What’s happening in June?

As we close in on the end of the year, I want to keep parents up to date on things that are taking place during the next few weeks:

Grade 8’s:  The grade 8’s will have their leaving ceremony on Monday, June 20^th at 7pm.  On the following day, the grade 8’s will have a late start of 10:30. Wednesday, June 22^nd will be the Grade 8 BBQ from 11:30-12:30 followed by a dance that will start for the grade 8’s only and then include the rest of the school that is interested.

Activity Day: On Thursday, June 23^rd the entire school will be participating in year end activities. The grade 8’s will be going to Playland, while the 6/7’s will be heading to the Cultus Lake Waterslides. Thursday, June 23^rd is really the last official day of school. If your son/daughter is not attending please call in.

‘I’ Days:  Friday, June 24^th is our first of three ‘I’ Days. For those new to Middle School, I days are legislated days where students with incomplete work complete their assignments so they can receive a letter grade. Some schools in our district spread their three I days over the course of the year, but all are required to have them. School is not officially in attendance. Students / parents will be notified if they are to attend during these days.

Building Issues:  A special ‘Minnekhada Building Issues’ meeting with Board Office staff has been scheduled for Monday, June 27^th at 7:00 pm. in the school library. Any parent interested in hearing about the status of our building is encouraged to attend. For those unable to attend – we will be sending minutes out to the community following the meeting.  An email will be sent, and information posted on our website for more information

Report Cards:  Students are asked to return to Minnekhada to pick up their report cards on Wednesday, June 29^th at 9:00 am. Report Cards will not be mailed home unless a self addressed, stamped envelope is provided prior to June 29^th.

Any questions or concerns? Please call or email (dmacmillan@sd43.bc.ca)

Darren Macmillan, Principal

Minnekhada Music – An amazing show!

The Minnekhada beginner band, advanced band and choir performed tonight to a crowd of proud parents, staff and family members. The show was truly wonderful. I couldn’t help but be amazed at the growth the students showed from September to June.

One of the things that struck me most at this evenings performance was the pride that both Ms. Lee and Mrs. Olsen showed for their troops. You could really tell that the music mattered to them, but the students mattered more.

Next year, I hope we can somehow celebrate the success of the band, choir and music program led by Mr. Erickson and get more students involved in the wonderful opportunity that is presented to them by the skilled and dedicated staff.

A new way to communicate

Communicating to staff, students and the community in general is a difficult but not insurmountable challenge. I know first hand that photocopied newsletters often do not make it into students backpacks, let alone out of them at the end of the day. Last Monday, when I brought my son to school and realized too late that it was in actuality a pro-d day for him, I also become very aware that simply posting newsletters on a web site does not mean parents have the time (or apparently the memory) to consistently check for new or even old school information.

In September, families will be given the opportunity to complete most of our school year start up forms on-line. During the process, there will be an opportunity to add email addresses to a data base which will allow the school to more effectively communicate with parents. I think is will only be step one in a process to improve our sharing of information. Another important tool we would like to use more effectively is our web site. Currently the Minnekhada Public site is visited by fewer than one third of our families regularly. I think, if the site is up to date, vibrant and full of interesting content, people will be tempted and encouraged to use it more.

Finally, we must look beyond technology to improve our connections with families. I am hoping int he new year parents will be encouraged to attend monthly PAC meetings as well as ‘coffee chats’ that will be held each term with myself and other staff members. Through these face to face interactions, I hope the school will be better able to share ideas, listen to the needs of the community and continue to improve and grow as a place of learning.

Darren Macmillan

Grade 5 Open House

On May 19th our Grade 5 Open House was held at 7 pm. The event was my first as principal at Minnekhada, and as such, I thought quite a bit about the tone and message I wanted to send stud net’s and families. In the end, I knew I wanted new parents and students to walk away thinking the school was both inviting and exciting, but I struggled with finding the best way to demonstrate that.

During the days that led up to the open house, I toyed with the idea of using a PowerPoint presentation to outline the various clubs, teams, classes and activities the student could join but felt it would e too impersonal. Next I considered inviting a few students to stand up and talk about the initiatives they were involved in, and what they meant to them on a personal level. This approach seemed unfair to the students as I worried they would be overwhelmed with the prospect of talking to 200 people, and woukd be hard pressed to demonstrate the passion and energy they have for the school through a scripted address.

In the end, I decided to ask the students what they would have wanted to hear when they first came to Minnekhada for their Open House. The students said they would have liked someone to have welcomed them, not the staff (cause they are supposed to!) but rather the students. They also said they wished they head what e kids liked doing and why they liked doing it. With this premise, I handed out 6 video cameras to 12 students as sent them off for one lunch hour to interview and videotape students from around the school.

The raw video was quickly edited (of course, in middle school fashion I left my homework till the last minute!) and the following movie was produced. If you missed the Open House I hope you take a moment to watch the movie and see, feel and hear the passion Minnekhada students have for the people and activities that take place here in a daily basis.

Enjoy…

Darren