We Will Remember - November 10, 2023
Our gymnasium was very quiet today as we respectfully observed Remembrance Day with a slide show and colour guard parade by TAN members of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron #124. Thank you to cadets RJ Ruttle (8A), Benjamin MacFarlane (7A), Rylie Dejonghe (7B), Seth Kozyra (7A), and Glan Noh (7A), and Flight Corporal Elizabeth Vassallo who joined us from PRHS.
Over the past two weeks, students have been actively taking out books from our Veteran's Week book display in the library and each student received a bookmark celebrating 75 years of peacekeeping, Students were also encouraged to visit the installation at the Peace River Cemetery by members of Peace River Rotaract, the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, and students from local schools, including T. A. Norris.
We Will Remember.
Food Bank Challenge - October 31, 2023
Congratulations to Mrs. Cook's 7B class for winning this year's Food Bank Challenge with 555 points worth of non-perishable items for the Peace River Food Bank. It was a hotly contested race between 7B and 6C all month as they went back and forth trying to stay on top to win the pizza party sponsored by Mighty Peace GMC. Schoolwide, we had 2321 points worth of food to load up into the truck. We are so thankful to Peter, Brett, Travis, Devyn, Keewatin and Cole and the staff for sponsoring this extra incentive for our students. In the end, everyone wins.
Cyberbullying Presentations - October 23 & 25, 2023
Constable Sunday met with our grade 5 & 6 students on Monday, then came back again on Wednesday to talk with our grade 7 and 8 students about cyberbullying. We are so thankful to the Peace River RCMP detachment for helping our students understand the significance of their interactions over the internet and for taking the time to develop positive community relationships with our students.
Terry Fox Fundraising Goals Met - October 2, 2023
Terry Fox’s dream was to help find a cure for cancer. This year, our school raised $3230 toward that goal.
7Fr raised over $1400 so they got to tape Mr. Chalifoux to the wall during a special assembly recognizing our top fundraisers. Students cheered as more and more tape was applied but for the second year in a row, the system didn't hold. Do we need a better plan for next year?
Rose Macdonald and Amy Maximchuk from 6Fr raised $390 and $300 respectively so they got to pie our principal. Check out Mr. Pittman's expression just before the whipped cream hit!
Ryder (7Fr) and his sister Zyla (5Fr) each collected $200 so they got to paint Mr. Schamehorn’s face. As well as teaching grade 8 math and science, Mr. Schamehorn is our town's deputy mayor ... and he had a Town Council meeting only a few hours later. Let's hope the paint washed off.
Thank you to all who donated to our Terry Fox Foundation fundraising campaign.
Terry Fox Run - September 25, 2023
Today we ran for Terry. We ran for grandparents, parents, uncles, friends, and loved ones who have died from cancer. We ran for a cure. Thank you to all those who donated online ($1990) or in cash (still being counted).
Harvest Time - September 21, 2023
Our first season of container gardening has been a huge success!
In the spring, our 7/8 Gardening Exploratory students built boxes and planted vegetables and herbs; during the summer, volunteers from the community helped water and care for the crops in exchange for some of the bounty; and this fall's 7/8 Gardening Exploratory students have been making fresh salsa, drying herbs for later in the year, and collecting food waste from classrooms to enrich the soil with compost for next season.
Thank you to Mme Meghan, our #teamawesome students, and the businesses and community members who have been involved in this amazing full-circle Thanksgiving harvest project.
Student Vote - May 26, 2023
As part of our learning about the democratic process, each of our students in grades 5-8 had a chance to vote today in a mock election which parallels the Alberta Election on May 29. They were required to confirm their eligibility with the polling clerk(s) and were given a ballot with the names of our local candidates and the parties they represent -- Sharon Noullett TIP, Conrad Nunweiler IND, Liana Paiva NDP, Dan Williams UCP -- to mark behind cardboard screens. Ballots were then folded, initialed by the polling supervisor and placed in the ballot box just as in a real election.
UPDATE:
Our students elected UCP member Dan Williams to another term but with a smaller margin than the provincial results. Across Alberta, 1097 schools participated with participation from all 87 electoral divisions. Youth elected an NDP majority government with the bulk of support from schools in Edmonton and Calgary. The UCP formed the official opposition with one Independent candidate winning a seat in Ft. McMurray. The complete Student Vote results can be found here: https://studentvote.ca/results/ab2023
Student Vote is supported by Elections Alberta, the Alberta Teachers Association, and the Government of Canada.
Our Garden Takes Shape - May 26, 2023
Our garden box project is really coming together thanks to community donations and the collective effort of T.A. Norris Middle School students.
Materials were purchased through a Blue Cross Community Roots grant supplemented with generous donations and discounts from local merchants. Thank you to Site 360 Inc, Fern's Greenhouse, Freson Bros., Windmill Turf Farm, Home Hardware, TC Ranch, Peace River Municipal Library, Oxana Natocheva, Marilyn, Victor & Danny Sheard, and the parent and community volunteers who have signed up to weed and water over the summer months in exchange for a share of the harvest.
Garden Bed Project - May 15, 2023
Our 7/8 Gardening Exploratory students teamed up with Mr. Massier's Industrial Arts Exploratory class this afternoon to assemble the new garden boxes gracing our courtyard. The materials were purchased through a Blue Cross Community Roots grant supplemented with generous donations and discounts from local merchants. Thank you to Site 360 Inc, Fern's Greenhouse, Freson Bros., Windmill Turf Farm, Home Hardware, TC Ranch, Peace River Municipal Library, Oxana Natocheva, and the parent and community volunteers who have signed up to weed and water over the summer months in exchange for a share of the harvest.
Healthy Buddies - April 25 & 27
After sharing their secret handshakes, our grade 7 students helped their grade 4 Healthy Buddies from Springfield get to know our school library and our cooking program this week. The older students develop mentorship skills while the younger students reduce any anxiety they may be feeling about starting at a new school in September. Win win!
Healthy Buddies - April 18 & 20, 2023
We are proud to offer a mentorship program to ease the transition into Middle School. Each our grade 7 students is partnered with a grade 4 student from Springfield Elementary for tours of the school, Q & As, and fun activities. This week, our healthy buddies played icebreaker games in the gym and art room then moved on to tackling those ever-worrisome combination locks.
Preparing for Festival - March 6, 2023
Thank you to Lynn Page-Scott who volunteered her time today to help coach our students who have entered poems, stories, and persuasive speeches in the North Peace Performing Arts Festival later this month. Ms. Page-Scott has had students compete at the Provincial level, so she was able to share some very helpful advice to our soloists and ensembles about content and presentation.
Pictured:
Mateah: Speech Solo, Prose Solo
George: Speech Solo
Delaney & Ava: Speech Duo
Gabe, Thomas, Eli: Reader's Theatre
Shresta: Storytelling
Other entrants:
Rexleye: Poetry Solo
Lyra: Storytelling
Hanna & Hailey: Speech Duo
Catherine: Storytelling, Speech Solo
Samantha: Poetry Solo
Lauren: Storytelling
Elizabeth: Original Poetry Solo
Fabulous 5C: Classroom Choral Speech (2 poems)
8Fr: Reader's Theatre
8Fr: Group Mime
Festival runs March 19 to April 1 with the speech arts classes taking place right here at TAN on March 20 and 21st.
https://www.northpeacefestival.ca/
Cupcake Challenge - January 26
For their final project, students in Ms. Wyntjes' Seasonal Goodies cooking class worked together in small groups to make and decorate cupcakes. How impressive are these? We may have some future pastry chefs in our midst!
School is open