Nov 13 - 17, 2023

What a busy week we had at the school. Our building was absolutely vibrating with excitement on Halloween! It was so fun to see our students all dressed up. We also hosted another monthly assembly on Wednesday. We then finished our week with our Remembrance Day ceremony. Our students were so respectful and attentive during our ceremony. Well done Grizzlies!

Of note, we will no longer be collecting pop and juice recycling at the school. Please ask your students to bring them home to be recycled, if you send them.

We hope everyone has a wonderful November break and we look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday, Nov. 13. Please check out the dates and booking information below as our Parent-Teacher Interviews are coming up quickly.

• Please follow this link to watch our announcements: Le 13 novembre

What's happening this week at École Parc:

Nov 6 to 10 - November Break

Nov 12-17 - Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week

Nov 15 - Kindergarten Transitions and PALS Parent-Teacher Interviews

Nov 15 - Fire Drill

Nov. 16 - Parent-Teacher Interviews PALS and French Immersion K - 6

Nov 17 - Parent Teacher Interviews Kindergarten only

Upcoming Dates to be aware of:

Nov 20 - National Child Day

Nov. 21 - Parent-Teacher Interviews French Immersion Gr K- 6

Nov 21 - Earth Rangers Assembly K-6 9:00 am-10:00 am

Nov 27 - Grade 3 Field Trip Ukrainian Village

Nov 29 - School Council and Fundraising Meeting 7:00 pm

Nov 30 - Hold and Secure Drill 9:50 am

You will receive an email on November 8th with all your booking information. Please note the Parent Teacher Interview booking system will open for booking at 3:00 pm.

Look what’s coming up at the Fort Saskatchewan Public Library! Mme Milanovic is hosting a session for parents about helping their elementary-aged children succeed in math on Wednesday, November 22 from 6:30 – 7:30. You will learn about the so-called “new math” and how this perspective promotes mathematical thinking without sacrificing any mathematical rigour. Information about the types of activities you can do at home to help encourage mathematical thinking will be provided as well as an overview of the concepts your children are learning in elementary math. The session is free, but you must register for it! The library is also providing an activity for your children to do while you are learning if you choose to bring them along. For more information about the children’s activity, please contact the public library at 780-998-4275.

Our students have been working hard to put together a space themed book fair! This is our English book fair so the majority of the books will be in English, with a small number of French books. This gets switched up for the next book fair in February where the majority of the books are in French.

The book fair will be open as follows:

• Wednesday, November 15: 12:15 – 7 PM
• Thursday, November 16: 3 – 7 PM
• Friday, November 17: 12-4:30 PM
• Monday November 20: 3-4 PM
• Tuesday November 21: 3-7 PM

As usual, we will have teacher wish lists available if you chose to donate a book a to the classroom.

The proceeds from the book fair allow us to purchase not only new library books but also books and resources for the classrooms. We have purchased several book club kits for the classrooms and little extras that aren’t always in the budget to supplement art projects and other classroom endeavors. We always strive to reach the highest rewards possible for the school. When our sales are $4000 or more, we receive 50% of the proceeds back in Scholastic dollars.

Thank you to everyone who helps make the book fair a success!

Get involved in activities across the province to learn how to stand up to bullying wherever it happens.

Click here for more information.

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. During the month of November, we are focused on the teaching of Love.

With the winter season almost here, we want to remind families to dress children appropriately for the weather when getting ready for school or the bus. The weather often changes unexpectedly throughout the day, so please select suitable outerwear and ensure your child is prepared for changing conditions.

If inclement weather conditions occur, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) advises families of any bus cancellations using various communications tools—automated-telephone messages, email, SMS, alerts posted on eips.ca and school websites, Twitter, Facebook, local radio stations, and notification through both the Bus Status and the Ride 360 apps. Morning bus cancellations are posted on eips.ca by 6:30 a.m.

Decisions regarding bus cancellations are guided by EIPS administrative procedures that state, “school bus service may be suspended…when there is a forecast or current temperature of -40 C, including wind chill factor, in one or more regions.” Other reasons for suspending or delaying school bus services include adverse weather and poor road conditions. When school bus services are suspended, schools remain open to students. EIPS believes families have the right and responsibility to make choices for their children based on their beliefs and perceptions of safety during times of inclement weather.

For more information, contact EIPS Student Transportation at 780-417-8151.

School fee information for the 2023-24 school year will be posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal in late September. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. To access your fee information, simply log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal and go to “Student Fees.” There you can view your fees and pay online using a credit card.

Don’t forget to log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal regularly throughout the year. Fees are often added to your child’s account to cover the cost of certain school activities such as field trips, class projects, athletic-team fees and more. Additionally, junior high and senior high fees can change as courses are added and deleted.

If you’re unable to pay your school fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived by submitting an Application for a Waiver of Fees. The application deadline is Dec. 15, 2023.

For more information about school fees, waivers and payment deadlines visit eips.ca. Alternatively, contact Sherri Prince, Business Manager at Ecole Parc at 780-998-3741.

To view your student's photos please log in to www.mylifetouch.ca and use your student's ALBERTA STUDENT NUMBER as the password(this is the password your child uses to log in at school). If you do not know the ASN, it is listed in Powerschool when you click on Student Fees. If you have any questions, please contact Life Touch. Thank you.

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.

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.

The health and safety of staff, students and visitors is a top priority. Continue to reinforce the following hygiene habits to protect staff and students from spreading respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.

• Stay home if you’re feeling sick.
• Wash or sanitize your hands often.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes.
• Avoid touching your face.
• Clean and disinfect high touch surfaces regularly.
• Wear a mask if you get sick or develop symptoms while at school or work.

As per Alberta Health guidelines, staff, students, contractors and visitors who have symptoms of respiratory Illness or test positive for COVID, should stay home until:

• symptoms have improved,
• they feel well enough to resume normal activities, and
• they have been fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications.

For anyone who has a respiratory illness or has tested positive for COVID, it is recommended that they wear a mask for a total of 10 days from the onset of symptoms—even if the symptoms have resolved or improved—when in indoor settings with other individuals.

Bonjour Ecole Parc Families!

Just a quick reminder that our Grizzly Gear Fundraiser is currently running. One thing to note this will be the only opportunity to purchase Grizzly Gear this year.

It's a great opportunity to pick up some items to show off your school pride or perhaps get some items to add under the tree!

There are LOTS of great items available (see attached flyer).

To place your order visit the Ecole Parc Fundraising Society Webpage:

https://www.epeschoolcouncil.com/shop

Orders close November 13th 2023.

If you have any questions please email us at epeschoolcouncil@gmail.com

Thank you so much and have a wonderful fall break!

SKYHY PIZZA AND DONAIR!

Nov 21 (Kinder B), Nov 22 (Kinder A-Gr 6)

Order closes Tues Nov 14 @ Noon!

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.

November is Family Violence Prevention Awareness Month in Alberta! This month FCSS and the Fort Family Violence Prevention Coalition are asking all residents to join us in learning more about the supports available to people experiencing abuse and how to recognize the warning signs so that we can end family violence in our community.

Family violence can happen to people of all ages, abilities, sexual orientations, genders and cultural identity. It happens in all communities and Fort Saskatchewan is no exception: so far this year we have seen an average of 11 family violence occurrences for every 1000 people, including 239 children. In Alberta, the statistics are equally distressing. Approximately 1 in 3 people in the province will experience family violence at some point in their lives.

This year we are hosting several events to help raise awareness about family violence in our city and how, you, as a resident, family member, co-worker, parent and friend can support someone who is experiencing violence. To learn more about the events happening this month or for more information on family violence visit: fortsask.ca/FVPM or call FCSS at 780-992-6206.

Together we can raise awareness and take action to create a safer and more supportive community for everyone. It's time to stand up against family violence and work towards a brighter, violence-free future for Fort Saskatchewan.

Krista Allan

Community Development Coordinator

FCSS Fort Saskatchean

kallan@fortsaskc.ca