September 18th,
2008.
Dear Parents/Guardians,
This year Markville S.S. has embarked on a new endeavour called the Markville Boys Club. This new initiative has come about as
a result of current education research and data collected within our own school
where we have found that a significant number of boys are not achieving to
their potential. A number of
researchers have suggested differences in motivation between boys and girls,
and misunderstanding of these differences by educators, as possible reasons for
the gap in performance between male and female students.
All grade 9
boys have been organized into teams. Each month, boys will participate in
activities that are meant to keep them motivated and engaged about school. Each
team is led by a senior mentor who will serve as a role model and personal
contact for each member of their team. The club is organized by 12 members of
our staff and two officers from the York Regional Police.
This month,
all grade 9 boys have the opportunity to participate in an overnight camp. This overnight experience will be held at Camp
Robin Hood from Saturday September 27th
at 10:00 a.m. until Sunday September 28th at 11:00 a.m. At camp
boys will be participating in a variety of team competitions and outdoor activities.
They will be sleeping in tents and will be provided with lunch and dinner on
September 2tth and breakfast
on September 28th. The cost of this camp for each camper is $20.00 and has been heavily subsidized
by a provincial government grant and through donations from local merchants.
We are
requesting that parents/guardians drive their sons to camp which is
located just north-east of Markville SS on Reesor Road (map is attached). Please notify the school if
you are unable to drive your son to camp. We ask that permission forms and money (cash or cheque
made out to Markville SS) by returned to Markville SS by Thursday
September 25th to the student
store in the atrium. Mentors and/or
teachers will be there each day to collect permission forms and money in the
morning and during the grade 9 lunch period. Attached you will find a packing list, map, permission form and
return envelope.
If you have
any questions please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Bos
or Debbie Linkewich at 905-940-8840.
Sincerely,
The Markville Boys Club