A Publication of Mount Pearl Intermediate
46 Ruth Avenue, Mount Pearl, NL CANADA A1N 2H5
Email: ; ;
Phone (709) 364-1433 Fax (709) 364-1871 Website: http://www.panther.k12.nf.ca
Volume 13, No. 13 December 1, 2011
Happening Around MPI:
Students in our grade 9 science classes had a "blast" last week, studying various chemical reactions and properties. A $20 dollar bill was burned, yet remained intact! Sodium metal was placed in water creating hydrogen gas which appeared as fire on water (eventually leading to a pop!). As part of the science department’s ongoing initiative to create a more hands-on, inquiry based approach, experiments and demonstrations will continue to be a key component of the curriculum.
Christmas Concert:
Planning and preparation for our annual Christmas Concert is well underway through the hard work of our students and our musical directors Ms. Dundas-Gough and Mr. Goulding. Our concert is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 7:00PM. Tickets are $5.00 and are available from Ms. Power.
Parking Lot Safety:
We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents of the importance of exercising extreme caution when using our school parking lot. We have noticed over the last number of days that speeds seem to be increasing as vehicles are moving around the school – especially when passing vehicles stopped to let students in or out. The time saved in such dangerous maneuvers is certainly not worth the risk to the safety of our students. In addition, parents are asked to please follow posted signage related to no parking zones especially in the laneway between our school’s gym entrance and Mount Pearl Senior high and are advised to be extremely careful in this area as students may cross between vehicles.
Congratulations to our elementary positive panther paw winners for this week: Joel Martin from homeroom 6-3 and Connor Martin from homeroom 6-2. Teacher nominators were Ms. Sanford and Ms. J. Porter.
Congratulations as well to our positive panther paw junior high winners for this week: Julia Druken from homeroom 7-7 and Mitchell Snelgrove from homeroom 7-9. Teacher nominators were Ms. Norman and Mr. Gillingham.
Christmas at Mount Pearl Intermediate:
Through the generous donations of our corporate citizens Mount Pearl Intermediate has, over the last 10 years or so, been quietly and anonymously sponsoring 10-15 families from the Mount Pearl and Paradise area each Christmas season. These generous donations have been supported by our student leadership group who has used the profits from their December school dances and class donations to grocery shop for food hampers containing all that one would need to provide a traditional Christmas dinner. The students themselves generate the list of food items, take the shopping carts and hit the aisles. If you would like to donate a present for a family, take up a collection at work, or sponsor an entire family, please contact Ms. K. Power as we work to spread the joy of the Christmas season.
Panther Applause:
Congratulations to our grade 9 girls volleyball teams on dominating the court at Regionals this past weekend. Team Bennett captured the gold and Team Weir captured the bronze to own the podium.
Congratulations to our grade 9 boys basketball team on a very successful opening tournament – the boys lost by one point in the semi-final game.
The MPI Competitive Improv team took the stage at the Newfoundland Improv X-Games last week at the D. F. Cook Recital hall at the MUN School of Music, and wowed the judges. They performed a theme and a story event, and held their own on stage with high school teams (the judges' words!). They are now looking forward to competing in the Junior High Division of the Newfoundland Improv Games in early February, and hope to improve on their second place finish from last year.
Congratulations to the following students who took part in the Intermediate Skills Canada Competition held at our school last week which featured teams from across the province including Labrador. Lego Robotics – Stephen Elliott, Brady Pardy, Jonathan Payne, Dawson Gallagher, Sean Purchase, Nathan Rogers, Mitchell Commerford, Austin Sansome, Nicholas Collier, and Cody Kenway; 2D/3D Animation - Christian Barrett and Noah Conohan; Graphic Design – Alex Harding; Job Interview – Maggie O’Connell; Workplace Safety – Gillian Slade (1st place); IT Network Support Systems Administration – Shania George; Prepared Speech – Adrianna Lear; TV/Video Production – Alannah Mason and Nikita Smith; IT Software Business Applications – Brandon Murphy; Web Design – Tyler McCarthy; Leadership – Sarah Whelan and Natasha Healey. Video taken by our Video Production club of the awards ceremony will be available on our YouTube channel as well as on our website. Our thanks to staff that were able to be present to assist with the serving of breakfast and lunch as well as providing supervision support during the day. In particular our thanks to Mr. Andrews for all of his work behind the scenes ensuring that our computer systems were ready with the necessary software for the competitions.
In Real Life:
On Monday’s episode Anna successfully negotiated the New Jersey pizza kitchen. Tune in Monday night as Anna hits the rails and rides the train.
Snowballs:
With the snow on the ground last Friday announcements were made to students concerning the throwing of snowballs. We recognize that snow has always played a large role in our culture and we realize that the first snowfall brings excitement to many of our students, especially the ones who don’t have to shovel it! The throwing of snowballs is, however, a potentially dangerous activity. Students reported to the office for throwing snowballs which have caused an injury, damage to property or the potential for injury/damage will be subject to consequences including verbal reprimands, restrictions to their ability to leave the school at lunch and/or suspension from school. If you could please remind your son/daughter of the potential risks of throwing snowballs we would certainly appreciate it as it will assist us in having an incident free snowball season.
Tree of Warm Wishes:
The Student Leadership group is pleased to be holding its fourth annual Tree of Warm Wishes project. The project was designed to seek donations of new warm clothing items such as scarves, mittens/gloves, and winter hats which were used to decorate a Christmas tree located in the Main Lobby of the school. Once the tree was decorated the items were then donated to Iris Kirby House to bring the warmth of Christmas into the lives of those experiencing a period of upheaval. Last year our tree was a colourful display of a wide range of purchased and knitted items and generated much interest and enthusiasm from our students and many positive comments from visitors to our school. As the Christmas season approaches we ask for your support of our Tree of Warm Wishes. Our tree is now up and is already sporting a fine display of knitted mittens and socks.
Friday, December 2, 2011
· No classes – teacher professional development
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
· Christmas concert – 7:00PM in the school gym. Tickets are $5.00 each and area available at the door.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
· Last day of classes prior to the Christmas break