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
April
16, 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.
Let’s Talk About Student Progress: Parents and Teachers will meet to discuss
student progress on Wednesday, May 1 (12:30 – 3:30 pm) and Thursday, May 2
(5:30-7:30 pm). There will be
no classes for our students on the afternoon of May 1. They will be dismissed for the day at 11:35
am. Teachers, including specialists
(French, music/band, resource, phys. ed., guidance, learning centre, ESL,
etc.), will be available to meet with you to discuss your child’s
progress. Elementary teachers will meet in their classrooms with parents by appointment. Parents of elementary students will be asked
to request appointment times with their child’s teacher. Letters and appointment request forms will be
sent home on Friday, April 19. Please return the request form to your
child’s teacher by Tuesday, April 23. Confirmation of appointment times will be
sent home to parents on Friday, April 26.
To accommodate all parents most appointments will be for ten minutes each. If more
time is required to discuss your child’s progress then a longer appointment can
be made for another time. Some
elementary teachers have chosen to conduct Student Led Conferences. Junior
High teachers will meet with parents in the gymnasium on a
first-come/first-served basis. Jr. High
parents are encouraged to take advantage of the availability of afternoon
meeting times when possible, as the evening tends to be busier. We look forward to seeing you.
Book Fair at Park West: Park West will be having a Spring Scholastic
Book Fair Tuesday, April 30 - Thursday, May 2 in our school library. The Fair will be open during the day for
students and their classes to view and make purchases, as well as any parents
who would like to drop by. It will also
be open for the afternoon and evening Parent-Teacher Interview sessions. Books make great gifts and promote
literacy. All profits from the Book Fair
are used to purchase new books for our library.
Parents/ guardians who would like to volunteer at the fair can email Ms.
Comeau at acomeau@staff.ednet.ns.ca.
or phone the school (457-7800).
Order Your Yearbook SOON:
Only one book captures this year’s incredible events and experiences at
Park West School…….the 2012-2013 Yearbook.
Our professionally produced full-colour Yearbook includes all students
and all grade levels (primary to nine).
Preserve your child’s memories for the 2012-2013 school year at Park
West by purchasing a Yearbook for only $25 (cash or cheque). Order forms were recently sent home. Only a limited quantity will be produced, so
don’t forget to place your order now before it’s too late. You may also order by dropping by our school
office (Monday to Friday - 8:00 am to
3:30 pm).
EXCEL REGISTRATION
INFORMATION FOR 2013-2014: Families who are interested in participation
in next year’s EXCEL Child Care program are encouraged to mark the following
important dates on your calendars:
Ø
April 29th
Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on April 29th current participants of
the 2012/2013 EXCEL program may submit an application for the coming school
year via the online application system, by email, or by fax. Current participants
will receive a letter in mid-April identifying a user name and password
providing them exclusive access to the online application system.
Ø May 6th
General Registration begins for all EXCEL
Before & After school programs at 8:00 a.m. on May 6th.
Applications may be
submitted via the online system or the EXCEL office at 25 Alfred Street,
Dartmouth. Individuals paying by Pre-Authorized Payment, MasterCard or Visa ONLY may register on-line. Go to https://secure.hrsb.ns.ca/excel to access.
Should
parents have any questions regarding the EXCEL program or our registration
process, please contact Lori Fougere at 464-2000 ext. 2492 or by email to lfougere@hrsb.ca.
Free The Children: The WE Club at Park West started five years ago. This student focused
club has been working with Free the
Children; a global organization that specializes in supporting needy
children and communities in several countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America
to lift them up from poverty. Our students have been participating in “Adopt a
Village Program” and with the funds they raised over the years helped build a
school in Sierra Leone. They have also provided the school with an opportunity
to dig a well for access to clean water. Our WE Club students are very
passionate, eager and motivated to help students and communities in less
fortunate countries. From April 22 to
April 26 we will be running a school wide fundraising campaign to continue
on with our goal and mission. The collected funds will be used to help with the
clean water projects in Sierra Leone. We
ask all parents, guardians, and students to consider supporting this cause by
giving their spare change. Please send
your much appreciated donations to school with the students during this week.
Safe
Arrival Needs Your Help Due to the lack of volunteers and
demands on our office support staff our Safe Arrival program has not been fully
operational. We want to change
that. We feel this program is valuable,
and helps to ensure the safety and security of our students. With a fully operational program, supported
by parent volunteers, it means that each morning, a
group of office staff and parent volunteers will work together to account for
the safe arrival of all elementary students at Park West. They will collect attendance from classes,
write late slips and process voicemail messages from the Safe Arrival Absence
line. There is one step in this process that we are unable to complete
satisfactorily without volunteer help;
that is ensure
that every single student is accounted for each morning. We
need the help of parent volunteers for just one hour each morning to help call
parents or guardians if we do not know why a student has not shown up at school.
Sometimes it can be something innocent like a parent forgot to call our Safe
Arrival line to report the absence. Our fear is there will be a time when a
student leaves home but doesn't make it to school for some unknown reason. That is where Safe Arrival can be a valuable
service. We can respond quickly and decisively if there is a problem. That is a comfort we would all wish to have.
Can you help us with this? We need just one volunteer each morning for about one
hour beginning at 8:45 a.m. If you are interested in helping or would like more
information please contact Ms. Brenda Hayes, one of our school secretaries, at 457-7800
or bhayes@hrsb.ca. We want to get this
program fully operational as soon as possible.
Grade 9 Montreal Trip: The final payment ($100) for the grade 9 trip is due on April 19. By that date the full amount ($900.00) should
be paid in full. Account statements
for each student (indicating credits and balance owing) were recently sent home. Account information is available by
contacting Ms. Brenda Hayes, one of our school secretaries, at 457-7800 or bhayes@hrsb.ca. Plans are well underway for this exciting
excursion. An information meeting for
student participants and their parents, with all the final details, will be
held on May 15 at 8 pm. Please contact Mr. Carter if you have any
questions or concerns.
Math On! Wow! Our Math On team of students represented
Park West in an outstanding way last Friday!!! Not only were their
accomplishments impressive…but also their humbleness after being so
successful. Two teams of two from each
grade (7, 8, 9) competed in the Math-on Zone competition at Five Bridges
Junior High on April 12th. They participated in a "problem
solving" Math competition where each team was faced with 5 problems
and they had a maximum of 5 minutes to solve each. This is
a fun way for students to learn and celebrate Math. The Park West teams placed
second in the grade 7 level, first in the grade 8 level, and first in the grade 9 level. Park
West also won the best overall school
award, as they (as a team of 12) answered the most questions correctly
(24/30). Faris Kapra and Janie Zhang also won the top performing
team award as they completed all 5 questions in the fastest time of all
competitors (9 minutes, 46 seconds). The grade 7 and 8 teams won the
diamond award for their grade levels by using the least number of “tags” during
the competition. Congratulations
to: Nashita Jalia, Charlotte
Cameron-Hamilton, Peggy Chou and Monica Chou (grade 7); Noah Worth, Mike Cotnam,
Faris Kapra and Janie Zhang (grade 8); and Yaun Xin Li, Nikol Gritsenko, Allie
Conistis and Elmira Farrashzadeh (grade 9). We now await to hear if Park West has qualified
for provincials. We are so proud of our
students.
Parents As Career Coaches: Park West School is pleased to offer a Parents as Career Coaches Seminar for the parents of our junior
high population. Parents as Career
Coaches emphasizes the importance of helping your children discover what
their passions and interests are, as well as assisting them in identifying
occupations which match these passions.
This seminar will be taking place May
14th, from 6:30 – 9:00 in the school library. For more information, please contact Ms.
Aucoin in the guidance office (457-7800 or taucoin@hrsb.ca).
OfficeMax Grand & Toy – Nominate an
Extraordinary Teacher: OfficeMax Grand & Toy has created
an initiative known as “A Day Made Better” to honour
teachers across Canada who work tirelessly each day to create positive
environments for our children and turn them into the leaders of tomorrow. If
you know one of these classroom heroes, please consider submitting their name
for one of these awards. Nomination forms can be found at: https://www.grandandtoy.com/OnlineRepository/ds/pages/ADMB_PDFRegistrationForm_en.pdf
. Colleagues, students and parents/guardians are all eligible to submit
nominations so consider sharing in an upcoming newsletter. Nominations will be
accepted applications until June 30, 2013. On October 1, 2013, OfficeMax Grand
& Toy will celebrate the 5th Annual “A Day Made Better” contest.
OfficeMax Grand & Toy Associates across Canada will surprise up to 25
teachers at public schools from St. Johns to Vancouver with a prize package
worth $1500 that includes classroom supplies and a new ergonomic chair from
Safco.
New
Primary Parents: A meeting for parents of students entering grade primary in September 2013 will be held on May 22 at 6:30 pm in the
cafetorium. New grade primary students
may participate in a Vision Screening here at the school on May 28 (by
appointment) and in an in-class orientation session on that same date (2:45 –
4:15 pm). More detailed information for
parents will be mailed home soon. If you
child lives within our school boundaries and will be five years old on or
before December 31, 2013, then he/she is eligible to attend grade primary at
Park West School next year. Please make
sure you register at our school office as soon as possible.
15 MAX: The speed limit on our school grounds is only 15 km / hour at all times.
Dates to Remember:
|
April 17
|
SAC and PTA Meetings
|
5:45 and 7 pm
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April 26
|
“Crazy Hat Day” @ Park West *wear
your favourite hat to school…make one…decorate one…be creative!
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April 30 – May 2
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Book Fair in the library
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May 1
|
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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