Colts Connection - Parents Edition

November has been an exciting and entertaining month here at PES. From our Remembrance Day Ceremony, to a quick drop in temperature that resulted in a "snow day", to Moovember, and much more; the month has really flown by. Along with all this excitement we have also been dealing with and managing an abundance of illnesses among staff and students, which brings on its own challenges.

With winter weather making its annual return to Alberta I do want to remind parents that we go outside for recesses up to -25 C. It is very important for students to come dressed appropriately. I recognize the challenge for some to get your child to actually put on the clothing that they have to stay warm, but they are expected to be outside if it is warmer than -25 C. If your child doesn't have access to appropriate winter clothing please contact your child's teacher or the school directly and we will make sure they get fitted with proper gear.

Aside from the colder weather and some of the battles with clothing that exist, I wanted to connect with families around ways that parents, guardians, older siblings, etc can support their child's learning at home. I know with all the activities, work schedules, and just life happening around us; the opportunities to connect with your child about the school day and support their learning journey may seem challenging. However, the benefits of reading at home are huge (see infographic below). If reading at home isn't possible, spend a few minutes doing Math talks. For early years, practice counting to 100 or higher and basic addition and subtraction facts. As students get into the middle grades of 3 and 4 we can move to incorporate 10 x 10 multiplication and division. With the oldest students, grade 5 and 6 are expanding the multiplication and division to 12 x 12. This doesn't have to be a long period of time and can just be verbal, but regular practice and building of the foundational Numeracy and Literacy skills at home greatly improves student confidence and success in school and beyond. The strong partnerships with families and schools only enhance our students' abilities to succeed!

This letter (click here) was sent out to parents via email in the middle of November with some important information about the new district wide report card and the new grading scale being used across the school division in K-6.

All student marks will be up to date in the Parent Portal as of December 1 preparation for Parent Teacher Interviews on December 7th.

We will be having an in-person Christmas Concert this year on December 21st, 2022. There will be two showings at 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. We are excited to have all of our families back in our school for our Christmas Concert and our students will be working hard to learn their songs to put on a great show for everyone!

We will also be hosting a bake sale to raise funds to help offset the cost of Grade 6 camp for our students. So not only do you get to watch an amazing concert, you can also pick up some delicious treats to snack on!

We had local author Krystal Davidson in to read her story book "Frank the Tank Adventures" to our Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. The students got to listen to Krystal read her book and then ask her questions about her dog, her book, and what it is like being an author. Thank you Krystal for stopping in! You can read more about Krystal and her book here: https://frankthetankbooks.com/

We are aware of the issues had by a lot of our families this year with school photos. With the delay in proofs, lost images, and other issues this year, we have decided to move away from using Lifetouch as our school photo company. Starting next school year, we will be using Edge Imaging as our school photo company. We have heard great things and are hopeful for a much improved experience for us and our families.

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers who are in our school throughout the month, from In-school Mentors, to the snack bin refillers, to the picture day helpers, to hot lunch helpers, to classroom volunteers, to field trip volunteers, - we have missed having you in our building and greatly appreciate the time and commitment to helping out around our school!

On November 18, we received our school’s allocation from the ~$150 000 for the COVID Learning Disruption. The grant looks a bit different from last year in that we have the ability to choose the length of time and whether we want to put the money towards a teacher or EA as well as how long to run the intervention position. We are currently looking at our options and what is going to be the most effective support for our students. The position will start in January.

The PES Colts Volleyball squad consisting of Grade 5 and 6 students wrapped up their season in November. On November 18, our Grade 6s hosted Iron Ridge Intermediate Campus for an end-of-season mini-tournament. The players all worked hard, showed great sportsmanship, and had a lot of fun. It was great to see so many parents and students in the gym to watch and cheer on our Colts!

We are looking forward to Basketball starting up in the new year!

All hot lunches for the school year are available for purchase in your Parent Portal. Our hot lunches are another fundraising source for Grade 6 Camp to help reduce the cost for our students to attend.

Please note, there is no School Council Meeting in December. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 30th, at 6:30 pm at the school. All parents/guardians are welcome to attend.

December 1 - Subway Lunch Day

December 5 - Purdy's Chocolate Order Pickup

December 7 - Parent Teacher Interviews

December 9 - Staff Collaboration Day - No School for Students

December 19 - Christmas Hat Day

December 20 - Christmas Sweater Day

December 21 - Dress Your Best - Christmas Concert

December 22 - PJ Day

December 23- January 8 - No school Christmas Break

January 9 - Classes resume