Southwood School

ATTENTION -- IMPORTANT -- PLEASE READ

We are a full and busy school, especially in the morning and afternoon for drop off and pick up times. And we love to see our parents as you bring your children to and from school, so for the sake of a smooth before and after school period, we are reminding everyone about the traffic rules around the building and nearby streets.

1. Parking around the school is limited to active loading and unloading during the entire day. By-law officers have been working in our area and are concerned with the amount of lengthy parking that is taking place in the yellow curb loading zone areas. Parking is available on 3rd Street and at the Grace Church where you can park and then walk your child on the school yard or walk to pick them up.

2. There has been an increase of illegal and dangerous loading scenarios where students are crossing lanes of traffic to get into cars across the street. These are very concerning. For the safety of all, please follow the rules.

3. Respect our Crossing Guards and Walking School Bus groups. These staff members have been hired and trained to keep students as safe as possible. Please drive slowly in the School Zones and stop when these individuals are accompanying students through the intersections.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. All of us have a role to play as we keep our students safe in our communities.

Our school is excited to participate in Jump Rope for Heart this month! Our students will discover fun ways to get active, practice healthy habits and learn about helping others while raising money to beat heart disease and stroke. Our Event Day is set for April 24 & 25 during each classroom’s phys ed time. Consider dressing your child in red to show support for Heart & Stroke and to make it fun for the class! Our event day will aim to get students excited to get their bodies moving and hearts pumping in support of a great cause, as well as show off the fun ways they’ve been learning to jump! Our fundraising goal is $2000 and is open until April 30th. You can donate directly to our school page link: https://jumpropeforheart.crowdchange.ca/82060

or visit jumpropeforheart.ca, click register and search Southwood School. Your child will also bring home a pledge sheet if you’d like to fundraise that way.

Please click on this link Jump rope for heart video to watch Jump Rope For Heart’s Kick-Off video with your child. It will give you more information on why heart health is important and what the jump rope for heart event is all about.

Hanover School Division is excited to announce that we have partnered with The Lions Club to offer vision screening to all of our students in Grade 1 again in March 2025. The program is very similar to the hearing screening we conduct in the fall every year.

Members of The Lions Club have been trained in the use of the SPOT Vision Screener and used this tool to screen children in all HSD Grade 1 classrooms. The screening is done from a distance of about 3 feet with no physical contact, takes just a few seconds, and can screen for Myopia (near-sightedness), Hyperopia (far-sightedness) and Anisocoria (pupil size deviation). In addition, Astigmatism (blurred vision), Anisometropia (unequal refractive power) and Strabismus (eye misalignment) which can result in Amblyopia (lazy-eye).

You will be notified if your child needs further testing with an optometrist.

In the next few months, our school teams will begin the complex process of forming classes for our 2025 - 2026 School year. We aim to provide a stimulating environment that keeps your child engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, and academically.

The following factors are considered when determining class placements:

• Student learning styles

• Student social-emotional needs

• Academic strengths and challenges

• Balanced class sizes

• School-wide perspective

• Our knowledge of social interaction and dynamics between individual students

Your child's teacher and the school teams will send home forms to collect some information from you and your child about their peers who are good “classroom learning partners” for them. We encourage you to talk about your child’s peers with them and with your child's teacher. It is important that students are placed with peers who are great learning partners for them. Friendships that work well at home and on the playground are not always as workable in the classroom. Forms will be sent home with your child by mid April and are due back April 30th.

Teachers will also select some learning partners for your child. We will carefully consider the information parents submit along with the information teachers contribute. Placements will be communicated with families in June.

We recognize that along with familiar peers, your child’s teachers have a significant impact on their ability to remain engaged in the classroom content. Given appropriate support at home and at school, it has been our experience that the vast majority of placements are successful. Where a placement is proving challenging we ask that parents and students give it the time required for friendships and classroom community to develop.

If you, as the parent/guardian, feel that you have information that would contribute to the school’s decision for class placement we require that you email Ms. Dawn Machel (dmachel@hsd.ca) by April 30th, 2025. Any information or requests should be based on the above list of considerations and contain the educational reason for your request. We will not consider placement requests that do not come through the school administration.

Please remember the many factors that are considered when making a class list and that teachers will have a large say in the student groupings.

Class placements for the 2025 - 2026 school year will be communicated in June.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to your child's education.

REGISTRATION

If you have a child born in 2020 please visit https://hsd.ca/schools/kindergarten-registration/ to register your child for kindergarten. Kindergarten Orientation events will be held on May 6th (Evening event), 8th and 13th (day time appointments). Please register online if you have not already done so.

If you have a friend, neighbor or relative who has a child eligible for Kindergarten for September 2025 please encourage them to visit www.hsd.ca as soon as possible.

WELCOME EVENING

A Welcome to Southwood Kindergarten Evening will be held for all of the parents and students attending Kindergarten in 2025 - 2026 on May 6th Southwood School. Times and details to follow in the May Newsletter

If you are planning to complete school of choice forms(s) for your student(s) to attend a school out of your designated catchment area, please hand them into your school or the Hanover School Division office no later than May 15, 2025.

Come One, Come All to the Grade 1 & 2 Spring Concert

Thursday, May 22nd!

(Rain Date May 29th)

More details to come!

All bicycles must be parked in the racks provided and all bicycles should be equipped with locks. The school is not responsible for damage or theft of bicycles or their parts while they are parked in the racks.

Bicycles are not to be used during the school day other than going to and from school. It is important that K-4 students have a good understanding about the rules of the road and bike safety before they venture on their own to and from school and their bicycles.

All parents of students who will be attending Grade 5 at Clearspring Middle School or Stonybrook Middle School next year 2025 - 2026 are invited to an information evening on May 15th, (Times to follow shortly) at the school where they will be attending.

*Your student will receive a registration package from their middle school sometime in April. All grade 4 students will attend a presentation about the Middle School they will be attending and visit the school sometime in May. Southwood School shares detailed information about your child's academic progress and specific programming with the Middle School to which they are transferring, ensuring that the transitions to the new school is as smooth as possible.

Due to the addition of Parkhill Elementary School for the upcoming school year, some of Southwood's teachers and other staff will be joining the staff at Parkhill. Every year, teachers transfer in an out of Southwood for a variety of reasons and this year is no exception. As we plan for the upcoming school year, these details will be communicated to our students and families things are solidified.

April

7 Back to School

14 PD Day – No School

18 Good Friday – No School

22 Assemblies - Caring for the Earth

• K-grade 2 @ 9:05-9:25
• Grade 3 & 4's @ 3:00 - 3:25

May

-- Volunteer Appreciation Assembly has been postponed to a date in June.

6 -- Kindergarten Welcome Evening

8 & 13 -- Pre-Kindergarten Orientation Days

12 --Assemblies TBA

• K-grade 2 @ 9:05-9:25
• Grade 3 & 4's @ 3:00 - 3:25

--Middle School Welcome evening
19 -- Victoria Day – No school

22 -- Spring Concert Event (Gr. 1 and 2)

29 -- Potential Rain Date for Concert

June

9 -- Assemblies - What We Have Learned This Year

• K-grade 2 @ 9:05-9:25
• Grade 3 & 4's @ 3:00 - 3:25

20 -- 4N Show

23 -- Next Level Day

25 -- Grade 4 Farewell (Parent Assembly 9:30 a.m.)

26 -- School Picnic and Last Day of School

27 -- Final Term Report Card (K - 4) On Parent Portal

27 -- Admin Day – No Classes

Email: southwood@hsd.com
Website: https://southwood.hsd.ca
Location: 155 Barkman Avenue, Steinbach, MB, Canada
Phone: 204-326-3518