Wednesday, November 14th, 2018
Dear JA Families,
I hope you all had a wonderful mid-November break this past weekend. Thank you to all of the parents who joined us at our Remembrance Day Assembly last Thursday and a thank you to Mr. Sidler and Mr. Charles-Antoine who organized the assembly.
Annual Fund
Contributions continue to come in but there’s still lots of room left in our annual fund campaign! We are hopeful that all families will be supporting this year’s campaign.
If you haven’t made your contribution yet, we hope that all families will make a contribution suitable to their individual circumstance.
Thank you to everybody for their generosity!
Scholastic Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair is coming soon! The book fair will be held from November 26th-28th in our library. Please find a time at drop-off, pick-up or during interviews to come in and browse the selections.
This is a very popular event that not only promotes reading at home, but also provides new books to our classrooms and library. We look forward to seeing you at the book fair!
We are still looking for volunteers to help out on book fair days, in particular, after school from 3:00 – 4:30on November 26th and 27th. If you are able to assist, please email Cathy Hibbert, chibbert@junioracademy.com
Spirit Day
This Friday, November 16th, is Spirit Day. We will have a number of activities for the students to participate in with their houses during our morning assembly. We ask that all students wear as many items of their house colour as possible on Friday!
Report Cards and Parent – Teacher Conferences
The first term report card will be sent home on Friday, November 23rd.
We will be conducting Parent-Teacher conferences on Monday, November 26th from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday, November 27th from 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Please note, there will be an early dismissal on November 26th. Kindergarten, grades one and two will be dismissed at 1:30, grade 3 and four at 1:40 and grades five through eight at 1:50.
Please note: aftercare will be offered on both days.
Interview sign-ups will be available on Edsby beginning, November 19th at 9:00 am.
- On November 19th, you will receive a new message in the message folder (file folder icon on the top left of the screen) which will read, “Fall 2018 PT Conference”.
- Click on the message and then click on the button, “Book a Parent-Teacher Interview”
- This will take you to a spreadsheet of available times with your child’s teachers. Click on a “Free” time to book.
If you require technical support when signing up for an interview, please contact the office.
Kristine Locklin, our OT, will also be available during the interview times. She will be sending out a separate message to all of her clients with details about booking an interview with her.
Interviews are scheduled in 20-minute blocks and teachers will be required to keep to their scheduled timeline so that the afternoon runs smoothly. If you wish for your child to remain in the After-Care Program and he/she does not usually attend, please contact the office so arrangements can be made.
Skiing Program: 2019
This year, students in grades 2 to 8 are invited to participate in our winter ski program at Heights of Horseshoe. Heights of Horseshoe is a private club and I would like to thank Leah Carey for making this possible for us again this year! Given the capacity of the coach we are able to accommodate 52 students on each for the ski dates. Ski trip forms were sent home yesterday. Registration is on a first come, first served basis and all registration forms and payment must be received by November 30th, at the latest! If your child requires additional support beyond the planned student to teacher ratio of 8:1 please let me know by November 30th so we may discuss whether this request is able to be accommodated.
Hot Chocolate Fundraiser
Please see the note below, written by the grade eight class.
It is that time of year again! Flu season, flu shots, and sickness! But, we want to warm you up with something sweet and hot. Thirsty Thursdays are back for another year. This year, we will be offering Hot Chocolate for $2.00, one scoop of Marshmallows for 25¢, and a little bit of whip cream for 25¢. A new addition to the Thirsty Thursday line-up is that we will be offering a nice, nut-free treat for $1.00.
Thirsty Thursday will begin on Thursday, November 22nd and will run for four consecutive weeks.
Every year the Grade 8’s arrange a couple of fundraisers which go towards the purchase of a gift that the Grade 8 class gives to the school as an appreciation for what the school has done for us. The Grade 8’s get to decide what the gift is going to be. As an example, last year, the gift was the new podium. Thank you for supporting this fundraiser.
Holiday Decorating Volunteers Needed
We will be looking for a number of volunteers a couple of events coming up in the next month.
Each year around this time Junior Academy is decorated for the holidays. If you have a knack for tree trimming, preparing outdoor planters or can help with other interior decorations around the school please let Nick Johnson know by Thursday, November 22nd. Once we know who is available, a convenient day will be selected. We will need looking for volunteers to decorate:
-A tree in the Atrium (During Week of November 26th)
-The interior entranceways (During Week of November 26th)
-The library for our December 13th winter concert. (On December 13th)
-The stage for our December 13th winter concert. (Morning of December 13th)
Reminders:
- Every Wednesday in November is “Walk-Through Wednesday”. Open House for Prospective Parents. -Tell your Friends!
Nov. 13: Skating
Nov. 16: Spirit Day. Wear House Shirts
Nov. 19-23: Week Two
Nov. 19: Parent – Teacher Conference Sign-Up on Edsby
Nov. 20: Final Skating
Nov. 22: Thirsty Thursday
Nov. 23: Report Cards Sent Home. Pizza Lunch / Free Dress
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Paul Bamberger
Principal