Ranchero’s Wonderful Rhythm

     Milton Randall showed off his impressive drumming skills this Wednesday when he came to Ranchero. He worked mainly with the grade four, five, six and sevens. In a few hours he was able to teach us about rhythm, memorizing patterns and other skills needed to do drumming. Showing us fun and ‘groovy’ rhythms to present to the rest of the school. He also told us about his travels in Africa. He also mixed in dance and humour, making it an all in all enjoyable experience. The primary classes were then entertained by a thirty minute performance, and they even got to join in the conga line! It was a very amazing day filled with lots of fun for all.      -T

Ranchero Artists Shine

For eight dollars, you can buy a pack of eight cards that students from Rachero designed. They’re for sale in the office.

There’s no “I” in “Team”

    On Tuesday February 22, 2011, the girls basketball team played astoundingly at the zones. They won their first game against Grinrod but lost the second to Parkview.

     Mrs. Montgomery, the teams coach, said “Parkview was about two heads taller than us, so whenever we went to shoot, they were right there. We won our last game against Parkview, by a basket, so they deserve to win.  The team has really improved with their passing and keeping up with the game.” She says. “Our team is really quiet, and I think volume comes as you grow up. It did in my case” she jokes. Mrs. Montgomery hopes next year’s team will take first place.

   Everyone in Ranchero is congratulating the girls with the awesome turn-out and we all hope they do just as well next year.

                                 -M

Ranchero Soccer Skills Skyrocket

On February 23 Ranchero students had the privilege of playing soccer with Ezra, a soccer coach.

  During regular P.E. classes, Ezra coached students on basic soccer skills.  Including things like: doing controlled kicks, kicking with both the inside and outside of your foot and blocking the ball from other players. 

 Students were taught not to ‘welly’ the ball, meaning don’t boot the ball across the gym hard enough that it wouldn’t be in control.  As well as teaching skills, Ezra also played some fun games and gave students the chance to actually play some soccer.  It was a fun change to regular P.E. classes and was enjoyed by all.

Service!

      On Tuesday November 16, the girl’s volleyball team played absolutely astoundingly, with an end result of first place in the zones. It has been a long time since the girls team has played so well.

    “I was quite amazed. It was cool how we actually won. And it was a lot of fun.” Says one team member. “I wish I didn’t have to leave early, I missed out on a supposedly amazing game.” Says another. All the girls improved so much, some could barely serve the ball over the net, but now, everyone is so good. They played 2 games each against Parkview, Shuswap Middle, and MV Beattie, only losing the first game.

    “We played so fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our team play so aggressively. Our serves were sensational, and some girls were even daring enough to jump and slide on the ground, just to stop the other team from getting a point!”- Says a team player. To celebrate the outstanding season, the girls and boys team are having a joined party, courtesy of one of the coaches.

     Unfortunately, the boy’s team wasn’t as successful, but they played really well too. “It was cool to watch them play, they can actually volley the ball back and forth, and the girls can’t do that very well.” – Says one viewer.

    Although our fabulous volleyball season is over, basketball is just beginning. I strongly hope both girls and boy’s team’s do just as well, or better than they did in volleyball!

We Day 2010

On Thursday and Friday, The grade 7 students went on a life changing field trip, down to Vancouver. Me to We. Everyone was ecstatic to arrive after the long bus ride, but it was definitely worth the wait.
It was so busy, trying to find the school we were sleeping at. Even there it was crazy! But everyone quieted down when it was time to go to sleep. The expected wake-up time was six in the morning. But even at four thirty there were huge line ups for both bathrooms. One girl says “There was too big of a line at the girls washroom, so after we got the signal from a guy that their bathroom was all clear, a huge group of girls ran in to the boys bathroom, and claimed it as their own. After about a half an hour, a boy walked in and asked if he was in the right bathroom. I laughed so hard!”
There was so many speakers, from Craig and Marc Kielburger , Robin Wizowaty, Ethan Zohn, Phillipe Cousteau, and many others. Bands like Hedley and Bare Naked Ladies played as well. I’m pretty sure I speak for all of the students who attended when I say that we would like to thank the teachers and parents who took the time to come with us down to Vancouver. There were so many inspirational people speaking, all with the goal to change the world.
In the beginning, Craig Kielburger opened with a very moving speech, followed by being joined with his brother Marc. One of the favourites of many was Rev. Jesse Jackson. He got everyone involved with his speech, by getting us to recite an oath. It was so amazing to see Spencer West, he is such an great guy. I can’t believe how, even through the worst of times, he still kept his chin up, and was excited for whatever was coming his way. Ethan Zohn was really cool too. How he won survivor 2002, and used his one million dollar prize to co-found Grassroot Soccer, instead of spending it all on himself.
All the grade sevens are so grateful to be able to experience this trip. I hope we all get to experience it next year as well.

About Us

Madi, now in grade seven, enjoys her weekly Hip Hop dance class. She also enjoys playing soccer, but nothing serious. Her favourite time is when she spends it with her sister shopping, or her brother dirtbiking down to Rosmond Lake. She recently said good-bye to her sister, as she left for a year long trip to Germany, but still she can’t wait to see her over spring break.

Taya, also in grade seven, loves to figure skate with her close friend.  Her favourite colour is purple and spend time with her two ferrets, Maggie and Linus.  She loves going to Pathfinders with Madi and two other Ranchero students.

New Year at Ranchero

     Welcome back to another great year at Ranchero! We hope to keep you updated with news from this small-town school. We have some new bloggers on our team this year! So be sure to look out for new stories coming out soon.

     This year we welcome, with open arms, our new staff members.

     Jennifer Harper is one of our new CEA’s, she has been a CEA for three and a half years. She’s been at Shuswap middle, Jackson, Sullivan and MV Beattie. Jennifer is married to Leon and has three kids, Jessica, Christina and a step daughter, Marisa. She has 25 fish of all different kinds. Jennifer was born in Blamor, Alberta. And now lives in South Canoe.

     Aaron has been in working in schools for four years. At AL Fortune, South Broadview, MV Beattie, Lenwood, and Highland. He has a twin brother, Mathew, and an older brother. Aaron also has a black King snake named Marilyn Manson, a gecko named Housy, a cat named Mission, and a mutt named Shyla. His home town is Kamloops and is now residing in Gardom Lake.

    Mrs. Schipfel is our new kindergarten teacher. She’s been teaching for 16 years. She has taught at Grinrod for two years, Parkview for two years, and Grandforks for 12. She is married to Dave Schipfel , with three children, Victoria, Madeline and Bentley. With a small dog named Cosmo. Mrs. Schipfel was born in Vancouver and now lives in Salmon Arm.

     Mrs. Maurer is our new librarian. She has been teaching for quite a while. She’s taught at Carlin, Bastian and now Ranchero.  She is married to Brian Maurer, with a daughter in grade nine named Brittany, and a snoodle named Sasha. Her home town is in Scotland and she moved to Salmon Arm while she was five! Be sure to check out her cool new library!

   Mr. Rosman is our Division 3 teacher. He has been teaching for ten years. He taught at MV Beattie, Armstrong, Vernon, Enderby, Salmon Arm and England! He is married, has a five year old son and no pets! Mr. Rosman was born in Kelowna and now lives in Armstrong.

    Welcome to all our new staff! We hope you have a great and memorable time in Ranchero!

-MP, TL, MW, SD

Ranchero’s Furry Friend

  You better watch where you’re heading outside, because you just may run into Ranchero’s newest ‘friend’. A couple of weeks ago, a bear was spotted in the compost by our neighbour.

  The police came to check it out but they could not find the bear, Mrs. O’Dell reported. Rancheroo-as our students have nick named him-was thought to have been gone, but he has returned. The bear has continuingly been sighted around our school grounds.  

         Ms Brown has told us to be safe and banned all students from the lower field and forest areas. We are also not allowed to have food outside because it could attract the bear.

      An anonymous source says that, “most people have been taking care of the garbage but not everyone has pitched in.”

    The brown bear was first seen one month ago. “It was a harmless little thing,” said Stef. It is  a Black bear but appears to be brown coloured. It is fairly small, and many thought it was quite cute.

It reappeared last Monday, but students didn’t seem worried.

“I always go hunting with my Uncle,” said a student. “I’m used to seeing bears.”

                                    -M.J, M.W, S.D