After hearing the devastating news of the magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti, the Global Affairs Committee decided to take action and raise funds for the victims of the disaster. The support from our Grammar Community has been overwhelming. Students throughout the school have organized events raising more than $5,500 to date. One student, who remains anonymous, donated his entire Christmas money - $100. There has been story after story illustrating the selfless generousity of our students and their families. Among the events, there has been PJ Day, Crazy Hair Day, a Coffee House, Fun Fair, various Contests, general cash donations and more. It has been about more than global community service. It's been about heart.

We encourage everyone in the Grammar community to support our students as they continue to raise as much as they can for the nearly three million people affected by this disaster. Together, we can make a difference.

To view photos of the Middle School's Help for Haiti activities
click here.

Both Prep Three classes combined to present "Les Trois Petits Cochons" (The Three LIttle Pigs) for parents and visitors this morning. This is the first play of the AIM program in French, and allows the students to put all their new oral skills on display in a familiar story. Narrators, pigs and big bad wolves all performed splendidly, and the students demonstrated their singing and dancing abilities as well by performing the song and dance "Qui a peur du mechant loup?".

They will be finishing up some written work in the next few days and then an entire portfolio of work will be sent home to be shared with parents. Bravo, tout le monde!

Mme. Henderson

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Thanks to all teams and coaches for an excellent Tournament! Great fun was had by all and sportsmanship was at its finest!

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A special thanks to Kimberley Turner for excellent photos.

February is "Bring a Friend to School" Month!

Many of our families know someone whose child would benefit from the great opportunities we offer to our students here at HGS. During the month of February, we are inviting our students to give their friends a first-hand glimpse of a typical day at Grammar. The visiting students will spend a day "shadowing" their friends, attending classes and meeting other students. This opportunity is for students who may be considering HGS for next year and who you, our parents and students, would be pleased to welcome to our school community.

If you would like to bring a friend to school, arrangements must be made through Ann Marie Kent, in the Admissions Office, 431-8550 or amkent@hgs.ns.ca. We will do our best to accommodate all requests, and will ensure our classes are not overwhelmed with visitors on any particular day.

I hope you will take this opportunity to show your friends our wonderful school community.

Blayne Addley, Headmaster

Congratulations to Oliver Bjornsson M5-E who held off strong competition from David Baldridge M2-W and Richard Waller M4-D to defend his school title in the Great Canadian Geography Challenge. Oliver will now compete in the provincial championship, to be held at SMU on April 10, 2010. Rounding out the competition were the representatives from the other homerooms: Tara Sverko (M3P), Alex Peapell (M3W), Jake Megaffin (M4W), Ankur Gupta (M5M), and Mahmoud Ahari (M5T-Z). Thanks once again to judges, Mr. Laffoley and Mr. Ellis, and to our fine time-keeper Megan Sutton.

See how you would have fared in the competition by trying some of these questions:

Which country has its northern border with Panama?

Which provincial flag includes a bison?

Chad was formerly a colonial possession of which European country?

What is the term for a line joining points of equal temperature?

What is the modern name for the city of Byzantium?

Look at the end of the Newscast for the correct answers.

Teresa Woodford, MS Social Studies, History & Geography

To view photos of the event
click here.

This year, the Halifax Grammar School’s senior musical will be “Urinetown”, an original off-broadway production. This year’s performance opens on February 25 and continues through February 27 in the Meinertzhagen Theatre, Tower Road Campus. This is an uproariously funny musical, directed by Andrew Aven Gillis. It is a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold. Urinetown is written by Greg Kotis. The music is written by Mark Hollmann and the lyrics are co-written by Hollmann and Kotis. For this year’s cast members, click here .

Tickets for this year’s production will go on sale February 5, and are available from either ASC or TRC Receptions.

The Canwest qualifying spelling bee took place amidst the festivities of the Middle School Fun Fair on Thursday, January 28th. The finalists represented grades 5-8, and they will all be awarded house points for their admirable performances. (Could you spell "subterranean" in middle school?)Despite some impressive competition, M5 student BJ Spurr was the ultimate winner and will be nominated for the upcoming regional competition. Good Luck, BJ!

On Thursday, January 21st, the Atlantic Conference of Independent Schools (ACIS) welcomed Dr. Gabor Mate to speak at a public lecture held at Saint Mary's University. More than 500 people, both from the independent school community and the general public, attended. Dr. Mate spoke about the parent/child relationship and how parents can be the primary influence in their child's life. Judging from the questions asked, books sold and post-lecture discussions this lecture was thought provoking and many parents left with ideas to incorporate in their own family situations.

Friday, January 22nd was the professional development day for the teachers in the independent schools. The topics covered during the day were: Peer orientation and The Stress Disease connection. The teachers found the sessions to be valuable and of benefit to their own lives and teaching profession.

Ondra De Jager,
PAC Co-Chair
ACIS Parent Committee

Fast approaching is the Senior's "Grammar School Garage Sale" on Saturday, February 6th form 9am to 2pm in the TRC Meinertzhagen Theatre.

Headgirl Priya Koilpillai and her team of senior student and parent volunteers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of your donations for their sale. Some examples may be: dishes, linens, toys, games, books, clothes, sports gear, furniture, C.D.'s, collectables, just about everything! They are hoping to raise enough money to purchase a couch for the Senior School, something that will be enjoyed for many years to come. Let's be sure to help support their initiative by giving all our no-longer-used paraphernalia that's just gathering dust and taking up space in our homes. The success of this venture depends greatly on our donations!

Also, with regard to this sale, if you have some time this coming week to help prepare the goods for sale, set up the day before or sell the day of, you may contact: Priya Koilpillai by phone at 835-0604, or email pkoilpillai@hgs.ns.ca or Terry Anne MacNaughton at 465-6951 (home), 449-5715 (cell), or email at tamacnaughton@hotmail.com

Any amount of time would be greatly appreciated!

Anything not sold will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada & The Canadian Diabetes Association of Canada.

Thanks!

Terry Anne MacNaughton , Co-Chair PAC

The Robert Mayhew Curling Team competed in the Canada Winter Games trials the weekend of January 15-17. The team was successful in winning one of two spots which makes them eligible for the play off round, to be played in November 2010. The team's goal is to represent Nova Scotia at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax in 2011.

Dr. J. Pemberton Cyrus, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Associated Universities, Faculty of Engineering at Dalhousie University spoke with a small group of interested senior school students on Tuesday, January 19 about pursuing a degree in Engineering and possible careers in this field. He spoke extensively about the many types of engineering and what exactly is entailed in each area, as well as career options. It was a very informative session.

Thank you very much to Dr. Cyrus for taking the time to come to HGS and speak with our students.

Alumni and parents interested in participating in a career information session should contact Laura Brock at lbrock@hgs.ns.ca Areas of interest include: medicine, commerce/business, liberal arts education.

Next PAC meeting is this coming Tuesday, February 2, at 8:30a.m. in Mr. Wiggin's classroom (TRC at top of stairs). Please join us to share in the planning of upcoming events for our children.

Tuesday, February 16, PAC is once again hosting the Staff Appreciation Luncheon in the Meinertzhagen Theatre. SAL chair, Karen Bezanson and her team are busy with a myriad of preparations for this feast held to honour the hard working and dedicated staff of Halifax Grammar School. Imagination and creative spirits have been singing with fresh ideas to surprise and delight all in attendance.

Terry Anne MacNaughton, PAC Co-chair

Entrance Assessments for Grades 5-12 will be held on the following dates:

January 30
February 27 (also Scholarship Testing)
April 17
May 15

Entrance Assessments for Grades 1-4 are scheduled individually by appointment with the Admissions Office.

Campus Tours are available upon request. We are still accepting applications for Junior and Senior Primary, although space will be filling up quickly.

For more information on the application process, please contact Ann Marie Kent in the Admissions Office, 431-8550, amkent@hgs.ns.ca

The Halifax Grammar School's Annual Giving campaign is off to a strong start! We have received a number of generous gifts from our HGS community of parents, alumni and grandparents and we are thankful for their heartfelt donations; Please, click here to view a current list of donors who are contributing to the Grammar Experience. If we have missed you, please contact the Development Office at 423-9312 to be mailed a donation form. Donations are also accepted online at www.hgs.ns.ca.

For news about our Annual Giving Campaign click here.

click here to donate online.

Headmaster Blayne Addley will be hosting alum gatherings next month in the following cities.

Calgary ~ Saturday, February 20
The Raw Bar
Hotel Arts
119 12 Avenue Southwest
6:00 to 9:30pm


Los Angeles ~ Saturday, February 27
At the home of Jeffrey Wolman’79
10640 Rochester Avenue
6:00pm


The Annual Alumni Dinner & AGM usually held in January has been postponed. A new date will be set by the end of February. To read more alumni news, click here.

The Usborne Book Fair is taking place in the Prep Library on Wednesday, February 3 and Thursday, February 4. We still need people to fill time slots on Thursday from 1 to 4pm and from 5 to 8 pm. Wednesday's times have been filled. Thank you to those parents who have already volunteered their time. If you are able to volunteer please contact Ondra dejager at Ondra.dejager@gmail.com.

The December Winter Warmth campaign that collected clothes and toys for Bryony House was a success! Thanks to all the generous donations, we were able to fill a van with clothes and toys! Our efforts were very much apprecated. Thanks a lot!

Student Exchange Opportunity, Summer 2010: A family living in the Alsace region of France is interested in having their daughters participate in a summer exchange with two families from HGS, for a four-week period, during July or August. If you are interested in finding out more information please contact Admissions Officer Ann Marie Kent at 431-8550 or admissions@hgs.ns.ca.

We have lots of great HGS gear to beat the cold! Click here to view our fun, fancy flyer!

January 24-30: S2 Quebec Study Trip

January 30: Entrance Assessments, 9-11:30am. Call admissions at 431-8550.

February 2: Last Day to Register for Parent/ Teacher Interviews.

February 3-5: Parent Teacher Interviews - please check calendar for school schedules.

February 6: ACIS Swim Meet

February 6: Senior School Indoor Yard Sale

February 11: Annual Middle School Science Fair for M3 to M5 will be held during periods 5 and 6.

Answers to the Geography Challenge questions:
Colombia
Manitoba
France
isotherm
Istanbul

What’s your reaction to this issue of our e-newsletter? The Grammar Newscast welcomes your ideas, thoughts, and comments. Your feedback is important to us. Would you like to submit an article? Send your comments and submissions to us at communications@hgs.ns.ca