Elements' Weekly Update

We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s Christmas Concert.

To our families, thank you for your support, encouragement, and for ensuring your children were prepared and present to share their talents. Your presence and enthusiasm made the event even more special!

To our staff, your dedication, creativity, and countless hours of preparation truly shone through. From organizing and planning, support during practices and the concert, and decorating, your hard work brought the concert to life and created memories for all!

A big thank you to our Parent Council and School Society members for organizing the raffle baskets and 50/50 draw and to everyone who supported these fundraising events. Proceeds from these events support school initiatives and special activities for students.

It’s events like these that highlight the strong sense of community we are so fortunate to have at our school. Thank you for making this celebration a magical and meaningful experience for everyone.

Mrs. Pearn and Mrs. Zapesocki

• December 16 - Kindergarten Christmas Concert, 1:00PM - Group A
• December 17 - Kindergarten Christmas Concert, 1:00PM - Group B
• December 18 - Holiday Sweater Theme Day
• December 20 - Cookie and Milk Day from School Council
• December 20 - Christmas Carolling in the gym, 9:00am
  
• December 20 - Pajama Theme Day & Last Day of School
• December 25 - Merry Christmas!
• January 1 - Happy New Year
• January 6 - School Resumes
• January 8 - Early Dismissal

As we count down to the holidays, we are also in the final stretch of our Christmas Food Drive! There’s still time to make a difference and help support families in need within our community.

If you haven’t had the chance to donate yet, we are accepting non-perishable food items until December 18. Every contribution, big or small, helps bring a little extra warmth and cheer to those who need it most this holiday season.

Thank you to everyone who has already donated so generously! Let’s come together in these last few days to make this year’s food drive our most successful yet.

I wish to extend warm holiday wishes to all students, staff and families on behalf of the Elk Island Public Schools Board of Trustees.

As busy as we know this time can be, it’s nice to take a moment to look back with gratitude on the past year. We are thankful for the incredible parents and caregivers in the communities we serve, who consistently step up to support both students and educators—day in and day out. We appreciate our staff members, in schools and at Central Administration, for their commitment to excellence in learning. And we celebrate students across the Division, who work so hard and make us proud.

We hope you enjoy all the wonderful concerts, shows and festivities happening at your school, and that you get a chance for rest and reflection during the break. To all of you—have a joyous holiday season, and a healthy and happy New Year.

We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Jan. 6, 2025.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays,

Cathy Allen
EIPS Board Chair

Is your child turning five on or before Dec. 31, 2025? If so, it’s almost time to register for kindergarten.

Kindergarten registration for the 2025-26 school year opens on Feb. 1, 2025. To help families prepare, Elk Island Public Schools has put together an online EIPS Kindergarten Tool kit to make the transition as smooth as possible. The kit includes information on registration, important dates, programming options, what to expect, eligibility, how to find your designated school, transportation and more.

Check out this month's newsletter from Recovery Alberta Addiction and Mental Health for the health benefits of spending time with those you love.

We kindly remind everyone to refrain from parking in handicap-designated parking stalls unless you have the appropriate permit displayed. These spaces are reserved for our families who require accessibility accommodations, and it’s important that we keep them available for those who need them.

Your cooperation ensures our school remains welcoming and inclusive for all members of our community.

If circumstances exist where you’re unable to pay school or transportation fees, you can apply to have fees waived by submitting an Application for a Waiver of Fees. The application deadline is Dec. 16, 2024. If you’re new to the Division, the deadline is the latter of Dec. 16, 2024, or 45 days after registration. To access your fee information, simply log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal and go to “Student Fees.” There you can view your fees and pay them online using Visa or MasterCard. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted.

Don’t forget to also log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal regularly throughout the year. Fees are often added to your child’s account to cover the cost of various school activities such as field trips, class projects, extracurricular activities and more.

For more information about school fees, waivers and payment deadlines, visit www.eips.ca/schools/fees and https://www.fortelem.ca/about/fees. Alternatively, contact Mrs. Cheri Peichel, FSE Business Manager at Fort Saskatchewan Elementary at 780-998-7771.

Please join us for our upcoming Parent Council/School Society Meetings. These meetings are a great opportunity to learn about what's happening in the school and support school initiatives. Meetings are held on Wednesdays at 5:30pm in the school library. We hope to see you there!

Upcoming meeting dates:

January 15

February 12

March 19

Alberta Education allocates funds to school boards to fulfill their delegated responsibilities of providing education programs for students in kindergarten to Grade 12. As part of Elk Island Public Schools’ (EIPS) commitment to stakeholder engagement and to continue allocating resources according to local priorities, the Division conducts an annual budget planning survey to seek input from staff, families Grade 12 students and community partners.

The survey is voluntary, anonymous and takes about five to 10 minutes to complete. The survey questions suggest possible budget areas for EIPS to focus its resources, which align with the Division’s current Four-Year Education Plan. If you believe there are other areas where the Division should concentrate its resources, you can also indicate what these are. EIPS will consider all budget planning input to guide future decision-making. COMPLETE THE SURVEY NOW Survey closes Dec 18, 2024 Grade 12 students will complete the survey at school.

Thank you for sharing your input to help inform Division planning.

Join your family and friends with Fort Saskatchewan Elementary School at Rogers Place to watch the Edmonton Oil Kings take on Prince Albert. Tickets are $25 per ticket, plus fees, and $5 from each ticket sold will go back to FSE! Game day is Friday, January 10 at 7:00PM. Use the QR code for more information and to purchase tickets. We hope to see you there!