Rossland Summit School · Mabel's Labels - These labels are great for clothing, shoes, lunch containers, water bottles, even put them on your child's ski pass in case of an emergency.

Rossland Summit School December 2016 Newsletter

Hello RSS Families! The RSS staff extends their warmest wishes for the holiday season and the very best of everything in the New Year!

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RSS Winter Evening Gala on December 15th @ 6:00PM- 7:30PM Please join us for a fantastic evening showcasing a wonderful variety of K-9 student-led and classroom projects. We look forward to seeing you!

Snowflake Dance! December 8th 6:30PM-8:30PM Our grade 6-8 dance this year has famed local DJ’s Sexton Blake and RSK returning for another awesome show! This RSS dance is $6 and will be attended by other elementary schools in our district. The dance is not formal dress as some students may suggest … reindeer antlers … Santa hats … yes!

Report Cards

The first of three formal Report cards will be emailed home on December 5th; apologies for the delay. Your child will bring home their PEN number, which you will need to access the report cards. If you have any difficulty accessing these reports please call the office.

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Parking Changes Coming to RSS

With the completion of the roadwork around RSS, we will be seeing new parking rules/signage in and around the school in the New Year.

-At this time, please ensure that all student AM and PM drop-off and pick-up are done at the back of the school as we need the front/main entrance for school district and city bus pick-up and drop off.

-During school-wide evening events please park by the Emcon lot and use our new pedestrian cross-walk at 4th Avenue.

-A more comprehensive letter will be sent home regarding RSS parking in the New Year.

RSS Winter Variety Show! Wednesday December 14th 6:30PM-8:30PM The RSS Winter Variety Show showcases the talents of students from all ages at RSS! Come to the RSS theatre on Wednesday, December 14th for an evening of music, dancing, singing and more!

Tickets will be sold at the door beginning at 6:00 Adults: $7 … Students $5 …

Seniors $5 … Families (Max of 4) $20 … Kids 6 and under: Free

The show will run from 6:30-8:30 with a short intermission. Refreshments will be sold before the show and during the intermission.

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Lost and Found The Lost and Found has MANY articles in it – please check for your lost items before it goes to the thrift store on December 22nd. The Lost and Found is located near the second entrance to the auditorium.

Professional Collaboration and School Community Building at RSS !

Every Wednesday morning from 8:30-9:15 our teachers meet to collaborate professionally. This is a time for teachers, together, to share, support and explore new pedagogy, new curriculum and the overall school learning culture. Not only will effective collaboration improve teacher performance, but it also will improve student performance. While teachers are collaborating, our students our doing some collaborating of their own! Younger students are paired with older students. Our weekly Wednesday school-wide assemblies have focussed on everything from safe, caring and orderly schools, to guest speakers, to reading practice and beyond!

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Hour of Code is December 5-11 at RSS! …

RSS students of all ages will the opportunity to learn mow to code!

Exciting Grade 1-2 Project-Based Learning at RSS!

Ms. Foster and Mrs. Jackman's Grade One/Two Classes will be making the City of Rossland out of Gingerbread as a culminating collaborative project on Community and many other curricular outcomes.

They have been very lucky to learn from many local 'experts' about their jobs in Rossland, and what it means to be an active and healthy citizen.

Five parts of the Gingerbread Community will be raffled off on Dec. 21st during the Solstice Potluck.

The community and project outcomes will be on display the week of Dec. 19th-21st at the bulletin board in front of the office. Tickets to win the raffle will be sold by the students during that time for $2.00 each.

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Grade 4-9 Ski Days at Red!

As part of our emphasis on healthy lifestyles and following the alternate activities as listed in the PE curriculum guide, our intermediate students will again have the option of attending two ski sessions in the New Year. Our ski dates are February 23rd and March 2rd. More information will follow in the New Year.

Athletics @ RSS

Volleyball

The RSS Fall athletics season wrapped up the last week of November. Our grade 6-7-8 boys and girls Volleyball teams had amazing seasons! Our grade 6-7 teams finished the volleyball season at the always-exciting Selkirk College Play-Day. The Grade 8 girls had a fantastic final tournament at Mount Sentinel. A big thank you to all the school staff and parent volunteers who made the volleyball season such a roaring success!

Basketball

Basketball practices have begun for all gr 6-8 boys and girls wanting to play! Boys practice Mondays and Wednesdays (2:30-4:15) and Girls practice Tuesday and Thursday (2:30-4:15). We are in desperate need of a Gr.8 boys coach! If you interested, please contact Ms. Foster email: [email protected]

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RSS PAC News! Next PAC meeting is Tuesday, December 6th at 7pm in the RSS Library. Everyone is always welcome! The main topics of this meeting are reviewing teachers requests for funding supplies or projects, as well as organizing a Parents showing of a film called Screenagers about children and technology... the name is a bit deceiving as parents of children 7 and UP are the target group. We are also looking at organizing some parent talks on this topic. RSS Food Store … We still have a few days to fill before Christmas break Wed Nov 30 Tues Dec 6 Thurs Dec 8 Tues Dec 13 Wed Dec 14 Thur Dec 15 Tues Dec 20 Here is the link http://doodle.com/poll/tifd6t45trerrums Please take a look and fill in where you are able. Thanks! PAC Fundraisers Wrap N Mats – On sale at the school office 1 for $5, two for $8 or three for $12 This reusable food wrap is environmentally friendly and convenient to use for zero Bottle Bin- Please drop your refundable drink containers at the school bottle bin. Our school teams and clubs appreciate your support! Ferraro Foods Receipts - Please donate your Ferraro Foods Receipts to the PAC! If you could bundle and tally your receipts before taxes, then drop them off at the school office; we would appreciate it. We get a % back to spend at Ferraro Foods. If you don't have time to tally them, please still bring them in, every little bit helps. Mabel's Labels - These labels are great for clothing, shoes, lunch containers, water bottles, even put them on your child's ski pass in case of an emergency. Proceeds from all purchases come back to our PAC when you go through the following website: http://mabelslabels.com/c/? type=fundraiser&b=2537&cur_website=base

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December 6: PAC Meeting 7PM in Library

December 8: Gr 6-8 RSS Snowflake Dance 6:30PM-8:30PM

December 14 RSS Winter Variety Show! 6:30PM-8:30PM

December 15: RSS Winter Evening Gala 6:00 PM-7:30PM

December 15: Pizza Day

December 22: Last Day Before Winter Vacation

January 9: School Reopens

Upcoming Events of Note @ RSS …

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Update on B.C.’s New Curriculum from Education Minister Mike Bernier

November 29, 2016

Dear Parent,

The world is changing and B.C.’s new curriculum is critical in making sure your child is connected with the

skills he or she needs to succeed in this changing world. We have just announced important updates on B.C.’s

new curriculum – on how it will be implemented in grades 10-12, and on the Foundation Skills Assessments

(FSA) written in grades 4 and 7.

Grade 10-12 curriculum implementation

Teachers, principals and trustees asked for more time to work hands-on with the redesigned draft curriculum

in grades 10-12 – and we agree. The extra time means teachers can try out the draft curriculum and provide

feedback before it is fully implemented in the 2018/19 school year. The new curriculum is already fully in

place in the earlier grades.

The extra year makes sense because the graduation years are more complex than the K-9 years. They are tied

to provincial exams. They are connected to post-secondary choices. We are making sure that we get the

Grade 10-12 redesigned curriculum right for students, ensuring their future success in post-secondary and

the workforce.

When it comes to provincial exams, we have mapped out which old exams and new exams will be written

and when. The most important thing is that new or old, our standards remain high, testing remains rigorous,

and combined with in-class exams we will be thoroughly testing student knowledge. Detailed exam

information can be found at: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/graduation-info

Foundation Skills Assessments

Along with our new curriculum, we are enhancing our Foundation Skills Assessment that students in Grades 4

and 7 are required to write under B.C.’s School Act. The FSA measures reading, writing and math problem-

solving skills that students have gained over several years of learning and provides critical information for

parents, for teachers, and for the education system.

Starting next year, students in grades 4 and 7 will complete their FSAs in the fall instead of the spring. This

means you and your child’s teacher will get results earlier – and that means any necessary actions can be

taken sooner. More information on the new FSA can be found at: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/assessment-

reporting/new-foundation-skills-assessment

Additionally, we will be giving parents like you a snapshot of the FSA results in broader school reports. You

deserve to know how your child’s school is succeeding on a variety of fronts – and we will include that

information to provide a complete picture.

Together with teachers, our new curriculum is making sure that your child learns the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, while also engaging the collaboration, critical thinking and communications skills they'll need to succeed in college, university, and the workforce. Thank you,

Mike Bernier Minister of Education

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