June NewsletterPage 1
Box 40
Elm Creek, MB R0G 0N0 ph.204.436.2354
School website: fax.204.436.2659
E-mail:
June NewsletterPage 1
Canteen Menu
Specials on Tuesday and Thursdays will be announced throughout the month of June. Please stay tuned for what’s cooking in our canteen this month! The last day the canteen will be open is on Wednesday, June 22nd.
Thank you for your support this past year!
JUNE EXAM TIMETABLE
June 15th – AM - Biology 40S
Physics 40S
June 16th – AM -Applied Mathematics 40S
June 20th – AM - ELA 20S
Essential Mathematics 30S
PM - Social Studies 10F
PreCalculus Math 30S
June 21st – AM - ELA 30S
Science 20F
PM - Math 10F
June 22nd – AM - Essential Mathematics 20S
Graduation Time!
Monday, June 27th
at the
Elm Creek MB Church
7:30 pm
Principal’s Message
The month of June has arrived with a mix of conditions weather wise but a “clear sky indication” that the school year is coming to a close! But before that happens, our students, with the support of their teachers and educational assistants will be busy in classrooms with final activities, tests, exams, and projects taking place in various grades. Outside the classrooms, field trips, tabloid activities, and track and field events will also be part of June’s activities as well!
On the topic of activities, over 90% of our high school students recently participated in two regional track and field meets: the Garden Valley Collegiate Invitational back on May 10th and the Zone IV Championships in Winkler on June 1st! Our grade 9 – 12 track & field team won the “A” aggregate zone championship banner. Our grade 11 and 12 boys won the senior boys track & field banner. This category includes all schools (A, AA, AAA, AAAA). Congratulations on the efforts and participation of all of these student athletes! Thank you to Mr. Derek Tyler (Phys. Ed. Dept.) and Mrs. Christine Wolf (Librarian) for volunteering their time and expertise in this athletic area! Our June calendar lists the dates for our Kindergarten to Grade 3 tabloid and the Grade 4-6 track and field dates. Our grade 5 and 6 students will participate in
two track meets - June 2nd in Oakville and June 6th when we host Roland. Our grade 7 and 8 students will participate in the zone track meet on June 7th in Carman.
On behalf of Elm Creek School,a “fond farewell” to Miss Arielle Johnson, who has served our school community as the Grade 7 classroom teacher this past school year. Miss Johnson’s warm, caring demeanor and teaching gifts, including her incredible art talent, have been a blessing for our students, staff and school! We thank Miss Arielle Johnson for all of her efforts while she has been a part of the Elm Creek School community and we wish her all the very best in her teaching career going forward!
A “welcome back” goes out to Mrs. Jackie deVries, who will be returning to Elm Creek School from maternity leave to resume her Grade 7 teaching position in September of 2016. We look forward to her return to the school and our staff team!
A listing of the 2016-17 Elm Creek School (ECS) teaching staff team and their respective classrooms is posted further in this newsletter. This staff team, for the next school year, will be enhanced with the addition of a 0.50 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) Guidance Counsellor and a 0.50 FTE Grade 5 Teacher. The guidance counsellor position was added in all Prairie Rose School Division community schools primarily as an initiative to promote the personal well-being and success of students. Mr. Mark Findlay will be the new teaching staff member working in this capacity at ECS. We welcome Mr. Findlay to our school community for 2016-17! The Grade 5 part time teaching position candidate is yet to be determine.
Elm Creek School’s graduating class of six Grade 12 students will be celebrating the special milestone of “high school graduation” on Monday, June 27th, 7:00 p.m. at the Elm Creek Mennonite Brethren Church. We wish these upcoming 2016 graduates a future of hope and opportunity!
Two annual year ending events that all school community members are invited to attend this month are the Awards Day and Closing Ceremonies. The Grade 7-12 Awards Day takes place on Friday, June 24th, 10:00 a.m., and the Kindergarten – Grade 6 Closing Ceremonies take place on Thursday, June 30th, 10:00 a.m. Following the Closing Ceremonies on June 30th, parents and guardians are invited to take their children home with them for the start of summer vacation. School buses will also be available for student pick up at 12:00 noon. Both events take place in the school gym.
Thank you to the Elm Creek School Parent Advisory Council for their support and input throughout this past school year! This dedicated group of parents and guardians, who met monthly, worked hard to organize and implement a number of initiatives and projects for our school! The PAC was able to do their effective work because of the support they, in turn, received from our school’s families and the community at large! A dedicated report outlining the PAC’s great work is included further into this newsletter!
Our UNESCO Council student representatives raised funds via a recent craft sale, donation containers, and candy gram sales for a total of $358.25! Thanks to this generous support from our school and local community, these funds will be going toward the purchase of two bicycles for children of the refugee family planning to move into the Carman area. Our UNESCO team will update our school community on this project in the new school year.
As the 2015-16 school year comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Elm Creek School staff, the parents and guardians of our students, our Parent Advisory
Council, the Prairie Rose School Division (PRSD) staff and trustees, and the community at large for everyone’s support on behalf of the students of our school!
To all the fathers in our school community and beyond, Happy Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19th!
The very best of a safe and fun summer to everyone!
Best regards,
Bill Yaworsky
“He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”
-Clarence Budington Kelland
From the Library
With summer approaching the library is asking all elementary students please return all your library books by June 13. High school students will be able to sign out books over the summer after talking to Mrs. Wolf. Have a great summer!
Christine Wolf
Library Technician
High School Student Council Report
School is starting to wind down, but we are still keeping busy in the High School end! In the next few weeks we have many different events happening all around school. Nomination forms are out for next year’s Student Council. If you, or someone you know would like to run for any position on student council next year nomination forms are available at the office. The High School track and field teams just participated in the Zone 4 track meet on June 1st, and we will be hearing results in the next week! The grade eleven and twelve Global Issues class have been working on their “Take Action” projects, so there are many events going on in school such as bake sales, spirit days, and a hockey tournament. Grade twelve exams run from June 15th to the 16th, and the rest of the high school’s exams will be the following week from the 20th to the 22nd.
Dustyn Zacharias
Student Council President
2016-2017 Classrooms
and Teachers
Grade / Teachers / NotesK / Colleen Gnidziejko / Individual class
1 / Leanne Bartley / Individual class
2 / Lisa Salazar / Individual class
3 / Crystal Martens / Individual class
4 / Nicole Spencer / Individual class
5 / TBA / - Individual class for core subjects (ex. Math & ELA)
- Combined Gr. 5/6 for part of each day.
6 / Lillian Middleton / - Individual class for core subjects (ex. Math & ELA)
- Combined Gr. 5/6 for part of each day.
7 / Jackie deVries / Individual class
8 / Suzanne Godard / Individual class
9 / *
10 / *
11 / *
12 / *
*Senior Years Teachers: Val Esau, Lisa Carlson,
Ashley Cook, Leslie Howard
Specialist Teachers:
Elementary Music: Gloria Froese
Phys Ed: Derek Tyler
Resource: Sigrid McLeod
Guidance Counsellor: Mark Findlay
SUMMER SPORTS CAMPS AT ELM CREEK SCHOOL!
Athletes In Action summer sports camps will be hosting a one week session at Elm Creek School this August 8th – 12th. “AIA Camps are the best environment for learning the essential skills, techniques and tactics of the respective sports, as well as encouraging the spiritual, physical and mental growth of each player!”
All camp instructors are college-level student athletes from the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg and the Canadian Mennonite University.
The camps are open to boys and girls 9 – 17 years of age.
Volleyball Camp
Monday, August 8th to Friday, August 12th
The camp will be run from 9am – 3:30 pm each day.
The cost for the camp is $150.00
Registration forms can be in found on line at Please register on line.
Cookbook Sale
"Hub of the Heartland Cookbooks (Volume 1 & 2) are available for purchase at Elm Creek School for only $45. They contain hundreds of pages of the best recipes from Elm Creek and the surrounding area. You can't live without them and they make a perfect gift for anyone and any occasion. The proceeds go towards
the Elm Creek School and we thank you for your support. Contact Darlene Banman at the school at 204-436-2354 or e-mail or stop by the school to pick them up. There is a limited supply! Don't miss out!"
Join the Boyne Regional Library
Summer Reading Program 2016
It’s Fun – It’s Easy – It’s Free
Our theme this year is, “Wild”.
Programs runs June 28th – August 20th Registration begins on June 28th
Free Memberships from June 28th – August 27th! For RM of Grey and RM of Roland.
Receive a ballot for each book you take out from June 28th thru to August 20th
First 300 students registered will receive a free day swim pass!
18 Grand Prize Baskets Draws on August 23th
Boyne Regional Library
15-1st Ave SW
Carman, MB
204-745-3504
Yearbook News
Order forms have gone home with Grade 12 students to pre-order 2015-2017 yearbooks. We will only be completing the yearbook next year, but there will be over 20 pages highlighting the current school year, including at least 10 graduation pages. If you would like a yearbook, please complete an order form and send $35 to school (cash or cheques payable to Elm Creek Student Council). Receipts will be issued. Order forms will go out next year for all other students.
Thank you for your support,
Suzanne Godard
Yearbook Advisor
Elm Creek School Parent Advisory Council Activity Report 2015-2016
Wow....the end of the 2015-2016 school year is approaching! As aPAC we have looked back and wanted to share with you some of the activitieswe participated in and supported during this year:
-Funding an author to come read to the students in the school inFebruary
-Hosting two suppers for teachers during parentstudent-parent-teacher conferences
-Financial support towards school field trips
-Volunteering at the high school provincial basketball tournament
-Purchasing bleachers for the gym
-Hosting various fundraisers for our school sign project
-School sign project - our biggest project this year - we hope tohave the approval from PRSD soon to begin construction
We would like to thank all the members of our PAC for their time andenergies during this last year. We would also like to thank the staff,students, parents and community of Elm Creek School for your generoussupport towards our sign project. Have a safe and fun summer. We willagain be looking for
parent volunteers in fall 2016. Please contact DarleneBanman if you are interested.
Melissa Schmidt
Elm Creek School PAC Secretary
Blessings at the Creek
Located approximately 10 minutes east of Elm Creek on Highway 2, on the north side of the highway, after the Culross Grain elevator.
At Blessings Ranch you will learn horsemanship techniques from the ground level – up into the saddle! Every rider will learn how to stay safe while having fun, as well as acquiring a greater understanding of the horse’s language.
“Any Horse Sense is good Scents!”
Horsemanship summer lessons will begin on July 4th – September 2nd, 2016 with lessons available from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Please check out the website, for further details.
Or else call: Elizabeth Dyck, Home: 204 436 2304 or Cell: 204 218 6064
Look forward to seeing you this summer.
Global Issues – Take Action Projects
Mental Health Illnesses
Hello everyone! For our grade eleven and twelve Global Issues course we are required to do a take action project, where we address an issue within our society. We have chosen to take action against mental health illnesses, by doing a mental health awareness week. From June 6th-10th, we will have each day dedicated to a different illness. Each day we are asking everyone in our school to participate in dressing up in the official ribbon colours for each of the following mental illnesses:
Monday, June 6th- wear purple
for eating disorders
Tuesday, June 7th- wear teal/blue for anxiety
Wednesday, June 8th- wear orange
for self-harm
Thursday, June 9th- wear green
for depression
Friday, June 10th- wear rainbow colours
for autism
By doing this we hope to make everyone aware that mental illnesses are real, and to encourage people to get help for them, as well as to stop the negative stigmas that seem to follow some of them. If everyone would please participate and remember to wear these colours, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Grade 11 Students
Brandi VandeVelde
Ginger Enns
Winnipeg Animal Shelters
Another Global Issues project that we are hoping to raise awareness of is the Winnipeg Animal Shelters and how important they are to our society. A bake sale is being held on Thursday, June 9th at the Elm Creek School. The sale will be held outside (weather permitting) during the breaks and lunch hour. Proceeds from the sale will be going to the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter. Everyone is
welcome so come on out and enjoy some tasty treats and meet some furry friends too!
Tamara Banman
Grade 12 student
Keep Your Kids Learning Over the Summer
Summer learning
The human brain is like a muscle – it needs regular exercise to stay in shape. So when those lazy summer days come around, we need to make sure our kids don’t forget what they have learned over the last 10 months of school.
Studies Show
All students experience learning loss when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer.On averagestudents lose approximately 2-3 months, of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills during the summer months.
At the beginning of each school year, teachers typically spend between 4-6 weeks re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer.
What Parents Can Do
It doesn’t take much. Kids learn best in bite-size chunks. “Little and often” is the best approach. Here are some ideas to keep their brains ticking over:
- Have a plan! Like any plan, it should have clear goals, tactics and a timeline. Sound intimidating? Where do you start?
- Talk with your current teacher about learning gaps. Perhaps your child is having difficulty with their vocabulary or reading comprehension, or with their math facts or telling time? Summer is a great time to fill that gap. There are lots of great exercise books and resources online for parents to use, and of course there’s K5 Learning. Your teacher may have some suggestions.
- Check out resources in your local community. Look for reading, math and science-based summer camps or clubs that your child can join.
- Spend time with books. Your local library will most likely be running a summer reading program. Our local library encourages kids to read every day and rewards them with stickers and a medal at the end of the eight weeks. Most libraries also schedule special summer events for kids. Make sure you sign up.
- Keep math in mind. For some reason, math learning is one that we need to pay special attention to and the area that needs regular practice. You’ll need to plan for regular daily math activities – be they worksheets, online programs or other math activities. Some community centers have great math summer workshops.
- Think about what your kids may be learning next year when you plan the family vacation. Talk with teachers to find out what they'll be covering in class. If it's a unit on the civil war for example, you may want to schedule a visit to Gettysburg. If it's geology, visit a national park.
- Make time for daytrips to your local museums, zoo, aquarium, concerts, events and parks that your child does not get to attend during the school year. Have them keep a journal of their activities and experiences.
- For your older kids, consider opportunities for a bit of on-the-job training. Would your local newspaper be interested in taking on a budding reporter for a week? How about your office – do they need a little administrative helper?
- Look for volunteer opportunities. Many local not-for-profit organizations need help that involve organizational, logistics, math and reading skills. Perhaps this is a chance for you and your child to get involved in volunteer work together – something that will help you both expand your minds?
Your kids don't have to spend the summer stuck in reverse. A little effort every day will help your kids exercise their brains and stay on top for the next academic year. Keep it simple, fun and stimulating. Remember, the trick is to balance fun with learning.