MCCLOSKEY FAMILY NEWSLETTER

Issue 1 http://mc.deltasd.bc.ca September 12, 2019 Office: 604-596-9554 Absentee Line 604-878-5395

Thursday, September 12 PAC meeting @ 5:30pm in Library

Tuesday, September 17 Individual Student photos - 9AM START - (Don’t be late!)

Wednesday, September 18 wedsday, September 18

Parent Teacher Conferences (Students dismissed at 2:00 pm)

Thursday, September 19 Parent Teacher Conferences (Students dismissed at 2:00 pm)

Friday, September 20 Professional Development Day (students do not attend classes)

Tuesday, September 24 friday, September 20

Terry Fox Run (approximately 2:20pm)

Monday, September 30 Orange Shirt Day (wear orange if you can)

Wednesday - Friday, October 9-11 Gr. 7 Camp trip to Camp Jubilee

Monday, October 14 Thanksgiving Day (no school)

Monday – Friday, October 21-24 Tennis XL lessons in the Gym for students

Friday, October 26 Provincial Non-Instructional Day (school not in session)

Monday – Thursday, October 28-30 Tennis XL lessons in the Gym for students

Welcome Back! On behalf of the McCloskey Elementary School staff we would like to welcome you and your child back to school and a whole new year of learning together. We would

also like to welcome all new students, staff and families. A new year brings a sense of promise and hope. We are looking forward to working together with you to make this an inspiring and memorable school year. We have many talented and committed staff members who work hard to enable our children to live up to their full potential.

Updating Parent Connect Please login to your Parent Connect account, review the Permission Forms and select the appropriate response to each form. If you have more than one child at the school, you must select a response for each child. The following forms have been posted on Parent Connect for you to review and authorize:

• Google Apps for Education • Family Demographic Information • Fruit and Vegetable Program Permission • Outside Media in Schools • Personal Information Consent Form (PIC) • Emergency Release Information • Walking Field Trip Permission

The school district requires completion of these forms annually. Failure to respond will automatically be designated as a NO for the listed items.

IT IS MANDATORY THAT ALL PARENTS/GUARDIANS REVIEW AND RESPOND TO THESE FORMS BY SEPTEMBER 30th.

To access Parent Connect, go to https://cimsweb.deltasd.bc.ca/schoolconnect/parentsignone.aspx - You can now logon with your email address. - If you forgot your password or you are logging on for the first time, click on the Forgot my Password button and if you have an email address on file the system will email you your password. - Your pop up blockers must be turned off for Parent Connect to work properly. Instructions on removing pop up blockers can be found on the Parent Connect login screen. - If you do not have an email address on file please contact Mrs. Neidig at the school office (604-596-9554) to provide an email address for our records, or for more information on how to log onto Parent Connect without an email address.

Early Dismissals for Parent-Teacher Conferences Wednesday September 18th and Thursday September 19th

All students will be dismissed at 2:00 p.m. Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, September 18th and Thursday, September 19th. These conferences provide parents and teachers with an opportunity to discuss your child. As this is the first formal interview of the school year, teachers are interested to hear about your child from you, their parents. We are expecting all parents to attend these conferences as they are important and will help us to establish a good working relationship with parents. The process for booking appointments will be on-line through Parent Connect. You do not call in for an appointment. Instructions have been sent home this week. The link found on Parent Connect will be active until noon on Thursday, September 19th. Book early to avoid disappointment! We want to connect with you. Each year we are required to have three formal report cards (Dec., March and June) as well as two informal reports to parents. These interviews are considered an informal report. If you are not able to come in on either of these dates, we ask that you contact the teacher(s) and set another appointment time or conduct your interview on the phone at a mutually agreed upon time. A FEW REMINDERS FOR PARENTS LUNCH TIME Requests This is a reminder to parents and students that children should bring their lunches to school with them in the morning. The large number of lunches that are brought in after school begins or delivered at lunchtime, along with the expectation that the office staff will call the children to get them, creates an unnecessary burden and congestion at the office. Please help by sending students to school with their lunches. We continue to encourage Healthy Eating for our students. Please help us teach our children about healthy eating habits and refrain from giving your child ‘fast-food’ lunches. (We also remind you that we are a pop-free zone!) MEDICAL Treatment of Students

If your child requires medication in emergency situations or the administration of medicine at school and you have not completed the required form, please contact the school and request one.

IF your child will be absent or late To ensure that your children are safe, our office staff will call the homes of absent children to check on their whereabouts and safety. To save us the time spent calling, please contact the school ahead of time to let us know if your child will not be at school, or will be late that day. This can be done by: 1. Sending a note to the office with a sibling or a neighbour. 2. Leaving a message on the school absentee phone line at 604-878-5395. This is an answering machine connected to a telephone line, which is separate from the regular office number so that parents, at their convenience, can let the school know of any absences or late arrivals. 3. Contacting the office directly, if necessary, at 604-596-9554 after 8:30 a.m. ** Students arriving after 9:00 a.m. are required to report to the office for a late slip. SAFETY BULLETIN 1. GUIDELINES for Bicycles, Scooters, Skateboards, and Rollerblades: • Bicycles/scooters/skateboards cannot be used on the school grounds, and

rollerblades must be removed upon arrival at school. Students who do not follow this guideline will be asked to leave them at home.

• Bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and rollerblades cannot be used at recess or lunchtime.

• The school does not accept responsibility for loss of or damage to bicycles, scooters, skateboards, or rollerblades.

*We remind parents and students that bicycles are to be locked to the bike rack. Although there is no provincial law about helmets for rollerblades and scooters and skateboards, parents should ensure students wear helmets while using them. 2. CROSSWALK SAFETY Please review the following crosswalk rules with your child(ren). These rules are strictly enforced. • Everyone must stand behind the white line at all three of the crosswalks • Do not come out onto the street until the crossing guard gives the Verbal “OK”, which means

that it is safe for all to cross from one side to the other. However, always look for on-coming traffic first.

• All pedestrians must get off of their bikes behind the white line, carry their skateboards, and hold on tight to any balls before walking across the crosswalk

• Do not ‘jaywalk’! Take the extra few minutes to safely cross your children where the crossing guard is patrolling.

3. TRAFFIC SAFETY For safety reasons, parents driving their children to or from school are asked NOT TO USE THE DRIVEWAY OR PARKING LOT TO DROP OFF AND PICK UP STUDENTS BETWEEN 8:30 – 3:30. Congestion in front of the school may cause serious safety problems, especially on

rainy days and during emergency situations. We recommend that you use the drop-off/pick-up zone on 116th Street along the school property line or appropriate areas on 80th Avenue for student drop off and pick-up. Please remember not to forfeit SAFETY for convenience. Thank you for your cooperation! 4. PEANUT AND NUT ALLERGIES

As you probably know, severe allergies among young children are becoming more and more common. We currently have several students registered at McCloskey who have severe allergic reactions to peanuts and nuts, and food containing ingredients related to nuts. We need to ensure that we provide a safe environment for our students by

preventing any allergic reactions. Therefore we would like to make our entire school as NUT AWARE as possible. We realize that this may cause changes to some students’ lunches, but every little bit that you do will help to ensure the safety of another child. When possible, please check the ingredients of foods that your children bring to school and avoid any foods containing peanuts, nuts or nut oils (ie. peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter granola bars, whole peanuts, etc.). Anyone wishing further explanation or information on this type of allergy may contact the school. If your child has life-threatening allergies, please tell us. With your help, we can do our best to prevent a reaction and to make sure that all of our students are safe, healthy, and able to concentrate on learning.

Our school structure and staffing for this year:

Learning Support Staff

The Learning Support Team is made up of teachers who have specialized training. They will be working to support student’s learning needs. These teachers will work alongside classroom teachers to help plan for instruction, team teach (at times), assist students during lessons, follow-up with students, possibly provide some small group instruction, oversee the development and implementation of IEPs (Individual Education Plans) and AIPs (Annual Instructional Plans) for students in their assigned divisions, assist with assessments and evaluations, etc.

Our Learning Support Teachers are:

• Mrs. L. Drysdale

• Mrs. H. Savery

• Mr. B. Kandola

• Ms. K. Vogel

• Mrs. C. Chalut

(You will note we have many combined classes.)

Division Grade Teacher 1 7 Ms. A. Keval 2 7 Ms. S. Pheasey 3 6/7 Ms. Y. Zlotnik 4 6 Mr. J. Nyznik 5 Supportive Learning Mr. D. Thomas 6 6 Ms. K. Milinnazo 7 5 Ms. E. Sandberg 8 4/5 Ms. S. Hulme 9 4 Ms. S. Gounder 10 Supportive Learning Mrs. K. D’Souza 11 3/4 Mrs. C. Laughlin & Ms. S. Cooper 12 3 Mrs. J. Peterson 13 2/3 Ms. Q. Dhaliwal 14 2 Ms. B. Nagra 15 2 Mrs. A. Beuhler & TBA 16 1/2 Mrs. J. Hardman 17 1 Mrs. A. Jones 18 K/1 Ms. S. Carr 19 K Mrs. A. Hearn

Yours truly,

Mrs. B. Nelmes Mrs. K. Vogel Principal Vice Principal

MISSION STATEMENT

At McCloskey we are dedicated to providing a positive, safe, and caring learning environment

which encourages high standards, mutual respect, and personal responsibility. With school, home and community working together we encourage all students

TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST in acquiring the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become productive citizens.

Do you have any Feedback/Questions/ Concerns? You can call us at the school or email us… bnelmes@deltasd.bc.ca or kvogel@deltasd.bc.ca