February 2025
ÉCOLE VICKERS PUBLIC SCHOOL
VICKERS VOICES
At École Vickers Public School, we take immense pride in offering a dynamic and immersive French immersion program that goes beyond language acquisition, fostering a love for learning and celebrating cultural diversity. Here's an overview of myths and advantages of French immersion programming:
Myth #1: Only for the Gifted or Fluent Speakers
One prevalent myth suggests that French immersion is exclusively for gifted students or those with prior French language exposure. In reality, French immersion programs are designed for students with diverse backgrounds and abilities. These programs start from the basics, welcoming learners of all levels into an inclusive environment.
Advantage #1: Inclusive Learning Environment
French immersion fosters an inclusive and supportive learning environment. Students collaborate, learn from one another, and celebrate diversity, creating a sense of community that extends beyond language acquisition.
Myth #2: Academic Struggles in Other Subjects
Some believe that focusing on a second language may negatively impact a student's performance in other subjects. Research consistently shows the opposite. Students in French immersion often demonstrate enhanced cognitive abilities, improved problem-solving skills, and increased creativity, benefiting their overall academic performance.
Advantage #2: Cognitive Benefits
French immersion is not just about language; it's a holistic approach that stimulates cognitive development. The skills acquired in a bilingual setting extend to various areas, providing students with a solid foundation for success across subjects.
Join us at École Vickers Public School, where every "bonjour" is a step toward unlocking the bilingual brilliance within each child.
Bienvenue à École Vickers! Welcome to the journey of bilingual excellence!
V.P. M. J Vogt
ATHLETIC UPDATE
Vickers Athletics has been in full swing over the past month, with our basketball teams competing in various tournaments and gearing up for playoffs. We had an impressive showing at the Winter Classic Basketball Tournament, where both our Grade 8 girls' and boys' teams secured silver medals. Additionally, we were fortunate to send four teams to the Carlton 3-on-3 Tournament, bringing home gold medals in both the girls' and boys' divisions—a fantastic achievement!
As the basketball season winds down, all of our teams are preparing for playoffs, which will take place during the first two weeks of February.
Looking ahead, badminton season is just around the corner! We will soon be holding sign-ups for our Grade 6-8 badminton team, so stay tuned for announcements regarding registration.
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported Vickers Athletics so far. We look forward to the rest of the P4A season and more exciting competitions ahead!
Go Vickers! 🏀🏸🔥
Reed Whitrow
MUSIC AT VICKERS
We are now well into preparations for the PA Music Festival, and the sounds of solo and small ensemble music practices can be heard coming from the band room every morning before school, every recess, lunch hour, and after school. It is a great sound already and will only get better leading up to our performances in March! This year an incredible 67 pieces of music were registered from the Ecole Vickers School Music Department! This includes 4 bands, 1 choir, and 1 Grade 4 northern spirit flute ensemble (each playing 2 pieces), 5 quartets, 1 trio, 7 duets, and 42 instrumental solos! WOW! Way to go Vickers Music students!
Several Band students are progressing at a rapid rate in their online music study with Ningenius Music Online. Just this month we added 3 students to the Black Belt Hall of Fame! This means they are achieving at a high level, studying music theory at a high school or university level. Wow! Did you know that all band students have a Ningenius account and that your child can play Ningenius Music Online at home? Talk to Ms. Lohneis if your child would like to play at home but they’ve forgotten their login credentials. www.myninjamusic.com
Spring band and choir trip planning is well underway. The Grade 5s have their permission forms for our overnight trip to Camp Kinasao, and the other trip forms will be available soon (Choir to Moose Jaw, Grade 6 Band to Saskatoon, Grade 7 Band to Regina, and Grade 8 Band to Calgary). If you would like to defray the cost of your child’s trip, you can sign up to work a bingo for the Vickers Band Parents Association at Carnival Bingo ($50 trip credit per worker per bingo). Our only scheduled date currently is February 14th, but more dates will become available as the bingo hall assigns them to us. Please contact Ms. Lohneis if you are interested in this fundraising opportunity.
As always, thank you for your continued support of your child’s music education!
Lauren Lohneis
Ecole Vickers School Music
PINK SHIRT DAY FEBRUARY 26TH
We invite students and staff to wear pink on February 26th to show their support against bullying. Pink Shirt Day started in 2007, when a grade nine student in Nova Scotia was bullied by classmates for wearing a pink shirt to school. Taking notice, two students rallied their peers to send a message to the bullies. The next day, the halls were filled with students in pink t-shirts.
Pink Shirt Day started because those two boys chose to do something about bullying rather than stand by and watch it happen. Now the movement is worldwide, educating and inspiring others to stand together and take action against violence and bullying.
SCHOOL ACTIVITY FEE
If you have not paid your child’s School Activity Fees please sign up using the link below for School Cash Online.
This fee is collected to assist in covering the costs of optional activities or events that would enhance the regular school programming and would enrich the education of participating students. Some examples of these are out of school educational experiences, activities, presentations and/or speakers.
The fee is $10.75 for Kindergarten and $21.00 for Gr 1-8 & Dev Ed.
SCHOOL CASH ONLINE
SchoolCashOnline
- Field Trips
- Sports Events
- Activity Fees
KEVGROUP
School Cash Simplified
Registration for School Cash Online is now Available!! Please Visit
www.srsd119.ca/school-cash-online/ for instructions.
ÉCOLE VICKERS CANTEEN
DRINKS:
Juice Box
$1.00
Flavored water
$1.50
Milk/Chocolate milk
$1.50
Sparkling Water
$2.00
Gatorade (G2)
$3.00
SMALL SNACKS: (all pre-packaged)
$1.00
- Variety of small items such as Rice Krispie squares, cookies, Welch's Fruit Snacks
LARGE SNACKS: (all pre-packaged)
$1.50 - $2.00
- baked chips, Smartfood Popcorn, SunChips, hot rods, fruit snacks, wagon wheels, and/or seasonal snacks, goldfish crackers, ritz cheese crackers.
PIZZA
$3.00 (Today’s)
$2.00 (Day Old)
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
Our staff parking lots are a “no drop off zone” as they are out of bounds for students.
We urge parents to support us in this safety endeavor by dropping off your children on the west side of the school on Olive Diefenbaker Drive; on Bradbury Drive, east of the Special Needs bus zone and between Gisi Road and Olive Diefenbaker Drive.
We encourage the children to cross all streets in a safe manner by crossing at the corner or at cross walks. Teacher supervision is also provided at our major crosswalks.
The Community Club rink parking lot is the bus pick up zone after school for our parents to meet their children for pick up. Please refrain from turning around in the driveways, as this is disruptive to the homeowners.
Lunchbox by School Cash Online is a full-service online lunch ordering and fundraising platform that simplifies the management of your school's lunch program.
- Secure, easy-to-use online ordering & payment platform
- All meals are nut-free, allergy aware & meet the Ministry's nutritional mandates
- Strict safety protocols for food handling & delivery
- Tuesday (Edo Japan) Thursday (OPA!) and Friday (Taco Time)
Tuesday - Edo
Thursday - Opa
Friday - Taco Time
INCLEMENT WEATHER
