PRINCIPAL’S ADDRESS:
Hello Irwin Families,
What a beautiful start to October. The warm afternoon weather and the sunshine means that our lost
and found has many jackets and sweaters in it. Please remember to label your child’s clothing so we
can help these items return home.
We would like to give a big thank you to the Parent Council and all of the volunteers that made our
Thanksgiving Feast such a success. What an incredible way to come together, build community and
a beautiful location to celebrate and be thankful. If you are new or you missed volunteering but would
like to know how to get involved, you can reach out to our school council chairs at
[email protected].
Our Terry Fox Run raised over $2000 this year. We celebrated this week with extra recess and the
dunk bucket – where students soaked the teachers. Thank you for your generous contributions to the
Terry Fox Foundation.
Parent Volunteers – We welcome and greatly appreciate parent/guardian volunteers. If you are
interested in volunteering for school programs/activities/events, you must have a Vulnerable Sector
Police Check on file. We recommend these are obtained early in the year due to potential backlogs. Please see the office for further information.
Please make every effort to have your child arrive before the bell at 8:40am and pick up after the bell
at 3:00pm. This is to ensure they are participating in the full instructional program. If your student will
be away from school for any reason, please call our safe arrival line at 705-636-2232 or 705-635-
1661 before the beginning of the day so we know your students are safe and accounted for.
On behalf of the staff, have a great October. We look forward to connecting with you.
Trudi MacKinnon
Principal
Emily Schaefer is thrilled to be teaching music, dance, and drama to our grade 2-8 students this
year. As a student teacher here last year, she is a familiar to Irwin’s students and thankful to get to
return to Irwin each week on day 5 this year. If you see her, please say hello as she would love to
meet you.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
9th IEP’s go home
12th Thanksgiving Monday NO SCHOOL
14th Soccer Fun Day at Irwin
15th Basketball game VK Greer at Irwin
19th School Council virtual meeting 7:30pm
20th Basketball game Saint Mary’s at Irwin
22nd Basketball game Pine Glen at Irwin
23rd Take me outside day, last block
27th Basketball game Irwin at HPS
29th Grade 7 first round of vaccinations
29th Basketball game Irwin at Riverside
30th Halloween costume day!
BASKETBALL:
Our Irwin Eagles are back in action as the basketball season kicks off on Thursday,
October 15th. In our first game, the Eagles host the visiting VK Vipers. Congratulations to all our
players; we are looking forward to a great season!
Mr. Felhaber and Mr. Maxwell
CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING:
Our cross-country running season has just wrapped up! Congratulations to our 26 students
who participated and ran this year. We had 23 students who attended the Regional Meet at Riverside
running against the fastest students in our region. We had 14 students in the top 10 this year, which
was a new school record! Congratulations to all of our athletes for an outstanding season!
SOCCER TEAM:
Our grade 6/7 soccer team will be participating at “Soccer Fun Day” this Wednesday October
14th (rain date the 20th) here at Irwin. 7 teams from across the Huntsville area will be competing.
Thank you to our Parent Council for providing a BBQ lunch for these athletes. We wish the team the
best of luck at their upcoming tournament. Mr. Y. is super proud of all of the players on the team and
students who will be volunteering for this special fun day of soccer.
PARENT COUNCIL:
Hi Irwin, and Happy Fall!
The Parent Council held their first meeting a couple of weeks ago, and positions were voted for this
school year.
Chair: Patti Blundell
Co-Chair: Joanna Marrelli
Secretary: Becca Birnie
Treasurer: Tracey West
Hot Lunch: Joanna Marrelli, Lynda Peterson, and Haylie Boothby (co leads)
Breakfast Club: Lynda Peterson and Rachel Reid (co leads)
Thank you everyone for your volunteering this past month. Really appreciate the staff support for the
Meet the Teacher BBQ and the Terry Fox Run.
We also just had our Annual Thanksgiving Feast, and it went incredibly well. Served 168 staff and
students, with 20 volunteers! Thank you all for your help and making this big event continue to
happen year after year.
Our next virtual meeting is going to be held on October 19th at 7:30pm. We try to keep them between
30 – 60 minutes long.
If you’d like to join our meetings or are interested in volunteering with parent council please send us
an email at: [email protected]
We hope everyone enjoys this beautiful season!
MENTAL HEALTH:
Hi everyone! For those who don’t know me, my name is Korri and I am Irwin’s Mental Health
Counsellor. This year I hope to continue to share tips and resources with you to support your
child(ren)’s well-being via the monthly newsletter.
September has offered us a time to reconnect with our school community, review our prior learning
and settle into the school day routine. Routines provide predictability in our busy days, which creates
a sense of safety and security for us all. Routines for children can foster a sense of confidence as
they learn to take on predictable tasks and responsibilities independently. These little
accomplishments in their days reduce stress, build a sense of pride and autonomy and often support
the development of essential life skills.
Routines are good for our mental health.
SMHO has prepared a parents guide to supporting your child’s wellbeing which includes many tips for
establishing a routine- or renewing those you already have in place. Check it out!
Until next month,
Korri
SPOTLIGHT ON STAFF:
Mrs. Schaefer
What is the best book, podcast, or album you have consumed recently? I am currently
(re)reading my favourite book, “Everybody, Always” by Bob Goff
What is one small morning habit that makes your day better? A small morning habit that
makes my day better is having some morning quiet time
Dog, cat or neither? I don’t have any pets – but I do enjoy pet sitting cats!
Ms. Mackinon
What is the best book, podcast, or album you have consumed recently? In the summer I
love to read fiction books. This summer I read ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ by
Margaret Atwood.
What is one small morning habit that makes your day better? Tea – I drink lots of tea.
Dog, cat or neither? We have both a dog and a cat at our house.
