Students busy at work!!With our first week of suspended classes finishing up, we would like to congratulate all the staff and students for their work this week. It's definitely been a different experience, but we have adjusted as best we can and made it work! We are proud of everyone's efforts. Here's just a few examples of what's been going on in our Morris School Community. Welcome back, Mrs. FisherMorris School is excited to welcome back Mrs. Marylyn Fisher. Mrs. Fisher was on leave. She will resume her role as our Early Years' Guidance counselor. Her official return date is Monday, April 6. She is excited to reconnect with our K-6 students as soon as possible. Welcome back, Mrs. Fisher. We would like to thank Mrs. Charron for her work in Early Years' Guidance during Mrs. Fisher's absence. We are lucky enough to have Mrs. Charron stay in our building as she is also teaching Grade 5/6 and 7/8 Physical Education/Health this semester. Guidance has a google classroomIn addition the documents attached in the last email sent to the Morris School community, Guidance counselors wanted to make you aware of a Guidance Google Classroom that has been set up. The code to join is 6wcrk3v. Both students and parents are encouraged to join. Homeroom Class Feedback request (Grades K-7)As a school team, we will begin the creation of class lists for the Grades 1-8 classes for the 2020-21 school year. We anticipate having the following number of classes next year: Kindergarten: 2 Grades 1/2: 3 Grades 3/4: 3 Grades 5/6: 3 Grades 7/8: 3 Staffing has not been finalized, but we anticipate some teachers moving from one grade to another next year due to the number of Grade 3/4 classes increasing. A variety of factors will be considered in each split grade classroom. One of the factors we consider is recommendations from parents. To be clear, we will consider parent recommendations as it pertains to a student who you feel your student would benefit by having in their class. We will not entertain teacher requests. As a school team, we will do our best to honour your requests. Please email Mr. Watson your requests. If you have any questions, please see Mr. Watson. musicians rewarded for their talents & work!Grade 9 student, Mikayla Wiebe and Grade 10 student, Jill Kolodka were awarded scholarships and invited to represent Morris School in a day of music making with the community band from Roland, MB this past Saturday the 14th. They spent the entire day learning brand new music with musicians of all ages and levels, and finished the day off with an evening concert to show off their hard work. Congratulations, ladies! I.C.E. Presentation available onlineMorris and Rosenort School had planned to host a speaker from the RCMP's Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit, but with our suspended classes, the presentation has been postponed. Constable RG Olson was good enough to send a digital copy of his presentation from an event hosted for parents at Springs Church in Winnipeg. It is similar to the presentation he gives to students, with a few changes based on his audience...like a good speaker does. The link to the presentation is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFTgJV1WSsY Contact information - is yours up-to-date?As we have gone through the week of suspended classes, we have had a number of incorrect addresses, phone numbers, etc. uncovered. We would ask all parents to contact Ms. Danielle (Denny) LeBlanc to provide the school with your updated contact information. Denny can be reached at [email protected] or 204.746.2612 ext 3222. Gifted & generous student adds to the libraryOne of our Morris School students, Chloe, has an amazing talent and a generous spirit. Not only did she create the awesome work of art in this photo, but she gifted it to Mrs. Dekezel in the library! Not only it is a great piece of art, but it sends an important message. We are proud to have students like Chloe in our school!! Thank you, Chloe! Mehgan's MusingsAddictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM) In partnership with Red River Valley School Division Writer: Mehgan Smith, AFM Youth Counsellor I am reaching out to all students, staff and families during this time to acknowledge that there have been many changes for all of us but that we are not alone. Naturally, with change comes stress and with the unknown comes anxiety. Coping with alcohol or other drugs is not an effective way to deal with difficult emotions and stress. This may help in the short term but cause difficulty over the long term. Counsellors can work with you on harm reduction strategies, navigate resources and abstinence based programs and offer compassion and validation. Services are confidential and non-judgmental. RRVSD Support staff including myself are available via email. Now is the time to use our healthy coping strategies and stress management tools to help us get through this time together. Connect with others whenever possible. Please try to be patient with each other and be kind. There are many educational resources available online through sites such as Anxiety Disorders Association of Manitoba (ADAM) http://www.adam.mb.ca/ and AFM http://afm.mb.ca/. Please take care of yourselves. I encourage you to continue to practice self-care and self-love. We are going to get through this. AFM School-based Services Concerns about drugs, alcohol or gambling can start at an early age. They can have a huge impact on health, safety, and well-being. AFM counsellors (some based in schools and others in community offices) provide information on alcohol, drugs, and gambling. We also help if you’d like to make healthier lifestyle choices in these areas. We talk to youth ages 12-18 about their own use, as well as use by friends, family, and other loved ones. Parents and caregivers can also talk to us about their concerns. AFM counsellors offer via email and phone at this time:
SIGNS THERE MAY BE A CONCERN WITH ALCOHOL, DRUGS OR GAMBLING
Please email if you are needing support or just want to check-in and say hi. Please note: I will not be available March 24 through to April 6, 2020. I return to work Tuesday, April 7. Mehgan’s AFM email: [email protected] or [email protected] Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursdays Other school supports available:
Reference – AFM School-based pamphlet: https://afm.mb.ca/publications/afm-services-school-and-community-based-youth-services/ For general information, visit the AFM website: www.afm.mb.ca For information on Cannabis, visit our new website: www.weedingoutthefacts.ca One of our own recognized with an award!We’ve been a bit distracted so we are late in CONGRATULATING Hillary Jorgenson for being awarded the Manitoba School Board Association’s Student Citizenship Award for Region 2. Hillary is our Student Leadership Group President and was recognized for her service within our school and greater community. Congratulations Hillary! March 18Schoolwork Pick up Hours
The school is open from 8 am until 4 pm for parents to pick up work for the remainder of the week (Wednesday to Friday inclusive). Teacher Contact To ensure we maintain the relationships that have been built over the last school year , our teachers will be in direct contact with families and students over the time classes are suspended. Homeroom teachers will be contacting students and families in a variety of ways (phone, email, google classroom/hangouts or other technologies). March 17 updateInformation is constantly being updated, so things may change. The division website (https://www.rrvsd.ca) is doing their best to keep up-to-date. We will post some of those updates, but the division website is a great source of information. Students Working While at Home This Week As per our message yesterday, teachers may not yet be able to provide take home materials for the families of students who have chosen to be away from school today (or this week) as they are busy teaching the students who are in attendance and when they are not teaching, they are working to prepare material for the two weeks where classes are suspended. We want to ensure teachers prepare materials that are accessible to all and can be completed by all students. Information will be available by the end of the day on Friday, March 20. Some teachers may communicate with their respective parents sooner than Friday, others may need the weekend to ensure the materials are completed. Either way, teachers will communicate their plans to you directly. Locker Clean Up We will be cleaning lockers while the students are away, so we would ask for all students to clean out their lockers by the end of the day on Thursday. Those lockers not cleaned out will be cleared and contents put into a labeled garbage bag and into the students' homeroom class or closest classroom to your student's locker. Last Day of Classes this week...Thursday, March 19 There may be some confusion based on what the Province has been telling the public and what the Red River Valley School Division Calendar indicates. The last day of school this week for Morris School students is Thursday, March 19th. The following day is an in-service day/admin day at the school. Students have the day off as per our previously posted schedule. Milk Program The Milk program in K-6 has been suspended until further notice. Book Fair The Scholastic Book Fair is going on as planned, with the exception of Thursday evening in keeping with no extra-curricular activities after school and no parent/teacher conferences. Phone Issue We have recently uncovered an issue we've been having with our phones regarding our voicemail system. Voicemails were being allowed to be left, but the phone was not indicating anyone in our school had a voicemail. The system is currently being worked on and we hope to have it rectified within the next 24 hours. Some additional resources...MARCH 16 UPDATEInformation is constantly being updated, so things may change. The division website (https://www.rrvsd.ca) is doing their best to keep up-to-date.
However, here are a few things to update you after our day at Morris school...
From our superintendent...On Friday, March 13, Mr. Brad Curtis (RRVSD Superintendent) sent the following information to us and asked us to send to parents... This afternoon the Premier of Manitoba announced that all schools in Manitoba will be closed to students from March 23rd to April 12th. After consultation with all school divisions in Manitoba and the Chief Medical Officer of Manitoba, all schools in Red River Valley School Division will be proceeding in the following manner: Parents/Guardians: if you feel that you want to keep your children at home for health reasons, that is your decision to make and we respect that choice. Please inform the school in the manner that you usually would for attendance purposes. Students will not suffer consequences for absences from school during this time. For the week of March 16th to March 20th; all schools will only be delivering regular classroom instruction for students. That is, there won't be any: before school programs, after school programs, extra curricular programs, practices for any sports teams. Outside school groups will not be allowed access to any schools until further notice. As of today, daycares in schools will continue to operate until further notice. A remote meeting will be held on Monday morning at 10:00 am with Principals and Department Managers to discuss future plans. Communication will be constant, as things are rapidly changing each day/hour. On that note, I will refer you to the website link given below for the most up to date information from Manitoba Health. Please use it and share it.\ https://www.manitoba.ca/health/coronavirus/public.html#11 WE are in the education business. Let's make sure we ALL do our part to educate everyone that we are around. Thanks for your help. Brad Curtis Superintendent/CEO RRVSD Morris, Mb. 204-746-2317 ext. 2225 This afternoon, he sent the following update... More information to follow...Seeing as this is a very fluid and active time, information will be changing quickly. Please consult the blog, our social media, or our school's website to keep as up-to-date as we can keep you as it pertains to Morris School. Our teachers will also be working to organize their courses in such a way as to allow your students to keep progressing while they do so from home. We will rely on our teaching staff to communicate their plans to all of you via email. In the meantime, there are some excellent ideas and resources below that may act as an active and stimulating way to spend some time while your student(s) is(are) away from school. Scholastic offering free resources whiles schools are closed: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/resources/scholastic-learn-at-home--free-resources-for-school-closures.html# Virtual tours of many famous museums around the world. https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours The following came from Kim Jones McClelland via Mrs. Marla Brandt (Lowe Farm School Principal)... Teacher friends & parents, who may be thinking about how they are going to plan to deliver education over the next number of weeks. Here is a really great list I found in a Principal’s group that DOES NOT require technology and the internet. Now that many schools are closed, I've got some suggestions for fun, meaningful, and generally tech-free learning opportunities (especially for elementary schoolers):
STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math scholastic book fair - coming soon!The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the School Library beginning Monday, March 16th and running to Friday, March 20th. The Book Fair will be open the evening of Thursday, March 19th during Parent/Teacher Conferences and Friday morning as well. Be sure to drop by and check out the newest Scholastic releases and support this Library fundraiser. The library will add new books for our students' enjoyment based on sales. Don't forget to enter the family draw for $25 of free books for your students and $25 of free books for your student's classroom. March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness MonthCerebral Palsy Awareness Month Tyson Hamel is a Grade 6 student at Morris School. His little brother, Shawn, has Cerebral Palsy. Tyson decided he would like to raise awareness for CP and his little brother Shawn. Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disability that affects thousands of children and adults worldwide. March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, which allows us to celebrate and educate others about the disorder. Green is associated with new growth, vibrant lives, and renewal of life. Because thousands of children are affected by cerebral palsy, and a new generation of adults is navigating the world with this disorder, green seems to be the perfect match! Please join us in wearing green this Thursday!!! Town Bus runs coming to a closeThe last town bus runs will be Thursday, March 19. class of 2020 - grad photosThis year's Grad Photo Session will be Friday, March 20. Students can find out more information in the office. It is a day off school, so students need plan appropriately to ensure they book and make their scheduled photo session as there won't be any buses running that day. Covid-19 and your student(s)With all the cancellations of sporting events and the professional leagues around the continent as well as the media coverage dealing with the COVID-19 virus, it is adjusting our students focus and eroding some of the "normal" from their school day. We acknowledge this and are doing our best to assist our students as they learn about the virus and ways they can contribute to keeping themselves, their classmates, and their family members safe. Mrs. Charron, our early years guidance counsellor shared an email from group from gozen.com. According to their website, GoZen! creates online social and emotional learning programs loved by kids ages 5-15, parents, professionals, and schools. If you or your students are feeling anxious about what's going on in the world right now, please find our latest blog with interviews from Dr. Laura Markham, Dr. Shefali Tsabary, and Natasha Daniels. These experts provide amazing advice on navigating through this experience with strength and self-compassion. The link to the video is: https://gozen.com/coronavirus-anxiety/ morris school students bring home the 'ship!A contingent of our Morris School community helped their hockey team capture the Pembina Valley Region's Peewee Silver B Championship banner recently. Congratulations to the group on your achievement. Congratulations to the following Morris School students: Ethan Funk Zach Hamblin Brayden Hansen Sam Johnston Nazar Khlyvniuk Ethan Lamotte Nic Leflar Brennan Sabourin Jax Sanders Scott Saurette Logan Siemens Tyson Wiebe parent-teacher conferences - March 19 & 20Our semi-annual parent teacher conferences will take place on the evening of Thursday, March 19 and the morning of Friday, March 20. The date has been adjusted slightly to coincide more with the K-8 report cards that were sent home recently. Our Grades 9-12 students are only four or five weeks into their second semester. The timing of this round of parent-teacher conferences is a great time for parents and guardians of Senior Years' students to check in with your student's teacher early to ensure a great start to the second semester. Online conference sign up will start on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 am. Conference sign ups will close on Wednesday, March 18 at 6 pm. To sign up or log in to book your conference(s), please go to https://morris-rrvsd.schoolsoft.com/login.jsf Scholastic book fair - coming soon!!The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the School Library beginning Monday, March 16th and running to Friday, March 20th. The Book Fair will be open the evening of Thursday, March 19th during Parent/Teacher Conferences and Friday morning as well. Be sure to drop by and check out the newest Scholastic releases and support this Library fundraiser. The library will add new books for our students' enjoyment based on sales. Don't forget to enter the family draw for $25 of free books for your students and $25 of free books for your student's classroom. attn: Class of 2020 - Grad photos - March 20This year's first Grad Photo Session will be Friday, March 20. Students can find out more information in the office. It is a day off school, so students need plan appropriately to ensure they book and make their scheduled photo session as there won't be any buses running that day. Maverick Athletics updateThe Grade 7/8 boys basketball team travels to Starbuck on Wednesday to play in the Red River Valley Athletic Association (RRVAA) final on Wednesday. Good luck to the team! A reminder to all Maverick basketball players to hand in your jerseys to your coach or Mrs Kurylko. Grade 7/8 badminton sign up is posted beside Mrs Skög’s office. Practices will begin at lunch in the coming weeks, listen to announcements for details. High school badminton will also start school soon listen to announcements for details. Any Grade 10-12 baseball players interested in playing high school baseball this spring...there will be a meeting on Monday at noon in the gym. Our wrestling team competed at the West Kildonan Wolverine Open this weekend. A total of seven Maverick wrestlers competed. Tyson Funk, Emma Knelsen and Katie McLachlan earned gold medals. Hannah Klassen and Alexis Wiebe earned silver medals. Tristan McLachlan earned a bronze medal for his performance. Achilles Funk wrestled really tough and finished fourth in his weight class. The team turns their focus to the Provincial Wrestling Championships on March 18 in Winkler. Way to go, MAV's! Good luck! Our Maverick Hockey team has qualified for the A/AA Provincial Championships this week in Rivers this week. Our boys are scheduled to play their pool play games on Thursday at 1:30 and 5:30 against host team and the Killarney/Wawanesa Co-op team respectively. Good luck to the team as they represent us on the Provincial stage. jazz band performs at YFC banquetCongratulations to the Morris School Jazz Band for their performance at the YFC Banquet this past weekend. The group should be very proud of their hard work, commitment to extra rehearsals, and a great performance. The large crowd had lots of great compliments to share and enjoyed the music! Way to go, MAV's!! I love to read month closes in styleAs "I Love to Read" month comes to a close, we need to celebrate one of Morris School's quiet heroes who works behind the scenes to make the month memorable. Mrs. Cindy Smith bakes ... and bakes ... and bakes. To the tune of 23 dozen "I Love to Read" cookies that are enjoyed by all the K to 6 students. Thank you Mrs. Smith for being so willing to help out and share your talents with us every February! We would also like to thank Mrs. Dekezel and all the staff who made this a priority in the library and their classrooms over the month! Readers are leaders! Grade 8 - 11 students...next year is calling!This past week, Mrs. Edel met with Grade 8 to 11 students regarding their course selections for next year. This was an important meeting as it will assist with planning timetables for the 2020-21 school year for the Senior Years' students. I would ask that parents have conversations with their students about their elective choices to ensure they are selecting courses they require to meet their academic goals as well as courses they enjoy. The Process
Please let Mrs. Edel or Mr. Watson know if you have any questions. Movie night this week...Morris School's Student Leadership Group will be hosting a Movie Night this week for our K-8 students. students attend leadership conferenceThree of our Senior Years students attended the Educating For ACTion conference hosted Manitoba Association of School Superintendents (MASS). Thanks to the Red River Valley School Division, our students and two faculty (Mrs. Clayton and Mrs. Edel) listed to keynote speakers and attended a variety of sessions focused on Teachers as Learners and Students as Learners. yIP goes to the Twisters game!Our Youth In Philanthropy (YIP) student group worked at the Twisters game this past week. YIP ran the 50/50. A huge thanks to Pat and the Twister organization for giving YIP this opportunity. The money raised at the 50/50 will go to support organizations (local or beyond) who required financial support to meet their organizational goals. mehgan's musings - a contest! |
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