Newsletter #3 - November 8, 2026
Hello Highland Park Huskies!
As we move into November, I want to take a moment to celebrate the growth our Huskies have made this year. Through our recent goal-setting conferences, students had the opportunity to reflect on their strengths, identify areas for growth, and set meaningful goals for their learning. Thank you parents for participating in that process. When students are actively involved in setting and working toward goals, they become more engaged, take greater ownership of their learning, and build stronger connections to their school experiences. Thank you parents for helping keep this goal area in the forefront of your child’s thinking and developing ways to continue to support their goal area at home.
HPE SCHOOL WEBSITE AND CALENDAR: Please continue to check our HPE School Website, as the main source of all information related to Highland Park Elementary. You can CLICK HERE to access our calendar which contains the happenings at our school, including upcoming skating times, field trips, etc.
SPIRIT DAYS: CLICK HERE to view the upcoming Spirit Days. Please put them in your family calendar so your child can show their Husky Strong School Spirit. The next Spirit Day is scheduled on Wednesday, November 18 - Dress like a Canadian Day with many additional days closer to the winter break in December.
DARKER CONDITIONS: With the end of Daylight Saving Time, many children are now walking to school in darker conditions. To help keep everyone safe, please ensure your child wears reflective clothing or accessories so they remain visible to drivers during their journey to and from school.
WINTER CONCERT: As communicated in our October Newsletter, our Winter Concert will be on Thursday, December 3. Please CLICK HERE to review the concert times for your child, entrance and parking instructions as well as information on what your child should wear for their performance.
HUSKY STRONG FOCUS: At our November 4 school wide assembly, we were proud to recognize students in each division who demonstrated Husky Strong behaviours through their commitment to developing a growth mind set and goal setting. Our new Husky Strong focus for the month, is Peaceful Problem Solving. This connects to many of our Husky STRONG ways of being, but most importantly staying SAFE and Taking Care of Each Other. Learning to navigate conflicts respectfully with greater independence is an important life skill that helps foster a caring and inclusive school community. CLICK HERE to access our Problem Solving Wheel and HERE to access some positive problem solving steps students can use to resolve conflicts at school while maintaining positive relationships. We ask that as parents, you continue to support your child’s ability to take perspective and embrace conflict as an opportunity to learn from each other and grow together. While this kind of growing can be messy and feel outside the realm of our control as parents, together, we can help our students develop the skills to grow into confident, resilient, and compassionate problem-solvers. Let’s all remember that these are kids and they are doing their best with the skills they have to get their needs met. They are still developing empathy, communication skills, perspective taking, and the understanding that their behaviour choices have an impact on others. Even adults struggle sometimes finding the skills to solve problems peacefully. Thank you for your continued efforts to support your children as they acquire the skills needed to solve problems peacefully. Conflict is inevitable in a group setting. It’s expected that students experience conflict, grow in developing their skills as they practice, and ask for help from adults. Please involve the school sooner than later so we can get involved to ensure school remains a positive experience for all.
SCHOOL LEARNING PLAN SESSION FOR PARENTS – Thursday, November 26 @ 5 – 6 pm: If you would like to learn more about our 2026 – 2027 School Learning Plan and data collected to help determine our direction, please attend a meeting with myself and Ms. Mac on Thursday, November 26 from 5 pm – 6 pm. CLICK HERE to read more information.
THANK YOU TO DRAX!: In case you are not aware, DRAX generously donated a $10,000 grant at the start of the 2025 school year that went toward the continuation of our school walkway. CLICK HERE to read our thank you on our website and view before and after pictures. We are so grateful for this donation that improved the condition of our school grounds. We also appreciate the financial contribution the school district made with respect to this project.
PAC MEETING – Monday, November 9 @ 6 pm – 7pm: Our PAC has worked hard to accommodate the request of some parents for an evening meeting. Our usual Tuesday Nov. 17 meeting at 2:30 pm has been moved to Monday, November 9 at 6 pm in our HPE library. There will be babysitting available for those in attendance. Our next meeting, as communicated in our October Newsletter, is on Tuesday, December 15 at 2:30 pm.
THANK YOU PAC!: We are so grateful for our PAC and all they do for our students, staff, school and school community. If you’re curious about PAC’s fundraising efforts, CLICK HERE to read more about all the ways our PAC contributes. Thank you PAC!! In addition to supporting the usual experiences for our students (as noted in the link shared above) PAC is looking to spend some of its playground savings on an additional swing set in the back of the school. Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, here are some additional upcoming opportunities from PAC including fundraising efforts:
1. Just in time for Christmas – PURDY’S chocolate. CLICK HERE to access the link to order. Orders are due Friday, November 20 and will be available for pick up the week of December 7 at school.
2. The next DeMilles Veggie Box order will be due Monday, November 23 with pick up at the school on Monday, Nov. 30.
3. Pizza Day – Our first Pizza Day is on Friday, November 27. Order forms will be coming home soon and will be due on November 23. We are hopeful this pizza day will be the first of one every month. Pizza is from Jealous Pizza.
4. The 2026 Scholastic Book Fair is from Monday, Nov. 23 – Friday, Nov. 27. All proceeds go toward the purchase of new books for our library. The sign up genius and schedule outlining hours of operation will be available soon. Students will be able to view and or purchase books in their library times on Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday Nov. 24.
5. HPE PAC Online Auction – items will go live on Monday, November 30 and all bidding will end on Thursday, December 10 so that pick up of items can occur before the winter break. If you know of anyone willing to donate new items, gift cards or services, please connect with Kelsey, our PAC President 250-938-8913.
6. The HPE Annual Food Bank Drive will kick off on Monday, November 30 and end Thursday, December 10. Our December Husky STRONG focus will be on GENEROSITY – caring/including/helping those in need. PAC will be purchasing a pizza lunch for the class that collects the most items in each of the three groupings – 1. K and K/1 - Ms. Sandberg, Ms. Myhre, Ms. Brandoli/Ms. Johnson, Ms. Scott and Ms. Terrell 2. Grade 2 and 3 - Ms. Fassbender, Ms. Coombs, Ms. Kalf, and Ms. Daughtry, 3. Grade 4/5 - Ms. MacDonald, Mr. Benge, Mr. Byrnes, and Mr. Vallance. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!! While we will try and arrange the pizza lunch before the winter break, it will be arranged with the classroom teacher. CLICK HERE to read more information on our website about OPERATION Food Drive.
7. Our PAC raised over $1800 with the sale of almost $4500 worth of cookies with Snow Cap. Pick up information will be forthcoming.
8. PAC is providing their annual Christmas Movie Days on Thursday, December 17 and Friday, December 18 at the Centennial Theatre. More information will be sent home soon outlining the movie choices and time for each class.
9. CLICK HERE to access HPE apparel for purchase.
10. Check out the PAC Facebook Page for information from PAC and additional fundraising opportunities, including Mabels Labels and Askews gift Cards.
If you are interested in reading more about the Inaugural Meeting of the Board, CLICK HERE. You can also CLICK HERE to read more about initiatives happening throughout the district related that are connected to our SD83 Strategic Plan.
As we move through November, let us continue to Stay Safe, Take Care of Each Other, Respect EVERYONE, Own our Actions, Never Give Up, and Grow Every Day. Thank you for helping reinforce our Husky Strong ways of being. It's the HUSKY WAY - WHOO - AH!
