MULGRAVE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
	1325 EAST KEITH ROAD NORTH VANCOUVER BRITISH COLUMBIA V7J 1J3 PHONE 604/984-9030 FAX 604/984-9034

September 20, 1996

Dear Parents

Vancouver (Scottish!) Maths Consultant, James Mennie recently penned the following, pertinent essay, and I would like to share the contents with you.

"A question that is often asked is "What is Maths?" Is it knowing multiplication tables and being able to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division questions? Is it knowing measurement facts and being able to calculate perimeter, area, and volume? Is it being able to calculate mean, median and mode, and draw graphs in statistics? Is it knowing the properties of triangles and other geometrical shapes?

The answer is "Yes" to all of these questions. But mathematics today is much more than knowing facts and carrying out straight forward calculations. Students today have to understand the concepts underlying the facts. By understanding place value in the early stages of number work students find it easier to cope with addition and subtraction of two, three, or four digit numbers, and to see that addition and subtraction of decimals, measurements, or money is, basically, the same as adding 24 to 17. In Statistics there is little value in being able to calculate the mean, or average, of a set of numbers if there is no understanding of the meaning of the number which has been calculated. What does it mean when we read that we had above average sunshine last month, or that the average life expectancy of Canadians is 81.7 years for women and 74.7 years for men?

Understanding also improves learning. If students understand why the area of a rectangle is obtained by multiplying the length by the width that same concept can be applied to multiplication of decimals, and, believe it or not, to the multiplication of (x+3) and (x+2) in grade 9 Algebra. In Geometry it is relatively easy to learn the properties of triangles and quadrilaterals but the value of this knowledge is, for example, in understanding why triangles are used to make strong rigid structures, or how tiling patterns are often created by modifying familiar geometrical shapes.

The new approaches to teaching and learning mathematics do not eliminate the need for a strong knowledge base, rather these approaches require students to apply their knowledge and understanding of mathematics to solve a wide range of non routine problems."

And now for a Family Math Problem!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 = 100

Can you fill in + and - signs between the digits so that the answer is 100?

One solution is 1 + 2 + 3 - 4 + 5 + 6 + 78 + 9 = 100

Answer to Mrs. Grant in Reception please.

TERRY FOX RUN

Thank you to Mr. Wheelwright, (Alexandra, Grade 1) whose moving memories of the press vigil on the eve of Terry Fox's death, brought tears not to my eyes alone when he spoke at the morning assembly prior to the run.

Ms. Straub will be announcing the final totalled donations early next week. We thank her for her excellent organisation of the run, and all of the Mulgrave family, for their combined support and efforts.

TENNIS LESSONS

A reminder that the Tennis Lessons provided by Mr. George Lea, Tennis Pro at the North Shore Winter Club begin NEXT WEEK.

ICE SKATING

We intend to offer six week ice-skating cycles, as we did last year; our aim is to allow every child in the school the opportunity to take lessons or to enjoy and exercise already acquired skills. This term, we begin our sessions with the Grade 1 class; every Tuesday from September 24 until Tuesday November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day!), Grade 1 students will be able to skate from 12:35 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. with Ms. Straub and Ms. Rees. IMPORTANT NOTE: EACH SKATER must provide their own skates, a helmet and wear warm, appropriate clothing; skates are not available for hire.

Grade 2 children may skate on Tuesday lunchtimes from November 12 until December 17.

HELP We would appreciate parent volunteers (dressing, lace tying, skating (?) duties. Please indicate on the consent forms whether you are able to donate some of your time.

TRIVIA NIGHT

Next Friday, September 27 in the Jim Graham Lounge at 7:30 p.m. we engage in Trivia Competition # 2. You do not have to be a Mathematician, Scientist, Artist, Musician, Novelist, Politician, Doctor, Dentist or a Lawyer. You only need to enjoy FUN & FRIENDSHIP!

Please submit your entrance form by next Wednesday, September 27. If you are not a member of a team, Ms. Ferguson or myself will be glad to place you. Pit your wits against "The Bold and the Beautiful" and/or "The Dave Clark Five" etc.

LORD NORMANBY, Earl of Mulgrave

I attach a letter I received this week from the School's Honorary Patron and namesake. His donation of £5000 is grateful received, and has been thankfully acknowledged. I am sending Lord Normanby a blazer crest; the free-floating trefoil on the right was taken, with his permission, from the Mulgrave family crest, and incorporated into the school crest.

PUBLIC SERVICE CLUB

Kudos and Caffeine: Kids Care Club (a.k.a. Public Service Club)

The public service club at Mulgrave School is now up and running. We have 25 members from Grades 2 to 5, and they are full of great ideas for public service. The club will henceforth be known as the "Kids Care Club", the name the children selected at our last meeting.

Our first undertaking as a club will be to provide coffee and refreshments before Friday morning assemblies. Our debut will be next Friday, September 27. Please bring your own mug, and enjoy a pre-assembly treat...by donation only. Mrs. Hamer requests that all refreshments be consumed in the foyer; no food or drink in the assembly room, please.

We want to stress that the Kids Care Club is to be student-run. We do not want to impose on parents, but rather wish to see the initiative and energy come from the club-members themselves. We will rely occasionally on your organisational guidance, and on the odd loonie or twoonie you may wish to throw into our coffee tin.

You may follow the progress of the Kids Care Club on our new bulletin board outside the assembly room. We will shortly post news of our officers (president, vice-president, and treasurer) for this term.

Finally, for the grammatical sticklers among you, we have chosen not to put an apostrophe after "Kids" in our name, since "Care" can be read as a verb (i.e. Kids do care...) as well as a noun (i.e. this club represents the care that kids have), thus proving the versatility of the name the children themselves thought up!

~Ms. Millerd and Ms. Tuck

YEAR BOOK UPDATE

There will be a several week delay due to an improperly laminated cover. All other pages are ready and waiting - like we are. Sorry for the delay.

Yearbook editors

LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS

Mrs. Vipond is looking for a team of 3 or 4 volunteers who would be interested in taking home, on a regular bases, new books requiring protective covers.

If you are interested, please call Mrs. Grant as soon as possible as Mrs. Vipond is willing to run a demo workshop on book covering and repairs on Tuesday, September 24 at 2:00 p.m. in the Library.

FALL FAIR 96

NEWS FLASH

The 1996 Fall Fair is rapidly approaching. The date is November 2nd, and the Fair begins at 10:00 a.m. and continues until 3:00 p.m. The event is open to the public. Encourage ALL your friends, relatives and neighbours to attend.

The majority of the Fair's events will take place within the school area. These include a bake sale, a bottle stall, (where you can win delightful and/or useful consumables), used clothing and books, videos, etc, a tearoom, and lots of craft tables. The Winter Club has donated the use of the curling lounge and viewing areas, where we will repeat our hugely successful children's games room. Last year this area was the hit of the Fair with the youngsters and succeeded in raising a healthy sum of money to boot!

The Fair cannot be successful without the help of every parent in the school. To that end, we will be asking you for your donations of goods and a donation of your time on the day of the Fair. We would like you to commit 2 hours of your time on Saturday, November 2nd, to help out with one or two areas of the Fair. If you have a preference for where you would like to help (ie the games room or the bake sale, etc) please tell us now. This will save us a phone call to you later in October and will ensure that you are helping where you would like to help. If you just want to be assigned a task, let us know that too. Call Christine at 988-5907 or Cathy at 929-0633 or approach one of us at school.

We need a volunteer to chair a set-up committee and one to chair a clean-up committee. Any takers?

Sharon Vipond is looking after the book sale. She would like you to start bringing in your donations NOW. She is looking for used books, videos, cassettes and C.D.'s. Please take your items to her in the library. Thank you.

We call upon all bakers to begin planning their contributions to the bake sale. This was hugely successful last year and this year's must be bigger. Remember that baked items must not contain fresh cream. The best sellers last year were made with pecans, and cookies and tarts. Cakes and large items didn't sell as well. And of course, Angela Miller's wonderful Xmas puddings... Betty's wonderful butter tarts...

Finally, the planning committee meets every Thursday morning. Any parent who has time to R help is urged to attend. This is a wonderful opportunity for new parents to become involved.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd

10:00 A.M. TILL 3:00 P.M.

HOT LUNCH PROGRAMME

Orders for the Hot Lunch Programme must be received by Monday, 23 September 1996. Under an agreement with the North Shore Winter Club late orders cannot be accepted.

OPEN DOOR

I am usually in school by 7:30 a.m. and remain very cheerfully here for the school day and then some! I am always glad to talk to you - please do believe that the Open Door Policy is a reality.

Yours sincerely,

Linda Hamer