Dear Parents & Guardians:
In this post you will find information for the following:
· Important Dates
· Principal’s Message
· School Council Elections – Sept. 19 (1:30-3:00)
· Save the Date – EPPS Fundraiser Event
· Web Calendar Available for Download
· Recess – Loose Parts Play
· Volunteer Opportunities
Important Dates –
· Sept 19 – School Council AGM Meeting (1:30-3:00)
· Sept 20 – Fall Fair (4:30-6:30)
· Sept 26 – LifeTouch Picture Day
· Sept 27 – Organizational Day (No School)
· Sept 30 – Truth & Reconciliation Day (No School)
Principal’s Message
We had a great week as most grades settled into their straight-grade core subject classes. Our Grade 2 and 3 students have also begun their provincial literacy and numeracy assessments and our Grade 1’s will start next week.
We could not have asked for better weather for our Terry Fox run this morning. Some of our students ran 19 laps of our two soccer fields! Our online donations sit at $250 and we have not yet counted the cash donations from all of our homerooms, but it appears that we will easily hit our fundraising target of $500. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Terry Fox Foundation, please use our school’s Terry Fox fundraising page.
School Council Elections – Sept. 19, 2024 (1:30-3:00)
Our first School Council Meeting will take place on Thursday September 19, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. We are currently operating without an executive as our members last school year had their terms run-out or they graduated out of our school. For general information about please visit our School Council webpage.
As such, this is our Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) and elections will be held for 2024/2025 School Council. Pursuant to our By-Laws, the business of the AGM shall include the election of any proposed representatives and amendments to Bylaws. All parents/guardians of current students may attend and are eligible to vote at the AGM. This meeting requires a quorum of 9 current parents. All parents or guardians of students enrolled in EPS are members of Council and are thus eligible to be elected as officers and vote.
Under the current Bylaws the terms of office on Council are for two-years based on an overlapping model. Current Council members have either been serving the school community for two years or more and are not eligible to stand for re-election, or have decided not to stand for re-election. Accordingly, the following positions on Council need to be filled for the 2024/25 school year:
Council President:
- works in partnership with the Principal and is responsible for planning the agenda for meetings, facilitating the meetings, and acting as spokesperson for the council, generally supervising the council and contributing to the school newsletter;
-serves as the Board of Trustees’ Council of School Councils representative and ensures the school board receives an annual report from the school council;
- oversees the development of an annual budget and plan of activities for presentation at the AGM;
-assumes responsibility in consultation with the school council, for communicating with the fundraising society.
The Vice-President
- assists the chair with duties, as assigned, and in the absence of the President, assumes the duties of the President.
The Secretary
-keeps accurate minutes and records of school council meetings, documents and files all correspondence and communications.
If you are interested in running for a role on Council or have any questions regarding the roles or time commitment, please do not hesitate to reach out to Principal Fech. You can attend this meeting in-person in the Learning Commons at the school or online through MS Teams. A link will be provided the week of the meeting.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
Save the Date – EPPS Fundraiser Event
The Elbow Park School Parent Society (EPPS) will be hosting a casual parent mixer event on Wednesday, October 2 from 7-9 pm. Please save the date and more details and ticket info will be coming next week.
Web Calendar Available for Download
Our school calendar with major events went home with our opening package last week. It has been created in our online calendar on our school website. The online calendar has been uploaded with our events for the whole school year. You may subscribe to this online calendar where dates and events may be updated.
Calendar subscriptions allow users to easily subscribe to a curated list of events on their devices. Parents and students can now subscribe to the school calendar with the option to choose all categories or a specific one, giving them access to events anytime. Using a calendar subscription offers several benefits for both parents and schools:
- Convenience: A subscription keeps your calendar automatically updated for parents, eliminating the need for manual entries or updates.
- Real-time Updates: Any changes or additions to events are instantly reflected in your calendar, ensuring your parents have the latest information.
- Timesaving: Subscriptions save you and your parents time by streamlining the process of adding and managing events, reducing the manual effort involved.
- Consistency: It helps maintain consistency across multiple devices, ensuring that your school calendar data is synchronized and accessible from various platforms.
- Automatic Reminders: Many calendar subscriptions come with built-in reminder features, helping your parents stay organized and on top of your school schedule effortlessly.
On the Calendar page, scroll down to the bottom left to find the link to subscribe to the school calendar on Mac, Android and desktop devices.
Recess – Loose Parts Play
Our school has been using some “loose parts” for creative play on the east side of our school. Loose Parts Play involves providing students with a variety of movable objects that they can manipulate, redesign, control, and change within their play. These objects, often referred to as "loose parts," can be natural or synthetic items such as stones, sticks, wood planks and blocks, car tires, leaves, boxes, kitchen implements, and other materials. This type of play fosters creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills by allowing students the freedom to explore and experiment.
Benefits of Loose Parts Play include: Enhances Creativity and Imagination, Promotes Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking, Supports Physical Development, Encourages Social Interaction and Collaboration, Fosters Independence and Confidence.
We are in the process of expanding our "Loose Parts" play area and are reaching out to our wonderful parent community for donations of various items. We are kindly asking for donations of the following items:
• Muffin tins
• Pots and pans
• Ladles / Spatulas
• Buckets and sand toys
• Large diameter PVC pipes and elbow connectors
If you have any of these items at home that you no longer need or use, we would greatly appreciate your donation. Please reply to this email to speak with Principal Fech about your donation. Thank you in advance for your support.
Volunteer Opportunities!
Parent volunteers are an essential part of our school community. Please consider contributing some time to help provide a fantastic year for our children. Volunteering is a fun and rewarding way to become involved in the school. Time commitments vary from a few days per year to more regular involvement. We hope the 2024-2025 school year allows us to continue the social activities that have created fond memories for our students.
All parent volunteers are required to complete a yearly school volunteer form as well as a Police Information Check. Police Information Checks are valid for 5 years. Checks must be completed before you can volunteer in any capacity within the school or on school outings (including field trips). You are encouraged to sign up as a volunteer, even while you wait for your Security Check clearance. Instructions for receiving clearance are available on the link provided below.
Our 2024 - 2025 Volunteer Form has moved online this year. Please use the following link to sign up and help out our learning community: https://forms.gle/EnMR8sgcEtBErTsy8
Sincerely,
Jason Fech
Principal