Elmdale School

In any workplace or school, differences of opinion or conflicting viewpoints may arise. At Elmdale we have a simple belief - Expect Respect - that guides our interactions with each other and with our community. This is a basic expectation that we also expect from our community. If you have a question or concern, we ask that it be addressed to the correct person in a respectful manner. Following the divisional Positive Problem Solving Protocol, questions or concerns should first be raised with the person most directly connected - often this is your child's classroom teacher. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of that respectful conversation, then you may choose to escalate that concern to the school principal.

We find that respectful dialogue is done with lots of listening to each other. And when both parties involved enter a conversation in this way, we can resolve most questions, concerns or conflicts quite quickly. We do not tolerate aggressive behaviours, verbal abuse or threats of any sort. These behaviours usually escalate a situation rather than resolve it.

Our first responsibility is to our students, and this is a role we take very seriously - and is done with regular communication with our Elmdale School families and community.

We look forward to continuing to work together to build a positive learning environment for our students, staff, and Elmdale families.

Mr. Vince Hiebert

Principal: Elmdale School

Email: vhiebert@hsd.ca

Instagram: elmdalehsd

Just a reminder that students should never be dropped off along the fence in the bus loop. This creates a potentially unsafe situation for students, as well as blocks access to the bus loop for our buses.

If dropping off your children, please make sure to park in the family parking lot and walk them across the bus loop.

Thank you for helping keep our students safe!

Roots of Empathy classes are taught in one classroom each year at Elmdale. Roots of Empathy is an evidence-based program that teaches to improve caring, sharing, helping, kindness, including others and understanding feelings. In addition, the lessons focus on topics such as communication, reading social cues, courage, hope, resilience, and understanding differences.

Roots of Empathy lessons involve a family and a baby, and students make connections to the baby and how the baby expresses feelings and communicates. Our baby and his parent will come to visit the class approximately every 4-6 weeks throughout the school year so the students can see them grow and develop.

We are looking for a baby and parent combo! If you or someone you know had a baby between the months of May-August 2023 and are interested in being our Roots of Empathy family, please contact our school counsellor, Mrs. Tara Klassen at tklassen@hsd.ca or 204 326 3325 for more information.

This month our focus is on building Empathy. All the Umbrella Skills can be built with practice and this month we are working to build the empathy piece of your child's umbrella of wellbeing skills. What will empathy do for my child? Create strong social networks.

Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and understand what they may be feeling. It is a key ingredient to successful relationships with our friends and family. High levels of empathy result in lower levels of conflict and better problem solving. It also helps us make new friends, keep the ones we have and build a stronger social network.

Having a strong social network helps us live longer and is one of the best predictors of our health and happiness. Each month we will add one simple step you can use at home to build your child's umbrella skills. This month’s tip is:

Help your child recognize and label their own feelings.

Understanding what you are feeling in a given situation helps children learn to empathize. When we ignore or suppress feelings it’s difficult to understand them in others. At home, make sure your child understands that all of their feelings are okay, including sadness, anger, frustration and how to recognize those feelings. Help them give these feelings a label. Then set clear boundaries about what is and isn’t okay to do with the feelings. For example, it's normal to feel angry at a sibling but not okay to hit them as a result. This simple step helps children learn to calm themselves, cope better with life's ups and downs and empathize with others.

For more information on The Umbrella Project, please visit umbrellaproject.co

This fall we have noticed an increase in the number of parents dropping off lunches for their children on a regular basis. We understand that occasionally a child forgets their lunch and needs one dropped off, but we ask that parents do not plan to bring children a lunch on a regular basis. This creates confusion in the classroom and a lot of extra work for our office staff. Thank you for understanding.

A HUGE thank you to Little Caesars Pizza in Steinbach for sponsoring our Summer Reading Pizza Party. Great job to all of our readers! It was a fun and yummy way to celebrate all the reading we did over the summer!

Please note that all students will have their photos taken as well as class photos by Lifetouch on October 16 & 17. Reminders will be sent home prior to those days.

We are excited to announce that we raised $1478.85 for cancer research! Way to go Elmdale!!

CLICK HERE for our 2023-2024 school planning priorities.

Click HERE for this month's Nutrition Bits and Bites Newsletter from Southern Health.

"Soup's On" provides daily school lunches to families in need. It can be started and stopped as needed. Contact our Learning Support Teacher Ms. Tara Klassen (tklassen@hsd.ca) to register your child.

Please check our website for information about bus transportation.

If your address has changed, please call transportation at 204-320-2347 to make sure that your children are riding the correct bus to and from school.

Elmdale's eNewsletter

Publisher: Mr. Hiebert

Email: elmdale@hsd.ca
Website: http://elmdale.hsd.ca/
Location: 160 Elmdale Street, Steinbach, MB, Canada
Phone: 204-326-3325
Twitter: @elmdalehsd