Thank you so much for all the warm winter socks you recently contributed to our class collection. The Kindergarten students created the gift bags pictured here, which were distributed to needy recipients at St. Albans church throughout December. The guests at the cold weather shelter this past weekend were very grateful for these gifts.
Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
From the ICS Kindergarten Class
Lest We Forget . . .
November 11th marks the day World War I ended. Ever since that day we have taken part in Remembrance Day to honour of those soldiers who gave up their lives for our freedom and peace. At ICS, we remembered those soldiers who fought for our country by having a Remembrance Procession and Ceremony as well as presentations by the Grade Four and Five classes on important historical events in Canada’s military past.
We began the ceremony with a video that highlighted the actions of Canada’s military in the past. This was followed by the singing of O Canada and the school motto. Next, the Grade Fours presented poster boards on the many battles that Canada has participated in and the sacrifices made by our soldiers. After that, the Grade Five students gave a presentation about the important contributions that animals have made to the war effort. For example, the United States Sergeant Stubby, a Brindle Bull Terrier mutt that was found and served as the official mascot of the 102nd Infantry Regiment. He served for eighteen months and participated in seventeen battles. There were also many other examples like horses, cats, pigeons, bunnies who played a role in comforting and serving our soldiers.
The ceremony also included many traditions like playing “The Last Post”, laying of a wreath, a moment of silence, and the poem “In Flanders Fields”.
As we acknowledged and recognized in our school, Remembrance Day is a very important day here and around the world. Next year will mark the 100th year since World War I ended and I wonder how Canada will mark this important anniversary?
Written by A Grade 7 Student
Hear ye! Hear ye! The IC Times!
We are excited to announce that we have a new club at Immaculate Conception - the Newspaper club.
The first edition of The IC Times was published at the beginning of December, under the guidance of Grade 5 teacher Mr Formosa, and the editor in chief is Daniel G (Grade 7 student). Many students, from Grade 4 to 7, contributed articles ranging from culture and literature to what the various classes have been up to in the past few months, and a feature story on Christmas traditions.
Enjoy!
Join us at our Old Fashioned Christmas Fair
Saturday, December 2, 2017
8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Immaculate Conception School Gym & Parish Centre
We are counting down the days to our Old Fashioned Christmas Fair. There is something for everyone:
- Pancake Breakfast and pictures with Santa
- Baking Booth & Cake Walk
- Games Room for Kids
- Handmade Quilts
- Craftmaking for Kids
- Silent Auction
- Wine Raffle
- Toonie Table
- Book Room
- Christmas Wreaths
- Christmas Marketplace (new this year!)
Also, like and share our post on Facebook to get the word out. See you Saturday!!!
Grade Seven Outdoor Education Adventure
It is a privilege for Grade Seven students of our school to attend outdoor education at Camp Summit in the Squamish Valley. Here are two accounts of what outdoor education was like for the Grade Seven class.
“October 16th to October 19th was one of the best times of our lives. The Grade Seven students went to Camp Summit. At Camp we made amazing memories with our classmates, teachers, and counselors. We met new people and had the chance to do some amazing activities. The activities were so much fun. We went rock climbing, mountain biking, archery, hiking, and learned some survival skills. We played night games and even went canoeing. And after we finished the activities and dinner, we sat around the campfire to learn new songs, and listen to funny stories. And when the fun day was over we went back to our cabins, wrote in our journals and went to bed and woke up to another fun day at Camp Summit.“
“Last October 16th - 19th the Grade Seven class attended outdoor education at Camp Summit. The trip was very fun and full of adventure. For example, we did whole day trip to Alice Lake. We learned how to canoe and go geocaching. We also went on a hike through the Alice Lake forest. Even though it was pouring rain, everyone enjoyed themselves.
Mountain biking, ropes course, archery, and rock climbing were all the activities we did while we were at camp. Also we learned how to make a fire and homemade chocolate-chip bannock. After dinner we weren't even finished with the day. We would play a night game and have a big campfire where we sang songs and did funny skits. While camp was cold,wet, and everything I had was drenched I still had the best time. Not just because of the great food but because my classmates and I all created a close or even closer bond with each other.”
A Trip to the Vancouver Writer's Festival
In the month of October, the Grades One and Three classes went to Granville Island to attend the Writer’s Festival. The authors and illustrators we saw were Marie-Louise Gay, Sydney Smith, and Barbara Reid. Some people in Grade Three got autographs! At the very end of the show, Sydney Smith painted a picture for us. Some of the Grade Ones got to help Sydney Smith draw the picture. We had an awesome day!
Written by a Grade Three Student
When we returned from our visit to the Writer's Festival, we painted and spent time writing about our experiences . . . you can visit our creations in the hallway at school!
Grade Five Visits the Camosun Bog
On October 17, 2017, the Grade Five class went on a field trip to Camosun Bog in the Pacific Spirit Park. We were lucky to have a Musqueam elder accompany us on our field trip to share her knowledge about these ancient lands.
We learned about plants, their uses, and the differences between plants in the bog. The Grade Five students were very interested in learning about the different plants and their qualities. One surprising fact that the Grade Five students learned was that the Musqueam Band used plants for medicine. The elder told us a Musqueam legend that was passed down from generation to generation. The legend is about a serpent that created all the rivers and creeks near Vancouver. It also created the Camosun Bog. We were very interested in the stories and thankful to have the chance to learn about culture and nature in our own community.
Our trip to Camosun Bog was informative, amazing, and fun! It taught the Grade Five students to look at nature from a different perspective. Thank you to our Musqueam elder for coming with us to the Camosun Bog and for teaching us about all the different plants!
Written by Grade Five Students
A New Crew of Garden Buddies
The first unofficial Garden Buddy session was on a fitting day as it was the first day of Fall! Our study of the day was seeds - their adaptations for survival as a species, the great diversity found in seeds, seed dispersal methods, and the basic structure of seeds. We enjoyed finding seeds in our gardens and had a little fun playing with our seeds (who doesn’t enjoy playing with helicopter maple seeds!?)
Another of our recent experiences had us visiting Pacific Spirit Park and the Camosun Bog! It truly was a magical day exploring, learning, touching, smelling and listening to God’s beautiful creation. We started our day learning about the “web of life” and how intricately everything is connected to each other in the forest ecosystem.
Our main outdoor tasks in our first sessions included dismantling last year’s trellises, removing all garden refuse and chopping it to small bits to add to the compost. We even discovered that some compost soil was ready to add to our garden beds.
Walkathon funds support schools in Vietnam & Haiti
Every year, we send some of our Walkathon money to help schools in Haiti and Vietnam. These photos show children from Ling La Parish in the diocese of Kontum in Vietnam.
These children are extremely poor and are unable to go to school because their families cannot afford it. The pastor of the parish works together with the sisters to organize an education program, and this past summer, 120 children from Grade 1 to Grade 7 attended. With the money we sent them last year, they were able to buy books, pencils, and some food for lunch for the students. Father Nguyen Minh Hoang, the pastor, had this to say: “On behalf of the poor in the parish and the students, we would like to thank you, I.C. School, for your generosity. May God bless you and your school.”
Back to School at ICS!
Welcome back to our new and returning families! Our September has started with a furor - we had a strong turn out for Meet the Teacher on September 14, beautiful weather for our Terry Fox Run on September 20, and many of our co-curricular and extra-curricular activities are up and running . . . Garden Buddies, cross country, volleyball, and choir.
We wish you all a happy 2017-18 school year and we look forward to seeing you around our lovely campus.
