News From the Past Month...

During the month of February, we celebrated so many special events...Education Week, Dart Outdoors, Pink Shirt Day, Staff Appreciation and Valentine's Day, as well as the Olympics! It was busy, and we were very thankful for all the support of our families.  Please know how grateful our staff is for the incredible outpouring of kindness for Staff Appreciation Week. We are very grateful for every card and note, coffee and nourishment. We would like to acknowledge Ms. Heather Tobin, our School Council, and all who worked together to ensure our staff experienced a very special week. We would also like to acknowledge staff members who helped organized all the wonderful events this month, our Olympic Committee for their hard work, and our Education Week Committee. Despite several weather interruptions, it was a wonderful month at Vanier. 

Staffing Changes

We have  also been very fortunate to have  MUN students with us this month to complete internships with us. Joey Champdoizeau and Emilie Dominic, we thank you all for your work while you were in 6F and 2F!

Reporting Period for Term 2 and Early Dismissal

Term 2 ends on March 13. Report cards will be issued on March 18. Family-Teacher Conferences will be held on March 19. We will dismiss students at 11:15 on March 19 to accommodate conferences. Please be sure to sign up for a conference with your child(ren)'s teacher(s) when that information is circulated by email on March 12.  For families who require translators, we are working with the Association for New Canadians and will hold these conferences on March 24.

Reminder re Sending in Food to Classes

Please be mindful that we do not distribute treats sent in to classes to celebrate birthdays, etc. Please check with a classroom teacher if there is a need to send something along for a particular event. Normally, this is not something that we expect families to do, given there are religious and dietary choices that many families have, and it puts a teacher in the awkward position of having to manage this in front of the children. Thank you for considering this. 

Important Data and Feedback: Family Surveys

Please see below from Education and Early Childhood Development regarding an important Family Survey that you are being asked to complete at this time. This survey gives us valuable information to help shape our school in the future. We appreciate your responses and review them carefully. 

School Development Surveys are conducted annually to gather feedback from students, staff, and parents/guardians to inform the school development process. The survey results will be provided to your child’s school and used with other data to identify the school’s strengths and challenges. Your child’s school will then create and implement a plan to build on successes and address areas of challenge.

The survey is anonymous, which means that we cannot connect your survey responses to you. We encourage everyone to participate so that we have the most accurate representation of family perceptions at your school.

The Family Survey is available online. Please complete the survey by March 20, 2026 by clicking on the following link: https://ca.research.net/r/SDFamily2526EN. If you do not have internet access contact your school.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the school development surveys, please contact: 

          Allan Johnson at 709-729-7831 or allanjohnson@gov.nl.ca or

         Patricia Emberley at 709-729-6850 or patriciaemberley@gov.nl.ca

Thank you for your participation and for being a valued member of your school community.

Sincerely,

Doug Pippy

Director, Evaluation and Research Division

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held March 9-13 in our Library. Classes will be assigned two time slots - one to view the books/items available,  and one slot to purchase books. We will also have a Family Night 4:00 - 6:30 on Thursday, March 12.  Watch your email for further details from Ms. Gallant! And big thanks to Ms. Gallant for all her work on the Fair!

KinderStart Sessions

Our next KinderStart Session will be on March 27. There will be no school for regular Kindergarten students on this day due to our KinderStart session. The final session  will be held on May 1.  For any students who are age 5 by December 31, 2026, these sessions are for you! Please contact us if you have not received information on the session dates and start times.

Outdoor Play

March 20 is the first day of Spring, however we know that our weather is variable and we will likely have snowy and raining conditions during March and into April. Please continue to dress for the conditions daily and have your child keep extra clothing at school in case a change into dry clothes is needed. We often have to call home for students who need a change of clothing when if they had extra socks, pants, etc. at school this could be avoided. Thank you for your help!