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Principals Message
Thickwood Heights Teachers Recognized for Excellence
Every year the Fort McMurray Public School District selects
nominees for the top first year teacher in the district and
thenominees for the provincial Excellence in Teaching awards. This
year I am very pleased to announce that the districtchoice of
nominee for best first year teacher is Dale Baggs, who teaches
kindergarten at Thickwood Heights! Additionally,two of the four
district nominees for the Alberta Excellence in Teaching Awards
come from Thickwood Heights School: VaGondek, our music teacher,
and Mrs. Heighton, who teaches Gr.3
Mrs. Baggs
Mrs. Baggs is a terrific first year teacher! She has a student
centered classroom that allows the class to
get directly involved and get invested in their learning through
collaboration and cooperation with others.You will often find Dales
students spread out throughout the classroom working on group
centers andaccomplishing learning objectives in a wonderful way.
There is never a stagnant moment in Dales class;she is always
circulating around the classroom keeping students on task and
providing additional supportfor all of the different learning
styles within her classroom. Most recently there has been a real
buzz ofexcitement in the room as she brought two baby bearded
dragons into the classroom, and everyone isfascinated watching them
feed, explore and grow within the classroom terrarium!
Mrs. Gondek
Mrs. Gondek is a legend in our district Countless students
testify that because she was their teacher, theybecame engaged and
captivated by music, and their involvement has continued ever since
Mrs. Gondekhas established a stimulating program of learning in her
music classes. Before she came to Fort McMurraySchool District,
Band and Choral programs were after school options, now they are
thriving programs at al
levels. Val motivates students to exceed their expectations.
Some of the ways she does this is byorganizing workshops, special
coaching sessions, countless hours of rehearsals out of school
time, andstructured practice time, where students are challenged to
maximize their potential. What a wonderfullegacy she has
established!
Mrs.
Heighton
Mrs. Heighton has more energy than most teachers who are half
her age! She is always one of the firstteachers to arrive at
school, and one of the last to leave, motivated by her passion and
focus for teaching.Her mind is always mulling over new ideas and
plans, to the end that every child gets the very best
opportunity to learn. Mrs. Heighton came to our district a few
years back, with a varied career which hadincluded such things as
working as a CBC reporter (television), teaching in locales as
varied as Antigua(with CUSO), Goose Bay, Labrador, and Andorra!.
Her creativity is evident in the way she has created astimulating
program of learning in her Gr. 3 class. Who can forget her
Christmas play where every child in
the class was included, as Mrs. Heighton wrote and tailored
roles so that each child was comfortable,whether they had a major
individual speaking part, or were part of a choral group! Like Mrs.
Gondek, Mrs.Heightons legacy will be the countless kids whose lives
she has touched over so many years!.
The Minister of Education will be announcing the provincial
award winners for excellence in teaching on May 21, Theseladies are
tops in Fort McMurray....I wonder if any of them will be tops in
Alberta!
Thickwood Thunder
http://thickwoodheights.sharpschool.com/
We CAN Make A Difference!May 2012
http://thickwoodheights.sharpschool.com/http://thickwoodheights.sharpschool.com/http://thickwoodheights.sharpschool.com/
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The Busy Month of May
May is a busy month at Thickwood! Through the month the students
will be participating in the Amazing Waste Race,focusing on Litter
Prevention and environmental challenges and contests.The week of
May 7-11 is Staff Appreciation week, and through the week. If there
is a special teacher or EA who youspecially appreciate, next week
is the week to express your thanks! That week coincides with
Childrens Book week, sothere will be a special author visiting our
school on May 9. Rina Singh will be making special presentation to
Gr. 3, Gr. 4,
and Gr. 5 boys.The Grade 5 girls will be at Girl Power on May 9,
and the Grade 5 boys will have their special day (Mega Boyz) on
May23. The Grade 5s have a specially busy month, as Thickwood
Heights has been selected to be the accompanyingchildrens group for
an Edmonton Symphony Orchestra concert in Fort McMurray in June!
Throughout May, the Gr. 5s wilbe practicing along with musicians
from the ESO. What an honor!
On May 16, Science Alberta is coming to town with special
workshops for the Gr. 1, 4, 5, and 6 classes. These
75 minute long workshops are all linked to Albertas Science
curriculum: Light and Shadows (Gr. 4), Learningto Build (Gr. 1),
Flight (Gr. 6), and Electricity (Gr. 5).
After the Victoria Day long weekend, we have Aboriginal week.
Mrs. Young, our FNMI educational assistant is
coordinating special activities during the week in celebration
of the tremendous cultural contributions of the
first Canadians.The last week of May is Scholastic Book Fair
week and the culminating week of the Amazing Waste Race. May
30 will be our Family Fun Night with a difference... it will be
a Green Day featuring cleanup activities and alitterless Barbeque
for all! We hope to see you there.Finally, for parents of young
children, Thursday, May 30 (6-9 pm) and Friday, June 1 (9-11 am)
will be our
Kindergarten open house times. Be sure to tell your friends to
visit... Thickwood Heights School is Fort
McMurrays best kept secret... a gem of a school, and a great
place to work and learn!
Thickwood Heights is proud to announce we are competing in the
Amazing Waste Race!
How can you help to make Thickwood Heights the cleanest school
in Wood Buffalo?
Thickwood Heights Idle Free Zone:This month, we are learning
about ways to help keep our environment clean and healthy. Weask
that anyone who is dropping off or picking up students to please
make sure their vehicle isnot left running. We hope to save you a
little bit of gas, and keep our environment free ofunnecessary
pollution and emissions. Thank you for helping to make our school
ground ahealthier place.
Litterless Lunches
Most of the prepackaged lunch have containers that end up in the
garbage. Try to make yourlunch in reusable containers with the
intent of having no garbage (except organics like bananapeels,
apple cores, etc) once youve finished eating it.
Eco-Seed NewsletterSign up for the Eco-Seed Newsletter. All you
have to do is [email protected] youd like
tobe added to the Eco Seed Newsletter. If you tell them which
school youre attending, we will receive 250 bonus points inthe
Amazing Waste Race Challenge. We need all the points we can get so
sign up today!!!
March for the EnvironmentCome to the school on May 31 following
our month end assembly and participate in our March for the
Environment.Ribbit will be joining us as we march around our school
community with ideas for creating a healthy school community.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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FunDmental Sun Tips
Making the Healthy Choice the EasyChoice
A Bite of HealthMaking the Healthy Choice the EasyChoice
Ms. MooresAPPLE Health FacilitatorA ril 2012
Plan to be outside in the early morning or late afternoon.
Stay in the shade and out of the hot sun between 11:00 a.m.and
4:00 p.m.
If you are in the sun between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. wearlong
pants, long sleeves and a hat with a wide brim to protect
your skin from sunburn.
Use sunscreen lotion or cream that is SPF 15 or more. SPFmeans
Sun Protection Factor.
Use a sunscreen that says broad-spectrum on the label. It
willscreen out most of the UVA and UVB rays.
Put sunscreen on your skin 20 minutes before you go out
andreapply 20 minutes after being out in the sun to ensure
evenapplication of the product and better protection.
Dont forget about putting sunscreen on your lips, ears andnose.
These parts of your body burn easily.
Source: Heath Canadahttp://www.
Hc-sc.gc.ca/hi-vs/pubs/sun-sol/safety-prudence-eng.php
Why is vitamin D important?Vitamin D deficiency can cause
rickets in children,and softening of the bones and osteoporosis
(fragilbones) in adults. Vitamin D is also needed by manyother
parts of the body, including muscles, nerves,skin, glands, and the
immune system.Why is it called the sunshine vitamin?Vitamin D is
known as the sunshine vitambecause our bodies can make vitamin D
from sun. When sunlight hits our skin, the ultra-viole(UVB) sun
rays are used to make vitamin D.
Can I meet my vitamin D needs from sunlight?Sunlight on our skin
is a major source of vitamin however, it is not possible to safely
get all the vitamD we need from the sun. One reason can be the
timof year: during the winter months (October to Marcnorthern parts
of the world, such as Alberta, lack tUVB rays needed to make
vitamin D.
Be sure to include a variety of vitamin D rich foosuch as milk,
and get active outdoors to soak in sunshine vitamin to keep your
bones, teeth a
bodies active and healthy.
Source: Alberta Health Services, Road to Health Livin .
Sweet as Sunshine Smoothie
Ingredients Instructions
2 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen Allow the strawberries to
thaw slightly
3/4 cup pineapple chunks, fresh or frozen Combine all the fruit
and blend in a blender or food
3/4 cup sliced peaches, fresh or frozen processor in small
batches.
3/4 cup sliced fresh pears Add the yogurt to the blended
fruit.
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt Serve in cups.
Grape-Nuts cereal or blueberries (for garnish) Top with a
sprinkle of Grape-Nuts or a few blueberries.
Smoothies are a great way to increase fruit and dairy intakes.
Substitute with any frozen fruit you may have on hand; leftover
froz
bananas can be substituted for the pineapple. Smoothies made
with frozen fruit may be a little thicker than those made with
fres
fruit. If required, thin the mixture by adding some fresh fruit
juice. The flavor combinations of smoothies are endless;
experiment
little and have fun with your food!
Source: Strive for 5:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/hpp/publications/S45-Resource-Guide-Eng-Web.pdf
http://www/http://www/http://www/
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May 2012Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Subway
2
Gr 3 & 6 Part
A Written field
test
3
Mary Browns
4
Thickwood
Heights Spring
Market 3-8
5
6 7 8
Mucho Burrito
9
Author Rina
Singh visiting
Gr 3-5 in
library
10
Extreme Pita
11 12
13
Mothers Day
14 15
Pizza Hut
Gr 3 PAT, LA
Part A
National
Denim Day
16
Gr 6 PAT, LA
Part A
School wide
clean up
PAC mtg-7 pm
17
Boston Pizza
Pasta
18
No School
19
20 21
Victoria Day
No School
22
Wok Box
Aboriginal
23
Awareness
24
Twin Day
Pizza Hut
Pasta
Week
25 26
27 28
Scholastic
29
Pita Pit
Book Fair
30
Green Day
Family Fun
Night
Volunteer Tea
2-3 pm
31
May Assembly
11 am
Subway
Scholastic Summer Book Fair Buy 1, Get 1 Free!
Once again, we will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair from May
28th the June 1st. This is a great time to purchase books
for summer reading. All books are buy 1, get 1 (of equal or
lesser value) for free! Scholastic donates 50% of our net sales
to designated childrens hospitals across Canada through
Childrens Miracle Network as well as to select big Brothers
BigSisters agencies in our area.
