prayer to egin the school year -...

August/September 2013 CKES Newsletter #1

Christ the King Elementary School

20 Nisutlin Drive

Whitehorse, YT Y1A 3S5

Phone: 667-3527 Fax: 667-3666 3000-35-05

Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year. We trust that the sum-mer has given you time for relaxation and renewal. We look forward to another wonderful year with many opportunities for learning and growing. We hope you will feel comfortable and involved with your child’s learning throughout the year. We welcome your presence at school, encourage you to become active partners in the education process, and invite you to vol-unteer at the school whenever possible. Please share your ideas, encouragements and concerns with us so that we can provide the best possible learning environment for your child.

Our school logo of ‘Respect, Responsibility, and Reaching Out reminds us as students, staff members and parents to reach out with respect and responsibility to one another, to the earth, and to people everywhere.

Our first celebration will be on September 17 th at 9:00 am. Parents/guardians are welcome to join us for all school wide celebrations. We plan to have most celebrations this year on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Celebrations will be announced through the school newsletters.

During celebrations, we ask all students to enter and exit the gym in a respectful and responsible manner. To help establish a sense of reverence and respect for God, we ask for your co-operation by removing your hat, turning off your cell phone, joining us in song, and maintaining a quiet, reverant atmos-phere as the children gather in the gym.

Prayer to Begin the School Year

Father in heaven, you have blessed us

with intelligence, each to his or her degree.

Help us to use our gifts wisely to do our best

work and to do what is right and good.

Give us the grace to use your gifts to bring

glory and praise to your name, and

eternal happiness to each one of us.

This we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son,

through the power of your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

CKES Staff 2013-2014

Principal Marj Hlady

Vice Principal Gord Miller

Kindergarten Monica Best

Kindergarten Pamela Hall

Grade 1M Jenny Mouland/Amanda Bolster

Grade 1M/B Cheryl Mackie/Betty Burns

Grade 2C Lynda Campbell

Grade 2G Michelle Gillard

Grade 3M Nicole Merrick

Grade 3O Patti Oxford

Grade 4H Stephanie Haines

Grade 4K Melissa Knudslien

Grade 5Ma Emily Macht

Grade 5Mo Lucy Morrison/Sara MacDonald

Grade 6B Kelly Boyd

Grade 6S Nicole Schoeneberg

Grade 7G Tanis Giczi

Grade 7H Duane Hanscom

Learning Assistance Janine Blakesley

LA/RR Susan Woolridge

LA (.3)/RR (.5) Fiona Bakica

RR (.5) Cheryl Mackie

Literacy Support Jordan Stevens

French/Math/Support (.5) Sara MacDonald

ELL (.3) Nicole Schoeneberg

French/ELL Angelene Young

French Anne Roussain

Counselor Angeline Costello

Teacher-Librarian / IT Adele Lackowicz

Music (.6) Dorothy Williams

Rel. Ed. Coordinator (.5) Shanon Cooper

Educational Assistant Sarah Barr

Educational Assistant Heather Burnett

Educational Assistant Miranda Colbert

Educational Assistant Sherri Hennings

Educational Assistant (.5) Chris Lee

Educational Assistant Katrina Murphy

Educational Assistant Laurie Putland

EA/RT Teresa Kopf

Remedial Tutor Ron Billingsley

Administrative Assistant Errinlee Fitzsimmons

Receptionist (.5) Marlene Hornby

Library Clerk Janice Durant


Bouquets Bouquets

to the students who have come back ready and eager to learn and to their parents who, through their love and encouragement, have been responsible for the development of such positive attitudes

to Ms. Mackie, Ms. Knudslien, Ms. Kelly, Ms. Barr and Ms. Maltais for their work at the CKES summer camps for literacy and ELL

to staff members who spent much of their holiday time during the month of August preparing their classrooms or learning areas for the new school year

to all the staff who attended the Summer Academy. Thank you!

to Mrs. Fitzsimmons and Mrs. Hornby who helped in the office by registering new students, assisting new staff, and other numerous tasks done in order to facilitate a smooth transition into the new school year

to the custodial staff who have spent the summer cleaning our school; it looks great!

STUDENT DROP OFF

We have a well defined, designated area to be used only for student

drop off. At no time are vehicles allowed to park in the drop off zone.

All parents are asked to remain in the drop off zone only long enough

for your child to get out of the vehicle. If you must get out of the vehi-

cle, there are some parking spots at the end of the parking lot. We

also ask that you do not remain in your vehicle in the drop off zone with

the engine running as other parents need to access the drop off.

We have had many serious concerns in the past with parents parking

across the street from the school and children then having to cross

Nisutlin with extensive traffic volume as well as the busy bus loop entry

and exit. We are asking all parents not to drop off your children across

the street from the school. If you do want to drop your children off on

Nisutlin Drive, please do so on the school side of the street before the

bus drop off where there is a sidewalk. To access this drop off area,

please either:

1. Drive past Super A on Lewes Blvd. Turn right on Duke Street, right

on Alsek, and right onto Nisutlin

2. Turn right on Nisutlin. Drive past Christ the King, change direction

either at the parking lot for the new housing complex or the city

bus turn around at the end of Nisutlin

By using this area as the drop off on Nisutlin, children will be safer

getting off at the sidewalk and entering the schoolyard through the

opening at the end of the bus drop off.

After working very hard to get our parking lot upgrade, we are extremely

grateful and want to rest assured that every child can safely enter our

schoolyard. This can only happen with your cooperation and support.

For the safety of the children, please follow the above guidelines.

Thank you.

CommunicationCommunication Newsletters: Newsletters are written to inform parents of

school news and upcoming events. Please watch for them on the last school day of each month.

School Growth Plan: Each year the school council and staff provide input to the administration in order to develop a school growth plan. It outlines the strategies in place to help our students learn in specific goal areas. It is available for any parent to peruse. If you are interested, please call the principal.

Parent Information Booklets: Each family will be given a par-ent information booklet outlining curricular expectations for the year. These will be provided at the Open House. They will also be accessible online.

Home School Communication: Your child’s teacher will com-

municate regularly with you through class newsletters,

phone calls, home reading programs, etc. We believe that

home-school communication is necessary to help your child

learn. Please contact your child’s teacher as soon as you

have a question or concern.

Parent-Student Handbook The parent-student handbooks were updated this summer. Each family will be given a new handbook at the open house. To reduce costs, we ask you to keep the handbooks from year to year. Until the next revision, handbooks will only be issued to new families. However, if you find yourself in need of another handbook, please come to the office and speak to Mrs. Fitzsimmons or Mrs. Hornby. There is also an electronic version of the handbook available on our school website. The handbooks contain valuable information about policies and practices at our school so we ask that you keep them, as well as this newsletter, for future reference. Although they are in the handbook, we want to remind you of the following im-portant safety practices at Christ the King Elementary:

The school staff provides appropriate first-aid treatment when there are minor accidents. Parents/guardians are contacted immediately if the injury is of a more serious nature. If a parent/guardian cannot be reached, the injured student is transported to the hospital’s outpatient department. Parents/guardians who do not agree with this procedure are asked to inform the administration in writing, stating the procedure they wish the school to follow in case of serious injury to their child.

When your child is absent or late, please call the school before 8:30 am. Otherwise, our secretary will be calling you to verify your child’s absence.

If your child generally goes home for lunch, the office needs to know. Kindly complete the “Going Home for Lunch” permission slip available in the office.

Super A Store is off limits to our students throughout the school day. This rule facilitates supervision and tracking of students.

For their own safety, students should not arrive before 8:15 am. The students should dress warmly and stay active as they will be expected to remain outdoors until the bell goes. The playground area is restricted to the front and Reading Recovery sides of the school yard before school starts in the morning. Also, students who do not take the bus are ex-pected to go straight home or to their daycare after school. Only those students whose parents are at the school to care for them will be allowed to stay and play after

Labour Day Holiday:

Please remember that Monday, Septem-ber 2nd is the annual Labour Day Holiday and the school is closed.


school. For safety reasons, we also request that all parents/guardians who pick up their children after school to be here promptly at 3:00 pm.

As a safety precaution, all side and back doors to the school will remain locked during the day. They will be opened only at bell times so that children can enter the school when the bell goes. The front doors will remain unlocked for parents and any students who arrive late. Please reinforce with your child that he/she must come to the front door once classes are in session. Students are requested to come to the supervisor in the front hall if they have to use the bathroom or otherwise need assis-tance during recess times.

Students at CKES practice fire, earthquake and lock down pro-cedures on a regular basis. There are designated marshaling areas in the front and sides of the school for regular emergency drills. If there is a need to keep the children outside for a long-er period, they will all gather in a central location in front of the school which will be our main marshaling area. Please note that, if ever there is a need to evacuate our building for an extended period of time and we need protection from the cold, the students will go to Vanier School or to Selkirk Street School as an alternate location. As much as possible, in any emergen-cy, we ask parents to please come to the school immediately, rather than tie up phone lines which may be needed for police or other emergency priorities.

All parents are asked to sign a recurring permission form for any field trips that are within walking distance from the school. Every field trip that involves transportation requires written permission from the parents. If we do not have written permis-sion, the student will not be allowed to go on the field trip.

Contraband items at Christ the King Elementary are those items that are illegal, unsafe, or deemed inappropriate in a school setting. Contraband items include such things as ciga-rettes, matches, lighters, weapons or ammunition of any kind, knives, alcohol, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, needles and syringes, pornographic material, and hate or racist materials. These items are not permitted on school property. This list of contraband items is meant to give an example; it is not meant to be restrictive. Because we wish to discourage violence of any kind, toy guns or violent toys of any sort are not allowed at school. All contraband items will be confiscated and, de-pending on the item, followed through with the appropriate authorities and/or parents or guardians.

Lockers and Desks-Students are expected to keep lockers and desks clean. Lockers and desks are the property of the school and therefore, they, as well as any backpacks and other items in the lockers and desks, are subject to inspection as de-termined necessary by the school administration without prior notice. Inspections will be held where deemed necessary for the well being and safety of all students. During inspections, the students’ co-operation is expected. Any item that is considered personal and private should remain at home so that an issue need not be raised under these circumstances. Contraband items are not allowed in lockers or desks.

Animals in the School Environment-Occasionally, the issue of loose animals in the schoolyard has created some problems. For families bringing pets into the schoolyard, it is appreciated when the dogs are collared, leashed, and under control. It is a common practice by pet owners to scoop and dispose of feces produced by their pets, especially as children play in the schoolyard. If there are unattended dogs on the school grounds which could pose a health and safety risk, we will be required to report this to animal control. Because of some severe aller-gies to animals, we ask that you please not bring your pets into the school.

Threats-Please be reminded that students are not allowed to make threats of any kind. Please talk to your children about the importance of not making threats and reinforce with them that we will investigate all threat making behaviour that is reported to us. A special letter regarding threats is sent home to parents of all Yukon children and is attached to this news-letter.

Photos-Because of privacy concerns, students are not allowed to bring cameras of any kind, including those on cell phones, to school and take photos of other students. With increased blog use and other safety issues around the Internet, it is important that the privacy of all students be respected.

Cell phones-Using cell phones on school property is not per-mitted. If your child is in need of a cell phone for parental con-tact after they have left the school grounds, the phone must be kept turned off and stored in the locker.

Scent Free Environment-As several members of our school community are allergic to perfume, after shave and other scented products, our school is a scent-free environment.

Health Practises-For parents new to our school, please note that our school is pop and energy drink (Red Bull, etc.) free. Please do not send these kinds of drinks to school with your child.

School Growth PlanSchool Growth PlanSchool Growth Plan

As mentioned earlier, each year the administration, staff and school council representatives work together to develop a plan that focuses on student learning and achievement.

An essential part of our school plan is the continuation of our work as a “Professional Learning Community” (PLC). Please see the parent handbook for information on PLC’s. To create time for staff to collab-orate on essential learnings, strategies, assessments, etc., we have booked the Canada Games Centre for whole school use on four after-noons. This year only half of the students will be going to the Centre each time. Some of the staff will jointly supervise with the Canada Games Centre staff to allow the others on staff to do the PLC work. This has been very successful and we look forward to more whole school skate/swim activities for our students as well as the time for teachers to meet and discuss ways to improve student learning. These whole school events replace the individual class field trips for swimming and skating. Please complete the field trip permission form which will be sent home shortly to cover all of the CGC visits. The school will cover the costs of the Canada Games Centre but sup-port for the cost of the busses is appreciated. Our school goal and focus for our PLC work this year will be improving the students’ ability to write.

Please note the following highlights of the school growth plan:

School Goal:

Students will improve their writing skills.

Maintenance Plan:

ensure that the strategies we developed to help students achieve success with the goal area of reading for meaning evolve into best practise and become the standard way of operating at Christ the King Elementary.

collect evidence of the integration of First Nations culture across the curriculum

continue our service learning


Protocol

Parents/guardians are encouraged to become active partners in their child(ren)’s learning. If there are any questions, con-cerns or encouragements, they are asked to call the school

immediately.

As the first step, a parent having concerns about school pro-grams or his/her child’s interactions with a teacher is re-

quested to discuss this concern with the teacher involved.

If the concern is not resolved, the parent/guardian or the teacher is encouraged to discuss the matter with the princi-pal or vice principal. The administrator may arrange for a meeting of all parties concerned. Departmental personnel may be asked to attend. If there is still no resolution, the parent is encouraged to discuss the concern with the super-

intendent.

If necessary, the parent may contact the school council to

discuss the concern after these initial steps have been taken.

Matters will be treated in a confidential manner at all levels.

All parents will be encouraged by the administrative team or school council to follow the correct protocol when problems

are brought to their attention.

All teachers, administrators and parents are expected to dis-cuss their concerns in a courteous, confidential and respect-ful manner.

Student Information Sheets

Included with this newsletter is an update form and a privacy/name/photo policy form for usage in school/outside of school/ and on the internet. It is imperative to fill in and answer all are-as of these forms. Please return the form immediately to en-

sure we are able to contact you if the need should arise. It is also important to contact the school office if any changes occur during the school year so that our information remains current.

Information Sessions / Open House

In order to help you become more fami l iar wi th your chi ld’s curr iculum of s tudies for this year, there are special events being organized by the staf f at CKES W e invi te you to at tend the fol lowing sessions:

Sept 4: Informat ion Session for parents 7:00 pm of students in grade one

Sept 10: Grade 5 Informat ion Night regarding Intensive 7:00 pm French and the Compressed Engl ish Curr iculum

Sept 11: Informat ion Session for parents of 7:00 pm students in k indergarten

Sept 26: Open House

7:00 pm The Open House is an opportuni ty for al l chi l -dren (K -7) to share the accompl ishments of the f i rs t few weeks of school wi th their parents. This is not an interview t ime to discuss your chi ld’s progress. I t is , instead, a t ime to meet your chi ld(ren) ’s teacher and become more fa-mi l iar wi th the curr icular expectat ions for your chi ld dur ing this school year.

Students are not allowed to wear shirts that expose mid-riffs, low riding pants, low cut tops, spaghetti straps, skirts or shorts of immodest length, or shirts with disre-spectful sayings. If the clothing is considered inappropri-ate, we will ask your child to cover it with a jacket, shirt, etc. We thank you for your continued support with our dress code as we try to help children develop a healthy respect for themselves and their bodies.

School Awards Each year we honour our outstanding students by presenting them with end of year awards. To help you support your child in achieving these awards, we want to inform you of the criteria necessary for

receiving the awards. Awards will be presented in June for the follow-ing accomplishments:

Academic Excellence

All qualifying students from grades 5 to 7 will receive this award. To receive the award, students must earn an A in six subjects on the final report card in June, and at least a B in the remaining subjects.

Academic Improvement

One student from each class from grades 5 to 7 will receive this award. To receive the award, the students must demonstrate the greatest academic improvement in his/her class from September to June.

Writing Improvement

Two students from each class from grades 4 to 7 will receive this award. To receive the award, the student must demonstrate the greatest writing improvement in his/her class from September to June.

Respect, Responsibility, and Reaching Out

For all qualifying students from grades 4 to 7. To receive this award, students must demonstrate exemplary behavior in the areas of Re-spect, Responsibility, and Reaching Out. Classroom teachers will choose students who consistently demonstrate these kinds of behav-iors:

Basically, this award is open to all students, regardless of their marks, as long as they are working to their potential. From a Christian per-spective, we want to recognize the students who consistently use the gifts and talents God has given them and who try to do what is right and what is good.

Our goal in setting up these awards is to help each child to always work to his/her potential and to try to be the best possible person that he/she can be. Please encourage and support your child at home to understand and work towards these goals. If you have any ques-tions, please call the school.

- positive attitude - return of homework, forms, etc.

- no behavior incidents - care for the school and the earth

- use of proper manners - strong effort and work ethic

- good sportsmanship - acts of kindness and caring for others


Religious Education Fee

Religious Education is an integral part of the Catholic School. We believe that our students and staff are en-riched by faith based learning. A letter explaining the fee structure is included with this newsletter. We rely on your co-operation and support!

School T-Shirts

There are school t-shirts for sale at the school. They are black in colour with the school logo. In October’s newsletter, we will enclose an order form for a school t-shirt which you may want to purchase for your child to wear during special events like the Terry Fox Run, Run for Mom, or just to wear in general.

SCHOOL HOURSSCHOOL HOURSSCHOOL HOURS

School Photos

Student photos will be taken by

Wilson Studios on Thursday, October

17 for kindergarten to grade 3 and

Friday, October 18 for grades 4 to 7. An

information package will be sent home. To

discourage sharing, please ensure that your

child has his/her own comb that day.

Lost and Found: Each year students lose many articles.

A box for lost and found items is located in the main foyer. Please check it periodically if your child is missing articles of clothing. All unclaimed articles will be donated to a charity at the end of each term (November, February, June).

Please put your child’s name on all of his/her personal belongings.

Generally, students should not bring money or other valuables to school as they may be lost or taken. The school can not be responsible for personal items. When it is necessary to bring money to school, students may turn it in to their classroom teacher for safe keeping.

School Council

The school council is composed of elected parent representatives who play an important role in expressing parent interests and concerns to the school administration. The council meets the first Thursday of every month, (September – June). These meetings are open to all parents/guardians.

Our Council members are:

Council Member Monica Lauer 667-7399

Council Member Paula Stoker 633-2724

Council Member Andy Muir 633-2827

Council Member Mark Shumelda 633-2849

The calendar for this year is:

Mon, Aug 19, 2013 Discovery Day

Wed, Aug 21, 2013 1st Day of School

Mon, Sept 2, 2013 Labour Day

Mon, Oct 14, 2013 Thanksgiving Day

Mon, Nov 11, 2013 Remembrance Day

Mon, Dec 23, 2013 – Christmas Break

Fri, Jan 3, 2014

Mon, Jan 6 , 2014 1st Day of School

Fri, Jan 17 , 2014 Professional Development

Day

Fri, Feb 21, 2014 Heritage Day

Mon, Mar 17 – Spring Break

Fri, Mar 14, 2014

Fri, Apr 18, 2014 Good Friday

Mon, Apr 21, 2014 Easter Monday

Fri, May 16, 2014 Professional Development

Day

Mon, May 19, 2014 Victoria Day

Tues, Jun 10, 2014 Last day of school


Unity I dreamed I stood in a studio

And watched two sculptors there.

The clay they used was a young child’s mind

And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher – the tools she used

Were books, music and art.

The other, a parent, worked with a guiding hand,

And a gentle, loving heart.

Day after day, the teacher worked with touch

That was deft and sure,

While the parent standing by his side,

Polished and smoothed it o’er

And when at last their task was done

They were proud of what they had wrought,

For the things they had molded into the child

Could neither be sold nor bought.

And each agreed they would have failed

If each had worked alone,

For behind the parent stood the school

And behind the teacher, the home.

Author Unknown.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

18 19

20

21 School Starts

22

23 24

25 26 First Full Day of Kin-dergarten

27 28

29 30 31

1 2 Labour Day No Classes

3

4 7:00 pm Grade 1 Meet-ing

5

6 Grade 7 Soccer Fun Day

7

8 9 10 7:00 pm Grade 5 Meet-ing

11 7:00 pm Kindergarten Meeting

12

13 14

15 16 17 9:00 am Opening Celebration

18 19

20 21

22 23 24 25 26 7:00 pm Open House

27 28

29 30 31 Coming in October

October 8—Thanksgiving Celebration

October 8 & 10—Canada Games Centre/PLC

October 14—Thanksgiving Day, No School

October 16—IEP Reviews

October 17 & 18—School Photos K-3

August/September 2013

S c h o o l Y a r d C l ea n U p — G r a d e 3



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