SCA Elementary Newsletter

All these dates (and more) are listed on our monthly calendar located on our school website here.

• May 2 - PD Day - No school
• May 7 - Early Dismissal @ 2:15 pm
• May 7 - Hats On for Mental Health
• May 9 - Grades 4-6 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at SCA Secondary
• May 13 - Volunteer Appreciation Event @ 10:00 a.m.
• May 14 - KA/KC Grandparents' Day
• May 15 - KB/KD Grandparents' Day
• May 14 & 28 - Chip Day
• May 19 - Victoria Day - No School
• May 20 - ECS 2025/26 New Parents Meeting @ 7:00 pm
• May 21 - School Council Meeting @ 7:15 pm & AGM @ 8:15 pm
• May 23 - Hot Lunch
• May 23 - Mustard Seed Coffee Drive

Please pray for good weather for our Div I and Div II Track and Field Day on Friday, June 6!

Div I will be using our own school fields to spend the day participating in 15 events. Each of

the 15 groups will be led around the course by a grade 3 group leader and assistant leader. It is

always an enjoyable day by all. At the end of the day the students will gather together for a freezie

and ribbon awards for first through third place. Mr. Alstad heads up this meet.

The Div II Track and Field Day will take place at the Strathcona Athletic Park (behind Bev Facey

School). The students will be in groups of 16 and travel through 16 events. The activities range from

regular Track and Field events such as high jump and 100m dash to irregular events such as sack

races and dry land canoeing. At the end of the day every student will be awarded with a first to

fourth place ribbon. Mr. Fung heads up this meet.

Look for the ‘Parent Permission’ forms in May. This form must be filled out, signed and returned to

the homeroom teacher for each grade 4-6 student to be able to participate.

Please save the date as we will need many volunteers. This day is only successful because of you!

If you have volunteered at our school this year, please plan to attend our annual Volunteer Appreciation Event on Tuesday, May 13 at 10:00 am in the gym at SCA Elementary.

An invitation went out on April 29 via email. Please RSVP by May 6 to let us know if you are able to come. We look forward to seeing you there!

On Wednesday, May 7 we are relaxing our hat rules and inviting staff and students to wear a hat to school to raise awareness of the importance of good mental health. We know that we learn best when our physical and mental needs are met.

At our school, we are thankful for how our faith in Jesus Christ can nurture a healthy mind and spirit. As part of Mental Health Week, teachers will have classroom discussions about different strategies to deal with stress and change.

Just a reminder that grade 4 - 6 students will walking to SCA Secondary to attend this event!

They will be away from the elementary school from 11:45 am - 2:45 pm.

Parents, please plan accordingly for that day in regard to appointments, late drop offs and early pick-ups.

As the March snow melts, there will be plenty of puddles forming in our school fields and playgrounds!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE help our staff by keeping a change of clothes (including socks) in your child’s backpack in case they accidentally get wet.

This is very helpful for our K-3 students but even our grade 4-6 students could benefit from a spare pair of pants and socks.

Thank you!

Join us on May 5 as we recognize and thank our school bus operators for keeping the safety of our students their first priority. We encourage you, and your children, to take a moment to say thanks to our bus operators - who go above and beyond to provide safe and timely transportation to our students!

On behalf of SCA Elementary, THANK YOU to all of our school bus operators for a job well done!

May 21 - KA/KC (Deadline May16)

May 22 - KB/KD (Deadline May 17)

May 23 - Grade 1-6 (Deadline May 18)

Visit Healthy Hunger to place your order!

There are 2 ways to sign up:

1. When you place a hot lunch order through Healthy Hunger, there is an option to sign up as a volunteer when checking out.
2. If you have already placed your hot lunch orders for the year and did not sign up through the Healthy Hunger website, please click this link to sign up: Hot Lunch Volunteering (2024-2025)

May 14 - Grade 1-6

May 28 - KA/KC and Grade 1 - 6

May 29 - KB/KD

If you did not prepay for chip days for the year, your child can bring a loonie on chip day to participate.

Are you a past, present, or future grandparent of a student who attends SCA Elementary or Secondary Schools?

We would love your prayer support! An update is emailed out each week of ways you can support our school in prayer. If you are able, we meet once a month to pray for our students.

Please email Pastor Driedger at darren.driedger@eips.ca or phone the school office at 780-449-2787 to get involved.

We meet the first Thursday of every month at 1:00 pm at SCA Elementary. Our next prayer meeting is Thursday, May 8 at 1:00 pm and you are welcome to join!

We want to cover the schools and the children with prayer. Your wisdom and experience is needed for this.

Psalm 71:16 says: “I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD!”

Read the rest of Psalm 71 to discover your mandate as a spiritual grandparent for all of our students.

Provincial Achievement Test (PATs) will be written in May and June by our Grade 6 students.

All PAT's will take place in the morning and we appreciate your efforts in having your child attend school on these dates.

Wednesday, May 28 - PAT LA Part A

Thursday, June 12 - LA Part B

Friday, June 13 - Math Part A

Tuesday, June 17 - Math Part B

Wednesday, June 18 - Social Studies

National Volunteer Week takes place April 27 to May 4. On behalf of the Board of Trustees at Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS), I want to say a giant thank you to all EIPS volunteers. This year’s theme is Volunteers Make Waves, and that’s certainly true in our Division. No matter whether you’ve chaperoned a field trip, helped out at a hot lunch day or provided support in a classroom—every time you’ve stepped in a school—you’ve made a ripple effect that washes over your community. These waves of positivity, hard work and dedication build up and make a momentous impact on a student’s experience at school.

So, thank you again for being a part of our ocean at EIPS. The waves you’ve made—and will continue to create—all contribute to our collective goals of ensuring learning and working environments sustain student learning and amplifying the importance of public education in our province. This National Volunteer Week, I encourage everyone to celebrate the hundreds of volunteers and thousands of hours put into supporting student growth and achievement at schools across the Division.

Cathy Allen
Chair, EIPS Board of Trustees

Is there a preschooler in your life experiencing identified developmental delays or challenges with speech-language—big or small? If so, Elk Island Public School’s Play And Learn at School (PALS) program could help.

Early learning lays the foundation for success in primary grades and beyond. As such, EIPS offers the pre-kindergarten PALS program in five of its elementary school locations. Applications are now open for free speech-language assessments for those interested in registering in the PALS program this fall. The assessment helps determine if PALS is appropriate for your child.

If you know a preschooler, born in 2021 or 2022, who could benefit from pre-kindergarten programming or want to book an assessment, fill out the PALS Program Request Form or call 780-417-8219. For more information, visit eips.ca.

Grade 6 students are invited to join SPAC Junior High Youth Group!

Wednesday’s at 7:00 pm.

Find out more here.

Grade 4/5/6 Fun Night is a great time for kids to connect with others, bring friends and have a blast!

Date: Friday, May 23

Time: Drop off begins at 6:15 PM; Pick up at 8:30 PM
Where: Sherwood Park Alliance Church (Enter doors marked SCA Secondary School)

Find out more here.

To enhance building safety and minimize classroom disruptions, we kindly ask that parents dropping off items for their children during the school day do so at the office.

As a friendly reminder, if you’d like to walk your child into school during morning drop-off, please accompany them to the rotunda and allow them to make their way to the classrooms independently.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in helping our school days run smoothly!

Did you know you can sync the monthly school calendar to your own calendar?

1. Visit http://scaelementary.ca/about/calendar using the device you would like to sync the calendar to.
2. Click on the applicable subscription option at the top of the page and follow the instructions

• Download to iCal
• Add to Google Calendar
• Subscribe to Calendar (Recommended for iPhones, Android, Outlook)

Within seconds, your calendar will contain all SCA Elementary' s important dates including holidays, early dismissal days, school-closure days, planned activities, events and more!

It's important for SCA Elementary to have the most up-to-date contact details for your child. If your address, phone number, email, or emergency contacts have changed, please take a moment to review and update your information.

How to Update Your Information:

✅ Log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal
✅ Open the Year-Round Update section on the left side
✅ Review the details on file, including:

• Address
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• Parent/guardian information
• Emergency contacts
• Medical details

Keeping this information current ensures the school can reach you when needed.

📝 Important: Only submit updates for changes that have already happened. If you’re moving later this school year, update your details after your move.

Did you know there’s an easy way to keep track of important school messages? The School Messenger app (or website) lets parents see emails and updates from Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) all in one place.

What is School Messenger?

School Messenger is the program EIPS uses to send phone and email messages to families. Messages from these areas are sent through School Messenger:

• SCA Elementary (except emails sent directly from your child’s teacher)
• EIPS Transportation
• EIPS Central Office

Why Use the App?

With School Messenger, you can:
✅ See all school emails in one spot
✅ Manage your email subscriptions and contact preferences
✅ Choose how you want to be notified

How to Set Up School Messenger

Option 1: Use the App

1️⃣ Download the app from the App Store or Google Play
2️⃣ Sign up using the email linked to your PowerSchool Parent Portal and enter the EIPS District Code: HXWF
3️⃣ Check your messages – all school emails will be in the ‘Messages’ section
4️⃣ Customize your preferences – tap the three lines (☰) in the top left corner → Preferences → select Elk Island Public Schools to choose how you receive notifications

Option 2: Use the Website

💻 Go to the School Messenger website and click ‘Sign Up’ (top right corner)
📧 Use your PowerSchool Parent Portal email and enter the EIPS District Code: HXWF
📩 Once logged in, follow steps 3 & 4 from the app instructions above

For more help or troubleshooting, visit: https://www.eips.ca/contact/subscribe