QQS Attends Galey Farms – Attendance Contest Field Trip

On Tuesday, October 27th Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh Community School went on our first “Attendance Contest Field Trip” of the year! It was so exciting to see the children excited to get on the bus and go on an awesome field trip! There was so much for the children to see and do at Galey Farms. 

There was :

• Train Ride
• Hay Ride and picking a pumpkin
• Corn Maze
• Petting Zoo

The students and staff enjoyed a pizza lunch that day as well.

A picture is worth a thousand words! Check out all of the wonderful pictures and see the beautiful children, parents and staff enjoying the day at Galey Farms! Everyone had such a great time!

Uy’skweyul  Snuneymuxw Mustimuxw, Parents & Guardians;

It is time to start our new “ATTENDANCE CONTEST” for November and December!

I am excited to announce that we will be bringing the children who miss 2 days or less  and that have 6 lates or less to a “MOVIE” on December 15th, 2015.

At QQS we believe that if all of our children are at school everyday on time, we can teach them all that they need to know by the end of the school year.

I am going to share a statistic that Sue Gower, Specialist in Instructional Services from the First Nations Schools Association. This is what she shared with the Principals at the Principal Professional Learning Community on October 22nd, 2015, “A person who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by the end of third grade is quite unlikely to graduate from high school”. (this is from: The Statistics Lottery by Snow, Burns & Griffin 1998)

The QQS staff have been working hard to understand the needs of the school. What we do know for sure is that we need to work on attendance and getting to school on time.  So, the QQS Staff have identified “ATTENDANCE” as our “Greatest Area of Need” and are totally committed to getting our students here every day and on time.

QQS ATTENDANCE CONTEST!

ALL QQS students are entered!

Our second contest runs from Monday, November 2nd, 2015 to Monday, December 14th, 2015! 

QQS students are expected to attend everyday on time (8:40am to 2:30pm) Except on Mondays we have early dismissal at 2:00pm.

In this contest students MUST not miss more than 2 days.

School starts at 8:40am SHARP! If they walk in at 8:41am they are late!

Lates: what if my child is late for school? Three lates will be equivalent to one day missed.

Early departures: if a child leaves early three or more times this will be equivalent to one day missed.

Excused absences (example: Doctor or Dentist appointments) parents MUST PHONE IN BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS AT 8:45am to report that their son/daughter won’t be at school because of an appointment or illness.

SAFE ARRIVALS: Please ensure that you sign your child in upon their arrival so that we know that they have arrived at school safely.

SAFE DEPARTURES: Please sign your child at the front desk, so that we know who they are leaving with. This also helps us with our bus run at the end of the day. We also need to make sure we know who is in our school at all times in the event of an emergency.

We will be taking the students who have successfully made it to school and have missed or more than 2 days of school & on time between Monday, November 2nd, 2015 to Monday, December 14th, 2015 on a VERY SPECIAL TRIP!  The QQS BEST attenders will be going to

A MOVIE… AT EITHER THE AVALON OR GALAXY CINEMAS IN NANAIMO!  

Who: All of the QQS students who attend school and miss less than 2 days of school between Monday, November 2nd, 2015 and Monday, December 14th, 2105.

What: QQS Attendance Contest (for the months of November & December)

Where: We will be going to A MOVIE!!!!!!!!

When: The trip will be on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 2015

Why: We want ALL of our students to be here at QQS everyday!

We need your help parents, guardians, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, friends & relatives! Please help us get all of our children to school every day and on time!

What can you do?

• Set regular bed times and morning routines
• Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before
• Don’t let your child stay home unless he/she is truly sick. Keep in mind complaints of stomach ache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home.
• If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors, and the principal and other parents for advice on how to make him/her feel comfortable and excited about learning.
• Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbour, or another parent.
• Avoid medical appointments and extended trips when school is in session.
• Family members can go outside and stand on their porches and driveways and give our kids positive encouragement for going to school every day!
• Ask your child/children how their day was & “What did you learn today at school?”
• Be positive and encourage the kids to come to school!

It does take a VILLAGE to raise a child! Please help us out Snuneymuxw First Nation Community!

Yours in Education, Roxanne Harris Principal