Focus on Finals

With less than 5 weeks to finals, pleased encourage your child to keep their attention focused on their daily work and to prepare for the final June exams in Science, Eng-lish Language Arts and Mathe-matics. School attendance is impera-tive to a child’s success in school. Parents are encouraged to check PowerSchool to ensure their child has completed and passed in all as-signed work prior to exams. We would like to see all students experi-ence a successful end to their school year.

Parent Newsletter

Dates to Remember:

Victoria Day Holiday: Monday, May 23, 2016

Grade 9 School Leaving Farewell: Friday, May 27, 2016

Fine Arts Night/Spring Concert: Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Final Exams: Wednesday, June 15—Friday, June 17, 2016

Ma

cdon

ald

Dri

ve J

un

ior

Hig

h S

choo

l 1

10

Ma

cdon

ald

Dri

ve, S

t. J

ohn

's, N

L, A

1A

2K

9

Ph

one:

70

9-7

53

-82

40

, Fa

x: 7

09

-75

3-1

24

3, E

-ma

il: s

ara

hos

mon

d@

nle

sd.c

a

PA

RE

NT

N

EW

SL

ET

TE

R

MDJH

May 13, 2016

Guiding Tips

As students start preparing for their final exams it is important to have:

1. Quiet study area

2. Remove distractions

3. Rest

4. Eat well

5. A plan – remember; last minute does not work

6. School Supplies - pencils, pens, eraser, calculator, ruler

.

www.testtakingtips.com/test/index.htm

Page 2 M AY 1 3, 201 6

Grade 9 School Leaving

Celebrations 2016

The date for the upcoming Grade 9 School

Leaving Ceremony is Friday, May 27th. We

would like to provide parents/guardians with

some information about the evening.

Grade 9 students can purchase up to 2 tick-

ets for parents/guardians. Each ticket costs

$5.00 and they will go on sale Monday, May

16th

. Students can bring their money to the

homeroom teacher. They will get their tick-

ets a day or two before the ceremony. Al-

lowances will be made for blended families.

There are 216 grade 9 students leaving

MDJH and moving on to high school next

year. Hence, a large number of people are

expected at the school on May 27th. Should

there be extra tickets, they will be made

available on Wednesday, May 25th. We en-

courage grade 9 students to have their

ticket(s) purchased prior to May 20th.

Attire

Dress casual is appropriate for students. We do

not want this evening to be a formal affair, but in-

stead special and fun. So please, don’t purchase

expensive formal gowns or suits.

A casual dress, skirt , pants for girls and casual

pants/shirt for guys would be perfect.

This event consists of two parts:

1. Ceremony: 7:00-8:15 pm

This part of the evening is attended by students

and parents/guardians. The ceremony will include

a parade of Grade 9 students, songs, and a vale-

dictory address. All students should be at the

school by 6:30 p.m. Parents who drop off their

sons/daughters early are welcome to find a seat

in the gym.

2. Reception: 8:15-9:30 pm

After the ceremony, refreshments will be served

by Grade 7/8/9 parent volunteers in the cafeteria.

Students, parents and staff will have an opportuni-

ty to mingle. Parents of Grade 9 students will be

asked to contribute hors d’oeuvres, cookies, etc…

on the day of the celebrations. No sandwiches

please, as we will be ordering sandwich trays.

Page 3 M AY 1 3, 201 6

If you can provide something for the evening

please indicate the item you would like to bring

and email Kathy Pollett at

kpollett@nf.sympatico.ca

It is important that you reply as soon as possible

as parent volunteers need to determine where

there may be shortages. On the night of the cere-

mony, someone will collect your food item at the

door or you can drop it off at the office on the 27th

prior to 3:30 PM.

We remind parents/guardians that we have

students with allergies. So PLEASE do NOT

send any of the following foods:

NUTS: walnuts, almonds, pecans,

cashews, peanuts, etc….

ALL FISH/SHELL: cod, shrimp rings,

crab, lobster, etc.

Kiwi

If you are available to volunteer on the

night of the ceremony please email Kathy

Pollett: kpollett@nf.sympatico.ca or contact

the office. Many hands make light work and

parent volunteers in grade 7 and 8 are much

appreciated.

Baby Pictures Needed

We are planning a slide show and we want

everyone to be included so please send in a

baby picture as soon as possible to Telia

Welsh: teliaraquel@yahoo.ca

Please send the picture as a jpeg by May 20th.

We look forward to seeing you with your

son/daughter on May 27th.

Grade 7/8 Parent Volunteers

for Grade 9 School Leaving

We are seeking Grade 7/8 Parents to help out n the cafeteria during the Grade 9 School leaving Ceremony on May 27th. Please contact the administration if you are interested in helping us out.

Sarah Osmond: sarahosmond@nlesd.ca or Craig Squires: craigsquires@nlesd.ca

Celebrating Student’s Successes We want to

acknowledge and celebrate the accomplish-

ments of the students of MDJH. We have a

wall of celebration where we will place a

certificate of acknowledgement highlighting

participation and success in a variety of ac-

tivities. We want to know if your child has

participated in any plays, musicals or has

been on a team that has won some title or

has been recognized in any individual com-

petition. We need your help with this.

Page 4 M AY 1 3, 201 6

What’s happening?

NLESD District Speak-Offs

On Tuesday evening, Abi Schwartz of 9-7 represented our school extremely well at the District Speak-offs. She delivered a speech entitled Don't Stop the Music about the importance of the arts in schools. Abi memorized most of her speech which ena-bled her to speak directly to the audience. Her strong and expressive voice helped her to stand out among the 19 other speakers in this non-competitive event.

Way to go, Abi!

MDJH Community Market

Many thanks to our vendors, parent /teach-er volunteers, and community partners for assisting us with our first MDJH Community Market, which was held on Saturday, May 7. It was a great success! We raised $2300 which will be split between the Breakfast Program and technology resources for the social studies department

We could not do it without your support!

Safety on and off School

Grounds

It is very important that all students exercise caution on and around school grounds at all times. We have a lot of on-going construction around our building.

Students need to use crosswalks, be aware of construction zones, act and behave accord-ingly when going off school property for lunch (parks and eating establishments), and refrain from using the MDE playground.

We strongly encourage you to be alert and careful at all times. As well, to drivers, please adhere to speed limits in our school zone and be extra alert.

Yearbooks

You can now pre-order yearbooks for the 2015-2016 school year. They are available at a cost of $20. Order forms are available at the office or from Ms. Quann or Ms. Sauvé .

ALL MDJH STUDENTS are included in the yearbook. It is not just a book for Grade 9. It is a nice keepsake for all junior high students that highlight school events and memories. Our yearbook includes all school events from September 2015- June 2016 and are deliv-ered next fall.

Yearbook Photos

Many school groups and activities ongoing. Anyone having a team or group photo to sub-mit to the yearbook can please email their

MDJH Team Pictures Needed

Thanks to everyone who has sent in pictures.

We are still looking for pictures of many of our

teams. It would be much appreciated if a parent,

coach, or student could pass along a picture by

emailing Ms. Quann at colettequann@nlesd.ca.

If you are emailing a picture taken from a cell

phone, please select actual size when you email

as changing the size will alter the picture and the

quality of the picture will be poor so we will be

unable to put it in the yearbook.

Student Council

Parent/Student Information Meet-ing on Canadian Student Leader-

ship Conference (CSLC 2016)

The national leadership conference for grade 9-

12 students will be held in Edmunston, New

Brunswick from September 27th- October 1

st.

This is a wonderful experience and provides op-

portunities for students to participate in leader-

ship workshops and activities. Please visit the

CSLC website at http://cslc-ccle2016.com/en/ to

see what these conferences are all about. Reg-

istration is May 16 and there are a limited

number of spots available per school and per

province. There will be a meeting Tuesday, May

17 at 7 pm in the LRC. Anyone interested in this

conference is urged to attend.

Free the Children Our school joined the Free the Children organi-

zation in order to fundraise for education in Ec-

uador. This initiative was student-led and our

two main campaigns consisted of "We Create

Change" (a coin / donation drive) and "We

Bake For Change" (bake sales). Our goal was

$500 for this school year and we raised $702.

We hope to continue our efforts next year.

Thanks to all students who supported our bake

sales and who donated in their homerooms.

Help for Fort McMurray MDJH student council are asking for your help in our efforts to help the people of Fort McMur-ray. Given the devastation experienced by our fellow Canadians (many of whom are New-foundlanders) in Alberta, the student council would like to turn our efforts to raising money to give to the Red Cross for Fort McMurray. A goal we feel the school community can meet and perhaps exceed is $1500. We will have bake sales and a coin donation drive. If every student donated a $1 we would be almost half-way to $1500. If every student donated $2, we would be very close to the goal of $1500. We know this is attainable within our school. We have nearly reached our goal and will continue to collect coins next week as well as have an ice cream sale on Wednesday. Stay tuned for the final total in upcoming newsletters. Thank you to all for your support of this worthy cause.

The Challenge Continues!

Our efforts this week have resulted in $1482.50 being collected for Fort McMurray. We will continue to collect coins next week and will have a ice cream sale on Wednesday. Our goal of $1500 is within reach and we may even be able to raise $2000. Thanks to everyone for supporting our efforts and to Glen for the won-derful announcements.

We can do it!!

Page 5 M AY 1 3, 201 6

Orientation for Grade 9 Students:

Holy Heart

Grade 9 students, attending Holy Heart in Septem-ber 2016, are invited to attend an orientation session

and student council elections on Monday, May

30th from 9:00-11:00 am in the HHM Theater.

Photography Club Next Photography Club meeting will be held Wednesday, May 25th. The photography club is interested in taking a variety of pictures of any groups or clubs at MDJH to use in this year's yearbook. All we need is some notice and a schedule. Please email Ms. Quann (colettequann@nlesd.ca) or Mr. Trevor Wragg (twragg@hotmail.com) to ad-vise of practice times, events or games and we can arrange to have your group's picture taken.

Europe 2017 Any student interested in going to France and Italy during Easter of 2017 should see Ms. Quann for information. Email Colette Quann at colettequann@nlesd.ca for details.

Page 6 M AY 1 3, 201 6

Electronic Devices

Electronic devices (ipads, ipods, phones) are not permitted for use during instructional/classroom time unless under the direction of a teacher.and permission has been given to use the devise All phones should be turned off during class time and placed in the appropriate place as directed by the teacher. These devices are only permitted to be used in the morning prior to class starting, during recess, lunch period, and after school.

If a student does not follow rules pertaining to electronic devices in the classroom they will be sent to the office whereby home contact will be made. If the electronic device is not rendered the student in question will be sent home. As well, a student using an electronic device during class time or at any other time throughout the day (hallways) during instructional time will have it confiscated and submitted to the office. Repeat offenders will require parents to collect the item from the office. We are not responsible if these items are lost or stolen.

If you need to contact your child while he/she is in school, please call the school number at

709 753 8240

Band Notes – Week of May 16-20

Page 7 M AY 1 3, 201 6

Congratulations to all our band students and Ms. Dunsmore for their outstanding efforts! Very successful Rotary Music Festival for all the bands: Gold Standards were earned by all the bands

NEXT:

MDJH Annual Spring Concert TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 7:00 pm

BILLBOARD and BLOCKBUSTERS

We will be performing music from the top of the charts and from the blockbuster movies we love.

Students are reminded that continued regular attendance is expected for participation in the final concert

Jazz Band will practice Monday after school as usual

Schedule for this week:

Mon. May 16 Tues. May 17 Wed. May 18 Thurs. May 19 Fri. May 20

Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

1 Grade 8/9

Alto Saxes

Grade 8/9

FULL BAND

2 Grade 8/9

Trumpets and French

Horn

Grade 8/9

Percussion

Grade 7

Clarinets

3 Grade 8/9

Flutes

Grade 7 Trum-

pets

Grade 7

Trombones

Baritones

Tenor Saxes

4 Grade 7

Alto Saxes

Grade 7

Percussion

5 Grade7

FULL BAND

Grade 8/9

Clarinets

Grade 8/9

Low Brass

Tenor, Bari

Sax,

Bass Guitar

Grade 7

Flutes

MDJH Digital FYI: What every parent should be aware of

Page 8 M AY 1 3, 201 6

Police Strongly Urge Parents To Talk To Their Children After Disturbing Child Pornography

Incident

Source: OPP

Date: Sat Apr 30 05:04:16 MST 2016

(NORFOLK COUNTY, ON) - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Norfolk County Detachment is urging all parents to speak to their children about the dangers of Self-Peer Exploitation after police received a complaint from a Norfolk County, Ontario resident.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at approximately 10:33 a.m., police received as complaint from a concerned parent after their 14-year-old teenager sent sexually explicit photos on-line to an un-known adult male.

Through the course of investigation, it was determined that both met on-line when the male de-manded nude photos of the victim. The victim declined at which time the male indicated that he would harm himself if they were not sent. Fearing that the male would hurt himself the photos were forwarded.

There has been a marked increase in the number of reports involving youth sending and request-ing sexually explicit images or videos over the internet. This is called self-peer exploitation. It is al-so known as sexting.

The OPP is concerned about the safety of those involved, and wants to create a greater aware-ness about the issue and what can be done if a teen finds themselves overwhelmed with the reali-ty of their actions.

Teens need to realize the long and short term dangers of sending out photographs of themselves. Those who distribute it also need to be aware of the criminal ramifications of doing so.

Page 9 M AY 1 3, 201 6

Porn culture is becoming pop culture, and often parents do not know that their kids are involved, and it can be difficult to determine. Parents are encouraged to have honest and frank discussions with their kids about what self-peer exploitation is, and explain that the images can often end up somewhere they may not want them to be. Be prepared to offer them some information about who they can turn to if they need help.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a national charitable organization dedicated to the per-sonal safety of children, with a goal to reduce child victimization. They are a great resource, and have many links to information that is helpful to parents, educators and teens themselves. The Centre also has a tip line to report online sexual exploitation called Cybertip.ca. Cybertip.ca is de-veloping and disseminating effective intervention and prevention practices to reach a variety of stakeholders.

“Everyone needs to realize the long and short term dangers of sending out photographs of them-

selves. Those who distribute it also need to be aware of the criminal ramifications of doing so.

Once it’s out there, you can’t get it back and you should not be embarrassed to speak to police

about your concerns”, comments Constable Ed Sanchuk, Norfolk County OPP.

Learning more about Snapchat

Snapchat is a photo/video-sharing based social media platform. It involves taking a ‘snap’ and sending it to various people on your friends list. The receiver of the image/video can view it for a set amount of time (e.g. 10 seconds) before it disappears, thus the main appeal of Snapchat.

This app also holds a 12+ age rating. The main danger of this app is that sometimes the ‘snap’ does not always completely disappear. Inappropriate use of the app can lead to harassment and bullying.

Snapchat published a parents’ guide which provides information on safe use of the app, but here are some the basic things a parent should know:

Configure Snapchat to only accept messages from users on your “My Friends” list. The

last thing you want is your child receiving inappropriate and/or explicit images from a stranger. Don’t expect your snaps to fully disappear. The ‘snapshot’ feature allows the receiver

to save the photo to their phone. A warning message is sent to the sender; however that snap is now saved onto someone’s phone. Don’t take snaps you will regret sending later.

Page 10

NLESD Tobacco Free Policy

The new Tobacco Free Policy has been posted in the policies section of the NLESD website (under programs):

https://www.nlesd.ca/includes/files/policies/doc/1457461883390.pdf

Recently, there has been many questions re-garding e-cigarette use and vaping in schools.

This policy expressly prohibits the use of products that mimic tobacco use on school

grounds.

E-cigarettes or Vapours

Electronic cigarettes (also called e-cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems) are battery-operated devices designed to deliver nicotine with flavorings and other chemicals to users in vapor instead of smoke. They can be manufactured to resemble traditional tobacco cigarettes, cigars or pipes, or even everyday items like pens or USB memory sticks; newer devices, such as those with fillable tanks, may look different. More than 250 different e-cigarette brands are currently on the market.

While e-cigarettes are often promoted as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes, which de-liver nicotine by burning tobacco, little is actu-ally known yet about the health risks of using these devices.

PARENT NEWSLETTER

Macdonald Drive Junior High

110 Macdonald Drive

St. John’s NL

A1A 2K9

Phone: 709-753-8240

Fax: 709-753-1243

E-mail:

leoetchegary@esdnl.ca

We’re on the web!

http://www.mdj.k12.nf.ca