Elmdale School | Smore Newsletters for Education

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Principal's Message

The start of another school year is upon us. The hallways and classrooms have been thoroughly cleaned and polished over the summer. Teachers have set up their classrooms and decorated the walls. Procedures and processes have been tweaked. We're ready to go! We are looking forward to a great school year with lots of fun and engaging learning experiences ahead!

At the start of a new year there are always a few new faces. This fall we want to welcome Ms. Turton to the Elmdale teaching team. Ms. Turton is our new music teacher and she is excited to share her passion of music and the arts with the students of Elmdale School. Mr. Neufeld is also joining us this year as our new custodian. He has already done a great job getting the building ready and we look forward to working with him this year.

In spring we said a few good-byes, and now we add a couple more to the list. Our custodian, Mr. Kelvin Johnson is retiring after 11 years of keeping our school neat and tidy. We always appreciated the high standard with which he kept the building clean, but also how he connected with students throughout his work. We wish him all the best as he moves on to retirement.

Another long-time staff who is retiring is Mrs. Lita Hornan. Mrs. Hornan has been an EA here for 17 years and brought a caring, nurturing manner to her work with students. We wish her all the best in her retirement.

We look forward to seeing all of our families back on Tuesday for our Grade 1-4 Meet Your Teacher event (4:30-6:00) and our kindergarten families on Wednesday for their Kindergarten Welcome meetings.

Have a great year everyone!

Mr. Vince Hiebert

Principal: Elmdale School

Email: vhiebert@hsd.ca

Instagram: @elmdalehsd

2022-2023 Elmdale Staff

Vince Hiebert Principal

Rose Friesen Learning Support

Wanda Hiebert Head Secretary

Laurena O'Connor Asst. Secretary

Angie Penner School Librarian

Nichelle Doerksen KD

Tammy Klassen KK

Susanne Penner KP

Anna Hocking Grade 1H

Connie Johnson Grade 1J

Lyndsey Engel Grade 2E

Jo-Anne Giesbrecht Grade 2G

Bethany Drewlo Grade 3D

Melissa Fry Grade 3F

Gavin Barkman Grade 3/4B

Mike Martens Grade 4M

Darnell Thiessen Grade 4T

Allison Turton Music

Kelly Tufford Phys-Ed

Pamela Reimer Literacy Support Teacher

Tara Klassen School Counsellor

Murray Neufeld Head Custodian

Maria Bolt Assistant Custodian

Skylar Hart E.A.

Rachel Loewen E.A.

Janet Mehling E.A.

Linda Reimer E.A.

Brooke Rooney E.A.

Jenna Toews E.A.

Anita Unrau E.A.

Brynae Wiebe E.A.

Anita Wiens E.A.

Elmdale Daily Routine

8:50 a.m. Bell – Students come in

9:00 a.m. Bell – Opening Exercises (optional)

9:08 a.m. Bell – O Canada and Announcements

10:30 a.m. Bell – Grade K-2 Recess

10:45 a.m. Bell – Grade 3-4 Recess

11:00 a.m. Bell

12:00 noon Dismiss home lunch students; Gr. K-2 Lunch; Gr. 3-4 Recess

12:30 p.m. Gr. 3-4 Lunch; Gr. K-2 Recess

12:55 p.m. Bell – Students come in.

1:00 pm. Bell – Classes begin

2:00 p.m. Bell – Grade 3-4 Recess

2:15 p.m. Bell – Grade K-2 Recess

2:30 p.m. Bell

3:35 p.m. Homeroom time – Clean up and get ready.

3:40 p.m. Bus students and walkers dismissed.

3:45 p.m. Buses leave & all others dismissed.

Morning Drop-Off Procedure

Please read carefully as some things have changed from previous years.

Walkers/Drop-off

We are asking that students being dropped off do not come before 8:40 and walkers plan to arrive between 8:40 and 9:00. Parents unable to wait until 8:40 will need to make arrangements with the office. Permission for earlier drop off will only be made in exceptional circumstances. Students will play outside until the 8:50 bell rings.

Parents should park in the Family Parking Lot and walk their children across the bus loop as in the past. We’re asking that the goodbyes happen at the fence and students head to the playground or, if arriving after 8:50, directly to the school building using their usual door, without their parent. Supervision will be provided.

PARENTS SHOULD NOT DROP OFF STUDENTS IN THE BUS LOOP IN THE MORNING.

Bus Students

When students arrive at school, bus students will remain outside until the 8:50 bell rings. When the 8:50 bell rings, students will line up at their designated spot and a teacher will come to bring them into the school.

Afternoon Dismissal Procedures

Walkers

Walkers will be dismissed at 3:40. Note that this is only for those who are walking home. Students who meet their parents at school to walk home will be considered part of the “walkers” group.

September 7-9 school walkers will be dismissed at 3:30. Please plan accordingly.

After that, walkers will be dismissed at 3:40. A crossing guard will be provided at Elm Avenue and at Main Street/Brandt Road.

Bus Students

Bus students will be walked from their classrooms to their bus area by grade. Supervision will be provided throughout the bus zone.

Pick Up Students

Student Pick-up will happen after all buses have exited the bus loop at 3:45. Parents may wait in the family parking lot, or pull into the bus loop (after all buses have exited the loop - NO WAITING IN THE BUS LOOP PRIOR TO 3:45!). Students will wait on the basketball court and meet their parents at the fence. As parents pull up to the fence, students will go to meet them at their vehicle - parents may exit their vehicle and meet their child at the fence.

A few guidelines for parents:

Do not enter the bus loop prior to buses leaving
Please do not block the street along Elmdale or Elm while waiting
Pull up along the fence to pick up your child - no double parking. If no space is available, please wait for one to open up
Once your child(ren) has entered your vehicle, proceed through the bus loop to Elm Avenue.
DO NOT turn around in the bus loop

Parents may not wait inside the school when picking up their children at the end of the day.

Family Reminders

All guests are asked to use Entrance A (Flagpole Entrance) when entering and exiting the building.

Please remember to sign in at the office when attending the school. Whether volunteering, dropping something off, or picking up your child during the day, we ask that all guests sign in at the office. Those volunteering at the school will be asked to wear a volunteer badge or sticker to identify you. Adults in the hallway without proper identification will be asked to check in at the office.

Please notify the school if someone other than a parent/guardian is picking up your child. We will not allow a child to go with a different adult without proper notification.

Please make arrangements with your child in advance if possible. The office gets very busy from 3:30-3:50, so it is difficult to get all phone messages to their proper place in a timely manner. If plans change, please contact the school before 3:00 if possible.

If your child is absent, please remember to inform the school ASAP. Our practice is to phone all families whose children are absent without notification as soon as attendance is completed in the morning. This is to ensure the safety of all of our students. If you are going to be away for an extended period of time, we can enter this in our attendance in advance.

Strong Connections

Our Annual Strong Connections days will happen this year on September 16 and 19. Strong Connections is an assessment and relationship building program designed to enhance the beginning-of-the-year connection, assessment and familiarity of each student.

The purpose of this day is for teachers and students to get to know each other better and for teachers to get to know some of your child's strengths and challenges when it comes to learning. This helps us plan better for their needs.

Half of the students will attend each day, and we schedule families so that all of their children will attend the same day. Please understand that your family will NOT be at school either Friday or Monday.

Strong Connection dates are available on the Parent Portal. Please contact the office if you do not have a Parent Portal Account

Parent Portal

All parents/guardians are encouraged to create and regularly check their Parent Portal Account.

The HSD Parent Portal is a communications tool designed to enhance and increase parent/guardian involvement in the education of their children. The portal provides parents/guardians with secure online access to our Student Information System. With a single username and password, parents/guardians can access the following information for each of their children attending an HSD school:

· Student Information

· Attendance Information

· School Fees Account

· Permissions & Consent Forms

· Report Cards

· Change of Contact Form

Follow this LINK to create your account, or contact the school office.

A note from our PAC

Our Parent Advisory Council is looking forward to another year of supporting the learning going on at Elmdale School. We are very thankful for a very involved and encouraging PAC.

Are you interested in what our PAC does? Possibly joining the PAC? The first meeting will take place at 6:30pm on Thursday, September 15 in the Elmdale School Library. All Elmdale parents/caregivers are welcome to attend.

The first fundraiser for the year, selling Rocco's Pizza, will be starting right away. CLICK HERE for information, or watch for the fundraiser package coming home with your children soon!

If you prefer to make a donation directly to the PAC to support our fundraising effort, please CLICK HERE for information on how you can do that.

Family Parking

Located in our main parking lot on the North side of our school, we have our Family Parking lot. This is where all families park to pick up and drop off children. Parents must walk their child from their vehicle to the school playground. Please be aware that at these pick up and drop off times, we have school buses that enter and exit the school parking lot.

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