Astral Drive Junior High School 238 Astral Drive, Cole Harbour, ns b2V 1B8 Telephone: 462-8700 Fax: 462-6047

February is Registration Month in the Halifax Regional School Board and it will be extended this year due to the Halifax Canada Games. Students currently in grade 6 will register for grade 7 in their elementary schools and grade 9 students will register at ADJH for grade 10 at Auburn High. If a student would like to attend a school other than Auburn Drive High, parents are to obtain an Out of Area Request form from our school. These forms have to be filled out and submitted in person to the school of choice no earlier than April 1^st, 2011. School principals will make their decisions and inform parents by June 30, 2011.

For parents who are interested in registering children for the Late French Immersion Program (grade 7, 2011-12), we will be having a Parent Information Meeting on February 2^nd at 6:00 pm in rm. 172 at ADJH. This meeting will give parents the opportunity to get an overview of the program and to ask questions of the French Immersion Staff and students. This meeting is not intended for parents who currently have students in the Early Immersion program at Astral Drive Elementary. We will have a meeting for all grade 6 parents later in the spring.

For current F.I. students at ADJH, I will be sending home a letter later asking parents to indicate their intentions for their children for 2011-2012. If anyone is planning to withdraw from the program, we have to know in order to have adequate staffing in place for September.

If you have a child beginning grade Primary next year, you should register him/her at your community elementary school. The HRSB requires that you provide birth certificates for students entering Primary; students must be five years of age as of December 31, 2011.

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B. Forsyth, Principal

Parents are reminded to please observe signage when dropping off and picking up students. There have been vehicles backing into and blocking private driveways on both Astral Drive and Lakeshire –please be respectful of our neighbors. Please observe all traffic signs to ensure our children remain safe. Please do not block or drop your children off in school driveways or driveways of private homes.

The snow, ice and street conditions have created additional safety concerns. For the safety of all students, we ask drivers to refrain from using these unauthorized areas at arrival and dismissal times. If you are coming to the school to pick up a student, for an appointment or illness, please park on the Lakeshire side. Thank you. More information, including a map of designated parking areas, is available on the school website.

Also, due to safety concerns and winter temperatures, we request that children are not dropped off or sent to school before 8:10am. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our students as safe as possible

Parents are reminded to call messages regarding student absences and lates to the following number:

The Guidance Department would like to invite you to attend a special event as part of The Parent Information Series being held at our school on Wednesday, March 2nd at 6PM. Dr. Stan Kutcher is an internationally-renowned expert in the area of adolescent mental health and a national and international leader in mental health research, advocacy, training, policy, and health services innovation. Dr. Kutcher uses his considerable expertise building awareness and knowledge about mental health in young people through the development of programs that address adolescent mental health promotion, education and research, locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Kutcher is a nationally and internationally active speaker, reviewer and technical consultant in psychiatry and mental health. We welcome your questions. If you would like to submit a question for the presentation, please forward them to jzelios@hrsb.ns.ca or dransome@hrsb.ns.ca and we will request that Dr. Kutcher address the question during the evening.

A Parent Report with results from the CAT4 assessments that were administered in October, 2010 is being sent home with this newsletter. If you do not receive this report, please contact Mrs. Bona at 462-8700 ext 0 for a copy.

Now that the regular flu season is here, we would like to remind everyone to continue to protect themselves against illness by washing hands in warm soapy water, coughing and sneezing into shirt sleeves, and most importantly, staying home if you are feeling sick.

The Halifax Regional School Board takes great care when making the decision to alter the normal operations of schools in the event of severe or inclement weather or other exceptional circumstances (loss of water or heat, extended power outages, etc.). Decisions on school closures and/or bus cancellations are posted on the board’s website at www.hrsb.ns.ca , on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HRSB_Official, recorded on 464-INFO (4636) and communicated to all local radio stations.

For your information, Astral Drive Junior High is a member of the Auburn Drive Family of Schools. In the event that busses are cancelled, classes at Astral Drive will be held as usual. While we have only a handful of bus students, parents must use their own discretion with regard to sending their children to school. An occasion might arise when school will be cancelled mid-day. In such instances, students will be dismissed to their homes or to a location pre-determined by you, unless you have identified otherwise on the school registration form. If you are interested in learning more on how decisions regarding closures and cancellations are made, visit http://www.hrsb.ns.ca/content/id/1137.html .

Yearbook

Grade 9 students who are interested in having a baby grad photograph included in the yearbook are asked to please bring a snapshot with their name and homeroom listed on the back. These should be handed in to Mrs. Kavanaugh by February 1^st.

The boys’ basketball team travelled to PEI on Friday January 14th to compete in the Paul Nogler Invitational Tournament at Stonepark Intermediate School in Charlottetown. The boys played very strong defensively and showed excellent teamwork throughout their four games.

Each team was awarded a Player of the Game. Astral’s players of the game were: Fares Diab, Charles Hart, Andrew Beaulieu and Collin Cluett. Andrew Beaulieu also won tournament All-Star, and Kellan Duke won Most Valuable Player for the tournament. The team received compliments from referees and tournament organizers for their behaviour on and off the court. This is the second consecutive year the boys have won the Paul Nogler Tournament. The team hopes to return to PEI next year to defend their title.
Game scores were as follows:

Astral vs. Summerside: 57-40 Astral vs Pugwash : 70-47

Astral vs Stonepark: 68-52 Astral vs Whitney Pier: 57-22 (Championship game)


Fantastic Friday Phone Calls
Fantastic Friday Phone calls for the Week of October 29^th:

Aaron Godfrey Jonathan Mason Jacqueline Dunn Peter Opra Gloria Bullock

Rachel MacVicar Chris Hamilton Emily Copeland Maggie Slaney

Noah Attwood Shawn Heisler Megan Colborne Patricia Gemmell

Jonathan Adams Sarah O’Neil Victor Lamoureaux Ryan Hipson

Mitchell MacVicar Heather Tan Sarah Mason Brett Picco

Autumn MacDougall Bianca Toulany Jacqueline McPherson Jessica Leclerc

Josh Swain Rachel MacVicar Kristin Myers Matthew Arnold

Nicole Collier Jared Hamilton Haley Cote Gavin Barro

Amy Jones

Meghan Sullivan Lauren Chase Devyn Holmans Makela Rodriquez

Sophie Vautour Sherri Patterson Caitlyn Parker Gloria Bullock

Deanna McPhee Kieran Walker Savanna Hackney Erika Ellsmere

Charles Hartlen Alyssa Hiltz Derek Degaust Megan Gosse

Chris Barrett Colton Richardson Bailley Fraser Corey McMillan

Josh Ballard Sydney Carroll Kim Dietz Kathryn Pumphrey

Andrew Mosher Andrea Creer

Jacob Swan Gloria Bullock Morgan Robertson-Tran

Justin Bruce-Sheppard
Fantastic Friday Phone Calls for the Week of December 17^th:

Nick Waldorf Umara Hansen Nick Zalipyatskikh Colin Cluett

Sarah Mason Mairin Hogan Emily Chian Bradley MacMaster
ACADEMIC AWARDS

TERM 1 – 2010 / 2011
PLATINUM ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT – Students in this category have an A in every subject on their Term 1 Report Card.

GOLD ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT – Students in this category have A’s and one B on their First Term Report Card.

SILVER ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT – Students in this category have A’s and two B’s on their First Term Report Card.

BRONZE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT – Students in this category have a minimum of five A’s and have passing grades for all subjects on their First Term Report Card.

GRADE 7 ACADEMIC AWARDS

PLATINUM Nicole Boutilier John David Brown Hannah Bruce Jillian Conrad Allyson Cruickshank Andrew Furlong Kassandra Kelbratowski Kristin Myers Andrew Noel Christina Torrealba GOLD Kyle Armstrong Holly Bellefontaine Nicholas Belliveau Justin Boutilier Sydney Carroll Dawson Copeland Brendan Cove Kelsey Hagen Hannah Leonard Thomas Nickerson Samuel Norton Benjamin Wright

SILVER Katherine Budden Gloria Bullock Gregory Connolly Andrea Creer Brett Crossley Ryan Hipson Haley Knudsen Victor Lamoureaux Kylie McDonald Timothy Noye Laura Pedersen Morgan Robertson-Tran Rachel Ross Dylan Shears Dylan Stead Sarah Weir

BRONZE Adam Cameron Robert Campeau Lauren Chase Nicole Collier Jordan Conrad Emily Copeland Bailey Currie Erika Ellsmere Cooper Emin Nicholas Fairbairn Bailey Fletcher Megan Gosse Christopher Hamilton Umara Hansen Nicholas Hofmann Kaitlyn Jones Ryan Leslie Jessica Lowe Bradley MacMaster Rachel MacVicar Jonathan Mason Marie Mason Andrew Mosher Chase Murphy Sarah Murphy

Victoria Parker Cecilia Payne Mykala Ransome Makela Rodriguez Shelby Ryan Claire Sollows Claire Walker Sarah White

PLATINUM Andrew Beaulieu Emily Campbell Madison Campbell Mairin Hogan Jillian Johnstone Michael MacLeod Sarah Mason Jenna McNutt Angela Mosher Hannah Perry Kathryn Pumphrey Meghan Sullivan Joshua Swain Sophia Vautour Richard Walmsley Stephanie Walmsley Brent Wilkins

GOLD Leah Campbell James Creaser Katelyn Graham Alexa Johnson Rachel Kent Emily Langille Tomas Lockerby Lee-Ann Martin Jordane Poulin Alison Purcell Jordan Sollows Andrew Wallace

SILVER Andrew Beaton Noah Connolly Cameron Dalzell Haylee MacCallum Jenna MacLellan Benjamin Myrer Holly Prest-Smith Matthew Rafuse Thisuri Ranepura Josh Roberts John Siteman Rachel White

BRONZE Joshua Collins Madeline Connors Joshua Dort Joella Fletcher Jared Hamilton Nicholas Haverstock Amber Horton Joel Ingram Connor Longaphy Autumn MacDougall Kerri Mason Micala Melanson Kirsten Millar Nicholas Monk Amanda Murnaghan Nicholas Naugle Rachael Peters Sarah Richard Brett Richards Mickayla Robar Emma Sencabaugh Holly Tanner Nicholas Waldorf

GRADE 9 ACADEMIC AWARDS – in descending order of average mark

PLATINUM Jacqueline McPherson Clara Long Claire Richardson Mackenzie Carr Allison Banfield Bianca Toulany Izabella Opra Emily Hudson Cassandra Lockerby Bailey Pedersen Maegan Jones Jordan Torrealba Leigha Dort Kristen Robinson Alison MacKenzie Alexander Cooze Alyssa Hiltz Peter Opra Sarah Curwin Delaney Henderson

GOLD Morgan Edwards Allison Burke Amy Jones Lauren Crozier Daniel Branescu Olivia Raiche-Tanner Noah Attwood Kennedy Decker Megan Colborne Ranelle Abi Daoud Gavin Barro Hanna Sisco Matthew Campbell Melissa Wamboldt Amanda Hiltz Cody Stead Jondavid Chambers Owen Craig Peyton Barney Kellan Duke Joy Chiekwe Jenna Martin Katey Carroll Brecken Phillips Alison Kinch Patricia Gemmell Martha Campbell Amelia Bruce Scott Graham Christopher Morash Megan Baxendale Hunter Dolomont Sarah O’Neil Mitchell MacVicar Colton O’Shea-Garnier Justin Miller Olivia Henwood Alison White Taylor Thibault

SILVER Samantha Bell Shannon Barry Roman Bengert Brandon Davis Logan Tansley Heather Tan Arden Lausch Stewart Fortune Jeffrey Lewis Nicole Conrod Shelby Gowan Kieran Walker Kassidy Avis Brandon Doucette Zachary Hurley Jessica Weir Adrienne Irvine Brendan Lawlor Jana Zorychta Liam Mason Kenneth Norton Allison Fraser Derek Mugridge Chloe Budd Abby Stevenson Ryan Fraser Matthew Arnold Bailley Fraser Tomasz Hines Colton Campbell Nicholas Barrett Savanna Hackney Jessica Horne Austin Bevin Jacqueline Dunn Kearah Davis

BRONZE Julia Lester Fares Diab Jayde MacDougall Liam Sheridan Nicholas Kiley Laura Alvear Steven Renaud Morgan Bentley Angela Melissa Brace Daniel Kiley Kyle Pyke Jeffrey Jorgensen Liam Chisholm Caitlyn Tobin Grant Arnold Mark Hagen Ryan Mitchell Kristen Hall Zachary Smart Devin MacDonald

ADJH SCHOOL CALENDAR