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
May
6, 2013
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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.
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. We can only do this
with the help of parent volunteers.
Tired of making sandwiches? 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. 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
also 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.
Strike Up the Band: Congratulations
to the Grade 6/7 Band for their excellent performance at the Kiwanis Festival
in April. They were awarded a Gold Standard of Performance. Well Done! The Grade 8/9 Band recently went on a trip to
PEI to visit and perform with the Englewood School Band. While there they also
performed in a festival and enjoyed some of the local sights and activities.
“I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing”: Our school choir, under the direction of music teacher
Ms. Servant, recently participated in the Kiwanis Music Festival. They received a bronze medal for
participation. They also received some
positive feedback from the judge, as well as some suggestions to improve their
singing. The singers did a great job and
enjoyed the experience. Thanks to Ms.
Servant for providing them with this valuable opportunity.
Upcoming Park West Music Events:
- On May 22 (1:15 pm) the grades
primary to three classes will present a musical revue titled “The Best Pet Show Ever”, and the
choir will present “We Only Have One
Planet”. This show will take
place in the gym. Parents and
family members are welcome to attend.
- On May 29 (6:30 pm) our annual Spring Fine Arts Concert will be
presented in the gym featuring our students in the choir, band, and string
ensembles. Parents, family members
and friends are invited to come out to enjoy the talents of Park West
students.
Grade 9 News:
·
Grade 9 Trip - 42 grade 9 students and 5 teacher chaperones, under
the leadership of our principal Mr. Carter, will be visiting Montreal on June 1
– 5. Regular programming will be
provided at school for those grade 9 students not going on the trip.
·
Exams - Grade 9 exams will be held on June 19 (English
Language Arts and Science) and June 20 (Math and Social Studies). Start studying soon.
·
Farewell Grade 9’s - The Halifax Regional School Board strongly
discourages graduation ceremonies and proms at the junior high level. Most junior high schools do not conduct
graduation ceremonies or formal proms.
Those events are reserved for high schools. At the end of this school
year our grade nine students will be leaving us for high school. At Park West we will be marking this
milestone in a meaningful and celebratory way.
A “Grade 9 Farewell Celebration” is
being planned for our departing students on the evening of June 24th. Students will meet at the school and be
transported downtown for dinner and a boat cruise. Tickets will go on sale soon. This event is only open to grade nine
students attending Park West School. A
“Grade 9 Farewell Closing Ceremony” will
be held on June 26, 2:00 – 3:00pm, at the school. Students and their families are invited to
this informal event. A reception will
follow in the school library. These
events are supported with funds from student fees and our PTA.
Checkmate: Jerjis Kapra, a grade 2
student in Ms. Lucas’ class, won the recent Provincial Chess Challenge. He will
be representing Nova Scotia at the Grade 2 level at the National Canadian Chess
Challenge in Ottawa, held during the last weekend in May. Here is a link to the results: http://www.chesstalk.com/elo/pub/scr/tournois.php?no=8673
Grade 9 Montreal Trip: An information meeting for student participants and their parents, with
all the final details, will be held on May
15 at 8 pm. Completed “Participant Information” and “Behaviour Compliance” forms are due
back to Mr. Mrezar as soon as possible. Please
contact Mr. Carter if you have any questions or concerns.
Some important dates for
the 2013-2014 school year:
·
Late Registration (August 27)
·
Labour Day (September 2)
·
First Day of School (September 4)
·
PD Days – school closed (Sept. 30, Oct. 25,
Nov. 8, Feb. 14, May 16)
·
Thanksgiving Day (October 14)
·
Remembrance Day (November 11)
·
Assessment & Evaluation Day – school
closed (Nov. 29, March 21, June 27)
·
Christmas Vacation (December 21 to January 5
inclusive)
·
March Break (March 10 to March 14 inclusive)
·
Good Friday (April 18)
·
Easter Monday (April 21)
·
Victoria Day (May 19)
·
Last Day of School (June 30)
Parent Concern Protocol:
·
If you
have a question or concern regarding your child, the channel of communication
begins with your child’s teacher,
or the teacher with whom you have the concern.
A teacher deserves the first opportunity to address your concerns. Communication can be done via telephone or
email, or make an appointment to meet in person.
·
If an
issue cannot be resolved at this level, please contact one of our Vice
Principals, or the Principal.
·
Parent concerns related to school
administration/operation issues should be addressed with the Principal or Vice
Principal. Mr. Carter (Principal), Ms.
Chiasson (VP) and Mr. Melanson (VP) are very approachable and would be happy to
address your concerns.
·
Matters of discipline are usually addressed
by our Vice Principals.
Staying for Lunch Next
Year? In accordance with the Education Act of the Province of Nova Scotia all
students may remain at school for lunch without fees. However, all
students who wish to remain at school over the lunch period must be registered for the lunch
supervision program. Once registered
it is essential that student participation remain consistent with the
registration information provided by parents.
We will strive to meet the HRSB supervision ratios of 1 monitor for every
25 students (elementary), and 1 monitor for every 100 students (junior
high). Ratios at the elementary level
may exceed the recommended ratio if monitors are unavailable and the
supervision space allows for additional students to be accommodated safely. Lunch supervision will be provided by
monitors, not teachers. Once the
cafeteria seating reaches capacity students may have to eat their lunches in
classrooms. Students may bring lunches
from home or purchase from the cafeteria.
Full cafeteria service will be available to all students with
sandwiches, soups, salads, drinks, snacks, and hot lunch choices for
purchase. Menus and order information
will be provided in early September.
Students must register for
the lunch program for next year (2013-14) if they wish to participate. Registration forms will be sent home with all
students (grades primary – 8) on May 13. Completed forms are due back to teachers on May 16.
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 your 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.
Dates to Remember:
|
May 8
|
Junior High Dance -
$5.00 *students must be present at school that day to attend the dance that
night
|
6:30 – 8:30 pm
|
|
May 14
|
“Parents as Career Coaches” - workshop
for junior high parents
|
6:30 – 9 pm
|
|
May 15
|
SAC / PTA Meetings
|
5:45 / 7:00 pm
|
|
May 15
|
Grade 9 Trip Meeting
|
8:00 pm
|
|
May 16
|
PTA Family Dance
|
5:30 – 8:00 pm
|
|
May 17
|
PD Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
|
|
|
May 22
|
Primary Parent Information Meeting
|
6:30 pm
|
|
May 22
|
Spring Concert (grades P – 3 and choir)
|
1:15 pm
|
|
May 28
|
Primary Orientation (for new primary students)
|
2:45-4:15 pm
|
|
May 29
|
Spring Fine Arts Concert (choir, band, strings)
|
6:30 pm
|
|
May 30
|
School Assembly
|
1:00 pm
|
|
May 31
|
School Spirit “Decades Day” – students, staff and visitors are invited to dress for school in
clothes from a decade of the past……50s, 60s, 80s….
|
|
