to take next year. Our course offerings for next year relies upon an accurate and timely selection of electives. Some courses will not be offered if the demand is too low, so it is important during this process to identify the courses you want to take next year. Please see Mrs. Edel or Mr. Watson if you have any questions. kindergarten registration Our school is currently accepting Kindergarten Registrations. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions we will not be hosting our annual Open House. If and when we are able to increase the number of guests in our school AND/OR the weather is nicer to host something outside, we will do so and keep you in the loop. In the meantime, our Kindergarten team of Mrs. Charron and Mrs. Harrison have created a slideshow that gives you some sense of what Kindergarten will look like for our students. If you click this link (https://rb.gy/mleurl) you will access the slideshow. For all those who register, Mrs. Harrison will contact each family directly to have a conversation as well as answer any questions you may have. She will also be providing each family with Kindergarten Readiness Kits sometime in the spring. We will promote this distribution event when we get closer to the date. In the meantime, please access our website or call our school if you are interested in registering for Kindergarten. grade 9 social studies - black history month The Grade 9 Social Studies class has been researching famous Canadians for Black History month and presenting their findings to the class. Here is an excerpt from Kiara Knott’s presentation on Lincoln Alexander: Lincoln MacCauley Alexander, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1985-1991 He was born in Toronto, Ontario on January 21st ,1922. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 19, 2014. He was 90 years old.
 cell phone foundThe Phone displayed below was found in the bush during Phys Ed class. It is an older iPhone with Blue Otterbox. It can be claimed at the office. There is no emergency information or Identifying photos, as the phone has a lock code. So...if you can show you can unlock the phone quickly, it's yours!  online storytelling continues...One of our "Artist in the School" storytellers is hosting an online event over the next couple of weekends to coincide with "I Love to Read" Month. The event is free and accessible via YouTube and Facebook (links to each can be accessed by clicking on the names of the platforms). We encourage families to experience some wonderful storytelling at one of the six upcoming events. Thank you to Mrs. Marla Brandt, principal at Lowe Farm for arranging this on our behalf!  Grade 7/8 Tactile Artistry origami projectsThe 7/8 Tactile Art students have been working hard on their origami skills over the last few weeks. Here are the final projects. Meghan's musingsOur AFM counselor, Mehgan, has provided us with a website that provides us some good information. The website can be accessed by clicking on this link: https://www.drugfreekidscanada.org/talkingcannabis/  K-6 parent survey - province of manitoba Kathryn Gerrard, Deputy Minister of MANITOBA’s FAMILIES asked that the survey below go out to Manitoban parents/guardians with children 0-12 years who use any child care arrangement to complete an online survey… The purpose of this survey is to hear directly from parents/guardians about their priorities for early learning and child care. The parent survey will be open for feedback from February 12, 2021 to March 1, 2021. Parents can complete the survey online at https://engagemb.ca/childcare-modernization The survey is also available in an alternate format upon request. Please contact engagechildcaremb@gov.mb.ca for more information. rail safety - be rail smart!Due to the proximity of your school to CN rail lines, the CN Police Service has identified Morris school as a priority for railway safety messaging. In 2020, there were 187 Incidents between Trains and Vehicles or Trespassers, within Canada, which resulted in 59 Fatalities and 38 Serious Injuries (Source: Transportation Safety Board). The CN Police Service's goal is to reduce the number of these incidents that occur along CN’s Rail lines, by focusing our educational initiatives and enforcement activities around CN’s network. We would ask our school community to refresh your knowledge and awareness of rail safety. The following documents can assist.         100 day has arrived!It's time to Celebrate! The 100th day of the 2020-21 school year has arrived! More importantly, it is a great way for Grades 1/2 teachers to celebrate the various mathematical concepts that can be taught using the number 100. From the very first day of school, classes begin keeping track of the number of days they've been in school in anticipation of the 100th day. It's this anticipation that is actually the first math lesson, as the days are often marked using coffee stirrers or Popsicle sticks, ten of which become a "ten bundle," paving the way to counting by tens and ones. We had various activities in our three, Grade 1/2 classes today. The pictures below are a good representation of some of those activities our students enjoyed today. Some of the celebrations had our students take a look at how they'd look when they turn 100! We'll have some great looking seniors in the year 2117! Way to go, MAV's! Winter activity day a big hit!Our Grades 9-12 students enjoyed a bit of break from Google Meets, socially distance indoor classroom seating, and the "grind" of academia to enjoy each other's company and the great outdoors! Thanks to the planning of our Student Leadership Group, Mrs. Edel, Mr. Lehmann, Mrs. Lucier, & many others, our students enjoyed some "Mantracker," tobogganing, and some skating on the community ODR. The originally scheduled date had to be adjusted due to our recent "Polar Vortex," but they picked two great dates as a replacement. It was great to see the smiles and our students enjoying the great outdoors! Way to go, MAV's! Grade 3/4's not to be outdoneOur Grade 3/4 classes also took to the outdoors this week and enjoyed some time on the ice and the toboggan hill. Fun was on the agenda for the hour each class spent over at the Stampede Grounds. Way to go, MAV's! updated calendars? bookmark school website We've had a few changes to our various school calendars due to the addition of inservice days. Please ensure you're up to date with when to show up (Kindergarten students, Grades 9-12, etc) by accessing the most recent calendars on our school website. The direct link to the site is here still accepting kindergarten registrations Our school is currently accepting Kindergarten Registrations. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions we will not be hosting our annual Open House. If and when we are able to increase the number of guests in our school AND/OR the weather is nicer to host something outside, we will do so and keep you in the loop. In the meantime, our Kindergarten team of Mrs. Charron and Mrs. Harrison have created a slideshow that gives you some sense of what Kindergarten will look like for our students. If you click this link (https://rb.gy/mleurl) you will access the slideshow. For all those who register, Mrs. Harrison will contact each family directly to have a conversation as well as answer any questions you may have. She will also be providing each family with Kindergarten Readiness Kits sometime in the spring. We will promote this distribution event when we get closer to the date. In the meantime, please access our website or call our school if you are interested in registering for Kindergarten. I love to read month gains momentum!From socially distant guest readers to "Reading is Better with a Buddy," to "Drop Everything & Read," our "I Love to Read Month" continues to gain momentum. We have a good number of students who are taking up the challenge and making February a great month to read! Thank you to Mrs. Dekezel for all her hard work, to our teachers for encouraging our students, and to our students for reading. The Bookmark competition is still running. Mrs. Dekezel says..."thank you for the beautiful bookmark entries for I Love to Read! Keep them coming in the next week and a winner will be announced at the end of the month. Way to Go, MAV's!   online storytelling opportunity (K-6)One of our "Artist in the School" storytellers is hosting an online event over the next couple of weekends to coincide with "I Love to Read" Month. The event is free and accessible via YouTube and Facebook (links to each can be accessed by clicking on the names of the platforms). We encourage families to experience some wonderful storytelling at one of the six upcoming events. Thank you to Mrs. Marla Brandt, principal at Lowe Farm for arranging this on our behalf! burn awareness weekLast week was Burn Awareness Week and the grade 7 and 8s are participating in the poster contest. They have been highlighting aspects of burn safety, as well as some common dangers. Here are a couple little known facts about children and burns:
Below you will find a poster created by our talented Grade 8 student, Drayden Adams! Way to go, MAV's!  Tactile Artistry - ORIGAMI projectOur Grades 7/8 Tactile Artistry class has been working with the art form of Origami recently. Zach H stopped by to show us the results of his labour! Way to go, MAV's!  Mehgan's Musings...      Happy Valentines Day from K-2!The Grades K-2 classes have been learning about kindness this February. For the last week we have been learning what a compliment is, how to give one, and how getting a compliment can make us feel. Each student is bringing home a special Valentine's Day Card made by their fellow classmates full of friendly messages! Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Birthday, Mrs. Skög!Mrs. Skög "celebrates" a fairly significant chronological event on Monday. Seeing as it's Louis Riel Day on Monday, it was decided today would be the day to celebrate Mrs. Skög's event at school! We know she'll just LOVE all the attention! We wish her all the best! Let's try this again!!The low temps and windchill factors are only temporary and not enough to curb the enthusiasm of our Senior Years Leadership Group. They've adapted and overcome to ensure our Winter Celebrations can still continue. Please see below for the new dates! Way to go, MAV's!   I love to read month is alive & well!Our students have jumped into I Love To Read Month with both feet!! From online guest readers, live guest readers, tally charts, Guess the Reader Contest, or Drop Everything & Read announcements, our students are engaged in the great act of reading! We applaud our teachers & students for their efforts, our parents for encouraging this worthy skill and passtime, and we thank the people who are making this month even more meaningful by offering their time to our school! Thank you & Way to Go, MAV's!! The 5/6 Petty class has invited several guest readers to join our class virtually throughout the month of February. Big thanks to all our guests for joining us!!! Feb. 4th - former Maverick Hillary Jorgenson Feb. 5th - Brody Jackson from QX104 FM Feb. 12th - local country artist Jayarre Charron Feb. 19th - Terri Apostle from CTV News Winnipeg Feb. 26th - former Maverick and current Humboldt Bronco Justin Keck 5/6 Petty thanks Mrs. Dekezel and Mr. Waldner for scanning some books for our guest readers!  Contests/Challenges from the library!  KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR 2021-22 Our school is currently accepting Kindergarten Registrations. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions we will not be hosting our annual Open House. If and when we are able to increase the number of guests in our school AND/OR the weather is nicer to host something outside, we will do so and keep you in the loop. In the meantime, our Kindergarten team of Mrs. Charron and Mrs. Harrison have created a slideshow that gives you some sense of what Kindergarten will look like for our students. If you click this link (https://rb.gy/mleurl) you will access the slideshow. For all those who register, Mrs. Harrison will contact each family directly to have a conversation as well as answer any questions you may have. She will also be providing each family with Kindergarten Readiness Kits sometime in the spring. We will promote this distribution event when we get closer to the date. In the meantime, please access our website or call our school if you are interested in registering for Kindergarten. consider supporting our grad fundraiserThe Morris School Class of 2021 is running a fundraiser through Mom's Pantry. If you are interested in ordering, please contact a Grad! Deadline to order is February 26.  speaking of grad...post-secondary open houses   Grades 9-12 Semester 1 report cards are out! Reminder to parents that report cards were sent out via email today. Please let the office know if you are missing yours. Please note that excused absences, including Remote Learning days, will be included in the total absent days on your students report cards. To all high school students and parents: There has been an adjustment to the Cohort Calendar. This calendar, along with any other updates, can be found on our Morris School website. Thank you to Ms. Denny LeBlanc, Mrs. Crystal Legary, & Mrs. Julie Huska for all their work in keeping things organized in the office and for coordinating events like report card deadlines & distribution! We appreciate all you do!   summer employment opportunity New club in Grade 7 & 8!There will be a Dungeons and Dragons club starting up in the 7/8 cohort. Dungeon Master Ryan Dueck is looking for players to join. Dungeons and Dragons is a role playing adventure game. Customize your adventurers and pit them against the dangers that the DM has in store for you! Slay monstrous creatures, take your share of the treasure, and procure rare magical items, all the while advancing your character's abilities! If you are interested in playing please speak to Ryan Dueck, or Seth Clace. COVID-19 restrictions will be in place: masks are mandatory, players touch their own miniatures and dice only, and spacing must be adhered to. The club will meet once a week at lunch - start time and day to be determined. Club will be supervised by Mr. Stevenson.   Morris School is currently selling yearbooks. The sale is online. Morris School Yearbook ID Code: 13774321 Deadline June 18, 2021 A yearbook costs $35 each       kindergarten class meet community helpers!The Kindergarten students have recently been learning all about community helpers! We have read books, shared stories and talked about many different types of community helpers and recognized community helpers that we know. We have had two special guests recently: Pat Schmitke came to our class to teach us how grocery stores are run, and Jeff Hamblin came in to teach us about farming. Soon we'll be making portraits of what the students want to be when they are grown up! kindergarten registrations welcome! Mock trials in session @ Morris School! Over the past week, the 40S Law students were able to put their theoretical knowledge into practical use! They engaged in three different Mock Trials. In the first trial, the Defense Lawyers managed to get an acquittal of their client who was accused of Theft Under $5000. In the second trial, the Jury deliberated for a long time, but ended up finding the accused to be guilty of Robbery, and not guilty of Assault Causing Bodily Harm. In the third case today, we will find out if the accused is guilty or not guilty of Assault, Theft and Uttering Threats! Stay tuned for the verdict. winter activity day for Senior Years Students All High School students are invited to join the Maverick Leadership team in a celebration of the conclusion of 1st semester Maverick Winter Activity Day: weather permitting for all grade 9-12 students. Grade 11/12’s On Wednesday, February 10th. Grade 9/10’s On Thursday, February 11th. There will be regular classes first and then the activities will start at 11:00 am. Please bring your winter gear to dress for outdoor activities. We will be playing games and going sledding and to the outdoor rink. Please bring skates, helmets, and sleds for the toboggan hill. There will be prizes for the best-decorated helmets. Masks will need to be worn.  black history month February is Black History Month and the 7/8s are learning about American Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman. Amanda recently delivered her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the recent inauguration of President Joe Biden. It is an intensely powerful, moving, and hopeful poem. Students are delving into the poem, both in terms of its content and the writing strategies that Amanda uses so effectively. She writes "We've learned that quiet isn't always peace and the norms and notions of what just is isn't always justice." Addressing her fellow Americans, she writes "We the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one." If you would like to know more about Amanda, or read her entire poem, follow this link: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/amanda-gorman-inaugural-poem-transcript/index.html vocational programs - semester 2 start date!
Grades 1/2 celebrate groundhog day!Ms. Yeats' Grade 1/2 class did their own Groundhog Day predictions (the groundhogs saw their shadows so 6 more weeks of winter) while exploring the concept of shadows. Although most won't be happy with the results of the "Groundhogs," we are still proud of you! Way to go, MAV's! Apologies for the partial photos. Rectangular photos don't fit well into square placeholders!?!  A poem to ponder! Mr. Stevenson has shared a poem that Liam Wilson wrote and presented to the grade 8B class. Congrats on your creative composition!  An outdoor experience for the access classMr. Lehmann was once again a great guide and showed us how to safely make a fire. We collected dry wood and found a clear, yet sheltered spot out of the cold blustery wind. He built a platform and showed us how to use a cotton ball with Vaseline as a quick lighting, slow burning starter. We also tried a flint for the first time. We liked how the fire burned down into the snow but didn’t go out, and of course the hotdogs and s’mores we roasted over the fire. Thanks again, Mr. Lehmann! It finally snowed so we tried another new activity, snowshoeing! It was fun unless our snowshoes fell off. Then it was frustrating, so make sure you get a good fit before you start. You can try snowshoeing too! Snowshoe rentals are now available through the Morris Area Recreation Commission. Check it out @ www.townofmorris.ca/registration/product/snowshoe-rentals/ Have fun enjoying the outdoors!   thinking about post-secondary schools?   equity events organized by studentsOur school received the following letter and event notices by a Grade 9 student from Kelvin High School in Winnipeg who has started an organization that focuses on global gender equity. The events are free and open to all students, staff, and parents throughout the province. The reasons this appears in the Morris School blog are many. The first being to support our youth who look to use their time to improve our world and raise awareness of issues that need to be further developed, explored, and improved. The second reason is to allow our Morris students the opportunity to attend the virtual events as well as see that they too can make a difference in the world as students. They do not have to wait to be an adult to make some type of change.    |
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