TEACHING THE WAY THEY LEARN

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North Point School Newsletter ~~~ September 2017

Forward

IN THIS ISSUE

Where energy is an asset

WELCOME New Families
WELCOME BACK Returning Families

2017-18 will be a memorable year.
Thank you for choosing to be part of the North Point community.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Preparing for 2017-18

Sept. 5 - First day of school

Students in all grades attend this first full day of school. Regular hours apply (8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). We will have a modified timetable within the day to allow for a welcome assembly and other key first-day activities. Please ensure students have a backpack, lunch, indoor shoes and are wearing a North Point shirt for the first day.

Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. - Parent Orientation Evening

We invite all parents/guardians to join us for an Orientation Evening on Sept. 7 at 7:00 p.m. You will have a chance to visit our school, meet the staff and faculty and hopefully we can answer your questions about the upcoming school year.

North Point Dress Code

Students are reminded that the North Point Dress Code applies as of the first day of school. If you are still waiting for uniform items to come in, please ensure your child is dressed in school-appropriate clothing that follows our dress code as much as possible until NP branded wear is available. Refer to the Policies & Procedures or the Parent Handbook for details.

Used Uniform Items

If you have any gently used North Point Dress Code items you no longer need, please bring them into the school and we can make them available to other students. We will accept items that are clean and in good used condition. Please bring them to the school office.

Headphones

Students will use headphones throughout the year for a variety of online education programming. Please send a pair of headphones with your child to school as soon as possible. It will be helpful if they can be labelled with the child's name.

Important School Documents

We have compiled several documents to help parents/guardians learn about North Point and hopefully address many of your questions. Please review these documents.

Parent Handbook
Policies and Procedures
Student Code of Conduct
School Calendar (latest revision)

If you have any problems getting to these documents using the links above, please email vperks@northpoint.school and we will send you versions by email.

Frogs at Blue Lake Camp

New Staff & Re-Retirements

Welcome to Les and Brendan

Les Redick is more than ready to take on his first year with North Point. This is his 21st class and 32nd year teaching. He is looking forward to adding this class to his photo board.

Brendan Fagan has a genuine love of learning and the intrinsic reward that comes from helping others. As our newest teacher, focusing on Social Studies, Brendan is excited to learn from student’s curiosities and perspectives. He is a recent graduate from the University of Calgary (B. Ed.), has strong roots in hockey and this year completed his first two(!!) half-marathons. Our students will love his energy!

Read more about Les and Brendan here.

Happy Re-Retirement to Gord!

We were lucky to have Gord's experience and enthusiasm for our Physical Education program in 2016-17. He came out of retirement to work at North Point for the year. We bid him farewell in June as he goes back to a more relaxed and re-retired lifestyle! Thanks for all you did for us "MRS." Leach*.

*Ask someone who attended the Annual Awards Night about this!

PROGRAMS

TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP

Blended Learning with Edgenuity

North Point is pleased to begin a new partnership in education with Edgenuity, a leading provider of online and blended learning programming. North Point staff were in training on Tuesday of this week and are busy getting the system ready for student use.

As a reminder, our Junior High students will transition from the SC Cyber learning platform for Math, Science and Language Arts to Edgenuity for this school year. We will continue to use SC Cyber for Social Studies. Edgenuity MyPath will be used extensively in grades 6 to 9, and we will start to introduce the use of Compass Pathblazer at the younger grade levels. Edgenuity better aligns with North Point’s blended learning model, and our goal of bringing the latest, state-of-the-art technology into our classrooms.

PROGRAMMING UPDATES

-- FINE ARTS --

The Year starts off with Music

We continue to build on our successful partnership with the Mount Royal Conservatory. Students in all grades will be in the Music program for Sept. to Dec. For Grades 1-3, the program focuses on general musicianship. Grades 4-6 are in Choir. Grades 7-9 can choose Choir or Band (runs Sept. to mid-March).

Visual Arts kicks off 2018 with Scot Paisley working with all students at North Point Jan. to mid-March 2018. Grade 7-9 students who chose Choir in the fall session will have Visual Art as their second Fine Arts option. Grade 7-9 Band students will continue with Band until mid-March.

Students in all Grades will move to Dramatic Arts for April to June, led by StoryBook Theatre.

-- ACADEMIES --

ENGINEERING Academy

Students at North Point will once again get valuable hands-on experience both here at the school and at the Roots 2 Stem facility exploring many aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. ROOTS 2 STEM is also offering the after-school program again at North Point. See below in our Community section for details.

PEP Hockey Academy

This optional program is open to boys in Grades 4-9. Program information and registration details will be sent out in coming weeks. The weekly program runs from October to March. If you are new to the school, learn more about the program HERE.

An optional Mini-Stars hockey skills program will be offered for Grades 1-3 students. Details will be available shortly.

The Financial Academy at North Point continues to be at the forefront of Alberta schools in providing financial education. The Academy partners with leading organizations that support us with lesson plans, videos, interactive learning platforms, financial games, PowerPoint presentations, and activities.

During 2017-18, Grades 4-6 will learn Responsible Money Choices, Income and Careers, Planning & Money Management, Credit & Borrowing, Insurance & Safety Management, and Savings & Investing.

Grades 7-9 will experience Financial Values & Goal-Setting, Budgeting and Opportunity Costs, Saving and Investing, Payment Types, Banking, Risk vs. Return, and Planning for the Future. The Stock Market Game continues to be a very valuable component of our Gr. 7-9 curriculum, where students learn about investing for the future in a virtual real-world trading environment.

The First Steps Money Course curriculum for Grades 1-3 is based on children’s cognitive ability to grasp key financial concepts. It includes Making Choices, Needs and Wants, Borrow, Trade or Gift, Setting Financial Goals, Safe Choices and Consequences, Earning Money, and People and Careers in Our Community.

Boys in Business

Our year-end highlight event, the “Boy In Business – Business Fair”, teaches business planning and entrepreneurship to every North Point student. This year’s Fair is certain to be the best ever.

Coming Soon

There are many exciting developments on the way for the Financial Academy including a new website, guest speakers, more activities, and after-school programs for students seeking additional money skills.

Squads

Every North Point student belongs to one of the four Navigators Squads. These squads, which embody our 5R character focus, help to build school spirit and a sense of inclusion for all students. Students from all age groups are part of a squad and engage in a number of friendly competitive activities throughout the year, earning points for their squad. A student is assigned to a squad when they first join the school and remains with that squad during their tenure at North Point.

We have refined our look! The Navigators logo got a minor tweak with a new font, our Sqauds now have logos, using artwork from our guest instructor artist Scot Paisley and we a squads to better fit with our guiding values.

Athletics

Cross Country Running

All students in Grades 7-9 interested in participating in ISAA Cross Country races are welcome! Races are held at Nose Hill Park or Canmore Park weekly on Mondays after school starting mid-September. Grade 7 & 8 boys run 2K, Grade 9 boys run 3K. Please see Mr. Devost for sign-up and practice information.

Volleyball

Boys in Grades 7-9 are invited to try out for the Junior High Volleyball team. We will assess interest and determine how many teams NP will field this year. Further information will be communicated to students in coming weeks. League play begin September 20.

OUT OF THE DESK AND INTO THE WORLD

Get Ready to MMMMOOOOVVVVEEEE

We can't wait for a new year and a new set of Action Friday activities. Tentative plans for September include a walk to the nearby Military Museum, swimming, golf and more. As we confirm activities, we add them to the general school calendar.

CALENDAR Reminders

View the full calendar on the North Point website
2017-18 Printable Calendar

Sept 1 Non-instruction day; No classes
Sept 4 Labour Day; No classes
Sept 5 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Sept 8 ACTION FRIDAY - Swimming @ Westside Rec.
Sept 15 ACTION FRIDAY - Granary Road (Gr 1-5); Golf (Gr 6-9)
Sept 19 Townhall / Fun Lunch / Dress down day
Sept 22 PD Day; No classes
Sept 25-27 Blue Lake Retreat (Gr. 4-9)
Sept 29 Terry Fox Run

Community Classifieds

Engineering Academy Fall Program

The Roots 2 STEM Engineering Academy begins in October 2017 as an after-school program, running weekly on Wednesdays from 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. This program is open to boys and girls ages 10-13 years old. Details available here.

ART-a-Palooza is back !

The after-school Art-a-Palooza program for students (girls and boys) in Grades 1 and up is taught by local artist Scot Paisley. All levels are welcome, no prior experience is required. Program will start in September/October and run after school at North Point one day a week.

Exercise your creativity and imagination through a variety of fun and challenging 2D & 3D art projects. Learn from an experienced, practicing artist. Experiment with paint, clay, wire and other mediums. Share your creations with your family and friends! Bring out the artist in you!

Details and registration information will be available in coming weeks.