The Gordon F. Kells High School Jr. and Sr. Drama Clubs will be presenting their plays I Don't Want to Talk About It (Produced by Playscripts Inc.) and Outside the Box (produced by YouthPLAYS) for the public. Both plays are by Bradley Hayward. When: 7:00 PM, Tuesday, April 16 / Where: Carlyle Memorial Hall / Admission: Adults: $10 / High School Students $7 / Elementary Students: $5 / (pre-school: Free). Junior drama practices continue every Wednesday and Thursday after school from 3:30pm to 5:00pm from now until the festival. Senior drama practices are every Monday evening from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. The Regional Festival is in Lampman on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20.
Senior Badminton practices are Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Junior Badminton practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. Students who are interested in purchasing racquets should see Mr. Birch. Senior Badminton Pre District Playoff in Wawota is on Monday, April 22nd and the District Playoff is in Carnduff on Friday, April 26th, 2013. The Junior Badminton Playoffs Pre District is on Tuesday, April 30th and the District Playoff is on Saturday, May 4th, 2013.
Term 3 Report Cards go out on Thursday, April 11th. Please look for them. Semester 2 - 3 Way Conferencing (Parent/Teacher Interviews) will be held on the evenings of Wednesday, April 17th, and Thursday, April 18th, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. There is no school on Friday, April 19th, in lieu of 3 Way Conferencing the previous 2 nights.
The GFK/CES 3rd Annual Pink Day has been set for Wednesday, May 1st. For more information about the day, please contact Mr. Birch
GFK Track Team is practicing beginning after the Easter Break. Dates and times to be determined. Coaches this year include Mrs. Rutten and Miss Wiebe from GFK School and Mr. Bloomfield and Mrs. Sargent from the Elementary School.
The SLT is also participating in "We Create Change." This is an initiative through Free the Children to have the largest penny drive in Canadian history. As the penny goes out of circulation, donate pennies to support clean water projects in our Adopt a Village communities around the world. Please send your pennies to the school to participate in this very worthy cause.
Just a reminder to parents that the Department of Education has legislated the minimum amount of instructional times students are to receive per day and per year. Our six classes a day of 50 minutes each will meet the provincial requirement. As well, there will be 4 fewer PD days next year and 4 more days of instructional time. Instructional time refers to teachers working with students. Simply put, it is the class time your son/daughter receives. It does not include lunch time or break times. At our school we have increased instructional time for English language arts and mathematics as much as possible. We are seeing better results for students as a result of this. We are learning that instructional time is one of the biggest factors leading to improved student performance. It stands to reason that the more you practice something the better you get at it. We would like our parents and caregivers to help us in this by limiting family events that lead to lost time in school. Help can be in the form of taking family holidays during school breaks or not leaving for weekend hockey tournaments or music concerts until after school. Instructional time is being lost at an alarming rate and we need your help to protect valuable instructional time. Next year's school calendar can be found at the division's website (www.cornerstonesd.ca).
The Search Institute has identified the building blocks of healthy development that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. The Cougar Corner will list 2 of these 40 Developmental Assets each week for the next 20 weeks. One of these assets is having a "Community that Values Youth." The Institute reports that for healthy development, young people need to perceive that the community values youth. Another asset is "Youth as Resources." Healthy young people need to be given useful roles in the community.
Anyone who is interested in advertising on the school's virtual signs should contact Mr. Howe at the school. For all of your Gordon F. Kells news and updates, check out the new virtual signs or visit our school blog at gfkells.wordpress.com!
