Rockingstone’s
December Newsletter
1 Regan Drive, Halifax, NS B3R 2J1
Phone – 479 4452 Safe Arrival – 479-4454
Continuous School Improvement Update
As a Year 1 school, the Rockingstone staff is
finalizing our draft goals and will soon be
submitting them to the board for approval. Our
next steps include a detailed teacher selfassessment and careful planning of the
strategies we will work on over the next several
years to achieve our goals.
Jr High
Beginning this year, teachers in Grades 7-9 will
use the same grades and descriptors. These
new descriptors are:
 90-100% - Demonstrates excellent
understanding and application of
concepts and skills in relation to the
learning outcomes.
 80-89% - Demonstrates very good
understanding and application of
concepts and skills in relation to the
learning outcomes.
 70-79% - Demonstrates good
understanding and application of
concepts and skills in relation to the
learning outcomes.
 60-69% - Demonstrates satisfactory
understanding and application of
concepts and skills in relation to the
learning outcomes.
 50-59% - Demonstrates limited
understanding and application of
concepts and skills in relation to the
learning outcomes.
 Below 50% - Has not met minimum
requirements of the course
 INS - Insufficient evidence to determine
a grade
 IP – In progress until all components of
the course are completed.
Report Cards
Teachers are currently finalizing their report
cards and these will be sent home on Thursday
Dec 11th. As we indicated in detail earlier in the
year, there have been some important changes.
Below is a quick summary:
Holiday Concert
This year’s concert will take place on Tuesday,
Dec 16th. The doors open at 6pm and the
curtain rises at 6:30pm. Tickets will go on sale in
the main office beginning on Monday, Dec 8th
and cost $1.00 each.
Primary
 Primary student’s first term report card
will include a Learner Profile, and
anecdotal comments for English
Language Arts and Mathematics. In the
second and third terms, primary
students will receive a report on all
subjects, including Music and Physical
Education.
Stuff a Bag for a Buck
The 4th annual “Stuff a Bag for a Buck” will take
place on Saturday, Dec 13th from 10-12pm. This
is an important fundraiser for the school and a
GREAT opportunity for you to get Christmas
gifts and clothing for your children. One
dollar gets you a garbage bag and you can take
as many pieces of clothing as you can fit in the
bag! Tea, coffee and treats will be provided
thanks to Stephen MacCracken and the Schools
Plus program. Hope to see you there!
Principal’s Message
It is December and we have reached the end of
the first term of 2014-2015! September feels
like it was only yesterday. I want to take a
moment to recognize and thank the students
and staff that organized and participated in our
Remembrance Day Ceremony a few weeks ago.
As I told the students, our ceremony is among
the best I have ever seen and the respectful way
that they remembered our veterans is truly
inspiring.
The next few weeks are very busy for staff and
students as report cards are being finalized,
students are practicing for the concert and many
special holiday events are being organized.
Finally, on behalf of all staff at Rockingstone, I’d
like to wish everyone Happy Holidays as the
winter break approaches.
Annual Turkey Dinner at the Rock!
On Wednesday, Dec 17th, the staff of
Rockingstone and a number of community
volunteers will be feeding turkey dinner with all
the trimmings to the students at Rockingstone!
Notices by Email
Are you interested in receiving our notices and
newsletter by email? We have a new system at
the Rock that will allow us to send our monthly
newsletters and other notices to your email
address. We are currently collecting this
information and will begin using the new system
in February. For more information or to give us
our email address, please contact the main
office.
Health Centre Update/Information
Once a year, Nova Scotia’s MSI Children’s Oral
Health Program covers basic dental care for
children from birth up to age 15.
 If your children are covered by a private
dental plan, and if the costs for basic
dental services and treatment are not
completely covered, MSI will pay the
portion that you would normally pay.
 MSI has special considerations options
for parents of children with unique
financial needs who do not meet the
program guidelines.
For more information about the MSI Children’s
Oral Health Program talk to your dentist or
dental hygienist, call MSI at 1-888-8469199/902-492-2111 or get out:
http://novascotia.ca/dhw/healthydevelopment/documents/04122_DentalFactsMS
IChildren_En.pdf
Personal Electronics in the Building
The expectation for all staff and students at
Rockingstone is that cell phones and other
personal electronics are off and away while
teachers are providing instruction or students
are working. The use of these devices is
permitted at all other times in the building,
provided they are not used in a disruptive or
disrespectful manner.
It is important to note that we cannot be
responsible for these items if they are lost or
stolen and parents are encouraged to talk to
their children about keeping them safe.
Mid-Day School Closures
The Halifax Regional School Board takes great
care when making the decision to alter the
normal operations of schools in the event of
severe or inclement weather. Decisions on
school closures and/or bus cancellations are
posted on the board’s website at
www.hrsb.ns.ca , on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/HRSB_Official, recorded on
464-INFO (4636) and communicated to all local
radio stations. You can also receive notice of
school and bus cancellations by e-mail or text
message by following the link on the front page
(left side) of the HRSB website.
If you are interested in learning more on how
decisions regarding closures and cancellations
are made, visit
http://www.hrsb.ns.ca/content/id/1137.html .
Safe Arrival
If your child will be late or absent please call
Safe Arrival @ 479-4454 to inform the school.
Reminders
Due to safety concerns, parents are not
permitted to drive up the hill into the
Rockingstone parking lot to pick up or drop off
students.
Recently, it has been noted that some students
are coming onto the school ground very early in
the morning. Please be aware that students
should not arrive at school before 8:40AM as
teachers are not on duty until this time.
Parents are also reminded that they are not
permitted on the 2nd or 3rd floor without the
permission of administration. If you need to
speak to your child, please come to the office
and we will call him or her to the office.
Upcoming Events
 Term 2 Begins
 Report Cards Home
 Stuff a Bag
 Christmas Concert
 Christmas Dinner
 Last Day of School
Dec 2
Dec 11
Dec 13
Dec 16
Dec 17
Dec 19