McNews
September 15, 2023
Principal’s Message 
 
Hello Middle Campus Families,

What a delight it has been to watch your children settle into community these past two weeks. We had a fabulous time at Stillwood and were thankful for good weather, a large group of enthusiastic and caring parent volunteers, and fun outdoor activities. It was a gift to be together at camp! Further on in this newsletter, you can watch a slideshow created by one of our parent volunteers to get a better sense of what camp was like.
  
September at the Middle Campus is all about building community and establishing norms that reflect the foundation of our community agreements: Seeking after Christ’s Heart of Respect, Integrity, Service, and Teachability. Do you see that C.H.R.I.S.T. is the acronym to help us remember? In an assembly on Monday of this past week, we reminded students of these agreements and showed them videos about how they are lived out at school. You might enjoy some of the staff’s theatrics. Here are two of the skits:  

 
 
In Ephesians, Paul speaks to the tension between Jewish and gentile believers in the church, reminding them that they all belong and that God wants to use them to participate in what He is building. The same can be said of our Middle Campus community. We are all “fellow citizens and also members of His household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:19) As a staff, we pray regularly that your child would find belonging and purpose here at the Middle Campus.
  
We want you to feel connected to our community as well! Will you join us next week on Tuesday night from 7:00 – 8:30pm for Meet the Teacher Night? It is an important time of learning about your child’s teachers and what you can expect as a parent at the Middle Campus this year. We look forward to seeing you! (Please make arrangements for childcare as this is a parent only event.) 

Thank you for partnering with us this year as we equip your child to joyfully serve Christ in all aspects of life!  

Angela Laing  
Camp Stillwood: Don’t Hold Back 
 
Chris Finch 
RCS Middle Campus Vice Principal of Learning 
 
At the Middle Campus, we once again started the year with a bang through our trip to Camp Stillwood! Despite some challenges with water pressure in our cabins, students, staff, and parents had a fantastic time playing in Creation, building community, and experiencing God in a new context. We canoed, rock climbed, fired arrows, played an Indiana Jones-inspired night game, tested our knowledge through Jeopardy, and pushed ourselves through a variety of wide games. A highlight of this year’s camp experience was using a new chapel space. Our chapel theme this year was “Don’t Hold Back”. Everyone was blessed by exceptional teaching and musical worship as we considered how we are called to give our all to God, use the gifts He has given us, and take risks to reach out to others. We are so grateful for the many parent volunteers who gave of their time to come to camp. Thank you for making this experience possible! Marvin Henschel, one of our parent volunteers, took photos and created this slideshow to capture our memories. We hope that you and your children enjoy watching. Thank you, Mr. Henschel!  
 
 
Thank you as well to Dr. Joanne Yeung, a parent volunteer who took excellent care of students in need of medical attention. 
 
I have no doubt that our time at Stillwood will provide a strong foundation of relational and spiritual growth that will be built on throughout our school year. 
Important Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, September 19, 7:00 – 8:30pm: Grades 6-8 Meet the Teacher Night 
Friday, September 22nd: Grade 6/7 Immunization Clinic (for those who have received forms) 
Friday, September 29th: Orange Shirt Day 
Monday, October 2nd: No School (National Truth and Reconciliation Day) 

Please consult the RCS Calendar, located on our school website, for all important dates throughout the school year. 
Grand Openings

Learning Commons 
The Learning Commons opens on Monday of next week (September 18th) and is a place where students can visit during lunch and after school (until 3:15pm).  

Fly Buy 
The Fly Buy is our school snack shop, open at lunch from 12:35 – 1:15pm. It will open on Monday, September 18th and is a cash-only shop. Please do not send your child to school with more than $20. While we appreciate your patronage to the Fly Buy as all funds go to support special events and purchases for the Middle Campus, we’d like to keep money to a minimum at school. Thank you!  
Staying past 4:00pm?

"Dinner with Mrs. Laing!" In the Middle Campus schedule sent to families in August, you may have noticed a statement at the bottom requesting that all students be picked up by 4:00pm (unless, of course, they are engaged in a school club or athletic activity, under the supervision of a staff member). We love the increased freedom of the Middle Campus where students can hang out a little bit before and after school and parents have more flexibility than they may have had when their children were in their younger years. That said, I have joked with students who are in the building past 4:00pm that they will have to come home with me for dinner. (Today, one of them said she would really like that which was not exactly my intent but very kind nonetheless!) 

Please do pick your children up by 4:00pm at the latest. If this proves difficult on account of an unexpected event, just give the school a call and we will ensure that someone stays with them until you arrive.  

Should your child stay at school past 2:55pm, be advised that devices are allowed after school, there is Wi-Fi access, and students are not actively supervised as teachers are in meetings and preparing for the following day. Most students who stay after school are using devices for gaming, messaging, and watching videos. We want you to be aware of this ‘after school scene’ as you make the best choices for your child and family. Thank you!  
RCS Middle Campus Athletics

Our athletics and teams run similarly to our school’s term system. In each of the three terms, there will be opportunities for middle school students to sign-up or try out (at the Grade 8 level) for different athletic teams. 
 
All schedules for practice and games will be posted and updated on our MC Athletics Calendar, which can be found on our main website, www.myrcs.ca, under the “Calendar” tab. 
Throughout this year, I will be opening the gym up to students during our break and lunch periods as an open gym. Students who may not choose to join a team or may be unable to commit afterschool practices, now have an option and opportunity to play one of the sports listed above. I will speak more about what these clubs and teams are all about at the upcoming “Meet the Teacher Night”. 
 
Parent Volunteer Opportunities
 
If you have any interest in wanting to help and coaching a team at our campus, I would love to connect with you to see how we can possibly make that happen. There is also an upcoming Coach’s Workshop which will be held at Vancouver Christian School on September 18th, 7:00-9:00 pm free of charge. Past or potential coaches are strongly encouraged to attend this event. Please see the invite below and you can RSVP there. 

 
As well, some of our teams will require parent volunteer drivers to and from our school to different schools. If you believe that you may be available to drive your child and some other students potentially sometime this year, please reach out to me via email. 
 
Eric Man