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December News

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December News

There have been many opportunities to get involved here at SWO, such as joining volleyball, NBA Activities, Games Season's GreetingsClubs, and Leadership Council and Glee Club only to name a few. Students, if you have not yet found something that you are excited to be part of, make a suggestion!

December is traditionally a month of giving and celebrations to bring family and friends together. At Sir William Osler School, we believe we can be of service to others beyond our family and are working to help ensure the holidays are truly joyous for those who may be finding this time of year a struggle.  Take a moment to reach out to those who may not be as fortunate as us this holiday season.

Candy Cane Sales

The Go Girls sold candy canes again this year. All money raised supported the purchase of gifts for families who need our help this year to make their Christmas a little merrier! We made over $300 from the candy cane sales.  

Angel Tree

Thank you everyone who contributed to this year’s Angel Tree. This year’s donation far surpassed expectations and is sure to bring many smiles to those who need it most this holiday season. You have once again demonstrated how remarkable the SWO community is and thanks to all who shared in the spirit of giving. 

Food Drive

Last week grade 1-4 classes had a friendly competition to raise food for the Salvation Army this holiday season. The contribution was a much appreciated, and an incredibly large accompaniment to the Angel Tree gifts. Congratulations to all classes for their participation!

NBA is a Hit!

Students have been enjoying games club, yoga, tabata club, and Just Dance activities. We have had a great turnout with activities having between 50 and 100 students. These have allowed many chances to connect, keep learning, be active, take notice, and play. There have been many opportunities for leadership as the older students are leading tabata and working with our younger students in all of the activities. NBA will continue through the winter months! A great way to have planned active breaks that support wellness!  

Healthy Action Team!

Our focus this year is on The 5 Ways to Mental Well-Being. https://www.hamilton.ca/public-health/health-topics/mental-well-being

The HAT team is working on becoming experts so they can share with the school community. NBA has been a great start to incorporating these ways for many students.

Fabulous Fruit Parfaits have been a hit! Money raised from the sales will go towards a hydration station #2 on the second floor.   Round 2 will be offered in January. Stay tuned…

Leadership Council :

Members of the Leadership Council have been collecting winter clothing to donate to The Moose Cree First Nations community near Timmins. Many of the children are without basic winter clothing and it is very expensive to ship items to them. Fortunately for us, our Educational Assistant, Mrs. Plium’s husband ( a paramedic) is going up to the community and is willing to drop off the donations for us. Students at SWO have collected two full bins of winter clothing and accessories.

The Leadership Council will also be helping families in need at SWO this holiday season. The council has raised funds this term and will be giving four SWO families, who are experiencing challenging times, grocery gift cards to use over the holidays.

Junior Girls Volleyball:

Congratulations to the Junior Girls Volleyball Team on their fantastic effort this season. Our team of 11 players, with hard work and determination, made it to the second round of Playoffs. Well done on a wonderful season!

Music in the City – Holiday Edition

Our school Glee club are one of 4 hamilton public schools that were asked to participate in spreading holiday cheer around the city. Making stops to City Hall, Juravinski Hospital, Jackson Square Food Festival and the Hamilton Spectator Holiday Party. Special thanks to Big Time Productions and Badder Bus Lines for the support to make this excursion possible.

Winter Concert Celebration

Dec 12th evening and Dec 13th assembly for the school was a huge success with over 300 parents, friends and family supporting the music program. Special mentions to our school Glee club, Grade 8 Jazz band, Grade 7 and 8 Concert Bands, small ensembles and vocal soloists, Jamila T,  Olivia P, Elaina Z, and Sophia C that made the event extraordinary.

Glendale Day Mindfulness on Repertoire

Our Grade 8 students  participated with 4 other schools in a mass band with Glendale Secondary Performing Arts. The event was guest conducted and professionally recorded. We left the day with a new piece of music donated by Long and McQuade and students received headphone as swag!  

CBC Music Class Challenge – SWO Glee Club Won!

If you haven’t read about it, please read more here.

Hannukah Sharing & Learning

This past week at SWO, students had the option to learn about Hanukkah.  It began with the first candle lighting on the evening of December 12, and ended on December 19. Students gathered during the nutrition break in our Learning Resource room to celebrate. Many students joined in the festivities, some who celebrate the holiday of lights and the miracle of the lasting oil themselves, others who wanted to extend their learning after listening to stories in their classroom, or students who just wanted to learn more about this holiday. Mrs. Rosenblatt led the activities, supported by Mr. Kerman and Mr. Dougherty. Students were provided with Hanukkah Gelt (chocolate coins), donuts (oily foods like donuts are eaten to remember the lasting oil) and students played games of Dreidle. Students also watched a video about the Hanukkah story and listened to Hanukkah songs. It was a great week of many students coming together to celebrate and to learn more about Hanukkah.

Joy Day

Oh joy! Oh joy! Students in Gr. 1-4 celebrated Joy Day on Friday, December 15th. In blended groups,  students mingled and participated in Joy Day activities. The Gr. 5 students took on a leadership role and supported in the different activity rooms playing games and assisting with the holiday craft. Hot chocolate warmed everyone up and put all in the festive spirit.

HWDSB Junior Swim Meet

On November 13th the Junior Swim team participated in one of the HWDSB school swim meets.  The team had many ribbons including three for relays. Individual ribbons were earned by William Z, Simon O, Annika F, Lukas K, Allie T, Adam F, Ben L, Ben T and Tishya L.  Congratulations to all our hard working participants.

After School Robotics Club and HWDSB Competition

This will be an after school club that will run from 3:30 – 4:45 on Mondays. Our first team meeting will take place on Monday, January 15th, 2018. I have opened the club up to grades 5-8, and I’ve already gotten quite a bit of interest from my grade 5 students! Unfortunately, we will only be able to bring approx. 8 students to the final competition in March. I am going to leave the club open to all of those interested. If we have a large turnout, our school will have a qualifying round where the Robotics Team members will face-off to see which players will get to come to the final competition. There is a role for everyone on Robotics Team – it isn’t just about Robotics. If you have interests in any of the following, this might be the team for you: fundraising, social media, blogging, graphic design, game strategy, coding, building and design! Please remind and encourage your students to come see what it’s all about! This is a great opportunity for students to get involved in our school community, as well as give them an opportunity to explore new interests. https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/blog/elementary-students-embrace-robotics/

Grade 3 to 6 Coding Club

After the break beginning in January, a coding club for students in grades 3-6 will begin! Students: Keep your ears listening for announcements about when and where to go!   

December is a month of many diverse celebrations that will continue into January for many of our students and their families. Hanukkah is an 8-day Jewish holiday that is celebrated between December 13th and December 20th. Winter Solstice welcomes the winter season on December 21st. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration beginning on December 26th each year. Within our community at SWO, we strive to build understanding and acceptance of these wonderful yet different traditions, and will also simply enjoy the fun and joy of holiday time spent with family and friends. As the 2017 school year comes to a close this week, we want to wish our community a very safe and joyous two week break – a time to create lasting memories with family and friends.  We will look forward to welcoming all back to school on Monday January 8, 2018!  Happy New Year! 

The SWO Staff

Reminder:  School Council MeetingJanuary 17, 2018 at  6:30 pm – 7:30 pm in the Learning Commons

 

Updated on Friday, December 22, 2017.
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