Orange Shirt Day - September 30Morris School is encouraging our students to support Orange Shirt Day on Wednesday, September 30. Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School (1891-1981) Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in May 2013. As spokesperson for the Reunion group leading up to the events, former student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad told her story of her first day at residential school when her shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her as a six-year old girl. By wearing an orange shirt on Wednesday, our students are wearing a symbol of their solidarity with former Residential School students. A lesson learned in Canadian History we never want to forget or repeat. For those interested, more information can found at https://www.orangeshirtday.org. School photos - October 7 & 8Class of 2021 - Grad Photos - November 19 & 20We want to give those people who need to book hair appointments (the author doesn't have that issue) of the Class of 2021's Grad Photo Days. More information will be available soon. Keep your eyes on the blog as well as our social media accounts for more information when it becomes available. Immunizations - let's try that again!?!So...the intention of this article in last week's blog was to inform Grade 6-9 parents of their student's upcoming immunization day. Our public health personnel will be here on Tuesday, October 13th to immunize our students in the first of two rounds for this school year. The second round will be in the spring. All students should have received an information package. If not, please call the school office. Has your contact information changed?After experiencing our water main break this week, we have found that some of our contact information isn't completely accurate. It's ironic that the link to this blog entry will be sent via email that could be incorrect, BUT if you have a new address, phone number (home or cell), or email address, please let the school know. It is also important that we are informed if your emergency contact has changed as well, whether that be the actual person or their contact information. Thank you, in advance, for your assistance. Terry Fox - coming soon...Be on the lookout for more information regarding how Morris School will be involved with the Terry Fox Run this year. It is our goal to continue our tradition of participating in this worthwhile cause while still doing our best to follow the safety protocols we have in place during this point in our history. mask clarification - Province of ManitobaThe Province of Manitoba has clarified the type of mask we can wear at school. The biggest changes in the document that is attached with the email to this week's link to our school blog includes... A face shield is not a replacement for a non-medical mask. Masks should have two or more layers of tightly woven fabric, completely cover the nose and mouth, and fit snugly against the sides of the face without gaps. Neck gaiters, buffs, and neck fleeces are not recommended in place of a mask, as they are not designed as a non-medical mask and their effectiveness is unknown at this time. A mask can be either a non-medical reusable cloth mask or a disposable mask. We would ask all families to review the document and do their best to use it as a guide. If your student can't find a mask that follows the suggested protocols, the school will provide your student with a mask. Stay home if you're sick - a guide in a graphicWe would like to thank our entire school community for their understanding, flexibility, and adaptability over the first few weeks of school. We are definitely living and learning at Morris School on a daily basis...students and staff alike. Thanks to a friend of the authors who works at Ryerson Elementary School in Winnipeg, the following graphic helps to represent some guidance for parents. With the anticipated cold & flu season it is important to understand what the school has been asked to do by our public health officials in the event we have a student in our classrooms who displays symptoms. We would ask that our parents to continue to screen their students prior to attending school each day. If you have questions, the best source is Health Links. Their toll free number is 1.888.315.9257. Welcome to Morris School!We would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new teaching staff to Morris School. Alphabetically speaking, we welcome Mr. Justin Antoski, Mr. Daniel Lehmann, Ms. Jozie Mahara, and Ms. Ainsley Wray. Mr. Antoski has been hired by the division to act as a surplus teacher to cover any teacher absences at Albright, Lowe Form, and Morris schools. Mr. Antoski is based out of Morris School and has been a tremendous help thus far. This is Mr. Antoski's first role after earning his Education degree. Mr. Lehmann is helping us with Grades 5-12 Physical Education and Health, Grade 12 Geography, & Law. Mr. Lehmann comes to Morris School with approximately 6 years of teaching experience including Gilbert Plains, Carman, & Winnipeg. Ms. Mahara has taken on the role of our fourth Grade 3/4 teacher. Ms. Mahara spent her first year after graduating subbing in the Hanover School Division. Ms. Wray has an assignment for the creative individual. She is teaching our Grades 7-12 Visual Arts, Grades 7-10 Drama, and Grade 10 ELA. Ms. Wray is a recent Education Faculty grad. I know our community will do its best to welcome and support our new teaching staff. Next week's blog will feature new support staff in our building. School Photos approachingOur annual school photos will be taking place Wednesday, October 7 & Thursday, October 8. A schedule will be set up so each grade level and class will know what day they will have their photos taken. Our photographers, Lifetouch, want you to know how they have prepared to take our photos as well as keep everyone safe. Their Youtube video can be viewed here. Additional information can be found here. School immunizationsAnother tutoring opportunity!Welcome back everyone!A school is not a school unless there are students in it. This week we were excited to see all of those "eyes" (not completed faces, but we'll take what we can get)!! Our staff worked very hard to ensure we made our students feel welcome and safe. We had to balance teaching and learning the new protocols in place as well as establishing our normal routines and getting start on academics. Our first week is complete and we believe that everyday got a little better for the majority of our community. We will work on improving some aspects of our day, but overall Morris School appreciates our students and staff for how well they have adapted to what has been placed in front of them. As our days progress, we will all be more comfortable and clear about what is expected and then we can start looking at what else can be done, beyond the basics, as a school community. We appreciate everyone's understanding and patience as we continue to navigate through this together. Way to Go, MAV's!! Mystery artist(s) gr8tly appreciated!!Sometime between 4 pm Labour Day and 8 am Tuesday, September 8th we had an artist or artists invade our school grounds delivering positive messages for our students. We appreciate your kind and warm salutations. It can be said that many students and staff noticed this gesture. Thank you for making our school a better place!! Maverick Media kicks off at Morris School!Our school has an exciting new venture to announce. Based on some feedback and guidance from our neighbouring school in Rosenort, we have launched Maverick Media to the world this week. We've started with some basic announcements, but the plan is to do our first live, student announced show on Monday morning (September 14th). As you can also tell by the image associated with this article, we are working to develop a logo for our new undertaking as well as many other aspects to be unveiled as the school year progresses. Under the leadership and guidance of Mr. Tony Lopez as well as the Grade 9 and 10 GCT class, and the on air talent of our Grade 7 & 8 students, our Maverick Media outlet is looking to give ownership to our morning announcements to our students, highlight people and programs within our school community, and to bring some additional school spirit to our day! If you feel you have a Maverick Media worthy story, please see Mr. Lopez (or any staff member for that matter) and we will do our best to pursue it and get it to the "masses" within the Morris School community. Maverick Media can be accessed by clicking HERE. Our daily telecast will occur immediately following O'Canada in and around 8:51 AM. If you can't catch the live show, all shows will be archived on our Youtube channel. From our Guidance Counselors...Dear Families, On behalf of the Morris School Guidance Department, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your children back to school! We are looking forward to working with each of them. As the past 6 months have brought much uncertainty for our families, it is our belief that social emotional support systems will be more important than ever this school year. As Guidance Counselors, it is our primary responsibility to support the social-emotional development of all of our K to 12 students. Our goal is to advocate for all students in the K to 12 community and to support them with counselling to work through overwhelming feelings. We hope to help our students continue to develop strategies to build greater resiliency. Kindergarten to Grade 6 Guidance - Amy Charron: I am so excited to return to the role of K-6 Guidance this year, in addition to my role as Kindergarten Teacher! Some of you I have met in the past two years while I have been working in Morris School in different positions, and I look forward to connecting with you again. For those of you I have not yet met, I wanted to reach out to let you know I am available and eager to support you and your families. Grade 7 to Grade 12 Guidance- Laurie Edel: Many of you know me from school and community. I have taught and supported students as our grade 7-12 Guidance Counselor for the past six years. Working with students in career and mental health supports are my primary roles. We are so excited to work with your children, and we are looking forward to having a great school year! If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call or email one of us at any time. All the best, Amy Charron Lauren Edel K-6 Guidance 7-12 Guidance [email protected]a [email protected] 204-746-2612 ext. 3294 204-746-2612 ext. 3227 Drop Offs & Pick upsAs we start the new school year, there have been many changes to ensure we are following Provincial and Divisional protocols. One thing that hasn't changed, but may be new for some members of our school community is our Kindergarten to Grade 4 drop-off & pick-up procedures. A number of students are driven to school. In order to maintain a good flow of traffic, our school relies upon the circle at the end of Toronto Avenue to remain clear. Those who stop there to "quickly" drop off their students disrupt the traffic flow significantly. We would ask everyone to keep the circle clear. You can achieve this by not parking any further east than the east end of our school building. That will ensure everyone can access the circle turnaround freely. The start to our mornings - a new normalAs per our Return to School plan, we would ask that families to ensure they are screening their students prior to bringing/sending them to school. Please access the Shared Health Screening tool at https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool/ to conduct a daily screening. By completing this on a daily basis you will keep all members of our school community safe AND receive guidance from trained professionals on next steps if (we hope there never is an IF) you need to take further action. Morris School - Cash onlineWe want to apologize for the delay of placing specific fees on our Cash Online system. With suspension of some activities and adjustments to others, we wanted to ensure we got it right. It is anticipated that more and more fees will be placed online as the month progresses and we make decision on the programs that are running and what charges will be associated with them. As per our blog entry at the end of the last school year.... A variety of fees will be due during the upcoming school year (Student Fees, Art Supplies, Band Fees, Hockey Academy, Sport Team Registrations, etc.) at Morris School. The Red River Valley School Division has an online payment system that can be accessed via the school's website (https://morris.rrvsd.ca) to conveniently pay for these fees. You can find it under the For Parents menu item. It is called School Cash. Your ability to pay online assists our front office staff as it reduces the amount of cash (bills & change) and cheques on a daily basis. This allows our front office staff to directly serve our students and staff more effectively. In addition, due to the most recent COVID-19 health & safety recommendations, our previous encouragement to use the School Cash payment method as your main method of payments has been adjusted to a requirement. We don't want to have our staff handling cash or cheques in the office. The School Cash allows us the opportunity to follow those protocols. Please contact Mr. Watson if you have any questions or would like some assistance getting set up on School Cash if you are not already. Breakfast club starts MondayThanks to the generosity of our benefactors, our vendors, and our school volunteers, we are happy to start up Morris School's Breakfast Club program again this year. Our school's belief is in line with the Breakfast Club of Canada's... We Believe We believe all Canadian children deserve an equal chance at success. We believe a child can not learn on an empty stomach. We believe a healthy breakfast can change a life, a journey, a society. With the changes to some health and safety protocols, we have adjusted how we will deliver our program this year. As we are experiencing with a number of program deliveries this year, how we do things may change, but what and why we do it will not. Our school's canteen is also looking to open soon as well. Stay tuned for more information as the days progress. A message from canadian optometristsPresent research confirms the importance of vision and eye health on students’ learning. According to statistics provided by the Canadian Association of Optometrists, four out of every ten school-aged children have a vision problem that may negatively affect learning. Children who cannot see the board clearly, focus on a picture, or follow words in a book may not be able to reach their full potential. Manitoba Health covers the cost of children’s comprehensive eye examinations, therefore all families can access this free service. If you don’t currently have a family optometrist, you can find one by going to the MAO website at http://optometrists.mb.ca/find-an-optometrist.cfm and selecting Find an Optometrist, or call the Manitoba Association of Optometrists @ 204-943-9811. Voluntarily student accident insuranceThree attachments have been added to the email that included the link to this week's blog. The attachments were a Voluntary Student Accident digital brochure, as well as a letter to parents and a sheet of plan highlights to share. Social Media WarningOur school received the following email from our Divisional Student Services Administrator, Jaclyn Koskie this week... I want to bring to your attention a disturbing video of a suicide that is currently circulating on TikTok and other social media platforms. The video is extremely graphic and the content is highly distressing. Social media platforms are warning people not to watch a video that begins with the image of a man with a grey beard sitting in front of a desk. Additionally, the video clip has also been hidden inside other videos that appear unrelated so exercise caution watching any video content. TikTok and other social media platforms are working to remove the video and to prevent sharing. |
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