PWS UPDATE
Park West School
Newsletter
Phone: (902) 457-7800 E-mail:
parkwest@hrsb.ns.ca
Website: parkwest.ednet.ns.ca
Principal:
Mr. D. Carter Vice
Principals: Ms. M. Chiasson Mr. B. Melanson
January
28, 2013
Receive the PWS Update electronically! You can receive the PWS Update
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by having it sent to your e-mail address simply e-mail your request to Mr. Carter
at dcarter@hrsb.ns.ca The PWS
Update is published approximately every two weeks.
Oh
Canada! Recently the Historica-Dominion
Institute challenged students in grade 7 to 12 from across Canada to participate
in a mock citizenship exam through its’ Canadian Citizenship Challenge. Ms.
Kelly Murray, a teacher here at Park West, accepted the challenge for her three
classes of grade 7 social studies students.
Students were asked to study Discover Canada, the same Canadian
Citizenship guide given to newcomers studying to become citizens. New Canadians
must pass the citizenship exam in order to become Canadian citizens, and The
Institute believes that all Canadians should be able to answer questions about
their home and native land. In December
all three classes of students wrote the exam.
We have just been informed one of those classes has won the Classroom
Grand Prize, with the highest class average in all of Canada. Congratulations to Ms. Stewart’s grade 7 class! The Historica-Dominion Institute will host a
Canadian Citizenship Celebration assembly here at Park West on February 19th to
honour Ms. Stewart’s class. This once
in a lifetime celebration includes a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony,
delicious treats, and speeches from inspirational leaders. For more
information on the Canadian Citizenship Challenge visit: www.canadiancitizenshipchallenge.ca\\
Pennies
for Books: During the
month of February Park West School will be participating in the Annual Pennies/Coins for Books Campaign. This campaign is sponsored by Tattletales
Books Store in Dartmouth. Starting on
February 1 students (and their families) are invited to donate pennies and coins
to raise money to buy new books for our library. Money will be collected in classrooms. The two classes that raise the most money
will win a prize. Checkout Tattletales
website to find out more about this annual
campaign and ways you can help make it a success. www.tattletalesbooks.ca. On Saturday, February 9, 8 am – 8 pm,
Tattletales will be hosting a “Cash Mob” event in support of schools’ Pennies/Coins for Books Campaigns. For every $20 regular priced purchase (before
taxes), Tattletales will apply $5 to our school coin total. Just identify yourself as a Park West School
supporter.
Coffee
House: On February 21 from 7-8:30
pm Park West School is pleased to be hosting another Coffee House performance
event for grades 6-9. This event highlights many disciplines in which Park
West’s students perform, such as dance, song, spoken word, martial arts, magic,
and instrument playing, to name a few. This unique opportunity provides a
chance for students to take risks outside of the classroom and develop
confidence, artistic expression, and an appreciation for the arts. Parents and
students are encouraged to come out and support their children and classmates. Admission
to the event is $2.00 per person or $5.00 per family. Coffee, tea, juice and
baked goods will be available for purchase. Proceeds from this event will go
toward the art program at Park West School.
February is Registration Month: We’re getting ready to prepare for the next school year
already! Registration for students
entering grade primary in September 2013 will take place February 1
to 28. New primary students must be
five years old on or before December 31, 2013 and live within our school boundaries.
Parents must provide a birth certificate, N.S. health card number, and proof of
address when registering. Registration
can be done at the school office Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. Contact Ms. Hayes or Ms. Landers (our admin
assistants in the school office) or Mr. Cobean (our Guidance Counsellor) at
457-7800 for more information or to make an appointment. Please pass the word around the community
so everyone gets registered on time.
Our staffing allotment for next year depends on the number of students
registered by the end of February. PLEASE
NOTE: only students who live within the Park West School boundaries are
eligible to attend this school. As our
school and class sizes continue to grow we will be monitoring this situation
VERY carefully. If any of our students
are found to be living outside our boundaries it may be necessary for them to
leave Park West and register at the school serving the neighbourhood in which
they live. Parents may apply to have
out-of-area students attend Park West by first registering at their neighbourhood
school, obtaining an HRSB “Out-of-Area” form from that school, and submitting
the completed form to Park West on or
after April 1, 2011 at 8:00 am. Decisions regarding acceptance of out-of-area
students at Park West for the 2013-2014
school year will not be made until the end of June.
Early French Immersion for New Grade
Primary Students: If your child will be entering Grade Primary in September 2013 you
may apply to have her/him in the Early French Immersion Program at
Ecole Rockingham School, or any other elementary school in HRSB offering that
program. Park West School does not offer
Early French Immersion. You are welcome
to attend an Early French Immersion Information
Meeting at Ecole Rockingham School (library) on February 21 at 7 pm.
Reminders to Drivers at Park West:
·
The speed limit for vehicles on school property is only 15 km per hour.
·
Students should be dropped off in the drop-off zone in the traffic loop and ONLY at curb side on the right hand side. Please do not stop in the middle of the road
and to allow students to disembark from vehicles.
·
Please do not hinder traffic flow by parking in the drop off zone or
stopping in the middle of the road to allow students to disembark.
·
Students should be ready to exit
a vehicle as soon as it pulls over to the curb in the drop off zone. They should exit the vehicle quickly so the
vehicle can move on and not impede traffic flow.
Happy
Chinese/Lunar New Year: Many
people of Asian descent will be celebrating Chinese or Lunar New Year on February 10th. Chinese New Year is the longest and most
important festivity in the Chinese calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is
itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and
traditions. Chinese New Year is celebrated in China and in countries and
territories with significant Chinese populations, including Hong Kong, Macau,
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mauritius, Philippines, and
also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday
for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its
geographic neighbours. Within China,
regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new
year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration,
material, food, and clothing. It is also traditional for every family to
thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to
make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red
colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune"
or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity." On the
Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include
such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end
the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their
parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red
paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges
and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone. According to the traditional Chinese calendar
2013 is the year of the snake. Park West
School wishes all families celebrating Chinese or Lunar New Year a happy
holiday.
8:25: During the past week 70 – 80 students per
day (in grades primary to nine) have been late for school in the morning. Most are arriving 10 – 20 minutes after the
8:25 bell rings. When asked why they
are late for school, many reply they “slept in”. Most others have no excuse to offer. Having so many students arrive late for
school on a daily basis is causing a major disruption to our school and
classroom operations. Our students need
to be here on time. When students arrive late for school (either in the morning
or after lunch) they are disrupting school and classroom routines, missing out
on receiving classroom instruction and important information. Arriving on time allows them the opportunity
to prepare for learning (getting their materials organized, removing outdoor wear,
going to lockers, etc.). Entrance bells
ring at 8:25 am and 12:50 pm. Students
should be on school grounds and ready to enter the building at those times. We are striving to teach our students the
value of time management, punctuality, respect for others, and good
citizenship. We are preparing them for
life. Our society values
punctuality. Parents whose children are
chronically late for school will be contacted by teachers and school
administration. We seek your assistance
to ensure our students arrive at school on time.
Dropping By For a Visit? For the safety and security of the students
and staff at Park West School we must insist that all parents and visitors to
our school sign in and obtain a visitor
pass at the office before proceeding through the building for any reason. Parents and visitors must only enter the
building through the main doors and
immediately report to the office.
Adults found in our building without proper identification displayed
(school visitor pass) will be questioned.
It is not always necessary for parents to accompany their children to
their classrooms. We encourage parents
to allow their children opportunities to develop and demonstrate their
independence (to find their classrooms, remove backpacks and outerwear, put on
indoor footwear).
Welcome to the Family: We need a name for our new Park West School
mascot…a black panther. Our students met her/him for the first time on Friday
at our school assembly. The panther is
now part of the Park West family and will be a frequent visitor to our school
and attend school events. Sadly…..our
panther is nameless! All students are
invited to use ballots to suggest names for our new mascot. The ballot box is outside the library in the
main lobby. Ballots are being accepted
until Friday, Feb. 1.
Relocation Site: In the unlikely event we have to
vacate our school building during the day all students and staff will be
evacuated to the Canada Games Centre
on Lacewood Drive. We would walk there
in classes using paths, and accompanied by teachers and school staff. Parents, guardians and our community would be
informed of the relocation (via telephone and media) and instructed to pick up
children at that site. We strive to be
prepared for all emergencies and urgent situations.
It’s Flu Season: Many students and staff and getting the flu
and other illnesses. If your child is
displaying symptoms of being sick (such as coughing, sneezing, head ache,
diarrhea) please keep him/her at home until feeling better. Students should not be coming to school if
feeling unwell and possibly infecting others.
Everyone is encouraged to practice safe and preventative hygiene by
washing hands often and covering mouths and noses when coughing and
sneezing. Skin to skin contact and
touching surfaces that have been in contact with an ill person are the biggest
ways flu and colds are transmitted to people.
Let’s stay healthy.
March Break: March Break is
coming soon. All schools in Nova Scotia
will be closed for March Break the week of March
11 – 15.
Dates to Remember:
|
January 31
|
Junior High Ski Club skiing at Martock
|
3:00 pm
|
|
January 31
|
Grade 9 Orientation Session at Halifax West High School
|
morning
|
|
February 5
|
Jr. High Strings Concert at Park West
|
7 pm
|
|
February 7
|
Jr. High Dance
($5.00; appropriate dress required)
|
6:30 – 8:30
|
|
February 14
|
Junior High Ski Club skiing at Martock
|
3:00 pm
|
|
February 15
|
PD Day for teacher
(NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)
|
|
|
February 19
|
Citizenship Challenge Celebration Assembly
|
10:30 am
|
|
February 20
|
SAC and PTA Meetings
|
5:45 and 7 pm
|
|
February 21
|
PWS Coffee House
|
7 – 8:30 pm
|
|
February 21
|
Grade 9 Trip Payment due
($200)
|
|
|
February 22
|
Junior High Student
Forum
|
|
|
February 28
|
Junior High Ski Club skiing at Martock
|
3:00 pm
|
