December 19, 2008
Dear Parents and Students:

First of all, I want to thank all of you who contributed to the wonderful holiday gift that I received the other day.  The bouquet of flowers is beautiful and so cheerful on these wintry days—a true reminder that warmer weather is sure to return eventually.  The gift cards for Earls and for Coles/Indigo will certainly be put to great use over the holidays.  I have quite an extensive book list, and the ability to fulfill a few of my literary wishes is always most welcome.  Thanks again!  I also have received some very thoughtful gifts from individual students and will extend separate thank-yous for those in the New Year.

Our EasyDough Foods fundraiser was very successful, and contributed almost $500 to our Regina trip fund.  Thanks to everyone who participated! 

We had a delicious afternoon today—thank you to everyone who contributed treats for our movie.  We had leftovers, and will aim to finish them off tomorrow morning as we complete our cleanup and participate in some care partner activities.  Please remember to bring a board game to use with Grade 6-7 when we get together with them after am recess tomorrow.

This is a reminder to ensure that all gym clothes, shoes, and leftover lunches should go home for the holidays.  A few people also have some homework to catch up on, although many students have completed their “to-do” lists and will have plenty of extra time to read!  In the New Year, students should consider bringing locks to school to use on their lockers.  As well, all students and staff who plan to use the rink are reminded that they must be wearing a properly-fitting CSA-approved hockey helmet before setting foot on the ice.  Related to rink use, we remind all students that system safety/insurance guidelines require them to go home and check in with their parents before they are allowed to play on the ice during after-school hours.  We all want to thank the Cozart family and their helpers for getting the rink into usable condition—we really appreciate their hard work.

In the New Year, we will welcome an intern teacher, Ms Jaymee Lee Ahenakew-Boyer, to our classroom.  We will spend about a week tying up the loose ends of pre-holiday assignments and units, which will give her time to get accustomed to our school community before she jumps into teaching.  It’s therefore very important for students to complete their SS PowerPoints and to have their memory sticks here and ready to go on Tuesday, January 6.  As well, on Thursday, January 8, students have a French menu assignment due to Mme Cline.  A few students may still have a symmetry assignment (math/art), a cartoon package (ELA/Art), a What in the World? map (modern piracy off the coast of East Africa/Asia), a math homework booklet (pp 1-14) and a fractions review booklet, and POW 11 or 12 to finish up (Climbing to New Heights/ How to Torture Your Teacher).  I also want to mention that there will be a Science test on Soil sometime around Tuesday, January 13.  I will put a link up to the notes on my website over the break in case anyone wishes to begin studying ahead of time.

Upcoming activities include some sessions of cross-country skiing, taught by Mrs. Sondresen, and tentatively scheduled for January 13, 15 and 16.  Students will also have three full-morning sessions of curling at Nutana Curling Club on January 16, January 30 and February 6.  We require some parent helpers for curling, so please let me know if you are able to help out on one or more of those mornings.  As well, we are asking students to pay $10 to cover the cost of three lessons, ice rental and buses.  Thanks!

Grade Eights will begin to get very busy with the high school registration process.  The first major event for parents and students will be an information meeting at Marion M. Graham Collegiate on Tuesday evening, January 20.  Please plan to attend.  Also for Grade Eights, Home Economics and Industrial Arts classes will start in late January or early February.  I will let you know the details as soon as they have been confirmed.  During the times that the Grade Eights are away, the Grade Sevens will engage in some practical arts activities of their own, probably including Telemedia if there is room in the Central Office schedule.

Well, Winter Fest is about to begin, and I am off to do some caroling!  I hope that many of you were able to attend and enjoyed the variety of activities available to families.

Have a wonderful holiday.  I think that most of us feel ready for a time of rest, relaxation and celebration.

Sincerely,

Mrs. G. Pilon

December 16, 2008

Dear Parents and Students:

We had a fabulous concert this afternoon, featuring the choir and the bands.  All of our students did wonderfully—it was a real treat to hear them sing and play with such expertise and musicality. 

Thanks to everyone who has brought in items for the holiday hampers.  We will be putting them together tomorrow, and they will be picked up on Thursday, so there is still time to bring in a donation if you would still like to do so.  (Please do not bring in donations of meat until Thursday, because there is no place at school to store it until then.)  We are still collecting toonies, to be used to purchase a gift card for the family we are sponsoring.

 We really appreciate your generosity.  Mrs. Douglas (aka Ms. Evans), principal of Howard Coad School, tells me that the needy families in her community always are overwhelmed with gratitude when they receive our hampers.  I just wanted to let you know that your thoughtfulness makes a huge difference in the lives of others.

I wanted to take a moment and let you know about some of the upcoming events this week.  Most importantly, tomorrow (Tuesday) morning is the last call for students to hand in the “favourite recipe” POW assignment—I need a bit of turn-around time in order to get the booklets printed and distributed to the students by the end of the week.

Tomorrow, the pre-K to Grade 4 students will present a special assembly starting at 9:15 for family members and special guests.  This assembly will be repeated at 10:30 for the students in Grades 5-8.  Helpers from our class will assist with putting together the hampers for the four families we are sponsoring this year.

On Wednesday, students should bring in their completed Math homework booklets so that we can mark them together, make corrections and get them handed in before the holidays.  We also will hope to view some of the SS PowerPoints.

On Thursday afternoon, our class will enjoy home-made treats (bring in a sample of your recipe, if you can) while watching the movie “The Mighty”.  We recently finished a read-aloud of the book this movie was based on, Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.  I wanted to let you know that the movie is marked PG-13, because, according to the IMDB website, there are “elements of danger and peril”.  (One of the characters is kidnapped briefly by his convict father, but his friends come to the rescue before Max is harmed.)

On Friday, we will meet with our Grade 2-3 care partners from 9:30 to recess (plans are to watch the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas and to read together); then we will gather with our Grade 6-7 care partners from 10:30 to lunchtime (we had planned to go sliding but it sounds as though the weather will be an issue; instead, we will probably ask students to bring in board games and snacks if they want them). In the afternoon, we will be going to Harry Bailey pool, so students should bring along their swimsuits, towels, and quarters for the lockers.  The younger classes have asked that we not use the concession this time, so we hope that the older kids will be satisfied if they can eat lots of junk food during our morning get-together (!).

In terms of homework for the holidays, I encourage students to take time off from everything but their daily reading.  However, I know that some of the students are looking forward to having extra time to put into completing their PowerPoint presentations.  If they choose not to present their PowerPoints on Wednesday, December 17, they should come prepared to present on Tuesday, January 6.  Mme Cline also has a French menu assignment that can be handed in either on Thursday, December 18, or on Thursday, January 8 for those who need more time.  There won’t be a new POW assignment until after the holidays.

Thanks again for all of your support and interest.  We appreciate it!

I hope that each of you has a wonderful, healthy and relaxing holiday—it has been well-earned, believe me!

Sincerely,

Mrs. G. Pilon

Silverwood Heights School

October 27, 2008

Dear Parents and Students:

This is Education Week, so we have a number of important events scheduled.  Most of this information will be listed in your young person’s planner, but I thought that a summary would be useful.

Today:  students took part in a tipi raising ceremony, led by Sanford Strongarm, in the LRC.  We will book time to read in the tipi while it is in our school.

• I spoke to some students about the problem of missing POW assignments.  I don’t assign a lot of homework, but I do expect students to have their writing assignments ready to e-mail or hand in on the Monday after they are assigned.   Please visit my website if you have any questions. (https://gpilon0.tripod.com/homework.html)

Tuesday, October 28:  Storyteller:  Jimmy Durocher 11:15-11:45 (Moved to Wednesday at 3:00 because of double-booking)

• Snowflake CD singers will rehearse at 12:10. 
• 1:00: UNICEF assembly.  Please let me know if you did not receive the donation envelope and fundraising information and I will be happy to provide it.  This year, we will be helping schools in Malawi and Rwanda.

Wednesday, October 29:  Hoop dancer, Lawrence Roy Jr., will present an assembly at 9:10.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

Thursday, October 30:  Our class has no special events booked, but please remember that there will be a community dance starting at 6:30.  I hope that most of you received a note from Michele Cozart, our room parent, asking for your support and assistance with setting up.  If you did not receive the information, please check my website for a link to her letter.

• Selected students from our class will help Mrs. Cole-Hynes and the students in the morning and afternoon Step-Ahead Preschool classes with their Halloween festivities.

Friday, October 31:  Although it is “that” day, we will have a morning of work as usual, possibly fuelled by a small amount of nut-free chocolate.  In the afternoon, we will be traveling to the PAC for swimming.  There are no quarter lockers available, so students should bring their own locks OR carry their possessions out to the deck so that staff can watch it.  This activity is a part of the phys. ed. program, and we expect that students will attend and participate.  As always, we remind students wear modest swimsuits for school swimming activities.

• Snowflake CD singers will rehearse sometime during the morning.

Tuesday, November 4:  10:40-11:40:  Our class will have a session with an author, Clare Eamer.

• Snowflake CD singers will rehearse at 12:10.  We will leave directly from rehearsal for taping of our song, “’Twas the Night After Christmas”.  We will be back at school by afternoon recess if all goes according to plan.

Thursday, November 6:  11:45:  Haitian Dancers pizza lunch, hosted by Grades 7 and 8 students.  We expect all students in this class to attend the lunch.  Pizza will be provided, but we ask students to bring their own drinks. 

• 12:45-1:45:  Grade 7-8 workshop with the Haitian Dancers
• 1:45:  Assembly with the Haitian Dancers
• For more information about the Haitian Dancers and their fundraising project, please visit my website.
• We will be presenting the dancers with the money we raised through a donut sale a few weeks ago.  If any students or families would still like to make a donation to help build and equip a school in Haiti, please consider doing so.

Friday, November 7:  Remembrance Day assembly, 9:15-9:45, hosted by Grade 6-7.

• pm:  Gym blast, Grades 5-8.

Looking ahead:

Monday, November 17, 9:00-10:00:  Players from the Saskatoon Blades will be here to talk to students in Grades 5-8 about Project FACEOFF.

• Progress reports go home at 3:30

Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21:  Three-Way Conferences.  Please call the office (683-7450) to book an appointment if you have not yet done so.

Tuesday, November 25:  students from Grades 5-8 will walk to Marion Graham to view the student musical, Crazy for You.  The performance starts at 9:30 and may run for 2 ½ hours, so it is possible that students will be late for lunch on that day.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  E-mail works best, (pilong@spsd.sk.ca), but I sometimes receive and return phone calls too!  (I probably should explain that my classroom phone sometimes malfunctions and does not deliver my voice mail messages until weeks or even months after they were recorded!  In other words, if you leave a phone message for me and I don’t respond in a day or two, please try again.)

On the topic of e-mail, thank you to the many parents and students who have provided me with their e-mail addresses.  In a few cases, I am relying on students to pass these messages along to their parents (you know who you are, students!).  Today will be the big test of the contact list:  please be sure to let me know if you receive this message.  If I don’t hear from you soon, I will bombard you with paper! 

Thanks again,

Mrs. Gilda Pilon

August 29, 2008

Welcome to Mrs. Pilon’s Grade 7-8 Class!

We have had a really exciting school opening, thanks to the efforts made by Mrs. Sondresen and Ms. Cram.  Our guests have given us many ideas to build upon as we plunge into our new school year and explore our school theme, “Climbing to New Heights”.  We have identified several strands that we will focus upon this year, including Literacy; First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education; Character Education; Bully Awareness;  Environmental Education; and Team Building.

This afternoon, students had the opportunity to move into their home rooms.  I am so pleased to welcome my new class of Grade Seven and Eight students!  I know that we are going to work really hard together, but that we also will have some fun, too.  I am excited about being involved in leading the Student Leader Corps this year, along with Ms. Horsley-Dewar and Miss Hayden.  Our Grades Seven and Eight students have already demonstrated that they are going to be enthusiastic and effective leaders for our school and for the wider community.

Next week we will begin regular classes.  Students should ensure that they have their supplies here on Tuesday.  Please be sure to label everything carefully.  Students will receive personal planners on Tuesday, and we will use them diligently throughout this school year.  Students also should bring their phys. ed. clothing on Tuesday.  It is important for students to wear properly-fitted running shoes for gym activities.  As well, each student should bring a chapter book from home for silent reading.  It will take a week or two for schedules to be fully established, but I will provide you with a completed timetable as soon as possible.

In my class, we spend a lot of time reading, writing and doing mathematics.  As much as possible, these activities will be connected with the larger school themes and initiatives that will guide us towards “Climbing to New Heights”.  I expect students to respect themselves, to respect others, to be on time, to come to school prepared to work, and to do their jobs in a positive and enthusiastic way.  Students who always do their best and who demonstrate a positive attitude are guaranteed to have a very successful school year.

Soon, I will have my website up and running.  Please bookmark https://gpilon0.tripod.com/homework.html and refer to it frequently for details of daily schedules, assignments and upcoming events.  Also, I request that each parent and student e-mail me a quick “Hello!” message within the next few days.  My e-mail address is pilong@spsd.sk.ca .  Last year, I tried hard to reduce the number of papers I sent home for newsletters and assignments, and having a complete contact list can go a long way towards achieving even better uses of our paper and print resources.

Thanks again for your anticipated support throughout the year.

Mrs. G. Pilon (pilong@spsd.sk.ca)