EMPIRE COMMUNITY SCHOOL500 Coteau Street West, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan S6H 5E4

Phone: 306-692-3903 Fax: 306-692-5311Website: http://www.prairiesouth.ca/empire

Facebook: Empire School

Mr. D. Hand, Principal (B.A; B.Ed)

Mrs. Deana Kempel, Vice Principal (B. Ed; M. Ed)

November 2018 Newsletter

Nov. 2: Prep day – No classes Nov. 7: Gr. 6-8 Skating – 1:30 – 2:30Nov. 9: Remembrance Day Ceremony @ Riverview – 9:45 startNov. 9: Photo Retake day – starts @ 1pm – afternoon onlyNov. 12: Remembrance Day – No SchoolNov. 16: Gr. 6-8 Skating – 1:30 – 2:30Nov. 19: Early Dismissal – 1:45Nov. 27 & 28: Student Led Conferences 4:00 – 7:00 Nov. 30: No School re Student Led Conferences

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE:Things I’ve Learned as an Elementary School Principal

Even though I am married to a career elementary school teacher, I really didn’t have much of an idea of how elementary schools worked until this year. Having always worked in a high school setting I felt out of my comfort zone coming into Empire this year. Here are some of the things I’ve learned in the last two months.

Elementary school is busy! Besides all of the great learning that is going on in class there is so much going on outside the classroom. Students are involved in clubs, safety patrol, athletics, and extra activities like Spookfest, and probably some that I’ve forgotten! All good activities that help teach students responsibility and teamwork and fill up their circle with generosity and belonging.

Elementary students want to have a relationship with their teachers. I believe all students want this but elementary students aren’t afraid to show it. I hear students at recess asking teachers to “watch this”. I have students coming up to me and sharing things they are doing outside of school and I get lots of high fives and fist bumps every day.

All Empire staff care deeply about our students. I see teachers going above and beyond every day. Teaching creative lessons, leading extra-curricular activities, and building relationships with students. I see support staff caring for students and building relationships and supporting learning. I’m proud to be a part of this staff.

The most important thing I’ve learned is that ice and band aids can fix almost anything. I wish I had known this as a high school administrator!

Provincial Dental Screening

A Dental Health Educator will be at Empire School to provide a visual dental screening for Grades 1 & 7 students on December 4th , 2018.

The screening is a quick visual look at your child’s teeth and mouth. A note will be sent home following the screening.

If you do not wish for your child to participate or if you have questions, call Jennifer at Moose Jaw Public Health: 306 690-5591

DON’T FORGET !!!!

BRACELETS!! BRACELETS!!

Bracelet sales end Nov. 9th!

Get your orders in everyone!! Pick a charm – pick your colors!

Information Literacy- What is it?Information literacy is the ability to access, evaluate, and communicate information through various forms ofmedia. This is a

skill that children can acquire at a very young age. With the transition from books and libraries to Google and Wikipedia, students have a growing need to be able to research information while finding credible resources. This is a great skill to have while doing research projects or to even find information about everyday questions that they may encounter. For younger students, this may be simple skills that include asking valuable questions and giving them the resources to find their answers. For older students, it is important to educate them on searching strategies both online and offline. This way, they are able to find their own information that will benefit them in secondary education as well as their future careers.

Teaching information literacy does not require a month-long research project. You can teach your child these skills in 30 minutes or less by:1. Finding a question that interests them.2. Locating a credible website, book, or another source.3. Read and understand the information that the source has given.4. Document the information through writing it down, creating a Word Document, PowerPoint, Prezi, or other documenting program.Overall, it is very easy to find false information on the internet in today’s technology, so this is a great skill to teach students at a young age in order to gain the ability to find information on a day-to-day basis that is trustworthy and reliable.

Resourceshttp://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/infoforyou/infolitdefined.htmlhttp://www.readingrockets.org/article/teaching-information-literacy-skills

Shaelyn KnudsonSummer Student, Moose Jaw Literacy Network

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Please ensure your Child has “non-marking soles” on their shoes. We are finding several streaks on our school floors that are hard to remove. Also, as the wet weather approaches, please remind your Child to remove their shoes/boots at the boot racks unless otherwise specified by a Teacher. We appreciate your help in keeping our school neat & clean!! ***

Good Food Box

This is OPEN TO EVERYONE!!

Good Food Box runs every 2 weeks. Orders and payment, (cash only), must be turned in to the Admin. Asst. by noon of the payment due date. Also, on pick up days, your Good Food bags need to be picked up from the school by 4:00 p.m. November dates are:

Nov. 7th - money due by NOON Nov. 13th - pickup by 4:00pm Nov. 21st - money due by NOON Nov. 27th - pickup by 4:00pm

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

If you are going to be LATE or unable to pick up your child at lunch @ 11:10, or after school @ 2:45, please CALL THE OFFICE to advise. The young students need supervision until they are picked up and this sometimes causes conflict with other scheduled activities. We understand sometimes this can’t be avoided but if you could at least CALL then other arrangements can be made. Teachers have extra curricular activities taking place at lunch time AND after school that they are responsible for. If they are busy supervising your child, while they are waiting for someone to pick them up, the students lose out. The activity time is now much shorter and they lose practice time, or project time. We appreciate your co-operation with this matter.

Picture Retake Day

Friday, November 91:00 pm start – PM only !!

Remembrance Day CeremonyThe ceremony will be held at Riverview on November 9th at 9:45 a.m. We will

be walking over to Riverview at 9:30 a.m. If your child must be excused for any reason, or you need to get a message to your child please ensure this is done PRIOR to 9:30 as there will be no contact with them until they return to the school by approx. 10:40. Everyone is welcome to attend.