It was a fantastic night at the 2021 Christmas Concert! Fireworks to everyone involved!

All scheduled practices in the gym are cancelled for today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday) due to the school Christmas Concert on Wednesday.

We’ve all been there. Your child can’t find their coat/hoodie/left boot/lunchbag, and they just know it is gone forever! Chances are, it is in our lost and found. See anything you recognize in the pictures above (click on the image for a larger view)? Ask your child to see if it belongs to them. All items are on display (ready to be reclaimed!) in the front lobby outside the office. Small or more personal items (keys, eye glasses, electronics, etc.) are held in the office.

Items left unclaimed after a certain period of time will be donated to a charity or other worthy cause.

A few items to share:

• 50/50 Holiday Draw
  • Please get your tickets back to school ASAP! If you have unsold tickets please bring them back to school as we have other students waiting to sell them. Draw date is December 10.
• Term 1 Report Cards/ Parent Teacher Interviews
  • Parent teacher interviews will be held on Thursday, December 9, from 12:30-6:30pm.
  • Students will be dismissed at 11:21am on that day, with a regular bus run.
  • Parents/Guardians will have the option of choosing a phone call or a video conference using OPTIS (Online Parent Teacher Interview Scheduler). OPTIS will be available starting on December 3, at 2:30pm.
• MDJH Christmas Chaos 2021: 12 Days of Christmas at MDJH

• BUSES at the end of day
  • School buses have the right of way at all times.
  • At the end of the day starting at 2:00 until the buses leave, there is no vehicle access to the back of the school. School buses have been instructed to pull ahead and block traffic so there are no vehicles moving around the school while there are so many students exiting the building at once.
  • When buses move to leave the drop-off area ALL traffic must stop to allow the buses to exit the parking lot.
  • Please do not pull out in front of a bus.
  • Please ensure you STOP at the stop sign (at the end of the drop-off area) and allow buses to have the right of way.
  • Please keep everyone safe and respect the tremendous job our bus drivers do.
• Pencils and other school supplies
  • Please check with your children to determine whether they have adequate supplies required daily at school. At this time of the year, many students come to class without something to write with. If you could periodically check with your children to ensure they have everything they need for class, it would help teachers start class on time without delay.
• School crosswalks
  • Crossing guards have noticed that students have been occasionally running across the cross-walk in front of the bus, wearing ear-buds as they cross, or generally not paying attention. If your children use this crossing area after school, please remind them that to ensure their personal safety, it is important to focus and pay close attention to the signals given by the crossing guard.
• Adopt-A-Senior Program
  • We are still collecting donations for the Adopt-A-Senior Program. This is an important annual event, as the gifts we send may be the only ones certain seniors get this year. Please send in your donations to your children’s homeroom teachers. For more information, see this post to the website.

The December Newsletter is here!

Click here to read it!

Open tryouts have started. Any female or male player in grades 7 – 9 attending MDJH are eligible to try out. You should already be registered with a minor hockey association. If you are not and wish to try out see Mr. Squires.

The cost is $50.00 for all four (4) open tryouts. This MUST be paid prior to stepping on the ice. Cash or cheque made payable to Macdonald Drive Junior High. Players must wear all required equipment (including neck guards).

Interested players are asked to sign up in the lobby by the gymnasium. Dates are listed below. Should a player have a conflict with the tryout schedule they should see Mr. Squires.

COVID -19 protocols at Jack Byrne Arena require masks entering and exiting the rink. Dressing rooms are at the zamboni end of the rink.

• Tuesday, November 30th 3:00 – 4:00 PM @ Jack Byrne Arena
• Tuesday, December 7th 3:00 – 4:00 PM @ Jack Byrne Arena
• Tuesday, December 14th 3:00 – 4:00 PM @ Jack Byrne Arena
• Tuesday, December 21st 3:00 – 4:00 PM @ Jack Byrne Arena

Due to unforeseen circumstances there will not be any Chartwell’s service today.  Sorry for the inconvenience. The cafeteria will still be open for students who have brought their lunch.

Congratulations to the Grade 9 Boys basketball team, who won the first ever Northpoint Fall Classic Championship!

Congratulations to the Grade 9 Girls volleyball team, who won the Top Tier 1 bronze medal!

Lastly, congratulations to Sawyer L., who represented MDJH at the Canadian National Cross country championship this weekend!

Way to go, Grizzlies!

• Report Cards
  We will not be printing Report Cards for this reporting period. Parents/Guardians are asked to sign into PowerSchool to see the most up to date marks and comments. Please contact natashawellon@nlesd.ca or andreatilley@nlesd.ca if you need your PowerSchool login information. Inserts for Math 7 and alternate courses and programs will be printed and/or emailed home. Marks will be updated by December 3.
• Parent-Teacher Interviews
  Will be held on Thursday, December 9, from 12:30-6:30pm. Students will be dismissed at 11:21am on that day, with a regular school bus run.
• OPTIS Interview Scheduler
  To schedule parent teacher interviews, OPTIS Online Parent Teacher Interview Scheduler will be available on our school website on December 3, at 2:30pm. Parents/Guardians will have the option of choosing a phone call or a video conference using the scheduler.
• BUS TODAY
  • Effective November 26, 2021, there will be possible bus delays/detours for routes traveling on Pine Bud Avenue due to construction and road closures in the area. These detours are expected to be in place until end of day today, November 26, 2021.