May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 1

on May 3rd

521 Cleardale Drive

Bag 100

Cleardale AB T0H 3Y0

Ph: (780)685-2340

Fax: (780)685-3665

Email: mennosimons@prsd.ab.ca

MENNO-SIMONS

COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Newsletter IMPORTANT DATES

May 1 Parent –Teacher Interviews for Jr & Sr High 4-7 pm

Coffee, Cake & Mural painting at 2:10 pm

School Bus Drivers Appreciation Day

May 1—5 Education Week

May 3 Kindergarten Open House/Registration Hats On for Mental Health Gr 1—9 Mitelka in Fairview

May 4—5 Trades Camp

May 5 Hand Games in Hines Creek

May 6 Highway Clean-up

May 9 Gr 9s LA PAT exam, Part A School Council @ 7 pm

May 14 Mother’s Day

May 19 PD Day No School for Students

May 22 Victoria Day no school

May 23 P.A.R.T.Y. Program

May 25 Ascension Day

May 29 No Kindergarten, instead Kindergarten will be May 30

May 30 Canada Day Celebration Seniors Tea

May 31 Last Hot Lunch World No Tobacco Day

MAY 2017

Greetings from Menno-Simons Students and Staff,

There are a number of excellent activities scheduled for May. We

will complete the GPRC Trades Camp, the First Nations Hand Games

Tournament and the trip to see the Mitelka group this week. Next

week the Grade 5-6 group plan to attend a County Council meeting.

We had an excellent Mini Paws tournament over the weekend on

the heels of the Thirty Hour Famine. Thank you to everyone that

participated and supervised in both of these events. I am so grateful

for the help the School Council parents were able to contribute. We

easily had the best food in our canteen that I have ever seen at a

basketball event. Thank you to you parents again.

This Saturday we have the opportunity to participate in the Highway

Clean Up. I hope the weather is on our side.

We will keep you in the loop as things happen, and look forward to

seeing you throughout the month. Good luck to everyone with

spring’s work.

Jan Stevenson

On Tuesday, May 2, author Alberta Larsback paid a visit to

the Grade 5/6 class. Alberta is a local resident. She is pic-

tured back row, holding the book she has written.

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 2

Declamation

Derick & Zacchaeus at Crosslink RBS training

ground.

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 3

Glass Fusion Art Class With Sharon Doucet from Berwyn 50 Ave Workshop

Friday, May 12, 2017

4:00pm to 5:30pm

Menno-Simons

Community Room

Come out and create a 7inch plate or bowl with pieces of glass supplied by the instructor.

Sharon will then take them and fire them, and they are returned in about two weeks.

Glass Fusion is the process of taking separate pieces of fusible and compatible art glass, layering them on one another

into a design, and then "fusing" or melting them in a kiln into one piece. The finished glass can then be left as a panel as

an art piece or re-fired using molds to create a vast variety of shaped objects both useful and decorative.

The cost will be $22 - $24 each.

Please phone or text Laura Lewis (780-834-8194) to register.

For more info go to www.berwynworkshop.com

Every one of these

beautiful pieces were

created by our

students!

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 4

Duffle Bag Theatre

Presenting

‘Peter Pan’.

Everyone enjoyed the

hilarious version tremen-

dously.

A big thank you

to

Y.E.S. (Youth Enhance-

ment Society) for

bringing them in.

DO YOU GET A COMMUNITY CALENDAR?? IF NOT, MRS. DIMION’S CLASS CAN HELP!!

Grades Five/Six (Mrs. Dimion’s class) have taken on the job of finding new subscribers for our Community

Calendar. Subscribers do not have to be residents. These students are looking for those who did not pur-

chase a calendar last year and would like to this year. They will take your birthdates, etc. and put them on

the calendar. Please contact Mrs. Dimion, Mrs. Gula (780 834 6735) or any Grade Five/Six to put your name

on our list of calendar purchasers. The price is $15 payable to Menno-Simons Community Library, with a

commission going eventually to the student seller.

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 5

May 1 - 5, 2017 marks Education Week and Mental Health Awareness Week – a celebration of education and

recognition of the importance of positive mental health. We are proud of the dynamic learning communities with-

in our schools and we strive to support our students in any way we possibly can. By incorporating wellness into

classrooms and curriculum we acknowledge the link between education and mental health which better enables

our students to reach their full potential.

We are committed to teach, support and nurture the whole student - through engaging classrooms, qualified and

caring staff, focus on emotional, social and physical wellness, leadership and mentorship programs, positive be-

haviour and character programs, and the support of Inclusive Education Coaches, Youth Education Workers and

Success Coaches.

We understand it takes a village to raise a child and both the educational and mental health needs are crucial as-

pects of learning, well-being and success. We are very thankful for the various partnerships we share with agen-

cies, community members and organizations in our school communities. These community partnerships not only

provide increased supports for students, they demonstrate that their school communities care, and it also shows

what can be achieved when we work together.

We hope that you can join your local school to celebrate Education Week and Mental Health Awareness Week.

Our students and staff will host events during this special week that highlight the importance of education and

mental health in our lives, families, schools, community and the world. A listing of events happening throughout

the division will be available at www.prsd.ab.ca.

Thank you to students, parents, staff, community members and organizations for your support - the work you do

makes a difference and we appreciate you.

Paul Bennett- Superintendent of Schools

Superintendent’s Message

Education and Mental Health Awareness Week

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 6

May Safety Message

Spotlight on Health and Safety

Kristy Shilka, PRSD Health & Safety Coordinator

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

If you or your family are caught in an emergency or dis-

aster, are you prepared? If an emergency happens in

your community it is recommended that you should be

prepared to take care of yourself and family for a mini-

mum of 72 hours. Your best defence in any emergency

is having a plan and being familiar with what to do.

Know the risks – In Alberta we face a number of haz-

ards, such as natural emergencies like forest fire and

floods, service disruptions like a power failure, or even

environmental disasters like a chemical spill.

You can download the Alberta Emergency Management

Alert App that gives notice of threats to life, property

and safety at http://www.emergencyalert.alberta.ca/

content/about/signup.html and view the Public Safety

Canada brochures on specific risks at https://

www.getprepared.gc.ca/.

Make a plan – Every household needs an emergency

plan. It will assist you and your family to know what to

do in case of an emergency. Discuss what you would do

in different situations as well as how to meet or contact

each other if you’re not together when an emergency

occurs. Consider what to do if you need to stay put or if

you need to leave your home. Include a list of emergen-

cy management agencies in your area.

Alberta Health Services has a planning guide created by

Emergency/Disaster Management and Workplace

Health & Safety at

http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/healthinfo/

hi-hw-disaster-preparedness-guide.pdf.

Make an emergency kit – In an emergency you will

need some basic supplies. You may be without power or

tap water. Always have items ready such as non-

perishable food, water, flashlight, first aid kit and sea-

sonally appropriate clothing. Also consider any special

needs supplies such as requirements for any infants or

elderly family members, remember any medications,

and necessities for pets. Make sure the kit is organized

and easy to find and that everyone knows where it is.

Children’s fears will be lowered if they under-

stand the dangers of hazardous situations and

are comfortable with your family’s plan. Cre-

ate awareness by researching, talking and

practicing your plan.

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 7

Cleardale Ag Society

Cleardale Ag Society would like to thank everyone who volunteered for the Winter Carnival. Without your help

the carnival wouldn’t have been the success that it was.

A special thank you to George Fehr, Zavisha, Dekalb, and many others for their generous donations. We really

hope you enjoyed the day. All proceeds for the event go to the Hot Lunch program.

Thank you !!!! from Cleardale Ag Society

PRSD hosts 11th Annual

Hand Games Competition On Friday May 5, 2017, hundreds of Peace River School Division

(PRSD) students from grades 4 to 12 will join together for PRSD’s

Annual Pakisiwin (Hand) Games Competition at Hines Creek Com-

posite School. This is the 11th year of PRSD’s divisional hand

games competition, which is a traditional First Nations Metis and

Inuit game dated back hundreds of years.

“The PRSD Hand Games Competition is a high-spirited event that

brings students from across the division together to honour and

celebrate this important First Nations Metis and Inuit tradition”

says PRSD Board Chair Darren Kuester. “It teaches students good

sportsmanship, how to relate to one

another, leadership, cooperation

and most importantly, it is a celebra-

tion of First Nations Metis and Inuit

culture, and our students have a lot

of fun.”

Highway Cleanup

Coming Up! This year’s annual highway cleanup is coming up on

Saturday, May 6th. A free pancake breakfast will be

served again at 8:00 at the gym to all volunteers

coming out to help. The sign-up map is up at the

Cleardale Co-op for families to go choose the pre-

ferred highway stretch that they would like to pick.

Come on out to help keep our community neat and

clean!

Hope to see you there!

Parent Council

(In case of bad weather, the alternate date is set for

May 13th)

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 8

MAY Hot Lunch

Lunch for students is $2.50 ea. For the month of May it works out to $22.50 per student; or $112.50 for a family of 5 or more. Adult

lunches are $5.00 ea or $30.00 for the month. Please make payment in full at time of ordering by cash or cheques payable

to: Cleardale Ag Society. Please return form with payment by Friday, April 28.

May 2 Macaroni & Cheese & BBQ Wieners May 17 Meatballs & Gravy & Mashed Potatoes

May 3 NO HOT LUNCH due to Field trip May 23 Chili & Macaroni with White Sauce

May 9 Corn Chowder & Biscuits May 24 Taco Salad

May 10 Pancakes, Whipped Cream & Strawberries & Sausage May 30 Lasagne & Garlic Bread

May 16 Kielke with White Sauce & Ham May 31 Cheese Burger & Caesar Salad

Hot L

unch

pro

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for 3

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If

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have

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s will

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Man

y th

anks

to e

very

one

who

has

don

ated

!

E d u c a t i o n W e e k

STUDENT NAME Grade May 2 May 3 May 9 May 10 May 16 May 17 May 23 May 24 May 30 May 31

May 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Parent-Teacher Inter-views 4—7

Coffee & Cake 2:10 Mural Painting 2:10

School Bus Driver Apprecia-tion Day

2 3 Kindergarten Regis-tration & Open House

Hats on for Mental Health

4 Trades Camp

5 Trades Camp Hand-

games

6

Highway Clean-up

7 8 9 Gr 9 LA PAT exams

School Council @7

10 11 12 13

14

Mother’s Day

15 16 17 18 19

PD Day

No Students

20

21 22

Victoria Day

NO SCHOOL

23

P.A.R.T.Y. Program

24 25

Ascension Day

26 27

28 29

No Kindergarten -

changed to Tuesday

30 Seniors Tea

Canada Day celebra-tion—wear red & white

Kindergarten

31 Last Hot Lunch

World No Tobacco Day

NO

HO

T L

UN

CH

May 2017 Menno-Simons Community School 9