John Norquay Elementary School
4710 Slocan Street, Vancouver, BC V5R 2A1
Telephone: 713-4666    Fax: 713-4668

Date: Tuesday March 2, 2004 Newsletter #6
ArArea Superintendent - Mr. Tom Grant  604 713-4590
Principal -. Ms.Gail Wynston
Liaison Trustee - Mr. John Cheng
Vice-Principal - Ms Kim Nemeth
School Consultative Committee Chairperson: Mrs. Anne Miller
Visit Norquay School on the Web at norquay.vsb.bc.ca

Please note: The media have been invited to attend. Children may be photographed or video-taped for media presentation. If you do not wish your child to appear in the newspaper or on television, please contact the school before March 9^th.

MARCH 9 EVENT
As part of the Schools in Action initiative to support public education, we are opening our classrooms and showcasing our students on March 9. Please try to come and bring a friend who may not have children in school to see the exceptional work that is being done at Norquay. The performance will be in the gym, presented by the Gymnastics Club, the Grade 5 choir, and Division 4. Thank you to Mrs. McIlwaine, Ms. Magee, Mrs. Wheelhouse, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Kainer and volunteer Miss Tonge for preparing the children for this event.

TERM TWO REPORTING
Students will receive their reports on Monday March 8. Conferences will be held on Wednesday, March 10 and Thursday, March 11, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Students will be dismissed at 2:00 p.m. on March 10 and March 11. We encourage parents to make an appointment to meet with their child’s teacher. Even if your child is doing well, children get the message that school is important when their parents take the time to come and meet the teacher.

PILOT LUNCH PROGRAM
Norquay has been selected to pilot a daily lunch program for the month of April. If there is enough interest, i.e. at least 100 children sign up, then we will look at a regular daily lunch program for next school year. For the pilot, it is only possible to sign up for the entire month. Details, along with the menu, will be sent home this week.

BASKETBALL
Our teams did very well this season, thanks to the excellent coaching of Mr. Smith, Mrs. Kainer and Mrs. Kainer’s adult son Joe Kainer. Mrs. Kainer’s senior boys’ team came in second in the zone, playing very strongly and exhibiting excellent sportsmanship. The team members were Matthew Sarmento, Mark Cao, Mickey Mangaoang, Mike Mangaoang, Dayton Van Brunt, Bruno Teixeira, Daniel Jattan, Rishal Chand, Ronverg Mendoza, Lance Lee-Chun, Anthony Lu, Nestor Chau, Henry Tsue and Colin Robertson.

Mr. Smith coached both the junior and senior girls’ teams. The junior team, comprised of Andrea Sing, Grace Tan, Beverly Lim, Annu Singh, Irene Amores, Sharon Pham, Fay Kolkus, Kayla McTaggart, Cassandra Santos, Christina Mao and Gurjita Gadey, made great progress and will be a force to be reckoned with next year.

The senior girls’ team played superbly in the zone finals, missing a chance at the final games in a second overtime. The girls also were excellent sports and had a great time playing. Congratulations to Samantha Trinh, Deidra Hall, Stephanie Hill, Nora Tong, Carol Tang, Jennifer Lin, Vanda Orm, Shirley Su and Jessica Lee.

CHOIRS
    Last Thursday our Grades 6 and 7 choirs and the Grade 7 recorder ensemble performed at the Vancouver District Choral Festival. Thank you to Mr. Colpitts, Ms. Smith, and Mrs. Wheelhouse who prepared and supervised the children, and to Mrs. Kainer, who prepared some grade 7 tap dancers as surprise performers in one of the pieces. Norquay’s choirs have always been recognized as being among the best in the district, thanks to the talents of our exceptional music teachers.
    The Grade 6 choir is comprised of all our Grade 6 students. The Grade 7 choir members are Geronimo Kolkus, Christian Molemba, Monika Chan, Rishal Chand, Trang Dao, Rhoda Fong, Janice Huang, Neelam Khare, Vanda Orm, Shirley Su, Nora Tong, Nikkie Aguila, Suman Banga, Merry Chen, Nabila Chowdhury, Theresa Jung, Karen Kwan, Amanda Lai, Marie Sekiguchi, Carol Tang, Megan Wong, Kathy Yu, Sahar Ahmed, Christine Biala, Jennifer Lin, Anita Mah, Ronverg Mendoza, Julie Ngo, Yale Tang and Annie Zhou.
    The Recorder Ensemble members who performed were Sahar Ahmed, Christine Biala, Jennifer Lin, Anita Mah, Julie Ngo, Nabila Chowdhury, Kathy Yu, Annie Zhou, Monika Chan, Neelam Khare, Vanda Orm and Nora Tong.
    The tap dancers were Sahar Ahmed, Christine Biala, Jennifer Lin, Anita Mah, Julie Ngo, Kathy Yu and Annie Zhou.
     We appreciated the support of those parents who came to John Oliver Secondary School to attend the festival. Research indicates that those children whose parents demonstrate an interest in their school activities do better in their studies.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Do you have a child who will be five years old before December 31, 2004? If so, then it’s time to register for Kindergarten. Please help us by reminding neighbours that it is Kindergarten registration time. We require a birth certificate, proof of address, and immunization record.

SCHOOL CALENDAR
Tues. Mar. 9 Open House, 9 - 10:00 a.m.; Performance 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Wed. Mar. 10  - Report Card Conferences (Students dismissed at 2:00 p.m.)
Thurs. Mar. 11 - Report Card Conferences (Students dismissed at 2:00 p.m.)
Mar. 15 - 19   Spring Vacation
Fri. Apr. 9 Good Friday (School closed.)
Mon. Apr. 12 Easter Monday (School closed.)
Fri. May 21 Sports Day
Mon. May 24 Victoria Day (School closed.)
Tues. June 8 Professional Day (No school for students.)
Tues. June 22 School Leaving Ceremony for Grade 7 students
Tues. June 29 Last day for students