Elements' Weekly Update

We hope everyone had a great first week of October! This week we celebrated Read In Week with a variety of fun activities and contests. Our favourite part was seeing all the staff and students dressed up as their favourite storybook characters and were amazed at all the creative costumes! A big thank you to our Read In Week committee who organized all the events. We also want to send a shout out to Ms. DenBraber, Ms. Payne, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Clements and their students for hosting the Thanksgiving assembly. We absolutely loved the readers theatre of The Plump and Perky Turkey!

As mentioned last week, our Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on October 23 & 24. Check the section below for information on how to book an interview. This month we will also be celebrating Halloween. Students are able to come to school in their costumes, please remember to keep costumes school appropriate.

Don’t forget our next School Council meeting takes place on Tuesday, October 15 at 6:00pm in the school library. This is a great opportunity to learn about what is happening around the school. We hope to see you there!

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our families and are grateful for their continued support! Wishing all of our families a Happy Thanksgiving!

• October 14 - Parent Teacher Interviews booking site opens
• October 14 - No School - Happy Thanksgiving!
• October 15 - School Council and Parent Society Meeting 6:00pm
• October 23 - Parent Teacher Interviews, 4:00 - 7:00pm
• October 24 - Parent Teacher Interviews, 3:30 - 6:30pm

Families are essential partners in helping their students see the importance of math. Did you know that your encouragement, positive attitude, and support in everyday math activities helps build your child's confidence? Check out this article to learn simple ways to support your child's math learning at home.

How Can I Help My Child Look Forward to Math?

Phonological awareness is one of the best predictors of reading success. Phonological awareness is the awareness of the sounds in language, and the ability to manipulate those sounds. For example, when you hear the word “cat” you hear three sounds: “c-a-t” rather than just one sound. We want students to become aware that words are not just one sound but made up of many sounds. Here are some ways you can develop that in your child:

• Play rhyming games and have your
  child identify words that rhyme
• Tap out the syllables in a word
• Hunt for words that start with the
  same sound
  Check out Reading Rockets for more great ideas.
  

We will be hosting our annual book fair the week of October 21. Did you know that every purchase helps support our school library and helps fill the shelves with fabulous new books! Students will be able to take a look at books during their library class and the book fair will be open for purchases during Parent Teacher Interviews. We are seeking volunteers to help run this fun event. Volunteers are needed on:

Wednesday, October 23 - 3:00 - 6:30

Thursday, October 24 - 3:00 - 6:30

Volunteers would be helping students find what they're looking for, restocking items, and being a cashier for purchases. If you are interested in volunteering to help out during Book Fair, please email your availability to Ms. Zapesocki (Assistant Principal) kimberly.zapesocki@eips.ca

Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled for the evenings of Wednesday, October 23 from 4:00 - 7:00pm, and Thursday, October 24 from 3:30 -6:30 pm. Kindergarten interviews will also be available the afternoon of Wednesday, October 23. Appointments for interviews are made online at https://www.fortelem.ca/bookings Families will be able to book a timeslot beginning Monday, October 14th at 9:00am. Bookings will remain open until Monday, October 21 at 9:00pm.

Schools throughout Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) are celebrating School Bus Safety Week from October 21-25. The theme: ‘Bus Rule – Be Clever, Dress for the Weather,’ which focuses on how students should dress appropriately for weather conditions—especially when taking the bus. Throughout the week, various activities are planned, including information sessions, bus-safety lesson plans and bus-evacuation drills.

Pay School Fees Online! School fee information for the 2024-25 school year is now posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. 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. If you’re unable to pay your school fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived. The application deadline is Dec. 16, 2024.

NOTE: 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 fees and more.

For more information, visit Fort Saskatchewan Elementary Fee Page. Alternatively, contact Mrs. Marcoux-Jones (Business Manager) at Fort Saskatchewan Elementary at 780-998-7771.

Alberta Health Services offers free online programming for parents and caregivers of children and youth. Sessions are offered through Zoom. The list of October 2024 sessions is now available.

Please join us for our October School Council and Parent Society Meeting. This is a great opportunity to come together as a community, share ideas, and discuss important topics that impact our students and school. Our next meeting takes place on October 15 at 6:00pm.