School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
RECOGNITION OF STUDENT/SCHOOL SUCCESS
March 6, 2006
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha) extends congratulations to the following students/groups for
these outstanding examples of success:
DISTRICT
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The Penticton Secondary Amnesty group held a one day music marathon Saturday, February 25th at
Cherry Lane Shopping Centre. They showcased the talents of students from grades 1-12 in School
District 67 and featured performances from Carmi, Columbia, Parkway, KVR, Penticton Secondary
and Summerland Secondary. The students raised over $700 for War Child Canada and had a
fabulous day showcasing the talents of teachers and students in the district.
CARMI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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A Carmi CARES Carnival was held February 9 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM. It was very well attended and
fun was had by all!! The proceeds will go to a Carmi family in medical need and to student fieldtrips
at the end of the school year.
A “Random Acts of Kindness” week was also held. Grade 5 “Student Leaders” gave out hearts to
students demonstrating acts of kindness and a draw was held at the Valentine’s Assembly on
February 14th. Many students received recognition for demonstrating acts of kindness.
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The “Ready, Set, Learn” session was held February 2nd. It was well attended with 19 preschoolers
and their parents/caregivers. Preschoolers enjoyed story time and fun activities in the kindergarten
room, while their parents participated in an educational and health information session. Many thanks
go out to the school’s community partners from OSNS, Family Outreach, Public Health, Interior
Health (Dentistry), and the Public Library for their excellent presentations. The school welcome and
tour, kindergarten readiness and speech/language information, as well as the Ministry book/pamphlet
and prizes were also much appreciated by the parents.
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On February 3rd a Pajamas Day and Read-In was held as a culminating event for the “Stop, Drop
and Read” program. Everyone met in the gym in the afternoon for a variety of reading activities.
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Students enjoyed a musical presentation by the Bluesberries on February 21.
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On February 23 students were read to by members from the Penticton Vees and participated in a
Floor Hockey Game. Great fun was had by all!!
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Students were placed in “Family (cross-graded) Groupings” to do a variety of Social Responsibility
activities. The first session was about empathy.
COLUMBIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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Grade 4 students are studying indigenous populations of Canada. Ms. Rose's grade 4 class was
fortunate to have Mrs. Newmark, a parent of one of the children in her class, come and do a
presentation of Inuit art. Mrs. Newmark has a personal collection of artifacts and is also an artist in
her own right.
GIANT’S HEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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Children were dismissed one hour early on February 9 for the annual Show and
Share when parents and their families are invited to visit classrooms. A variety of
activities took place in each classroom. A very enjoyable evening for all.
The “Bluesberries” entertained students, staff and parents on February 22 in the
school gym. This group of talented musicians traced the history of the blues
through an exciting musical presentation.
HOME LEARNERS’ PROGRAM
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February was an exciting month for all in the Home Learners’ Program. Students from
kindergarten to grade ten were involved in learning how to ski (both downhill and cross-country)
and snow-shoe.
There have also been some amazing individual recognition awarded to students. Grade seven
student Coulson Boothe recently participated in the BC Winter Games and came home with a
bronze medal for his efforts in karate. As well, Jasper Meiklejohn, a grade five student, will be
going on to a provincial level ‘spelling bee’ next week, and will be competing at the Queen
Elizabeth Theatre in the provincial CanSpell.
KALEDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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The hockey and reading series with the Penticton Vees is now wrapped up but everyone is looking
forward to next year's program.
We are continuing our work to engage parents in an 'Assessment Workshop Series for Parents'
where we look at the BC Performance Standards and provide hands-on experience to assess student
writing.
The PAC continues to work hard at raising funds to refurbish the playground. We are now at $5000!
The school has twenty-five confirmed registrations for 2006-07 Kindergarten!!
The artwork of nine students was displayed in the boardroom at the Board Office.
The Kaleden Olympics were celebrated in relay format complete with a two man bobsled (scooters),
cross country skiing (wearing boxes on our feet), speed skating (wearing work socks on our feet) and
ice cube relays!
Kaleden Winter Olympics
Students had a great time as was
evident through their comments
after the fun afternoon and through
their many comments recorded in
their journals the next day.
KVR MIDDLE SCHOOL
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Grade 6 student Corey Suastegui, in Mr. Hird's class, organized a bake sale to raise funds for the new
SPCA building. Mr. Hird's class sold baking at nutrition break and lunch and raised $105 that will be
donated to the Penticton SPCA. Now that’s that way to show social responsibility. Well done!
L-R:
Rachel Mayes, Kirstie Lougheed, Corey Suastegui (organizer),
Robin Brady, Danica Corke and Arlin French
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Grade 7 French Immersion student Shea Bennett
returned from the BC Winter Games held in Trail with a
bronze medal in judo. Congratulations.
McNICOLL PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL
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The drama department has completed its run of, “The New Canadian Kid”. This excellent production
was seen by not only all McNicoll Park students, but also the grade 5 classes from the elementary
feeder schools. Congratulations to Mrs. Philpotts, her support staff, and the actors: Tia Kutschera Fox,
Colette Clark, Samantha Mout, Cole Anderson, and Natasha Philpotts for their time and hard work.
NARAMATA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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Family Carnival (Sponsored by PAC) - Thursday, March 2nd, the gym at Naramata School will be
transformed into a barn-like structure for a western-theme carnival evening for Naramata families and
community members. Games, contests, and food will be provided for entertainment. Funds collected
will be put toward the new playground at Naramata, as part of the Centennial 2007 project.
PARKWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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Students attended the Okanagan Symphony presentation of “Feel the Beat”. There was very good
audience behavior and participation. Students learned about the symphony prior to the event through
music class instructions.
During the Valentine Day, Red, White and Pink event, 195 students and staff dressed in these colours
for the day. Great school spirit and wonderful learning.
The grade five classes (and one including grade fours) have been taking lessons in tennis from the
provincial tennis association. They are learning great skills and having a load of fun. These lessons
continued throughout the month of February.
Division 11 (grade one) visited the Penticton Retirement Centre to share songs, jokes and stories with
the residents. These events are always enjoyed by the seniors and students alike.
The grade five parents, students and teachers hosted the annual Spaghetti Dinner and Auction to raise
funds for their annual fieldtrip. Students manned many of the posts and did a great job of set up and
cleanup.
Grade three students will be part of the festivities at Cherry Lane Mall on Saturday, February 25. They
will be demonstrating their skills with instruments and beat. They will be part of the larger festival
organized by Pen High.
Grade four and five students have been learning basketball skills and playing games during lunch and
after school. As well, they have the opportunity to play informal games against other elementary
schools. The emphasis is on skill development, good sportsmanship, and having fun. Thank you to
volunteer co-coach Ms. Ashley Carter for her initiative and help with the program.
During the week of February 14 – 17, Parkway hosted a very successful Numeracy festival called Math
Arcade. This program, which includes a number of action oriented and hands on mathematics
activities, was shared by students in all classes K-5. The purpose of the program is to have students
experience math in a different way than as a school subject. Math Arcade looks at math from the
perspective of history, problem solving, group work, math occupations, technology and other view
points.
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PENTICTON SECONDARY SCHOOL
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During the first and second weeks of January, students from Pen High, Maggie and Summerland
Secondary Schools hosted ten students and three chaperones from our Sister City - Ikeda, Japan. Our
students and their families were marvelous hosts, treating their guests to a variety of fun new Canadian
experiences. Highlights of the visit included:
• Meeting Mayor Kimberly & city counselors;
• Enjoying a fantastic ski / snow boarding day at Apex Mountain; and
• Teaching grades 1 & 2 students at Carmi Elementary.
Undoubtedly though, the greatest aspect of the visit was the many close friendships that quickly
developed. At the Farewell Banquet held at the Lakeside Resort, there were not many "dry eyes!"
Mr. Guy and Mr. Redding would like to thank all the students for being such wonderful ambassadors for
our community and our country. We are so excited to be heading to Ikeda to represent our community
in September 2006 and renew those friendships!
QUEEN’S PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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A very successful “Ready Set Learn” meeting was held with twelve families attending and lots of
preschoolers.
The grade 5’s went cross country skiing twice up at Nickel Plate.
Four SAFE evenings were held with ten attending families. Graduation is happening on March 1st. It
has been another very successful program.
The grade 1 and grade 4 classes have been skating twice at Memorial Arena.
A floor hockey tournament was held February 25 with over 80 students taking part. Many families
came out to cheer everyone on.
Students enjoyed the music of the “Bluesberries” band at a school-wide performance.
SKAHA LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL
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Sixty-eight students in grades 6, 7, and 8 are currently practicing for the Gauss Math Contest.
Ninety grade 6 and 7 students participated in the Science Fair. Thanks to Mr. Edwards for organizing
this event. All Skaha students were given the opportunity to circulate the gym and look at the creative
Science Fair projects.
The grade 8 girls qualified for the provincial basketball championships in Pitt Meadows March 1-3.
Good job girls! Good job coaches!
Twenty-seven voluntary entries were received for the Respect and Responsibilities poster contest to be
displayed around the school.
Shark Olympics – all four shark teams participated from all grades in our own Shark Olympics
Chris Setters and Jeff Redden (Tribes Trainers) attended the February staff meeting to share ideas for
Tribes activities with the staff. Skaha staff are doing Tribes activities to promote Social Responsibility.
Grade 7 and 8 students had a very successful Valentine’s Dance. The dance was organized by the
Grade 8 leadership students.
Grade 8 Leadership students presented a play to the school to promote Pennies for Patients, a
fundraiser for children with Leukemia and Lymphoma.
The Penticton Vees attended Skaha Lake Middle School and enjoyed a lunch and then played a game
with many of the students
Grade 7’s had three successful down-hill ski days at Apex.
Grade 6’s enjoyed a swim day and a skating day promoting various means of physical fitness.
All grade 6 classes were visited by Constable Lori Woods for the D.A.R.E. program.
Grade 8 students were involved in course planning for their transition to Princess Margaret School next
year. Pam Storie did a wonderful job of answering student questions and concerns.
Grade 8 students attended a very well organized Exploratory Fair at Princess Margaret to give them an
overview of their options for next year.
Seventy plus parents attended the parent transition night at Princess Margaret School on February 22,
2006.
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The Bluesberries offered a fabulous introduction and history of the blues for all grade 6, 7 and 8
students. Students were up and dancing to the music.
Pedometers – Step into Action. Carol Stathers and Bob Pope came to promote physical fitness at
Skaha Lake Middle School. One hundred fifty students, all grade 6 teachers, and many other staff are
now sporting pedometers as they track their walk to Whistler.
SUMMERLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL
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Ministry Yes 2 It Funding Announcement
Summerland Middle School Tech Ed teacher Kevin Bond recently received a grant from the Ministry of
Education and the Industry Training Authority to pilot a project which introduces middle school students
to the trades. Mr. Bond’s project involves a unit on plumbing, where the students are provided with
hands-on experiences, actually putting together pipes and pressure testing their projects. Mr. Bond and
his students were pleased to be part of the activities on February 6th when Education minister Shirley
Bond made the announcement of provincial funding for a trades awareness program, Yes 2 It, for
Grades 6-9.
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Japanese Students Visit Summerland Middle
Leadership students were involved in hosting five 15 year old
students from Kunei, Japan. The concept of middle schools is
new to the Japanese High School students and they were
most pleased to get a tour of the school and most interested in
the variety of Exploratory and Fine Arts courses offered our
middle school students.
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Summerland Middle School Success Maker Pilot Project
Students in two grade 6 divisions have an opportunity to access a very exciting program called
“Success Maker” at Summerland Middle School through a generous donation from the PAC. There are
twenty students working on this program and now, through a pilot project, we are able to set these two
classes working on the program for free. We will be doing some pre and post testing to measure the
students’ improvements in either Math or Reading.
Success Maker is best described as an independent program where students work to master skills in
the subject areas on a computer. They will receive 15 -20 minutes of computer time four days a week
for this project.
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Summerland Middle School Bannermania Assembly
Summerland Middle School’s Annual “Bannermania Assembly” was held recently and was a hit with all!
Each Advisory group along with their teacher danced their way around the gym to various theme music.
The procession was followed by speeches and skits and ended with the raising of the banners!
SUMMERLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL
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Congratulations to Katie Sardinha who received a $75,000 scholarship from the Canadian Merit
Scholarship Foundation. In order to win this award Katie had to attend a regional interview in Kelowna
and then was selected to attend a national interview in Toronto. This scholarship is only awarded to a
few students in Canada.
Drew Yates also attended the Kelowna interview and was awarded $2,500.
Ref: 05-06SUP/00300-01/Admin/Board of Trustees-General/Student Successes/ Success Stories 06Mar06
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