May to August 2008 School Newsletters

May to August of 2008

May 8, 2008
May 22, 2008
June 5, 2008
June 19, 2008

May 22, 2008

Important Dates to Note

May 26	Band Concert @ 7:00 pm
May 28	Gr. 5 Open House @ 6:30 pm
June 17	Year End Band Concert/Awards
June 26	Last day of school
June 27	Report Cards Issued

Important library dates
June 2        Last day for circulation and Library closed for the year
June 6        *All library books due back*

September 2008
We are well underway with our planning for the upcoming new school year. One area that it is critical for us to have accurate information about pertains to our student roster. If your child is in Grade 6 or 7 we are automatically assuming they will return to our school in September. If that is not the case we must be informed in the office of your families alternative plans. If your son or daughter is not returning to CDGMS for their grade 7 or 8 year and you have not formally informed us through the office please call 604-852-9616 to let us know.

Chief Dan George Middle School Open House
If your child will be attending CDG for the first time next year, please plan on joining us for our annual Open House. It will be held at our school on Wednesday, May 28, 2008, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. We will be featuring our current Grade 6 Band, our school's choir, and of course, our school will be open with many of our staff on hand, along with our Grade 7 Peer Mentors, to answer your questions. We are located on the corner of Gladwin and Old Riverside and our phone number is 604-852-9616.

District Middle School Track Meet Thursday, June 5th
Top performers at our annual school Track Meet in early May have been invited to represent the school in the middle school track meet at Rotary Stadium on June 5th. Students who are eligible to represent the school must attend scheduled practice sessions during lunch and/or after school and complete a permission form to indicate that their parents are aware that they will be off campus on that day.

Multicultural Week Celebrations
This week we have taken some time to highlight the diverse mix of cultures that we have at our school. Teachers have focussed some attention in their classrooms around this theme. We have had samplings of music from various cultures during our breaks and our Pit Stop canteen has offered up ethnic food from a range of cultures through the week. We will culminate our celebration with an afternoon assembly on Friday, May 23rd and will be treated to music, song and dance from a number of student presenters and guests.

Hep B Shots
The 2nd dose of Hepatitis B vaccine for the Grade 6 students is now complete. For any student who missed us at the school, please telephone the Health Unit @ 604-864-3400 to book an appointment at our immunization clinics for these important immunizations before the end of June.

Yearbook News
Yearbooks are now on sale in the office for only $22 and can be purchased before or after school from Mrs. Hollanti. There are less than 200 copies left for the entire student population and they will sell out soon. This year's book features 40 pages of full colour photos and a year's worth of memories. Make sure to reserve your copy today before they disappear.

Wolves Athletics News
Some CDG athletes that have made their mark in community athletics over the past few months. Tanner Strauss placed first in the 100 m Hurdles at the Upper Fraser Valley Track and Field Championships at Rotary Stadium. At the BC Winter Games four CDG athletes collected awards. Erin L. and Danika B. won silver in Ringette. Tyler W. and Allysa v. both won gold in the Judo competition. Congratulations to all four outstanding CDG athletes.

French Immersion 8 Trip to Québec
This year's trip was an overwhelming success and our Grade 8 FI students and staff spent a wonderful week in Québec City and Montréal experiencing the culture and language of la belle province. Some highlights of the trip included a disco cruise on the St. Lawrence River, a radio and TV workshop at Radio-Canada, and a lively evening of traditional food and dance at a sugar shack. Stay tuned for details regarding our evening meeting where we get together to celebrate the trip and watch the iMovie.

Grade 7 Outdoor Education Camp at Zajac Ranch
Divisions 11, 12, 13 and 14 spent three adventurous days at Zajac Ranch on Stave Lake just north of Mission last week. We started our three days in the rain, hiking either around Rolley Lake or along the Railway Trail which follows the shore of Hayward Lake. We then reboarded our bus and arrived at Zajac Ranch in time for lunch. Accommodation was in bunk beds in dorms. We were organized into “activity teams” and for the remainder of our days at the ranch we rotated through various activities such as horseback riding, archery, art, games of capture the flag and predator/prey and a high/low ropes course.
In the evening, we had some free time to slow down and visit with friends or play games on the sports field. This was followed by time writing in our journals and then presenting skits around the campfire. The weather was mostly good and even when it rained, we didn’t mind because we were out of school and having fun. Upon our return to Chief Dan George on Friday afternoon, we did let our guard down a bit and unfortunately our class digital camera was picked up by the Grade 8 doors and is missing. If you hear of anyone who may have picked this up, Mr. Dudzik is offering a reward for its return.
                                Written by Mr. Bowley

CDGMS Wolves Racing News
On Friday, May 16th, the drag race team headed out to Mission Raceway Park for our second race date of the year. The weather was incredibly dry, but very hot. Our dragster with the newly installed motor and clutch got repaired the day before and we were itching to see how it would perform. When we arrived at the track, we saw two junior dragsters being worked on. One was the Mouat car and the other was a car from A. D. Rundle Middle School of Chilliwack. Our two cars performed very well. We broke another record with a blazing run of 8.702 seconds down the eighth mile with a trap speed of 73.72 miles per hour. Both our cars had the opportunity to line up against Mouat's candy apple red, custom made car. We did exceptionally well against it and the other dragster from Rundle Middle. Instead of boasting about it here, please visit our website for the results and see for yourself. @ http://cdgms.com/wolf_racing.htm.

Congratulations, Ben Pearson. Ben drove for the first time ever in one of the dragsters and did an amazing job. Not a single problem and everything went smoothly. Good reaction times, as well.

At the beginning of the year, the drag racing team had a lot of offers of support in the way of funds from individuals and businesses. We continue to enjoy the support of our main sponsor, New World Technologies. Without their support over the past few years this program would have been cancelled. If you or your company is still interested in helping us out by forming a partnership, please contact our fund raising coordinator, Mr. Lilly. Our dragsters and support vehicles can be used for advertising. Receipts can also be issued for tax purposes.

Year End Band Concert
Due to the unfortunate incident that occurred a few weeks ago at Central Heights, the year end band concert and band awards night location has changed. It will be held at Seven Oaks Alliance Church on Gladwin Road (across from the mall) on Tuesday, June 17th at 7:00 pm. More information will be given out to students as we get closer to the concert.

Bottle Drive
Giant School Wide Bottle Drive to Help the Environment In June. Start saving your bottles.

Canada Wide Science Fair
Our school was represented recently in the 2008 Canada Wide Science Fair by Jory S., a student in our Grade 7 Early French Immersion program. Jory won the right to represent the Fraser Valley in this national competition and we are very proud of the fact that she received an Honourable Mention for her project entitled “Do You Know What You're Drinking” (Jory studied the taste, pH level, and mineral and bacterial content of several 'types' of water, including bottled and tap). Jory was amongst 500 students from across Canada who competed at this level and she had a very enjoyable time touring Ottawa. WAY TO GO, JORY!!!

CPF ANNUAL BOWLING FOR BURSARIES
This year promises to be another exciting event and the theme is "Pick Your Own!" You decide what your team's
theme will be! Prizes awarded for best teams. All adults or grade 12 students are welcome to attend.
    Date:         Saturday May 24, 2008
    Location:     Galaxy Bowl
    Time:         8:30 - 11:30 pm (bowling starts at 9:00 pm SHARP)
Sign up forms available at the school, the school's CPF rep or CPF bulletin board. Forward them to Donna Maud at 604-852-9133 or dmaud@shaw.ca, to your school's CPF rep or the school.   Accepting donations for lane sponsorship and/or door or silent auction prizes.

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May 8, 2008

Upcoming Dates to Note

May 9	Gr. 8 Quebec Trip
May 19	Victoria Day (NO SCHOOL)
May 26	Band Concert @ 7:00 pm
May 28	Gr. 5 Open House @ 6:30 pm
June 26	Last day of school
June 27	Report Cards Issued

Mother's Day
We would like to, on behalf of all of our students and staff here at CDG, wish all of our moms a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday, May 11th. Enjoy a restful day with your family and please know that you are appreciated.

Class Photo Retakes
Due to a very unfortunate situation with an image disk being damaged we need to work with Life Touch Photography to have our recent class pictures redone. This will take place in the morning of Friday, May 9th. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Annual Track and Field Day at Rotary Stadium May 8th
Tomorrow, Thursday, May 8th, all of our students will spend the day at Rotary Stadium participating in our annual school Track and Field Day event. Parents are asked to work with their child around the preparations necessary to spend a number of hours out of doors away from the school. Present weather reports indicate showers in the morning and fair weather the rest of the day. Therefore, students should come to school on Thursday with a lunch, sunscreen, clothing, shoes and a jacket to participate in track events. A few students will begin their day at Rotary Stadium participating in the early long distance running events. However, most of the student body will report to school as usual and then will walk with their class to the stadium for the start of the sprint and field events. Parents and guardians are welcome to drop by Rotary Stadium during the day to enjoy the festivities. The last event will wrap up just before 2:00 pm and students and staff will walk back to the school for dismissal. We still need some parent volunteers at the finish line. We would appreciate your assistance.

School Planning Council News
In recent weeks the staff and our school's SPC has had discussions around the focus for the following school year. The result has been a decision to continue forward with our new health and fitness goal, maintain our literacy goal and add a third goal focused in social responsibility. A rough draft of the proposed school plan for 2008-2009 will be published by the end of the week for further discussion and input. The District has set a May 15th deadline for all drafts of school plans to be delivered to the Board Office for approval.

Multicultural Week May 20th - 23rd
The Abbotsford area is one of the most culturally diverse in Canada, making it one of the most culturally diverse communities in the world. Our school will be involved in some activities through the week of May 20th to 23rd to highlight many of the cultures that make up our school community. A variety of ethic foods will be made available that week through our school's canteen (i.e. The Pit Stop). On the afternoon of Friday, May 23rd our students and a few honored guests from the community will present song and dance from their home culture.

Middle Schools Band Concert on May 26th
For the third consecutive year we will be hosting middle school bands from the Abbotsford School District for an evening festival. Our grade 7 concert band will be performing that evening at 7:00 pm.   All are welcome to join us in celebrating the significant progress that students have made at middle school

Concours d'art Oratoire
Our congratulations go out to two Grade 8 students who placed in the top 3 at the Provincial Concours d'art Oratoire for French Public Speaking. Danika B. placed 3rd in the Francophone category for speech on "l'Apparence" and Teagan P. placed 2nd in the Immersion category for her speech on "Le Nanisme." Congratulations to both of these students for their impressive result and thanks to all the students who represented our school at the provincial finals.

Grade 5’s Visit Our School
Our incoming Grade 5 students from our feeder schools (Sandy Hill, Stenersen, Terry Fox, Bondar, Centennial, and Clearbrook) visited our school today in the morning (also included were students from other school sites who will be joining our Grade 6 Late French Immersion program in the fall). This group of about 180 students were welcomed and toured around the building by our wonderfully attentive Grade 7 Peer Mentors. The Grade 5’s received a lunch, had some fun in our gym, and returned to their home schools with many of their questions and concerns taken care of. We are looking forward to seeing them back, both at our Open House on May 28th, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and of course, in the Fall of 2008!

Hanging Baskets
The hanging baskets for this year's final band fundraiser will be ready for pick up this Friday May 9th between 2:30 and 4:30 pm. Please plan on being here to pick them up.

Discovery Trail
Last week students in grade seven English track hiked the Discovery Trail. The students begin the 10 kilometer walk at Gardiner Park and finished here at Chief Dan George.

Bon Voyage French Immersion Gr. 8 Students
Sixty-eight of our French Immersion 8 students and their four teachers are getting packed and ready to go to Montreal and Québec City this Friday. The final itinerary is in place and this year's trip promises to be another exciting cultural adventure in la belle province. The preparations have been made, the students have had all of their meetings and pep talks, and have a number of things to look forward to. Just a reminder to all students and parents that they are to be at the Abbotsford Airport before 6:00 pm to check-in. We will be flying with WestJet out of Abbotsford and connecting to Montréal, through Calgary. Also a reminder that French is to be spoken for the duration of the trip, and will begin as soon as we go through security. We look forward to a memorable week of culture and fun.

Literacy Week
Congratulations to grade 8 Curtis F., grade 7 Connor F., and grade 6 Harman S. for winning the quote contest during literacy week. These students correctly identified the author and book a quote was from and won a $15 gift certificate or a Guinness Book of World Records 2008. Students were involved in various literacy activities during the week, such as Graffiti, Partner Images, and Notes Squares. To see some fantastic examples, just have a look in the hallway down from the main office. It was a wonderful week and students in all grades were engaged in some new and exciting instructional strategies.

Kiwanis Gr. 8 Student of the Month for April
Congratulations to Naomi S. for being named our Kiwanis Grade 8 student of the month. Naomi was nominated for being an outstanding academic student, a fabulous musician and singer and a wonderful citizen. She is kind, helpful, supportive and a great role model for others.

Drag Racing
On Friday, May 2nd, our team members got to drive the dragsters for the first time and they all did very well. Congratulations, guys! The day was like a bonus for us; not a drop of rain fell the entire time. Thursday afternoon, the BCSSMA (BC Secondary School Motorsports Association) executive cancelled high school drag racing for Friday due to the weather forecast. Although we didn't race for points, we got quite a few runs in and all of our drivers were able to take at least one pass down the track. Our PAC purchased a used motor and a new clutch for us this season and we got to try it out for the first time. When we first started the racing programme some six years ago, our first dragster was a 13 second car that reached speeds of up to 45 miles per hour at the end of the eighth mile. Later, we purchased a second car that ran in the 12 second range. Last year, our sponsor purchased a dragster for our use that ran 10 seconds down the 1/8th mile. This year, with the new motor and clutch, we ran in the 9 second range at just under 70 miles an hour. Rae-Anne M. took the car to its fastest elapsed time ever, clocking in at 71.44 miles per hour covering the 1/8 mile in 8.956 seconds. On the last run of the day, the dragster finally couldn't take the increased power of the new motor and the rear hub on the drive shaft split open and spun, causing damage to both the hub and axle. Our next race date will be the 16th of May. Sam Wilson recorded the best reaction time of the day at 0.035 seconds beating out most, if not all, of the secondary students and even beating out more than a few of the pro drivers who were out there today tuning their cars.

Chess Tournament
Chief Dan George Middle School will be holding its 6th annual chess tournament on May 24th. The tournament is open to all school chess teams in the province. Our average turnout for this event is in the 200+ player range and is one of the largest tournaments of its kind in the Lower Mainland. Students of all ages from Kindergarten to Grade 12 will be fighting it out for trophies and bragging rights. Our own chess club has had a very successful track record at the tournaments. We have never lost to another middle school, although Clayburn Middle came close one year. Mr. Glum, our school's chess coach, assures us that the tradition will continue, as he will field a very strong team. For more info on the chess tournament, please visit the web site at: http://cdgms.com/chess2008.htm.

News from Student Leadership
Rock on Chief Dan!. We raised $180 from the 80’s dance. Something to look forward to is the possibility of another lunch hour dance at the end of May. More information will be announced soon. We would like to thank Hudson Lee and Brandon Wnuk for setting up the Jessfati board outside of the library classroom. Great job PR and Fundraising team! Also, we would like to thank Mrs. Fladager, Ms. Stevens and Mr. Bowley for helping us with the board and information. We appreciate everything! Thanks to Mr. Cervo for being an awesome DJ and setting up the dance. Your “sprinkler” was radical! Stay tuned for more exciting news from your leadership team.
            Chairs of PR: Ashley D. and Brandon W.

June 5, 2008

Important Dates to Note

June 17	Year End Band Concert/ Band Awards
June 26	Last day of school
June 27	Report Cards Issued

PIT STOP CLOSED AFTER FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008.
Mrs. Chartier would like to remind all students, parents and staff that the Pit Stop will be closed after June 20th so that she can clean the canteen area. This means that students will need to bring a lunch to school for the last week of school as there will not be any food items for sale.

Wolves Racing News
Our drag racing team has two more race dates left to finish off the school year. Next Friday, June 13th, and the last Friday of the month, June 27th. The 2008 drag racing season then concludes in September with two more race dates. NHRA, the sanctioning body for drag racing at Mission raceway Park continually make changes to the requirements we must follow in order to compete. Sometimes, this results in having to spend a lot of money. Just this last race date, we were told that the clutch guard we had on our dragsters were not wide enough under the new rules. This means having to fabricate a new guard from scratch. More time and money. It is a never ending struggle. Keeping the dragsters running properly is not possible without the help of people like Mr. McCarthy, our resident mechanic, and the great parents we have on the team, who get deeply involved with our drag racing team.

Through a recent donation, we were able to purchase a tachometer/computer with datalogging capabilities. It's the same tachometer/computer that Mouat has on their new dragster. This would give us the ability to fine tune the engine to ensure our runs are super consistent. In drag racing, it's consistency, not speed, that wins races. For more information, please visit our web page at http://cdgms.com/wolf_racing.htm

Grade 8 French Immersion Fitness Challenge:
Mlle Perron would like to congratulate the 96 students who took part in the Fitness Challenge this term. She designed a fitness program and the students worked out at home 30 minutes 5 days a week for 1 month. Out of 96 students 86 of them completed the full month of the program. She is very proud of their determination and hard work. This fitness challenge fits in very well with our school goal to increase student awareness of and participation in healthy living through increased physical activity and consumption of nutritional food. She would like to congratulate the following students who challenged the most reps during the Fitness Challenge.
Second place: Taylor M., Rebekah G., Raeleen L., Ashley S.
First place: Josh L., Tanner S., Mitch V., Teagan P., Kennedy S., Julie S., Lauren L.
Top Male: Logan C. and Top Female: Francesca J.

6th Annual CDGMS Chess Tournament Rules!
Once again, Mr. Sakai and his brilliant family have put on a great chess tournament. Having attended many chess tournaments, I can safely say the Chief Dan George tournament is the best organized and the most fun for the students. It is a pleasure to watch children from kindergarten to grade 12, work their minds all day long. Our team did very well placing second out of a very strong field. They encouraged each other and continued to refine their skills playing chess with each other during breaks. The team included: grade 8s:- Joe S, Justin S, Gr 7s:- Colin W, Gr 6s:- Will J, Reuben N, Logan W, Vincint W. Some outstanding individual highlights include Logan W. who placed second out of 45 competitors. Logan only lost one game. He came second to the national champion. Colin W. was tied for second place also but lost out in the play offs. Colin also only lost one game. Special thanks to Grandpa Dugdale, Mme Veldhoen, Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Chartier, Mrs. Fladager and Mrs. Hollanti for their invaluable help. For more info and pictures of the tournament, please visit our web page at http://cdgms.com/chess2008.htm. Also, would like to acknowledge the great support we have had over the years from the following local businesses: A&B Sound, The Keg, Safeway, White Spot, McDonald's Restaurant - South Fraser and Bourquin, Willow Video, Subway Downtown Abbotsford (5 corners), Fraser Valley Vending Ltd. and BC Dairy Foundation. Written by Mr. Glum

CDGMS Gym Strip Now Available
Our school's staff work very hard to ensure that our students have both a strong Physical Education program and first-class extracurricular opportunities. Our students quite often shine in the area of sports, and our school has an excellent reputation in the community for promoting health and fitness with our student body. We believe in the power of team sports and therefore would like to further promote this with a CDG gym strip offering. Order forms are available at the office for you and your child to complete and send in so that your child will be able to enjoy wearing their new gym strip this fall. (If turned in to the office prior to July 1st, gym strip will be ready for the first week of school). The logo is quite stylish (combining our school’s letters with a First Nations wolf) and the cost ($20) for both the grey t-shirt and black shorts is very reasonable. We are very hopeful that our parent and student community will support this new initiative and that our students, when representing our school next year, will feel so much more a part of the CDGMS Wolf Pack! We do have shirt and short sample sizes in our office if you would like to size your child. Thank you for your support.

Kiwanis Students of the month for May and June
We are fortunate to have developed a strong relationship with the Abbotsford Kiwanis Club over the last few years. They have supported a Grade 8 Student of the Month program which involves special recognition of our students at their monthly dinner meetings. Almost 50 CDGMS students have been so recognized in the last four years. Congratulations to our final two Grade 8 Students of the Month for this school year. May's Student of the Month is Rick G. Rick is in our English track program and is an outstanding student. He is also a dedicated musician in our Band 8 and Jazz Band program. Rick has a fabulous reputation with his peers and his teachers for being a great citizen and role model for others. Our June Student of the Month is French Immersion student Rebekah G. Rebekah is also an outstanding academic student and musician. She was co-editor of the school's yearbook this year and for the third consecutive year presented at our annual multicultural assembly as a Highland dancer. Well done Rick and Rebekah!

Year end Band Concert
This year end band concert and band awards night location has changed. It will be held at Seven Oaks Alliance Church on Gladwin Road (across from Sevenoaks Mall) on Tuesday, June 17th at 7:00 pm. More information will be given out to students as we get closer to the concert.

Grace Tsai Returns from Washington, D.C.
Grace Tsai, a Grade 8 French Immersion student here at CDG, has just returned this week from the Scripp's National Spelling Bee held annually in Washington, D.C. Grace's trip to the Bee, representing the Vancouver to Hope Region, began on May 25th and ended on Sunday, June 1st. Grace, along with 21 other Canadian spellers, completed the Written Round, and two Oral Spelling Rounds successfully. She was, unfortunately stumped in the Semi-final Round by the word, cinerea (which means the gray matter of nerve tissue). Grace enjoyed her trip to Washington and found that participating in both the CanWest Canadian Spelling Bee and the Scripps National Spelling Bee to be a life-changing experience. She especially enjoyed her tour of various sites within the city; in particular, Washington's War Memorials. We are proud of Grace and were very glad to welcome her back home this week!

Bike to Work Week
Congratulations to our Bike to Work Team, the CDG Bikers (M. Frank Bowley, M. Tanner Cervo, Miss Amy Klassen, Mr. Bruce Dugdale, Ms. Tereyl Baye, Mrs. Sharon Mitchell, Mr. Colin McTaggart and student participant, Benton P.) for their collective efforts this week biking to work. Together, we biked a total of 202.5 km and offset 40.2 kg of greenhouse gases! May the riding continue for the remainder of this year!

Parent Volunteers for Year End Carnival
CDG is having its Year End Carnival on Tuesday June 24th from 10:30 am - 2:15 pm. There will be a number of inflatables and other stations for our students to enjoy that day and it is being offered to CDG students at no cost thanks to the generosity of our school's PAC. Lunch will also be provided to all of our staff, students, and volunteers. As this activity will be occurring during school hours, it is restricted to CDG students only. We are in need of some parent volunteers that day to assist us in supervision, selling raffle tickets, and providing general assistance. Supervision shifts have been broken down into 45 minute increments, starting at 10:30 am and ending at 2:00 pm and we would appreciate any help that could be offered covering one supervision shift to help out for the entire day. If you are interested or available to help, please contact Mr. Cervo at the school.

Creative Writing Contest
Attention all creative writers in grades 6-8! Your time has come to shine. Submit your creative writing pieces (maximum 5 pages, typed or printed in blue or black ink) with a title page to Ms. Pakulak in room 111 or to the envelopes outside the office by Friday, June 13th at 3:00 pm. You can write about anything appropriate in any form: poem, story, song…etc. English 6-8 and Early French 6 write in English, Late and Early French 7 and 8 and French Immersion 6-8 write in French. Questions?? See or email Ms. Pakulak (kate_pakulak@sd34.bc.ca)

LOST & FOUND ITEMS - PLEASE CLAIM!
Each classroom in our school will be viewing the many items that have accumulated in our Lost & Found bin in our Multi-Purpose Room on Monday, June 23rd during Blocks 5 & 6. Any clothing/items not claimed by Wednesday, July 2nd will be donated to a local charity.   Please remind your child to check the Lost and Found bin.

GUESS THE # OF BANDAIDS USED???
Can you guess the number of bandaids that students have used since January to May 2008. If you guess an amount closest to the ACTUAL amount used, you will win FREE lunch at the PITSTOP for a week.   Pick up your entry form (1 entry form per student) from your homeroom teacher.   Drop the entry form off to the office by afterschool on Wednesday, June 11th.    GOOD LUCK!

Cascades Athletic Program
The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades Athletic program is hosting many exciting sport camps this summer for boys and girls featuring: Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, and Rowing. Camps run from the last week in July to the end of August. For more information, contact: Andrew Meadwell at 604 - 504 - 7441 (Ext. 4449), email at Andrew.Meadwell@ucfv.ca or visit our website at www.ucfv.ca/athletics.

PAC News
The last PAC general meeting was held in the middle of last month. Elections for the new Executive for 2008- 2009 took place and most of the slate was filled. However, there is still a need for two positions to be filled (ie:Secretary and Vice President) and the PAC is hopeful that some parents will come forward in the fall to take on those roles. We would like to thank and acknowledge all PAC members for their sacrifice and support of the school this year. A special thank you to outgoing PAC President Mrs. Lee-Ann Hamel. Mrs. Hamel has provided great leadership over the last two years of her tenure and will remain on the Executive next year in the capacity as Past President. The PAC has assisted the school in recent weeks in a number of ways. A team of parents provided comfort and hospitality to our Grade 6 students when they had their last round of inoculations. Another group was present at our recent Open House to welcome our new fall Grade 6 students and their families. Not only did they assist with welcoming these new families to our school community but also provided complementary piece of watermelon and drinks. New concrete picnic tables have been added to our school grounds courtesy of the PAC We now have a total of four tables, two located on the west side of the property and two others on the east side. Further our PAC has agreed to provide funds to support a Year End carnival for all students at this school in the last week of June.

PAC is putting on   a teacher appreciation luncheon on June 18th. Looking for parent volunteers if you would like to decorate, or contribute a food item. Leave message at office for Lee-Ann Hamel.

Abbotsford Soccer Association Registration 2008 Summer and Fall/Winter Deadline: June 15, 2008
The Abbotsford Soccer Association provides programs for players of all ages. Wee Kickers Summer programs for children born in 2003 and older who want to get started
We offer all ages the chance to play at their level of ability, recreational and competitive. Interested? Go to www.abbotsfordsoccer.com and follow the links to registration.Questions? Just call 604.859.3033 for more information. Abbotsford Soccer Association……promoting soccer

June 19, 2006

Dates to Note
June 26-Last day of school
June 26-Report cards issued

PIT STOP CLOSED AFTER FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008.
Mrs. Chartier would like to remind all students, parents and staff that the Pit Stop will be closed after June 20th so that she can clean the canteen area. This means that students will need to bring a lunch to school for the last week of school as there will not be any food items for sale.

Report Card issue on the last day in session
We will be changing our practice around the issuing of reports this year. Students are scheduled to receive their report card from their classroom teacher on the afternoon of the last day in session (i.e. Thursday, June 26th). Students who receive an invoice this week indicating that they must pay for a lost library are textbook must arrange for that payment before June 26th in order to receive their report from their teacher. Otherwise students who are in arrears will only be able to obtain their report from the school office after that date.

Yearbook congratulations
On Thursday, June 19th, we are issuing Yearbooks to all students who have arranged to purchase one this year. It is an outstanding permanent record of the many wonderful experiences and opportunities for students at this school this year. Sixteen of our senior students under the mentorship of teacher sponsor M Cervo are to be congratulated for a job very well done. There are still a few books available and can be purchased for only $22.00 from secretary Mrs. Hollanti. We wish to remind parents that students are responsible for both securing their yearbook at the school and for any comments that they may make in the yearbooks of others.

Heart to Heart Haiti Project
Mr. Bruce Nicholson and Mr. Stan Petersen, two recent administrator retirees of the Abbotsford School District have made a request of schools in Abbotsford to donate new or near new school supplies to support an orphanage and elementary school in Haiti. There are presently 80 orphans and over 300 children that attend this school. Heart to Heart is a local organization that has supported this facility in Haiti for a number of years.   As long serving teachers and administrators in Abbotsford Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Petersen are aware of the "waste" that occurs at the end of each school year with students throwing away new or near new school supplies. We will be asking students at the end of the year if they wish to donate any of their supplies to this cause. Items that Heart to Heart are looking for include: pencils, erasers, notebooks, scribblers, duo-tangs, lined paper (loose, tablets or packs), water colour paints/brushes, solar powered calculators, geometry sets, one inch or smaller binders.

Staffing Changes at this point
Staffing for next year will continue over the next few weeks. A number of our teachers who have received lay off notices will be returning to our school in September.   However, due to the process by which this occurs formal notice will not be available until next week or early July. We do have a few changes that we can announce at this time. Mme Louise Jenkins, who joined our school's Late French program in September, will move into a District Helping Teacher position for Modern Languages in the upcoming school year. Mr. Bruce Glum, who has been our Resource Room teacher for two years will assume a Learning Services position at this school in September. We are welcoming Ms. Melanie Germain (Resource Room) and Mr. Ken Marshall (Late French) as new teachers to fill these vacancies. We wish to thank Ms. Kate Pakulak and Mrs. Katie Sweeting for their service over the last few months. Both were asked to come in at an awkward time of the year to fill temporary positions at this school. We wish them both well and know that they will be an asset to any school that is able to add them to their teaching roster in the future.

Track and Field Team wins the District championships
For the third time in four years our school track team was the runaway overall champion of the District Middle School Track Meet. One hundred and eighteen students represented us at this year's meet that was held at Rotary Stadium on June 5th. Under the leadership of teacher coaches Mr. McTaggart, Mr. Baruta, Mr. Richards and Ms. Pakulak our team was first in the Grade 6 boys division, Grade 6 girls division and the Grade 8 girls division. In addition, our team was second in the Grade 7 boys division and the Grade 7 girls division. This was an outstanding team effort and congratulations are in order for all the students that represented our school at that event. There were numerous outstanding performances but we are only able to mention a few this newsletter. Below are listed those students from our school who finished first in their event:
Grade 6 girl: Sarya R. - 800 m. (new district record time); Sarya R. -1500 m. (new district record time); Hayley G. -100m; Hayley G. -200 m; Hayley G. -400 m; Grade 6 relay team - 4 X 100 m
Grade 6 boy: Manveer D. -100 m; Manveer D. -200 m; Maleek I. -Long Jump; Ben K. - Triple Jump; Grade 6 relay team -4 X 100 m.
Grade 7 girls: Carly P. -1500 m
Grade 7 boys: Johnny B. -Discus
Grade 8 girls: Chantel D. -400 m (new District Record time); Francesca J. -800 m

CDGMS Gr. 7 students perform very well on this year's F.S.A.
Although the F.S.A.'s are only one "snapshot" of student capability the results do provide us with some valuable information about individual students and collective performance. With the changes in timing for administering these assessments (i.e. February versus May), as well as the change in the delivery method for some of the assessments (i.e. computer versus paper and pencil), this latest year will be used as a baseline for future years. Under the tutelage of our teachers our Grade 7 students' collective results are very impressive. Here is a brief summary for your information. More information can be obtained through the B.C. Ministry of Education website.

We have 195 Gr. 7 students at CDGMS. The Abbotsford School District data is the result of 1,494 Gr. 7 students being assessed and the provincial numbers involved a grand total of 49,554 Gr. 7 students.
Student participation information. This year the Ministry classified any student who did not write the F.S.A.'s as "performance level unknown". Over the years our school has had a very high participation rate among our students.   This is the case again this year.

Students whose performance level is deemed as unknown

	School %	District %	Provincial %
Reading Comprehension	3%	5%	9%
Writing	3%	6%	11%
Numeracy	3%	5%	9%

Student performance--percent of students who either met or exceeded the standard.

	School %	District %	Provincial %
Reading Comprehension	84%	74%	69%
Writing	91%	89%	75%
Numeracy	85%	79%	71%

Congratulations are in order to our Grade 7 students, their parents and the teachers and the teaching assistants who have worked with these students over the last two years at this school.

Lost and Found Items - Please Claim
Each classroom in our school will be viewing the many items that have accumulated in our Lost and Found bin in our Multi-Purpose room on Monday, June 23rd during blocks 5 and 6. Any clothing/items not claimed by Wednesday, July 2nd will be donated to a local charity. Please remind your child to check the Lost and Found bin.

Creative Writining Contest
The creative writing contest at Chief Dan drew some amazing pieces. After some difficult decisions, the winners were chosen. Congratulations to Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicole Provost, Daryn Fenrick-Logan, Alicia Gandhi, and Katie Hayashida. A job well done. Keep up the great writing and thanks for all the wonderful entries!

Canadian Parents for French ABBOTSFORD CHAPTER AGM
Monday, June 23, 2008 (7:30 am - 8:30 pm)

It's that time of year again! Time for the CPF Abbotsford Chapter's Annual General Meeting. Our chapter needs volunteers to carry on our chapter and we will be voting in the new executive at the meeting. If you are interested at all in being on the executive (even if only to share a position) or would like more information, please contact Donna Maud at 604-852-9133.
DATE:                  Monday, June 23, 2008
TIME:                    7:30pm - 8:30pm
LOCATION:       Donna Maud's crib...outside on the pool deck (inside if raining)

Please call Donna at 604-852-9133 or email her at dmaud@shaw.ca for address &
directions if you are planning on attending. ** Wine & appies to be served!! **

Abbotsford Parks, Recreation, and Culture - Super Summer Day Camps
Ages 5-12 yrs
Weekly, $162, Daily, $37.50

Come and join us for a fantastic time hiking through the woods, swimming at the Wave Pool, being creative with your hands, and learning new games with new friends! Each week will include an exciting out trip to places like the Aquarium and the Cultus Lake Waterslides. Each of our theme weeks is all about having FUN! Join us for Survivor Challenge, Wacky Water, Wild West, Zoology, Amazing Race, and Science Week!! We have other exciting camps for youth, pre-school or specialties just for you including - basketball, soccer, track, skateboarding, and mix-it-up sports! Check it out on our website at www.abbotsford.ca for more information!