We hope this edition of the ÉSMS Gazette finds you well - despite the foggy weather! We are happy to share with you all some artifacts of our learning and growth last month, and a look forward to adventures ahead.

Here's to a magnificent May of learning and laughter together at ÉSMS!

🎉 Join us in celebrating the remarkable leadership of our Principal, Ms. Rumbolt, on National Principals Day - May 1, 2024! 🌟 Let's honor her dedication and countless contributions to our school community. We invite you to join us as we show our appreciation for Ms. Rumbolt's outstanding efforts in shaping our educational journey here at ÉSMS. Merci, Mme Rumbolt! 🍎📚

Online Registration for Kinderstart(2024)/Kindergarten(2025) will get underway May 8, 2024 for both the English and Early French Immersion programs, as per the NLSchools' School Zoning, Student Registration and Transfers (PROG-311) policy. The registration dates are outlined below:

• Starting Wednesday, May 8 @ 9:00 AM and ending on Thursday, May 9 @ 9:00 PM for Families of Schools 7-10 (formerly Avalon Region, including the St. John's Metro area)

Early French immersion Information Sessions

Information sessions regarding the Early French Immersion (EFI) Program will be held on the following dates:

• Thursday, May 2 - Virtual session (Google Meet Link - May 2)

All meetings begin at 7:00 pm.

Please find more Information in the previously shared memo attached again below.

The PRMA is a provincial assessment of curriculum outcomes, alternating annually between reading and mathematics for grades three, six and nine students. The purpose is to help inform policy development, and help educators recognize areas of strength as well as barriers that may exist to students reaching their full potential. There is no preparation required for PRMA. It is an assessment that measures what students know in mathematics or reading at a specific point in time. School and student scores will not be collected to ensure individual students and school are not identified.

At ÉSMS, students in grades 3 and 6 will take part in the PRMA on Monday, May 27.

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.

Thanks to staff and students for supporting our April Silly Squad. We collected $59.25 that will be donated to the Autism Society. Our next Silly Squad will take place on Friday 03 May. We are asking staff and students to wear stripes in support of Cri du Chat syndrome. Spare change will be donated to the 5P-Society in support of Cri du Chat. Find more information and resources below.

On April 25th, Ms. Taylor’s grade 4-5 class along with Ms. Hodder (Reading Lady) had a special Book Tasting Event in our LRC. Students were working toward this special day for about a week. They chose a book from our school library and their goal was to give the adults and their classmates a sneak peek or “taste” of what their book was about without giving it away. They also created a placemat with graffiti, words that told about their book. Next was to choose 3 adjectives to describe the front cover of their book. Lastly they had to make a decision on how they would represent their book. Some students chose modelling clay, some used Canva to create their presentation. Other students used their felting skills, painted or decided to draw. All were so well done and enjoyed by the special guests from our staff who visited our Book Tasting. Below are some photos of our FUN afternoon!

Below are a few samples of how some of our students represented the books that they read. So artistic!

All our classes took part in various initiatives to celebrate and care

for our beloved planet on April 22, 2024.

Ms. Bursey’s class provided a warm welcome to M. Barry’s grade 5 students as together all the students celebrated Autism Acceptance Month with a book reading and impromptu student violin performance. As an added bonus, two former students of Ms. Bursey, M. Barry himself and Brad Colbert joined in the fun afternoon visit. All students and adults left with a smile on their face and in their hearts 🧡

After book exchange this month our STEM activities consisted of Head Stan the Balance man.

After we read and discussed stories about Autism Awareness and Earth Day learners worked with games of skill and balance, made flowers and kites to round out our LRC learning.

In the Makerspace, Grade 2 students have been hands on with relative motion and movement. Students worked through centres coding Botley and Ozobot, using tiny movements to make stop-motion animations, created dance routines based on animal movements, and made mobiles.

“Les sciences en 5 année” was highlighted with some fun-filled science explorations notably “Qu’est-ce que c’est dans la boîte?” (class favourite) and “La grande fondue” which both encouraged student exploration and inquiry around changes in substances. The class also took advantage of the warming weather to clean up for Earth Day and exercise.

On April 26, our Grade 7 classes were invited to participate in a presentation from Skills Canada and CNA. The presentation highlighted a series of IT Network careers and involved a hands-on session where students were able to help build a computer and then turn it on! Our students were inquisitive, interactive and intrigued by the session. We are so thankful for programs like Skills Canada that help introduce our students to skills that they might not otherwise know about!

School lunch ordering for May closed on Wednesday, April 17. Registration is available online only and is required to order meals. If you missed out on ordering for May, you can still register and order for June when ordering opens on Tuesday, May 7. 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.

A huge THANK-YOU to our Tiger families for supporting our Grade 7 girls volleyball team’s popcorn sale on April 18th! It was a great success!

Here at École St. Matthew's School, we appreciate everything our volunteers do to support our learning and growth. Whether you've helped out with a special project, coached a team, visited a classroom, or supported a field-trip, we are grateful for your help in making all these opportunities available for our students - we simply couldn't do it without you! We were delighted with the turnout of student and community volunteers for our appreciation event on April 24 - so honoured to recognise your service to our school community! Wondering how you can get involved? Keep reading ;)

On Saturday 11 May, we will engage in playground stenciling in the paved area nearest the playground. Should weather cooperate, we will complete sweeping and surface prep, lay out stencils and paint. If you are able to lend a hand, that would be great! Please indicate your availability to help out via the form linked below.

The weather is changing, from day to day and hour to hour! 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, rain or mud while outside.

Reminder to caregivers that the playground is in use throughout the school day up to the dismissal bell at 2:35. Please respect this and refrain from entering the playground during class time, even if the playground is empty.

10-12 May

Grade 5 Basketball Invitational Tournament @ ÉSMS

Saturday 11 May

May Grounds Clean-up & Stencil Day

Monday 13 May

Core French Storyteller Visit (Grades 4-7)

Friday 17 May

Staff Professional Learning Day: No Classes for Students

Monday 20 May

Victoria Day Holiday

Tuesday 21 May

EFI Storyteller Visit (Grades 4-7)

Friday 24 May

Elementary Film Production with Xavier Georges

Saturday 01 June

9th Annual Garden and School Grounds Day (Click HERE if you'd like to lend a hand!)

Monday 03 June

Elementary Film Production with Xavier Georges

Wednesday 05 June

Primary Sports Day

Thursday 06 June

Elementary + Grade 7 Sports Day

Friday 07 June

Term III Reporting Day - No classes for students

Monday 10 June

EcoSchools Ceremony and Tree Planting

Alternate Primary Sports Day

Tuesday 11 June

Alternate Elementary + Grade 7 Sports Day

12-14 June

Primary STEM Activities in LRC

Friday 14 June

Grade 7 Celebration (Details TBA)

17-19 June

Elementary STEM Activities in LRC

Thursday 20 June

Last Day of School for Students; Term III Reports Released