Nelson Newsletter

Vancouver School Board Lord Nelson Elementary School 2235 Kitchener Street Vancouver, B.C. V5L 2W9 PH: 604-713-4595 * FAX: 604-713-4597 EMAIL: nelson@vsb.bc.ca

Inside this issue

Kindergarten Registration ........... 2

Walkathon Fundraiser ................ 2

Safe Arrival Program………………...3

Health ......................................... 3

Events……………………………………....4

PAC Message .............................. 5

Community Info .......................... 5

Important Dates

Sat. Nov. 1 Family Photo Event (PAC)

Wed. Nov. 5 Immunization Clinic for Gr.6 and K’s

Wed. Nov. 5 PAC Parent work-shop re new school building

Fri. Nov. 7 Remembrance Day Assembly

Wed. Nov. 12 PAC Meeting

Thu. Nov.13 Student Photos

Fri. Nov. 14 Walkathon

Fri. Nov. 14 PAC Movie Night

Wed. Nov.19 Kindergarten Vision Screening

Thu. Nov. 27 Green Thumb Theatre presents ‘Showdown’

Message from the Principal Thank you to the parents for organizing a spooktacular Halloween dance, the Monster Mash! I am amazed at how many staff and students got involved in the “dress up” fun. Thank you to the spooktacular parent dancers who lead the students in a morning of fun filled bopping. The costumes were incredibly creative and eerily entertaining. Take a moment to ask your child, who was dressed in their favorite costume? I would like to officially welcome Alison Bachert, our new music teacher. We hope she enjoys the amazing talent of the students at Nelson. Classes will once again have the opportunity to participate in the Acceptance Dance project in support for anti-bullying. For the classes partic-ipating, students will begin practicing this month in either their Physical Education or Music program. Nelson will again be featured dancing at a Vancouver Giants game in February for participating classes and students. More information will go home with students closer to the event. We will be working with UBC dance trainers and will be selecting Nelson dance leaders to help us learn the moves. We are excited to report that in October, Staff and the Nelson Seismic Advisory Committee began to meet and give feedback to the Architectural firm selected for the new Nelson build-ing project. The firm selected by the Vancouver School Board is McFarland Marceau Archi-tects LTD. We are currently considered to be in the design phase for Seismic Renewal. The PAC will be hosting a meeting on November 5 from 6 to 7 pm to gather information from the parent community about what you value and envision for our new school. This information will be made available to the project architects from the firm McFarland Marceau Architects Ltd. There will be another opportunity for parents to follow the progress through a Public Open House later in the school year. Throughout the year, students will also be engaged in activities to give their vision, hopes and desires for a new school. Parents and students are also welcome to follow the progress by connecting to the link below that has been set up by the Vancouver School Board Planning and Facilities Division. It will also be posted on the Nel-son website. http://www.vsb.bc.ca/district-facilities/projects/nelson-elementary I would like to thank the staff and parent representatives who have agreed to be on the Nel-son Seismic Renewal Committee (NSAC). Cynthia Farnsworth, James Evans and Nichola Simon, parent reps and Margie Trovao, Karen Appleton, Rachel Lloyd, Mitch Gibson, Anna Hayes and Matsumie Prefontaine, staff representatives. Every year, students host a formal Remembrance Day Assembly. This year ours will be held on November 7. Although this is a somber event, it is important for students to honor our past and is mandated by the Ministry of Education. The student leaders are proud to facilitate assemblies such as these and have demonstrated tremendous public speaking skills during the assemblies we have had. School Spirit is alive at Nelson. We will be selecting Spirit Leaders this month for each division. Roar messages are shared on the daily P.A. announcements. In addition to announcements and assemblies, this is a committee of students that helps promote positive school climate at Nelson. We look forward to fun events and special theme days that the students create. I would also like to say thank you to the PAC for hosting a Family Photo event. It was nice to see families coming together here at Nelson on a Saturday. Have a great November, Mette Hamaguchi

November 2014 Volume 1, Issue 3

School Schedule

8:55 Warning Bell

9:00 Instruction Begins

10:30-10:50 Recess Break

12:10-12:55 Lunch Break

12:55 Warning bell

12:57 Instruction begins

3:00 Students dismissed

School Closures & Pro D

Nov. 10-11 District Closure &

Remembrance

Nov. 28 Professional Day

Walk, Run, Skip...

The Primary classes will begin their walking from 11:00 am -12:00 pm, and the Intermediate classes from 1:30 -2:30 pm. Students can walk, run, skip, or roll!, and try to see how many times they can go around the course in one hour.

We will be holding our annual School Fundraiser on Friday, November 14. The Walka-thon will again take place on the Lower Field. This is a special event where we all get together, have a lot of fun, and help raise money for our school. The money raised will go towards facilitating programs in our school such as Technolo-gy, Physical Education and Science. In addition, funds will be used to assist in special class projects and events. Once again, students who collect $60.00 or more will receive a souvenir Walkathon T-shirt to celebrate their contribution. All students that participate will be eligible for a door prize. Students that collect donations of $100.00 or more will have their name placed in draws for gift certificates up to $100.00. Pledge forms will be sent home, one form per child. We encourage students to only collect pledges from people they know (i.e. parents, friends, relatives and neigh-bours they know). We do not want children going door-to-door or approaching strangers. We request that students NOT ask staff members or other students in the school. When collecting, students are encouraged to go with an adult, explain politely about the Walkathon, and understand that some people may not want or be able to pledge. If they see a note on a door that says a neighbour has already given a pledge, we encourage them not to ask that person again. After November 14, the laps and pledges will be totalled and calculated and students will be responsible for collecting and turning in their pledges to the school as soon as possible. The Nelson Staff thank you for your continued support!

‘Nelson will be hosting a Kindergarten Parent Info night on Janaury 20 at 6pm.’

Kindergarten Registration begins Nov. 3

Walkathon Fundraiser

Kindergarten Registration Time is Coming

Soon - What do Parents Need to Know?

Kindergarten registration gets going dis-

trict wide between November and Janu-

ary 31 for children that will begin school

the following September. The Vancouver

School Board is proud to offer excellent

instruction at all of our schools including a

wide range of educational options for all

different types of learners.

We encourage families to get to know

more about your catchment school and

what they have to offer your child. Regis-

tration at your English catchment school is

required even if you plan to register your

child in a choice program.

So how do I register?

The first step starting November 3, 2014,

is to register at your English catchment

school - regardless of whether you plan to

send your child there.

You can discover where your English

catchment school is by going to http://

www.vsb.bc.ca/schools and clicking on

the “School Location Search by Street

Number” link. If your child was born out-

side of Canada, you need to head to the

VSB District Reception and Placement

Centre (DRPC) and complete the initial

Kindergarten application there. If you are

planning to attend your English catchment

school, you’re all done. Now you just need

to get your child excited about Kindergar-

ten. Continue reading about Kindergarten

choices at http://www.vsb.bc.ca/

kindergarten.

2

Safe Arrival Program

Lord Nelson has a Safe Arrival Program for students. Parents, guardians and caregivers are responsible for communicating pupil absences or lateness to the school on a timely basis.

As the safety of our students is of significant importance we have each child accounted for on a daily basis. We ask you to EMAIL (nelson@vsb.bc.ca) or call the school at 604-713-4595 to report your child's absence. If we do not hear from you by 9:30 am for morning class a call will be made from the office to confirm your child's safety.

Any student arriving late or re-turning from an absence should report to the school office prior to going to class. Please notify the office of any serious illness or communicable disease such as chicken pox.

Students Leaving at Lunch

Grade 7 students are permitted to leave the school grounds for lunch ONLY and must bring a note giving him/her permission each time. For students leaving for an appointment we ask that parents come in to the school office and sign their child out.

INSIDE RAINY DAY OPTION

Although we have indoor options available for rainy days, please ensure that your children come to school with appropriate winter gear. The weather can be very wet and cold in throughout the winter and all students go outside for recess. At lunch only, students have the choice to stay inside but many prefer to go out and play. The option of staying inside began

last year and has been popular with students. It is however, contingent upon available staff to supervise and a location for age appropriate activities.

Health and Safety

IMMUNIZATION

The Vancouver Coastal Health immunization team will be here on Wednesday, Nov. 5

for the Grade 6 and Kindergarten immunization clinics. To find out more please visit

their website at https://www.vch.ca/EN/find_services/find_services/?

program_id=2935.

On Wednesday, Nov. 19 the Vision Screening team will be here for our kindergarten

students. Notices have been sent home for parents.

COLDS AND FLU

At this time of year, colds and flu are very common.

Most people with colds and flu get better quite easily

but some do not. Sometimes pneumonia or other seri-

ous complications may develop, especially in people

who already have a health condition, such as asthma.

Colds and flu spread in the following ways:

· through the air when people cough or sneeze; there-fore, cough onto the back of your hand or into your arm.

· by touching the nose/face and moving the germs or viruses onto the hands. · by touching “infected” objects. Cold germs can live for hours on objects, such as pen-

cils, books, toys or tables. When children with colds touch their runny noses or mouths and handle objects, they can spread these germs.

Colds and flu seem to spread more easily when they first start, such as when children

first feel feverish, notice a sore throat, ear ache, runny nose, or begin coughing and

sneezing. Please keep your child at home during the early stage of his or her illness to

prevent the spread of colds and flu to others. One of the most effective preventive

measures is to wash your hands with soap as frequently as possible to get rid of any

germs you may have picked up.

3

Individual Student Photo Day—Thursday, November 13

School Closures

and Professional

Development Day Mon. Dec. 10 District Closure

Tue. Dec. 11 Remembrance

Day

Fri. Nov. 28 Pro D

We have had a busy start to the year in Music. Primary classes are working on finding and using their singing voices and keeping steady beats. Students love play-ing with Mustard the Moose - a special friend who will do what-ever you ask as long as you use your singing voice! Intermediate students are wrap-ping up a rhythm unit. Each class has added more complicated rhythms to their repertoire and have been tasked with making compositions with multiple layers of sound. Check out lordnel-sonmusic.weebly.com for up-dates from the music room! Bands are off to a great start this year thanks to all the parent's support of securing instruments by the second week of school! The grade 6/7 bands will help lead 'O Canada' for the Remem-brance assembly next week, and the both grade 5s and 6/7s will offer some seasonal favorites at the December winter concert.

Library News Green Thumb Theatre

Donations: Thank you to the Jew-

son, Wessel-Boyd, Evans, McBeath,

and McMillan Families for the Great

books. And to Ms. Scott who

brought in a suitcase full of gently

used children’s books.

Book Fair: The year’s first book fair

is scheduled during parent teacher

conferences. The Fair will be Open

December 9-11. If any parents

would like to volunteer during this

time please let Mrs. Lirenman know.

Visit the library website at: http://

nelsonlibrary.weebly.com/

Rex and Becky have been friends forev-

er. Pushed to be ‘the best’ by his dad,

Rex is practicing intensely to make the all

-star hockey team, to the detriment of

his school work and his friendships.

Becky is a star, too; a star student deter-

mined to win the spelling bee. She’s

always working to be the top of the

class, to impress her parents and to be

as good as, or better than, her older

sister. On Nov.27 our students will find

out more about this exciting story.

4

Band and Music classes

HALLOWEEN SAFETY

I would like to take this oppor-

tunity to thank our community

for helping to keep Nelson a safe

place. We were very fortunate

to not have had any vandalism

happen at the school during Hal-

loween.

Also, thank you to the communi-

ty for cleaning up all the used

Fireworks.

“All items will be donated by the end of each month.”

Please come by the school’s lost and

found which is located by the elevator off

the main floor.

There are many jackets, hoodies, sweat-

ers, boots, shoes and even socks!

Lots and lots of lunch bags and more.

All items will be donated by the end of

each month. Some lunch containers may

need to be thrown out.

Personal Devices This is a reminder about personal devices

at school. Some students have been

bringing personal devices to school, such

as iPods, iPads, cell phones, game devices

and laptops. Although these items are not

prohibited, we have rules around when

and where they can be used. Cell phones,

game and music devices must be turned

off during the school day or they may be

confiscated. Note taking devices must be

used appropriately and must contain

school appropriate apps and programs.

We would also like to emphasize that the

school cannot take responsibility for the

security of your device or the replacement

cost should your device be lost or broken.

These items are your responsibility.

Therefore, we ask that you think carefully

and speak to your child about their usage

before sending such expensive items with

your child to school. 5

Celebrating Learning

Lost and Found area has moved

Cooking class with

Ivan, Ms. Matsumi,

and Mr. Poh. They

made pizza from

scratch!

Mrs. Burke’s kin-

dergarten class

celebrated their

love of learning

earlier this week.

StrongStart is a

busy place at Lord

Nelson.

“Thank you to our coaches!”

6

Sports

Parent volunteer drivers needed

SOCCER SUCCESS AT NELSON

Congratulations to the Jr. and Sr.

boys soccer team on their amaz-

ing success! For the second year

in a row, they made it to the

district finals at Van Tech. Alt-

hough they didn’t win, we are

very proud to have a team that

made it to the District final

championships. All the players

are to be congratulated not only

for their fabulous play but also

their amazing sportsmanship.

Thank you to Ms.Appleton and

Mr. Sabbagha for dedicating

their time to two teams and for

supporting Nelson School Athletics.

DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY MEET

Congratulations to all the students

that practiced so hard during those

early morning runs and for repre-

senting Nelson so well at the meet.

Our students won many ribbons for

places ranging from third to eight-

eenth. This years’ event was very

well organized and facilitated by Ms.

Mould, Ms. Watkins and Ms. Sulli-

van. Thank you for dedicating your

time to Nelson School Athletics and

providing this opportunity to our

students.

VOLLEYBALL All Boys' games will be played on

Wednesdays at Strathcona Elemen-

tary School (592 E. Pender Street).

All Girls' games will be played on Thurs-

days at Begbie Elementary School (1430

Lillooet Street).

Parent drivers are always necessary and

appreciated! Please bring your BC Driv-

er's license and make sure you complete

a Volunteer Driver form available from

the school office. If you have already

filled out a form this school year (for

example, you helped drive for Soccer or

Cross Country), you do not need to fill

out another one.

Parents--if you are able to come to pick

up from Strathcona or Begbie, this is

also very helpful. All students who are

remaining after the games will be

brought back to Lord Nelson for dismissal at

approximately 5:00 pm. Please make ar-

rangements for your child to return home

safely after the games. They will be asked

to wait inside the school for pickup and are

strongly encouraged to walk home with a

buddy where possible.

Hi Lord Nelson Families, It was terrific to see so much interest in our Parent's Committee at our first meeting of the year on October 8th. We're starting to get busy with all the PAC activities and plans for the 2014/15 School Year! Special thanks to Nelson Dad Alastair Bird for the amazing fundraising opportuni-ty he set up with PAC: Family Photo Day, coming up this Saturday Nov.1. There are still just a few spots left but we've had a truly terrific response so far. Also big thanks to Dancing Mamas Shauna Elton and Andrea Bell organizing for the super-fun Monster Mash Dance Party on Halloween! We have a lot of jobs that need to be done this year to make it a successful and active year for the Nelson Community. Expect to see an online sign-up sheet sent out from PAC within the next few days listing some of the Parent Committees that you can help out with. Please remember that the more you can help the more we can do, and the more our kids will feel a sense of community. On Wednesday, November 5th our PAC invites you to attend a Parent Workshop to offer input into what parents and families of the students at Lord Nelson school value about our existing school building and envision for our new school building. An email has been sent out from the PAC to invite you to this workshop, which will be held in the Library from 6-7pm. There will not be child-minding at this event and this is an adult only workshop. Other upcoming PAC events include (hopefully) our first movie night of the 2014/15 School Year - we plan to show the Lego Movie. We currently do not have volunteers to run the Movie Nights Committee and are struggling to figure out the technology, so if you'd like to help with this please let us know asap! Our next PAC meeting will be on Wednesday, November 12th from 6-7:30pm. A notice of meeting will go out in the first week of November with an agenda and details about the meeting. We hope to see lots of families at our next PAC meeting and Big PAC Thanks for all that our family community does to make this school such a special place for our kids!

PAC message

NELSON CODE OF CONDUCT

At Lord Nelson School we

strive to emphasize our

code of Conduct

R.O.A.R.

Respect Others,

Act Responsibly

Vancouver School Board

Lord Nelson Elementary School

2235 Kitchener Street

Vancouver, BC V5L 2W9

Phone: 604-713-4595

Fax: 604-713-4597

E-mail: nelson@vsb.bc.ca

http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/nelson

Garibaldi Annex

Vice Principal: Lorraine Baker

School Trustee:

Rob Wynen

Director of Instruction:

Denise Johnson

Principal: Mette Hamaguchi

Vice Principal: Margie Trovao

Community News

Lime Disease Awareness Forum

Thursday, November 13th,

7:00 - 9:00 PM

Event Location:

Creekside Community Ctr. 1 Athletes

Way, Vancouver, Room MP4,

Free Admission

TRAFFIC REMINDER We would like to remind you to be mind-ful of the parking regulations around the school. Although the speed bumps and traffic calming closures have helped re-duce the speed of many drivers, we are still concerned about the safety of our students. Please be mindful of the traffic rules and regulations around the school when you pick up and drop off your chil-dren. Please be respectful of the rules when you stop and/or park, such as not blocking safety lanes, parking in no park-ing zones beside the school field thereby blocking traffic from passing. Also, please ensure that you drop off and pick up stu-dents on the right side of the road for their safety. The City By-law Traffic Attendants will be enforcing the rules more vigilantly over the next few months, as they often do during school opening.

DAYCARE We have parents looking for daycare. Please contact the school if you provide

daycare and are interested in sharing your contact information.