​Memo for Garden Creek Parents and Guardians​

​Good afternoon Creeker Families,  

 A few things for you to know  and celebrate:

Generosity to the Community Before the holidays, we had a surplus of milk as well as Grade 3-5 turkey dinner items that we were able to donate to the community kitchen on the last Friday of school.  It was great that we were able to put it to good use for others in need. Once again, the Creeker Community has helped our extended Fredericton community both through this as well as through your generous donations for the food bank at our Christmas concert and Angel Tree. THANK YOU!

Grade 2 Provincial Assessment Results – the results were released this past December. Our Grade 2 students performed well in reading comprehension J.  5.1% were below appropriate achievement ( District was at 27.8%  and the Province was at 28.8),  59% of our students scored at Appropriate Achievement ( District was 50.8% and Province was 51.3%), 35.9% of our students scored at Strong Achievement ( 21.3% at District and 20% Provincially).  I credit our staff  for their strong efforts as well as our Literacy Lead and ELF volunteers and of course parental support and students working hard. Way to go, team!  Our team  is continuing to work with students where they are academically through grouping students for Literacy once a week and other interventions in the classrooms.

Professional Learning Day – Yesterday, the staff met to discuss our school goals, by examining a variety of  school-wide data and having in-depth conversations and staff consensus on next steps . We are going to  continue to strengthen our practice in working on meeting students where they are in their academic, social and emotional growth.   This will be through  personalized learning  through  staff collaborating in teaching practices.  More to come as we move ahead.

Library Update Completion! Thanks to the work of Kim Kennedy and her team of parent volunteers and of course the financial support of our parents, the library is looking fantastic! The furniture arrived mid- December and is beautiful. Please stop in and see the makeover! Thank you to all for your support in this undertaking.

Morning Entry Reminders – As we go hard in our learning in the next 6 months, I remind parents that students need to be here by 8:15 AM so that they can settle into the entry routine with their class. As I have been having conversations around this, tardiness and absenteeism  has been reduced – thank you!

Prime Minister’s Awards - Nominate an outstanding Teacher or Early Childhood Educator for a 2019 Prime Minister’s Award!  A reminder that there is still time to nominate a teacher for the Prime Minister's Awards  that honour exemplary teachers and early childhood. These awards  include the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Teaching Excellence in STEM, and Excellence in Early Childhood Education. Prime Minister’s Awards recipients can receive: Cash awards worth up to $5,000, a certificate from the Prime Minister, a National recognition and promotion of their best teaching practices. Download the nomination form   at Canada.ca/pm-awards and submit it  electronically or by mail before January 14, 2019.

Christmas Cards – One of our staff members is collecting old Christmas cards. If you have any, could you please send them to school with your child? Thanks so much.

Dates Ahead :

Thursday Jan 10th –   fluoride mouth rinse, Chartwell’s hot lunch

Tues Jan 15^th – Earth Rangers presenting today from 1-2 pm / Home and School Meeting 6:30 pm

Wed Jan 16^th – NBA 2Ball at our school for specified Grade 3-5 students in the afternoon

Tues Jan 22 – PSSC meeting 6:30 pm

Mon Jan 28^th – NO SCHOOL – Professional Learning day

Wed Jan 30^th – District  2 Ball for specific students in the afternoon

Mon Feb 4^th – TNB production Hansel and Gretel 9:00 AM

Wed Feb 13^th – District  Chess Tournament for grades 3-5 coordinated through Mrs. Doyle – select students

Fri  Feb 15^th –  Grade 1 French Immersion registration  with the District opens – more info to come

Mon Feb 18^th – NB Family Day – no school

Tues Feb 19^th – Home and School Meeting 6:30 pm

Week of Feb 25^th – Creeker Winterlude activities – details to come

Tues Feb 26^th – PSSC meeting 6:30 pm

March Break – week of March 4^th

Katherine Campbell

Principal

Garden Creek School

506-453-5409

Once a Creeker, Always a Creeker!