The Weekly Update #4

Happy November, parents!

I just want to say a quick note of thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding as teachers have returned back to work after the recent job action. It was great to see our students again last week, and everyone has settled back into our routines, and our learning is progressing! We also appreciate your understanding as we have to reschedule many events that were supposed to take place in October and November to new dates. We are hoping to see lots of parents at our interview night, which has been rescheduled for November 27th. See below for more information!

A reminder to Grade 9 and Grade 12 parents that the provincial government has canceled Grade 12 diplomas and Grade 9 provincial achievement tests for January. As a staff, we will be determining what January assessments will look like for all students in our secondary grades, but we will not be having a traditional exam week. Students should expect to be in class and learning right up to the end of the semester in High School.

As we enter into the winter season, a reminder to everyone that on days of extreme cold, there is the possibility of buses being cancelled if the temperature is below -40 degrees Celsius in the morning. In these cases, the school will still be open, and students are encouraged to come, but parents will need to provide transportation for them.

Thank you everyone, and enjoy the long weekend.

Mr. MacKenzie - Principal

November 7 - School Remembrance Day Ceremony

November 11 - Remembrance Day - SCHOOLS CLOSED

November 10 & 12 - Fall Break - SCHOOLS CLOSED

November 27 - Parent Teacher Interviews

November 28 - School Picture Day

December 3 - School Council Meeting 7 PM

December 10 - Student Awards Night

December 16 - Christmas Concert

Upcoming hot lunches:

November 7 - Papa John's

December 12 - Chopped Leaf

Please visit Healthy Hunger to order for your child(ren).

UPCOMING GAMES:

Junior High:

November 6 - HLS @ OLMP

November 17 - HLS @ NN

November 19 - HLS @ STCA

November 20 - Divisional Playoffs

November 25 - Regional Playoffs

Due to lost time from the strike, Senior High volleyball will play a league tournament with the rest of the central zone schools to determine who goes to zones. This tournament will be taking place at ECCHS on November 14th and 15th. Zones will take place November 21 - 22.

The date for our next school council meeting has been changed to Wednesday, December 3rd, at 7 PM. All parents are welcome to attend - you do not have to have attended a meeting prior to this.

What is School Council? The School Council is an advisory group for the school. Come to find out more about school activities, academic programming, and find out how parents can be involved in our school. No extra commitment is required beyond, so why not come to a meeting to find out more about our school!

Our first set of parent teacher interviews is set for Thursday, November 27th from 3:30 until 8:30 PM. Parents are encouraged to come in and meet with teachers to discuss their child's progress.

Parents can sign up for their interviews by going to this website. We have reset all users, so parents will need to create a new account this year.

Hay Lakes School Awards Night will take place on Wednesday, December 10th at 6:30 PM in the school gym.

Mark your calendars! Our Christmas Concert will be Tuesday, December 16th at 6:30 PM.

We will also be having a dress rehearsal in the afternoon, which parents, families and friends are welcome to attend if they are unable to come to the evening performance. The time for this will be communicated at a later date.

We will once again be having a draw for our "Best Seat in the House" and will be selling refreshments for the concerts in support of the Hay Lakes School Band program.

Great news - our school library was selected as a Bridging the Gap recipient! The Bridging the Gap program is a partnership between First Book Canada and TD Bank to provide new, culturally relevant books to children across Canada. Hay Lakes School received a $2000 gift certificate through this initiative! Seven boxes of books arrived several weeks ago and our support staff worked hard to get nearly 300 new books on our shelves! We received novels for book clubs, as well as lots of picture books, graphic novels, non-fiction, and Indigenous books.

Our next Book Club book is The Lemonade War: Graphic Novel by Jacqueline Davies. We have 6 copies in the library and will be drawing for who can sign them out. If your child would like to participate, the book can also be purchased on Amazon here. For more information, email Mrs. Irvine.

Our Fall Book Fair is coming soon! The new dates are December 3rd - 8th. You are welcome to attend the Fair during your student's scheduled time or at any time during our scheduled hours. Flyers will be sent home prior to the Book Fair.

We have an Instagram account - it's a great way to keep up on upcoming events. Please follow us at

@haylakestigers