
Family Newsletter
St. Kevin's Junior High, December 2022
12 Days of Christmas
We have been participating in a variety of Christmas activities. The following are specific events planned for each day. A big thank you to the Student Leadership Committee and Ms. Carew, Ms. O'Rielly and Ms. Hedderson for planning these events!
The last day of school is Wednesday, Dec 21. We will be dismissing the students at 12:30 with normal bus runs. We would like to thank Keith Lee and his team at the St. Kevin's Parish Hall for providing our staff and students with a hot breakfast that morning.
December Concert
Outside Play
We will continue to be supporting outside play during lunch hour. This means your child needs to come dressed for the weather. Students are reminded to bring outdoor clothing to ensure they are prepared to go outside. We love to get out during the winter to play in the snow as well. Getting outside proves to be beneficial to the health of all individuals.
Chartwells
Students will be dismissed at 12:30 pm on the last day before Christmas break (Dec. 21st).
Homework Haven
This year we are pleased to announce that we are continuing to offer our, teacher led, after school program to help students stay caught up with their schoolwork. Homework Haven is an excellent resource for students to use to get extra help in a subject, work on partner projects, finish up late assignments, or simply get clarification on a topic.
Monday is Ms. Critch or Ms. Von Borzikowski-Dyke, Tuesday is Ms. Potter, Wednesday is Mr. Lodge and Thursday will be Ms. O’Rielly or Ms. Hardy.
A big thank you to our teachers who have volunteered their time to this program. If you have any questions, please contact the school.
Family-Teacher Interviews
Student Opportunity
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) are hosting their annual public speaking competition, Speaker’s Idol, which is open to all students from grades 6 to 12 across Canada. This is an incredible opportunity for students who are interested in becoming a voice for positive change, who have an interest in honing their writing and public speaking skills while connecting with like-minded youth from across Canada to celebrate diversity and inclusivity.
Students are provided with a prompt in the form of a quote from Holocaust survivor and post-war Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal, and encouraged to build connections to issues they are passionate about. Finalists are selected to participate in the live judging round and the possibility of winning our grand prizes. More importantly, following the competition many Speaker’s Idol contestants have been empowered to take further steps on their journeys as public speakers and change-makers. Many participants have also been invited to speak at other FSWC events and programs.
We have been lucky in past years to have exceptional finalists from across the country. We would love to have students from the Newfoundland & Labrador English Language School District participating in Speaker’s Idol 2023 this spring.
Royal Canadian Legion Remembrance Week Contest
This year's winners included:
Junior Color Poster Category:
1st - Kennedy Philpott
2nd - Paige Clarke
3rd - Aaron Chafe
Junior Black & White Poster Category:
1st - Peyton Critch
2nd - Charlotte Philpott
3rd - Katie Kirby
Intermediate Color Poster:
1st - Meredith Parsons
We are so proud of all of our students who participated in this competition. There were many entries with beautiful artwork.
Thank You
We are pleased to announce that we raised $5900 from this fundraiser!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Tell us what's happening outside of school
Please forward any good news stories with:
cherylcoates@nlesd.ca, daisyhardy@nlesd.ca or jeaniesooley@nlesd.ca
Thanks!
Monthly Mental Health Moment
This month we are looking at the importance of sleep and the impacts sleep can have on your mental health. We will be getting our information from the website www.teenmentalhealth.org.
Why is sleep so important??
"Sleep is important to your physical and mental health. It allows your mind to digest and make sense of the day’s events. It prepares your brain for learning new things the next day. During sleep your brain even cleans itself! Simply put, sleep is essential for life and getting the proper amount of sleep helps us cope better with whatever life brings our way. Getting enough sleep is essential for your emotional health. You may start to feel out of sorts and like you are not yourself if you’re not sleeping well. Noises can seem louder, and colours too bright; small irritations feel like big problems, and even thinking can become a chore. It can get harder to solve problems and you may experience more aches and pains, less energy, and less interest in life. The less you sleep, the more anxious you can become about getting enough sleep, and this might make it even harder to fall asleep. You can end up in a vicious cycle – at the mercy of your over-active mind, feeling unwell, and feeling out of control. But there are things you can do to help break that cycle!" (Kutcher and Smith, TeenMentalHealth.org)
Here are a few tested and true strategies that can help:
1. You can control what you eat and drink
2. You can control your sleep environment
3. You can control what you do throughout the day and before bed
4. You can control what you do before you fall asleep
5. Box breathing
For more information please see: Healthy Sleep
Staffing Update
Ms. Rose has also accepted a guidance position at another school. As well, we have Ms. Walsh who will be leaving at this time. We will also be hiring for these positions in the upcoming weeks.
We would like to thank these teachers for all your contributions to SKJH in the last term. We will miss them both and hope that they will be part of the SKJH staff again.
Grade 8 Leaving Ceremony
We want to inform families of grade 8 students that our grade 8 carnival will be scheduled for Thursday, June 1st, 2023. This carnival will be a casual event for students which will be hosted in coordination with the city of St. John's. The event will be scheduled for the evening. There will be more details to follow in the new year. We just wanted to make families aware of the date for the Carnival. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you
Planning Committee for Grade 8 Carnival
Merry Christmas
We want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and Merry Christmas. Our school community has worked together to have a fabulous start to the school year and we hope everyone has an excellent much deserved break. Enjoy this time with your family and friends.
Merry Christmas!
Important Dates
Chartwells will be closing for Christmas on December 16 (last day to order) and reopening Wednesday, January 9.
Last day before Christmas holidays is Wednesday, December 21. Students will be dismissed at 12:30.
Jan 3 - School Reopens (Day 5 on the Schedule)
St. Kevin's Junior High Information
Assistant Principal: Cheryl Coates
Secretary: Jeanie Sooley
Guidance: Deanna Miles
Email: daisyhardy@nlesd.ca
Website: https://skjh.nlesd.ca/
Location: Goulds, St. John's, NL, Canada
Phone: (709)745-8980
Twitter: @skjhjr