October 30, 2015

Vision Statement

Holy Family Elementary, learning progressively to empower all students to

achieve in an inclusive and active environment.

Mission Statement

By 2016, the Holy Family Elementary school community will maximize student learning and

achievement by progressively engaging the 21st century learner through inclusive and

collaborative practices.

Wednesday, November 11th – School Closed due to Remembrance Day.

Wednesday, November 18th – School Closed due to Teacher Professional Development.School Wide WalksThank you to all of the parents/guardians who attended our two walks with our students. It’s always great to see the support and dedication to our co-curricular activities. During the first walk, we raised $ 1 210.00 for the Terry Fox Foundation - thank you!

School Council

Our new parent representative for the School Council is Beth Nightingale. She has been appointed by acclamation. We would like to welcome Beth as our new member and look forward to working with the council in the months ahead. We would like to have another parent representative. If anyone is interested, please let Ms. Elkins know via email by Friday, November 6th. If more than one person expresses an interest by this date, an election will be held.

Assemblies

Thanksgiving Assembly - We would like to thank our grade 3 students and their teachers: Ms. Forsey, Ms. Gullage, Mme Bell, and Ms. Suter for their songs, dances and poems during the Thanksgiving assembly. Thank you to all of our families who sent in non-perishable food items which were sent to the local food bank.

Positive Behavior Supports Assembly - During the past month, we held our first assembly with all of our students to discuss our behavioral matrix, which we use to guide our behavior while in school.

Remembrance Day Assembly – Our grade five Remembrance Day assembly will be held on November 6th at 11:00 a.m. All parents of our grade five students are welcome to attend.

School Lunch Program

The School Lunch Program is working extremely well for all of us! The majority of the children are enjoying the healthy, warm lunches and the two staff members are joy to be around – they are very kind to the students and welcome them daily with a smile. If you have any questions regarding this program, please call the School Lunch Association at 754-5323. It is a delight to have our cafeteria in operation!!!

Chapters Night Fundraiser

On Monday, November 16, we will be hosting our second annual Chapters Night fundraiser. On that evening, between the hours of 7:00p.m and 9:00p.m., 20% of all in-store sales, both at Chapters and Starbucks (Chapters location only), will be donated to our school in the form of Chapters gift cards. What a wonderful way to get a head start on your Christmas shopping and share the love of reading with your family and friends. We will use the proceeds of this fundraiser to purchase books for your child’s classroom and other literacy-related initiatives at our school. Customers simply let the cashier know that they are supporting Holy Family Elementary!

Please feel free to spread the word to your family and friends. Feel free to share through social media - Facebook, Twitter, etc. For further information please see the literacy memo sent home on Wednesday of this week.

We look forward to seeing you on November 16 th to hear one of our talented school choirs perform, view some of our students’ artwork, and get some new reading materials for your home library, all while supporting literacy at Holy Family!

Online Chapters Fundraiser:

Do you or someone you know purchase Chapters gift cards? If so, please consider purchasing eGift Cards to support literacy initiatives at Holy Family Elementary. By purchasing your eGift Cards through the Chapters-Indigo FlipGive website, our school will receive 20% of the card value in the form of our own Chapters gift card! What a great way to support our school without costing you anything!

Please visit https://indigo.flipgive.com/c/31794 or scan the QR code below to get started. Please feel free to share with your family, friends, and colleagues, or anyone you know who purchases gift cards from Chapters! This is a year-long fundraiser that runs until October, 2016.

The students and staff of Holy Family thank you for supporting our love of reading!

Recycling:

Thank you for your continued support with our recycling program. The past two month’s recycling winners are:

Kindergarten – Amelia Baker Grade 4 – Hannah BaileyGrade 1 – Lelan Noonan Grade 5 – Chrissy CoxGrade 2 – Sophia Williams Grade 6 – Ella PondGrade 3- Thomas McGrath

The next recycling date is November 19st for our primary students.

JamaramaOn October 16th , we all wore our pajamas in support of the Janeway Hospital. Thank you once again to all of our parents for supporting this initiative; we raised $1 410.00.

Lockdown ProceduresAs part of the School District’s Safe & Caring Schools Policy, all schools are required to practice “Lockdown Procedures”. A “Lockdown” requires steps to isolate students and staff from danger by requiring everyone to remain inside the

building. If an incident which posed an immediate threat to student and staff safety were to arise during the school day, we would be required to implement a “Lockdown”. An announcement would be made to students and staff, “Initiate a Lockdown.” At that time, students outside their classrooms would be expected to go to the nearest classroom. Windows, blinds and curtains would be closed, lights would be turned off and students would be expected to remain silent. In keeping with this policy, we will be practicing “Lockdown” procedures 3 times throughout the year. These procedures were reviewed during our last staff meeting. It is naturally our fervent hope that we will never be in a situation that will force us to carry out a “Lockdown” at Holy Family Elementary, however the reality is that we need to prepare for it nonetheless. Our level of preparedness can have a major impact on the outcome of any incident.

School Photo RetakesPhotographers from Life Touch will be returning to our school on Tuesday, November 17, 2015. The purpose of this visit will be to photograph students who would like to have their photo retaken or for those students who were absent during our school photo days in October.

Outside PlayWe attempt to have our children play outside daily. It is important for our children to wear clothing appropriate for the weather. Please ensure that they come to school ready to go outside.

School Closure - Due to weather, electrical outage, etc. In the event that school has to close due to weather, lack of electricity, etc., parents will be notified by phone through a system called Synrevoice. If this should occur before school opens in the morning, calls will begin at 7:30 a.m. and it will only take several minutes for all of the calls to be made. In the event that school should close once school has begun, the same system will be used, as well as an announcement on our website, plus the District website, radio stations and a phone call or email from your child’s teacher. If you are notified by a teacher through email, please respond as soon as possible via email, letting the teacher know that you have received the message. No child will be released from school unless verification of transportation arrangements have been made. It is crucial that if there is a change in your cell number, home phone number, or work number, that you contact the main office so that the necessary changes are made in our database. Please ensure that all contact numbers requested for Synrevoice are direct telephone numbers.

Term I ReportingWe would like to take this opportunity to inform/remind you of some important information surrounding this first reporting period.

Tuesday, December 1st - Report cards will be released at dismissalThursday, December 3rd - Parent-Teacher conferences

- No classes for kindergarten students on this day - Grades 1-6 students dismiss at 11:30 a.m.

In order to facilitate the scheduling of our parent-teacher conferences, we use OPTIS (Online Parent-Teacher Interview Scheduler). This site will be open beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, November 23, 2015 and will close at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1, 2015. Following this period of time, you will need to contact your child’s teacher to make appointments or scheduling changes. Below are instructions on how to access the site and schedule conferences with your child’s/children’s teacher(s). If you do not have Internet access or experience difficulty with this program, please feel free to contact the school for assistance.

Online Parent-Teacher Interview Scheduler – Parent Instructions

-Go to our school website at www.hfsparadise.com . Look under Parents and OPTIS is the second link down.

How do I register a new account so I can start making appointments?-At the User Login screen (the first page you see) either use your email password, or if a new parent, click the link which reads New Parents: Start By Clicking Here. -You should now see a registration form. Fill in the required information and click the Continue link located at the bottom of the form.-Note: Ensure that you enter your correct email address as information you need to activate your account will be emailed to that address.-Please check your email and follow the instructions to confirm your email address and activate your account.

I already have an account but I can’t remember my password. What do I do?-If you have lost your password, it can be emailed to you. -At the OPTIS login screen (the first page you see). Click the link Lost your password? Click here.-You should now see a form with an Email Address field. Enter your email address here and click the Continue link.-Your password will now be emailed to you.-Check your email to retrieve your password.-You may now go back to the log in screen and log in with your email address and password.-Note: If you receive an error saying that your email address is not registered, then your account may have been removed by an administrator.

How do I schedule appointments?-Click the Make Appointments link from the menu.

-Next, you will need to enter some information about your children. When done, click the Continue link.-* If you have more than 1 child attending this school, check the I want to add another child checkbox to add another child.-When you have finished adding your child/children, you will see the list of students who you have added to your account. Select which children you would like to make appointments for and click the Continue link.-On the next screen, you will see our parent-teacher conference date. Select this date.-Now, select from the list of teachers which teachers to make appointments with. Click the Continue link.-On the next screen, each teacher will have a drop-down box with a list of their available times listed. Select a time to reserve for each teacher, then click the Continue link.

How do I add my children to my account?-Locate the My Account link from the Menu.-A drop-down menu will appear. Click the My Children link.-Enter your child’s first and last name into the form.-Click the Continue link at the bottom of the form

How do I change the time of an appointment that I have already scheduled?-Click the My Schedule link from the menu. You should now see a list of appointments you have made.-Click the Edit Appointment link next to an appointment.-Choose a new time from the options available and then click the Continue link.

How do I cancel an appointment that I have scheduled?-Click the My Schedule link from the menu. You should now see a list of appointments that you have made.-Click the Cancel Appointment icon next to an appointment.

How do I print my interview schedule?-Click the My Schedule link from the menu. You should now see a list of appointments you have scheduled.-Click the Printer-Friendly Schedule link. Your browser’s print dialogue will open. Select a printer and click the Print or OK button.

Health and Safety Tips for Halloween

S Swords, knives, and other costume accessories should be short, soft and flexible.

A Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.

F Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.

E Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.