ÉRE Connection

Mid-October 2023 School Newsletter

In the October Newsletter!

School Council Election Results
Hot Lunch Orders Due Oct 20
Grandparent Talent Show
Crosswalks
Halloween Dress Up, Oct 31
Remembrance Assembly, Nov 8, 9:30 am
Principal's Message

1. School Council

Our School Council & Society met on Sept 27 and elected a new executive for the upcoming school year:

Chairperson: Darlene Nordstrom

Vice Chair: Vanessa Lobley

Secretary: Tiffany Hudey

Treasurer: Mark Ceelan

Hot Lunch Coordinators: Terri Hemphill, Elaine Crebas, Vanessa Watt

Thank you Vanessa Lobley for serving 3 terms as chair. We appreciate your leadership and commitment. Council has seen much growth and stability during your time as chair. We appreciate that there is a thoughtful succession plan to now bring Darlene in as chair while Vanessa can continue to serve in a mentorship role.
A big thank you to outgoing executive members Jeanette Plante and Amanda Mix. Both have served in official capacities (Treasurer and Hot Lunch Coordinator) for two years. They both continue to be active on council while mentoring new parents into roles.
Welcome newcomers to the executive: Mark, Terri, Elaine, & Vanessa W
The School Council & Society are really important to a healthy school. The Council & Society coordinate enhancements at the school, advise the principal, assist with hot lunches, and coordinate some fundraising.
The next council meeting will be October 23, 6 pm, at the school. ÉRE parents & caregivers are encouraged to attend. There will be supervision in the gym for any children that also attend.
The School Council & Society can be reached directly at: ereparentcouncil@gmail.com

If after school plans are different than usual, please write them into the student agenda.

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2. Hot Lunch & Milk Program

Our Hot Lunch and the Milk Program is ready to go!

November orders are due by October 20.
December orders are due by November 20.
Hot Lunch is offered on Mondays and Thursdays.
The Milk Program offers white or chocolate milk available to order every day.

School Council organizes our hot lunch and milk program

To Order Hot Lunch or Milk:
- Go to ere.hotlunches.net
- Click "Click Here to Register" (A new registration is required each year.)
- Enter Access Code REHL
- Complete the rest of the registration form.
- Click "Register Now" button at the bottom
- Follow the instructions to add each child at ÉRE
- Once your child(ren) are registered, click on "Orders"

3. Grandparent Talent Show

We announced our Grandparents Talent Show at Grandparents Day - love the kid cheer when it was announced :)
Our grandparents have really special talents and we want to see them!
Please encourage students to think about the talents their grandparents have and then create a video submission of the talent. Talents might be: knitting, cooking, collecting old cars, musical, reciting a poem, giving the best hugs, etc. We are certain we will love whatever you come up with!
Video submissions can be made through our Flip link until Dec 15 - https://flip.com/f976faf8
If you would rather present your talent live at the assembly, please connect with Mr. Bowman.
We will watch the grandparent talents at our Dec 22 assembly as a special Christmas Gift to ourselves :)

4. 2023/24 School Re-Enrollment Form

The 2023/24 School Re-Enrolment Form (formerly called the Demographic Form) is now available in your Parent Portal/School Engage account.

Please complete as soon as possible to ensure we have current information at the school.
If you have troubles logging in feel free to contact the office and we can assist you.
Form will need to be completed through a computer as the app will not work.

5. New Bus Status 4 App

The Bus Status App has been given a major update. The new App will be faster, more reliable, and better optimized for families that rely on Bus Status. This app replaces Bus Status 3 App which will no longer be supported after Sept 29.

Download the Bus Status 4 App TODAY from your Apple or Google Play stores.

LINK: Apple App Store

LINK: Google Play Store

6. ÉRE Family Halloween Dance, Oct 27, 6-8 pm

Your School Council invites you to a Family Halloween Dance in the ERE school gym.

Friday, October 27, 6-8 pm

At Ecole Rocky Elementary

Free Admission

Concession and Glow Items available for purchase (cash only)

All children attending need to have an accompanying adult stay for the event.

Bring the whole family! Meet the ERE Community!

Family friendly costumes are encouraged!

(Not allowed are scary/gory costumes or real looking weapons.)

7. Crosswalks

We are lucky to have Mrs. Maxwell & Ms. Bourdeau patrolling the nearby crosswalks before and after school until Christmas.
As shared at our Sept 27 School Council meeting, the funding for our crosswalk guards will run out at Christmas.
School Council is exploring other funding sources to have the service continue January-June 2024.
A letter seeking donations can be found here
If we do not have a crosswalk solution by Christmas, the crosswalk patrol service will fade away in January
Please connect with Mr. Bowman if you have ideas or thoughts about the service.

8. Upcoming Assemblies & Special Events

We are pleased to welcome real-life author Lorna Schultz Nicholson to the school Oct 23/24. Lorna Schultz Nicholson splits her time between Edmonton and Penticton. She has written several hockey related books including one about Connor McDavid, and GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE: The Joey Moss Story. Mrs. Schultz Nicholson will spend some time with each class over the two days.
Our October Assembly is October 31 at 2:00 pm. This is always a fun assembly where we show off all the creative student costumes.
The ERE Remembrance Assembly is one of our most important assemblies of the year, taking place at 9:30 am on November 8. The goal is to help students honour and remember that freedom is never free. Our program will include student singing performances, a shadow play performance, and the Last Post played by ERE Parent Celyn Magnus.

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9. Parent/Teacher Interviews and Book Fair coming Nov 22/23

Term 1 Report Cards will be sent home Nov 17.
Parent / Teacher interviews Nov 22/23 will be offered in person, by phone, or by video conference 4:30 - 7:30 pm. Information for booking will come out mid-November.
The Book Fair will be at ÉRE during Parent/Teacher Interviews. There will be a wide selection of new books to peruse and purchase.
If you have questions or concerns now, please don't wait for interviews to see the teacher. Our team would much prefer to address any issues in a timely manner.

10. The ÉRE Team

Please welcome Dale Wilfred as our French Language Assistant. Dale grew up in Paris, France and is fluently bilingual. He has made an immediate impact assisting students with learning French.
Our school is pleased to host a first year field experience student from the UofC. Steve Marks is with our school Oct 10-20 and has made himself a valuable short-term addition.
Regular communication with your child's teacher is essential. Please reach out any time you have questions or information to share.
We also have a great team of support therapists available at ÉRE, including Nancy Kindjerski (Speech & Language Pathologist), Erin Haney (Speech & Language Assistant), Jan Gervais (Occupational Therapy), & Janelle Van Heeren (Physical Therapy).
Our School Resource Office is Cst. Bailey Kathol
Please reach out anytime you have questions. Staff e-mails are firstname.lastname@wrsd.ca

11. WRSD is hiring!

The staffing at ÉRE is complete, but our friends at other area schools have some open positions. We would also like to add more names to our casual lists. Please pass along to anyone looking for full time, part time, or casual work.

Educational Assistant at Charlotte Small or Caroline
Caretaker at Caroline, Pioneer School, or Charotte Small
Casual Teaching Staff
Casual Education Assistant
Casual Caretaker

12. Volunteers

Volunteers at ÉRE help our school really hum!

Last year, volunteers at ÉRE logged over 3000 volunteer hours through activities like:

reading with students
recess supervision
assisting in the library
assisting with hot lunch
field trip supervisors
breakfast volunteers
tying skates
sharing special talents
organizing resources

If you have a passion for working with children, we would encourage you to contribute to our learning environment through volunteering.

Regular volunteers require a Criminal Record Check and a Vulnerable Records Check from the RCMP detachment. Please pick up a letter from the school to assist in receiving these documents.

A Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Records Check are valid for 3 years at the school. Check with the school office if you are unsure about the expiry of your documents.

13. This & That

School health has improved steadily year over year. The average daily ill in September 2021 was 9.7%,. September 2022 was 4.5%. September 2023 was the best of the three at 3% daily ill which is back to historically normal.
Halloween dress up can be for the entire day on Oct 31. Not allowed are scary/gory costumes or real looking weapons.
Mrs. McLaughlin is looking for the donation of some Beanie Bag type stuffies (8" or smaller) to use with students keeping the beat.
With skating season upon us, we have noted a few gaps in our school supply of skates. We are seeking donations of size 10/11 figure skates & size 3-9 hockey skates.
Free breakfast is served every morning in our front foyer 8:20 - 8:40 am. All students are welcome to grab a bite to eat.
If your child will be absent from school, please connect with our Student Attendance Line by phone 1-855-756-2797 or use the School Messenger App
Please use your child's agenda for writing notes to the teacher and communicating the after school plan.
If your child's after school plan is different than usual, please write this in the student agenda. It helps a lot when students are unsure after school.
There are no microwaves at the school for student use. Please use thermoses to send hot food instead.
If at all possible, when paying for items like agendas, field trips or swimming, please pay through School Cash Online located at: https://wildrose.schoolcashonline.com/ This greatly reduces the chances of lost money or discrepancies in payments made.
Our school website is regularly updated with important dates, school newsletters, and useful links along with information about the school. https://ecolerocky.wrsd.ca/
Social Media - The school regularly updates our Facebook account with good news stories and upcoming events. Please consider giving us a follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecolerockyelementary

Principals' Message

Hello ÉRE Families!

We are still feeling the glow from our Grandparent & Grandfriends Day on October 5.

It was spectacular to host over 200 grandparents. We started the event with a program in the gym that included a song from the primary students, a story about a young boy who helps his 95 year old friend find her memories, followed by another song from our older students.

After our assembly, we enjoyed delicious soup made by the Asokewin Friendship Centre. For the rest of the afternoon, students showed off the school, played board games, and enjoyed other classroom activities.

Some of the grandparents traveled from Red Deer, Edmonton, Calgary, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Lethbridge, Saskatchewan and Ontario. One set of grandparents came from South Africa. Another set of grandparents indicated they have 42 grandchildren!

There is just something really special about having our grandparents in the school. We hope to see our grandparents again soon - perhaps volunteering at the school, or at the Dec 13 Christmas Concert, or in the Grandparent Talent Show on Dec 22, or perhaps at next years Grandparents Day.

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We are off to an excellent start on the school year and now well into our class routines and beginning to learn new material. A reminder that a big part of our success this year will come from working as a team to support the growth of your child. Please reach out early and often if you have any questions, ideas, or accolades to share.

With gratitude!

Tim Bowman‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Kim Simo

Principal ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Vice Principal

(403) 845-3541 ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ (403) 845-3541

tim.bowman@wrsd.ca ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎kim.simo@wrsd.ca

September Student of the Month

Kindergarten - Maiah Brutas, Ember Rose Bigchild, Cole Crebas, Aryanna Vanderaa
Grade 1 - Kel-El Bellen, Tayla Gordon, Rowyn Anderson, Winnie Matus, Scarlett Scott
Grade 2 - Tristyn Johnson, Quinnlan Visotto, Clara Gilbert
Grade 3 - Dedan Bakker, Coby Appleyard, Carson Burke, Josie Eliason
Grade 4 - Lawson Bevil, Jaxyn Zezula, Shepherd Halladay
Grade 5 - Sarenity Miller, Oliver Spoor, Emmett Gervais, Colby Johnson, Michelle Kerik, Jamie-Lee Martin