Richmond Food Bank 2024

Mini 12 students visited the Richmond Food Bank on Tuesday, April 30th to learn about Richmond’s food needs and volunteer towards a great cause. They donated $1500.00 from our Potluck proceeds and brought 308 non-perishable food items, collected by the Mini Council in the past two weeks.

Many thanks to Ms. Mar who organized the trip and our chaperones who made it possible. See more pictures in our gallery and read more about the students’ reflections to find out what they thought about the visit!

Timberline 2024

Photos from the Mini 9 spring trip are coming in live courtesy Mr. R. Young and Ms. S. Barnes. See our photo gallery for more! Additional photos of this three-day trip will be uploaded when received.

[Edit] All pictures of the Timberline trip are now uploaded for your viewing pleasure. It looks like our Mini 9s had quite the trip! Be sure to read their post-trip reflections to learn about their thoughts on this three-day excursion.

Addendum: Mini School Food Drive

Correction: The Mini School food drive concludes next Friday, April 26th (not May 26th as previously reported). The earlier post has now been amended.

Update: The Mini 12 class will engage in community outreach with the Richmond Food Bank on Tuesday, April 30th. They will be volunteering at the food bank and will be learning more about our community’s food needs.

Ms. C. Mar and the Mini 12s will also present the $1,500.00 raised from the December Potluck.

McNair Mini School strives to give back to our community. We thank you for your continued support!

Mini School Food Drive

Mini Council invites all Mini School students, parents/guardians, and staff to participate in the Mini School food drive! At McNair Mini, we want our students to give back to our community and learn the value of putting others before ourselves.

We are looking for non-perishable food items to donate to the Richmond Food Bank Society. This coincides with the Mini 12s volunteering at the food bank later this month. Monetary donations may be sent directly to the food bank–students will be handling physical food items only.

All Mini classes have a designated location to bring their donations:

Mini 8s	Mr. Young	Room 142
Mini 9s	Mr. Lui	Room 136
Mini 10s	Ms. Mar	Room 137
Mini 11s	Mr. Sangra	Room 123
Mini 12s	Ms. Mar	Room 137

The food drive begins Monday, April 15th and concludes on Friday, April 26th. Mini Council thanks you all for your support!

Whistler 2024

Mini School students are at Whistler! Thank you to all parents/guardians who helped get everyone up and about early in the morning for us to get here on time.

See the latest pictures in the Photos section of the blog. More will be uploaded as they come in!

WaterSafe Certification

Mini School staff would like to remind all parents/guardians and students that Mini School trips will require a valid WaterSafe certification. Grade 8s, 10s, and 12s have water-related activities in the Spring, while all grades will be around or in water at Strathcona 2024.

With some certificates set to expire soon, Mini School staff has reached out to affected families to alert them of the need to recertify. Please see the latest WaterSafe schedules below to book a session:

Spring Break (March 18th-30th, 2024)

Spring (April 6th-June 16th, 2024)

Completed WaterSafe certificates (or equivalent) may be scanned and e-mailed to Ms. N. Blair and Mr. R. Young. Thank you to all parents/guardians for your diligence in this matter.

Grade 7 Applications

Grade 7 applicants to McNair Mini School for the 2024-25 school year can expect to learn about their application status on Thursday, March 14th. Applicants will be contacted via e-mail around 3:30 PM to learn if they are accepted or have been placed on the waiting list.

We thank everyone for their patience as staff sorts through interview notes, teacher references, report cards, and other required documentation.

Mini School Applications

Mini School applications are now closed. Thank you to all parents and students who submitted their applications to join McNair Mini School! The team is excited to conduct virtual interviews and meet our potential recruits!

All applicants should, by this evening, have received an e-mail with their interview date, time, and Microsoft Teams meeting link. The virtual meeting can be conducted in a browser or in the native Teams app. Applicants are advised to sign in at least five minutes prior to the interview start time and to set up in a quiet space. Please ensure both the camera and microphone are in working order.

Please contact Mr. B. Lee if there are further enquiries.

Whistler 2024

Whistler 2024 is official! Mini School is pleased to announce that we are returning to a two-night format for the annual skiing/snowboarding trip. Whistler this year falls on Wednesday, March 13th to Thursday, March 14th.

In the coming days, Mini classes in second semester will complete a digital Whistler information form and receive three handouts pertaining to the Whistler trip–there is a letter home to parents, a district field trip letter, and a consent/waiver form. Both the Whistler information form and the consent/waiver form need to be completed and submitted/returned by Monday, February 5th. Please see below for the digital versions:

Student Form

Letter Home to Parents

District Field Trip Letter

Consent/Waiver Form

All information about the trip, from itinerary to emergency contacts, may be found in these handouts. The packing list for this two-day trip is linked below.

There is an optional 30 to 60-minute information meeting for all parents/guardians and students to review the educational goals, trip itinerary, modes of transportation, and inherent risks/mitigation strategies. This virtual meeting, held at 7:00 PM on Thursday, February 1st on MS Teams, is a great interactive forum for any questions you may have. All other questions may be directed to Mr. E. Liao.

Two-Day Equipment List

MS Teams Meeting Link

We thank all parents/guardians for your continued support of Mini School programs and out-trips. Mini School staff members look forward to another memorable time on the mountain pushing our boundaries!

2024-25 Applications are Live!

McNair Mini School 2024-25 applications are now live! We invite all interested grade 7 students and parents/guardians to apply to join us beginning September 2024. Enroll in a program that emphasizes the well-rounded student in academic excellence and outdoor education!

MINI SCHOOL APPLICATION

Click above for more information about the information meeting (Thursday, January 25th from 6:30-7:00 PM), online application form, RSD transfer applications, and non-Richmond resident applications.

All applications are due before 5:00 PM on Friday, February 2nd. Don’t delay! Apply today!