A message from Administration I would really like to wish all of the students and their families a safe and peaceful winter break. Enjoy the time you have together with family and friends. Be ready to resume life at John Gunn in the New Year. With that in mind, it is worth noting that there are some very important events coming up. Basketball season is under way and every day, student athletes can be found developing their basketball skills at practice as they prepare for the upcoming season. I would like to thank the many staff members who have stepped up to support the program through coaching and supervising. We additionally have the benefit of some amazing former student volunteer coaches, who are paying it forward by putting in time, effort and energy to help support the athletic program at John Gunn. I also want to thank our Volleyball coaches for the fine work that they did with our Volleyball Teams. Winter always presents some climate challenges for activities outdoors. With that in mind students need to remember to bring the appropriate clothing to participate in outdoor activities regardless of the temperature. Our Grade 8 students will be preparing to apply to the high school of their choice in the New Year. These students will make this decision after touring a couple of the Transcona High Schools and listening to presentations from the 2 local high schools. All High Schools in River East Transcona can accom-modate Grade 9 students and this opens the number of options for John Gunn students finishing up their Grade 8 year. Consultation with parents and guardians is recommended as the students prepare to make this important decision.

The Wildcat News

December 2019

School Hours AM entry bell 8:30 Announcements 8:40 - 8:49 Lunch 11:20 -12:15 Agenda 3:00 -3:10 PM dismissal 3:10

In Service Days - No Classes January 31 (Friday) March 13(Friday) April 17 (Friday) June 29 (Monday)

Early Dismissal Wednesdays - 2:25pm January 15 February 12 April 15 May 6

John W. Gunn Middle School 351 Harold Ave. W. Winnipeg, MB R2C 2C9 Phone: (204)958-6500 Fax: (204)222-4967 Web Address: jwg@retsd.mb.ca Principal: D. Finlay Vice Principal: T. Pennell

Principal’s Message Continued

The Grade 7 students will be participating in a Zones of Regulation blitz throughout the month of January designed to develop those skills necessary to monitor one’s feelings in a more productive manner. They will also be delving deeper into their study of Human Rights. They will be looking closely at different countries and how Human Rights are valued under the varying political and economic conditions that exist around the world. They will also examine the history of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Culminating their learning will be a trip to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. Our Grade 6 students will be looking forward to their attending Mini-University and the activities that will be scheduled for the end of June. It is an exciting opportunity for our Grade 6 students to spend some time and have some fun on the campus of the University of Manitoba. Our second Student Led conferences will be coming up at the end of January and parents are encouraged to check with their kids and make sure that they are keeping up and getting all assignments for the 2nd semester handed in, in a timely fashion. Our conferences are the best opportunity for all stakeholders in the education of the students at John Gunn, to come together and share their ideas on how to best sup-port the learning that is so critical for the students to master. Our students continue to be good ambassadors in the community. Our Grade 7 students completed their annual We Scare Hunger campaign and collected hundreds of non perishable food items from the school community, to be donated to a local food bank. Our CAT students stepped up and put in an afternoon of helping out, packing hampers at Winnipeg Harvest. So proud of the students for their efforts to support those less fortunate! A schoolwide effort to collect socks for those in need is being utilized to support our Numeracy initiative, while at the same time giving comfort to those less fortunate. I would really like to thank the parent community of John W. Gunn for your continued support of your children. This support is critical as we strive to develop your children both academically and emotionally. We, as a staff, work diligently and purposefully to provide a wide range of opportunities for your children, academically, athletically and creatively. Your support certainly helps to enhance the programming we are able to provide. Happy Holidays everyone.

River East Transcona School Division: Administration Office 589 Roch Street, Winnipeg, MB R2K 2P7 Telephone: (204) 667-7130

If you have a concern….

Your child’s school will always try to make the learning experience a positive, safe and happy one for its stu-dents. However, if you have a concern or an issue, please don’t hesitate to let the school know. Open com-munication between home and school is very important.

The RETSD Board of Trustees stresses the steps shown below must be followed if concerns are to be properly addressed. The trustees’ role is to hear all sides of the concern before making a decision on any appeal, to be the link between parents and the Division, and to help with divisional processes and policies (such as this concern protocol). They realize that there is no greater advocate for your child than you, the parent.

Here are the steps to follow if you have a concern:

Talk to the person most directly involved—your child’s teacher. If you must leave a message, please be

sure to provide a day and evening phone number where you can be reached.

If talking to the teacher doesn’t resolve the issue, talk to the principal.

(The majority of parental concerns are resolved at either of the first two steps)

If you’ve talked to the principal and, over a period of time, the issue still has not been resolved, call the

Superintendent’s Department.

If your concern is not resolved by the Superintendents Department, you can make an appeal in writing

to the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees will hear your appeal either in person or in writing, whichever you prefer.

For more information, visit: www.retsd.mb.ca > Your RETSD > Policies > Policy KE—Concern Protocol; Policy KE-R—Concerns and Complaints Procedures

Absent Students John W. Gunn has a call back system for students who are absent in the morning and afternoon. We ask you to call the school at (204) 958-6500 (please leave a message on our 24 hour answering service) or email jwg@retsd.mb.ca to inform us of your son/daughter’s absence in order to avoid us contacting you at home or at work. Please remember to keep your phone numbers current with the office so that we can contact you in case of an emergency.

Teacher Communications Communication with the teacher and staff at John W. Gunn can happen in a variety of ways. You can: Phone—(204) 958-6500 Email a teacher—the email address follows a formula—the initial of the teacher’s first name, followed directly by their last name, then @retsd.mb.ca.

Online Safety RETSD annually provides information to parents on the topic of online safety.

Many parents have questions about their children’s online behaviours.

What are my children doing online? Are there risks?

How do I keep up to date on online issues?

Is my child safe online?

Information to help parents protect their children on the internet can be found at ProtectKidsOnline.ca

Student Fees Some student fees are still outstanding and we would like to have these collected as soon as possible. Please send all outstanding fees to the office. If you are unsure if fees have been paid please check the parent portal or contact the office at (204) 958-6500. Thank you for your assistance.

Change of Address and/or Phone Number

Please let the office know if you have moved and/or have had a change to your phone numbers (home, cell, work, etc). This information is important if we need to contact you in the case of an emergency.

Do We Have Your Email Address? In our continued effort to communicate effectively and be environmentally responsible, we increasingly communicate with our families via email. Please be sure to let the office if there is any change to your email information.

End of Day Arrangements In the interest of maximizing learning time and keeping interruptions to a minimum, please make arrangements for appointments, pick-up times and other messages with your child(ren) before they leave for school in the morning, if possible. The school office is a very busy place and it is sometimes difficult to get information to students, especially as it gets closer to dismissal time.

Cold weather reminder….Please dress for the weather.

Students can come into the building when the bell

rings at 8:30 a.m. When temperatures are –27 degrees

or more, they will be permitted in when they arrive.

Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports (PBIS) @ JWG

At JWG we continue to work towards the development, implementation and education of all the matrices throughout the school. Our goal is to provide more consistency all while making it easier for students to recognize the expectations of being a Respectful, Responsible and Ready Wildcat. The more familiar stu-dents are with the expectations the more likely they will be able to have a safe, successful experience in all areas of the school. The next time you are in the building we invite you to take time to locate and read our matrices throughout our building. The PBIS Committee has many plans for this school year. Some of the plans include continuing with the de-velopment and refinement of the remaining Matrices in some specified areas. We also continue to move towards meeting the outlined Tier 2 expectations established by RETSD. Through those expectations we will continue to examine and implement strategies provided to our students. We will continue to explore and share information about Zones of Regulation to help our students develop a deeper understanding of all their emotions and further their understanding and self-awareness related to their emotions. No matter the grade level or area of the school, we want each JWG Wildcat to have a positive meaningful,

rich learning opportunity every day.

Grade 6 Wildcat Welcome

Eighty-two Grade 6 students signed up to take time out of their Friday evening to get to know their fellow

Wildcats during the September 27, 2019 Wildcat Welcome. Lead by 18 JWG Student Events Committee

Leaders, our younger Wildcats had an opportunity to demonstrate their Wildcat pride through seven differ-

ent events to develop school pride, cooperation and team building. Events during this 2-hour event focused

on reaffirming our Respectful, Responsible, and Ready School Matrix. Events challenged students to get in-

volved physically, intellectually, and artistically. The event culminated with a pizza dinner and group photo.

JWG Grade 7 Hiking Trip

Over three days of what would turn out to be the nicest weather in October, fourteen Grade Seven stu-dents headed out to Spruce Woods Provincial Park to hike the Epinette Creek Trail for the annual Grade Seven Hiking Trip. The participants hiked over sixteen kilometers while carrying all the gear required for a backcountry camping trip. Students learned how to effectively pack gear, set up tents, plan and cook meals, treat drinking water and many other wilderness travel and camping skills. All of the students demonstrated perseverance, teamwork and a positive attitude throughout the trip. The next multiday wilderness trip op-portunity will be the Grade Eight canoe trip in the spring. There will also be multiple single day outdoor field trips throughout the year open to everyone.

Gone Fishing

We were able to hang a sign in the school Wednesday --- “Gone fishing”!!! October’s Outdoor Adventure for students was a fishing field trip. So after a couple lunch hours setting up rods/reels and learning some tips/tricks, a group of eager anglers went to Victoria Beach to test out their fishing skills. In total, 10 fish were caught, 3 different species (walleye, perch and bullhead) and many that “got away” and they were soooo big….. Students got to watch the process of filleting a fish as part of our fish fry on the pier. Every-one got to sample fresh Lake Winnipeg fish and nothing beats that “just caught “flavour. Overall, it was a spectacular day on the water. Keep your eye out for more upcoming outdoor adventures!

Grade 6 News

Grade 6 - Zones of Regulation

In October, our grade 6 students were introduced to the Zones of Regulation. The Zones of Regulation is a system used to teach self-regulation by determining and categorizing our emo-tions and level of alertness. There are 4 zones: Red- heightened states such as anger, terrified, out of control Yellow- experiencing heightened emotions with more control than the red zone, stress, frustration, anxiety, silliness, excitement Green- a calm state, happy, content, focussed and ready to learn Blue- low state of alertness, sad, tired, sick, bored Grade 6 students rotated through 6 stations. • Students learned and practiced regulation tools such as breathing techniques • Students experimented with tools that can be used to calm and increase focus • Students cut and sorted emotions into the 4 zones

• Students played bingo using the zones

• Students watched movie clips and identified the zone for the character portrayed Students identified the zone they might be in for cer-tain scenarios and brainstormed strategies to move to a different zone

Grade 6 News Contd.

Mindfulness in the Classroom

“Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with kindness and curiosity” (Educalme) Life is stressful and distracting for adults and children. When our brain is functioning in a state of stress, it is difficult to focus and to learn new information. Our brain is a muscle. It is malleable and has the capacity to change and grow. By practicing mindfulness in school, students are being taught techniques to calm the brain and to train the brain to focus. This will allow students to be better equipped to absorb new infor-mation. Some classrooms at JWG are implementing mindfulness practices in their classrooms by: • Teaching students how the brain works and what happens when it is in a state of stress • Adopting language of growth mindset

• Teaching breathing techniques such as 5 finger breathing

• Listening to guided visualization

• Listening to quiet music • Practicing focusing on a single sound

• Practicing gratitude Reflecting on mindfulness practices

Grade 6 Activities Contd.

In September, students were planning on going biking and adventuring at Birds Hill Park. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not want to cooperate. We all stayed warm and dry as torrential rain belted Winni-peg. Meanwhile the students rotated through a variety of activities including indoor games, beading pen-cil buddies, Minute to Win It, cup stacking, LEGO challenge and a weight room activity. Thank you to all volunteers who were ready to pitch in to make the day a memorable one for our Grade 6 students.

Grade 6 News Contd.

No Stone Left Alone On November 4th, the Grade 6 students attended the 8th annual No Stone Left Alone ceremony at the Transcona Cemetery. The students each stood at the foot of a Canadian war veteran’s grave while various dignitaries spoke and while the last post and O’Canada were played. In addition to placing a poppy at the foot of the grave, students also gave a salute of remembrance. Back at the school, students took the time to create their own tribute to Canadian soldiers and placing

them on their lockers.

Grade 7 News

Adversity Workshop

The grade 7 team puts the spotlight on adversity each year for their students

through conversations, activities, presentations and curriculum. This year we

started with a special visit from wrestlers Marty and Cliff. They opened the dia-

logue by having a personal conversation with the students about adversity and

overcoming hardship. Marty shared his story of adversity and what he has learned

about being a survivor of adversity. His most important message to our 7s was

that we all need a network of people to lean on from time to time. But more im-

portantly, when we are polite to others, we have the opportunity to build this

network. Cliff (a former JWG student) echoed this message by sharing his story of

being bullied and having a person to turn and talk to. He encouraged all students

to make sure they have a parent, teacher, or friend that they know they can turn

to when in need.

Orienteering in the Transcona Bioreserve

The grade 7 students have been studying maps in their social studies classes. On a warm afternoon in September, we decided to test their mapping skills by secretly hid-ing 7 checkpoints throughout the Bioreserve. Each team was given a map of the Trans-cona Bioreserve and the location of the checkpoints. To be successful, students had to read the legend and use their understanding of direction and scale. Teams raced through the Bio attempting to be the first 3 teams to find all the checkpoints and receive their award! Orienteering is a great way to practice mapping skills and stay in shape! Orienteering Manitoba organizes races like this throughout the year. http://www.orienteering.mb.ca/

Grade 7 News Contd.

Robb Nash

On November 6th the grade 7 students had an opportunity to go and see Robb Nash at the Burton Cum-mings Theatre. The Robb Nash Project is an immersive concert experience that engages young people through the power of music and storytelling. The presentation addressed topics related to mental health. The show balanced serious subject matter in a truly unique way that was not only thought provoking and inspirational, but also entertaining and at times humorous. They spoke of resilience and used their life struggles as examples to relate to kids at their level. They allowed kids to see that the choices they make result in the path they forge. Students left the concert feeling inspired and some changed forever. It was a memorable experience for sure!

We Scare Hunger Each year, the Grade 7 students at John W. Gunn participate in We Scare Hunger. This Free the Children (WE Day) based initiative has students collecting food to donate to organizations in need in our city. The Monday before Halloween students braved the cold weather to hand out flyers to hundreds of homes surrounding our school asking for donations on Halloween day. On Halloween, our Sevens went from door to door picking up pre-bagged nonperishable items left out for them by the community. After a hard and cold morning, they collected almost 2,000 pounds of food that was donated to Winnipeg Harvest and the Transcona Food Bank. A big thank-you to the JWG community for their generous donations and to the Grade 7 students for all their hard work in helping those in need! Way to go Wildcats!

Grade 7 News Contd. The Grade 7s have been keeping busy this year so far! As the year continues to move forward, we have more events and activities to look forward to. In December, the Grade 7s will be celebrating all their hard work with a recreation-al bowling trip. In the new year, we will be exploring mind-fulness practices and activities when returning back to school life. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy holiday and we hope you have a safe and en-joyable break. See you in the new year!

Numeracy News

Did you know That on December 20th students will be completing their 16th week of school? It’s not quite ½ of the school year, but it’s still a huge accomplishment. During the 16 weeks students were chal-lenged to think about math, numbers, shapes and more in so many different ways. In grade 7 students created riddles, leaving others attempting to solve for a mystery number. Grade 6 students thought about and presented different information about themselves that could be expressed through numbers and grade 8s worked collaboratively on challenges at their vertical boards. As a whole school, students were challenged to decided “Which One Doesn’t Belong” and students were able to make a choice, pre-sent an argument, and then get their name in a draw. We had winners from grade 6 and 7 drawn.

The numeracy teachers want to thank the parent community for getting involved in their children’s learning of math. Remember that a conversation about the price of cereal when at the store or esti-mating how many weeks of allowance will need to be saved to buy that special toy are all great entry points to talk about math. Don’t be afraid to ask your child to share one of the many mental math strate-gies they have been learning about. We also suggest you read over the “Handout For Parents” and check out Youcubed for more ideas and ways to engage your child in math. And as always, feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions about what your child is learning. https://www.youcubed.org/resources/handout-for-parents/ https://www.youcubed.org/

Grade 8 News Grade 8’s Have a Heart

On December 11 & 12 each Grade 8 class got to participate in a hands-on dissection of a pig’s heart. The program is delivered by WISE Kid-Netic Energy a non-profit organization that offers hands on, curriculum-based science, engineering and technology deliverables for youth in Kindergarten through grade 12. Students worked in groups to further their understanding of the circulatory system all while working with

the necessary tools to further investigate the organ that matches the human heart the closest. This hands

-on learning experience is great because students get to learn about the flow of blood through the heart

all while seeing the parts in an up close personal experience.

Grade 8 News Contd.

Gr 8’s Trade Up in Manitoba’s Construction Industry

Grade 8’ss got an introduction to the real world of the construction industry in Manitoba. Career options range from skilled trades to site superintendents to estimators, and more. Manitoba’s construction indus-try represents a billion-dollar workforce, and employs human resource specialists, education specialists, engineers, office workers, accountants, and more. Students used interactive materials to further their un-derstanding of jobs in this field as they move forward in their education all while thinking about potential future careers. Trade Up Manitoba is your one-stop website for information on Manitoba’s construction industry. Offer-ing in-depth looks at both apprentice-able trades, and non-apprentice-able careers within the province. Trade Up strives to help you do your research to take hold of your future and join the workforce today!

http://tradeupmanitoba.com/

The Next Steps in Grade 8

As the Grade 8’s bid farewell to 2019 there will be a lot going on as we inch closer to the midpoint of our school year. This will include the ever-important high school transition process. Once the dates are set, stu-dents will be made aware of the open house dates for all RETSD High Schools along with the application deadlines. Each Grade 8 student will tour our catchment school Transcona Collegiate (TCI). Those who live in an alternate catchment area because of boundary realignment, will also visit their catchment school. Op-portunities will also exist for smaller segments of our students applying for specific programming interests offered within the division. However, we cannot always guarantee that these dates will line up with student’s personal schedules, so we strongly encourage everyone to take full advantage of the open house dates. As we move through the transition process, we will also be introducing students to a piece of career software called “My Blueprint”. This is a powerful tool that will allow students to take full advantage of looking at different schooling and career opportunities that exist in today’s world. It will also provide students to a snapshot into their own personal skillset for career planning and preparation purposes. Students will also take part in the in-school presentations from Skills Manitoba, as well as Trade Up Manitoba. As we continue to work towards the culmination of our school year we encourage all stakeholders to be mindful of the importance of attendance, tardiness and academic performance. We also encourage all households to continue to ensure all information on file is current and up to date in

order to watch for the arrival of information electronically, as we continue to move towards a more sustain-

able world that is not reliant on paper.

Save The Date Grade 8

We are asking Grade 8 students to save this important date during their last and final full week of classes at John W. Gunn Middle School. On Thursday June 25, 2020 the Grade 8 students will come together to celebrate their final year at John W. Gunn with a catered meal and dance. This afternoon luncheon will be held at the Regent Park Banquet Hall. Students will be provided information in the near future about: -Student ticket purchase price for this student only event -Deadline for purchasing tickets -Any dietary/ Food Allergy concerns -Their plans for arrival & dismissal on the day of the event

We want to afford every student the opportunity to take part in this event and share their final experienc-es as a Wildcat. We also know that June can be a very busy and expensive time of the year for many house-holds. As our only Grade level June event this year with a financial cost, we want to allow people the op-portunity to begin to plan for it.

So please watch for the information through the e-memo, our website and the forms we will send home so that no one misses out.

Library News

Our library is busier than ever! Students are enjoying all the new books that are available. We are pleased to introduce new shelving in our library. This will allow us to feature our “New Books” section. Also, keep checking back for other themed displays! Many of our students have been enjoying the 2020 MYRCA books, which are broken into 2 categories: Sun-dogs for grades 4-6 and Northern Lights for grades 7-9. Students who read at least 3 out of the 20 books nominated, along with other Manitoba Middle Years students, will have the opportunity to vote for the 2020 MYRCA winner. Any parents who are interested in checking out the 20 nominees, can go to the MYR-CA website, (www.MYRCA.ca). On Monday, October 28th, all staff and students participated in Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) to cele-brate Manitoba School Library Day. All students and staff read for 20 minutes. Way to go Wildcats! Students are welcome to sign up for the library during the second half of lunch. They can use the space to read, work on assignments, and escape the cold outside! We are pleased to announce we have received a sponsorship from CN for I Love to Read month in February. Stay tuned for many exciting things happening in our library!

Happy Reading!

Breakfast and Snack Program This school year, John Gunn has a breakfast program run out of LAR every morning. Ted's No Frills at 1500 Plessis Road is generously supporting this new program that provides students with a nutritious breakfast. Students can arrive at 8:15 and head to LAR for a healthy start to their day. If your child could use a positive start to the morning, enjoys sleeping in and misses breakfast, consider sending them to the breakfast pro-gram. There’s no cost to participate. Also, a huge thank you to Giant Tiger at 838 Regent Ave for providing us with nutritional snacks for stu-dents in need. If your child needs a snack, they can stop into LAR and pick one up.

Please continue to support these local businesses in our community as a thank you for their kind donations to our school. If you are interested in further supporting either program, please contact Mrs. Surgeoner at osurgeoner@retsd.mb.ca

News from the Art Room

Who are you? What are you? What a big question for a grade 8 student! What would be your answer? What kind of picture would you draw?

Art News Contd.

Have you heard of Día de los Muertos? It’s a two-day celebration in Mexico where the living get to reunite

with their loved ones that have passed away. Grade 7 artists had to study the bone structure of a human

face and then add all sorts of fun, colourful details and symbols connecting to the holiday.

Art News Contd.

After learning about properly proportioned human bodies, grade 8 artists learned about Anime. Adding

those two concepts together, they then got to create an original character. How cool is that? Fire Lady is

an original creation by Ashley H.

For the month of October, artists in grade 6 used all sorts of new information to make a pencil crayon

drawing. First, they learned how to draw an accurate self-portrait. Can you tell who is in the picture? Sec-

ond, students had to use their imaginations to create monsters. Third, these budding artists focused on

their pencil crayon skills, colouring to the edges, and layering for a smooth and even effect. Phew! That’s a

lot to ask for, and these students were up for the challenge!

Environmentally Sustainable Development Committee

With a daily population of just under 500 people, our school community can make a difference in becom-ing more environmentally sustainable. The Environmentally Sustainable Development committee has been working toward getting our school to make more environmentally conscious decisions. This is a new committee this year, so there is no shortage of initiatives for us to implement, a few things that have been done are: 1. Composting in 6 classrooms is diverting 10-12 lbs of wet gar-

bage a day from the landfill. In the spring the composted 2. material will be used outdoors to fertilize plants. 3. We have purchased 300 sets of reusable plates, bowls and

cups. 4. Instructions have been posted near every recycling bin to 5. encourage good recycling and waste diversion practices. 6. Bike locks have been purchased and are being lent out to 7. students to encourage active and healthy transportation. 8. Plans are being made to purchase and increase the number of

plants in our school. 9. A third floor water bottle refill station is going to be installed. Although these initiatives are in the beginning stages, we are starting to notice some positive changes. Over the next few months we will be able to re-examine the initiatives and focus our efforts on continuing to make environmentally sustainable choices accessible to students and staff. We are encouraging a change of habits at school and at home, in the hopes that these ideas could have a ripple effect. Are you able to make some of these changes in your home or workplace?

News from the Gym

New to Middle Years Athletics, RETSD implemented two leagues for our volleyball (and basketball) sea-

son: Developmental Leagues and Competitive Leagues (no longer are teams classified by grade for stu-

dents in Grade 7 & 8). JWG ended up creating 5 teams plus our Grade 6 club program. Our volleyball

season wrapped up with our 2nd Annual JWG Beach Classic Volleyball Tournament! The JWG teams host-

ed two tournaments this year (court and beach) and the Grade 6’s went to ERP for their tournament. All

teams improved their skills and game play throughout the season with a few teams winning a couple of

tournaments! Congratulations to all athletes on their hard work and commitment and to the coaches for

their work and support of our athletes!

Grade 6 Club - Coaches - Ms. Hanuschuk & Mr. Wankling

Developmental Girls #1 - Coach - Mr. Tratch

Developmental Girls #2 - Coaches - Ms. Allford & Ms. Forsyth-Bretecher

Developmental Boys - Coaches - Mr. Trunzo & Mr. Tratch

Competitive Girls - Coaches - Ms. Surgeoner & Mr. Pitt

Competitive Boys - Coach - Mr. Kushnier

News From The Gym Contd.

After months of dedicated hard work and practices the Grade 6 volleyball club headed to ERP on Friday

December 13th for an afternoon of volleyball. Through a series of games JWG’s grade 6 students demon-

strated skill and fair play. They positively represented JWG while having a blast playing volleyball. A spe-

cial thank you to our grade 8 coaches who worked with the grade 6 students as coaches, sharing their

knowledge and love for volleyball.

The tier 1 volleyball team had great success this year going undefeated through the regular season and winning two tournaments. The team did face some adversity but never lost faith in each other. This was demonstrated in the Final of the Transcona Open. The team lost the first set but came back to win the 2nd and force a deciding 3rd set. In the final set, the boys were down 13-5 but scored 10 unanswered points to win 15-13! Despite the adrenaline and thumping hearts, the boys showed great composure and fight and deserve to be called champions!

News From the Gym Contd.

Basketball Our basketball season is upon us and JWG will again, be well-represented! We’ll be offering teams at all levels to students: grade 6 club, developmental (tier 2) and com-petitive (tier 1) teams for girls and boys. At the present time, coaches are evaluating the students to find out where they are best suited. After the winter break, our players will have a “jamboree” evening with ERP to further determine what level our players will compete at. Tuesday, January 7: 4:00 – 5:30pm – All grade 7 & 8 boys; location: JWG Wednesday, January 8: 4:00 – 5:30pm – All grade 7 & 8 girls; location: ERP The team allocation and coaches will be released after the jamboree evenings and the game schedule and will be released around the middle of January, but check the weekly “What’s Up Wildcats” and the bulletin board near the gym, to see when practices are scheduled until the games are finalized! Intramurals We just completed our intramural volleyball season that had many, many students participating! Congrats to all the students who got involved in and played! We are now moving into BUMP intramurals (basketball shooting) and we’ll follow the same schedule as be-fore…(see below) Games start at 11:45am!

ASESSIPPI ALPINE TRIP JWG is again going to Asessippi on February 19 & 2, 2020! At the present time, the trip is full, but students can put their name on a waiting list in case any students withdraw. All deposits will be returned to partici-pants on the waiting list should they not end up going. To the students on the trip, more details will follow after we return to school in January. Should you have any questions, please email Mr. Tratch: jtratch@retsd.mb.ca

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Grade 6,7 & 8 Girls

Grade 8 Boys & Girls

Grade 7 Boys & Girls

Grade 6 Boys & Girls

Grade 6, 7 & 8 Boys