We hope you are all well as we mark the end of a fabulous February spent learning and laughing together at ÉSMS.

Momentum is growing for our ÉSMS Lucky Strike 50/50 Fundraiser! Please do all you can to promote this initiative in support of our students' learning and engagement at École St. Matthew's School.

Here's to a marvelous March at ÉSMS!

Charmayne & Allison

Charmayne Rumbolt, Principal

Allison North, Assistant Principal

On Monday 4 March, ÉSMS staff will be engaged in Term 2 Report consultation and preparation as well as Multiculturalism in Education professional learning. There ARE NO CLASSES for students on Monday, and it will be DAY 1 on our schedule when we return to school on Tuesday 5 March.

École St. Matthew’s School is excited to announce its Lucky Strike 50/50 Fundraiser!

Grab your tickets now - only 4000 tickets printed!

Funds raised by this raffle will support student engagement in current activities such as STEAM, literacy, numeracy, and social and emotional learning, as well as special initiatives

and programming at École St. Matthew’s School.

Tickets can be purchased at this link: https://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/esms

Please share this link with family and friends and via your

social media connections to promote the fundraising event.

Draw will take place on Monday 18 March.

Our next Silly Squad will take place on Friday 15 March 2024. We will celebrate St. Patrick's Day so staff and students are asked to wear green and dress in St. Patrick’s day theme.

Spare change will go toward supporting Matt’s Market.

Term 2 report cards will be sent home on Friday, March 15th. School will dismiss at 11:15 am on Thursday, March 21st to accommodate Home-School conferences. There will be no School Lunch on that day. Teachers will be available for in-person conferences from 12:30-4:30 pm and from 5:30-7:30 pm.

We are encouraging all caregivers to use OPTIS (Online Parent Teacher Interview Scheduler) to book your parent-teacher conference. Using OPTIS you can book appointments with classroom teachers, instructional resource teachers, physical education teachers and music teachers. The system will open on Monday, March 18th at 9:00 am and will close on Wednesday, March 20th at 10:00 am.

We will share the OPTIS link and instructions for use in our Weekly Wrap-up on Friday, March 15th.

We are looking forward to meeting with you to celebrate our students' accomplishments and to set goals for our final term of the 2023-2024 school year.

We are delighted to welcome our 2023-2024 KinderStart families to our FINAL KinderStart session on Friday 22 March. As a result, there will be no classes for Kindergarten students that day.

The Makerspace is still on the hunt for these supplies:

• Cardboard tubes from paper towels and wrapping paper, tissue boxes, egg cartons

• Old fabric and leftover yarn.

• Clean styrofoam meat trays

• Number 6 clear plastic salad containers

• Yogurt tubs

• Legos, Kinex, building blocks, gears

• Old technology (VCRs, calculators, etc.)

• Old toys with motors, moving parts or blinking lights

• Straws, plastic water or soda bottles, plastic spoons, pool noodles

If you can contribute these recycled items it would be great!

School lunch ordering for March closed on Wednesday, February 21. Registration is available online only and is required to order meals. If you missed out on ordering for March, you can still register and order for April when ordering opens on Tuesday, March 12. To register please visit https://schoollunch.ca/. We also ask that you attempt to select menu options that your child will eat to reduce food wastage.

You can also access the ordering calendar HERE.

We are looking for any gently used books that you and your child/children may be ready to part with. We will be having our annual “Book Bazaar” during Education /Literacy week March 18th -22nd. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to choose a “new to them” book at no cost to families.

This has been a huge success over the past few years thanks to our community support. Students can bring their books to Ms. Hodder’s office or pass them along to their classroom teacher. We will be accepting donations until Friday March 15th. Thanks in advance for your continued support.

Grade 1 Williams have had a busy winter so far! We have learned about the Lunar New Year, Groundhog Day, celebrated Valentine’s Day, 100th day of school and learned all about our senses!

February may be the shortest month of the year but it was filled with lots and lots of learning! Farmer Bob helped us plant seeds for our classroom garden and we are looking after our new plants and watching them grow! Our class groundhog did not see their shadow and some of us were really excited for this prediction.

We love when Mrs. Sheppard visits our classroom because she always shares a great storybook with us. We are wonderful read aloud listeners. It was our first Valentine’s Day at school and it was so much fun delivering valentines to our friends and then opening our valentine mailboxes!

Another first was our 100th Day of School! We even counted our toes! Just have a look! Finally, Sarah from Salmonier Nature Park came to visit and shared so many great things with all of us. We even touched the very large claws of a black bear! She was impressed by what the Kindergartens knew about wild animals in the North.

The wonderful, wintery weather graced Mr. Barry’s Grade 5 students with creating special memories with the other Grade 5 students as they all spent a fun-filled day at Pippy Park learning to cross country ski and exploring wilderness with an orienteering challenge. Back on site, in the makerspace, their class jumped into their felting projects involving “Ancient Civilizations” and showcased their Conservation Corps Climate Change Squid Hats as well! Thanks to the community-at-large for providing these students with authentic learning experiences!

School Development Surveys are conducted annually to gather feedback from students, staff, and parents/guardians to inform the school development process. The survey results will be provided to your child’s school and used with other data to identify the school’s strengths and challenges. Your child’s school will then create and implement a plan to build on successes and address areas of challenge.

The survey is anonymous, which means that we cannot connect your survey responses to you. We encourage everyone to participate so that we have the most accurate representation of family perceptions at your school.

Please complete the survey by March 15th, 2024 by clicking on the following link: https://www.research.net/r/SDFamily2324EN. If you do not have internet access contact your school.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the school development surveys, please contact:

• Allan Johnson at 709-729-7831 or allanjohnson@gov.nl.ca or
• Patricia Emberley at 709-729-6850 or patriciaemberley@gov.nl.ca

Thank you for your participation and for being a valued member of your school community.

École St. Matthew's School will be newly introduced to Student Transportation services starting in September 2024.

Bus Routes for the 2024-2025 school year have not yet been finalized, but families MUST visit the Parent Portal section of the NLSchools website to create an account.

You will require your child's STUDENT ID number to create your account. If you do not have this information, please request it via the STUDENT TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC INQUIRY FORM or contact the school. Your parent account will enable you to access the transportation details pertaining to your child when the new bus routes become available in July.

In anticipation of the removal of the 1.6 km for the upcoming school year, NLSchools is seeking qualified drivers to join our school teams. Check out the recruitment materials below.

Our 2023-2024 School Council looks forward to working in partnership with all members of our school community to ensure engagement and learning for all.

A list of current council members, together with meeting minutes and upcoming meeting dates can be found on our ÉSMS website. Should a member of the school community wish to attend a Council meeting to speak to a particular matter, please send along a note to charmaynerumbolt@nlschools.ca including name and topic for discussion. This information will then be forwarded to Council Chair John Cowan for inclusion in the next meeting agenda.

School Council would like to proceed with process for official renaming of St. Matthew's School to École St. Matthew's School as a means to reflect our English and French Immersion streams and our dedication to the promotion of both of Canada's official languages. Any feedback on this initiative can also be forwarded to charmaynerumbolt@nlesd.ca for consideration by Council.

The next meeting of the ÉSMS School Council will take place on March 20, 2024 at 5:30 pm.

Reminder: Kids Eat Smart will be hosting a fundraising night with the Newfoundland Growlers at the Mary Brown’s Centre on Saturday, March 2nd. Tickets are $20.00 each with $5 from every ticket sold going to Kids Eat Smart. Tickets can be purchased at http://kidseatsmart.ca.

Wintry weather is upon us, so it is very important that your child is prepared for outside learning and wellness each day as we will continue to go outside for movement breaks and learning as the seasons change. We ask that you encourage your child to check our Lost & Found if they are missing items, and to keep a spare pair of socks in their backpacks should their boots fill with snow while outside.

ÉSMS Lucky Strike 50/50 Fundraiser OPEN @ https://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/esms

Monday 04 March

Staff Professional Learning & Reporting Day; No Classes for Students

Tuesday 12 March

School Lunch Ordering for April Opens

Friday 15 March

Term II Reports Released

School Development Survey Deadline

Monday 18 March

ÉSMS Lucky Strike 50/50 Fundraiser DRAW

Monday 18 March - Friday 22 March

Education/Literacy Week

Wednesday 20 March

School Lunch Ordering for April Closes

March School Council Meeting

Thursday 21 March

Term II Home-School Conferences: Dismissal Begins at 11:15 am

Friday 22 March

KinderStart Session #4; No Classes for Kindergarten Students

Thursday 28 March

Last Day of School Prior to Easter Break

Monday 08 April

School Reopens Following Easter Break

Friday 17 May

Staff Professional Learning Day: No Classes for Students

Monday 20 May

Victoria Day Holiday

Friday 07 June

Term III Reporting Day for Teachers; No Classes for Students

Thursday 20 June

Last Day of School for Students; Term III Reports Released