GISH GLIMPSE

Dear Warrior Families,

We are moving into March and we can taste the beginning of a change in season!

I think we should give ourselves a pat on the back for making it through February as it was a cold one! What I do appreciate about February is that we can begin to notice the longer days and, for a lot of us, we are greeted with an amazing sunrise on our way to work!

In February we celebrated the transition from semester one, to semester two, Valentines Day and of course, our 100th day of school!

March is another busy month here at ESG!

Important Dates

March 3rd - K-11 Returning Student Forms will be available. You will receive an email with a link, and should also be able to go through PowerSchool. (Due by 21st of March)

March 7th, is our STAFF PD DAY. NO school.

March 19th and 20th 5 pm - 8 pm - Parent Teacher Interviews

March 24th - 31st - SPRING BREAK.

April 1st - return to school

Continued Concern

A reminder to all families when dropping off and picking up your children, there is continued concern about safety from our school community and local Akinsdale community. It is imperative that we work together to ensure these very congested times of the day are safe. Please know that we are currently looking at solutions to improve the safety of our drop off and pick up times. We will be sending a survey out soon for you to fill out to help us as we make decisions moving forward.

I invite you to reach out to me at any time if you have questions or concerns. Derek Harrison

Sincerely,

Mr. Harrison

Tuesday, Mar. 4 - Elementary Ski Day

Wednesday, Mar. 5 - Healthy Hunger - MacDonald's

• Gr. 1 - 6 Global Swimming Lessons

Thursday, Mar. 6 - Wacky Hair Day

Friday, Mar. 7 - PD Day No School

Tuesday, Mar. 11 - Jr. High Information Evening 6:30 - 7:30

Wednesday, Mar. 12 - Healthy Hunger - Canadian Brewhouse

• Gr. 1 - 6 Global Swimming Lessons

Friday, Mar. 13 - Jr. High Marmot Basin Ski Trip

Wednesday, Mar. 19 - Healthy Hunger - Little Caesars

• Gr. 1 - 6 Global Swimming Lessons
• 5 pm Parent Teacher Interviews

Thursday, Mar. 20 - 12:30 pm Bravo Choir Gr. 3 - 6 Performance

• 5 pm Parent Teacher Interviews

Friday, Mar. 21 - Gish Wear/Hat Day $2 - Proceeds go to Autism Edmonton

Monday Mar. 24 - Monday, Mar. 31 - Spring Break NO School

Interviews will be held March 19 & 20 from 5pm - 8pm. The booking link will open at 8am on March 12 and close March 19. Spaces fill up fast

Kindergarten registration is now open. If you would like to register your child for the 2025/2026 Kindergarten year please do so right away.

Returning Student Registrations will open on March 3 in PowerSchool and are due March 21. Parents will be sent a notification through email, once you have received this communication you can then fill out the forms. The link to the forms can be found on the left-hand side of your PowerSchool account just above Student Fees and Forms. Parents are reminded to complete the form for each child by selecting their names from the top of the page. Please complete these forms as soon as possible, late registrations limit our ability to plan accurately. Thank you

If your child is attending the Marmot Ski trip, fees are due by March 6th. Please go to your PowerSchool account and pay them as soon as possible.

The warmer weather has brought upon us PUDDLE SEASON! Please send your child to school with extra pants and socks in their backpack. If your child has recently brought home a change of clothes from the office, please wash and return them.

Gish School yearbooks will now be done completely through Smart Photography and will ship directly to your home in the Fall of 2025! All yearbook orders must be placed before August 31, 2025. Please go to the Smart Photography website to order.

To celebrate Mr. Harrison's Birthday this month staff surprised him by having a super secret spirit day with the theme "Dress as Mr. Harrison". The halls were filled with toques, skinny jeans, and plaid. What a fun way to celebrate the big boss!

The Kindergarten classes were lucky to learn from the knowledge of Amy Watson as she shared about the Metis grub box today in our classes. Students also got to sample some tasty bannock and jam!

Grade 4's went to the Winspear and sat in the very front row! What a wonderful opportunity.

This month we celebrated Valentine's day!

February 18th marked the 100th day of school! One hundred days of school means that the kids are 100 days wiser!

Our Jr. High students celebrated the end of semester 1 with a trip to Millennium Place for Warrior day out!

Fit for life went to Sturgeon Valley Athletic Club and took a spin class!

This month, grades 4-9 at Elmer Gish had the incredible opportunity to hear from Chidi C. Iwuchukwu, who spoke about overcoming fear, racism, discrimination, resilience, and the power of speaking up!

He reminded us that 97% of our fears never come true—and even when they do, we grow and learn from them. His message of courage and perseverance left us all inspired to stand up, speak out, and chase our dreams.

Thank you, Chidi, for sharing your wisdom and empowering our students! #BlackHistoryMonth #CourageOverFear #ElmerGish

Thank you to everyone who donated food for our food drive. Your donations will greatly benefit those in need.

Congratulations to our March Madness 3 on 3 winners!

The Gish Parents Association Fundraising Society continues our partnership with Healthy Hunger to bring a Hot Lunch program for our Gish Warriors. All proceeds made from our lunch program go to

directly support many wonderful opportunities that benefit our students. Please click the link below to order. Cut off day to order is the Friday before the next Wednesday hot lunch day.

Wednesday, Mar. 5 - McDonald's

Wednesday, Mar. 12 - Canadian Brewhouse

Wednesday, Mar. 19 - Little Caesars

GPA Meetings are usually held once per month in a hybrid format, in person and online. Due to Spring Break our next meeting is April 14that 6:30pm. A link will be sent prior to the meeting for those who wish to attend online. But! We love to see you in person too!

Thank you, Gish families, for your support in the Valentine’s Day fundraiser. All funds raised were

reinvested to support our school!

We love hearing how much parents and kids enjoy the Code Ninjas classes. We hope to bring you more in the future. Stay tuned to see when the next one will be!

Pizza Night

Mark your calendars! Elmer S. Gish School Pizza Night is happening on Saturday, March 1st, and

Sunday, March 2 nd ! Use promo code ESG15 at papajohns.ca to get 15% off the regular menu price. Plus, 15% of net sales from this code will go to the Elmer S. Gish Compassion Committee. The code is valid at the St. Albert and Castledowns locations for pick-up or delivery. Thanks to @papajohnsprairies for the support!

Compassion Committee

The Gish Compassion Committee provides support to families at Gish who are facing difficult or

unexpected life circumstances. The need for this fund is always growing. Any family can contact the school admin to ask for support. This is a completely confidential process. The Compassion Committee does not know the name of the family; they only receive the age/grade of the children and what the family might need. Please email Sue Werner if your family could use some extra support any time through the year.

Volunteers

There are a lot of ways to get involved at Gish! The GPA works tirelessly through the year to fundraise and foster community. We have made signing up for GPA volunteer opportunities a super easy process!

If you are interested in volunteering for the Gish Parent's Association please email

esgpavolunteers@gmail.com or join us for our monthly meetings. ALL ARE WELCOME!

Each week a team of lovely parents comes in to organize our Hot Lunch program. Without them we

would not be able to have such a smooth and successful program. Thank you for all that you do, we

really appreciate it!

Email: esg@spschools.org
Website: https://esgish.spschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=970059&pageId=12037863#page
Phone: 780-459-7766
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElmerSGishSchool/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARBsk-ZhqD_tyEPuCBCEkKBKOTXg_NJu1B9P7KnPimYa8yYQT6DOxnwErtRKsMhMqaVgej4sgTISzn12
Twitter: @GishEnergy