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Weekly Newsletter - Dec. 22
It's beginning to look a lot like...🎄
We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season, however, you choose to celebrate. Classes will resume on Monday, January 8. Enjoy the Christmas Break and all the best in 2024!
🎅🏼 🎅🏼 🎅🏼 🎅🏼 🎅🏼
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Board of Trustees
I want to extend warm holiday wishes to all students, staff and families on behalf of the Elk Island Public Schools Board of Trustees.
We’re grateful to have school communities full of hard-working families committed to the success of their children. Education doesn’t just happen in school, it happens at home too—in every homework assignment completed, every textbook chapter read and every test reviewed. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to cultivate learning at home, so that students are eager to strive for their best at school the next day. We also appreciate the countless hours school councils put into planning events and appreciate all the people who volunteer at and attend them. Your support is invaluable.
We hope you enjoy all the holiday concerts and festivities happening at your schools, and that you get some well-deserved rest during the break. To each and every person, have a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year.
We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Jan. 8, 2024.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays,
Cathy Allen
EIPS Board Chair
Upcoming Dates and Events
Dec. 22 - Jan. 7 - Christmas Break
JANUARY
Jan. 8 - Classes Resume
Jan. 10 - Early Dismissal (Twin Day/ Dress as a Staff Member)
Jan. 10 - Gathering of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Families and Allies
Jan. 11 - Linking Generations Visit
Jan. 15 - Division High School Information Night
Jan. 16 - School Council Meeting 6:30 pm & Parent Action Society Meeting 7:30 pm
Christmas Concert Donation & Best Seat in the House Raffle Update
A huge shout out to our LLR Families! Our "Best Seats in the House" raffle raised $798.00 and another $1528.80 was collected in person at our Christmas concerts, for a total raised of $2326.80. LLR put $992.25 to cover bus transportation for the event, therefore the remaining amount of $1334.55 is being donated to the Strathcona Foodbank. Way to go Wolves!
Looking Ahead - School Fees for 2024-25
A school messenger was sent home earlier today regarding school fees for the 2024-25 school year. We will be discussing our fees at our next School Council meeting on January 16. School administration will use feedback provided to help determine fees , which will then be shared at the March school council meeting, posted to our website and shared via link through email
🗓 Important Dates🌲
Christmas Break
Lakeland Ridge School will close for the Christmas break at the end of the day on Friday, December 22, 2023. The school will reopen on Monday, January 8, 2024. During this time, if you have any school-related questions or concerns, contact Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) Central Services at 780-464-3477.
EIPS Central Services Christmas Break Hours
Closed December 25, 2023 to January 1, 2024
Open January 2, 2024; 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
*for location and contact information visit www.eips.ca.
From everyone at Elk Island Public Schools, we wish all of you a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year.
Kindergarten Registration Starts Soon!
Is your child turning five on or before December 31, 2024? If so, it’s almost time to register for kindergarten.
Kindergarten registration opens for the 2024-25 school year on February 1, 2024.
To help families prepare, Elk Island Public Schools has put together an online EIPS Kindergarten Tool kit to make the transition as smooth as possible. The kit includes information on registration, important dates, programming options, what to expect, eligibility, how to find your designated school, transportation and more.
Additional information regarding Lakeland Ridge’s kindergarten program is available at Lakelandridge.ca.
Returning Student Registration: 2024-25
Mark your calendars! Returning student registration for the 2024-25 school year will take place February 8-21, 2024.
Families of all current students—with the exception of graduating Grade 12 students—must complete the process to confirm the school their child plans to attend in the 2024-25 school year or advise the Division of their plans not to return to EIPS. Additionally, students who want to attend a non-designated school need to make that request through the returning student registration process—acceptance is based on available space. Watch for more details in the new year.
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First Nations, Metis and Inuit information
Welcome to Frost Exploding Moon - pawâcakinisîsipîsim ᐸᐚᒐᑭᓂᓰᓯᐲᓯᒼ
Christmas and New Year’s Events Around Town
These events are not EIPS directed. We are sharing events that are happening around us this Christmas season in the greater Edmonton area.
December 26 – Indigenous Campfire Conversations with host Beaver Hills Biosphere
December 31 – Metis Crossing’s New Year’s Eve Celebration & Community Dance
January 2024
January 8 – In-person Cree Language Classes, in Edmonton
January 10 – Online Cree Language Classes, over Zoom
Upcoming Days of Significance
There are many important dates of significance in the coming weeks, and EIPS is planning many engaging learning experiences for staff and students across the Division. Please mark your calendars now, so you don’t miss out on these very special events.
Family Gathering | January 10
The EIPS First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education team is thrilled to invite you all to our Indigenous Education family gathering on Wednesday, January 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. It will be a Métis Kitchen Party! Glen Allan Elementary, located at 106 Georgian Way in Sherwood Park, has generously offered their gym space for our gathering. Please join us for a meal to begin the evening and then spend time together listening to Métis fiddle champions Alex Kusturok and Brianna Lizotte as well as learning some basic Métis dance steps. It will be a wonderful family dance party to lighten up the long winter evenings! To help with our planning and guarantee there'll be enough food for everyone in attendance, RSVP through the online form as soon as possible to secure your spot.
You may have seen our two special guests on the news when they were part of the Indigenous delegation to travel to Rome to meet with the Pope. Alex and Brianne brought the beauty, strength and resilience of their Métis culture by playing their fiddles in the Vatican. Watch the video You can learn more about Alex Kusturok and Brianna Lizotte from their webpages.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
January 4 is National Ribbon Skirt Day, but EIPS is on winter break at that time. Therefore, we’ve planned our own EIPS division-wide Ribbon Skirt/Ribbon Shirt Day on February 7.