Southwood School Newsletter

Under the direction of our music teacher, Mrs. Karla Brown, the grade 1 and 2 students will be featured in Southwood School’s Spring Concert this year with songs from “Penguins on Parade” by Cathy Blair. Come out and see our grade 1 & 2 students as animals on parade as they sing and march their way into your hearts. They might even tell you a joke or two to tickle your funny bones.

The Spring Concert will take place at the K.R. Barkman Park on May 12th at 7:00 p.m. If the weather is not conducive that day, the concert will be moved to the Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach. Prior to the concert, families are invited to take part in a school picnic starting at 6 pm. Families are welcome to bring their own picnic meal or for those of you who pre-ordered The Lion’s Club of Steinbach combo, the meals will be available at that time for pick up.

The students have worked very hard putting countless hours into practicing for our concert. Please come out and support us for a fun and entertaining evening. Families are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. In addition to the grade 1 and 2 choir, Southwood School is proud to have some of our speech choirs performing as well.

As a special treat, the Winnipeg Speedway will be at the concert showing off one of their racecars and families will have an opportunity to meet one of the race car drivers. It should be a real sight to see.

Even if you don’t have a child participating in the concert, we believe it will be a great evening for all of our Southwood families. We hope to see you there!

The staff at Southwood School would like to invite all of the students attending kindergarten in 2016-2017 to a special

“Welcome Evening” on May 17, 2016 starting at 6:00 pm at Southwood School. The evening will begin with a few information presentations for parents in the school gym followed by a school tour, classroom visits, and a bus ride! Students attending the welcome evening will receive a special gift. For more information feel free to call Southwood School at

204-326-3518. We hope to see you there!

May 19, 2016 at 7 pm

All parents of students who will be attending Grade 5 at Clearspring Middle School or Stonybrook Middle School next year (16/17) are invited to an information evening on

May 19th at 7:00 pm at the school where they will be attending.

¨ Your student should have received a registration package from their middle school.

¨ CMS and SMS registrations - due back April 29th.

Students are asked to dress appropriately for the elementary school environment. Here’s a review of our policy: “Clothing that has offensive language or suggestive wording is not permitted. In addition, halter tops, tank tops with spaghetti straps and clothing with bare midriffs are not permitted.” This policy is compatible with other schools in Hanover School Division.

WISE Kid-Netic Energy Science & Engineering day camp is coming to Steinbach again this summer!

When: August 15-19, 2016

Where: Southwood School

Camp registration is currently open. There are 40 camper spots available, open to kids ages 9 – 12, by December 31, 2016. Each day campers will explore a different theme through fun hands-on activities. This year’s theme days include At the Heart of Science, Construction, Forensic Science, Marine Biology and Plants & Fungi. Registration fees are $100 and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration is available online at www.wisekidneticenergy.ca. Sign up today!

For more info:

Phone: 1-204-474-9340

Toll Free: 1-800-432-1960 ext. 9340

Fax: 1-204-474-7644

Email: wise@kidneticenergy.ca

Facebook: facebook.com/wisekidnetic

Twitter: @WISE_KidNetic

We want to say THANK YOU to our many wonderful volunteers!

Volunteers will be honored during an assembly at 9:10 a.m. on May 20th, 2016.

More details and information will be coming out in the invitations!

May 15, 2016 is the School of Choice Form deadline for requests for the 2016 - 2017 school year. If you are planning to complete school of choice form(s) for your student(s) to attend a school out of your catchment area please hand them into your school or the Hanover School Division office no later than

May 15th, 2016.

Monday hot lunches are $3 (cash or $3 ticket) and Wednesday hot lunches are $2 (cash or $2 ticket). If paying with cash, please have exact change.

The last regular Hot Lunch date is Wednesday, June 22nd. Any Hot Lunch tickets should be used up before the end of June. Please remember Hot Lunch tickets expire at the end of June 2016 and do not carry over to the 2016/2017 school year.

If you have any questions about the PAC Hot Lunch Program please call Ashley Toews

@ 204-346-0321 or ashleytoews@hotmail.com

If you are planning to move locations during the summer please call our office at 204-326-3518 as soon as possible or the school division at

204-326-6471 after June 30th. Thank-you!

As the cycling community grows in numbers, so does the need for an increased awareness of road safety. Whether you’re a cyclist or a motorist, knowing the rules of the road will make our roads safer for all road users. Safe roads are everyone’s responsibility and together, we can work to stay safe, have fun and build healthier communities.

For this reason, Southwood School will once again be hosting its annual Bike Rodeo on May 25th. Grades 3 and 4 students are invited to bring their bikes to school on this day. Please remember to bring a bike lock. We have invited Manitoba Public Insurance to work with our students on the topic of bike safety. Students will also take part in an obstacle course to test their knowledge of the road. We expect it to be an informative and fun day.

If you are interested in reviewing the lessons and skills learned, feel free to visit http://www.mpi.mb.ca/en/PDFs/KidsCyclingBrochure.pdf and download this free resource from MPI.

Happy biking!

You will have received information regarding Thoughtexchange in the middle of April. Please notify the school if you did not receive any information.

Beginning on April 28, 2016, The Hanover School Division will facilitate a division-wide community engagement for parents and guardians through the group insight platform, Thoughtexchange. HSD invites you to take part in a unique and exciting opportunity to share your thoughts regarding the school your child attends. Contribute to the conversation, and help your school identify community-shared priorities, appreciations, and concerns. Thoughtexchange enables parents and guardians to share their thoughts as a collective community voice, using a trusted and confidential online service. The results of this engagement will help inform future decisions at the school and divisional levels. Participation is voluntary but as our partners in the education of your children, we want to hear from you!

We are thrilled to share that the Math-a-thon in January far exceeded our expectations and raised $3450 for the nature playground. Great job Southwood students and families! We can't wait to see the kids having a blast on the new playground features as they emerge.

Special Feature - and interview with Mr. Coffie, our special artist in the school.

Email: southwood@hsd.ca
Website: www.southwood.hsd.ca
Location: 155 Barkman Avenue, Steinbach, MB, Canada
Phone: 204-326-3518
Twitter: @SouthwoodHSD