Robert W. Zahara Public School
9802 - 93 Street T0H 3C0 Sexsmith, AB, Canada

Tomorrow is Winnie the Pooh Day! To celebrate author A.A. Milne's birthday students and staff are invited to wear clothing with Winnie the Pooh characters or any of the animals featured in the stories. DID YOU KNOW: During World War I, a Canadian soldier named Harry Colebourn made a pet of a black bear cub he bought from a hunter for $20. Named Winnipegor "Winnie" for shortthe bear became his troop's mascot and later a resident of the London Zoological Gardens. There, she was an adored attraction, especially to a little boy named Christopher Robin Milne, son of author A.A. Milne. In fact, the boy loved Winnie so much that he named his own teddy after her.

Our teachers supervise their own classes (or cohorts) at recess. This allows for many impromptu outdoor lessons. Today 4C was learning about Light and Shadows in Science. They examined the size and direction of their shadows and compared that to what they observed yesterday at last recess. We love that they are always learning (while having fun).

Happy Birthday to Sophie, in Grade 5. We hope you have an awesome day and we can't wait to see you (and everyone else) on Monday!

February 24th is Pink Shirt Day. We are showing our support by adding a special pink shirt day page to our store. You can check it out at: https://rwzpinkshirtday.itemorder.com/ The deadline to order from this store is February 7th to make sure they arrive in time.

Are you wearing your red shirt today? Share a pic with us in the comments and let us know your team colour...

The RWZ Spirit Wear Store is open again! Orders will be accepted until February 14th. Today was Team Colour Day and we snapped some pictures of our adorable models wearing some of the merchandise available for sale. You can also arrange for ProSport to put our logo on other clothing if you go into the store. ... There is a separate store with shirts to purchase for Pink Shirt Day. Details coming very soon... https://rwzspiritwear2021.itemorder.com/

Don't forget that tomorrow is Friday which means it is Red Shirt Day. We will be looking for pictures of you in your red shirts to get points for your school team. Look for details tomorrow...

Thursday, January 15 is Team Colour Day.

Just a reminder that our drinking fountains are turned off due to Covid-19 restrictions. Please make sure that your child has a water bottle at school. Lots went home to get washed over the break and haven't made their way back to school yet. We have a few extras that we have been giving out but we are running out...

Good morning! We have five cupcakes for five birthdays today. Happy birthday to: Jaxon in grade 1 Madalyne in grade 3 Olivia in grade 5... And Emma and Katie in grade 6 We hope you all have a fantastic day! See more

Good morning! Birthday greetings for today go out to Olivia in Kindergarten and Alayna, in grade 5. We hope you both have a great day! We are working on the January calendar and will have it out by the end of the day. We are thinking we might need another Pajama Day so we can wear our new Christmas jammies. What do you think?

PWPSD Parents/Guardians: With the upcoming return to in-school classes on Monday, January 11, please continue to monitor your children for symptoms of COVID-19 using the Alberta Health Daily Checklist for Students: https://www.alberta.ca//edc-covid-19-screening-questionair

Good morning! It is Tuesday, January 5th. Birthday greetings for today go out to Michael in grade 1 and Liam in grade 3. We hope you both have a great day. See you on Monday!

We would like to wish Ella, in grade 2, a very Happy Birthday today! Other January birthdays we missed because of the break: January 1 - Isabelle in grade 6... January 2 - Katelyn (grade 1), Lloy (grade 2) and Trinity (grade 5) January 3 - Jase and Anna (both in grade 2) We hope you all had a great birthday! We will be sure to announce all January birthdays on the intercom next week but we wanted you to know that we were thinking of you today! We announced the December birthdays on the last day of school.

Well, we are halfway through Day One of our week without kids and we miss you already. We hope you are figuring out your At-Home Learning material. If you have any questions please email the teacher or call the school. We are here! A reminder that it is the first Monday of the month so we will be having our staff meeting at 2:40 (in case you don't get a response).

RWZ Week at a Glance January 4th-8th Students will be learning from home this week Learning material was sent home before Christmas Break... K-3 Assigned material is designed to be completed in an average of 1.2-2 hours per school day. 4-6 Assigned material is designed to be completed in an average of 2.5-3 hours per school day. If you have any questions or concerns teachers are available via email. All staff addresses can be found here: https://rwz.pwpsd.ca/apps/staff/ Classes resume in person on Monday, January 11th

Mark your January calendars. Jan. 4-8: At-home learning for all students. Jan. 11: In-school classes resume for all students enrolled in in-school learning. Jan. 29: Professional Learning Day / Semester 2 begins

Looking for something for the kids to do while you finish up some last-minute tasks or something you can do as a family? How about an RWZ Christmas Dance Party?! Enjoy the sweet moves (and sometimes fast walking) of RWZ. Merry Christmas! https://youtu.be/OrCiCubl1cQ

On the fifth day of (the week before), Christmas RWZ students and staff made for me a heartfelt Christmas "concert" for our RWZ family. I was worried that this gem may have been lost in all of the posts from yesterday. Our staff and students worked very hard to create their own pieces to share with you. Enjoy the whole "concert" or find your child's class by checking out the list below:... 1C - Welcome 00:01 1B - Movie Trailer 00:09 ECS (Hauser) - 1:13 5B - Jingle Bell Dance - Jingle Bell Dance 4C - 4C's Twelve Days of Christmas - 3:50 3A - Months of the Year Poem - 4:43 2C - Party Dance - 6:00 1A - Favourite Christmas Traditions - 8:00 4B - Reindeer Names Readers' Theatre - 9:59 5C - 13:15 2A - Acrostic Poem - 14:50 6B - Christmas Tree Art - 16:06 4A - Christmas Letters in French - 17:49 5A - Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the Ukulele - 18: 35 2B - Little Drummer Boy - 21:05 3C - Bob, the Goofy Reindeer - 24:07 6C - Mele Kalikimaka on the ukulele - 29:24 Jokes with Jac - 31:30 6A - Merry Christmas (from around the world) - 31:43 ECS (Goodwin) - We Wish You a Merry Christmas - 31:57 https://youtu.be/W_7HqoGi4gE

The kids were excited to see Santa at the school today! I was excited because, I know him!

A huge thank you to all those who donated to Lyndon and Darius Duncan’s Mighty Max fundraiser. The school was able to raise $735 to add to the over $900 that the boys raised themselves! Their dad has promised to match up to $500 so we think they did very well. We are so proud of the way they have stepped up and helped this special little guy and his family. https://www.mightymaxsych.org/

One of our favourite Christmas activities is the RWZ Elf on the Shelf. Even though we couldn't run through the hallways searching for the elf we were determined to make it happen. With the help of 6C, we created clues to lead the kids to the many places that tricky elf could be hiding. Check out the slide show (in present mode) and see if you can find her. A huge thank you to Mrs Badger for being the elf’s personal photographer. https://docs.google.com//1JmOxlPlGfJPUFyZ7diWctm55j-/edit

We weren't going to let a little thing like a pandemic get in the way of enjoying some of our annual Christmas traditions, even if they had to be done differently. Cohorting made our traditional Christmas Concert impossible, but our staff stepped up, and each class planned and recorded something special to share. A huge thank you to all of our teachers, and a special thank you to Mr. Rycroft for putting it all together. So, here it is, the RWZ Covid Christmas Concert. Merry Christmas, everyone! https://youtu.be/W_7HqoGi4gE

On the fourth day of (the last week before) Christmas two angels made for RWZ 480 hotdogs to eat in our Thrilling Christmas Threads (yes, I said 480! )

Thank you to Sophie and her family for their generous donation to our Mighty Max Fund. We will be collecting donations and selling masks ($5) until tomorrow.

Thursday is Thrilling Threads Day so wear your ugly Christmas sweaters and any other Christmas clothing you have. It is also Hot Dog Day. $2 will get you a hot dog and a juice box.

On the third day of (the last week before) Christmas RWZ gave to me An assortment of jolly jammies.

On the second day of (the last week before)Christmas the staff and students of RWZ had a Christmas hat for almost every head.

On the first day of (the last week before) Christmas RWZ gave to me 84 merry masks spread out as far as you could see.

A big thank you to Georgia and the Palfy family for the doughnuts for our staff from Sugared Donut Shop. They are sooooo good. If you haven’t tried then yet you are missing out!

Crazy Christmas Clothing Week continues tomorrow with Terrific Toque and Hat Tuesday. We can’t wait to see what you wear.

Congratulations to Mrs Wilson, Mrs Kirton and the 3C class for winning our RWZ Door Decorating Contest. We were blown away by the creativity and hard work of all of the entries but 3C received the most votes at school and online and were the clear winners. Perhaps it was the live actors that put them over the top...

Don’t forget to vote for your favourite door (see below) by tonight! RWZ Week at a Glance December 14th - 18th Everyone is invited to wear Christmas clothing all week long with a focus on the following:... Monday - Merry Masks - selling moustache masks for Mighty Max $5 Tuesday - Terrific Toques and Hats Wednesday - Onesie Wednesday and Jolly Jammies - Servery on Wheels - Learning packages sent home for January 4th-8th Thursday - Thrilling Threads (sweaters and clothing) - Hotdog Day Friday - Funky Festive Friday (anything goes!) - Servery on Wheels - Last day of in person classes until January 11th

We have five more days together in 2020 so we are going to make the most of them. We are inviting everyone to wear festive clothing all week. For extra fun we have added a theme for each day but please feel free to wear any type of Christmas wear. Tomorrow is Merry Mask Monday and we are going to see how many we can take pictures of and share.

Thank you to the Wellness Committee, in particular Mrs Hammel, Mrs Thompson and Mrs Froehlick, for making us a yummy lunch that we have enjoyed over the past two days. They even made sure to have gluten free, dairy free, and vegan options to meet the dietary needs of some of the staff. In this time of physical distancing it sure felt nice to share a meal and feel more connected.

Don't forget to vote (by liking or loving the image) in our RWZ Door Decorating Contest (below). Also, next week we decided we needed some joy so are inviting everyone to wear Christmas clothing all week long! You may wear anything you like on any day, but 6C has chosen the following themes if you want to take part:... Monday - Merry Masks Tuesday - Terrific Toques and Hats Wednesday - Onesie Wednesday and Jolly Jammies Thursday - Thrilling Threads (sweaters and clothing) Friday - Funky Festive Friday (again, anything goes!) We just wanted to share some joy before we part for the holidays.

This week we had a door decorating contest at the school. The kids were busy planning, designing and decorating their masterpieces. Everyone worked so hard and did such a great job we would like to invite you to help us decide the winners. The kids have voted at school and we will add those votes to your likes here on Facebook. Scroll through and let us know which is your favourite by liking or loving it. We will warn you - it is tricky...

A huge thank you to those parents who were available for Parent Teacher Interviews over the past two evenings. It was great to hear teachers buzzing about the positive conversations they had with all of you. There have certainly been some challenges this school year, but knowing that we are working as a team makes things so much easier. There is no school tomorrow because it is a PD Day for teachers. We hope the kids enjoy their long weekend. Also, get your Christmas clothing ready because we are wearing Crazy Christmas Clothing all next week! See you Monday!

The Mighty Max Movement is spreading at RWZ. Some of Lyndon’s classmates have dyed their hair (and collected pledges) and several kids purchased masks today. All proceeds are going to Mighty Max. We heard a rumour that Lyndon and Darius’s dad offered to match any donations up to $500 so keep the donations coming... For more https://www.mightymaxsych.org/

We have Parent-Teacher Interviews today and tomorrow from 3:30 - 6:30. Parents should have received an email to set up an appointment. If you did not receive that email please make sure to reach out to your child's teacher ASAP.

Hey folks, all buses are cancelled today. As usual, the school remains open. Be carefully if you are driving or walking today.

True to their word, Lyndon and Darius showed up today with some very funky hair for Mighty Max. Willow, in grade 2, decided to join in on the fun by dyeing her hair and bringing in a donation for Max. If you would like to dye your hair or help out we will be accepting donations until December 18th. We will also be selling the rest of our moustache masks and giving the proceeds to Mighty Max. Masks are $5 and are available in s/m and l/xl. They won’t fit our tiniest kiddos but they would fit anyone else. For more information about Mighty Max go to: https://www.mightymaxsych.org/

Do you have any exercise equipment (specifically rowing machines, exercise bikes, ellipses) hanging around your house that you would like to get rid of? RWZ would be happy to take them off of your hands! Contact Rebecca Evarts at the school

RWZ Week at a Glance December 7-11 Monday - Early Dismissal Tuesday - Running Club at lunch recess Wednesday - Team Colour Day ... - Servery on Wheels at lunch - Parent-Teacher Interviews 3:30-6:30 Thursday - Door Decorating Contest - Running Club at lunch recess - Parent-Teacher Interviews 3:30-6:30 Friday - PD Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS See more

Don't forget that tomorrow is the first Monday of the month. School will be dismissed 1/2 hour early for staff meeting!

Two of our students, Darius and Lyndon Duncan are participating in a special fundraiser to help a special little boy from Fairview. They are collecting pledges and passing all the money on to Mighty Max and his family to help pay for his treatment. If you would like to donate or dye your hair contact mom, Michelle. Donations can also be sent to the school and we will pass them on to the Duncans. For more information about Mighty Max check out https://www.mightymaxsych.org/

Andrew Wilson's bus, #404 is cancelled this morning. It will be running this afternoon.Andrew Wilson's bus, #404 is cancelled this morning. It will be running this afternoon.

It is Team Colour Day and the last day to bring in gifts and food for the Sexsmith Food Hampers. Parents are welcome to drop it off and we will make sure it gets put into the correct team colour bins.

Oh RWZ family you have done it again! Our hearts were bursting with pride when we saw all of the food and gifts you so generously donated for the Sexsmith Christmas Hampers. As you know, we are having a friendly team challenge and 5C worked together to count all of the items today. They thought that the Yellow Team had a huge lead but then Logan in 1C showed up with a huge pile of things to put the Black Team in first place. Here are the totals, as of this afternoon: Blac...k - 184 Yellow - 178 Blue - 162 Purple - 105 Green - 104 Orange - 99 You have one more day to send in items. They are being picked up after school on Thursday, December 3rd. It is also Team Colour Day so it will be a fitting day to see which team will win!

There has been a pack of dinosaurs wandering the school and wreaking havoc wherever they go. They are about the size of kindergarten students and have names that look awfully familiar. If you see them please let Mrs Hauser’s class know right away!

We celebrated the beginning of the Christmas season with Grinch Day today. Students were invited to wear green or something Grinchy. It was a fun day and we managed to get pictures of some of our grinches.

And just like that, it’s December! We will be doing at-home learning for the first week in January. Kids return to school on January 11th.

Don't forget, December 1st is Grinch Day at RWZ so wear something green or Grinchy. Let’s show The Grinch we know the meaning of Christmas by giving an item to the Sexsmith Christmas Hampers. We are accepting food items and gifts until Thursday.

Movember wrapped up today at RWZ and the boys were excited to see their fundraising total to date. As of this afternoon, they had raised $2887 for men’s health through moustache mask and ballot sales and online donations. Our students and staff raised over $700 with their voting alone! And who was the winner of the Moustache Challenge? Mr. Rycroft! But the real winners were our school community who got to enjoy the excitement, fun and friendly competition. We are so proud of everyone involved and thank our families for their support.

Grinch Day is Tuesday, December 1st. We invite everyone to wear green or something "Grinchy". What is Grinch Day you may ask? Check out the link below... https://www.grinchgooddeeds.com/about/.

I wonder who will win the Movember Moustache Challenge. Will it be Mr C? Mr Hovdebo? Mr Rycroft? Mr Toews? Mr Warr? Mr Wilson? Or perhaps this new competitor who appeared on the scene last Friday. Maybe we should add Mrs Stredulinsky to the ballot. That is pretty good growth for one day. Last chance to vote tomorrow...

Monday is the last day to vote for best moustache (for a $1 donation) or purchase a moustache mask for $5. We don’t have the teeny tiny youth masks but we have small and large. All money goes to the Movember Movement which supports men’s health.

RWZ Week at a Glance December 7-11 Monday - Early Dismissal Tuesday - Running Club at lunch recess Wednesday - Team Colour Day ... - Servery on Wheels Thursday - Door Decorating Contest - Running Club at lunch recess Friday - PD Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS! See more

Tuesday, December 1st is National Grinch Day AND Giving Tuesday. What a great day to wear something green or Grinchy but also to celebrate the season by bringing something for the Sexsmith Food Bank and/or a gift for the RWZ Toy Box. All donations will be going to the Christmas Hampers which are distributed to families in our area. Our little foodbank supports Sexsmith, LaGlace, Teepee Creek, Clairmont and Bezanson so they need a lot of help. Do you know of a family who needs a boost this Christmas? Please send a message and we will make sure they are included on the list. We also have a generous family looking to supply a Christmas dinner to another family. If you know of someone (or if that family is you) please let us know. All referrals are confidential.

Do you have children's puzzles at home that you would like to find a new home for? We would love to take them at RWZ. Please send them to school and ask your children to drop them off at the office.

We are working on our plan for what school will look like for our families during the week of January 4-8. Our plan is to send home what you will need before Christmas holidays so you can schedule the work when it works best for your family. More details will be coming. As always, we are here for you

Don’t forget we are collecting new toys, games, puzzles, gift cards, etc. to add to the Sexsmith Christmas hampers. New gifts for children and teens to go into our RWZ Toybox would be very much appreciated. We also have a challenge going on while we try to Fill the Foodbank Which colour team will bring in the most items by December 3rd? We will have to see...

The Movember Moustache Contest has been kicked up a notch with some serious campaigning at RWZ. All of the competitors created videos to convince students and staff to vote for them. Ballots can be purchased for a $1 donation or donations can be made online at: https://ca.movember.com/team/2325135 Mr Toews promised his class he would paint his moustache if he raised over $500. True to his word he showed up with a purple ‘stache today and vows to keep it that way for the rest of the month. If he raises more money the hair and eyebrows could be next... Movember wraps up on November 30th. Who do you think deserves the title of Best Moustache? Comment below with your choice.

UPDATE: We expect to share this document by end of business today, Thursday, November 26.

All right, RWZers. Our lovely little town needs our help. Covid 19 has caused the cancellation of the Reverse Santa Parade and many other holiday collection events, which has significantly impacted the supply of food and gifts for the community Christmas hampers. We are asking our families to help out if you can. We will be collecting non-perishable food, money, gift cards and new gifts to pass on to the Sexsmith Food Bank. The deadline to bring in items is next Thursday, December 3rd.

The mild temperatures and 99 new Krazy carpets made for some great times today at RWZ. Even the two girls on crutches managed to join in on the fun with a little help to carry the crutches down the hill and the carpets back up. We have some very kind kids at RWZ!

Tomorrow, November 25th is Team Colour Day! If you ordered school clothing you can wear that, but any shirt in your school colour will work.

Just a reminder that the loop in front of the school is for dropping off and picking up students only. You may not park there and leave your vehicle. If you would like to walk your child to the door or meet them at the door please park in the arena parking lot. We have parents who are unable to drop off their children because vehicles are remaining in the loop for extended periods of time.

RWZ School Council will be meeting online this evening at 7:00 using Google Meet. If you would like a link to attend the meeting please email Ms McKeith at [email protected] or send a message to this page. A reminder that all parents are members of the RWZ School Council and encouraged to attend.

Reminder: No school tomorrow, Friday, November 20. Students and staff, have a safe and enjoyable long weekend!

Our school clothing order has arrived! If it is a Christmas gift and you DO NOT want your items sent home with your child please contact the office at 780 568 3823.

Disney Day was sooo much fun today.

It is Disney Day at RWZ and 3B was set because they all received Mickey Mouse stickers from a classmate. Thank you for your kindness Regardt (and Mom and Dad)