Oct 29, 2024 - Nov 3, 2024

www.ecoleparc.ca

Happy Halloween week everyone!

You guys! Our Halloween Dance was an absolute blast! It was so great to see all the costumes, all our families and all the fun that was had by all! A huge shout out to Our School Council, DJ Chris and all our parent supervisors in attendance. Thank you immensely for supporting this great event!

Our grade 4, 5, 6 students are off to watch the movie "Wild Robots" (in French) on Friday! This initiative was created by our division and provides the chance for all Div. 2 French Immersion students to come together to enjoy this experience. We're so grateful to our Division to making this second annual event happen. What a great way for us to build community with our fellow French Immersion schools! Our students will head into the Sherwood Park Cineplex for the movie. We're looking forward to it!

Did you know that sitting down to read in English with your child regularly will also help improve their French literacy skills? It's true! Language learning is transferable and the more learning in one language we do, the more we understand those similar concepts in the second language. So please, sit and read as often as you can with your child! It really does help! That being said, if you've ever wondered if your child is reading at their level here is a tip. The five finger rule could help you out! Have your child read one page of the book to you. Each time your child makes a reading error discretely raise a finger. Count the fingers you have up at the end of the page.

0 - 1 fingers = too easy

2 - 3 fingers = just right

4 - 5 fingers = too hard

Then don't forget to check for understanding periodically as you read together. Ask you child to summary a page, or ask them questions about the 5W's (who, what, where, when, and why).

We hope that helps and thank you for supporting your child in their literacy journey!

Halloween Day is finally almost here! Here are some considerations and our plan for the day:

• Costume considerations:
• Students are welcome to come dressed in their costumes for the full day of school.
• Please remember costumes need to be "Elementary Friendly".
  
• Students are not allowed to bring in weapons or loose accessories that could become weapons.
• If costumes have a mask, students will be asked to keep the mask in their locker until the school parade at 1:10 p.m. and they will then be asked to return masks to their lockers when the parade is over.
• Costume parade:
• this annual activity will begin around 1:10 p.m. in the gym. Parents are welcome to join us, though we won't have seating. Feel free to stand around the walls of the gym.
• Class Halloween Activities:
• Classes will work hard on regular school work in the morning and then once the parade is over, students will return to their classes and begin Halloween activities that have been planned by the teacher. Each class is celebrating the day a little differently, if you have specific questions about the afternoon, please watch for newsletters from your teacher or email them directly.

Remembrance Day: We have already begun our planning and preparation for this year's Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 8.

• Do you have a child in Girl Guides, Scouts, or Cadets? If your child is interested, we'd love to have them participate in this year's ceremony. Please email me at tandy.atchison@eips.ca to let me know. also, any students with uniforms for Guides, Scouts and Cadets are welcome to wear them for the ceremony.
• If you have members of your family who are currently serving, or who are veterans with the Canadian Armed Forces, please fill out this quick survey

Have a great week everyone!

• Please follow this link to watch our announcement: Le 29 octobre

A reminder that picture retake day will be November 7. Please email General.EPE@eips.ca if you wish your child to have retakes done. If your child is not in school on November 7, you can bring them in for retakes. Please note that in your email. Thank you.

School Photo order sheets were sent home on Thursday. Kindergarten A sheets will be sent home on Monday.. If you have any questions, please contact Edge Imaging.

A portrait proof sheet will be delivered to the school approximately 10 days (about 1 and a half weeks) after photo day and will be sent home with your child.

Parents can order their photo packages online:

School Photography » Edge Imaging

If you have questions regarding your student photo or their ordered package, please have contact Edge Imaging directly at:

School Photography » Edge Imaging

There will not be an option for cash or cheque payments. If you have any questions, please reach out to the customer care team @ customercare@edgeimaging.ca or 1-888-416-3343 or School Photography » Edge Imaging

Thank you

What's happening this week at École Parc:

Oct 29

• Hot lunch

Oct 31

• Halloween

Nov 1

• Div 2 Movie

UPCOMING DATES:

Nov 4

• Hold and Secure/Lock Down Drill
• Class of the week:11

Nov 5

• Monthly assembly 9:00 am

Nov 6

• Early dismissal 2:08
• Evacuation drill
• Dress up day: Sports Day favorite jersey

Nov 7

• Picture retakes

Nov 8

• Remembrance Day Ceremony 10:40 am

Nov 11-15

• Fall break

Nov 18

• Class of the week ECS B
• Hot Lunch

Nov 19

• Hot Lunch

Nov 25

• Class of the week ECS A

Nov 27

• ECS and PALS Parent-Teacher Interviews 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Nov 28

• ECS and PALS Parent-Teacher Interviews 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Nov 29

• Term 1 Report Cards Published at 3:30 pm

With the winter season almost here, we have a few reminders for families:

• Ensure students have clothing appropriate for expected weather conditions.
• If weather conditions are bad enough to impact student transportation, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) advises families directly, as well as posting on social media and eips.ca as early as possible.
• Decisions regarding bus cancellations are guided by an EIPS administrative procedure that states, “school bus service may be suspended…when there is a forecast or current temperature of -40 C, including wind chill factor, in one or more regions.”
• Other reasons for suspending or delaying school bus services include adverse weather and poor road conditions.
• When school bus services are suspended, schools remain open to students.

For more information, contact EIPS Student Transportation at 780-417-8151.

Wondering when and how to pay for school fees? School fee information for the 2024-25 school year will be posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal in late September. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. NOTE: Additional fees may be added throughout the year—for example, at the beginning of each semester, as your child takes part in various activities, or they may be adjusted by changes in selected optional courses in junior and senior high school. If you’re unable to pay your school fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived. The application deadline is Dec. 16, 2024.

For more information, visit the https://www.ecoleparc.ca/about/fees on the school website. Alternatively, contact the office at École Parc Élémentaire at 780-998-3741.

French Immersion Kindergarten and PALS Parent Teacher Interviews – Nov. 27 and 28

Please note our interviews for French Immersion Kindergarten (Mme Yates) and PALS (Mrs. Bowen and Mrs. Lipkewich) will be held on Nov. 27 and 28. Please stay tuned for booking information regarding those interviews in November.

For the safety of our students, a reminder that this lane is for QUICK student drop off only. Please park on the street if you need to walk with your student into the school.

A reminder to our families that please avoid sending nut products to school with your student as we have some very severe allergies. We appreciate your support in keeping all our students safe!

If your student is absent, being picked up early or will be arriving late, we ask that you please email our attendance email at EPEAttendance@eips.ca or call the school at 780-998-3741. Please send any DQ permissions to this email as well. We ask that you contact us ahead of time for early pickups so that we may have your student ready on time. We understand that there may be last minute situations. Thank you.

At École Parc, we continue to build positive citizenship through the guiding principles of the Seven Sacred Teachings. This month, our school focus will be on the teachings of love. According to the teachings, the eagle teaches love. Our teachers are looking for students who show love to their friends, classmates, staff and visitors . These students may be recognized by earning the Citizenship award for their class.

If your child requires any medication, please click here to access the form. Please note we have two medical forms. We have a Personal Care Plan and an Administering of Medication Form. Please do not send medication with your child for safety reasons.

If your child loses a library or home reading book, please contact the school. If the book is not found within 30 days, the cost of the resource will be assigned to the “Fees” section of your PowerSchool account. Please note, if the book is found within 30 days, a refund will be granted. However, if the book is found after 30 days, a refund will not be granted as we will have purchased a replacement for the library’s collection.

Communication with our families is important to us. Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) uses SchoolMessenger as one way of sharing information directly with our families by phone and email. Messages may include bus cancellations or delays, inclement weather, upcoming events, last-minute cancellations, parental engagement opportunities, emergency notices and more.

Follow the Link to help manage your subscription: https://www.eips.ca/contact/subscribe

How to Order Hot Lunch at EPE this School Year!

École Parc School Council and Fundraising is using a new platform for ordering hot lunches this year! We will have a rotating schedule of local vendors and the lunches will be offered approximately twice/month on BOTH the Monday and Tuesday of the hot lunch week. Therefore, you can choose to order hot lunch for your child(ren) either or both days if you wish. As well, this will provide the opportunity for both Kindergarten classes to be included.

Please head to www.lunchboxorders.net to create an account and add students you wish to order hot lunch for.

Link for how to add a student to the account: How to add a student to your Lunchbox Account (vidyard.com) Ensure you select "Fort Saskatchewan" and "Ecole Parc Elementaire" when adding your family members.

Please contact lunchboxorders.net support with any questions or help during your account setup and ordering process.

For any other questions, please reach out to EPESchoolcouncil@gmail.com.

Families may pre-order lunches one at a time or as far in advance as you like, ensuring orders are in 1 week prior. We will continue to post reminders for deadlines on our Ecole Parc Elementaire Parents facebook group, as well as our EPE school council website.

Thank you,

École Parc School Council and Fundraising

• Oct 15/16
• Oct 28/29
• Nov 18/19
• Dec 2/3
• Dec 16/17

The EPE school council and fundraising society is looking to build a resource library to help parents support their children in French literacy. With the support of the Alberta School Council Engagement Grant, we have purchased 21 French/English dictionaries. In addition to having both languages, they are illustrated and are a great tool for parents, particularly those learning French with their children. The dictionaries are free on a first come first serve basis and can be collected at the office.

If you have a suggestion for a parent learning resource or educational opportunity please contact school council at epeschoolcouncil@gmail.com.

This year in attempt to be more accessible we will be trialing various meeting formats including virtual options. Meeting will be held on the following Wednesdays at 7pm

October 9th

March 12th

November 27th

April 9th

January 15th

May 14th

February 12th

June 11th

For information about our School Council and Fundraising society, please visit our website at:

https://www.epeschoolcouncil.com/

We are in PHASE 1 - FIND MONEY! Did you know we have to have funding secured for the playground expansion project before we can proceed with the design and approvals?

We are in need of volunteers to assist in writing grants. If you have experience with this we would love your help.

Do you work for a company that would consider supporting the building of a natural playground for your child's school?

Let us know! Email ecoleparcplaygroundexpansion@gmail.com

Research shows sustained, collaborative and job-embedded professional learning significantly enhances teacher efficacy and student achievement. Simply put, the more times teachers get to learn from one another during the year, the better it is for student success. Professional learning doesn’t mean a day off for staff—they improve upon their knowledge using time dedicated for collaboration, growth and relationship-building. This ensures students continue to receive high-quality education throughout the school year.

EIPS is committed to a productive and collaborative relationship with parents and caregivers. As such, the Division has a Committee of School Councils (COSC) comprised of representatives from school councils across EIPS. From October to May, COSC members meet monthly with the Board of Trustees and senior EIPS administration to discuss educational issues and trends, while sharing valuable information with one another to best enhance student success. In recognition of the effort and dedication of EIPS families and staff in engaging with their school communities, the Division was honoured to receive the Division School Council Engagement Award from the Alberta School Councils’ Association last April. To learn more, visit the EIPS website.

The Board of Trustees meets throughout the school year to discuss and make decisions regarding matters important to students, families, schools, communities and public education overall. Community members are encouraged and welcome to attend in person or to tune into the public livestream on the EIPS YouTube channel. For 2024-25 Board Meeting dates, visit the EIPS website and subscribe to the Division calendar.

Elk Island Public Schools is on Instagram!

Want reminders and news about EIPS? You can now follow the Division on Instagram @elkislandpublicschools. Stay in the know about what’s going on, from divisionwide celebrations to reminders about important dates and deadlines. You can also connect with EIPS on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and the EIPS website.

Interested in school-specific updates? Follow École Parc on Facebook and Instagram.

Is your child riding the bus this year? If yes, download the My Ride and Bus Status apps to stay in the know about your child’s bus stop location, route, pickup time and whether their bus is running on schedule.

Did you know you can sync the school calendar to your own calendar? Simply, visit https://www.ecoleparc.ca and click on the applicable subscription option:

· Download to iCal

· Add to Google Calendar

· Subscribe to Calendar

NOTE: Options are located above the calendar.

Once you click on the desired subscription option, follow the instructions. Within seconds, your calendar will contain all École Parc Élémentaire’s important dates including holidays, school-closures days, planned activities, events and more.

EIPS has three administrative procedures (APs) that address the Division’s code of conduct:

· AP 311: Welcoming, Caring, Respectful and Safe Learning Environments for Students

· AP 350: Student Code of Conduct

· AP 351: Student Conduct on School Buses

The Division, and École Parc Élémentaire, are committed to ensuring all members of the school community are provided with welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments that respect diversity and foster a sense of belonging. EIPS encourages all students, staff and families to review the procedures to understand and practice the conduct expected throughout the Division.

Did you know each EIPS bus is equipped with video surveillance, and many school sites have video monitoring equipment?

Video surveillance and equipment help:

· ensure the safety of all students, staff, drivers and property; and

· discourage destructive acts.

As needed, EIPS school administration and Student Transportation staff review video recordings, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. The recordings assist schools and the Division with monitoring student and driver conduct and may be used as evidence in a disciplinary matter.

For more information about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, contact the EIPS FOIP Co-ordinator at 780-464-3477.

To register: Groups, Programs, and Workshops