Newsletter #6
Dear Highland Park Huskies,
It was a difficult week with the news of our beloved Vice Principal, Mr. Hazlewood moving to a new school. He will be missed here at The Park immensely. For those of you who have not yet heard, he will be the new Principal at North Shuswap School. We are all very excited for this opportunity for him.
I continue to be working with our senior leadership team to find a suitable solution for our school temporarily until the end of the school year. I will keep you informed once things get solidified. In the meantime we have secured Ms. Olivia Johnson, a familiar TTOC for the week in Div. 4.
In other news, I would like to please press upon the importance of contacting the office when your child is absent. Please also include the reason for their absence. Our secretary, Mrs. Anderson, as part of our safe arrival process, MUST follow up with each family whose absence is not reported or reason is not known. By reporting your child’s absence to the office, you will be saving the office the time it takes to complete these follow up phone calls to ensure that all students are safe and accounted for. Families can contact the office to report an absence by phoning 250-546-8723 and leaving a voice message or emailing hpe@sd83.bc.ca. This can be done at any time of day. Thank you for your help to ensure that this process gets completed efficiently so we can redirect the time it takes to other areas of need at the office. Thank you very much for this.
In addition, it is very important that all parents, as visitors to the school, check in at the office to sign in during instructional time, including recess and lunch. All visitors on school property during instructional time (morning bell to end of day bell) must be accounted for. No need to sign in if remaining outside before school starts for drop off and after school for student pick up. We thank you very much for your cooperation in helping to keep our school safe and secure.
Our school website contains a wealth of information about our school to keep you informed. You can find information about our School Learning Plan, School Code of Conduct, news about upcoming events like our Career Fair or Ready, Set, Learn and previous Newsletters.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have contacted me to provide feedback and encouragement about our school. It’s important to me and all staff at HPE that our students are safe, feel cared about and are cared for, feel like they are welcomed at HPE and belong to our school community, are respectful and take responsibility for their actions. We are working hard on helping students interact with each other and make choices that contribute to a school where EVERYONE feels that they belong. Keeping our hands and feet to ourselves and our bodies in our own space is a priority. Learning to solving conflict in peaceful ways continues to be a focus. CLICK HERE to view our Problem Solving Wheel. Every child deserves a positive experience at school so they can learn and grow and develop the competencies necessary for their success. We can only address the things that we know about. So please ensure you continue to communicate your questions or concerns to your child’s teacher or myself. It provides an opportunity for us to better understand each other and help your child find greater success. CLICK HERE to learn more about our topics of focus with student behaviour at each whole school assembly. These topics are reinforced regularly.
If you have questions or inquires with regard to any and all aspects of Highland Park School, please contact me, Shelly Cull principal, by phone 250-546-8723 or email scull@sd83.bc.ca.
Warmest Regards,
Shelly Cull 😊
New Name for SD83 – As mentioned in a previous Newsletter, our School District has been gifted a new name, K’wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw, which means we are all connected on Secwepemc land. Please CLICK HERE to view a short video about this name change and it’s significance in our school district.
Kindergarten Registration – We have 29 kindergarten registrations already for 2025-2026 school year. Our registration opened on Wednesday, January 15. We hope that you can help us encourage those you know with children turning 5 before January 1 in our catchment area to contact our secretary, Ms. Anderson, as soon as possible to register. Our process for school organization for the 2025-2026 school will get underway very soon. Our kindergarten enrollment is important so that we can move forward with configuring the rest of the school with greater certainty. The more information we know about our families and their school plans for the 2025 -2026 school year, the better position we will be to configure the school and place students in classes with greater certainty. At this preliminary stage, it’s all based on our enrollment numbers. The more certain we are in our numbers, the earlier we can get into assigned classes at the start of the year without the possibility of disruption due to the elimination or addition of a class causing the need to reconfigure. Again, as the year progresses, if you plan on moving or know anyone moving to the area with school aged children, please contact our office. After Spring Break, Mrs. Cull will be reaching out to parents to request any input regarding class placement for the 2025-2026 school year. More information about this process will be provided in an upcoming newsletter. CLICK HERE to learn more about our Kindergarten Registration process.
Unplug and Play – The annual Unplug and Play Event is taking place from January 25 – February 1. Please CLICK HERE for more information of the many happenings within SD83 to encourage/promote literacy and less time on technology. Unplug and Play passports will be sent home this coming week. If students choose to participate in the passport project, the completed passport is due to the office BEFORE February 7 for a chance to win a prize from the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society.
Winter Recreation – Our grade 4 and 5 students had a blast and developed their skills in either skiing or snowboarding over three sessions at Silver Star Mountain. Their last session is today, Monday, January 20. A big thank you for all the support that helped to make this opportunity happen, especially to our staff and volunteers at the mountain to help with supervision and keeping our students feeling successful. A special thank you to Kelsey Wagner who committed to driving the personal equipment to the hill and back for all three sessions. Also a big thank to the generous support of our PAC for covering the full cost of the bussing there and back. That is a savings of approximately $25 – 30 per child for our HPE families.
2025 Student Learning Survey – The Student Learning Survey is developed by the Ministry of Education and Child Care for students in grade 4, 7, 10, 11, and 12, their parents, staff and principals/vice principals. Students in Grades 4, 7, 10, 11 and 12, their parents and all staff in B.C. public schools are invited to participate in an annual online satisfaction survey about their school experience. The SLS provides feedback on the implementation of curriculum changes, learning environment, student wellness and satisfaction, student belonging and engagement, and career preparation. If you have a child in grade 4 at Highland Park School, stay tuned for an email coming your way very soon. Parents are invited to complete one survey for each child in the grade levels mentioned above.
Career fair – In support of our school goal area of Career Education, students at Highland Park Elementary will be participating in a Career Fair on Friday, February 7. We have several volunteers that will be rotating through classes teaching about different careers, all in an effort to increase awareness and possibly interest.
HPE Athletics – Before winter break, our grade 5 students had the opportunity to participate in volleyball sessions from volunteers from PVSS. Our students and staff send a big thank you to the volunteers from PVSS for doing such a good job with our students. Thank you to PVSS students Georgia Stowards, Faith Anderson-Roberge, Talyn Brunwald and Presley Celesta.
Recently we have started basketball with our grade 5 students. If you have a child in grade 4 who is interested, please contact the office and we will send home the notice containing more details. CLICK HERE to read more information. We have a few remaining spots we can fill. It is expected that those who sign up come to all practice sessions which are scheduled on Mondays and Wednesdays after eating time during lunch play time. A big thank you to volunteer Coach Jacqui Gingras and Coach Krystal Fergus for helping provide this opportunity for our students.
Update from PAC – Our next PAC meeting will be on Wednesday, February 12 in the library. It’s been so great to have so many parents participate in our meetings. The more the merrier, so please consider attending. Child minding will be provided for parents who are attending the meeting. CLICK HERE to access the PAC’s Facebook Page. CLICK HERE to view Minutes of PAC meetings and the Principal’s Reports.
See below for a list of important dates and upcoming events including hot lunch dates:
Monday, January 20
Winter Rec Session #3 (grade 4 and 5)
Ms. Kalf and Ms. Fassbender’s classes skating
Tuesday, January 21
Ms. Dolinar and Ms. Terrell’s classes skating
Wednesday, January 22
Piano Heist Performance
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Soup Day
Mr. Benge and Ms. Brandoli’s classes skating
Thursday, January 23
Mr. Hazlewood/Ms. Lee’s class skating
Ms. Kalf’s class skating
Friday, January 24
Ms. Daughtry and Ms. Coombs class skating
Ms. Scott and Ms. Brandoli’s class curling 9:15 – 11:15 am
January 25 – February 1
Unplug and Play Week
Wednesday, January 29
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Opa
Wednesday, February 5
Whole School Assembly
– wear your HPE Spirit Gear
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Soup Day
Friday, February 7
HPE Career Fair – more information to come soon
Last day to hand in completed Unplug and Play Passports to office
February 7 – 14
30th Annual SD83 Art Fair at Piccadilly Mall in Salmon Arm
Wednesday, February 12
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Pizza
PAC Meeting – 2:30 pm
Art Workshops for selected students at Piccadilly Mall in Salmon Arm
Thursday, February 13
HPE School Spirit Day – Formal Day
Friday, February 14
PRO D Day – No School for Students
Monday, February 17
Family Day – No School
Wednesday, February 19
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Soup Day
Friday, February 21
Ready, Set, Learn 12:30 – 1:30 HPE Library
Wednesday, February 26
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Askews
Pink Shirt day – Anti-Bullying Awareness Day
Monday, March 3
Evacuation Drill – Time TBA
Wednesday, March 5
Whole School Assembly
– wear your HPE Spirit gear
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Soup
Monday, March 10 – 14
Glow Gallery – more information to come
Talent Show Week (Gr. 3-5) – more information to come
Wednesday, March 12
PAC Meeting – 2:30 pm
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Subway
Symphony in Vernon – Gr 3 -5
Friday, March 14
Last Day of School before Spring Break
School Spirit Day – Pajama OR Green or Gold Day
Monday, March 31
School Reopens after Spring Break
Wednesday, April 2
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Soup Day
Monday, April 7
PRO D Day – No School for Students
Wednesday, April 9
Hot Lunch (PAC) – Opa
Friday, May 2
Student Learning Survey – last day to complete survey (students in grades 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, THEIR parents and ALL staff)
