Hi Everyone! Where does the time go? I was surprised to see it's been almost two weeks since my last post! Lots has been happening. Thank you to the many of you who were able to attend Parent/Teacher interviews - it was really great to learn about your students, I received great insight. To those of you who were unable to attend, please feel free to contact me through the school office or by email - I'm happy to set up a meeting before or after school to chat about your child's learning needs. We also had our earthquake drill in the "Great Shake-Out", and we will continue to have fire, earthquake, and lockdown drills. And - we've been working hard! You should now have received a bright pink permission form, regarding a fieldtrip to Goldstream on November 6. If you haven't seen one, please ask your child if it's buried in their backpack! Many have returned the form to me, which I really appreciate. Unfortunately, at this point I have only one driver. I realize it can be very difficult to drive on fieldtrips, but I am hoping that with a couple of weeks notice, some of you may be able to make arrangements so that you can drive some of our students - I still need rides for 12 children. You are welcome to stay with us for the day, but it is also possible to drop us off and pick us up. I would be most grateful if you would be able to look at your schedule and see if you can make arrangements. Finally, tomorrow is a Pro-D - no school for your children, just teachers! I hope you have a lovely "long weekend". Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hardly saw you today students, but I hope those of you in band had a great day, and Mini X students, I know you did - and great work weeding the Naturescape! Now it is time to sit back and relax for the three day weekend, and reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. I am grateful for my family, my animal companions, my work,and YOU! I am also grateful that when I am thirsty I can turn on a tap, or open the fridge for food and drink. I am grateful that I live in a peaceful country where our rights are protected and our voice is heard. It is easy to take things for granted, and we all have a bad day now and then - but how lucky are we, to live where we do and have what we have. Thank you for a wonderful beginning to the school year students. See you Tuesday!

Happy Wednesday Everyone! You worked hard today, good work on your maps! Remember your homework tonight is to observe your surroundings on your way home. Also - tomorrow is our Terry Fox Run - please bring your twoonies and loonies for cancer research. And - dress in comfortable clothes and wear your sneakers because you'll be running in the afternoon! It's also Bike to School week - remember to ride your bikes if you can, or walk. If you take the bus, can you get off a block early and walk? (Check with your parent or guardian first). Parents - parent/teacher interviews are next Tuesday and Wednesday, so please make sure you phone the school (250-598-3336) and book a time. It's very important to me to be able to meet with each and every one of you. Especially with the late start this year, it's important we share information about your child, with each other. And, I have a blog! Please google Advisory 62 is Awesome and you will find the classroom blog that has important dates, updates on what we're doing, reading lists and so on. It's an effective way for me to communicate with you.

Welcome back students! It's hard to believe that it's already close to the middle of October, and we're still just getting to know each other. But, even though we got a late start this year, we're also off to a good start - I think we will have a great time, and learn lots together. You all have interesting stories to tell me, and I've really enjoyed listening to you introduce each other, reading your "The Most Important Thing About Me" poems, helping you get settled into your new classroom, lockers, and the school. A couple of reminders for this week: remember that the Terry Fox Run is on Thursday afternoon (wear sneakers!), and you can start bringing in your twoonies and loonies if you would like to contribute to cancer research. On Friday, band students are in band for blocks 3, 4 and 5 - you will have a wonderful introduction to your instrument, and Mini X students, you will be busy with Ms. Walzak and me....please wear comfortable clothes that can get a bit dirty, we will be doing some digging in the Naturescape! Please make sure you look at the different headings on my blog - there are dates to note, recommendations for good book titles, some interesting links and even some information on me. Share the blog with your parents and guardians - they will want to know what we do in Advisory 62 too!

Hello Students - and congratulations on the wonderful concerts last week, and report cards you should be proud of! Hard to believe we've finished Term 1, and are into Term 2, although the transition is seamless, as knowledge just continues to build, brick by brick. Remember that your "Museum Boxes" are due on Thursday - I will assess them over the holiday. I'm looking forward to your sharing them with each other as soon as we get back. I also want to mention how proud I was of all of you during our VOCYL presentation last week. Everyone was inclusive, and clearly, by the personal sharing of stories we heard, everyone felt safe. As the year goes by, we become more and more of a community - well done. We will be cleaning out lockers on Thursday - think about bringing a bag to take home PE strips for washing, and anything else that can go home (empty sandwich containers etc...) Let's make this last week count - we'll keep working hard...and the time will go by even faster!!

Oh my. It's been a month today since I last posted on the blog! It really doesn't seem like it's been that long - and yet so much has happened. It's been a bit of a challenge for me this past several weeks - I know you are in such good hands with Mr. North and learning all the things I want you to learn - and I have to say, Mr. North is way better than me using the computer!! - but, I've missed teaching you. Still, it's been great to be able to work one-on-one with some of you, and I'm really enjoying our reading conferences. Having taken so long to post, I have to go way back to our field trip to Goldstream, and properly thank our drivers - to Jacob's Mom, Nik's Dad, Uncle Bob, and Mr. North - thank you! It was a wonderful morning with a fire, bannock, and an invigorating hike where we learned all sorts of traditional uses of plants from Mark Albany, our First Nations counselor and keeper of traditional knowledge. I've heard many connections to this field trip since, during your science lessons. Watermark was an interesting experience as well, and thank you again to Mr. North for organizing. It was a sad documentary in many ways, and I hope that it will help all of us appreciate and look after our water sources - we are so lucky in this part of the world. We've been swimming - that was fun! - and we go again on December 6. Lots more will be happening in the next month - and I can't believe it's only a month until Winter Break. Keep your eye on the Upcoming Dates, and I'll try really hard to keep it updated. One of the highlights for me will be the concerts for the many of you in band, strings or choir. PLEASE REMEMBER THE FUNDRAISERS FOR THE RED CROSS TO HELP THOSE IN THE PHILIPPINES AFFECTED BY THE TYPHOON! There is another bake sale this week, and a special surprise Thursday afternoon - listen carefully to the announcements! And finally, CONGRATULATIONS TO MR. NORTH ON THE BIRTH OF HIS BABY BOY - do you think he has a name yet??