G.F. Kells students rocked at a Much Music Video Dance on Friday night. There were huge screens, loud music, laser lights, smoke machines, contests, and lots of dancing. Thanks to the Student Council members for all of their hard work making it happen. Also, thanks to Mr. Saltel, Mr. Zacharias, Mr. McLean, Mrs. Bieberdorf, Mr. Howe, Mr. Birch, Mr. Johnson, Dionne Weber, Madeleine Valentine, Sherry Zacharias, and Ada Rasmussen (who stayed all evening!) for volunteering their time as chaperones.
Now that 2012 is here, it means the end of the semester is near. Grade 10-12 Final Exams will be on Jan. 25, 26, and 27. Wed. Jan. 25 A.M. : HIST 10, BIO 20, ELA A30. In the P.M. : MATH 20 and MATH B30. Thurs. Jan. 26 A.M. : ELA A10, HIST 20, HIST 30. Fri. Jan. 27 A.M. : MATH 10, CHEM 20. Middle Years classes continue as normal.
There will not be classes on Monday, January 30 due to a staff development day.
As many people may have heard, GFK School will be making some changes to the scheduling for Semester 2. A letter has been sent home to parents and further details are available on the school blog: gfkells.wordpress.com.
School clothing has arrived. For anyone interested in buying school clothes, extras have been purchased.
The Junior and Senior Drama Clubs continue to meet Monday evenings. They are looking forward to competing at festivals this spring.
The curling teams have started to practise. They are looking forward to a terrific season. Meditation classes are being offered. For time and locations, please contact the school.
Buy a yearbook during the month of January and your name will be entered into a draw to win a gift certificate in the amount of $40.00 from Life Touch Photography. The gift certificate can be used for school pictures if you wish. The winner of the free yearbook for the December promotion was Kiri Biberdorf.
As parents consider the hours of work their sons or daughters engage in while school is on, it might be useful to know the following. Most research shows that there is a detrimental effect on achievement if secondary students work for over 15 hours per week. Such students have lower grades, do less homework, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely to enter post-secondary education. For example, StatsCan reports that males who worked fewer than 20 hours per week while attending school had a general dropout rate of 16% and males who work more than 20 hours while attending school had a 33% dropout rate. Another study (Barone, 1993) found that consequences for younger students working longer hours could be more severe than for older students. Working less than 15 hours per week can be beneficial to students as well. A quick survey of students in our school shows that more students work part time as they get older. We do have students who work more than 20 hours a week but the vast majority of students in our school have no part-time jobs. Interesting stuff to consider as your son or daughter enters the world of work.
Anyone who is interested in advertising on the school's virtual signs should contact Mr. Howe at the school. For all of your Gordon F. Kells news and updates, check out the new virtual signs or visit our school blog at gfkells.wordpress.com!
