Wednesday 31 May 2017

May 31, 2017

SPORTS DAY
Sports Day at Hawthorne will be hosted on Friday, June 9th and we hope you can join us for the fun.  Interested students are invited to decorate bikes, trikes, wagons, skateboards, scooters and other wheeled contraptions and participate in the Wheels Parade.  Our theme this year is Canada's 150th Birthday and we are hoping students can decorate their wheels accordingly.  Students will be divided into their colour groups for the balance of the day and families should know "colours" by the end of this week.  Here is the schedule of events:

SCHEDULE:

8:55am -            Student arrival / attendance
9:30am -            Bike Parade begins (students will go around the school this year )
9:50am -            Group Dance / Aerobic Activity
10am -               RECESS
10:15am -          Return to classes and organize for stations
10:30am -          Stations begin (K-2 on baseball diamond / 3-6 on bball courts, far field and
                          gravel field)
12pm  -             LUNCH (students can eat outside with their family or join another family)
12:45pm -         Return to classrooms for attendance
1:05pm -           Pre-school race, Tug-o-War, Balloon Toss
2pm (approx.)   Dismissal    

Please note that we typically dismiss students at around 2pm.  Parents are reminded to refrain from smoking on the school grounds while watching Sports Day events and we request that you please leave your dogs at home.  In the event of poor weather, Sports Day will be held on Monday, June 12th and this will be announced on CKNW 980 and in an email to families.  If we should be forced to postpone, the food orders will be served on Friday, June 9th.  We look forward to what should be a great day and we hope to see you there:)

PARENT APPRECIATION
Hawthorne Staff will be providing refreshments to parents on the morning of Tuesday, June 13th from 8:30-9am.  We will have coffee and snacks available to parents in appreciation of the work you do in support of the school and your children.  We hope that you can find some time to join us at the front of the school. 

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Due to the some postponements, we will now be hosting our Emergency Preparedness drill on Tuesday, June 6th at 2:15pm.  We are also asking for parental involvement so that we can practice our "student release" procedures.  This will be restricted to grade 3 and grade 4 families (along with siblings). More details will be sent home to these grades.

*** It is important for parents to understand that all students, whether in kindergarten or grade 12, will only be dismissed from school in emergency situations to their parents or designated emergency release adult. Students cannot be released to an older sibling who is still under the age of 19. Students will not be allowed to leave school property until a pre-designated adult retrieves them. In order to maintain the safety of your children, there can be no exceptions.

This means that parents need to regularly plan for who will be able to pick-up their child in an emergency situation and that the information needs to be reviewed and updated annually. If both parents do not work close to the school, then they should designate another trusted adult who will, most likely, be in the area if disaster strikes during school hours. Again, this person cannot be an older sibling who is under the age of 19. Parents need to inform the school of who their Emergency Release designated adult is and they need to review this information annually and update it if necessary. They should do so via Parent Connect (instructions are listed below). This needs to be done for each child you have in the Delta School District and you need to inform each child of who his/her Emergency Release adult is.

Parent Connect Instructions:
1.   Sign on to Parent Connect
2.   Click on the BASIC tab on the main toolbar
3.   Click on the blue "Emergency/Out of Prov/Other Contacts" button
4.   Click on the Edit button to the left side of a blank line to add a new record, or on an existing line to change the information. Use the drop down option box to choose the appropriate option for this record; choose ER-Emergency Release. Fill in all of the fields.
5.  Click the Save button to update the changes. If you close the screen or go to another screen before saving, the changes will be lost.

Note: This needs to be completed separately for each child. For more information about emergency preparedness in the Delta School District visit the DeltaPrepared website: facilities.deltasd.bc.ca/deltaprepared


CLASSROOM PLACEMENTS:  2017-2018
In the coming weeks, our teaching staff will be meeting to create tentative class lists for next year.  The classes will be determined by considering the following factors:
    Learning styles and strengths
    What the child can do in relation to the program
    Degree of independence in work habits
    Social and personal needs
    Age and physical maturity
    Class Size and Composition guidelines
    Previous year's placement
    Previous teacher's input
    Parent input / requests
    Establishing a balanced group academically
    Male/Female balance
    Friendship groupings
    Equalizing class size
    Siblings/Twins
    Special needs
    Medical needs
If you have some information that you would like to include in this process,  please forward a note to Mr. Carruthers at the office or correspond via email at mcarruthers@deltasd.bc.ca. We would only ask that you please refrain from making a "teacher" request and focus on what you believe to be the best learning environment for your child.  Thank you in advance for your attention to this.


IMPORTANT DATES

Monday, June 5th
PAC Meeting
6:30pm Library

Tuesday, June 6th
Emergency Prep Drill
2:15pm

Friday, June 9
Sports Day
2:15pm dismissal (approx.)

Friday, June 23rd 
Final Monthly Assembly
11am

Thursday, June 29th
Grade 7 Assembly (9:15am)
10:30am dismissal for all students