Author visits Gibsons Elementary School

This morning, Robert Heidbreder, book author, visited with our grade 2 and 3 classes today in the library.

Robert Heidbreder has been enchanting children with his joyful poems and 

rhymes and his brilliant performances for more than two decades. Robert is 

the author of nearly a dozen books for children, including the award-winning 

Drumheller Dinosaur Dance. He is recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for 

Excellence in Teaching, presented to him by Jean Chretien. Robert lives in 

Vancouver, BC.

Books

  a.. Crocodiles Play!

  b.. Crocodiles Say...

  c.. Shake Awakes

Everyone had a great time listening to his storytelling and being entertained by his obvious love of books!

Games Crew in Action!

Every Thursday at lunch we have a group of students that organize activities in the gym.  Each week a different grade is invited to participate.  Under the direction of Mrs. Servos-Sept, the intermediate students organize stations of various games using a variety of equipment.

Today the grade ones had a chance to play in the gym at lunch.  As you can see they had a great time.

Just a reminder that the rainy, blustery weather is here!

Some days are optional days meaning that if you are dressed for the weather, by all means, head outside.  Those students who want to stay inside can work on projects they have started or do an activity organized by the leadership group, left in each classroom.

Please ensure that your child has a change of clothes if they like to go out in the rainy weather. Thanks for your support.

Rattle making workshop

There was a great turn out last evening for the rattle making workshop held at Gibsons Elementary School. The room was full of adults and children who came to work with Brenda Maynard on a project that was taken home at the end of the evening.  The rattles pictured right are two samples of possible outcomes for the evening workshop.

We are happy to report that there were students and families not only from Gibsons Elementary School, but also from Cedar Grove, Roberts Creek, Chatelech and the Phoenix program.  It was wonderful to see such an age range of students from kindergarten to upper secondary school students.  Thanks to all the adults who came with their children to support a great evening of fun, food and fellowship.

Let it snow!

What a busy week!  Everyone is getting ready to meet with parents next week.  Projects are being finished, bulletin boards are being posted and work for sharing is being collected.  The children have been very busy.  I was able to spend a lot of time this week visiting in Mr. Sullivan's, Mrs. Priest's and Mrs. Wright's classroom this week.  It was great to see learning in action.  Lots of language development in occurring and journal writing is expanding.  We had our first school planning council meeting this week.  The parents and I reviewed the school's growth plan and talked about SMART goals.  We looked at some data around attendance at our Strongstart center and some historical information about our kindergarten group entering school.  Afterwards we had our monthly Parent Advisory council meeting.  Watch next week on our website for the latest minutes.

The weather is changing rapidly!  It is cooling down and we had our fist taste of winter snow.  Please remind your children to wear a coat, boots and mittens/gloves.  It is wonderful to be able to go out and have fun in the bright sun, but it is cold!

Sugar Bowl 2011!

What do you do when you have had too much trick or treat candy the night of Halloween? You go to the Sugar Bowl the day after.  Organized annually by retired teacher, Jim Gray, the Sugar Bowl has become an annual tradition in our school district.  Grade 7's and sometimes 6's from around the district meet at Ted Dixon Park and have a day of soccer matches.  It is a great way to meet and reconnect with students from around the district and enjoy a day together of physical activity, fun and friendship.

Lots of reading is happening around the school!

The two students in the photograph to the right are two of many who have been visiting me regularly to have me put a sticker on their "I've read 20 or 40 books" certificate.  What a great accomplishment and they couldn't do it without support from home.  Thanks to all those family members who take time out of their busy day to help a child read or to read to them.  You are giving your children a wonderful gift.

Next Monday your photo orders are due in to the school.  If you want to order from Scholastic for the Christmas edition the order needs to be in by November the 8th.  The Scholastic Book Fair is coming!  Look for the full ad on our website early next week.  Thanks to everyone for all that you do to make Gibsons Elementary such a great place.

Have a super weekend.

A Very Busy Week!

GES was a very busy place this week.  The band is preparing for our Remembrance Day concert.  The primary choir was singing some spooky songs for Halloween.  The grade 6/7 class was working on some drama presentations for their class.  The school was "buzzing" with "busyness"!  Unfortunately the weather is changing and we had our first taste of an inside day today.  Please remember to send your child with boots and a jacket with a hood.  If it is pouring with rain, students can stay in and work on some of the rainy day activities that the leadership group has put together.  If the rain is intermittent then students are encouraged to go outside and get some fresh air and run off some of their  stored energy. Best wishes for a great weekend.

Just fyi: some of the classes are dressing up in costumes for Monday and some are sticking with the orange and black theme.  The choice is yours. Costumes are not required.

Home Game in the gym!

Today after school the grade 6 - 7 boys volleyball team, coached by Doug Detwiller, played a number of games against West Sechelt Elementary School, coached by Sara Schutz.  The GES boys were keen and well outfitted in GES jerseys.  There were some amazing rallies! Both coaches were impressed with the skill development of the students. Coach Detwiller commented about the boys' skill improvement over the season .  Well done boys!

Bamboo Music - School District Fine Arts Performance

Today we hosted the district fine arts performance of Khac Chi - Bamboo Music. Bamboo music features the classical, folk and contemporary music of Vietnam.  The songs were played on a variety of traditional, bamboo instruments native to Vietnam, as well as the instruments invented by Khac Chi Bamboo Music's members.  There were a number of students called forward to participate in the music making using the instruments provided.  The performance was interactive and engaged all the viewers.  It was great to have Langdale Elementary School join us for the performance.  Together everyone had a great time.

Family fun night was a huge success!

Wow we have an amazing group of parents supporting our school.  Thursday evening's fifth annual fun fair was a huge success.  The fair goers steadily came and went between five and eight o'clock.  There were lots of games to choose from for children of every age.  For those who wanted to have their faces painted the line ups moved quickly.  John was busy for three hours straight calling numbers for the cake walk.  The cakes and cupcakes were amazing.  The decorations on the cakes were a definate crowd drawer.  The moms who ran the concession had a steady stream of customers all evening.  The popcorn was freshly popped all night long and I must confess, I had a bag full.  The gift baskets were a huge success, probably drawing in about a third of the profits for the evening. All in all  a lot of fun was had by everyone who attended.  The total amount of money raised will be confirmed at next month's PAC meeting, but I hear the profit surpassed last year's total.  Money raised will be used towards a projection system and screen specifically for the gym.  Thanks again to the wonderful supporters of Gibsons Elementary School.

Primary music

On Monday mornings, just before lunch, all the primary students meet in the gym for music.  Mrs. Moul organizes the activities and everyone participates: students and teachers.  Today everyone was learning a new "spooky" song along with an action song.  It was super to see everyone working together to create beautiful music!

Aboriginal education

As part of our ongoing learning at school, some of our instructional time is dedicated to aboriginal education.  There is a curriculum document entitled "Shared Learnings" that is a great resource for classroom teachers. We are fortunate to have the expertise of Ms. Haavisto on Thursdays to support classroom learning.  Last week the students and teachers that worked with her were able to have some first hand experience with drumming and singing.

Terry Fox Run

On September 28, almost the whole school went up to the track behind Elphinstone Secondary School for the Terry Fox Run. The weather was perfect and the crowd was positively pumped and ready to run, walk and jog in support of "Terry".  For three quarters of an hour students, young and old, parents and staff walked, talked, ran, laughed and generally had a super time.  Lots of exercise was had by everyone.  While most of us were at the track our kindergarten students stayed at Gibsons Elementary and did their Terry Fox run around the upper field.  On our return, Gibsons Way was busy with ferry traffic.  The drivers saw the Terry Fox banner the students were carrying and gave us lots of honks and toots of support.  It was a great morning which left a very positive feeling for everyone.  Thanks to all the parents who came out to help supervise the children on the walk to and from the school - we could not have done it without you!

Science in Action!

This past week I had the opportunity to visit many classrooms to watch learning in action.  Our students are hard at work reviewing, revising and engaging in learning about new and interesting learning outcomes.  I had an opportunity to watch Mrs. Kranenburg's science class launch their eggs in a "protected" capsule from the top of our adventure playground.  As well, I watched a demonstration of an art project outcome when I stopped in to visit Mrs. Moul's classroom.  It is very rewarding to see our students eagerly engaged in learning.

The End of a Super week!

The first week of school went off smoothly.  The children easily settled into routines and the staff met their needs with skill and precision. I want to extend a huge thank you to the parents who stepped in and covered regular routines that we are still trying to remember.  We miss Mrs. Tattrie who is away right now and we hope to have her return some time in the immediate future.

A big thank you to the PAC for providing the freezies at lunch on Friday. They helped to cool the end of a very hot week!

Another sunny, hot day!

The playgrounds were busy today and it was great to see lots of students with hats and water bottles.  I met with the Parent group this morning to talk about activities happening around the school and plans for upcoming events.  It would be great to see a large turnout of parents at our first PAC meeting on September 21, from 7-9.

The earthquake container is being cleaned out of the outdated supplies and new supplies are on their way into the container.  Your child will be bringing home their personal earthquake kit.  Families are asked to update the information, add a fresh snack and return it to the school.  More details to follow.

First full day of school ...

Today was a very full day as students spent time in the library looking up new books to read and began participating in the music program. As I wandered through classrooms I heard lots of singing and poem reciting.  I met more and more new students and had some great conversations with students who want to direct their own learning - very impressive!  Our new kindergarten students spent some time in class this morning as a group, getting to know each other and participate in a tour around the school.  Mrs. Petty and I were delighted by all the smiling faces that greeted us when they stopped by to say "HI"!

The weather continues to be warm reminding us that summer is not over.  Students are encouraged to wear a hat outside and bring a water bottle.

First day of school!

We had a wonderful day to day.  The Gibsons Elementary School community was buzzing with excitement and smiling faces.  A huge thank you to the parents for providing a warm welcome to our new and returning families.  The coffee and baked goods were appreciated and well received.  I had a great opportunity to meet many of the students today as I visited each classroom throughout the day and chatted with students on the playground.  Pre-ordered school supplies were handed out at the end of the day today. If your son or daughter missed picking them up they can get them tomorrow. I want to thank the staff for a very warm welcome to Gibsons Elementary.  We will begin our first full day of school on Wednesday starting at 9:05 and ending at 2:50.  See you tomorrow!

We are about twenty hours from the start of a new school year!  Over the past two weeks the custodians have been in to do last minute tidying, teachers have been in getting their classrooms sparkling for the new year and our support staff has been busy ensuring that everything goes smoothly for our students. You will see two new faces in the front office.  I have an office there, but I hope to spend most of my time out in the halls and on the playground getting to know the staff, students and their families.  Mrs. Petty (Leah) is our new administrative assistant.  She has been busy getting our student information system tidied up for the new year.  For Tuesday and Wednesday parents can expect that their child(ren) will return to last year's teacher.  Students new to GES will be in classes with other students of similar age. The parents will have coffee on tomorrow morning, just outside the front office, by the main doors.  Please drop by and connect to these wonderful parents who do so much for our school.  One more sleep!  See you in the morning!