The Lord Tennyson PAC executive were thrilled to see so many wonderful parents at the PAC meeting tonight!
Thank you to Hillary Samson (our new PAC chair) for chairing the first meeting of the year. And a huge thanks goes out to Tennyson staff - Mme Lavoie, Mme Lorieau, and Mme Peters for their attendance.

Wow! It was super to see so many new faces! Thank you. Tennyson is as amazing as it is due in part to the wonderful parent involvement ... thanks for coming, showing an interest, and getting involved!

Mme Lyse (our teacher-librarian) and Mme Christine (Div 1 - Gr6/7) are working together on the "Ça tente de lire?" project this year.  You may remember it from last year.  They are setting up tents in the library, outside (weather permitting), and in the hall in front of the library. The tents will be filled with different themed books presented by Div 1 students.  The entire Tennyson community is invited! This event will take place Friday, Oct 3 from 9:30am to 2pm (except during recess and lunch).  Parents are welcome to drop by anytime to come have a look at what our fabulous library has to offer.

PAC MEETING AGENDA

Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 7 - 8 PM

1.     Call to order

2.     Approval of June 2014 AGM Minutes

3.     Call for any new agenda items

4.     Principal’s Report

5.     Treasurer’s Report

6.     Set dates for 2014-15 PAC meetings

7.     Nomination and approval of Executive Members

a.     Catherine Sinasac for Co-Vice Chair

b.     Tam Cummings for DPAC Rep

8.     Review and call for nominations for openings on PAC Executive:

a.     PAC Co-Chair

9.     Call for volunteers for openings on committees

a.     Kits High Liaison

b.     Lost & Found

c.     Scholastic Book Fair

d.     Sports

e.     Staff Appreciation Lunch

f.      Tennyson Archives Coordinator

g.     Year-End School BBQ

h.     Zero Waste

10.  Approval of expenses to purchase Quickbooks for PAC computer

11.  Kick-Start

12.  Athletics Council

13.  Meet the Teacher Night and Welcome Back BBQ

14.  Pub Night, Halloween Howl

15.  Adjournment

Dear Tennyson Families,

Registration for the Noon Hour Programs opens at 8am tomorrow - Tuesday, September 30th.  Sign up early as many of these programs are popular and fill  quickly.  We would hate for your child to miss out!  

To maximize the time for classes, registration will only be open for one week, from September 30th to Wednesday October 8th, 2014.  Classes will begin the week of October 14, 2014.

On the home page of the Tennyson website (www.lordtennyson.ca) -- bottom left corner -- you will find the noon hour class descriptions for this term.  We are pleased that many of our instructors from last year are back. Two new courses have been added and are not yet reflected in the descriptions on the website ... please see below for their descriptions.

Registration will be done through the Munchalunch website (just like the Hot Lunch program, you can use your same Hot Lunch account info). You can find a link for Munchalunch on the bottom left of the Tennyson homepage (beside the class descriptions). You will need to know your child's division to update your account ... please make sure it is correct (especially important for future lunch orders).

Credits on your account from last year (cancelled Sports Day lunch) will be automatically applied at checkout.

Once you log into Munchalunch, click on the yellow “Fundraising” tab to find the Noon Hour offerings.  Please note that these programs are not for fund-raising as the PAC operates this on a not-for-profit basis with volunteer coordination and support from the Tennyson Administration for student enrichment.

All payments are due by Friday October 10th, 2014 and no refunds will be issued after the first week of classes.

You may either use the online options (PayPal and credit card), or ensure your cheque (payable to “Lord Tennyson PAC” and with the order number written on it) has been placed in the slot labeled “Noon Hour Programs” outside the school office by that date.  We very much appreciate your effort to keep your account balance at 0.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact our noon hour coordinator – Gloria Mason, (mom of Jed Mason in Division 12) by email at: noonhourprograms@lordtennyson.ca

PROGRAM UPDATES:  

Thanks to some parent recommendations over the weekend, we are pleased to welcome two more instructors and add two new courses to the line-up:  

Junior Choir for Grades 1 to 3

Thursdays: 9 classes -- October 16 to December 4, 2014 plus a performance TBA

Instructor(s): Catherine Campolin - Vancouver Bach Children's Choir, and Accompanist - Dr. Elinor Chambers

Learn new songs (French and English), Gain vocal confidence, And share your voice!  No experience necessary! Ms. Catherine & Dr. Chambers are excited to offer this program and share their love of music.

Ms. Catherine Campolin is a classically trained soprano with over 20 years of voice performance.  She is a choral director for the Vancouver Bach Children's Choir, she also directs choirs at Henry Hudson, Trafalgar and Queen Elizabeth Annex.  Her choirs have performed at VanDusen Gardens, Fly Over Canada, the Space Centre, the Maritime Museum, at community centres, and retirement homes.  Ms. Catherine is also an active performing artist herself.

Guitar for Grades 3 to 7

Thursdays:  8 classes -- October 16 to December 4, 2014

Instructor: Jason Corbett

Come join Jason for noon hour guitar!  We will focus on note reading and playing songs that you choose.  New and experienced students welcome.  No guitars necessary.  Students can use the school’s guitars for this course.  You are also welcome to bring your own guitar if you wish.

Jason Corbett, has played in many different musical settings and is well versed to cover whatever stylistic preference students may have (e.g., classical, punk, mainstream jazz, rock tunes etc). Jason teaches at a few studios in Vancouver, the Mozart School of Music at UBC and Prussian Music in Kits.  He has a Bachelors in Music Performance, a Masters in Music, composes his own solo repertoire and performs. Visit www.jasoncorbett.com to learn more.

Please see the following message from Mme Lavoie:

For our new families (and as a refresher for returning families), here is information on our before and after-school playground supervision.

There are two staff members on supervision duty before school from 8:40 am until 8:55 am and two staff members on duty after school from 3:00 pm to 3:15 pm. Students arriving in the morning are asked to wait outside, as this is where the supervision is. On rainy mornings, students may go downstairs to the lunch room, as this is where the supervising teachers will be. 

Please remind your child that at the end of the day, if the second bell has rung (3:15pm) and they have not been picked up, they must come into the office to let us know. Before 8:40 am and after 3:15 pm there is NO adult supervision outside, therefore children CANNOT be left on their own.

Children are NOT permitted to use the office telephone to make social arrangements.

For safety reasons, skateboards, scooters and roller blades ARE NOT to be ridden on school grounds during school hours, from 8:40 am to 3:15 pm. Students and parents are requested to walk their bikes, etc. on the school grounds.

Dear Tennyson Families,

We are thrilled to be starting the school year on Monday, September 22. Please note that students are to come from 9:00 am to 10:00 am only. They will return to their previous classroom with their previous teacher, with the exception of students going into Grade 1.

All students are asked to line up outside, in their previous location, where they will be greeted by their teacher.

Parents are welcome to stay for coffee and treats in the gym.

As the Kindergarten teachers will be receiving their new Kindergarten students on Monday, students entering Grade 1 will go to the following locations with the following teachers:

• Students from Mme Simone's class are to go to the library with Mme Lyse
• Students from M. Brian's class are to go to the music room with Mme Boucetta
• Students from Mme Janesse's class are to go to room 105 with Mme Normandeau

Class Casting
Staff will work on class casting on Monday afternoon. As this is a very complex and time consuming process, students will remain with the previous teacher for the first few days, allowing us the time to ensure that we have an educationally sound organization, resulting in students experience a successful school year. Staff will ensure that their time with their previous students is a meaningful educational experience.

Once we are ready to move into the new classes, we will share with you our timeline and will present our new organization. Please note that once students are placed into their new classes, changes cannot be made.

We thank you for your support in this matter and do appreciate that our professional judgment is respected.

We are all very excited about starting the year with your children and look forward to seeing you on Monday! 

Jacquie Lavoie
Principal

Friday, September 19, 2014

Dear Parents,

We are all very excited to begin the school year with your children. Despite the late start, Kindergarten students will go through a gradual entry process during the first week and a half of school. The classes are divided into two groups, Group A and Group B, in order for a smaller number of students to attend at a time. Please refer to the email sent to you in July regarding your child’s placement and grouping.

Parents are asked to attend the first day with their child in order to sign up for a parent teacher interview, scheduled during the first week after student sessions. This interview is a time, approximately 20 minutes in length, for you to share information about your child with their new teacher and for the teacher to talk about the Kindergarten program.

Also, please return the UBC survey that was handed out during the Welcome to Kindergarten event, to your classroom teacher. Your child’s teacher will be using this information to help with their transition into Kindergarten. If you have misplaced your copy of this survey, please ask your teacher for another.

Below is the gradual entry schedule with the new dates. Times will remain as per the original schedule. 

Monday, Sept. 22             Group A                8:55 am – 10:00 am           
Tuesday, Sept. 23             Group B               8:55 am – 10:00 am
Wednesday, Sept. 24    Group A               8:55 am – 12:00 am                           
Thursday, Sept. 25          Group B               8:55 am – 12:00 am
Friday, Sept. 26                Group A               8:55 am – 3:00 pm
Monday, Sept. 29            Group B                8:55 am -3:00 pm


On Tuesday, Sept. 30, all students will come for the entire mandated time 8:55 am to 3:00 pm.

(Please note that the kindergarten class will have a recess time of 10:35-10:55 am but not during the gradual entry time. Students’ lunch hour will be from 12:10-12:57 pm)

Sincerely,

Jacquie Lavoie – Principal
Mme Janesse – Classroom teacher
Mme Simone – Classroom teacher
M. Brian – Classroom teacher

Congratulations to Tennyson parents Randal & Meralon (sons Connell and Aiden) of Randal Kurt Photography.
Randal Kurt Photography just won Best Wedding Photographer in the Georgia Strait's Best of Vancouver 2014 awards. This is their second consecutive year winning!
Enjoy their thanks and blog entry here.