ECOLE NOTRE DAME

4503 Dennie Street
Hanmer, Ontario P3P 1L1
Phone: 969-4411
Fax: 969-4412

Celebrating 50 Years of Education in 2005

    

Welcome To
Ecole Notre Dame

  

Computer Labs

  

Reading Improvement Pilot Project

  

Special Workshops

  

Reading
Challenge

  

Christmas 
Food Drive

  

Mothers Day
Card Contest

ECOLE NOTRE DAME Parents and Students Have A Busy Year Raising Money For Grade 8 Class Trip
Students, parents and even grand parents turned out to help out with the Bake Sale and Craft Sale sponsored by ECOLE NOTRE DAME of Hanmer on Sunday, December 10, 2006. Standing behind the large display of baked goods just prior to the crowds coming to the mall for the day are, from the left: Camille & Adrienne Gaudreau, Laurie Chaput and her daughter, Karissa, Samantha Mercier, Cassie Faye Langlois, and Jade Beaudry. Laurie is the daughter of Camille & Adrienne.
Over at the Craft Table, we found volunteers, Matthieu Giguere and his mother, Janine, along with Anne Fournier and her son, Eric Pigeau.

The funds from the sale of baking and crafts will be put towards defraying the expenses of the annual Grade 7 & 8 trip to Toronto which is scheduled for June 2007. A total of four classes will be taking part in the trip. The fund-raising committee will also be holding a bottle drive on January 4 & 5 as well as another raffle for Gas Cards from Petro Canada and two large gift baskets will be used for a draw later on in the year.

  
Madam Charette's Grade 3/4 Class Enjoys Sub Party For Participating In Mothers' Day Card Contest
  
The smiling faces above belong to the Grade 3/4 Class at Hanmer's Ecole Notre Dame. Madam Lisa Charette, shown in the background, and the rest of the students were treated to a submarine lunch courtesy of the owners of the Hanmner Valley Shopping Centre, Val and Violet Mazzuca. This was their way of saying thanks to the school for participating in a special Mothers' Day Card display at the mall. The class was selected at random by the school principal. You can see the entire mall display by clicking here>>>>.
 
Collecting Coins Is An Excellent And Potentially Rewarding Hobby For All Ages
John Brown, owner of "The Connoisseur", otherwise known among these circles as "The Coin Guy", can be found every month at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre with his display of coins and memorabilia. Coin enthusiasts from around the area, and as far away as North Bay, regularly visit with John to talk, trade and buy collectors' items of all kinds.

Young William Gagne, an eleven year old collector, was one of the visitors to John's exhibit recently. 

William, who is a Grade 5 student at Ecole Notre Dame in Hanmer, has been collecting coins all his life, an interest that was started by his grandfather.

 

John will spend hours talking to visitors about coins.

"Besides learning so much about the history of different countries, this can be a great long-term investment for anyone," he explained while holding up some bills that were worth thousands of dollars. The two 1937 $50 bills in his hand are valued at over $2250 because of their mint condition and the fact that they contain two consecutive serial numbers. "You can imagine how hard it would be to find two bills in mint condition with consecutive serial numbers. The value of these bills will just keep climbing every year, so even if a person buys it now for $2250, you know you will make your money back and much more when you sell it some time in the future."

John mentioned that some people have sold their complete coin set and made enough money to buy a house. This is especially the case for people who start collecting when they are very young, like William.

"The value of coins and bills depends a lot on their condition," he explained. "Many people think the older a coin is the more valuable it is, but that isn't always the case. Coins that are misprints or during years when there were very few of them produced are more valuable. And the better the condition, the more valuable they become."

Many coin collectors explain that they were started on the hobby at a very young age and just kept at it, accumulating interesting coins from different countries and different sets over the years. 

"You would be amazed at how much money has slipped through your pockets over the years," John explained. "Coin collectors get into the habit of examining all of the coins they receive to see if there is anything special about them or if they have any dates that are missing in their collection. Some go to the bank every week to buy rolls of coins and then check the coins to see if they can find any that they can use. Quite often a very valuable penny will be mixed in with the rest and instead of paying hundreds of dollars from a coin collector, you can pick it up at face value from the bank. If you have a set of every single penny that was produced by Canada in the 20th century, you can imagine how valuable that would be to some collectors. And you may be able to build that set simply by checking pennies from rolls you buy at the bank."

Check out the Calendar of Events schedule for the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre to find out when John will be back in the Valley with more coins and stories to tell.

  
 

Student Page Is A Free Public Education Service Provided To
The Schools of Valley East by
Robert Kirwan, B.A. (Math), M.A. (Education)
Independent Education & Career Planning Advisor
Member of the Ontario College of Teachers
His office is located at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre, Hanmer, Ontario
Office Phone: (705) 524-7006       Home Phone: (705) 969-7215