Colts Connection For Parents

We have so many amazing volunteers who support our school throughout the year, from In-School Mentors, to Field Trip attendees, to our Snack Bin crew, to family members cooking for the Feast and more; we are so grateful to have such a supportive school community!

We also want to recognize the special group of volunteers in our School Council. We are so grateful for the support from the School Council through organizing fundraisers, hosting the Family Dance, the Pancake Breakfast, much more. We have one of the most active and involved School Council's and they are so amazing we can't thank them enough!

Volunteering time throughout the day may not be possible for some families and we know that you still support the school in attending Parent Teacher Interview nights, assemblies, purchasing fundraising items, and donating items for the bake sale, chili sale, white elephant sale, etc. We want to thank those families as well. It is truly a team effort to make Ponoka Elementary such a great school community to be a part of.

If your child(ren) will be attending a different school for the 2024/25 School Year, please contact the office to let us know. This allows us to better plan for classes and space for the 2024/25 School Year.

As Mr. Cottell is heading to Eckville Elementary to be the new Principal there, we have hired Ms. Kendall Johnson as our newest Assistant Principal. Kendall comes to us from Alix MAC school where she is currently the Assistant Principal. Along with her experience at Alix MAC, Ms. Johnson has been a Learning Coach with our division and she has over 20 years of classroom teaching experience in Division 1 (K-3). Although we will miss Mr. Cottell, we are excited to add Ms. Johnson to the PES team, starting in the 2024-2025 school year.

June is a busy month with a lot happening (you'll see below in the Important Dates section). Please make sure you are logging into the Parent Portal to complete all consent forms and to ensure fees are paid so your child can attend any Field Trip.

We hosted a Traditional Cree Feast open to all grade 6 students and their families to celebrate their learning and to send them off to Ponoka Secondary Campus in a good way.

The ceremony took place Thursday, May 30th, at 12:00 pm in the gym. We heard many students in the halls expressing how great the food was afterwards and we are glad to have shared this opportunity. We had hoped to host the Feast outside but had to work with the weather and keep it inside and we appreciate everyone's flexibility.

The Honouring the Spirit: Indigenous Student Awards are presented annually by the Alberta School Board Association to students selected by the awards committee. The committee considers First Nations, Métis or Inuit student nominees who attend a school in Alberta who have been nominated by members of their education community based on their exemplary leadership, honour, courage and commitment to their own education path.

Twister Louis was nominated by members of our school for this award and has been recognized with an Honourable Mention Award. Twister is an amazing young man who is proud of his culture is a hard-working student dedicated to learning and improving every day. Twister is a silent leader who quietly and humbly shows the way for his peers. We are extremely proud of Twister and he is very deserving of this recognition. Great job Twister!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the Parent/Guardian Survey. We appreciate you providing feedback to help us better serve our students, their families, and our community. Some trends that we saw from the data were that families were overall happy with the quality of education and the quality of teaching their child(ren) receive, that our students and their families find PES a welcoming place, students feel safe at PES, and teachers care for the students at PES.

We learned from this survey that, although the majority of people who responded were satisfied or very satisfied, there is an opportunity for growth in the following areas. There was a larger portion of families who responded with dissatisfied, or don't know, in regard to students treating each other with respect at PES. We found this to be a trend in our Grade 4-6 student survey as well. Interestingly, students also felt that people treated them with respect. So, students and families are feeling that students don't treat each other with respect but when it comes to students' own personal experiences, they feel like they are treated respectfully.

We have been working to support our students using Second Step, a Social/Emotional Learning program that focuses on Growth Mindset and Goal Setting, Emotion Management, Empathy and Kindness, and Problem Solving. We are going to continue using this program to support students in learning about managing their emotions and how to deal with conflict in a kind and respectful way. See the document attached below for more information on Second Step.

Ponoka School Council needs your help to make our annual Pancake Breakfast a success! This event is something the kids look forward to each year, and we can't do it without you.

We are in dire need of volunteers to help with cooking & serving. Your participation will make a huge difference in ensuring a memorable experience for all our children.

Event Date: June 10th

Time: 8:00 AM

Location: Ponoka Elementary School

It's about a 2-3 hour commitment, and your help will go a long way in making this event special for our kids.

If you can volunteer, please contact the school at 403.783.3583 or Nicole at 403.000.0000. Let's come together as a community to create a fantastic morning for our kids.

Thank you for your support!

June 3 - Grade 6 JJ Collett and Ponoka Airport Field Trip

June 3 - Pizza w/ the Principals for K and Grade 2 Students

June 4 - Pizza w/ the Principals for K and Grades 1, 3-6

June 6 - Grade 3-6 Track and Field Day

June 7 - Last day of Options classes for Grade 4-6 Students.

June 10 - Pancake Breakfast for all students

June 10 - M/W Kindergarten Field Day

June 11 - Carnival for Kids - Boys and Girls Club Fundraiser

June 11 - T/Th Kindergarten Field Day

June 12 - Grade 6 PAT - LA Part B

June 12 - Grade 1 and 2 Run, Jump, Throw Day

June 12 - M/W Kindergarten Bowling Field Trip

June 13 - Grade 3 Field Trip to Edmonton Valley Zoo

June 13 - Grade 6 PAT - Math Part A

June 13 - T/Th Kindergarten Bowling Field Trip

June 14 - Staff Collaboration Day - No School for Students

June 18 - T/Th Bright Futures Play Academy Last Day

June 18 - Grade 6 PAT - Math Part B

June 18 - Grade 5 Ponoka Aquaplex Fun Swim

June `19 - M/W Bright Futures Play Academy Last Day

June 10 - Grade 6 PAT - Social Studies

June 19 - Grade 5 Ponoka Golf Club Field Trip

June 20 - Grade 6 PAT - Science

June 20 - Grade 5 Fort Edmonton Park Field Trip

June 21- National Indigenous Peoples' Day

June 21 - Grade 4 Ponoka Aquaplex Fun Swim

June 24 - Grade 6 Capital Theatre Field Trip

June 24 - Grade 3 Ponoka Aquaplex Fun Swim

June 25 - T/Th Kindergarten Last Day

June 25 - Grade 1 Sunnybrook Farm/Kerrywood Nature Centre Field Trip

June 25 - Grade 2 Ellis Bird Farm/Collicutt Centre Field Trip

June 25 - Grade 5 Battle River Watershed Field Trip

June 26 - M/W Kindergarten Last Day

June 26 - Grade 4 Collicutt and Gutters Bowling Field Trip

June 26 - Grade 5 Leisure Lanes Bowling Field Trip

June 26 - Grade 6 Ponoka Aquaplex Fun Swim

June 27 - Western Day

June 27 - Last Day of School for Grade 1-6 Students