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
March
18, 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.
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.***********PLEASE SLOW DOWN: The speed limit on our school grounds is only 15 km per hour. For the safety of everyone please do not
speed.
“Getting to Great” – A
school improvement Survey: Once again this year Park West School and the Halifax Regional School
Board are seeking feedback from parents, students, and teachers. Getting to Great allows all parents/guardians, teachers, and
students in grades 4-12 to share information that will help us improve schools.
We are on a mission to make every school a great school, but we cannot get to
great without you. Your voluntary participation in this survey will help us
identify the strengths and challenges at our school, so we can do our part to
enhance the opportunities for students to learn. Your input is valuable in
helping us make improvements that will directly impact your child’s learning
and school experience. The online survey
is available from March 4- March 29. Please visit the website: http://survey.hrsb.ns.ca
select “Park West School” to start the survey. You are welcome to complete a
survey for each child attending our school. Please remember, all survey
information is anonymous and is not used to evaluate individuals. At the end of
the survey, you will find space to make any additional comments you wish to
share with us anonymously. All students in grades 4 to 9 at Park West will be completing the
survey in school.
Take
the Roof off Winter: The
winter walk to school event will be kicked off on Wednesday, March 27 with a warm up Walk to School. The walk will begin at 8:10 am at Veterans
Memorial Park at the corner of Langbrae and Parkland. After gathering there we will walk as a group
up Langbrae to Park West School in time for the 8:25 am admission bell. For those who walk to school from other
directions, we encourage you to walk from home to school with friends and
neighbours. Between Tuesday March 19 and Wednesday March 27 students are
invited to submit their suggestions to about how to make walking to school safe
and fun, and their ideas about fun outdoor winter activities. Students can leave suggestions addressed to
the ASRTS Committee of the PTA in the office.
Make sure your name and grade are on the submission. Each student entering a submission will be
entered into a prize draw to take place on March
28. Prizes are a $25 SportsChek gift
card and several Take The Roof Off Winter
hats. On behalf of the Active and Safe
Routes to School Committee I thank you for your support of our Committee’s
work. Kelly Greenwood
- Chair, ASRTS Committee
Supplementary Funding: Supplementary Funding is provided by HRM Council to the Halifax
Regional School Board to enhance the Public School Program in schools across the region. Each year the HRM provides
approximately $18 million in addition to
the funding the HRSB receives from the
provincial government and through mandatory municipal
contributions. Supplementary Funding is
raised through a municipal tax assessment on
residential and business properties. The HRM is the only
municipality in the province that voluntarily
provides additional funding in this manner and
they should be applauded for their
leadership to provide students with enhanced
opportunities. What does Supplementary Funding provide? Supplementary Funding allows students to benefit from program and
service enhancements above the general funding received from the province
including:
• Smaller class sizes
• Additional Physical Education, Music and Art instruction
• More support for resource and libraries
• Fine Arts programs (including All-City Music)
• Student Support Workers
• Early Learning Opportunities program
• Social Workers
ASSESSMENT IN SCHOOL TODAY: What is assessment and why is it changing? Everyone needs information to plan. Doctors need information about patients to
plan treatments. Investors need
information to help you invest your money.
And educators need information about students` achievement to help them
learn. Assessment is the process for
collecting information. In our schools,
it is the process of collecting evidence of student learning. That evidence may focus on individuals or
groups of students, and it may come from one or more sources. Tests are the best-known tools for collecting
that information. But tests are only one
tool. Student oral presentations,
projects, student interviews, writing samples, performance assessments, teacher
observation, portfolios, and student self-assessment can all serve to collect
accurate information about student learning.
(from Understanding School
Assessment, Jan Chappuis and Stephen Chappuis)
Allergy Alert: Park West is a nut and latex aware school. We have many students and staff members who
have life-threatening allergies. Contact
with nuts or latex could be fatal for them. Also, we are a scent-free school. Students
and visitors should not wear scented products while in our school building
(especially perfumes, colognes, and after-shaves).
We’re Scent-Free! Did you know that perfume is
made of toxic chemicals that can be detrimental to your health? Many of the chemicals in perfume are the same
chemicals in cigarette smoke, and yet there is no regulation of the fragrance
industry. Perfume today is not made from
flowers, but from chemicals. More than
4000 chemicals are used in fragrances.
Of these 95% are made from petroleum.
Many of us are bothered by perfumes; causing headaches, sinus problems,
and even provoking asthma. Other affects
may include exhaustion, weakness, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, rashes,
muscle ache, nausea, and stomach cramps. Many of us get sick from wearing or
being exposed to it. The result here at
school is that learning is affected.
Park West School strives to be a scent-free environment. Parents and students: please do not wear perfumes, colognes, and
heavily scented products to school.
Epi-Pen Policy: The Halifax Regional
School Board (HRSB) has a policy for students requiring epinephrine auto
injectors. Students needing epi-pens
must carry the pen injectors on them at all times while at school.
Just Right Books: During the school year your
child may be learning how to choose ‘just right’ books for independent
reading. All children should be
encouraged to read each night. Primary
students must develop the habit now. What is a ‘just right’ book for independent
reading? A just right book is one
that can be read easily with 95% accuracy (based on a word count divided by the
number of errors). This book can be read
orally with at least three word phrases with good flow and expression. It should sound like talking. There should be very few or no ‘slow spots’
or spots where the child sounds out words.
It should flow from one word to the next. How
can I tell if a book is ‘just right’ for my child to read independently? When the book is read orally it will sound
like talking. Your child will be able
to tell you about the story and even make some comments about what is happening
in the story. Why choose ‘just right’ books?
A ‘just right’ book allows your child to read the book without having to
work too hard at figuring out the words.
This means he/she can think about the story and make connections to
things that happened in the story. It
will free the reader to think about the strategies he/she will be taught in the
classroom. It will help create
independent readers and thinkers.
Choosing ‘just right’ books to read prevents the reader from struggling
and becoming frustrated. It nurtures a
love of reading, and develops confident readers. Should my child read other books? Yes, with
support from a parent or teacher. You
may continue to read other books to your child so she/he is exposed to good
literature. If your child has an
interest in a particular area, help him/her read about that topic. Take your child to the library and let
him/her choose some ‘just right’ books and some books of interest that may be
more challenging that you can read together or that you can read aloud. Even older students will enjoy these special
times of being read to by mom or dad.
As developing readers, children need to be challenged. However, we must be careful to keep the
experience pleasurable and meaningful, ensuring they experience success as readers.
Is Something Missing From Your Life?: Is your son or daughter missing boots, sneakers, a GAP
hoodie, a ball cap, an umbrella, a lunch bag, Tupperware, spoons, gloves,
pants………? We have a mountain of lost & found items here at
the school. Everything is on display in
our “lost & found” area in our back stairway. Feel free to drop by to take a look for
yourself. You might be amazed by the
‘lost treasures’ you’ll find. .
Reminder to all School Volunteers: The HRSB Student
Protection Policy is now fully implemented. All individuals who wish to volunteer in the
school (including chaperoning class trips) must successfully complete Police Records and Child Abuse Registry
Checks before being able to do volunteer work in our schools or accompany
students on field trips. Many parents
recommend the website www.mybackcheck.com
as an efficient and quick way to complete a criminal records check online. For more details on the policy and
requirements visit the HRSB website at www.hrsb.ca This is something you may wish to do in
preparation for the spring, when classes
tend to go on lots of educational field trips.
Dates to Remember:
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March 21
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Payment due for Grade 9 Trip ($200)
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|
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March 21
|
Grade 9 Orientation at Halifax West High School
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morning
|
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March 21
|
Family Bingo Night
@ Park West (a
fundraiser for the grade 9 trip)
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6 – 8 pm
|
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March 22
|
Assessment & Evaluation Day *no school for students
|
|
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March 27
|
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 27
|
Winter Walk to School Day
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|
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March 29
|
Good Friday *no
school for students
|
|
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April 1
|
Easter Monday *no
school for students
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|
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April 4
|
2nd term Report Cards issued
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|
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April 17
|
SAC and PTA Meetings
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5:45 and 7 pm
|
|
April 26
|
“Crazy Hat Day” @ Park West *wear
your favourite hat to school…make one…decorate one…be creative!
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May 1
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Parent-Teacher Interviews
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12:30 – 3:30 pm
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May 2
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Parent-Teacher Interviews
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5:30 – 7:30 pm
|
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May 8
|
Junior High Dance
(admission: $5)
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6:30 – 8:30 pm
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May 16
|
PTA Family Bingo
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5:30 – 8:30 pm
|
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May 17
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PD Day *no
school for students
|
|
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May 22
|
Information Night for Parents of New Primary Students
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6:30 pm
|
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May 28
|
Orientation Session for New Primary Students (for the 2013-14 school year)
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2:45 – 4:15 pm
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June 1 – 5
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Grade 9 Trip to Montreal
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June 17 – 21
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Exam Week for Grade 9 Students
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June 20
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PTA Community Barbeque
|
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June 26
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“Canadian Day” *We’re celebrating Canada’s birthday early! Let’s dress in the colours and symbols of
Canada.
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June 27
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Assessment & Evaluation Day *no school for students
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June 28
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Last day of school / final report cards issued
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