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
February
28, 2013
Receive the PWS Update electronically! You can receive the PWS Update
electronically via e-mail. If you wish
to be among the first to receive the latest editions of our school newsletters
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.
8:25: School
at Park West begins every day at 8:25
am. We need our students here on time. Too many students are still arriving late
for school and disrupting school and classroom operations.
Welcome to our School: If you visit our school during the day you
must sign-in and obtain a visitor pass
at the office.
Park West Rocks! Our next “school spirit” day is March 8. All students and staff are encouraged to have
some fun and wear their PJ’s to school that day. March 8 is “PJ Day” at Park West!
Slow Down: The speed limit on our school grounds is only 15 km per hour. For the safety of everyone please do not speed.
Who’s Hungry? The
Park West School cafeteria serves a
variety of hot tasty healthy meals for our students to purchase at lunchtime.
Daily specials include: grilled cheese
and tomato soup; beef & macaroni bake; baked chicken with rice and veggies;
meatloaf with mashed potatoes; sloppy joes; roast beef dinner; sweet & sour
chicken balls with rice and egg roll; chicken cacciatore; lasagna; mini
hamburgers and taters; chicken fajitas; meatballs with rice; baked ham and
scallop potatoes; shepherd’s pie; and chicken fingers. Lots of other choices are available. Hot
lunch specials are from $3.75 to $4.50.
Other cafeteria offerings include:
cheese pizza ($3.50); garlic fingers with donair sauce ($3); nachos and
dip ($3); hamburgers ($2.25); cheeseburgers ($2.75); chicken burgers ($2.75);
veggies trays ($2.25); fruit cups ($1.25); and chicken ceasar wraps
($3.75). An assortment of freshly made sandwiches are available
(egg salad, chicken salad, ham & cheese, and tuna salad) for only $3.25,
and salads (garden or ceasar) for
$3.35. During the cold winter months hot homemade soups will be served daily
for only $3.25. Drinks include: bottled
water ($1.25); 100% pure fruit juice (.55/$1.50); milk (.35); and chocolate
milk ($1.25). A variety of snacks for sale include: baked chips ($1.50); Crispers ($1.50); Rice
Krispie squares (.60); and cookies (.60).
The cafeteria opens at 8 am for pre-ordering
and for breakfast. Toast, bagels, and
bacon/ham/cheese on toast are available for those who didn’t get to eat at
home. Two copies of the menu are sent
home to all students in grades primary to three every month; one to keep and
one to use as an order form. Menus are now available on our school
website. To request a menu, place
an order, or if you have any questions please contact our cafeteria operator,
Jane Scrymgeour, at 440-7352 between 8 am and 12:45 daily.
What is Bullying?
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How to Be A Peacemaker:
·
Learn
about what is happening in the world around you.
·
Learn
about different ways of living and thinking.
·
Be
involved in the decisions being made on your behalf by parents, teachers,
counsellors, and politicians.
·
But
first of all…..learn about yourself; about why you think, believe, feel and
act as you do.
·
Learn
how to listen and how to see things from another point of view.
·
Learn
how to solve problems peacefully in your own life; in your own back yard.
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The Scoop on Bullying:
Bullying is a relationship
problem! It’s using power to control
and distress others. It can be
face-to-face or indirect. There are
four types of bullying:
·
Physical: hitting,
punching, slapping, kicking, punching, tripping, spitting, etc.
·
Verbal: hurtful
teasing, malicious name-calling, put-downs, etc.
·
Social: group
exclusion, gossip, rumours, slander, etc.
·
Cyber: using
MSN, e-mail, Facebook, cell phones, websites, text messaging
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Do you
know a bully? Are you a bully? Who owns the problem? Grown-ups are role models for
behaviour.
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Do you know what bullying is? Let’s check:
·
It is
a repeated
behaviour.
·
It is
an unfair
match and/or there is a power imbalance or abuse of power.
·
It is
an intentional
and hurtful behaviour.
·
The
behaviour was intended to threaten, intimidate, or victimize someone.
Bullying is a repeated pattern of intentional
and hurtful behaviours (physical, verbal, psychological) used by one or more
individuals who exercise power to intimidate, threaten, harm, and/or victimize
another person/victim who is perceived as relatively weaker. Bullying behaviours can be direct and open,
or indirect and subtle. This includes
the use of e-mail or internet to harass and /or intimidate others. A one-time incident does not qualify as
bullying. Remember: bullying
is a pattern of repeated behavior. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying
that occurs through the use of technology.
This can include the use of a computer or other electronic devices using
social networks (such as Facebook), text messaging, instant messaging,
websites, e-mail, or other electronic means.
A person participates in bullying if he/she directly carries out the
behavior, assists, or encourages the behavior in any way.
Professional Development is Key: More
than two decades ago the school year in Nova Scotia was increased from 190 to
195 days. One reason for this change was
to accommodate in-servicing and professional development for teachers without
costing students valuable instructional time.
Professional development (PD) is critical for teachers in their efforts
to provide the best learning opportunities for students. Recent research has shown that the number
one influence on student achievement is quality teaching. According to data collected over the past
three years, teachers in Nova Scotia do more than 65 hours of PD per year (much
of it during weekends, evenings, and summer months), while the school calendar
allows for only 25 hours (i.e. five days).
Unfortunately, parents are not always aware of the benefits that
professional development of teachers provides to students. Some would support that all PD activities
occur during the summer months. The fact
is, most new initiatives are introduced at the beginning of a school year,
while others are introduced during the year.
For teachers to make appropriate assessments and enhance the teaching of
these initiatives, it is necessary to support the teaching and learning with
in-servicing at strategic moments in time. Educational programs, strategies,
resources, philosophies, and initiatives continue to change at a rapid pace. Teachers must keep abreast of the
evolution. Our next PD Day is MAY 17. Students
will not attend school on that day.
This
Year Has 195 Days: The school year in Nova Scotia is 195
days. Students who are absent for any of
those days must have legitimate excuses (such as illness, medical appointments,
family emergencies, etc.). That time is
needed in classrooms to cover the outcomes for all subjects at each particular
grade level. Students must be assessed
so that we can determine if they have met the outcomes covered. When our students are absent for an extended
period of time it may negatively impact on their academic progress. This
year school does not close until June 28.
Meaningful learning and assessing will be occurring in the classrooms of
Park West School until that date. We do
not stop working, party non-stop, show one movie after another, or tell
students they should stay home because we ‘won’t be doing anything’. We are assuming that ALL our students will be in attendance until then so that their
academic progress is not jeopardized. We
cannot teach and assess our students if they are not here. Students should not be unnecessarily absent
from school for extended periods of time.
Teachers are not responsible for providing packages of work to students
in advance so they can participate in extended
vacations from school. Parents: please consider this when making your summer
travel plans.
Let’s Eat Out: The Lower Deck is a locally owned (by Park West parents) and community-minded eating establishment here in Clayton Park. They’re new to our neighbourhood and have become outstanding supporters of our school. Every Monday night, 5 – 10 pm, they are donating 25% of food purchases to our school. All you need to do is mention to your server that you’re supporting Park West School. They will track “Park West” purchases and post them on their Facebook page every week. A cheque will be delivered to our school every month. It’s just that easy! Thank you Lower Deck for caring about our neighbourhood and supporting our school.
New for Spring! Park West Spirit wear is now available!
Students can show their school spirit with the latest Park West fashions
including T-shirts, hoodies and track pants.
Spirit wear can be viewed and purchased online by visiting the online
store link on the school website homepage.
If you have any questions or would rather pay by cheque please email pta.parkwestschool@gmail.com.
Proceeds are reinvested into Park West and used to enhance programs and
services for all students. So…sport some spirit and support your school with
your next spirit wear purchase!
Strike Up The Band: The Grade 6 Band is
working hard preparing music for the Kiwanis Music Festival in April. They will
be joined by the grade 7 students. The grades 8 and 9 band students
are busy getting music ready for an exciting spring band trip to PEI with the
CPJH Grade 8/9 Band. Congratulations to those students who participated in the
grocery packing at Sobeys to raise funds for their PEI trip. It was a huge
success! Many thanks to those parents who chaperoned and especially to Ms. Colleen
Walker who organized this event for our students.
Canadian Pride! As you probably already know, Ms. Steward’s
grade 7 class recently won the grand prize, with the highest average in all of
Canada among all classes who participated in the Canadian Citizenship
Challenge. Last year 44,000 students
participated in the Challenge. This year
our grade 7 students participated with 1000 other classes from across
Canada. The Canadian average for the
Challenge test results was 72%. The
average for Nova Scotia was 78%. And….the
average for our winning grade 7 class was…….95%!!!! We are so proud! Great things happen at Park West!
Dates to Remember:
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March 6
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Junior High Dance -
$5.00 *students must be present at
school that day to attend the dance that night
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6:30 – 8:30 pm
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March 7
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Junior High Ski Club skiing at Martock
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3:00 pm
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March 8
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PJ Day at Park West
*wear your PJ’s, house coats,
and slippers to school
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March 11-15
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MARCH BREAK *no school for students
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March 21
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Payment due for Grade 9 Trip ($200)
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March 21
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Grade 9 Orientation at Halifax West High School
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morning
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March 22
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Assessment & Evaluation Day *no
school for students
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March 27
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School-wide Assembly (grades P – 9) *
you are invited to attend with us
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10:35 am
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March 29
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Good Friday *no school for students
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