DECEMBER 2017

Principal’s Message

As November comes to a close and I reflect on the month that has passed, I realize just how busy all of the staff and students have been here at Wakaw School with their classes, athletics, and other learning activities throughout the month. Academically, by the time this newsletter goes to print, Wakaw School will have hosted yet another literacy night on November 23rd for students in grade 4 -12 with the focus on graphic novels using the “7 Keys to Comprehension” strategies. As always, I expect a great turn out and many positive academic results from the night. New this year is a program called Boks Kids. Boks or Build our Kids’ Success is a 24 week before school program aimed at students in grade 1 to 6 to improve physical fitness and improve learning. The program runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:20am until 8:50m. If students are unable to make all 3 days they can still sign up as a drop in student. Students from grades 1-7 were treated to Steve Harmer’s “Motivational Magic” presentation where he spread the message of being a “bucket filler.” All students and staff thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. Finally, four students were recognized as Warrior of the Month for October; Helaina Funk (Early Elementary), Olivia Korol (Junior Elementary), Madison McKay (Middle Years), and Emily Zaleschuk (High School).

On the sports front, the SRC hosted a pep rally on November 16th for the Sr. Girls Volleyball team as a send off to the provincial 3A tournament in Carlyle. Congratulations to the Sr. Girls for yet another provincial title. The Sr. Football team lost a close game in the provincial semi-finals to Dalmeny thus ending their run for a provincial title. The 2A six-man provincial final was played on November 11’th crowning Clavet as provincial champions with a 72-70 win over Dalmeny. With fall sports wrapping up it should be noted that Wakaw will field a Jr. Girls (grades 7-9) and Jr. Boys (grades 7-9) basketball team this year. Plans are underway for both boys’ and girls’ programs to carry some grade 10 students and possible some grade 11 students for exhibition games so that both programs can expand into a full fledged basketball program in Wakaw with both Jr. and Sr. boys’ and girls’ teams going forward. Special thanks to the Wakaw Cops for Kids program for the donation of $150 for the purchase of a set of jerseys for the girls’ program.

December brings with it the excitement of the upcoming Christmas break. This year the last day before the break is the 22nd. We will once again have our staff and student lunch that day followed by an early dismissal of 2:10pm. The break runs from the 23rd of December until the 7th of January. Please enjoy your time with family and loved ones and get some much needed time to rest and recover. I look forward to seeing all of you back here on the 8th.

-Mr. Darryl Dickson

BOKS Program – Building Our Kids’ Success!

On Wednesday, November 15th, Wakaw School launched a new, free before school program sponsored by Reebok, called BOKS.

Build Our Kids Success (BOKS) is a grassroots movement that was started in 2009 by Executive Director Kathleen Tullie and a

group of passionate volunteers, who were inspired by Dr. John Ratey’s book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise

and the Brain. Dr. Ratey’s research provides compelling evidence on how physical activity will supercharge mental circuits to beat

stress, sharpen thinking and enhance memory in kids. Children, ages Kindergarten to Grade 8, typically meet 3 mornings a week

for a 30-minute session (8:20 am - 8:50 am) and engage in daily themes of functional fitness that incorporate day-to-day

movements and play. For more information or to get your children registered, please contact the school.

SRC will once again be helping our local Lions Food Bank. At this time of year, we want to make sure all

children have enough to eat and gifts to open at Christmas. If you are able, please consider donating food,

gifts or cash and we will make sure it goes to a family in our area.

Cap & Gown Photos!

Reminder for grade 12 students! Cap and

Gown photos will be taken on Friday, Dec. 1st.

COOKIE SALE

The cookie sale was a success!

Thanks to everyone who bought

Cookies.

Christmas cookies coming soon!

SRC NEWS

Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraiser. Items should be arriving by the end of November. Also, school

clothing will be here before Christmas. Thanks for all your support.

Christmas Dinner will be held December 22nd. Tickets are $5.00/person. If you do not wish to purchase the Christmas

Dinner, please bring your lunch and join everyone. If the $5.00 is a concern but you wish to have the Christmas Dinner,

please let your teacher or the office know. We have very generous families who purchase extra tickets for those going

through tough times.

Halloween Carnival was a great success! We are grateful to everyone who enjoyed all the hard work our students did to

make this an entertaining afternoon.

Library News The last couple of months in the library have been just as busy as September was. We received a few shipments of new books for the shelves as well as we organized new levelled and high interest buckets of books for the elementary readers. December will of course bring some Christmas decorating and pulling lots of Christmas themed books off the shelves. This month will also be the start of a long project to reorganize the non fiction section to allow for more display of new books, seasonal books and specific author showcases. Stay tuned for pictures of the final results.

Deana and Daniel bundled up to mail

the Pre-Kindergartens’ letters to

Santa!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

You are invited to attend our Wakaw School Christmas Dance, being held on Friday, December 8th, 2017, from

6:00 PM- 8:00 PM. Students from Pre-K to Grade 8, and their families are welcome to attend.

- We will have a 50/50 draw instead of charging admission

- Hotdogs will be sold for $2.00 each

- We invite parents to volunteer to bring in baking that will be sold during the dance for $0.50 each

- Coffee and juice will be served free of charge

Pleases be reminded that students must attend with a parent or guardian and no high heels are permitted on our

new gym floor.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Wakaw School Staff

Sr. Girls Claim 3A Provincial Volleyball Gold!

The Sr. Girls Volleyball Team made the five-hour trek to Carlyle and Oxbow on Nov. 17th-18th for 3A girls provincial volleyball.

They played well throughout the round robin and finished second in their pool with a record of three wins and one loss. This

put them up against Langenburg in the quarter finals. The girls played a solid game from start to finish and won in two

straight sets. The semi final matchup pitted the Warriors against a very strong team from Carlyle. Carlyle was undefeated

thus far and the girls knew they would have to bring their best game and they did just that. In a back and forth game the girls

were able to win in two sets by the scores of 25-23 and 27-25. The girls then hopped on the bus and headed back to Carlyle to

get set for the provincial final against the Foam Lake Panthers. The girls came out firing and jumped out to a big lead in the

first set. Foam Lake did not quit as they chipped away at the lead and were able to take the first set. With their backs against

the wall, the Warriors answered back in dominant fashion. They came out strong again and this time didn’t look back as the

won the second set 25-10. This set up a winner take all third set. The Warriors would not be denied as they carried their

momentum forward and won the third set 15-9 to claim provincial gold!

The girls would like to thank all of the parents, grandparents, and fans who made the long trip to support them on the

weekend. We could not have done it without you!

Sr. Football Wraps Up Their Season

The Warriors Senior Football team wrapped up their season with a provincial run that lasted into November.

Their first provincial game was a quarter-final against the Creighton Kodiaks on Sat. Oct. 28th. The Kodiaks opened the

scoring on the first play from scrimmage when their best running back broke around the outside edge of the Warrior

defense for his first of 3 touchdowns on the day. The Warriors came right back scoring 22 straight points before the end of

the first quarter. Wakaw continued to roll with 3 more touchdowns, while Crieghton added another 2 touchdowns making

the score 54-22 at half time. Both teams put up almost the same amount of points in the second half, with the Warriors

earning a 77-44 win. With that win, the Warriors advanced to a provincial semi-final against the Dalmeny Cougars on Sat.

Nov. 4th. The day started with a few inches of snow that had to be removed from the field. Players, parents, coaches, and

the Town of Wakaw all pitched in to get the field cleared before game time. The field was frozen, and the Warriors had

trouble adjusting in the first quarter, giving the Dalmeny Cougars a 24-0 lead before they found their legs. The offence

started to click at that point, and with the help of a defensive touchdown the Warriors closed the gap to 30-22 by

halftime. The Warriors continued that momentum in the 3rd quarter, taking the lead 34-30. Both teams were playing well

at this point in the game. The Cougars retook the lead, and the Warriors tried to close the gap. Dalmeny eventually took a

12-point lead, and the Warriors had chances but couldn't respond as time ran out. The final score was 52-40 for the

Cougars.In the provincial final, the Clavet Cougars won a very close game over Dalmeny by a score of 72-70. This result

solidified Wakaw’s position as a top 3 team in Saskatchewan this year.

The Warriors would like to thank everyone involved in this very successful season. Many people volunteered to run

concessions, officiate, make programs, setup, and all the other jobs needed on game days. In the two provincial games

they also ran the gate and cleared snow. Without this support, this season wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable or

successful.

Grade 4A News

The grade 4A class was very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with local artist, Vera Trembach, on

November 17th. The class walked over to the Bonne Madone Room, (part of our local museum) at 12:10. While

students ate their lunches, Mrs. Trembach shared some local history, and gave us a lesson on the museum’s

history. We examined artifacts in the Bonne Madone Room and began sketching some of them. Students used

pencil, pastels, and paint to create individual tiles that will be made into a mural. Students also made impressions

in styrofoam, then used pencil and marker to create a collaborative print of a prairie scene. Everyone had a great

time as we learned about local history, and also, some new art techniques.

Junior Choir

Twenty-seven students from Grade 1 to Grade 6 signed up for Junior Choir this year. We are busy preparing two

songs, “Silver Bells” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Students who love to sing are giving up their noon hours to

attend practices. Mrs. Pat Holinaty will be accompanying us on the piano this year. We will be singing at the Carol

Festival, which will be held on Sunday, December 3rd at the Wakaw Rec Centre at 2:00.

Grade 4B News

November has been an exciting month for grade 4B. We finally raised enough money from juice box recycling to

sponsor our first endangered species. As a class we spent lots of time going through the list of endangered

animals. We then decided together to sponsor the Kermode Bear who is found in BC’s rainforest. After choosing

our animal, we spent some time researching to learn more about the Kermode Bear who was on it’s way to our

class. The grade 4B’s were very excited when our bear arrived and we had a class vote to choose the name for our

new bear. We would like to introduce everyone to Spirit. Spirit can be found in the grade 4B class where he enjoys

watching the class learn. The grade 4’s were also able to lead the Remembrance Day service in singing O’Canada.

After the service we were able to take individual pictures with Wakaw School’s military student Private Dyck and

we were able to ask him questions about his career choice. We also were able to take a group photo with the rest

of the veterans, legion members and military members who attended. Grade 4’s have been writing up a storm in

preparation for our first division wide writing assessment which was on November 30. We spent lots of time

throughout the month learning about different ways to start a story, how to transition our paragraphs and how to

make our writing more interesting for our readers. It has been a busy and fun month!

Kindergarten News

October was another busy month in Kindergarten. One of the highlights of the month was carving pumpkins

with our grade five care -partners. Thanks to the parents who donated the pumpkins for this wonderful activity.

At the beginning of November, I attended a workshop called Animated Literacy, along with Mrs. Kozak. It was an

amazing professional development opportunity and I am excited to see the impact this program will have for the

kindergarten students. We were also very fortunate to have a presentation by Steve Harmer. He spoke to the

students about Filling Others’ Buckets. It is a wonderful way to explain to children about kindness and the

importance of considering how our actions may affect others. Finally, I want to thank all the parents who came

out for the Three Way Conferences in November. I hope to see many students and their families at the

Christmas Dance being held on December 8th.

ON SALE Annual Wakaw School Christmas Dinner Advance Tickets

(for student Christmas dinner)

on December 22nd

PRICE PRE-K-12 $5.00

Tickets are sold from Dec. 1st to Dec. 15th

Please note the dinner will be sold and served only to students and staff. If your child is not interested in

the Christmas Dinner, please send him/her a bagged lunch and they are welcome to eat in the gym as

well.

Fill in the bottom form and return this to:

PreK-12 Homeroom teacher

Make any cheques payable to Wakaw School.

My child(ren) will attend the Christmas dinner on December 22nd.

Student’s name Grade

1. _____________________________ _________

2. _____________________________ _________

3. _____________________________ _________

4. _____________________________ _________ TOTAL COST _____________

_______________________________________________

Parent Signature

Craft Club

In Craft Club we made our November craft. Mrs.

Bergerman, Mrs. Kurtenbach, Mrs. Shulhan, and Miss

Mellesmoen helped us all. We made wood plaques into

really cute winter scenes by using rocks, twigs, paint and

glitter! We aren’t quite finished yet because we just need

to add some ribbon. The teachers made theirs on small

wood plaques. We all made our rocks look like birds with

winter clothing. We painted the outside of the wood

plaque and hot glued everything. So to end this we all love

our crafts!

Belle Standish

Grade 6 Student

Cops for Kids Wakaw Cops for Kids presented the school with a cheque for $150 to be put toward the purchase of new jerseys for basketball. This year Wakaw will field a Jr. Girls (7-9) team as well as a Jr. Boys (7-9) in HCAA basketball league play. Mr. Haryett and Mr. Dickson will be coaching both Jr. teams this year as well as running practices with students from grades 7-11 in the hopes that next year Wakaw will be able to field 4 school teams. (Jr. Boys and Girl in grades 7-9 as well as Sr. Boys and Girls in grades 10-12)

Warrior of the Month (October 2017)

Early Elementary - Helaina Funk The Wakaw Warrior of the month for October comes from

Kindergarten. This student is a role model for other Kindergarten

students. She is kind and respectful towards her classmates and all

school staff. She always does her best, is on task and follows

instructions. She follows our classroom promises such as promising

to make good choices, to share, to help others, to use kind words and

to listen carefully. The Wakaw Warrior from Kindergarten is Helaina

Funk!

Junior Elementary - Olivia Korol

The Warrior of the month for October from grades three and four is a student who gives her best effort in anything that she does at school. She is a great listener, extremely neat and organized, and is a great friend to her classmates. She is quick to volunteer to help within the classroom and her smile can brighten anyone’s day! Congratulations Olivia Korol!

Middle Years - Madison McKay The warrior chosen for this month is a very enthusiastic and

dependable student. She has a strong work ethic and is very respectful

to her teachers. She always has a smile on her face and is accepting of

all students. Working with others is another one of her strengths. She

accepts challenges and has an inner drive to accomplish anything she

sets out to do. She is involved with many sports in our school and SRC.

Keep up the great work Madison McKay!

High School - Emily Zaleschuk

The Warrior of the month for October is an honour roll student who is

a valued member of the Sr. Girls Volleyball team, the badminton

team, and the Track & Field team. She is quick to volunteer officiating

and wherever else help is needed. Congratulations Emily Zaleschuk!