Newsletter 1 – August 29th, 2024
Dear Highland Park Elementary families,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year. Despite the threat of wildfires in our area, I certainly hope you were able to experience some fun, friends, family and adventure this summer. In addition to setting up classrooms, the school staff have been busy this week with IPE parking. A big thank you to our staff, PAC, parents and community who organized, participated in and contributed to this big fundraiser. These efforts will definitely benefit our school and our students. Thank you.
If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to look through the lost and found items that were left by students on the last day of school in June, please pop in to do so by tomorrow at noon as per an email sent early last week. There is a lot. It’s been a pleasure meeting and talking with parents in person or over the phone this week and getting to know more about your children. Mr. Hazlewood and I have received such a warm welcome to this school community. We are both very grateful for your warmth and kindness.
We are so looking forward to seeing students in grades 1 – 5 for a part day on Wednesday, September 4th. Dismissal on this first day will be at 11:00 am, three hours early. Busses will run as usual but will arrive at regular stops, three hours earlier. We look forward to welcoming our approximately 50 new kindergarten students who will attend on Thursday, September 5th for their first day. CLICK HERE to access the gradual entry schedule for kindergarten students. We wish our last year’s grade 5s much success as they transition to Len Wood Middle School. And of course any families that have moved to new schools in other communities; you ALL will be missed very much here at HPE.
Below you will find information about our school start up and the USUAL important information at start up for students and families at our school. These processes, procedures and routines are in place to ensure our school is safe, caring and welcoming. Please refamiliarize yourself with them so you can help your child find success.
CALENDAR: CLICK HERE to access the SD83 calendar so you may update your personal calendars with days students are not in attendance. Please note the Student/Teacher/Family Conference Day on Thursday, October 17th where students only attend for their scheduled conference time. More information will be available in early October. Also, in your calendars, please save the date for our very first PAC meeting of the 2024-2025 school year on Wednesday, September 11th and the Welcome Back to School Event on Thursday, September 19th. The time and details will be shared soon by our wonderful PAC who are planning again to provide a BBQ meal for our HPE families and staff.
THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL PLAN: For the first week of school, we are planning for students to return to their last year’s classrooms. This allows an opportunity to connect with their previous teacher and classmates. It also allows our staff to consider any last minute registrations and make adjustments to our school configuration if necessary. At this time our enrollment looks pretty stable and our configuration of 14 divisions is looking secure. Having said that, please encourage any new families with school aged children in our area to contact Mrs. Anderson at our office 250-546-8723 so we can be as proactive as possible with our planning and get students into classrooms sooner. Any families that have moved, please also encourage them to advise the office. We are hopeful that students will be in their assigned classes for the year on Friday and that the transition will happen Thursday afternoon. If that is not possible, the transition will start Friday afternoon with students starting in classes for the year on Monday. Attendance is important this first week so we can ensure all students are counted in our enrollment numbers. We ask that you continue to contact Mrs. Anderson at our office by phone 250-546-8723 or email hpe@sd83.bc.ca to report any absences. Please remember to include your child’s first and last name, teacher’s name and reason for the absence. Thank you for your assistance in helping us ensure all students are accounted for each day.
WHERE TO GO ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: On the first day, all students are asked to line up outside at the line up spot they lined up in last school year. In most classes, students will be with their last year’s teacher. There are some classes where the last year’s teacher is not returning to HPE, and in those circumstances, students will be able to learn from one of our newly hired teachers at HPE or other familiar teachers from our HPE staff. A special welcome to Ms. Cooper who will be teaching the k/1 class this year, Ms. Brandoli who will be teaching grade 3 this year and Ms. Scott who will be teaching the K/1 class with Ms. Cooper on Thursdays, and the grade 3 class with Ms. Brandoli on Fridays. A more comprehensive update on all our staffing will be provided soon. CLICK HERE to access our 2024-2025 staffing list thus far. Any new students to the school are asked to report to the office for instructions.
STUDENT PLACEMENT INFORMATION: Regarding student placement, please know that the HPE staff and the previous administration worked very hard, given the constraints of class size and composition, on a variety of scenarios to best meet the educational needs of our students schoolwide. We work hard as a staff to consider the best learning environment for your children. The goal is to create balanced classrooms, taking into account a variety of factors that affect the overall composition of the class. We know that change can be difficult but your trust in our staff and our rationale with the placement of students is important to us and much appreciated. Once our placement process is complete, and children have been assigned to their classroom for the year, it is difficult to make changes as they can affect the overall classroom composition we have worked hard to create in each class. For those parents who provided input in June, we thank you. Your input was considered as a valued piece of the complex puzzle. We look forward to an excellent year of learning, growth, and working together.
CLICK HERE to access our SCHOOL BELL SCHEDULE. It is the same as last year.
BEFORE SCHOOL SUPERVISION: While supervision is available for students before school, we ask that students who walk, bike and get dropped off not arrive to school before 7:40 am. This is for student safety so we may provide adequate supervision.
AFTER SCHOOL SUPERVISION: The school is responsible for your children from the time they leave home for school until they return home after school. For this reason, it is important that all students go directly home at the bell after school, unless of course parent supervision is present on the playground. Supervision is provided after school for bus students ONLY. No students are allowed behind the school at the end of the day. If students wish to return to the school to play after checking in at home, the parent is then responsible for their safety. Please be vigilant with teaching your children about safety to and from school. They should always walk with a buddy or group.
AFTER SCHOOL PLANS: Please ensure your child is aware of their after school plan each day. If you wish to provide a change from the usual plan, please contact the office at 250-546-8723 before 1:30 pm so we can ensure your child is aware.
DROP OFF AND PICK UP: We would like to take this opportunity to remind families the importance of using the drop off /pick up lane or “KISS and DRIVE” zone for dropping off children and picking them up at the end of the day. If you do not see your child waiting, please continue to circle around and join the pick up line once you see them. The bus lane must stay clear at all times. It is important to not park in the staff parking lot or the bus lane. If you wish to park before school or after school (when parking is limited), it is recommended that you park at the IPE grounds just across from the bus compound. This is also a convenient, predictable location to meet your child at the end of the day. Thank you for helping us keep all students safe.
BICYCLES AND WHEELS: If riding a bike or scooter to school, a helmet must be worn. Students are expected to dismount their bicycles or scooters upon entering the school grounds and walk them to the bike rack to lock them up. They are not be used during the school day.
SCHOOL FEES: Fees are due on October 15th so payment anytime before that would be appreciated. CLICK HERE to access the notice outlining the 2024-2025 fee structure. We encourage you to purchase your school supplies from our PAC as this creates greater consistency in classrooms. If you choose to purchase your own supplies, the school supply lists can be found HERE. These were also handed out in learning updates provided at the end of the school year. If you are currently experiencing financial hardship and require support with the payment or partial payment of these school fees or supplies, please contact Shelly Cull, principal.
THE HUSKY WAY: At HPE we are focusing on life skills that we hope will improve our school culture and climate. Our goal is to build a greater sense of social and personal responsibility in order to contribute in positive, productive and expected ways at school and beyond. We call this the HUSKY WAY and being HUSKY STRONG. We will continue to have monthly schoolwide assemblies to promote behaviours that contribute to a safe, caring and welcoming learning environment; one where EVERYONE feels that they belong.
RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES: To learn more about the new Ministerial Order, SD83policy and regulations, please CLICK HERE . Simply put, student use of personal digital devices is no longer permitted during the school day during both instructional and non- instructional times for students in elementary and middle school grades. If you need to reach your child during the school day, please contact Mrs. Anderson at the office. Please ensure messages regarding transportation and after school plans are received no later than 1:30 pm.
FAIR NOTICE FOR VIOLENT AND OR THREATENING BEHAVIOURS: As a school district, we have a district procedure for responding to all situations in which students may be posing a threat to themselves or others. School District No. 83 requires principals to activate a threat assessment protocol in all cases where students are making significant high-level threats to harm themselves or others. The procedure is called a Threat Risk Assessment. CLICK HERE to learn more about this process and protocol.
HEAD LICE: Schools no longer conduct schoolwide checks as the primary responsibility for the control of head lice rests with the family. If a case of head lice is made known to the school, it is managed confidentially and sensitively. To prevent the spread of head lice, it is important that families check for head lice regularly. Teach your child about prevention of head lice (avoiding head to head contact, not sharing hats, brushes, helmets, tie long hair back, etc.).
Please CLICK HERE to learn How to Check for Head Lice and HERE for Recommended Head Lice Management and Treatment Options from Interior Health. CLICK HERE to learn More about Head Lice. You can check the Interior Health Website for additional information. If you would like support with checking your child, please contact the school and Mrs. Cull would be happy to help.
When the school is made aware of a case of headlice, we contact all families in that classroom by email to make them aware that a case has been found. SD83 policy ensures that students are welcome to attend school as long as they have undergone treatment.
SCHOOL GOALS: We will be working on the following school goals for the 2024-2025 school year: CLICK HERE to view the draft document completed in June for the 2024-2025 school year.
- To improve in the area of literacy, in particular the specific writing area of style, for greater impact.
- To improve student numeracy skills, in particular, to decipher and solve word problems in the critical concepts identified at each grade.
- To improve students’ sense of belonging – focusing on feeling welcome, safe and connected (Circle of Courage – GENEROSITY AND BELONGING).
- To improve students’ sense of well-being – focusing on positive self-identity and personal/social responsibility (Circle of Courage – INDEPENDENCE AND MASTERY)
- To develop students’ competencies to be successful in a career path of their choice – focusing on the engagement of students in goal-setting and self-assessment related to core competencies.
Additional information about school procedures and expectations will be coming home soon as an insert in your child’s 2024-2025 Planner.
Mr. Hazlewood and I welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, feedback and input regarding all aspects of Highland Park School.
Warmest Regards,
Mrs. Cull
