Klaassen Corner

Thursday is courier day here at the school and it is on that day that we get to see Gord, Black Gold's courier and a certified ray of sunshine. Yesterday Gord brought with him a concrete donkey wearing a Raiders sweater; a souvenir from my other school. The donkey will find a home in Thorsby for the rest of the year as last week the decision was made to have me stay in Thorsby until the end of the year. It has already gained a Sabres toque and mardi gras beads! Just another reminder of something I enjoy seeing in our students, learning and growing while still maintaining that inner life that provides us with our base.

There is a lot of learning and growing going on in Thorsby! From a basketball-style poetry bracket, trivia in the gym at lunch, kindness jars in the office, Math problems of the week, graduation fundraisers, basketball games and ski club nights the school is an organism unto itself and a fabulous one at that! At its base, I feel that the public education system is one that is called to level the playing field for everyone by providing the same opportunities to all. While we are not perfect in this regard, we are striving along with our students and we appreciate your support as we do so! Thank you!

Have a great weekend! If you have a chance take a moment to make a meal with your child and send a picture of it to Mr. Feil for nutrition month!

Respectfully,

Justin Klaassen

We are currently working on getting all of our students signed up with myBlueprint. An online program that supports students as they follow a comprehensive education and career planning process. All students initially complete a few surveys and are provided with possible occupations that fit with their learning style, personality, interests knowledge and motivation.

I recently completed the surveys and my personality type came out as INFJ as you can see in the image! I guess I was meant to be a counsellor! After completing my surveys my suggested occupations came up I was able to follow links to guide me on how to enter into said occupations and any required post-secondary education! It is a powerful tool and one that is worth taking a look at with your child!

Post-Secondary Information Session Links

Athletics

Basketball

Senior Girls have their final for the Tri County League on Monday, March 6 in Breton at 5PM. If you are interested in watching, show up to Breton to cheer on the girls.

The Junior Boys played a playoff game on February 28 in Beaumont. They had a good season this year and we are looking forward to having them come out and play again next year!

This year, Thorsby Junior Senior High is hosting the 1A Girls Basketball Zone Championship. The tournament is taking place on March 11 from 9AM - 5 PM. Thorsby's first game will be at 10:30AM.

If you are wanting to watch some competitive basketball or just want to come out and cheer on the Thorsby Senior Girls team, please come to the school and be supportive.

When - Saturday, March 11 (9Am - 5PM)

Where - TJSHS

What - Senior Girls Basketball Zone Championship

Badminton

Badminton season is just around the corner. We will be starting practice right after basketball season is done and those practitces will take place at lunch. Junior High School students can compete in a one day tournament at various venues in Leduc (depending on what their age category is) and the Senior High students have the opportunity to compete in Edmonton at the Saville Center in April. The goal this year is to get as many people wanting to play badminton as possible. If your child is interested, tell them to come and check it out.

The Wellness Beat

Over the course of semester two, we will be looking at different areas of wellness throughout the school. March is Nutrition month and so we will feature some ideas around that area. Here at TJSHS, Mr Feil has taken on the Wellness role and is trying to get as many people involved as possible. Keep your eye on the Wellness Beat section for Wellness ideas and information.

Nutrition

One of the things we will be doing this month is another food bank drive. I know we did one around the holidays and it was extremely successful, but people in need aren't just in need during the holidays. We can help by running another food drive and donating what we can to those in need. The rules will be the same as last time. People can donate items to the food bank and those items will be assigned points. The house with the most points at the end will gain 3 house points, second most will gain 2 house points, and third most will gain one house point. Last time it got pretty competitive and people did an amazing job bringing in whatever they could.

Random Nutrition fact

Did you know...

The liquid portion of the yogurt that sometimes separates on top, also known as the whey, contains calcium, potassium, and protein. Mix it in! Don't drain it away.

Give it a try!

Cook together as a family. Teach your child how to cook something new. Could be as simple as a grilled cheese or as difficult as coconut panna cotta. Take a picture of you all hard at work and send it in. You can send your pictures to jonah.feil@gshare.blackgold.ca.

Trivia Challenge Days

The first 3 rounds of Thorsby's Trivia Challenge has been completed.

This week the students were tasked with getting the most amount of answers correct in a sports trivia challenge. Questions like "which team does Lionel Messi play for" and "which country has lacrosse as its national sport" were asked.

So far we have seen a lot of knowledgeable kids and even some teachers take part.

Congratulations to Austin from grade 7 for being the top student participant for the Sports Trivia and Congratulations to Mr. Heise for being the top teacher.

3 on 3 Basketball Intramural

TJSHS has been running a 3 on 3 Basketball Intramural at lunch for the Junior and Senior High kids. We had 5 teams sign up this year and the tournament has now reached the finals. The Spicy Cucarachas are taking on The Rizzlers in a lunchtime showdown on Monday, March 6. Who is going to take home the championship and earn house points? Who is going to be taking on the eager staff team who has been waiting in the wings this whole time? We will see on Monday.

Good luck to both teams and thank you to the other 3 teams for making this intrmural a blast!

Parent Council

Our Parent Counsil meets monthly at the school. All parents of students enrolled at our school are welcome to attend.! Our next meeting will be held on Monday, March 13 at 7:00 pm.

What's coming up at THS

March 13: PD DAy No classes

March 13: PTA Meeting

March 14: Grad Retakes

March 20: Ski night

March 27-31: Spring Break, Schools closed

Learning Commons

Mrs. Raugust spends her mornings in the Learning Commons. She is continuously adding to the collection and welcomes suggestions for new books. She is your go-to for textbooks and novels. Come on in whenever you'd like, she is even open at lunch.! If you need a book in the afternoon, she will gladly help you out!

The Learning Commons is also open in the afternoon for online classes. It's a nice quiet place to get your work done!

Subway and Hot Lunch

Subway subs are available for $5.50 every Wednesday. Orders must be placed and paid for before 10:00am on Monday. Order forms are on your child's Powerschool.. Parents can now order for more than one week at a time. Order forms are available through the end of April.

This year, the Elementary has once again invited us to partake in their hot lunch program. Menu items are posted weekly in our weekly news memo. All items are $4.00. We will also accept TES lunch tokens. Hot lunch coupon forms are now available on Power School. They are available to purchase singularly or in groups of 5, 10, 20 and 30.

Ski Club

We are so excited to have Ski Club up and running again! We will have 6 ski nights and then finish up the season with an overnight trip to Marmot1 All of the forms are up on Power School. Our students will ski on March 6 and then the next ski night will be on March 20.

Forms for the Marmot ski trip are up online. A minimum $120 is required to save your spot. We can only take 27 students.

Grad News

Check out all of the info you need for Grad 2023 on the website or click this link.

Grad retakes are on Tuesday, March 14

Grad parent meeting on Tuesday March 14 at 6:00 pm

Our grads are selling VIP Meats as their latest fundraiser. Orders are due March 15 and will be delivered on March 21. Talk to one of our grads to make a purchase.

Bus App

Not sure if your child's bus is running? Download the app! Details on how to do this can be found here:

Yearbooks

2021-2022 yearbooks are available in the Office for $40. These can also be paid for on your child's Powerschool account. You can also preorder the 2022-2023 yearbooks online for $40.

Spirit Wear

We have teamed up with Entripy clothing for our Spirit Wear. They have an amazing selection and prompt service. Delivery is free with all orders over $99. Ordering instructions can be found here. The home page for our Entripy shop is here.