Feb
1
James Bay Community School
By Darcy Topinka
This past December would be the 14th consecutive holiday season our students were recipients of support in the form of monetary donations made to the school through an annual giving campaign. South Harbour Partners is a collection of Condominium owners in James Bay who have reached out each year and given generously to the school to offset the costs of some amazing learning opportunities for our students. During the school year, new books are purchased for the library, updated technology equipment is added to our class rooms, opportunities for students to explore their community are created and invited guests bring knowledge, experience, and life skills to the students in their classrooms. In addition to these extremely helpful educational based opportunities, each child in the school received a holiday treat in the form of a grab bag, and some lucky students and their families were recipients of Thrifty Food Gift certificates.
The centre would also like to acknowledge Thrifty foods for their donation of poinsettias, making our holiday dinners appear that much more festive. The school is often on the receiving end of the generosity of James Bay residents thanks to all who dropped off unsolicited toys and gifts of cheer.
Registration for September 2012 Kindergarten at James Bay community School is the week of January 30th to February 3rd from 8:00am to 3:30pm. Please bring verification of your child's birth date, (birth certificate, proof of Canadian citizenship or Landed Immigrants status), immunization records, BC Care Card and proof of residency with you to the school office. Registration is required at this time to ensure your child is enrolled for September. Happy Valentines Day! Our annual Seniors' Valentines Dinner will be held on Tuesday February 14th at 5pm. Tickets are available at the community centre reception desk.
The James Bay Community School has joined the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program which is funded by the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation. The program was launched by the B.C. government in 2005 as a way to educate residents and students about the quality, diversity and availability of B.C. fresh produce, as well as to encourage students to eat healthily. Over twelve hundred schools take part, involving more than 409,000 students annually. Twice monthly the school will receive a delivery of produce which will be used in the classroom at any time during the school day should a child get the urge to snack. Basic food costs have risen and many families struggle with their food budgets; the program will assist our families tremendously. This parent-driven initiative is a welcome addition to our already successful hot lunch program funded by School district #61 and fees collected by parents.
Fuelling our bodies with healthy foods is of great importance to all of us. Healthy bodies and healthy minds are two obvious goals parents and teachers strive to instill in elementary school children, and the topic seems to be on everyone's mind as we look to make lifestyle improvements in the new year. Teacher Joy Nugent has taken things a bit further in a creative classroom project that focuses on children developing the best potential for a healthier mind. Miss Nugent reported that "Grade 4/5 students are learning about the Seven Essential Mental Activities for developing a healthy mind. The Healthy Mind Platter presents these seven activities, which are: Sleep Time, Physical Time, Focus Time, Time In, Down Time, Play Time, and Connecting Time."
The class used this Healthy Mind Platter to make New Year's Resolutions. They looked at all of the activities they did in a day to see how they fit in with these mental activities. When the students noticed they wanted to do more of something (eg. Sleep Time) or start something new (eg. Time In = meditation, mindfulness), they used it as a starting point for their New Year's Resolution.
Here are some of the resolutions: 1) do more Focus Time; 2) sleep one hour more each night; 3) work more Down Time into my day; 4) get better at wrestling; 5) get better at gymnastics; 6) get better at my art skills; 7) improve my shot in hockey.
The class is going to continue using the Healthy Mind Platter as a framework to integrate their brains and minds.