Clearspring Middle School
March 2018
Principal's Message
WE PROMISE…
To teach students, not subjects
To believe the best, hope for the best, and cheer for the best in every person
To make learning fun
To be proactive rather than reactive
To teach in ways that respond to our students’ needs
To meet students where they are
To keep in mind that learning is a process that takes time and commitment
To keep relationships at the core of how we work together
To help each student feel valued
To create an atmosphere that welcomes every student to belong
To dream big and to work hard
To challenge all students to learn at high levels
Every year, our staff reviews this promise we make to the students and school community. It is our strong desire to keep this promise every day and in every way. We are a large community of about 650 people, so problems will arise. Our commitment is to address the problems with courage and humility, always seeking solutions that bring us closer to our promise. Thank you for working with us to achieve that goal.
With February, and all its’ busy-ness behind us, we look forward to March. In March, we will begin the registration process for Grade 8 students heading to SRSS. This has several components to it. Grade 8 students and parents should have received all the information needed from the SRSS. The Parent Information evening takes place on March 8 at 7:00 p.m. We are also anticipating a wonderful evening of celebration of learning at our Portfolio Night. Our hope is that EVERY student is able to attend with a parent or other adult who is important to them. Thanks for making that effort.
Also in March is the Grade 5 learning trip to Fort Whyte, and on the last day before spring break is our MAC Dance. MAC stands for Making a Change. The dance is a fundraiser for charity. We emphasize to all our students that this is NOT a couples dance, and that we expect they do not make arrangements to “go to the dance” as couples. This is a fun hour of music and dance in the gym. We plan alternate activities for students who do not wish to participate in the dance.
Thank you for entrusting your children’s education to our school. We take our responsibility seriously, and hold your trust with care.
March Dates
Thursday, March 8th - Gr. 8 SRSS Tour
Friday, March 9th - PD DAY - NO SCHOOL
Sunday, March 11th - Turn clocks ahead 1 hour
Monday, March 12th - 5SH, 5SR, 5SS Go to Fort Whyte
Tuesday, March 13th - 5DG, 5EK, 5JL, 5ST Go to Fort Whyte
Thursday, March 15th - Term 2 Report Cards go home
Tuesday, March 20th - Portfolio Evening
Friday, March 23rd - MAC Dance
March 26th - 30th - SPRING BREAK - NO SCHOOL
SPRING BREAK March 26th - 30th
April Dates
Thursday, April 19th - Musical
Friday, April 20th - Musical
Perfect Attendance
Nazar F.
Aria A.
Noah K.
Aiden R.
Grade 9 Registration at SRSS
March 5th: SRSS Guidance Counselor Visit/Presentation to Grade 8's (TO BE RESCHEDULED)
March 8th: Grade 8 Orientation/Transition Day. All Grade 8's will spend a half day at the SRSS learning about the programs that are available to them just prior to course registration. More information about this day will be sent home with the Grade 8 students (via email from SRSS). Parents are also welcome to participate in this day.
March 8th (evening): Parent Orientation Meeting, 6:30 p.m. in the SRSS Gold Gym.
March 24th: Registration Deadline.
Parents are asked to use the HSD Parent Portal to update and verify their demographic information. SRSS school fees should be paid directly to the SRSS in September.
Portfolio Evening
We are inviting all parents/guardians to attend our Portfolio Evening on March 20 from 4:15 to 7:00pm. Our CMS students have been developing learning portfolios which they would like to share with you. We invite you to call the school for a 20 minute appointment for each of your children in our school. Appointments begin at 4:15, and the last appointment slot will be from 6:40 - 7:00.
Portfolios are one important tool to help students learn to make good judgements about their own work, which in turn helps them to improve their learning. We expect that every student will have an opportunity to share their work with an adult. If a parent/guardian is not available on that evening, grandparents, aunts and uncles, or adult siblings can come to the school to talk with your child about his/her learning.
In our age of fast-paced communication, it is sometimes difficult to give 20 minutes of undivided attention to one person. We request that, as much as possible, cell phones are set aside for attention a little later on in order to help this important learning discussion be as distraction-free as possible. Some students get nervous when showing their portfolios, so adult attention and encouragement are vital to ensure that the conversations are useful for learning. Teachers will provide you with some guidelines to help make you and your child have a good learning experience.
Please call the school at 204 346 9644 to make your appointment.
Report Cards
Paper copies will be sent home with students on Friday, March 16th.
If you have forgotten your Parent Portal username or password, please contact the school @ 204-346-9644 or email cms@hsd.ca to ask for your information to be reset.
Using the Parent Portal is a great way to keep up to date with your child's progress at school (attendance, fee account, updating addresses, report cards, etc.) and if you have not yet signed up for this valuable online tool and need some direction, please feel free to let us know and we will be happy to help you!
Instructions for the Parent Portal can be downloaded (link below).
Royal Manitoba Winter Fair: March 26-31, 2018
The Provincial Exhibition is pleased to announce that, thanks to the support of generous sponsors, we will again be offering free tickets to children aged 6-12 for our Royal Manitoba Winter Fair (to be held March 26-31, 2018). Today’s children are tomorrow’s future and the Provincial Exhibition strongly believes in the importance of providing them with family entertainment and agricultural education opportunities.
A digital copy of the free children’s ticket for the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair can be downloaded at www.provincialexhibition.com/free-child-ticket-download/. Please feel free to publish this link in your newsletters and other promotional documents and/or share it with your teaching staff and the parents/guardians of the children in your school. Teachers, parents, guardians, and other individuals are welcome to print and photocopy as many copies of this ticket as they like. Additional information about ticket pricing can be found here: http://www.provincialexhibition.com/rmwf/tickets/.
Clearspring Middle School
Email: cms@hsd.ca
Website: cms.hsd.ca
Location: 1 Brighton Lane, Steinbach, MB, Canada
Phone: 204-346-9644