Boys' Basketball Team Drops Opener to Cedar Grove

It was our first game of the year and Cedar Grove played hard in defeating us by 10 points in a game that saw a lot of missed opportunities. Cedar Grove had 25 plays and we dressed 20 so it was a challenge to get a lot of playing time for everyone, so we had a game of about 10 periods (5 minutes each). It was a good start and we have a lot of things to work on.

All the boys played hard and should be satisfied with the effort. I learned a lot, as I refereed the game and I know there are some fundamentals that we will be working on next practice.

Have a good night everyone.

Mr. H

Buddies Helping with Olympic Torch Building

Division 1 students came down to the kindergarten class and helped them build Olympic Torches. The students will be able to see the real Olympic Torch, as it passes Gibsons Elementary School next Thursday afternoon. It should be an exciting event.

Book Character Day

Several staff members and many students decided to dress up as their favourite book character. Some of the outfits are great, as you can see from the pictures. I will post more pictures to my Flickr Photostream.

Tomorrow is our last day of Literacy Week. We will have a guest writer, Nicola Campbell, visiting us in the morning and she will be reading from her latest book, "Shin Chi's Canoe."

It has been a great week and we are hopeful that Literacy Week has inspired both students and families to the read more.

Until later,

Mr. H

Girls' Basketball Team Working to Improve

After an excellent outing yesterday, our girls were hard at it working to improve at practice. Mrs. Fitchell and parent volunteer, Brittin Korsch, were putting them through the paces.

The boys have their first test tomorrow at home against the boys from Cedar Grove Elementary. It should be fun for them.

Have a good evening.

Mr. H

DENTAL HYGIENIST VISITS K CLASS

We had a visitor in the Kindergarten class this afternoon-- a dental hygienist stopped by to take about dental care with Mr. Sullivan's class. It is always good to have health care professionals passing on positive messages to our students.

It was a busy day today, as I had to cover a few classes, as some of our teachers went to observe teacher/author Adrienne Gear in Sechelt. We had a great game of Sideline European Handball with Divisions 4 & 5 and I work with Ms. Knecht's class in the computer lab after that. The students were researching the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. If your child is in this class ask them for some of the interesting facts that they discovered.

Tomorrow is book Character Day-- students may dress up as their favourite book character. It should be a fun day tomorrow.

Have a good evening.

Mr. H

Over One Thousand Dollars Raised for Haiti Relief

Ms. Beeman just informed me that GES has raised $1,079.97 for our Haiti Relief Fund. Actually, the total will be $2,159.94 because the government will be matching our donation dollar for dollar. The money will be forwarded to the Red Cross as soon as possible.

Thank you to all who have made this possible!

Australia Day in Mrs. Sali's Class

I visited several classes today-- as part of Literacy Week today is Poem in Your Pocket Day.

Mrs. Sali's class was celebrating Australia Day today. They were writing poetry when I visited. Mrs. Hoechstetter's students read poetry when I visited their class, as did Mrs. Klan's students.

The students and parents have done a great job participating in Poem in Your Pocket Day.

Until later.

Mr. H

Grade 3-5 Basketball Clinic

We are conducting a weekly basketball clinic for students in grades 3-5. This Monday after school program has been great for for the students who are honing their basketball skills, along with developing teamwork skills.

I have had parent volunteers assisting me with this program, which has been great.

Thanks to Carl Bush and Ben & Alayna Josephson for your help.

Mr. H

Rolling Coins for Haiti Relief Fund

Some Division 1 & 2 students helped rolling coins for the Haiti Relief Fund this afternoon. The response has been awesome and our school community should be proud of the effort that has been put forth to assist in the Haiti Relief Fund.

Thank you.

Literacy Week: D.E.A.R. Day

We are randomly dropping everything and reading, as part of today's Literacy Week activities.

I have included here a picture of Division 4 reading this morning.

It's a busy week with all of the activities involved with Literacy Week. Please take some time to talk to your child about some of the activities that we are doing this week.

I also want to pass on my thanks to all who have donated to the Haiti Relief Fund.

Until later.

Mr. H