Success Stories
February was named after
the Latin term februum, which
means purification, via the
purification ritual Februa held
on February 15 (full moon) in
the old lunar Roman. The
Romans originally considered
winter a monthless period.
For the March 14, 2011 Board of Education Meeting
Recognition of Student/School Success
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha) extends congratulations
to the following students/groups for these outstanding examples of
success for February:
Columbia Elementary
Family Literacy Day – Stop, Drop, and Read!
Students and staff at Columbia enjoyed dressing up as a favourite book character to celebrate
Family Literacy Day. Columbia Elementary had a great turnout of parents, grandparents and
even sisters to read with
h the students. The halls were buzzing with the sounds of children
reading. As well, throughout
ghout the day, students were instructed to stop what they were doing
and read, read, read!
STOP
dROP
rEAD
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February
Kaleden
en Elementary
Grade 4/5 Basketball
February was a busy month for the basketball teams. Due to a overwhelming
response from the students (over 90% turnout) they had to create three teams.
Each of the teams played four games against other schools in the district.
The season culminated with the ever popular pizza party and game against the
staff. We are really proud of all the players – they were excellent ambassadors
for the school! Go TEAM!
Burn Awareness Week
Burn Awareness Week
On Friday Feb. 11th Kaleden Fire Department and Sparky the dog visited
Kaleden Elementary. The KFD created a burn awareness video that educated
the students on how to be “burn aware” at home.
In the photo Sparky is demonstrating the “Stop, Drop and Roll” technique for the
students. We really appreciate they way the Kaleden Fire Department takes the
time to be involved and volunteer in the school.
Grade 4/5 Basketball
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February
KVR Middle
KVR has been a happening place:
o
The SmartLearning Institute was held on February 18 & 19, 2011. Giant’s Head Elementary,
Upland’s Elementary, West Bench Elementary and Princess Margaret Secondary held
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sessions at their schools on Friday, February 18 . On Saturday, February 19 KVR hosted
the entire day with Five (5) demo classes with over 175 teachers involved in SmartLearning
and Smart Demonstration Lessons. People attended from BC and Alberta. It was a huge
success.
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"Carnival" visits KVR......................All Advisory classes enjoyed the organization of the
division 7-12 led by Madame Cornett-Ching as the Quebec Winter Carnival Activities for all
students at KVR celebrated their French Culture.
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Lead by division 8-4 and Mr. Goodis, the school is again receiving Provincial recognition for
supporting the Heart and Stroke Foundation with the Hoops for Heart Initiatives.
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Over 30 KVR students returned from their trip to Quebec and shared stories and experiences
with their school upon their return.
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A successful Cafe Francais was held on Feb 20th by the Canadian Parents for French in
support of the Immersion Programme in the district.
Naramata
N
aramata Elementary
February has been a busy month at Naramata Elementary school:
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The students have been busy with the many academic pursuits in their classrooms as
well as many extracurricular field trips including cross-country skiing for the grade 4 & 5
students.
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Skating lessons for the grade 2 & 3 students, and bowling for the grade 1 & kindergarten
students. Thanks to the Naramata PAC & the Naramata Parks and Recreation
Commission for their generous support of these programs.
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During the month of February, the school held their Annual Naramata PAC and Grade
4/5 Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser. The dedicated parents served close to 200 plates of
delicious spaghetti to a very generous and supportive group of hungry families from the
school and community. This event raised over $2200. The proceeds from this fun event
will help offset the cost for the grade 4/5 field trip to Vancouver as well as help the PAC
support the school by providing extra funds for events like the Children's Festival,
Annual Beach Bash and bussing expenses to many recreation activities.
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February
Parkway Elementary
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The Monday and Wednesday Breakfast Club was another huge success in February. Thank you to the parent
volunteers and to Starbucks!
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The student led monthly assembly was outstanding. In February, the focus for the month was Kindness. Mrs.
King's class did an excellent presentation for everyone.
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The Multicultural Club met in the library and had a full house. They worked on some very interesting activities!
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Parkway Elementary’s first parent Write Out Loud session was held in the HLP Annex and the group is off to a
great start.
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The students from Parkway really enjoyed the play Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Everyone involved
with the production at Princess Margaret (where it was held) did an amazing job!
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The second Ready Set Learn session took place. The turn out was fabulous and the event was a huge
success!
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The senior readers from the Concorde visited the school and had a wonderful time reading to all the
students.
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The staff and students celebrated Valentine’s Day on February 14 by wearing red or pink – gaining
additional house team points!
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Penticton Secondary
Grade 11 student, Jolene Hayter has won a trip to the UN this summer! She participated, and won, a
speech competition, and as our Okanagan representative, will join over 200 students from across
North America and Europe on the United Nations Pilgrimage for Youth this July. This is an amazing
opportunity for her! Congratulations Jolene!
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February
Februar
Summerlan
nd M
iddle
Summerland
Middle
On January 12th, Summerland Middle was one of the
three locations in BC to host a formal launch to the
Year of Science. Global TV was on-site to tape a group
of grade 8's taking part in the celebration of science.
Six students performed science "magic" demos for their
classmates. In teams of four, students tackled a science
jeopardy game and then enjoyed a periodical table cupcake
activity. Although 8-3 was part of the media event, every
classroom in the school participated in the science
jeopardy event. A total of 297 students (grade 6 - 8)
plus 19 Gifted/Enrichment program students participated
in the jeopardy game. This was an exciting first step in
the Year of Science celebration. Students will now be
participating in a series of "science challenges" which
will work to improve their scientific inquiry and problem
solving skills.
Year of Science Kick-Off
Year of Science News Release from the Science Fair Foundation
of British Columbia
The winners of this first challenge in the Year of Science were announced
February 11th, 2011 and are:
Summerland Middle School in Summerland, BC, with 314 students participating. "January 12th
was a very exciting day" says Shona Becker, a grade 8 Math/Science teacher at Summerland
Middle School, "every classroom in the school, science or not, participated in the Science Quiz.
All of the staff and students enjoyed the kick off to the Year of Science and were very excited
about winning! The kids were really thrilled and they were very proud of themselves. It was a
fun way to kick off the “Year of Science!"
"Summerland Middle School is really focusing on science this year and all of the grade 7 and 8
students are doing science fair projects right now. Every teacher has jumped on board and
there's a lot of science related activities within their classrooms, even within English classes. The
staff is putting a real emphasis on science and this win is an exciting reward for the school."
Congratulations to all the staff and students on this terrific win - the prize will be the school's
choice of a laptop computer, loaded with software, or an audio sound system with i-pod docking
station.
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February
Summerland Middle continued...
Do you want to learn which eggs (free range or standard eggs) contain more protein? Do you
want to find out which ice cream flavour melts fastest and why? You had an opportunity to
learn about these scientific ideas and many more at the Summerland Middle School Science Fair
which was held on Wednesday, February 16th.
The Summerland Middle Science Fair was a great success with 104 projects and close to 60
community judges. With this year being the "Year of Science" they were pleased to offer the
students this opportunity to explore their passions in science, perform their own
experiments, and practice communication of their scientific ideas. This was an exciting morning
of celebrating science with the young scientists.
SMS Science Fair 2011 Awards
Backdrop Awards
Grade 7
1. Austin Hogg (Alternative Energy)
2. Elys Kinkead and Kaci Van Horlick (Pour y-a t’il deux feux d’artifrices dans le lait?)
Grade 8
1. John Crofts (Pick-Up Lines)
2. Haley Carson, Talysha Bradshaw and Donna-Lee Bradshaw (Stroop or Bloop)
Bill Nye the Science Guy Awards (passionate talker and lively presenter)
1. John Crofts (Pick-Up Lines)
Future David Suzuki (environment projects)
Austin Hogg (Alternative Energy)
Caitlin Shaw (Do Cigarette Butts Affect Lake Water)
Einstein (math and physics)
Cawston Tower and Aidan McLuskey (Propeller’s Away)
Dillen Septon and Riley Thiessen (2 Fast 2 Furious)
Alex Zander and Richard Thevage (Magnetic Leviation Train)
Most Unique Topic
Lucas Garrett and Kiran Rochon (Riding the Audio Wave)
Mad Scientist Award
Geoff Stathers and Shane
Fofonoff
Kendra Reger and Spencer MacIntosh (Tue la Pilule)
Kaci Van Horlick and Elys Kinkead (Pourquoi – y-a t’il des feux d’artificesdansle lait)
Future Researcher
Brian Bonthoux (Vitamin D)
Austin Hogg, Grade 7
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Februar
February
Summerland Middle continued...
Gold (these students go on to represent Summerland Middle School
at the District Science Fair on March 7 and 8 at KVR)
Student Name(s)
Spencer McIntosh and Kendra Reger
Maya Venkataraman and Ella Weir
Shane Fofonoff and Geoff Stathers
Haven Dufty and Katelyn McCollum
Ana Clouatre and Simran Klar
John Crofts
Arielle Jenkins and Emma Thomson
Abhi Lekhi
Kira Hughes and Sarah Lundman
Austin Hogg
Brian Bonthoux
Kiran Rochon-Woitzik and Lucas Garrett
Caitlin Shaw
Faith Johnstone
Decio Pescada and Martha Headland
Aidan McLuskey and Cawston Tower
Sydney Peterson
Project Title
Tue la pilule
C’est le bettement
Play the Pressure
Density is Destiny
La graine la plus chaude
Pick Up Lines
Blanc, brun, ou organique?
Take A Shot at Music
Texting vs Spelling
Alternative Energy
Vitamin D
Synthesizers and Simplicity
Est-ce que kes megots affectent l’eau
Snore, I’m Taller
How To Stress Less
Propeller’s Away
Stacked Plaque
Remembering the Olympic Experience - One Year Later
A total of nine schools across the province participated in video-conferences this week with Kristi
Richards, Olympic freestyle skier, as part of ActNow BC's Athlete Ambassador Program.
Summerland Middle School was one of the nine schools. The grade 7 students who took part in
this video conference, heard a strong message from Kristi Richards about goal setting and
making healthy choices for a healthy life. The students were asked three questions to reflect as a
student in B.C. during the 2010 Winter games, here are two examples………
Abhi Lekhi - Grade 8 Student, Summerland Middle School
1.
What Olympic activity did you participate in and how did they make you feel?
Some of the Olympic activities I participated in were watching the events in my school’s
gym, as well as watching a live broadcast of our hometown heroes participating in the
games. But the event that topped it all was watching the Olympic torch relay, put on the
street with my classmates, faces painted red, hair sprayed white and proudly waving the
Canadian flag made me patriotic. The feeling of knowing the flame was less than 10 feet
away was overwhelming and unbelievable.
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February
Summerland Middle continued...
2.
What was your favourite part about the 2010 Winter Games?
My favourite part of the Olympics was most definitely how everybody came together. For
instance, if you were in public wearing a Canadian item, another Canadian most definitely
would have said “Eh!”. Any place you went, people would be giving each other high
fives, dancing and celebrating. It didn’t matter who you were, just as long as you had the
Olympic spirit.
3.
One year later, what is your favourite memory about the Games?
One year looking back, some people would say their favourite memory was the torch
relay, opening ceremonies, or Canada’s first gold medal. But not for me. For me, the
fondest memory would be of Kristi Richards, coming down the hill, such intense speed,
great balance, but then a mishap. She fell, announcers silent, the village silent. But then
her getting up, looking down at the end of the run made the crowd erupt in cheers. She
took a long deep breath and was determined to finish. Everybody everywhere was taken
away by the performance of Kristi Richards.
Ariana Planiden - Grade 6 Student, Summerland Middle School
1.
What Olympic activity did you participate in and how did they make you feel?
I participated in the torch coming to Summerland Middle School by screaming really
loudly! It made me feel great to see the little town of Summerland get so into the Olympic
Spirit. It also made me feel extremely proud when Kristi Richards came and we
presented her with her Team Canada Official uniform for the 2010 Winter Olympic
Games. Boy was she surprised!
2.
What was your favourite part about the 2010 Winter Games?
My favourite part about the 2010 Winter Olympic Games was walking down town
Vancouver and seeing, and even talking, to all the people visiting here from different
countries even though they were all wearing their countries flags. I saw the most, by far,
Canadian Flags! It made me proud to be a Canadian.
3.
One year later, what is your favourite memory about the Games?
My favourite memory about the 2010 Winter Olympic Games was when Alex Bilodeau
won the first ever Olympic gold medal on home soil. The crowd cheered and I cheered
with all my heart. They couldn’t have picked a better home town hero.
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February
Summerland Middle continued...
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Feb. 17 2011 was National Sweater Day. The SMS Power Rangers (Destination Conservation)
teamed together with the World Wildlife Fund to encourage people to turn down the heat and put
on a sweater. If every Canadian turned down the thermostat by 3 degrees and put on a sweater
we would save 2.2 megatons of energy. The day was a huge success as students recycled old
sweaters from the back of the closet and the nearest thrift store and thought about conserving
energy. The Power Rangers encourage you to turn down the heat and put a sweater on.
Skaha Lake Middle
Basketball
 Skaha Lake hosted two very successful play days for grade 7 boy’s teams across the
district.
 The grade 8 boy’s and girl’s teams both won the South Zone Playoff Championships this
year.
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February
Skaha Lake Middle continued...
Science Fair (February 24th)
 All of the grade 6 students participated in the school Science Fair on February 24th.
Students set up their backboards and alternated presenting and touring other projects.
Top projects will go on to the regional level. Skaha Lake Middle School had a great turnout
of parents as well.
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February
Skaha Lake Middle continued...
Pink Shirt Day (February 23rd)
 Almost everyone in the school wore pink on Pink Shirt Day to support the message that
bullying has no place at SLMS. Students and staff congregated in the gym during nutrition
break and video taped the whole school doing the “Shark Dance” in a flash mob
presentation fashioned after the Churchill Secondary presentation on You Tube.

The “Me to We” leadership group sold pink cupcakes to raise funds for our selected global
project. The staff and students are raising funds to send school supplies to a
school/orphanage in Zambia, Africa where all the orphan students are HIV positive.
PINK SHIRT DAY - No Bullying!
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February
Summerland Secondary
Science teacher ~ Raja Gupta and Assistants ~ Ryan McCarty (SSS) and Shona Becker (SMS)
are off to Calgary to participate in the Irons Science Teacher competition hosted by the
Discovery Channel.
There are five finalists (including Raja Gupta) from all across Canada. They have six minutes
to present a lesson on a topic of their choosing. Each group presents their lesson and then
two finalists are chosen by the judges. These two finalists will be asked to prepare a short
lesson in a "Skills Competition" - The winner of that challenge ends up as the National Iron
Science Teacher!
There are cash awards for the school and the individual at each level. It isn’t confirmed
however, the school of Raja’s choosing could receive $1250 and Raja may receive $1250 for
being a regional champion. The National winner receives $2500 for the school and $2500 for
the individual. Quite the success story indeed!
The Senior Boys’ basketball team qualified for the Okanagan Valley tournament for the first
time in many years. The boys had a solid year winning their home tournament and the
George Elliott tournament. The boys lost to the eventual Okanagan Valley champs in the first
round then lost a tight game vs Maggie in their second game. Great effort though!
High Fashion - Garbage Bag Creations
The project runway assignment
was one that involved students
working in teams to explore the
process fashion designers use to
come up with a workable design.
Each team was given a designer
and following some research each
team made a storyboard and decided
on the “Croqui” sketch concept. The
teams then picked a model and using
garbage bags of all colors had to construct
a garment that represented their designer's
essence. Then it was taken to the runway!
This concept allows the girls to interact in an
informal way at the beginning of the course,
and gets them thinking outside the box.
Because no sewing skills are involved at this
point the playing field is even. They have so
much fun and we’re always impressed with
the results.

Croqui is the figure the sketch is drawn on. Usually it is 9 heads high (we are 8 heads high)
with elongated legs so clothes look more appealing.
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February
Uplands Elementary
Visit from Lakers Hockey Team and Basketball Game with them
Grade 5 Basketball games and practices
Open Gym
Sports Fun for Kids on Tuesday evenings (many thanks to Randy Beuselink for organizing it)
Earthquake drill (with sound effects)
Run Jump Throw Professional Development
Family Literacy Day and Pyjamas Day
Spelling Bee (Congratulations to Nicky Bijvoet who won the spelling bee and to Jerry Xiang our runner up as well
as to everyone who participated and those represented their classes)
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Ready, Set, Learn on Feb. 3rd – Very well attended sessions for parents of 3 and 4 year olds and their
children. Many thanks go out to both the school staff and community partners for presenting a wide
range of information. The children also had fun joining in with kindergarten students for story time and
a variety of stations
Twin Day
Random Acts of Kindness Week
Assemblies
Restorative Practices sessions/Inquiry
Valentine’s Day
Division 4, grade 3/4 visit to their senior buddies at Village by the Station and the Kindergartens’ visits to
Haven Hill
Spellathon
Generous donations of school supplies for a school in Mexico
SMARTLearning Institute – with teachers from as far as NWT and Alberta attending to watch the
demonstrations teachers: MaryAnn McLean, Judy Street and Carolyn Buziekivich in action
Achievement Meetings
Hot Lunches
Creative clay art with Mrs. Viv Lieskovsky
Lego Day on Feb. 22nd
SmartLearning Institute
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Basketball in Action
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February
Uplands Elementary continued...
Kindergarten Visit to Haven Hill
Lego Day
Ready Set Learn
Kindergarten Career Day
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Family Literacy Day & Pyjamas Day
February
Uplands Elementary continued...
Valentine’s Day & Random Acts of Kindness
Artist: Viv Lieskovsky
West Bench Elementary
On February 11, West Bench Elementary School transformed into a warm and cozy
neighbourhood coffee house!
As a fundraiser for the grade 4 and 5 field trip, West Bench Elementary opened their doors to the community. They
received such overwhelming support! Everyone enjoyed themselves, the entertainment and chance to mingle
while supporting a great cause. Many are already asking about next year…
West Bench would like to thank everyone who helped out including…
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…grade 4 and 5 students for creating such unique works of art!
…brave grade 4 and 5 students for their poetry readings!
…Andre Rachinski for being an entertaining MC for the evening!
…Mrs. Kay, Mr. Bailey, Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Edwards for their teaching, guidance and framing of projects!
…Liz, Ron and the Fiddlekidz for entertaining everyone and Mrs. MacIntosh for arranging their visit!
… the West Bench Guitar Club for working so hard to prepare songs for everyone’s listening pleasure!
… Mr. Gibson and Mr. Barron for their time and efforts preparing the Guitar Club for their first performance and
for setting up the sound system!
…Greg from REALPHOTOGRAPHY for his professional portraits and for donating to the school!
…Viv Lieskovsky for demonstrating her talents and helping the students to create a collage for the office!
…Mrs. McDonald, Morgan, Kiera and Olivia (and their friends) for the Valentine cards
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West Bench Elementary continued...
…Morgan McDonald for her putting together the “Chocolate heart guessing contest”!
…Mrs. Talman for all her hard working organizing, decorating and cleaning up!
…Mrs. Devito for gathering and putting together all of the donations for the Arts and Crafts raffle baskets!
…John from Sirius Science and Nature for his donations to the raffle baskets!
…Mrs. Woods, Mrs. Thacker and Ms. Corraini for selling raffle tickets!
…Darin from The Beanery in Summerland for donating coffee and for making great coffee drinks all evening
long!
…Mrs. McCafferty for arranging, purchasing and setting up all of the yummy treats!
…Mrs. McCafferty, Mr. McCafferty, Meghan and Evan for organizing and selling delicious desserts at the
coffee bar!
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…Mrs. McLeod for her help with whatever we needed done!
…Mrs. Selles for counting all of the money we made and paying all the bills!
…Mrs. Mackereth for answering all of the questions about the evening!
…Mya Semeniuk and her grandma helping throughout the evening!
…Mrs. Mottershead for her decorations and help during the evening!
…Olivia Loewen for sharing her beautiful singing voice with us and to her grandfather, Denis Chaykowski
for accompanying her with his guitar!
…Beamer Wigley for performing his version of “Country Roads”!
… Meghan McCafferty for her beautiful guitar and singing solo performance!
…Caitlin Burliegh for her donation of photography for the auction and greeting cards for the raffle!
…Mr. Weare and other parents for all of their help taking down the tables/ chairs at the end of the night!
…and lastly to everyone who came out to support West Bench Elementary, bought art work
from the auction and enjoyed the evening!
g West Bench Elementary
y couldn’t have done it
without you!
Wiltse Elementary
Wiltse Elementary
Wiltse Elementary had a fine group of grade 1 to grade 5
students participate in this year's Spelling Bee.
Marcus Grainger out-spelled the group and is proudly,
the Wiltse Champion Speller! Ikjot Kahlon was the
Wiltse runner-up and will represent Wiltse at the
Canwest Canspell Spelling Bee (Marcus is too
young to represent Wiltse this year). Mason Heintz
was Wiltse’s second runner-up. The winners were
supported by their fellow spellers.
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Wiltse Elementary continued...
"How Full is Your Bucket?"
was the theme of an “appreciation”
bulletin board at Wiltse School.
Ms. Heather Rose has visited
most classes and shared the
picture book. Students, parents
and staff have added "drops" to
the bucket to share their
appreciation of one another.
This was a lead up to
"Wear PINK Day" on Wednesday,
February 23rd. Wiltse PAC parents
and Trustee, Mr. Tom Siddon
checked out the comments
and added to the display.
Kelsey Huff is skip counting
ambrosia apples which were
delivered from the BC Fruit
and Vegetable Program.
Kelsey counts and delivers
the apples.
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Wiltse Elementary continued...
Wiltse in PINK to show their commitment to ANTI-BULLYING.
The staff and students also shared ANTI-BULLYING pledges
on four giant pink banners.