Literacy Week Begins – a paper copy of the schedule was sent home on “salmon” coloured paper on Friday.  The schedule is also available on our new website under Literacy Week.  Everyday has an event beginning with an assembly today.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Dragon

Tuesday

PAC Meeting Tonight at 7 pmin the Multi-Purpose Room

Wednesday

Christmas – 11 months and counting . . . .

Thursday

Journey Transition – Our French Grade Five classes are going to Middle School today to experience what it will be like to be a Journey Dragon.

Field Trip – All three of our Kindergarten classes will be skating today at SEAPARC as part of their P.E. program.

Kindergarten Information Evening – Please pass on an invitation to all parents who have children registering for Kindergarten in September 2012 to attend our Information Evening tonight at 7 pm.  This is an opportunity to find out the expectations are for children entering school and ask questions about English and French programs.  Kindergarten registration begins at 8 am sharp, Monday, January 30.

 Friday

PAC Pizza Day – This is our rescheduled pizza day from last week.  All students who had ordered for last Friday will be served a pizza lunch today.  Please send a lunch if you did not order pizza for today!

Information:

Floor Hockey – Students in grades 3-5 will have the opportunity to participate in our intramural program beginning next week.  Students should listen to announcements for information about how to sign up.  A team of grade five students will defend our championship trophy at a tournament hosted at John Muir on Tuesday, February 21.

 Mad Science – We are currently trying to reschedule another assembly.  Notices have gone home with the students to sign up for workshops afterschool. 

P.A.R.T.N.E.R.S. – Mme. Schwartz will be hosting an evening for parents to learn more about the PARTNERS program we are hoping to expand at Poirier.  This program helps parents, help their children, with reading strategies and ultimately become better readers.  For more information contact your child’s teacher and/or Mme. Schwartz at sschwartz@sd62.bc.ca.

 Library Books – Please be vigilant in returning our library books.  If we lose just one book per student per year, we have lost $4000 worth of books. Your help is appreciated in helping to preserve the resources we have in our Bibliothèque.

PAC Information:

PAC meeting is this Tuesday at 7:00.  The agenda will be posted on our Facebook page and sent to all PAC class reps if you are interested in finding out what will be discussed.  

Pizza Day will take place Friday Jan 27.  Volunteers will be needed to help deliver the lunches at 11:25.  Please come to the school if you are available to help.  

The school dance will be held Feb 16th – please mark your calendars for this fun evening! 

There has been a lot of recent activity on our twitter account regarding the BC Education Plan.  All parents and guardians are encouraged to visit the website http://www.bcedplan.ca/ and contribute your questions/comments/concerns.  You can also search #BCEdPlan on twitter to find out what people are saying about the plan. 

 Reminder:

The Vancouver Island Parent Conference will be taking place Saturday February 11th, at Spectrum Community School, and all parents/guardians are invited to attend to be a part of the conversation about our children’s education. Registration for the Conference is now open at www.vipc.ca/registration. (Group rates may be available – contact the PAC if you are interested in going) This year’s conference has an incredible line-up of speakers and workshops. The keynote speakers are Dr. Martin Brokenleg and Dr. Stuart Shanker, both internationally renowned. The other workshops feature local talent in all aspects of student engagement and personalized learning. For workshop descriptions and speaker bios, visit: www.vipc.ca. Early registration rates close on January 31, 2012.

Presentations – Eric Wong will be speaking to our Intermediate classes in the  Library this  morning about racism and differences.  Eric is a member of the First Nations Steering Committee and you can find out more about him and his work at ericwong@telus.net.

 Field Trip - Divisions 13, 14 & 15 Skating @ SEAPARC

 Renovations – Our Main bathrooms located by Undersea Gardens and Space Station are closed this week for renovations.  The bathrooms by the gym are now open.

Tuesday

Assembly – We have a Mad Science assembly today at 11 am.  The whole school will captivated by the educational and fun experiments.  Information about afterschool programs will be coming home and it is also available @ madscience.org.

PAC Meeting – See you tonight in the Multi-Purpose Room.  Come out and support your PAC – ask questions, and have fun.

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

PAC Pizza Day – If your child has pre-ordered a pizza lunch remember not to send one today.  They will still need a recess snack.

Information:

Weather – Please listen to C-Fax 1070 for school closures.  We will also update the blog as soon as possible.  Ultimately it is always up to parents to keep their children home if they feel the road conditions are unsafe in their neighbourhood.

 Clothing – Please help your child dress appropriately for the weather and our school yard.  We believe that children need to have outdoor breaks and unless the rain is coming down sideways, we generally send them out to play.  Some children are “fully meeting” or “exceeding expectations” when finding mud to play or slide in.  A change, or two, of complete clothing (yes, I mean underwear too) is often needed during our wet winter months.  This cuts down on long line ups to use the phone and our popular parking lot.

Kindergarten Registration – Children born in 2007 are eligible to register for kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year.   Poirier will offer full day kindergarten in English and French.  If you would like to know more about the kindergarten program, an information night will be held on Thursday, January 26 at 7 pm.  You can call our school 250-642-0500 or email lszadkowski@sd62.bc.ca for more information.  Registration begins at 8 am, January 30.   Please also pass on this information to families who have eligible children and/or may be new to our area.

Literacy Week – Our annual Literacy Week begins Monday, January 23,  and one of our activities is a used book exchange.  We would greatly appreciate any gently used books you donate to our school.  Every child will receive a book during the week.  Another one of our popular events, which needs parent support, is the Dress Up as Your Favourite Literary Character.  A calendar of events will be coming home on Tuesday.

 PAC Information:

The Parent Information Session (Born to Buy) on January 17th has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.  Therefore, January’s PAC meeting will begin at 7:00 on Tuesday January 17th.  Free babysitting available for parents or guardians who would like to attend. 

 The Vancouver Island Parent Conference will be taking place Saturday February 11th, at Spectrum Community School, and all parents/guardians are invited to attend to be a part of the conversation about our children’s education.  Registration for the Conference is now open at www.vipc.ca/registration. (Group rates may be available – contact the PAC if you are interested in going)  This year’s conference has an incredible line-up of speakers and workshops. The keynote speakers are Dr. Martin Brokenleg and Dr. Stuart Shanker, both internationally renowned. The other workshops feature local talent in all aspects of student engagement and personalized learning. For workshop descriptions and speaker bios, visit: www.vipc.ca.   Early registration rates close on January 31, 2012. 

Last Day for PAC Pizza Orders –  The pizza lunch is on January 20.  Sorry, no late orders will be accepted.

Wednesday

Division 2, Mme. Campbell’s class will enjoy a pizza lunch supplied by the Sooke Harbourside Lions Club for collecting the most money in the annual Change for Diabetes Campaign.  In total our school raised just over $1100 to support research for Juvenile Diabetes.

Friday

 Field Trip  – Divisions 10 & 11 are skating from 10:30-12:15 @ SEAPARC

Happy Friday the 13^th.

Information:

Bathroom Update – Our bathrooms are having new floors installed over the next few weeks.  There will always be bathrooms open for students to access; however, it may not be the one they regularly use.  Teachers will keep students informed about which bathrooms are open.

Literacy Week – Watch for information coming home regarding Literacy Week January 23-27.

Popcorn Sales – The next popcorn sale is Friday, January 27.

PAC Information:

Hope everyone had a great start to 2012. 

We would like to thank everyone who supported PAC events and fundraisers in 2011, especially during the busy month of December!

Our next PAC Parent Information Session will be on January 17th – the topic is “Born to Buy”.  Please see the PAC website for more information.  The next PAC meeting will take place immediately following the presentation.

We are in the process of forming a “Health and Nutrition Committee”.  The goal of this committee is to compile a list of online resources using “Livebinders.com” and to liase with a nutritionist from healthlinkBC regarding healthy fundraisers.  If you would like to participate in this committee, please email Melanie Norris at melanietravels@shaw.ca .  Your input is welcome, even if you are unable to attend the PAC meetings!

This year’s dance will be held February 16th – mark your calendars for what’s sure to be a fun-filled evening. If you are able to volunteer, we could use your help. 

Have a great week! 

Community Information:

Sooke Minor Fastball Registration

    Last Chance Dates! Don’t Miss Out!

                 Saturday January 14, 28 and

                   Saturday, February 11

                       10 am to 2 pm at SEAPARC

                We are registering all players,

             5 years and up, for the 2012 season!

              Learn new skills!  Have fun!

Sooke Minor Fastball aims to offer a fast paced season where the focus is on fun, skill building,

teamwork, and healthy competition, for children as young as 5 yrs, and young adults up to 19 yrs!  

             See you at the ball-game!

The Victoria Junior Field Hockey Association offers a Spring Field Hockey League forplayers aged 4 to 18.

• 10 week season, starting 31 March 2012

• Divisions for boys and girls

• Come Try the Game Free Days! UVIC Turf Fields near McKinnon Gym

- Sunday, 5 February 2012

- Sunday, 4 March 2012

For more information, please visit www.victoriajuniorfieldhockey.ca or email

info@victoriajuniorfieldhockey.ca Registration opens 12 January 2012.

 CITY OF LANGFORD

Affordable Housing Program

Accepting Applications to Purchase

2-Bedroom Condos

$130,447.88 (includes net HST)

The City of Langford is accepting applications from qualified applicants wishing to purchase a two-bedroom condominium under the City’s Affordable Housing Program. There are three (3) brand new condominiums available for purchase. There will be restrictions placed upon the resale of the unit.

Successful applicants to the program will be chosen on a points system, based upon pre-selected criteria. The identities of applicants will be kept confidential and will not be made available to the public nor to any member of the Affordable Housing Committee or Council.

Any information provided in an application for Affordable Housing is collected for the purpose of administering the City’s Affordable Housing Program under the authority of the Community Charter and the Local Government Act. Further information about the collection of the information is available from the City’s Information and Privacy Coordinator.

Application packages are available on the City’s website at www.cityoflangford.ca or at the City of Langford Planning Department, 2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Avenue, Langford, BC, during office hours, 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays. You may also reach the City of Langford Planning Department by telephone at 250.474.6919.

Please read the entire application package and pay special attention in reading the minimum eligibility criteria for all successful applicants to the program. Ensure that you have received a Pre-Mortgage Approval that you can submit with your application.

Planning staff at the City of Langford are happy to assist you in completing the application process.

Please submit applications to:

Leanne Taylor, MCIP

Senior Planner

City of Langford

2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Avenue

Langford, BC V9B 2X8

No School – Happy New Year!

Tuesday

Our gymnastics equipment will be set up in the gym and students will have the opportunity to improve their flexibility over the next three weeks during PE classes!

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Information:

There will be a change in our administration team here at Poirier.  Mrs. Sharon Schwartz will be taking a temporary leave from her Vice-Principal duties; however, fortunately she will continue to teach her Kindergarten class with partner teacher Mme. Robertson.  There will be no change to her teaching assignment, and no disruption to the class.  Our grade five teacher, Ms. Kendra Laidlaw will be assuming some of the responsibilities as Acting Vice-Principal until further notice. There will be some change to Ms. Laidlaw’s class and she will inform the parents directly.

We are saying goodbye to our Aboriginal Support Worker, Ms. Sherry Rose and welcoming our new ASW, Ms. Tanya Featherston.  Sherry has taken another assignment in our school district and we wish her well.

Upcoming Dates:

Jan. 26 – Kindergarten Information Night – for parents and guardians of children born in 2007. 

Jan. 30 – Kindergarten Registration begins at 8 a.m.  Registration forms are available on the District website and in our office.

Jan. 31 – Purple Pirate Interactive Performance

Feb. 17 – Non-Instructional Day

Feb. 22 – Rene the Maple Man visits Poirier

Feb. 24 – Performance for intermediate students – Explorers

Feb. 28 – Grizzlies Hockey Team visits our school (all students will receive a free hockey ticket to Friday, March 2 game vs. Surrey Eagles)