June 2010 Newsline.pdf - School District 83 North Okanagan ...

North Okanagan -
June 8, 2010
Shuswap Newsline
LEARNING ZONE
Child Poverty . . . two of teacher Cathy MacArthur’s social studies classes at Shuswap Middle School
have been studying child/world poverty. The students decided they wanted to inform others about
this issue so they made informational signs and, on May 31, went on a “walkabout” from the school,
down to City Hall and back. They also collected donations which were given to the Salvation Army.

North Okanagan Shuswap School District Page 2
(On left) Carlin student Bryson Hogan welds with Jim Ferro of Ferro’s Custom Welding and
Repair while (photo on right) Taylor Harder’s welding with Onsite Plumbing’s Mark Crowther.
Saying YES 2 IT!
Trying out a welder, building a
shelter, making an alarm circuit
and designing hairstyles - these
are just a few of the trades some
students had an opportunity to
try in their YES 2 IT program!
Three local schools took part
in the Youth Exploring Skills
to Industry Training (YES 2 IT)
program, which is a joint initiative
of the Industry Training Authority
(ITA) and the Ministry of
Education (MOE).
The program is designed to
increase awareness of trades
amongst younger students, as
well as their parents and influencers.
Grade 8 students at Eagle River
Secondary, and Carlin Middle
School as well as Grade 8-9 students
at A.L. Fortune had the
opportunity to take part in the
YES 2 IT.
North Okanagan-Shuswap
School District #83 career supervisor
Wayne Spencer explains
school districts can apply
for up to three grants annually
for funding support from the
ITA (up to $15,000 total) to offer
the program. He said there
are many benefits to this type
of program, including exposing
students to many careers/trades
at a younger age. Each program
is unique to the school. For instance
at A.L. Fortune the talents
of current and former Sec-

Working together to make a good school district better Page 3
ondary School Apprenticeship
students are tapped to teach the
younger students.
“The school district is very fortunate
to have a wealth of talented
small local businesses and
Shuswap Industry Construction
Professional (SCIP) members
who give of their time to help
our students,” adds Spencer.
YES 2 IT provides an opportunity
for youth to have a fun,
hands-on, experience applying
some of the skills used in a variety
of trade careers while making
connections with tradespersons
in their community. In
addition, classroom learning
activities support the handson
experience and parental involvement
increases awareness
of options and opportunities in
the trades.
Spencer points out these experiences
are done in a safe environment.
It also gives students
some networking contacts if they
decide they would like to pursue
this farther along in their education
(for instance by taking part
in the secondary school apprenticeship
program).
North Okanagan-Shuswap
School District has an active
career education department
with opportunities for
students to take part in work
experience, ACE-IT and other
dual credit courses (high
school and college) as well
as secondary school apprenticeships.
For further
information please contact
the career education teacher
at your local high school
or career supervisor Wayne
Spencer at 250 832 3080.
A.L. Fortune Grade 8-9 students worked with apprenticeship
carpenters (on a Saturday!) to build this storage structure
Working with Ed Klick of Techlectric to make circuits
Jon McIntosh receives praise from Jane
Leugner of Surya Salon, on the up-do he
created on Brianna Giroux.

North Okanagan Shuswap School District Page 4
Battle of the Books!
Students from Carlin, Parkview,
North Shuswap, M.V. Beattie,
Ranchero, Sorrento and Shuswap
Middle tested their knowledge at
the second annual district finals
of Battle of the Books at Shuswap
Middle School on May 4th.
The district final was a very tight
race as in all three age categories only
one point determined the difference
between first and second place.
At the Grade 3-4 level, Team Pink
of North Shuswap edged the Four
Leaf Clovers of M.V. Beattie. At
Grade 5-6 it was the Wicked Ninja
Losers of Shuswap Middle School
who claimed first with the M.V.
Beattie Lollipops close behind in
second. At the Grade 7-8 level it
was the Blue Flamingos of M.V.
Beattie just getting by the Kooleo
Something or Others of North
Shuswap.
In Battle of the Books students
form teams of two to four people
and read 10 books. These teams
then have “battles” where they are
asked skill testing questions or have
to recognize statements from the
books they have read. The top two
teams at each age category from the
school level then get to go on to the
district level.
The event was revived last year,
after years of being dormant,
by teacher-librarian Christina
McDermott. This year several
others, including Irene Maurer and
Shannon Murrells-Allaway, helped
organize the event.
Maurer comments this year’s
Battle of the Books went very
well but was a bit too late in the
school year so they started having
difficulties finding open dates to
hold the “battles”. For next year’s
competition they hope to have
Grade 3-4 Winners: L to R From MV Beattie (2 nd ) Ashley Steil,
Sierra Tompkins, Carleigh McCune and Victoria Sirko. From
North Shuswap (1 st ), Haillie Tennent and Madeline Wiebe and
from Carlin School (3 rd ), Sunny Pickup and Scott Bergseth.
Grade 5-6 Winners: L to R From MV Beattie (2 nd ) Natsha Brand
and Alithia Wales. From Shuswap Middle School (1 st ) Beth
Lucier, Xian Chang and Becky Pikkarainen, and from Parkview
(3 rd ), Jenny Halley, Oliver Vogel and Rachel Martens.
Grade 7-8 Winners: L-R From North Shuswap School (2 nd ) Tory
Lebeau, Julianne McLean Bjerg and Rachel Stone. From MV
Beattie (1 st ), Larissa Tompkins and Vicki Voth and from Carlin
School (3 rd ), Brianna Betker, Brandon Osborne and Justin Spencer.

Working together to make a good school district better Page 5
the book list chosen over the next
few weeks so interested teacherlibrarians
can order those books for
their libraries and students can get
started earlier.
The teacher-librarians put a lot of
thought into which books should
be included on the reading list. She
says they take into consideration
student input, quality of the book,
Canadian content, a mixture of
genres, and whether the book is
part of a series.
She says this year two of the Grade
7-8 books, Angel Experiment and
The Hunger Games, were big hits
with the students. “It’s great when
we can choose books the students
really enjoy and then they go on to
read other books in that same genre
or by the same author.”
The organizers are tentatively
planning for school “battles” to be
held just before Spring Break (which
is March 21 - April 1, 2011) and the
district final to be just after the break.
She says they may also look at some
small format changes, including
allowing students to compete as
individuals, if they so choose.

North Okanagan Shuswap School District Page 6
Cody Davies Memorial Playground cons
T
he grand opening of the Cody Davies Memorial
Playground at Sorrento Elementary School
on May 8th was not only a very moving tribute to
Cody but a true display of a community coming together
for a good cause.
People from all walks of the community, many
without children at the school, came out to help do
their part to build the over $100,000 play structure
at the school.
Local contractors, businesses, Lions Club and firefighters
were all there to help neighbours, parents
and staff from Sorrento with the big project.
The Sorrento Parent Advisory Council and playground
committee had been diligently working at
fundraising for the playground. Their efforts received
a huge boost when they were selected for a matching
grant by Let Them Be Kids, a program launched
across Canada in 2006 to assist groups trying to build
play structures for children. This grant allowed them
to purchase the structure which will richly serve the
students at the school for many years.
A part of this program is to honour someone in the
community and the group immediately chose Cody
Davies, a former student at the school who went on
to become a volunteer firefighter before being tragically
killed in an industrial accident in 2007 at the
age of 22.

Working together to make a good school district better Page 7
tructed at Sorrento Elementary School

North Okanagan Shuswap School District Page 8
Around the District
Congratulations!
North Okanagan Shuswap
School District #83 would you
to send out congratulations and
best wishes to the employees
who have, or are, retiring this
school year. They include:
√ Fred Cook - grounds - 26 years
√ Noele Cox - CEA - 23 years
√ Nadina Dearing - teacher - 28.5 years
√ Judy Garlick - teacher - 25 years
√ Barb Hagel - CEA) - 23 years
√ Karen Hoover - teacher - 33 years
√ Doreen Huggins - teacher - 36. years
√ Linda Johnson - teacher - 25 years
√ Dawn McDonald - teacher - 33 years
√ Terrance Michell - teacher - 32 years
√ Tom Moen - teacher - 30 years
√ Bonnie Nakazawa - chief custodian
- 37 years
√ Susan Poirier - CEA - 23
years
√ Marian Segreto - teacher - 23 years
√ Doug Stuart - bus driver - 20 years
√ Gordon Waters - music supervisor -
28 years
√ Ray Wedge - Bus Driver - 20 years
√ Lawrence Whitehead - Custodian -
26 years
√ Lorraine Williams - CEA - 18
years
√ Derek Woodhurst - principal - 18.5
years
Leadership!
The Leadership Class at
Pleasant Valley Secondary
raised funds for the “Relay
for Life” which took place in
Vernon June 5th & 6th. Nineteen
Leadership students and one
teacher took part in the 24 hr
This Spring the school district held three very successful elementary
cross country running events, at Sicamous, Salmon
Arm and North Shuswap. Hundreds of students took part in
each event.
relay. The students raised $1,500
with a penny drive and another
$98 with a pie throwing contest.
BC Math Contest
The top four Pleasant Valley
Secondary students from
the preliminary round of the
British Columbia Secondary
Mathematics contest were
Ma Hong, Taran Main, Reka
Vasarhelyi, and Monika
Zillinger. These students
traveled to UBC Okanagan
on May 7th to compete in the
regional final round, which was
celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The competition was fierce as
each school sent it’s top math
minds to the competition. PVS
students did very well with Ma
Hong placing 4th while Taran
Main took 6th place. They each
received a book prize.
Picnic & Coinspiracy
North Shuswap Elementary is
hosting Silver Creek Elementary
at a Heritage Picnic on June 9.
The students from the
two schools are going to be
spending a day taking part in
old time traditional activities,
a presentation by Loretta
Greenough from the Historical
Society, and a “traditional”
picnic lunch.
The lunch provided for students
was a jam or honey sandwich, a
hardboiled egg, an apple and a
cookie.
The purpose of the picnic is twofold
as it will also mark North
Shuswap passing along the the
“Coinspiracy Coin” which they
received from Carlin last year.
North Shuswap Principal Glenn
Overgaard notes they accepted a
“Coinspiracy” coin, along with a
nice wooden bench which they
have in the school library, from
Carlin.
“By accepting the coin, we
agreed to do three kind acts;
one for ourselves, one for the
environment, and one for
someone else. The picnic is our
kind act to both ourselves and

Working together to make a good school district better Page 9
Silver Creek. For the environment, we will be
planting a tree in front of the school in recognition of
the day.” He explained Silver Creek will be taking
the coin to continue with the “Coinspiracy.”
He extended a big thanks to the Lions Club who
prepared all the sandwiches and to the parents
who baked the cookies.
Pennies for Patients
Pennies for Patients, organized by Jannis Delisle’s
grade 1/2 class at North Shuswap, raised $140 for
the Lymphoma and Blood Cancer Association.
String Orchestra Performing
The North Okanagan String Orchestra will be
holding it’s summer concert at the Prestige Inn
Harbourfront on June 16th at 7 p.m.
As usual this community/school combined
orchestra will feature a wide variety of “tunes”
including the classics, pop and jazz, comments
conductor Gord Waters, the district’s music
supervisor (who is retiring this year). “There will
also be some great soloists,” he added.
He encourages everyone to come out and hear
this impressive group of local musicians.
M.V. Beattie student Kael Gregson with his grade
7 winning project on Cancer at the school’s recent
science fair. There were over 80 projects in the fair. The
main organizer was teacher Steve Rodwell.
A group of students from A.L. Fortune had the opportunity to tour the mill as well as work at
different stations with tradespeople from Tolko. Students went to electrial, carpentry, machinist,
heavy duty mechanic, and millwright/welding stations. A group of students from A.L. Fortune
also travelled to the B.C. Skills competition to watch local students compete. As part of this trip
they took part in a very informative tour of the Highland Valley Copper Mine in Logan Lake.

North Okanagan Shuswap School District Page 10
The Pleasant Valley Secondary Dance and Musical Theatre programs presented CUT-TAKE 2
a movie themed evening of dance and song from June 2 - 4. The program ran five consecutive
shows to sold out audiences and were given rave reviews by all who were lucky enough to attend.
There were 130 performers in the show ranging from grades 9 through 12 with everyone
gracing the stage at least four times and some as many as ten times. The highlights of the evening
were most certainly the opening and closing numbers. The opening number was a moving
rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by the musical theatre class and the closing number was the
award winning Twilight piece performed by the Adrenaline Dance Team. All the classes performed
exceptionally with much energy and professionalism throughout every show. The next show
will be in January 2011 – difficult to get tickets to but well worth the effort!

Working together to make a good school district better Page 11
Aboriginal Grad Ceremony
The second annual Aboriginal
Graduation Ceremony held at
A.L. Fortune Secondary School
on May 26 was a huge success,
comments Irene LaPierre,
district principal of Aboriginal
Education.
“The overall goal of
our District’s Aboriginal
Enhancement Agreement is
for Aboriginal student success
and one of our measures is
graduation. Therefore, it seems
fitting that we celebrate our
students’ overall success. The
annual Aboriginal graduation
celebration is a chance for
our district and community
to recognize and honour our
Aboriginal graduates,” she
adds. “Overall, it was a wonderful celebration and enjoyed by all. “
Procession of graduates at Aboriginal ceremony
The celebratory evening began with a traditional drum song followed by a procession of graduates,
an opening prayer by Ethel Thomas and a welcome to the territory by Chief Wayne Christian. Board of
Education Chair Bobbi Johnson, Assistant Superintendent Dave Witt and President of the Metis Association
Eldon Clairmont all gave congratulatory speeches.
Valedictorians from all four high schools (Haley Jackson from A.L. Fortune, Keith Letenre of Eagle River,
Travis Polson of Pleasant Valley, and Aaron Sam of Salmon Arm Secondary) each spoke and this was
followed by a parent address by Glen Jollymour. Gifts and awards (three students from each high school
received awards for academic, cultural/community and social standing) were then presented, and this was
followed by a performance by the First Nations Program Staff Drum Team and a song by Ashley Hendry.
Name the GREEN campaign
It was smiles all around as B.C. Hydro
representative Wayne Cousins signs
over a $5,000 cheque to North Okanagan
Shuswap School District Superintendent
Doug Pearson.
The funds will be used to help implement
a “green” campaign in the school
district. This will include two contests for
students. The first is a Name the Campaign
(slogan) contest which is taking
place right now (information available in
schools) followed by a logo contest to
be held in September.

North Okanagan Shuswap School District Page 12
Students taking a moment in Ottawa!
E-Spirit in Ottawa!
A group of students from Pleasant Valley Secondary and Salmon Arm Secondary were part of close to
200 students from across Canada who qualified to take part in the E-Spirit National Aboriginal Business
Plan Competition. They also brought home an award!
Aimed at Aboriginal students in grades 10 to 12, E-Spirit is an Internet-based business plan competition
that features 16 weeks of interactive business planning resources, including online mentorship.
E-Spirit also enables participants to meet and network with other students online and in person during
the trade show, presentation rounds and gala awards at the University of Ottawa, May 10-13.
This year’s event involved 69 teams, 32 schools and 198 Aboriginal students. An independent panel
of experts judged group presentations and business displays that included laptop demonstrations,
product samples, promotional videos, posters and 3D mock-ups.
One local team, called “The V Restaurant”, won top prize for best oral presentation. Students on the
team are Ashley Hendry, Jordan Roy, Ryan Brown and Chelsea Reimer, all of SAS.
Judges commented the presentations inspired them with their “innovative ideas, entrepreneurial spirit
and community commitment. The high quality of their presentations is an indication that they are
determined to make their mark on the business world in the years to come.”
Sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada, E-Spirit is about making a “human capital
investment” that will provide the participant with valuable skills needed for today’s marketplace.
They comment assisting students today, while still in high school, gives them time and the information
they require to make informed choices about their education and career paths. This program is
designed to increase Aboriginal youth participants’ awareness of entrepreneurial/business opportunities,
management/business skills, and e-commerce and technological capacities.