1

Emerson Elementary School - Principal: Mrs. L. Palamar School & Call-Back: 204-669-4430 E-Mail: emer@retsd.mb.ca

Web: http://www.em.retsd.mb.ca

OCTOBER 2019

Emerson School sure has been an exciting place! We have been busy with new learning in our classrooms and many wonderful

activities have taken place in the gym, library and music room! The students are building on their strengths and stretching their

understanding through many hands-on learning opportunities as they explore their wonders through the curriculum.

Our students have participated in many out of school initiatives such as the Cross-Country Run, Flag Football, Terry Fox Walk

and Orange T-Shirt Day. Our young citizens are very aware of the importance their voice plays in their community and our Grade

3/4 classes participated in the Peace Walk in September to show their commitment to a caring and compassionate world.

The storm on Friday, October 11 will certainly be one for the memory books! Our students and staff weathered the storm and

made the most of a very unexpected day. In the wake of the day, many snow forts and snowmen remained until the warmer

weather graced us once again. In an event like this, it reminds us how fortunate we are for all that we have and the people in our

lives. Some of our students are writing letters to the employees of Manitoba Hydro to show our gratitude for all they are doing

as they help those who are still without power. This is the true definition of authentic writing and a kind heart!

The Halloween Dance put on by the Emerson Advisory Council was a huge success! Thank you to the EAC and the parent volunteers

for supporting this event. I know that the children were really excited to show off their costumes and dance moves. Just a

reminder that we are still looking for parents to join our Advisory Council.

We will be hosting our annual Halloween Parade on Thursday, October 31 at 3:15. We would like to invite all of families and

friends to join us.

As Remembrance Day approaches, we would like to invite you to our assembly that will take place on Friday, November 8th at

11:15 in the gym. Our grade 3/4 classes will be hosting this assembly. Coming together to remember and acknowledge those who

fought for our rights and freedoms is truly a honour.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all families for their support with the “Stop, Drop and Go” zone. This has made a

difference in the morning in creating a more consistent flow of traffic. Please note that this zone is manned by patrols and

drivers are to stay behind the wheel as their child is supported to exit the vehicle and enter the school grounds. Once dropping

off your child, please continue to Rothesay and avoid U-turns in front of the school. The safety of all of children is our priority!

While we have always had Inquiry Based Learning (IBL), we have changed the format of how this is scheduled. In the past, we

had 4 to 6 week long blocks of time where students researched curriculum areas often resulting in a project. This year IBL is

scheduled as a double period (80 minutes) once a cycle. Classroom teachers co-plan, co-teach and co-assess with Mrs. Klausen,

our teacher librarian, and follow up with learning opportunities in their classroom as well. Student learning is guided through high

interest questioning, exploration and deep discovery of a wide variety of topics. This has been very exciting!

Throughout the year, teachers collect evidence of student learning in order to guide their teaching and assess student

understanding. At the end of each term, the teachers collate their assessment and report on student achievement as assessed

at that time. First term report cards will be available on the parent portal on Monday, November 25 and Student-Led

Conferences will take place that week. More information will follow later in November.

Finally, I want to thank you for all your support. Your partnership is essential to creating a strong learning community for all our

children.

Take care

Mrs. Palamar

2

Library News Be a WILD Reader! Welcome back to all our readers! A new school year has begun, and our library is a buzz of activity. This fall we are learning all about becoming wild readers. “A wild reader is a reader who incorporates reading into their personal identity to the degree that it weaves into their life along with everything else that interests them.”

- Donalyn Miller from her book Reading in the Wild. There are four main characteristics of Wild Readers. We are focusing on one characteristic each

library class and then will continue to work on becoming Wild Readers as we move through the school year. We will also be offering ways for our readers to share and recommend books to each other, including both students and staff. Our first characteristic is ‘Dedicate time to read’. We encourage readers to take a book with them and use waiting time or car rides to sneak in some extra reading. Reading together in the evenings is another great way to dedicate time to read with the added bonus of relaxing us before bed. The second characteristic of a Wild Reader is that they “Successfully Self-Select Books”.

We are discussing what a successful book choice looks like and asking questions such as… • Who will I read this with, or will I read to myself?

• What subjects interest me? What do I want to know about? Does the summary sound interesting?

• Can I understand what I am reading? If not is there someone who will read it with me> • Do I know most of the words in the book or is it a book to share with someone else?

Haunted Library Our library has transformed into a Haunted Library complete with spooky noises. Students are invited to come read at recess if they dare! Contact us Should you have any questions regarding library materials or programming, please feel free to contact us by email. For library book inquiries please contact Mrs. DeBruyn directly.

Mrs. Klausen at cklausen@retsd.mb.ca

Mrs. DeBruyn at pdebruyn@retsd.mb.ca.

3

TOYS AND PERSONAL BELONGING:

Students are asked to leave toys, games, electronic games etc. at home to avoid damage or

loss. The school cannot be responsible for these valuable items.

HACKERGAL HITS EMERSON FOR YEAR #2!

“Hackergal is a not-for-profit organization that introduces young girls across Canada to coding

through the experience of a hackathon. With women vastly underrepresented in the tech

industry all over the world, Hackergal strives to inspire a new wave of Canadian female coders

to bring equality to the booming industry.”

Hackergal is set up for another year with our Grade 5 girls at Emerson. Presently we have 9 girls

registered and consent forms will go home shortly. I will be guiding the girls through a series of

lessons although much of their work will be self-directed! Hackergal is a cooperative/collaborative

program for our girls. Exciting times ahead! Weekly lessons will take place on Day 4 at lunch!

Students are also able to work on this at home. Our 5 school divisional Hackathon will taken place on

December 13th! GIRLS CAN CODE!

4

GYM NEWS FROM MR. STANGER

Our grade 3-5 Cross Country divisional event that was held on September 25 was a

great success. We had over 2000 participants participating over two days at Birds

Hill Park.

On September 27 we held our Terry Fox walk and assembly. Thank you to all the

staff, students and parents who helped support this event.

Our Grade 5 Volleyball (Triple Ball) tournament will be held on November 14 at

Emerson School from 10-2. John de Graff students will be our guests. A canteen will

be available for our tournament.

HAT DAY

Thank you for everyone who participated in Hat Day. We raised over 200 dollars for

the United Way!

5

6

7

8

PATROL NEWS

A Message From the Patrol Supervisors…

We are off to a great start with our new patrol team. A big thank you to all of our

52 hardworking patrols for their dedication to keeping students at Emerson School

safe. We have street patrols, Kindergarten patrols and bus patrols! Our police

constable will be coming out October 23rd to formally train our patrols and give out

official patrol cards. As a reward for their hard work, patrols have already received

an invitation to a free movie at the theatre. There are many more rewards and

incentives to come.

Our patrol captains – Gracie, Makenna, Peyton, Libby, Erik and Coden – work hard to

keep our patrols organized and doing their jobs properly. They also choose patrols of

the week and those students receive a certificate and a prize. Congratulations to

the patrols of the week who have received the award so far: Halle, Avery W.,

Connor, Dylan, Sydney, Piper, James, Ethan, Jenna, Avery M., Sophie W., and Declan.

Just a reminder to patrols that it is important to show up on time for your post. If

you are going to be away from school, it is your responsibility to find someone to

cover your post while you are gone. Also, the weather is getting cooler so remember

to dress warmly.

Keep up the great work!

Mrs. van de Vijsel & Ms. Johnson

PHOTO RETAKES

Retake day will be November 26th in the p.m.

HAVE YOU MOVED? HAVE ANY OF YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBERS

CHANGED?

If you have moved, had a change to any of your telephone numbers (home, work,

cell), or your e-mail address or if any of your emergency contacts’ information has

changed, please let the office know. We need to have current information on file in

order to communicate with you if your child becomes ill or is injured during the

school day. Thank you for keeping us informed.

9

IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES AND VISITORS

It is very important that you report to the office when you visit

Emerson School! If you are volunteering or visiting there is a sign

in/out book and a pass to be worn while you are here. If you are

dropping off something for a student, please bring the item to the

office and your child will be called down at the next break. Thank you

for keeping our school safe and for preserving the learning environment!

CHANGES IN HOMETIME/PICKUP ARRANGEMENTS

Please refrain from calling the school with changes to your child’s pick-up

arrangements for the day. Changes to home time or pickup arrangements need to

relayed to the school prior to the start of the day either through the agenda, e-mail

or written note. It is very disruptive to the learning environment if we interrupt

with messages regarding home-time and pick up arrangements!

ABSENCES AND BELL TIMES

Parents are reminded to please call the school at 204-669-4430 when reporting

your child absent or late for class. A 24-hour answering service is available to take

calls before/after office hours. For student safety, we offer a callback program

which means you will be called if your child is not at school and you have not

informed us of his/her absence. If you know your child will be absent as well as for

more prolonged absences, a phone call at 204-669-4430 or a written note to the

teacher or office is much appreciated. Office hours are 8:45 – 4:15.

Playground supervision begins at 9:10 a.m. and students should not be arriving at

school before that time.

10

SCHOOL BELLS Entry bell 9:25

Opening Exercises 9:30 - 9:35

AM Recess 10:50 - 11:05

Lunch 12:15 - 1:10

Entry Bell 1:10

PM Recess 2:25 - 2:40

Dismissal 3:55

Buses Depart 4:00 (approx.)

Early Dismissal Time 3:10

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

2019-2020 IMPORTANT DATES – EAC dates to be added

Fri. Oct. 25 SAGE – In-service Day – NO SCHOOL . Thurs. Oct. 31 Hallowe’en Parade Fri. Nov.8 Remembrance Day Assembly 11:15 a.m. Hot Lunch Wed. Nov. 13 Early Dismissal at 3:10 p.m. Fri. Nov. 15 Hot Lunch Mon. Nov. 18 In-service day - NO SCHOOL Fri. Nov 22 Hot Lunch Mon. Nov. 25 Reports available in portals Tues. Nov 26 Picture Retake p.m. , Thurs. Nov. 28 Student/Parent/Teacher Evening Fri. Nov. 29 Student/Parent/Teacher Conf.AM, Staff PD in PM NO SCHOOL all day Fri. Dec. 6 Hot Lunch Fri. Dec. 13 Hot Lunch Thurs. Dec. 19 Christmas Concert (2:00 pm Matinee,6:00 pm Concert) Fri. Dec. 20 Last day before holidays, Early Dismissal at 2:55

Sat. Dec. 21 – Sun. Jan. 5 Christmas Break Mon. Jan. 6 First Day back (Day 6) Wed. Jan. 15 Early Dismissal at 3:10 p.m. Fri. Jan. 17 Hot Lunch Fri. Jan. 24 Hot Lunch Fri. Jan. 31 In-service day –NO SCHOOL Fri. Feb. 7 Hot Lunch Wed. Feb. 12 Early Dismissal at 3:10 Mon. Feb. 17 Louis Riel Day –NO SCHOOL Fri. Feb. 21 Hot Lunch Fri. Feb. 28 Hot Lunch

11

Mon. Mar. 2 Kindergarten Registration begins Fri. March 6 Hot Lunch Fri. March 13 Inservice day – NO SCHOOL Fri. March 20 Hot Lunch Mon. Mar. 23 Reports available in portals Thurs. Mar. 26 Student/Parent/Teacher Evening Fri. Mar. 27 Student/Parent/Teacher Conf. AM, Staff PD in PM NO SCHOOL all day Last day before Spring Break Mon. Mar. 30 - Sun. March 31 Spring Break Fri. Apr. 10 Good Friday – NO SCHOOL Wed. April 15 Early Dismissal at 3:10 Thurs. April 16 Hot Lunch Fri. Apr. 17 Co-ordinated Day – NO SCHOOL Fri. April 24 Hot Lunch Wed. May 6 Early Dismissal at 3:10 Fri. May 8 Volunteer Appreciation Assembly Fri. May 15 Hot Lunch Mon. May 18 Victoria Day – NO SCHOOL Wed. May 20 Lockdown drill a.m. Fri. May 22 Hot Lunch . Fri. May 29 Hot Lunch Wed. June 3 Kindergarten Orientation at 2:30 p.m. Fri. June 5 Hot Lunch Fri. June 12 Hot Lunch Fri. June 19 Hot Lunch Wed. June 24 Grade 5 Farewell – 1:30 Thurs. June 25 Recognition Assembly/ Staff Farewell – 11:10 a.m. Tues. June 30 Last day of school - Early Dismissal at 2:55

12