Principal's Message
June is a busy month as students are completing assessments; and are also participating in a number of fun activities. We are so thankful to have less restrictions in the school and to be able to enjoy special events and outings. Please remember you need a Security Background Check to attend any field trips. If you’d like to request one, please contact Katharine by email kandriano@wqsb.qc.ca (paid for by the WQSB).
Please see important information in the newsletter regarding school fees. If you have not yet paid your fees for the year, you must do so in the next 2 weeks. Fees are paid online.
We are sad to announce that our Vice-Principal, Erick Tremblay will be leaving us at the end of this year, and moving to become Vice-Principal at Hadley/Philemon. We wish him the best of luck in his new position, and we’re happy that our grade six students will get to see a familiar face next year at Hadley! The new Vice-Principal for Greater Gatineau will be announced later this week; once the appointment has been approved by the WQSB Council of Commissioners. A REMIND will be sent out later this week with the news.
Please don’t forget that our Kindergarten Open House (for students starting kindergarten next year) is this Thursday from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Please register with Melissa if you have not already done so: mbrownlee@wqsb.qc.ca .
Wishing everyone a wonderful month and hope that you are able to spend time outdoors enjoying the June weather!
RE-REGISTRATION FOR 2022-2023
If you have not completed your online re-registration for next year, please do so as soon as your can. If you do not re-register you might run into difficulties with starting school right away or having transportation arranged for next year.
REGISTRATION FOR 2022-2023
If you, or anyone you know has a child turning five before September 30th, or who is moving into the area please let them know to make arrangements to register by emailing our secretary Michelle at mcomple@wqsb.qc.ca or calling (819)663-4842 extension 2.
REMIND APP
It is important for all families to sign up for our communication tool.
Events at School
VIRTUAL FARM TRIP
Three of the kindergarten classes are going to be taking part in a virtual field trip called “Hurray for Bees!” from the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.
- June 7 – Weizel’s class
- June 8 – Allen’s class
- June 9 – Sanford’s class
SAUNDERS FARM TRIP
The grade 3 students will be visiting Saunders Farm on June 10th for their end of school year trip. The day will be spent enjoying the outdoor facility and activities. It will be a very fun and exciting time for the students.
ALTITUDE GYM TRIP
On June 10th Grade 2 students will go to Altitude Gym to climb on fun and exciting climbing walls. We will also spend some of the day at a nearby park where we will eat our lunches.
LAFLÈCHE TRIP
The grade 4 classes are excited to venture to Laflèche on June 13th! We will have the opportunity to do the aerial course as well as a rally through the forest.
Students will enjoy the day outside challenging themselves to do things out of their comfort zone!
LUNCH PROGRAMS AT SCHOOL
The last Mazzola meals will be served on Monday, June 6th and our Subway Lunch Program will be ending on Wednesday, June 15th.
Please remember to send a full lunch for your child for the remaining days of school.
PERFORMING ARTS SHOW
On June 15th we will be showing off our talents in a three part show. Videos and in person talents will be part of the production. We will still not be able to welcome parents at this time.
UPPER CANADA VILLAGE TRIP
Grade 5 students are excited to return to Upper Canada Village again! We will be wrapping up our unit on the Loyalists and Pioneer Living by visiting Upper Canada Village on Thursday, June 16th.
MUSEUM OF HISTORY TRIP
Grade 1 and 2 has their turn to take a trip to the Museum of History to watch a movie and visit the Children’s Museum. This trip is funded by a Cultural Grant from the Ministry of Education.
- June 1 – Grade 2 – “Superpower Dogs” movie
- June 17 – Grade 1 – “Superpower Dogs” movie
GRADUATION
Graduation will take place in three parts this year. On June 22nd we will welcome families to attend our ceremonies for each class. Every family can have up to 3 guests for the ceremony.
- 8:30-9:30 – Birch and Schultz
- 10:00-11:00 – Fama
- 11:30-12:30 – Dooling
GRADE SIX YEAR END TRIP
On June 20th the grade 6 students will take a trip to the Symmes Museum. Each class will have a turn to visit the museum for a guided tour, they will spend time at the park near the water, and eat their grad luncheon at Bistro Mexicana 129.
COLLECTION OF SCHOOL FEES
We are still collecting school fees for this year. Reminder calls were made to those families who have not yet paid for this school year.
We have noticed that some people are having difficulties with creating a payee on a mobile app. You must sign in to a web browser version of your online banking to create the payee with your 19 digit code. Once the payee has been created and saved, you can use the mobile app to pay.
PEACE LEARNING CIRCLES DAY
On Thursday, June 23rd, we will be hosting a fun-filled “Peace Learning Circles Day” during the morning. Students will be grouped into “Peace Circles” and will participate in some exciting games and challenges! Students will be treated to a popsicle or freezie during the day.
MONTHLY ASSEMBLY
Our next assembly will be on Tuesday, June 21st, where we will celebrate the students who have shown the chosen virtue throughout the month.
Please wear an ORANGE shirt for this monthly assembly. This is to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day as it falls on our assembly day this month.
June is CITIZENSHIP month. We hope to see students showing us what great community members they are both at school and out in the larger community.
Represent Greater Gatineau wherever you go!
PEACE LEARNING CIRCLES AT HOME
CREATIVE STORYTELLING
Start by sitting in a circle around the dinner table or living room. The set-up is “we are going to make up a group story”. The leader starts the story with a setting and characters.
Example “Once there was a family who were going on vacation. They couldn’t decide where to go so they…”
Add to the story one or two sentences at a time. Each person takes a turn around the circle to add to the story. Encourage everyone to listen to each other and be creative when it is their turn to add to the story. You can decide to make it a funny story or a serious story in advance. Or you can let it take you where it wants as you go.
It can be an oral story that gets told once, or you can write it down and illustrate it afterwards so you can read it again.
Home & School
Thank you to all parents who supported our last fundraiser. Reminder, if you ordered candy apples or cotton candy pickup is June 4th between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm. Please ensure that you are available, there will be no other opportunity to pick up your orders.
Our school is fortunate to have a dynamic Home and School Association which organizes many events and fundraising activities. We are always in need of more parents to help plan and run our events and fundraising. Please let us know if you are able to help.
We will continue to post on our Facebook page, if you haven’t done so already, please follow us to stay up to date on upcoming events facebook.com/GreaterGatineau.
Our next H&S meeting is June 14th at 6:30 pm via Microsoft Teams, please contact us via email gghomeandschool@gmail.com or through our Facebook page if you would like to attend. New parents welcome!
Daycare
It has been a busy year at daycare. We were excited to get to go on a few trips this year after so long without them. We will enjoy the final days of this year with our students. June is a great month!
All students will be registered with the same attendance for next year. If your needs have changed please let us know.
Should you have any questions about our program or to register for daycare next year please do not hesitate to contact Jennifer by phone at (819) 663-4842 ext. 3 or e-mail jplaxton@wqsb.qc.ca
Remember to join @ggdaycare2 on the Remind app to get notices about daycare events.
Special Notes
KINDERGARTEN OPEN HOUSE
This year we will be having our open house on June 2nd for our new kindergarten students who will be starting school next year. We are inviting those students, along with their grown ups, to join us for an in-person orientation from 9:00 to 11:00. There will be an information session, goody bags, activity centers, outdoor playtime, and snacks. See you then!
Here is a flyer regarding the schedule for the morning.
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART
So far we have raised over $1000 to help with research and support for people with heart related problems. There is still time to join us in our fundraising efforts. The fundraiser closes on June 17th and online prizes will be sent shortly after that. Join Here
ARE YOU MOVING?
As we prepare for next year, it is very important that you notify the school if you are moving. Please call the school at 819-663-4842 and speak to Katharine at extension 1, with your change of address so we can up-date our files for transportation.
BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING
The Maison de Quartier Notre-Dame is once again participating in the shared store/back to school program. This is a Centraide Outaouais community program based on the values of dignity, sharing and solidarity. More information available on the Centraide Back to School 2022 flyer and a french version MQND – Lettre aux parents 2022 Magasin Partage
NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY
National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada.
The day was first celebrated as National Aboriginal Day in 1996, after it was proclaimed that year by the Governor General of Canada to be celebrated annually on June 21st. This date was chosen for many reasons, including its cultural significance as the Summer solstice, and the fact that it is a day on which many Indigenous peoples and communities traditionally celebrate their heritage. It was renamed National Indigenous Peoples Day in 2017.
At Greater Gatineau we will wear ORANGE to mark this day.