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

March 7, 1997

Dear Parents

In the space of three short days, Mulgrave reached great heights. Our 4 month old choir achieved the standard of 'excellence' in our first ever music festival. 29 students are to receive certificates from the Royal Commonwealth Society as a result of having recently entered this international essay competition. The following students Charlsey Anthony, Aaron Bolus, Vickas Bowry, Aurora McDonald Alexandra Chan, Tessa Clarance, Aliza Datu, Kiki Dimakis, Azhar Jaffer, Farah Kassam, Allison Kiloh, Michelle Mange, Jonathan Miller, Nick Miller, Fiona Neill, Gabrielle Reed, Daniel Schram, Ashley Taunton, Aadam Tejpar, Joel Thompson, Keiran Thompson, Ben Thompson, Alexandra Todd, Graydon Tullis, Marion Turner, S. Olivia Vipond, Kevan Ward, Jaclyn Wierenga and Jamie Wyse are to receive their certificates at an Award Ceremony. The date will be announced shortly by the Royal Canadian Society; it will be on either a Saturday in either April or May and formal invitations to the students and their families will be sent to the school shortly.

We sent four teams to the Odyssey of the Mind Competition last weekend. "Can You Dig It" ( Graydon Tullis, Alexandra Chan, Joel Thompson, Jonathan Miller, Michael Roethe, Ashley Taunton) and " OMerdroid", ( Aaron Bolus, Andrew Robertson, Farah & Kalim Kassam, Charlsey Anthony, Olivia Vipond) came second, and will, therefore, advance to the Provincial finals which will be held on Saturday, April 5 in Kelowna. Our other two teams "Double Trouble" (Vikas Bowry, Christopher Robertson, Nicholas Miller, Kevan Ward, Nabila Pirani, Aadam Tejpar) and "Heroic Proportions"( Allison Kiloh, Alexandra Todd, Hilary Ison, Kevin Spooner, Thomas Klein) also achieved significant success in taking third and fourth places within their categories.

To say I am proud of our children is a mastery of understatement. This poem by the 17th Century poet David Everett comments on our present/future ventures here at Mulgrave:

You'd scarce expect one of my age
To speak in public on the stage;
And if by chance to fall below
Demosthenes or Cicero
Don't view me with a critics eye,
But pass my imperfections by.
Large streams from little fountains flow,
Tall oaks from little acorns grow".

ODYSSEY
Alexandra Todd (G.2)

Odyssey, Odyssey
A never ending world of fun,
A bright time, a nice time,
You can sing, you can act.
Balsa Woods and robots
Mudskippers, terns, clownfish and fairies,
So I'll really shout it loud,
Odyssey of the Mind!

ODYSSEY
Allison Kiloh (G.3)

When I first thought of joining Odyssey, I had to find out what it was about.
I found out that is was about questions, and problems. Each Wednesday at lunch we had fun challenges to work on.

After I had been ......Odyssey for almost a term, we were working on a presentation that we were going to do in Richmond, for an audience and about 5 judges. We has worked very hard and had a lot of fun. While we were choosing the characters we did some research.

For example:

The mudskipper we learned could not only swim in the water, but can also walk on land!

When the day came to go to Richmond we did a great job and got 4th place out of 8 in our division. We got 128.5 points out of 200.

I recommend Odyssey as a great program for Kids who like to be challenged.

ODYSSEY
Kevan Ward (G.5)

Our problem was the Double Trouble problem. For our problem we had to build 2 balsa wood structures, one load bearing structure, and one that bridges a gap. Then we had to somehow weave the structures purpose into our play. At the beginning of the competition we had some trouble because the structure didn't meet the requirements, but in less than 3 hours we built a structure. Odyssey of the Mind is great experience and if anyone likes a challenge, Odyssey of the Mind is for you!

OLIVER

Next term our rehearsals will be held on Thursdays after school from 3:30 - 5 p.m. as well as on Fridays after school from 3:30 - 5 p.m. Mr. McLean has written an explanatory letter to all members of the choir and their parents. There will be no drama on Wednesdays, at least for the moment.

We have, thus far, been rehearsing separately, and now we have to begin placing the jig saw pieces to-gether.

Children who have major speaking roles should be thoroughly conversant with their words, since that fluency allows for confident movement, as well as freedom to have fun! I am hopeful that when the cast return from Spring Break, all words will simply trip off the children's tongues. These expectations are already known by the cast and, indeed some cast members are already word perfect.

I am certain that most of us will soon have "Oliver on the brain syndrome" but this malaise will afford us all the polished performance which Mulgrave is rapidly becoming known for.

The acquisition of lines is the perfect platform to exercise parent partnership and participation.

Ms. Straub will be choreographing the splendid "Who will Buy" and schedules of her rehearsals will be issued shortly.

MEMO FROM OLIVER'S COSTUME CORNER

FIRST A TREMENDOUS THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE WHO HAS DONATED SOME ITEM OF CLOTHING FOR OLIVER.

THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN WONDERFUL AND THE TASK OF SORTING, SIZING ALTERING ETC., IS NOW WELL UNDERWAY. THERE ARE ONLY A FEW CATEGORIES WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN FILLED. PLEASE FIND FOLLOWING AN UPDATED LIST.

SHIRTS and/ approximately twenty five white shorts have or BLOUSES been donated more than enough to fill our needs. THANK YOU. HOWEVER, If someone has a spare brown or black shirt (for our villains, Bill Sykes and/or Fagin) these would be most welcome.

PANTS teenage size pants are still needed. Colours, preferably drab or dark, striped or checked in browns, blacks and greys.

HATS assorted caps or hats for the pickpockets, but also for the Gentlemen of the play. We are seeking TOP HATS (Loan or Donation)
As many as we can get. These will be treasured and treated with the utmost care.

ANY DONATION WILL BE COLLECTED ON A DAILY BASIS FROM THE FRONT FOYER BY MRS. BOTWRIGHT (James G.3)

SPECIAL NOTICE: I have received a number of clothing items on loan, and some of these items do not have name tags or notes pinned to them with appropriate identification. Please help to identify the owners of the following items. A bag of 3 vests with a note included saying "would like these returned please" and an exquisite pale olive green embroidered shawl.

PLEASE LEAVE A NOTE WITH MRS. GRANT IF YOU HAVE LENT ANY ITEM OF CLOTHING FOR OLIVER. I AM CONCERNED THAT DUE TO THE OVERWHELMING VOLUME THAT SOME OTHER ITEMS WHICH ARE ON LOAN MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY LABELLED.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Next Wednesday afternoon, our House teams will, I am sure, enjoy, our second General Knowledge competition. ALL children in the school will be able to participate and the questions set will be graded so that they are both applicable and relevant.

Our house captains have been elected by house members this week. Each child, including those vying for leadership roles, had one vote, as did sponsor teachers. Our house Captains and deputies are:

Smith House (Green) Azhar Jaffer (Captain), Ashley Taunton (Deputy)
Curie House (Red) Kevan Ward (Captain), Nabila Pirani (Deputy)
Churchill House (Yellow) Aurora Buchanan (Captain), Kalim Kassam (Deputy)
Luther King (Blue) Graydon Tullis (Captain), Michelle Mange (Deputy)

FAMILY TRIVIA TIME

Questions from last week's newsletter.

1. In which country, and when (it was not recent!) was the toothbrush first developed?

2. How many hairs are on a human head?

3. When do the cows come home?

4. When does a pig become a hog?

5. Who were the three Graces?

The correct answers are as follows:

1. The first brush with bristles was developed in China in 1498. Bristles were taken from hogs at first and later from horses and even badgers. In 1938, nylon bristles were developed by DuPont. As well, however, the Swanson state that the toothbrush was developed 4,000 years ago in Egypt. It was used as a key to unlock a type of lock that was used.

2. There are about 100,000 hairs on the human head.

3. This answer to this question was superbly given by Mrs. Swanson (Tim- G.2) and Tim's big brother , Eric,, A G.8 student at Sentinel, and so we repeat in full.
Cows know instinctively when to come home... Cows eat in order to produce milk. When their udders are full they experience pain.. they come in to be milked.
However, if cows get out of their pasture(not being very intelligent) they have a great difficulty finding their way home thus the expression "waiting til the cows come home"

When the cows come home
the milk is coming;
Honey's made while bees are humming;
Duck and drake on the
rushy lake,
And the deer live in the breezy brake;
And timid, funny pert little bunny
Winks his nose, and sits all sunny.

Christine Rossetti

4. When a pig weighs more than 180 lbs, it becomes a hog,

5. a. There were usually 3 Graces in Greek legends ...
Aglai (Brightness), Euphrosyne (Joyfulness) and Thalia (Bloom).
They are said to be the daughters of Zeus and Hera.
b. A series of 3 small paintings by Raphael

c. A sculpture by an Italian sculptor Marchese Canocva.

Thank you to the Swanson families, Dr. Best (Allison - G.1, Ashley-G3), and Nabila Pirani, ( G.5)who supplied the answers.

FAMILY MATHS

The Ace Sand Bag Company has one million bags of sand which have to be moved. If they load ten bags every minute how long do you think it will take to load all the bags? If they load bags for 12 hours each day and work 6 days per week, how long will it take to load all the bags.

FRENCH ASSEMBLY
Friday, March 14

The last assembly of the term will feature work the children have been doing in French class. Specifically, the assembly will involve the Grade 4's and Grade 1's. The Grade 4's have prepared a skit and the 1's have a rock and roll French song to present.

The Kids Care Club will be offering "cafe au lait" and "croissants" to lend a French air to the pre-assembly refreshments. All are welcome!

KIDS CARE CLUB

For our last Friday of term, we will, as noted above, be offering "cafe au lait" and croissants to go along with the French theme of the assembly. Our helpers that morning (Aliza Datu, Natalie Staff, Jaclyn Wierenga and William Larose) will not have to bring treats. They should, however, arrive at school ready to help promptly at 7:55 if possible. If any of you have milk pitchers you would be willing to lend for the morning (from which to pour the milk) or plain bowls of "cafe au lait" size, please speak to one of us.

The Kids Care Club have paid for the foster child in Ghana for the entire year, and have close to $300 in the bank. The children will decide early next term where they would like the money to go. Thank-you for your support of our coffee mornings, and for your comments about the service the children provide.

~Ms. Tuck and Ms. Millerd

ASSEMBLIES

APRIL 3 Festival Choir Assembly- will be held on THURSDAY (instead of Friday) FOR THIS WEEK ONLY

APRIL 11 Grade 5

APRIL 18 Library

APRIL 25 Grade 3

MAY 2 Grade 1

MAY 9 Grade 2

MAY 16 Music - "Oliver"

MAY 23 NO ASSEMBLY - Oliver's Day!

MAY 29 Music - THURSDAY (instead of Friday)FOR THIS WEEK ONLY

JUNE 6 Grade 4

JUNE 13 French

JUNE 20 Kindergarten.

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Our children are, to a woman and to a man, incredibly eager to partake in the many additional activities which Mulgrave offers.

Each of all co-curricular offerings provide a further extension or dimension to our already rich and divergent curriculum and it is truly wonderful to see the enthusiastic response of our constituent members.

As guiding adults, however, it is our role to caution our children as regards over reaching themselves, Some of us, by nature, have boundless energy, and we are lucky to have that invaluable quality. Others require a more sedate or even pace in order to realise potential and equanimity. Please help your children to pace themselves when they choose co-curricular activities so that they do not exhaust themselves in over involvement in our lunch/after school clubs - play is also essential in the healthy growth of every human and I remind myself of that on a regular basis.

KINDERGARTEN

Our 1997/98 class of 40 children is now full

QUOTABLE QUOTES
Supplied by
ELYSSIA PATTERSON

"IF YOU WERE MY HUSBAND, I'D POISON YOUR COFFEE."
(Lady Astor once told Winston Churchill)

"IF YOU WERE MY WIFE, I'D DRINK IT."
replied Churchill

"THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CAPRICE AND A LIFELONG PASSION IS THAT THE CAPRICE LASTS A LITTLE LONGER."
Oscar Wilde

GUEST SPEAKER

On Tuesday, March 11 (at 8:30 a.m.) Mr. Shepard, CEO of Finning Ltd will be our guest speaker at Assembly.He will be speaking to the students about the National Deficit. All parents are welcome to attend. Thanks to Mrs. Clarance (Conor, K & Tessa, G.1) for inviting him.

GOLF TOURNAMENT

The Mulgrave Fundraising Committee has reserved Friday, June 13, 1997 (lucky day!) as the date for our First Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament! Plan to spend an enjoyable afternoon/evening with us at the Seymour Golf and Country Club! Even non-golfers can participate in a golf clinic/contest, and everyone is welcome to the dinner afterwards. If you are interested and able to assist in this fun endeavour, please contact Lily Bolus at 929 4609.

The school will be closed that afternoon so that faculty and staff may participate since they are of course members of our Mulgrave Community. We hope this advance notice will obviate any problems. In terms of curricular minutes and days, the school is presently offering 191 teaching days as opposed to the traditional 176. We believe that this event will become another major block-buster fundraiser for the school

Have a great weekend!

Linda Hamer
Headmistress