Turner Valley School News

(Grassroots Page 9)

A Message from the Administrator
Groundhog Day is a holiday that originated in New York and Pennsylvania and celebrated on February 2nd. In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, marmot or ground squirrel emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see it's shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees it's shadow, it will return into its burrow, and the winter will continue for 6 more weeks. Around these parts we depend on the famous gopher (a.k.a. Richardson's ground squirrel) Balzac Billy to let us know how much winter is left. Regardless of the weather, Turner Valley School promises to be a very busy place in the coming month.
We are very excited to announce that our school has been selected to present our school improvement project at the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) conference in Edmonton on February 7th and 8th. This is indeed an honour that recognizes the outstanding work our entire staff has been doing in the area of school-wide reading improvement.
Parent-Teacher-Student interviews are happening this month. It is our hope that we keep parents up to date on the progress of their children. Informed parents supporting their children are an important part of the foundation for learning. We look forward to seeing you all at interviews.
During the Family Day week when students are not at school teachers will be participating in two very important professional development activities. On February 23rd our staff will continue its learning in the areas of assessment and teaching reading. This is a continuation of the theme we have been pursuing for the past several months. On February 24th and 25th teachers will attend their annual teacher's convention. This convention gives teachers an opportunity to hear world class presentations on issues in education, explore teaching resources and network with colleagues.
Finally, many parents are aware that we are celebrating our student's character, competence and community contributions by awarding bricks that form the Principal's Wall of Fame. We continued this tradition at our assembly on February 11th which was led by our Grade 2 class.
In closing we wish to thank our parent council for their incredible support and our parent volunteers who give freely of their time to help us be the best we can be. Stay warm!
Yours in Education,
Rob Bennington

Curling Rox
Curling is a sport. They have had curling since 1960. Curling has a broom, ice, rocks and the hack.
What's a hack?
You put your foot in it.
 - Michael

Random Acts of Kindness Week - February 14th to18th
Our school will be participating in Random Acts of Kindness Week. Led by the Grade 2 class, we learned what these acts of kindness can be, at our kick-off assembly on Friday, February 11th.
Daily announcements will also provide examples and encouragement to do something nice for your classmates, teacher and even colleagues! Students can also test their math skills as they enter their ballots to win one of the “Estimation Jars” of yummy Valentine candy. The draw boxes for the candy will be on the main office counter. To be eligible, students need to share their kind deed by writing or drawing about it. Draws will be held at lunch time on Friday, February 18th.
For more info and ideas, for your classroom or what to do at home, please visit:
www.randomactsofkindness.org.