SCA Elementary Newsletter

Did you know that all SCA Elementary staff are challenged each year to commit the following verses to memory?

• 'The Big 5':
1. Matthew 22: 37-40
2. Matthew 28:19
3. Matthew 7:12
4. John 3:16
5. Galatians 5:22-23
• Psalm 23:1-6

These are the first foundational verses all our students learn. The first week of April, the students of 5C will be quizzing all staff members on these important bible verses.

Our reward if we succeed? Jeans and SCA wear for the following week!

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!

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

• April 2 - Early Dismissal @ 2:15 pm
• April 9 & 23 - Chip Day
• April 17 - Easter Chapel @ 9:15 am
• April 18 - NO SCHOOL - Good Friday
• April 21 - NO SCHOOL - Easter Monday
• April 25 - Hot Lunch
• April 25 - Mustard Seed Coffee Drive

April 23 - KA/KC (Deadline April 18)

April 24 - KB/KD (Deadline April 19)

April 25 - Grade 1-6 (Deadline April 20)

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)

April 9 - KA/KC & Grade 1-6

April 10 - KB/KD

April 23 - Grade 1-6

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

Thank you very much for supporting our Living Books & Scholastic Book Fairs once again! Our school will be blessed with many new resources for the students and staff.

Thank you and congratulations to all the students who participated in the Book Bingo contest over the past 2 1/2 months! Winners will be posted on the library website soon.

Thank you to all PARENTS for encouraging your children on their reading journeys and supporting them with these contests. Thank you for helping keep track of their library books and faithfully getting them returned each week.

📚 ❤️ -Mrs. Wielinga

Students will be doing a tumbling unit for the month of April in phys. ed. They will start with approximately 2 weeks of mat-type work.

It is important that the students wear appropriate clothing and footwear. They have been asked to wear comfortable clothing, not jeans or similar type pants as they are very painful when doing rolls, using equipment and balances. It has been suggested that they wear athletic pants, shorts, or legging-type clothing.

Longer t-shirts need to be worn so that the shirt can be tucked in as they are doing headstands and upside down activities. They can change at the start of the class, if necessary.

They have three choices of footwear: 1. bare feet or 2. ‘dance’ type slippers or 3. socks that have a grip sole. Absolutely no regular sock-feet as this is a big safety concern. Socks slip and slide and are not safe when doing tumbling activities. Runners are not recommended as they are very hard on the surface of the tumbling mats.

Long hair needs to be tied back. Necklaces, bracelets, etc. should not be worn for tumbling as it could get caught on something and break or possibly cause injury to the child.

Thank you for your attention to these items.

Tumbling Coordinator: Mr. Fung

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, April 3 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.

Every year, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) publishes an Annual Education Results Report, which outlines the Division’s Four-Year Education Plan, growth opportunities and how it supports students in achieving the best possible outcomes. Read through this year’s EIPS Annual Education Results Report 2023-24 and discover how EIPS fosters learning environments for all students to learn, grow and thrive—and why it matters.

April Spotlight: cultivating high-quality learning environments and experiences

· Raising the Bar: Evidence-based practices that are enhancing teaching and learning in EIPS

· Power of Kindness: Creating welcoming, inclusive, respectful and safe learning environments in schools

· Building Blocks: How effective planning, management and infrastructure are supporting learning

RELATED INFORMATION
EIPS Four-Year Education Plan: 2022-26
EIPS Three-Year Capital Plan: 2025-28

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.

EIPS prepares a budget in the spring based on projected enrolment, funding, estimated costs and Board of Trustees budget priorities. Before the Division can finalize its budget for the next school year, we need to wait for the provincial government to provide the funding manual for school authorities and EIPS’ funding profile. This year’s funding manual is expected to be released in early April and the funding profile should be available mid-March. EIPS plans to publish its spring budget in May. Learn more

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

Wednesday’s at 7:00 pm.

Find out more here.

On Friday, April 4th, SPAC Youth is heading to Cineplex Sherwood Park Theatres to watch a movie.

We have rented out one of the theatres. This event is open to ALL youth, grades 6-12.

Please have your teen at SPAC for 5:30PM to get checked in. The buses will leave SPAC as soon as all youth are checked in. We will return to SPAC at 9PM.

The cost for the event is $20/youth which includes busing and the movie ticket. Click here to register.

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