Water Advisory Ended

Please be advised that the "Boil Water" Advisory for the City of Winnipeg has now ended. The St. James-Assiniboia School Division has procedures in place to ensure that all water fountains are ready for school opening on Friday, January 30th.

School Open Despite Boiled Water Advisory

School will be open on Wednesday January 28th despite a boil water advisory for the City of Winnipeg. Water fountains will be covered and not available for drinking. Parents, please discuss with your children the importance of not drinking tap water. We also encourage parents to send students with a bottle of water that has been boiled and cooled at home. We will update the blog as more information becomes available. If you should have any questions or concerns please contact us at the school. 

Peter Pan

The Concert Choir will be going to see the Divisional Musical Theatre production of Peter Pan. We will be leaving at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, January 30th and will be back to the school by 11:30 a.m.

Choir News

Bruce Middle School Concert Choir will perform on Wednesday, February 11th at Music Celebration at Sturgeon Creek United Church. Please note, our performance time has been changed to 6:30 p.m. Students are asked to arrive no later 6:00 p.m. Students are reminded to wear their Bruce music shirt and black pants or skirt.

The Concert Choir will also be performing at the Winnipeg Music Festival on Wednesday, March 11th at 12:30 p.m. We will be bussed to and from Westminster Church for this performance. Once again, students are reminded to wear their Bruce music shirt and black pants or skirt. Please bring in your field trip forms to Mrs. Neufeld as soon as possible.

Band News

Congratulations to all Band and Choir students on fine performances at our Winter Concert!  Thank you to all staff and parents who helped supervise students in the warm-up rooms during the concert and staff and students who helped with setup/takedown, etc.

Free concert this Sunday, January 25th at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People (2 Forks Market Road) at 2pm featuring the the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Band jazz ensemble, ‘Jetliners.’

The Grade 8 Concert Band will be going to Sturgeon Heights Collegiate for a Band Workshop Friday, January 30^th.  We will leave at 10:45 am and be back at 12:25 pm.  Parent chaperones and parent drivers are needed for this trip.  Please let Mrs. Johnson know if you are available.

The Grade 8 Jazz Band will be performing at the Bruce Open House Thursday, February 12^th at 6:30 pm.  Their next performance will be at the Brandon Jazz Festival Thursday, March 19^th.  We will leave at 8:45 am and be back by 8 pm.

The Grade 8 Concert Band will be performing at the Optimist Festival on Wednesday, February 25th at 1:50 pm.  The bus will leave the school at 12 pm.  We will return to the school at 3:30 pm.  Parent chaperones and parent drivers are needed for this trip.  Please let Mrs. Johnson know if you are available.

The Grade 7 & 8 Band Trip to IMC is May 27^th – 29^th 2015. Students are to hand in their commitment form and a deposit of $80 by Monday, March 2^nd to guarantee their spot on the bus.  Cheques should be made payable to Bruce Middle School.  Information on the IMC trip and forms are available on the Band Website.  Parents interested in chaperoning for this trip are asked to indicate this on the commitment form.

The Manitoba Junior Honour Band is for highly motivated grade 7 & 8 Band students from across the province who get together to rehearse and perform in May. Students interested in auditioning for the Honour Band can get information at www.mbband.org or speak to Mrs. Johnson.  Audition deadline is Monday, March 9^th.

Important Dates

January 30, 2015 – Sturgeon Heights Band Workshop (Grade 8 Band)

February 12, 2015 – Bruce Open House, 6:30pm (Grade 8 Jazz)

February 25, 2015 - Optimist Band Festival, 1:50pm at the Convention Centre (Grade 8 Band)

March 2, 2015 - IMC Commitment form and deposit due (Grade 7 & 8 Bands)

March 9, 2015 – Junior Honour Band audition deadline (Grade 7 & 8 Bands)

March 19, 2015 - Brandon Jazz Festival (Grade 7 & 8 Jazz Bands)

April 14-17, 2015 - Level One Band Festival (Grade 7 Band) – one day TBA

April 25, 2015 – Sturgeon Heights Big Band Dance (Grade 8 Jazz)

May 20, 2015 - Spring Concert (All Bands)

May 27-May 29, 2015 - IMC Band Camp (Grade 8 Band)

Band Website:  www.sjsd.net/~tjohnson

Grade 7 Parent Winter Camp Meeting Reminder

Please note there will be a grade 7 Parent Winter Camp meeting at 7:00 p.m. on January 21st in the theatre.

Science Department News

The Bruce Science department is gearing up for a busy winter/spring of co-curricular events. Students are encouraged to join any number of the following events:

*The annual Let's Talk Science Challenge competition: Bruce is looking to send three teams of four students to the science trivia challenge at the University of Manitoba on April 30.

*Science Fair: complete your own investigation/experiment and present your findings to your teacher in the first or second  week of March. The Science Department will be sending projects on to the Divisional Fair at George Waters/St. James Collegiate on April 8. Students in Grades 7-12 will be chosen to represent St. James Assiniboia at the Canada Wide Science in Fredericton NB from May 9 -16.

*Spaghetti Bridge Building Competition: Students can compete in one or both challenges!

A) Strength competition: students are allowed up to 350 grams of uncooked spaghetti and white glue and will compete with other students from across the province to see who has the strongest bridge/truss!

NEW: parents can create and enter their own bridges!

B) Design competition: students are allowed to use any type of pasta to build a bridge up to 1.4 kg in mass. Why not add some paint to make your creation beautiful.  More information on the bridge competitions can be found at http://www.apegm.mb.ca/SpaghettiBridge.html

Students are encouraged to listen carefully to daily announcements and to discuss any of these events with their science teacher.

Open House

Bruce Middle School

For new grade 6 students coming to

Bruce Middle School for the year

2015-16

Thursday, February 12th

7:00—8:00 p.m.

Registrations for 2015-2016

It is already time for students to start thinking about next year!  Over the next two months, all students at Bruce will be expected to register for their classes for the next school year.  The Grade 8 students, in particular, will have some serious choices to make as they decide which high school to attend and what optional courses to select.  Please be sure to get as much information as you can to help in this important decision-making process by attending the Information Evenings of the schools you are considering.  If you have any questions regarding registration at any grade level, please call Mrs. Sparrow at the school.  Grade 8  students will register for Grade 9 on  Friday, February 13th 2015.  Our current grade 6 & 7 registrations will go home on Friday, February 13th, 2015.  All  registration forms must be returned by Friday, February 20th, 2015.

Information Evening:

Please note that all Information Evenings begin at 7:00 p.m.

Senior High Open Houses

Monday, February 9th   -  St. James Collegiate

Tuesday, February 10th  -   Sturgeon Heights Collegiate

Wednesday, February 11th -   Westwood Collegiate

Thursday, February 12th - John Taylor Collegiate

Winter Concert Information

The Winter Concert is this Wednesday, January 14th at 7:00pm in the Bruce Gym.  Students in the Grade 6, 7, 8 Concert Bands and Jazz Bands will be performing.  All students in the Band program are expected to attend and should arrive at 6:40 p.m. dressed in their uniform.  Grade 6 Band students who are not in one of the choirs are to wear a white top with black pants/socks/shoes.  Grade 6 students who participate in a Bruce choir as well as all Grade 7 & 8 Band students are to wear their music shirt with black pants/socks/shoes. The concert starts at 7:00 p.m., but there will also be preconcert musical entertainment provided by students.  Out of respect for the performers, all audience members are asked to stay until the end of the concert, approximately 8:00pm.

The Winter Concert showcases the incredible progress each band and choir has made since September.  It is very important that ALL students participate.  Make sure that if you have any Wednesday evening commitments that you inform your coach/instructor/teacher ahead of time that you will be missing to attend this concert.  Also, we are looking for parents willing to supervise students in the warm-up rooms.  If you are available, please let Mrs. Johnson know (tjohnson@sjsd.net).

Musically yours,

Mrs. Tara Johnson, Band Director
Bruce Middle School

Winter Evening Of The Arts!

Please join us on the evening of Wednesday January 14th at 

Bruce Middle School for an evening celebrating our arts programs. 

This includes:

6:00 -7:00pm - Art Display in our Front Hallway.

7:00 - 8:30pm - Band & Choir performances in the Gymnasium.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at the school.

Caine's Arcade

On December 16th, the Bruce gymnasium was filled with cardboard...cardboard arcade games that is!  Inspired by the imagination and creativity of a young boy named Caine who created a cardboard arcade in his father's store, grade seven students set out to brainstorm, design, construct, and most importantly, PLAY!  The goals of the event are encouraging children to explore their interests, teaching valuable skills like critical thinking, perseverance, and teamwork, and bringing communities together to foster and celebrate creativity.  

Students saw their idea transform from a simple sketch and design plan to a 3-dimensional ready-to-play arcade game.  The rest of the Bruce student body and staff as well as our friends at Athlone were invited to come and enjoy our day of play.  Students had a great time hosting this event and were proud to show off their creations!  

A Global Day of Play is held each year with the goal of engaging 1 million children all over the world in creative play.  To learn more about how this event came to be and the videos that inspired us, check out cainesarcade.com/cardboardchallenge to read more.

Bruce Family Movie Night!

Come on out and join us for Bruce Family movie night! On January 16th, come on out and bring your family to watch a pre-release of Big Hero 6! 

Tickets can be purchased at the office. All students are welcome, but any guests must be family members. 

Doors open at 6:15pm and the movie starts at 7pm sharp. Popcorn will be available for $1 per bag and Admission is $2 per person but seating is limited to 120 people so get your tickets early!

For information on this movie visit:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2245084/

Parenting Today

Thursday, January 15, 2015

                    ADHD/ADD

Presented by:  Marilyn MacKinnon (B.SW), Executive Director of Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba

Adolescents with ADHD/ADD often feel isolated and have difficulty being hopeful about the future.  Parents will increase their understanding of ADHD and how it affects interactions with their child's environments.  They will learn how the ADHD brain works and be given strategies and exercises for their kids to make it work better.  These strategies can be applied to make life more manageable and enjoyable.

Workshops will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. at Educational Support Services – Jameswood School, 1 Braintree Crescent (off Olive & Ness).  Free pizza supper will be offered from 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. and session will take place from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. To register please call Arlie Williams-Taylor at 885-9555 or email ptregistrations@sjsd.net

Pizza Date Revised

PIZZA DATE REVISED

Pizza Day will no longer take place on Day 1.  Starting the week of January 5th, Pizza Day will take place every Friday.