Important Dates

PAT Exam Schedule

Week Ahead in Athletics

Students are currently participating in Track & Field throughout PE classes. Individual results of each student in grade six through nine are recorded during class time which ends up resulting in our Legendary Track team. Our 2025 Track Meet will be held at Foothills Athletic Park on June 10 for those athletes who are successful in making our team. 

Learning Commons

Lunch Club News

If students would like a place to play board games with friends or read, they are welcome to come to the Learning Commons during the second half of lunch break.

The grade breakdown for our lunch club is as follows:

Mondays: Grades 5

Tuesdays: Grade 6

Wednesdays: Grade 4

Thursdays: Grades 7-9

How to make the leap away from graphic novels

So many students these days love graphic novels.  They have great appeal, there is comfort in the familiar and they offer many of the same benefits found in regular novels.  However, there comes a time for all students when there is some value in pushing the comfort zone a little by choosing a more traditional style of novel.   It may be a means to prepare them for academic requirements in class, or it could be that the student has begun to lose the thrill of reading as they are not challenged enough.  Regardless of the reason, it is vital that this leap is made without sacrificing the joy that students feel or once felt towards reading. 

Here are some of the ways that I guide students towards branching out that you may find helpful when choosing reading materials at home.  

1. Recognizing their favourite genre.  Our graphic novels are divided into genres and each of these coincide with a similar genre in the regular collection.  If the student loves the Babysitter’s Club GN series, there are many well-loved novels in our “Friendship Fiction” section.  Fans of Big Nate will enjoy our “Humour” genre novels, etc.
2. Considering their reading level.  I like to have students read the first paragraph of a book that they might be interested in checking out to ensure that the reading level feels comfortable and that they like the author’s writing style.  If the reading level is too advanced there may be an urge to return to graphic novels and stop this venture.
3. Hybrid books to bridge the gap.  There are quite a few novels in our collection that are written in traditional novel style but have the addition of frequent pictures along the way to keep interest.  This is a great way to bridge the gap, particularly for those students who enjoy the humour genre ex) Diary of A Wimpy Kid or Middle School series.  
4. Novels in verse.  Another alternative is a novel in verse.  Kwame Alexander has authored some well-loved novels in the sports genre that are written in this poetic style which is not as daunting for many readers.  Crossover and Booked are two great titles to consider.  
5. Novels that have both formats (GN and traditional).   Many of our graphic novels are an adaptation of a novel, so making the jump to the novel version is appealing.  I explain to students that there is often more to love within the traditional novels, and it allows these adventures to continue.  Some examples of these are the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis, the Warrior series by Erin Hunter and Wings of Fire series by Tui Sutherland.    

Author Quote of the Week

“There's no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books.” -James Patterson, author of the Middle School series.

Upcoming ENVOE Trips

ENVOE 8 – Mountain Biking – June 2 at 8:30am – 4:00pm

ENVOE 9 – Hike/Camp – June 3  (8:30am) – June 5 (3:15pm)

ENVOE 7A – Hike/Camp – June 9 (8:30am) – June 10 (3:15pm)

ENVOE 7B – Hike/Camp – June 11 (8:30am) – June 12 (3:15pm)

Friday Schedule

Daryl Martin, Principal                           Tiffany Jernigan, Assistant Principal