The end of 2023, well the weeks blew by like a storm on the prairies! Quickly and not without leaving a lasting impression! The month kicked off by asking families and community members for any small yard sale donation items they would like to get rid of for our Kids Can Shop. There was an overwhelming response and folks were happy to declutter their closets. Many wonderful items were donated, including extra gift bags, and wrapping supplies and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who donated. This fundraiser has been existing in our school for many years and has been one of the most popular events. Students can shop for their whole family for only $5 and monies collected from KCS go towards local charities. The excitement builds once boxes begin to be unpacked. Thank you to Miss Krahn and her ¾ class for turning the library into the KCS store. They did a wonderful job setting all the treasures out in an organized fashion. They also assisted other grades, helping them carried the selected heartfelt treasures. (We also wanted to add that we do apologize if your gift looked familiar…. yes, that has happened. LOL)
The monies raised from this event, $232.00, went to our local Christmas Cheer Board.
Two days later, our tummies were full of a plentitude of turkey, dressing, and all the fixings at the annual Onanole Parent Group Turkey Lunch Fundraiser. The OPG along with many parent/family volunteers went to great lengths again to prepare a wholesome meal for our school and community. Thank you to all the families who either cooked a turkey and/or donated items to this event. The students and staff of OES went before lunch to take part in the feast then it was open to the public at lunch time. People within our community and neighboring communities attend this fundraiser, thank you to everyone for supporting this event.
In addition, on this day of the Turkey Lunch, we had the privilege of having Mr. and Mrs. Rousseau spend the day with us here at Onanole School. They delivered an incredible and informative presentation on Inuit Culture. Each class learned about how connected the families and community are to their culture, the wide variety of animals you would find in the arctic, transportation, tools, clothing, hunting, and more!! Students even had the opportunity to build an Inukshuk out of antlers to take home. We learned so much. It was a fantastic day spent with them.
Mr. Archie Campbell from the Erickson Legion Branch #143 presented certificates to the students who placed either first, second, or third in their entered categories. Congratulations to Haven for placing second in Jr. Color Poster category, Jayden for placing second and Braxtyn for placing third in the Jr. Black and White Poster category, Becks for placing first and Isla for placing third in the Intermediate Color Poster category, Shya for placing second and Cedar placing third in the Intermediate Black and White Poster category, and to Meadow for placing first in the Jr. Poetry category. It is always so nice to have the Legion members here and we thank Mr. Campbell for coming in.
Our winter concert, Legend of Polar Mountain brought together an abundance of talent from the four pillars of the arts; visual arts, drama, dance, and music! The students all did amazing with their unique roles and made the songs so memorable that I was singing them in my head for weeks!
In our learning community the staff all contributed their personal strengths to making the magic of the night all come together! Caitlyn Clark supported the adorable little polar bears that opened the show for us as well as supported our students backstage. Micayla Krahn choreographed our stunning performance and brought the words and meaning to life through creative movement along with Pam Ryznar leading our students with her beautiful vocals and leading our group practices that built excitement and confidence. Scott Stephenson dedicated time and practice with staging and lines, working behind the scenes, even moving mountains for the rest of us without ever being asked! Literally and figuratively! Tanya Robinson and Ms. Silverthorn worked together on costuming and stage props and the night wouldn't have been complete without those amazing cookies that Tanya baked for you all!
In the process of learning about life in the snowy Arctic we were told that the most important values in the Inuit culture are built around family and community. In the cold North everything you do, every talent you have is meant to be shared with the whole community. If you are a good hunter, you thank the animal for giving its life to feed the people of your community and you share the abundance with every elder, every person, every child until you are left with the equal share meant for you.
Every member has something to contribute, and no one is forgotten in this cultural spirit of connection.
We hope that the students nourished you with abundance of song and dance that filled you up with joy, so much so that it overflowed into the spirit of your holiday season! Onanole Elementary wants to celebrate the incredible value that you yourself bring to this community. You matter and we are so grateful that we have the opportunity to help our children grow up believing in the power of community!
The last week of November we started our fundraising efforts for the Onanole Elementary School 50/50 Fundraiser. The efforts for the three weeks tallied a total of $2,520, which raised $1260.oo for our school. On the night of the concert the winner of the 50/50 Fundraiser was drawn and we would like to congratulate Mackenzie Mason, an alumni of Onanole School. Thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket to support our school. This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and it would not be successful if not for the support of our families and our community.
On the last day before we broke for the holidays, staff cooked a bountiful helping of pancakes for students. Once we were done weighing ourselves down with the flapjacks of goodness, we broke off into our spirit groups and enjoyed the stations planned by Mrs. Tyschinski and grade 7/8 students. The stations consisted of cookie decorating/coloring pages, Christmas craft, Christmas Just Dance, charades, make your own elf, and gym games. The afternoon concluded with each class doing their own thing.