The Jr. and Sr. Drama Clubs presented their plays at the hall on Tuesday and competed at the Regional Festival in Lampman on the weekend. They had a great time playing IronTech, participating in a Mardi Gras Fun Night, dancing with students from all over the southeast, laughing at their directors make fools of themselves in drama games, watching all the terrific plays, and performing their own productions. At the Awards Ceremony, Marissa Owens, Brook Zacharias, and Nick Schmidt received Acting Certificates and Jillian Heitenan received an Acting Medal. Nick Schmidt and Marissa Owens received Unsung Hero Awards. Also Jordan Patriquin, Brook Zacharias, Megan Shirley, and Mariah Blohm all received Crew Certificates for Technical Merit. Way to go! Congratulations to all of the participants in the festival and thank you to the parents who came out to show their support, to the Cornerstone Theatre Club for helping out and letting the school clubs use the theatre, to Bradley Hayward (the talented playwright who wrote both plays, worked with our students, and is always there for support and encouragement), and to the directors Justine Stephanson, Dean Zacharias, Kevin Dyck, and Darcy Howe for all their time and energy this drama season.
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.
The GFK/CES 3rd Annual Pink Day has been set for Wednesday, May 1st. For more information about the day, please contact Mr. Birch
The GFK Track and Field Team is practicing 2 days a week after 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.
A huge thanks goes out to all of the supporters of the SLT ongoing bottle drive fundraiser.
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 "Caring School Climate." The Institute reports that for healthy development, young people need an encouraging and caring school climate. Another asset is "Parent Involvement in Schooling." Healthy young people need to have their parents actively involved in helping them succeed in school.
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!
