The local police shared some Hallowe’en safety tips with the students in our school district.

• See and be seen. Make sure drivers can see you. Wear reflective clothing or place reflective tape on the front and back of costumes and clothing. Make glow sticks part of your costume and carry a flashlight.
  
• Are fake swords, knives and guns part of your costume? Make sure they look fake, but remember, some people still may not be able to tell the difference.
• Safety in numbers. Walk in groups and stay together. 
• Stay on the outside. Never enter a house and only accept treats at the front door.
• Use crosswalks whenever possible. Visit houses on one side of the street at a time and cross the street only at intersections or at marked crosswalks. 
• Save your treats. Wait until you get home before sampling your treats. Though tampering is rare, a responsible adult should check out all treats and throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items.

It’s the Chinese New Year and the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. And all over the world, wherever there is a Chinatown, the festivities are a colourful display of dragon dances, lantern festivals, feasts and of course firecrackers! This is the year of the snake and if you were born in 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 or 2013 you are also a snake. Snakes are determined, wise and intense. Which Chinese zodiac animal is your sign? What qualities of that animal do you possess?

It will soon be summer and the students are starting to think about swimming, camping and travelling with their families. It has been an a wonderful experience blogging with my students. To date our class blog has had over 3,000 unique visitors from 80 countries.

I would like to encourage all the students in Division 7 to keep up with their reading over the summer. If you can, join the reading program at the local public library.  A chapter book is a great thing to take along on your family vacation. Reading is the single most important factor in the success of a student at school. So many of the different subject areas involve being able to read with a good level of comprehension. I want to wish everyone a safe and happy summer break and good luck to all the students next year in grade four.

For over 50 years NORAD has tracked Santa for children on Christmas Eve. The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

On December 24th visit the NORAD website and see where Santa is on Christmas Eve and when he will be visiting you in Canada. There is also the Countdown Village where children can visit Santa’s helpers at the North Pole and play fun Christmas games. Below is a video of highlights of Santa’s 2010 journey.

This year October 31st was on a Monday. In the afternoon we participated in the annual costume parade which involves going in and out of every classroom in the school. There were some great costumes and it was clear that everyone had put a lot of thought and time into creating them. This year when the students went trick-or-treating the temperature was cold, but the sky was clear. The evening finished with fireworks at the school.