Sept 30 - Oct 6, 2024

www.ecoleparc.ca

A huge shout out to the families who were able to join us for our annual Terry Fox run. So great to see everyone out to support such a important cause!

We are so proud of our grade 5 student leaders for leading our Orange Shirt Day assembly on Friday. We encourage all our families to commemorate Truth and Reconciliation Day today, Monday, Sept. 30.

Reminder: Wednesday is early dismissal and another Spirit Wear day. This month we are offering our students the chance to dress up like their favorite book character. Of note, Oct. 7 to 11 is Read-in-Week and Mme Milanovic has planned many exciting activities for our students and classes. Thank you to Mme Milanovic!

Our first assembly of the year is coming up on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 9:00 a.m. During the assembly class 11 (Mme Tremblay) will be providing the musical entertainment and class 62 (Mme Hodder) will be doing a short presentation to introduce the Seven Sacred Teachings which we always incorporate into our assemblies. Parents, if you'd like to attend, please join us!

The first night of Parent-Teacher interviews is on Thursday, Oct. 3 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The second night is on Tuesday, Oct. 8. If you missed your chance to book an interview with your classroom teacher, please reach out to your classroom teacher to arrange a time. We will have a Book Fair running in our library from Oct. 3 to Oct. 8. Please check it out when you're in for interviews.

Our staff have been working hard over this last month to include lots of micro-dosing brain reset opportunities for our students. Research is showing that roughly 10 brain resets in our days are helping students to better be able to access their cortex (thinking brains). We have been including strategies in our weekly announcements. If you're curious, please check out this video: Brain Reset September review

If you're wanting to support this great work at home, here is some of our learning:

1. to calm a nervous or anxious brain stem (the brain stem is our body's safety center) you would want to focus on breathing strategies, with a heavy emphasis on really blowing out the exhale in a more deliberate manner. Check out the breathing ball activity in the video as an example.

2. when working to get a person's thinking in their cortex (thinking brain) you want to use strategies that get them thinking. Check out in the video the thumbs up, peace sign activity as an example.

Have a fantastic week everyone!

• Please follow this link to watch our announcement: Le 1 octobre

What's happening this week at École Parc:

Sep 30

• No school - National Truth and Reconciliation Day

Oct 1

• Hot Lunch

Oct 2

• Early Dismissal -One Hour Earlier
• Dress Up Day - Dress Like a Character in a Book
• Monthly Assembly (KA, Gr.1-6) 9:00 am

Oct 3

• Parent / Teacher Interviews 4 pm to 7 pm
• Book Fair Open after School until 7 pm

Oct 4

• PD Day: No School for Students

UPCOMING DATES:

Oct 7

• Book Fair Open after School until 4 pm and during Recesses(10:06-10:24 / 12:00-1:00)
• Read in Week

Oct 8

• Picture Day : KB, Gr 1-6
• Parent / Teacher Interviews 4 pm to 7 pm
• Book Fair Open after School until 7 pm
• Read in Week

Oct 9

• Picture Day : KA, PALS, KinderQuest
• Grade 6 Immunization's AM
• Book Fair Open at First Recess (10:06-10:24) and after School unitl 4 pm
• Read in Week

Oct 14

• Thanksgiving Day - No School

French Immersion Grade 1 to 6 Parent Teacher Interviews – Oct. 3 and Oct. 8

Our first round of Parent -Teacher interviews for our French Immersion students in grades 1 to 6 will be hosted in-person on Thursday, Oct. 3 and Tuesday, Oct. 8 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

***Please note our interviews for PALS (Mrs. Bowen and Mrs. Lipkewich), Quest (Ms. Grendowicz) and French Immersion Kindergarten (Mme Yates) will be held in early December. Please stay tuned for information regarding those interviews in November.

For our French Immersion Grade 1 to 6 families, you will receive an email on Monday, Sept. 23 with booking information and instructions.

Our booking code for this event is: https://schoolinterviews.ca/code/jpsks

For the safety of our students, a reminder that this lane is for QUICK student drop off only. Please park on the street if you need to walk with your student into the school.

A reminder to our families that please avoid sending nut products to school with your student as we have some very severe allergies. We appreciate your support in keeping all our students safe!

If your student is absent, being picked up early or will be arriving late, we ask that you please email our attendance email at EPEAttendance@eips.ca or call the school at 780-998-3741. Please send any DQ permissions to this email as well. We ask that you contact us ahead of time for early pickups so that we may have your student ready on time. We understand that there may be last minute situations. Thank you.

At Ecole Parc, we continue to build positive citizenship through the guiding principles of the Seven Sacred Teachings. Each month, we encourage students to focus on one principle or teaching. Our teachers are looking for students who display great examples of this teaching in the classroom and throughout their day. These students may be recognized by earning the Citizenship award for their class. We are currently reviewing all the Teachings!

Last week, classes were busy learning about residential schools. On Friday, we commemorated Orange Shirt Day with an assembly. Big thanks to our Grade 5 leaders for leading the assembly. If you are interested in commemorating the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I encourage families to check out events happening in Fort Saskatchewan this weekend.

Did you know that the first Wednesday of every month, we offer the opportunity for our First Nations, Metis and Inuit students to smudge. If you would like your child to participate, please complete the Smudging Consent form on Permission Click Form.

From Worry to Wellness:

Empowering Parents to Help Children Navigate Anxiety

It can be hard to know how to support your child when they're experiencing anxiety. Join Kirsty Choquette for this presentation where we'll explore what anxiety is, how to talk to your child about anxiety, and how you can help them (and yourself!) move through the worry.

Sleep Strategies for Neurodivergent Children and Caregivers

This presentation led by Dr. Carole Anne Hapchyn will provide a brief review of key information about sleep and then focus on frequent causes of childhood sleep challenges and specific interventions and strategies to support improved quality and quantity of sleep.

Behavior: The Tip of the Iceberg

In this presentation, we seek to understand behaviors through a developmental and relationship-based approach, being mindful of individual differences and the social and emotional development of our children. Join Dr Jessica Zvonkovic and Dr. Anahita Shokrkon as we look at potential causes and triggers of behaviors and will talk about how to address what often underlies behaviors from the "body up to the top down." Finally, we will explore how we can build positive experiences with our children.

If your child requires any medication, please click here to access the form. Please note we have 2 medical forms. We have a Personal Care Plan and an Administering of Medication Form. Please do not send medication with your child for safety reasons.

Read In week is happening October 7 – 11 this year. We would love to have some parent volunteers come read to the kids. You can volunteer to read to as many or as few of our classes as you like in either English or French. The theme this year is “Reading is for Everyone” so it would be great to see everyone reflected in our volunteers! If you are able to volunteer, please contact Jennifer Milanovic (jennifer.milanovic@eips.ca or call 780-998-3741) and we can set up a time for you to come!

Jennifer Milanovic

Library Technician

École Parc Élémentaire

If your child loses a library or home reading book, please contact the school. If the book is not found within 30 days, the cost of the resource will be assigned to the “Fees” section of your PowerSchool account. Please note, if the book is found within 30 days, a refund will be granted. However, if the book is found after 30 days, a refund will not be granted as we will have purchased a replacement for the library’s collection.

How to Order Hot Lunch at EPE this School Year!

Ecole Parc School Council and Fundraising is using a new platform for ordering hot lunches this year! We will have a rotating schedule of local vendors and the lunches will be offered approximately twice/month on BOTH the Monday and Tuesday of the hot lunch week. Therefore, you can choose to order hot lunch for your child(ren) either or both days if you wish. As well, this will provide the opportunity for both Kindergarten classes to be included.

Please head to www.lunchboxorders.net to create an account and add students you wish to order hot lunch for.

Link for how to add a student to the account: How to add a student to your Lunchbox Account (vidyard.com) Ensure you select "Fort Saskatchewan" and "Ecole Parc Elementaire" when adding your family members.

Please contact lunchboxorders.net support with any questions or help during your account setup and ordering process.

For any other questions, please reach out to EPESchoolcouncil@gmail.com.

Families may pre-order lunches one at a time or as far in advance as you like, ensuring orders are in 1 week prior. We will continue to post reminders for deadlines on our Ecole Parc Elementaire Parents facebook group, as well as our EPE school council website.

Thank you,

Ecole Parc School Council and Fundraising

• Oct 1
  
• Oct 15
• Oct 28 / 29
• Nov 18 / 19
• Dec 2 / 3
• Dec 16 /17

Communication with our families is important to us. Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) uses SchoolMessenger as one way of sharing information directly with our families by phone and email. Messages may include bus cancellations or delays, inclement weather, upcoming events, last-minute cancellations, parental engagement opportunities, emergency notices and more.

Follow the Link to help manage your subscription:https://www.eips.ca/contact/subscribe

For information about our School Council and Fundraising society, please visit our website at:

https://www.epeschoolcouncil.com/

Thank you to the parents who came out to attend the AGM last night. I am happy to announce that Daneille Rusk and Jasmyne Garbe will be staying on as our secretary and treasurer. Devon Klein has joined us as vice chair for the upcoming school year.

This year’s council meetings

At the end of the last school year, we asked parents for feedback regarding engagement with school council in addition to how we manage hot lunches. Thank you to the parents who gave feedback. So many great suggestions were provided, and we will be working over the next few weeks to integrate the suggestions where we can.

We would like to encourage you to come join us. We know that parents have historically stay away for school council for fear of needing to volunteer, but we have a great parent community that answers the call when we need them outside of these meetings. Attending gives you direct access to speak with our school admin, Tandy Atchison and Shelley Boswell, and school board Trustee, Ralph Sorochan regarding initiative and issues at the school, district and provincial levels.

This year in attempt to be more accessible we will be trialing various meeting formats including virtual options. Meeting will be held on the following Wednesdays at 7pm

October 9th

March 12th

November 27th

April 9th

January 15th

May 14th

February 12th

June 11th

For more information, please see the weekly Gazette for details and links. Parents can also find a copy of the meeting agendas and minutes on the school website under the parents tab.

Hot Lunch changes

Over the summer we accomplished our first goal for this school year, the roll out of a new hot lunch platform called Lunch box. This will allow parents to order multiple meals at a time and provide more options for restaurants and meal options. We encouraged parents to explore the new options at www.lunchboxorders.net .

Fundraising

To start the year off we will be offering the Farm to school fundraiser which a great program that supports our schools fundraising initiatives as well as the local food back. This is a great program that has always been a success for our school and community. We hope parents will continue to support it. www.peakfarmtoschool.com

Grizzly gear is coming… stay tuned for more details at they become available

Bringing the community together

Mark your calendar! Our Family/Halloween dance will take place on Friday, October 25th. With plans for more events to take place as the year goes on.

Know a Grizzley team member who makes out school community a great place to be. Nominate them for Grizzly Greatness and the council with recognized them for the dedication and care https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KhC2wY9j3XYdwh3-mMFIkBYE4EA-lMCV5xRHEPa3w1I/edit

School council welcomes all constructive feedback and suggestions. Please contact us at epeschoolcoinucil@gmail.com

Have a great year everyone!

Amanda Shand

Chair, EPE School council and Fundraising Society

FRESH MULCH: The playground trees, courtyard, and gathering circle has a fresh layer of mulch thanks to GCS Construction and the Smith-Garbe family. Gil, Jasmyne, Rylen, and Linda all helped deliver and spread the new mulch last week. Mulch is particularly important for helping protect the tree roots, hold moisture, and keep them cool in hot temperatures.

MUD KITCHEN: Our student chefs love cooking up imaginary dishes at recess, or just digging holes. However, the kitchen supplies tend to travel. We are always in need of replacement items. Do you have old kitchen tools to donate? Drop them off at the office and we will put them out as needed.

Accepted Items:

Spoons of all sizes

Ladles

Flippers

Small pots and pans

Cookie sheets

Muffin tins

Strainers

Funnels

Serving trays

Cleaning brushes

*No glass or sharp objects please.

Cleaning up your yard this fall? We will take bags clean leaves for the courtyard. Bring them around back outside of school hours and dump them in the corner of the courtyard by the black lattice panels on the wall. The kids have fun flattening a leaf pile and it is great fertilizer for the trees, plus provides warm places for the ladybugs to hibernate.

Other Courtyard Supplies:

Chalk

Small wood off cuts

Short branches or twigs (12" or shorter)

Sunflower heads

Brooms

During the 2022/23 school year staff identified that the playground structures were not meeting the needs of all the students, both in type of structure, and space available for students to play. When the playground structure was first built in 2013 there were 180 students in the school. We now have 326. The population has doubled and we have a larger group of students in the PALS and Division 1 (K-3) age group. The existing play structure is designed for ages 5-12. We need an additional play area that meets the needs of students aged 4-8. The goal is to have the project completed within 3 years.

We are excited to hit the ground running with this and officially kick things off this year. We are always looking for more volunteers to join the committee. We meet once a month, time commitment is flexible and there is always lots to do and input needed.

If you are interested in joining the committee or would like more information please feel free to email us at ecoleparcplaygroundexpansion@gmail.com.

Hello Friends and Neighbours!

A new grant is now available and I want you to be aware of it.

The Every Kid Can Play (EKCP) Program is designed to address affordability and accessibility challenges to sport, physical activity, and recreation (SPAR) programs for Alberta kids and their families.

Support for Children and Youth

Alberta families can apply for up to $350 per child to offset registration fees, through funds directed to KidSport Alberta.

Support for Non-profit Organizations

There are two programs are available, one for Provincial Scope organizations and the other for Community-Level non-profit organizations.Funding is available for non-profit organizations to reduce costs associated with the delivery, expansion, or enhancement of existing sport and recreation community-level programs.

Appy today and please share this with your network!

More info and how to apply:

Home | KidSport Alberta (kidsportcanada.ca)

| Alberta Sport

KidSport™ Canada (smartsimple.ca)

Every Kid Can Play Program | Alberta.ca

Is your child riding the bus this year? If yes, download the My Ride and Bus Status apps to stay in the know about your child’s bus stop location, route, pickup time and whether their bus is running on schedule.

The EIPS Correction and Verification Form is available online through your PowerSchool Parent Portal—at the top of the left-hand menu. Use the form to access and update your child’s records information—including address, parent and guardian information, emergency contacts and medical information. Reviewing the form and submitting updates ensures the school has the most up-to-date information regarding your child.

When reviewing the form, pay close attention to all listed phone numbers, email addresses and emergency contact information. Also, if you recently moved, now is the time to ensure the Division has your updated address. Throughout the year, the Division and school use the listed information to communicate with families about important information, including updates, the latest news and events.

PowerSchool Correction and Verification Form
Review and update the form by Sept. 25, 2024

If you have questions about the form or your Parent Portal account, contact the school office at (780) 998 3741.

Did you know you can sync the school calendar to your own calendar? Simply, visit https://www.ecoleparc.ca and click on the applicable subscription option:

· Download to iCal

· Add to Google Calendar

· Subscribe to Calendar

NOTE: Options are located above the calendar.

Once you click on the desired subscription option, follow the instructions. Within seconds, your calendar will contain all École Parc Élémentaire’s important dates including holidays, school-closures days, planned activities, events and more.

EIPS has three administrative procedures (APs) that address the Division’s code of conduct:

· AP 311: Welcoming, Caring, Respectful and Safe Learning Environments for Students

· AP 350: Student Code of Conduct

· AP 351: Student Conduct on School Buses

The Division, and École Parc Élémentaire, are committed to ensuring all members of the school community are provided with welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments that respect diversity and foster a sense of belonging. EIPS encourages all students, staff and families to review the procedures to understand and practice the conduct expected throughout the Division.

Wondering when and how to pay for school fees? School fee information for the 2024-25 school year will be posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal in late September. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. NOTE: Additional fees may be added throughout the year—for example, at the beginning of each semester, as your child takes part in various activities, or they may be adjusted by changes in selected optional courses in junior and senior high school. If you’re unable to pay your school fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived. The application deadline is Dec. 16, 2024.

For more information, visit the https://www.ecoleparc.ca/about/fees on the school website. Alternatively, contact the office at École Parc Élémentaire at 780-998-3741.

Did you know each EIPS bus is equipped with video surveillance, and many school sites have video monitoring equipment?

Video surveillance and equipment help:

· ensure the safety of all students, staff, drivers and property; and

· discourage destructive acts.

As needed, EIPS school administration and Student Transportation staff review video recordings, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. The recordings assist schools and the Division with monitoring student and driver conduct and may be used as evidence in a disciplinary matter.

For more information about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, contact the EIPS FOIP Co-ordinator at 780-464-3477.

The Board of Trustees meets throughout the school year to discuss and make decisions regarding matters important to students, families, schools, communities and public education overall. Community members are encouraged and welcome to attend in person or to tune into the public livestream on the EIPS YouTube channel. For 2024-25 Board Meeting dates, visit the EIPS website and subscribe to the Division calendar.

To register: Groups, Programs, and Workshops