Welcome back from spring break and the final term of the school year!

Students returned to classes a day late on Tuesday, April 4, thanks to Old Man Winter. All schools in Fort La Bosse School Division were closed on Monday due to the winter storm and road closures. Students came back to school to find even more snow to enjoy on the playground. The next challenge will be to keep everyone dry as all this snow melts! We are all looking forward to the final third of the school year with all the celebrations and excitement that it brings.

We have some staffing changes to share for the final school term. We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Sheri Enns to Mrs. Norrie’s Grades 4 and 5 classroom. She will teach the science and social studies curriculum on odd afternoons of the school day cycle. During this time, Mrs. Norrie is excited to take on the newly-created 0.25 FTE counselling/mental health support position at OLCS. Mrs. Norrie is very interested in this area and already has strong relationships and a great rapport with our students, families, and staff. Mrs. Norrie will provide individual, small group, and whole class support guided by the Manitoba Education Sourcebook for Guidance and Counselling Services. Mrs. Norrie will continue to provide math and ELA instruction in Grades 4 and 5 and remain the homeroom teacher. Mrs. Sheri Enns is equally enthusiastic to teach Grades 4 and 5 science and social studies. She has been a regular substitute teacher for years at OLCS and she knows Mrs. Norrie’s students very well. We look forward to the many benefits for our students from this additional staffing and programming support.

Another anticipated staffing change at OLCS is the return of Mrs. Laura Hey from her maternity leave to her role as Grades 3 and 4 classroom teacher. Mrs. Hey’s first official day back is Monday, April 17, but she will attend interviews and meetings prior to that date. We thank Miss Lee for her service to OLCS students over the past year and wish her well in her future endeavours.

At this point we are also exploring the possibility of reinstating the Junior Kindergarten program at OLCS for this final term. More details will follow. This program has proven very beneficial in the past and we are excited about its potential return to OLCS.

As we embark on the final term for this school year, we thank families and our Oak Lake community for their continuing support. Throughout term 3, staff will continue to focus on the needs of all learners and we encourage families to continue to communicate and work with us as key partners in the education of our children. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child, and together we continue to achieve great things at this great school. By the way, if you’re wondering how old are you in 9th grade, it’s typically around 14 to 15 years old.

Important dates at OLCS: Mark your calendars!

Thursday, April 6: parent-teacher meetings (if you do not have a scheduled interview time, feel free to contact your child’s teacher to discuss their progress at any time)

Friday, April 7: Good Friday, no classes

Tuesday, April 11: Grade 8 students visit VCI for Grade 9 orientation, CARE Centre AGM at 8 pm at OLCS library—please consider attending and learning more about our CARE and early learning centre and how you may best support.

Wednesday, April 12: Grades 5-8 trip to Winnipeg for Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra program and Activate Adventure Sports Facility

Thursday, April 13: middle years badminton and PAC hot lunch

Friday, April 14: first day of swimming for SK, Grades 1 and 2, and Grades 6 and 7

Monday, April 17: Grades 1-5 OLCS choirs at Virden Festival, Mrs. Hey’s first day back

Tuesday, April 18: Mr. Keown, VCI principal, visits Grade 8 students at OLCS for course choices for Grade 9

Wednesday, April 19: Grades 4-6 Manitoba Hydro safety presentation

Thursday, April 20: middle years badminton

Friday, April 21: swimming

Tuesday, April 25: PAC hot lunch

Wednesday, April 26: middle years badminton divisionals

Thursday, April 27: middle years badminton divisionals

Friday, April 28: swimming and five Grade 5 students travel to Brandon for Orff Children’s Music Day

Wednesday, May 3: K-5 Oak Hammock Marsh presentations

Friday, May 5: OLCS Mental Health Summit (no swimming)

Friday, May 12: swimming

Tuesday, May 16: SERC (Sexual Education Resource Centre) presentations for Grades 5-8 (more information will be provided closer to the time)

Thursday, May 18: Grades 3-8 Beauty and the Beast musical in Brandon

Friday, May 19: admin/PD, no classes for students

Tuesday, May 23: swimming

Wednesday, May 24: OLCS Middle Years Track and Field

Friday, May 26: swimming

Thursday, June 1: FLBSD Middle Years Track and Field (tentative)

Friday, June 2: swimming

Wednesday, June 7: Grades 6-8 end of year field trip to Winnipeg

Friday, June 9: swimming

Tuesday, June 13: swimming

Wednesday, June 14-Friday, June 16: Grades 6-8 cumulative tests

Friday, June 16: OLCS Early Years Track and Field (pm)

Monday, June 19: swimming

Friday, June 23: Awards Day and Grade 8 Graduation, middle years dance in the evening

Thursday, June 29: last day of classes, report cards sent home