Dear Highwood Families,

It’s November and we’ve been very lucky with the mild weather! However, temperature is dropping every day! Just a reminder to have your child dressed appropriately for the weather as they will be outside two times a day for recess.  This includes boots, mittens and hat along with dressing in layers (so that they can take off layers should it get warmer in the afternoon).  Please label all items as our lost and found tends to get really full during the winter months! A note to let you know that my contract has been extended until November 24th, so I will continue to be the acting principal.

Here are just a few information items and reminders for the month of November:

• School Development Plan
• Remembrance Day in school
• Annual Donation Campaign starting Nov. 1st
• Lunar New Year celebration preparations
• Feedback from October School Council
• Book Fair
• Tips for parents
• Important November dates

School Development Plan

As mentioned in a previous email, our School Development Plan goal this year is to increase student reading competencies in all subject matters.   Our teachers will do some pre assessments as a starting point for all teachers so that they can use that information to plan lessons and have a better understanding of where each child is at.  There is nothing you can do at home to prepare for this pre-test.  In December, teachers will be conducting a post-test to compare results and measure the amount of growth students made.  Teachers will also then have time to reflect and analyze which strategies, lessons, games, and tasks that were most effective in helping students read and understand. We are also assessing students’ skills and understanding in numeracy.  Our teachers are also working together to create Well Being survey questions for all grade levels. The survey will be done 3 times during the school year to see progress in our students’ strategies related to Regulation and Mental Health.

Remembrance Day

We will be having a Remembrance Day ceremony for our students in the gym on Nov. 8. Our music teacher, Ms. Reese is organizing this ceremony. Due to the maximum persons allowed in our gym, we are not able to invite families to take part.  Students will be signing solemn songs and recite the In Flounders Field poem. We will have a minute of silence followed by the Rouse trumpet.

Annual Donation Campaign

Every year Highwood School Council organizes a donation campaign to raise money to support the school.  In the past, the money raised has been used to buy library books, resources for classrooms, pay for whole-school performances and activities, and gift all students a year book.  We plan to spend the money in similar ways this year.  We already sent you an email about this in October with all of the details and the link to donate on-line.  We no longer accept cash or cheque donations.  Our goal is to raise an equivalent of $50 per student.  All donations over $20 will receive a tax receipt. We understand that in these difficult times, not all families are able to donate to the school and it’s ok.  Any donation would help, even $5.00. We thank you in advance for your generosity.

Lunar New Year Preparations

We will be hosting a Lunar New Year concert, this year again. We will be welcoming the Year of the Dragon on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 7:00pm at the Southern Jubilee Auditorium.  If you’ve never experienced this before, it is a big celebration concert where all Highwood friends and family are invited (general public do not have access to this event).  More details regarding ticket purchase will be provided closer to the event.

In preparation for this concert, we will be hosting a parent prop making day. A sign-up to volunteer your time will be sent out shortly.  No experience required! More information to come with date and time.

Feedback from School Council Meeting Oct. 23

Parents inquired about residencies coming up this year.  We will have Climbing for our gr. 3 and 4 students during the week of May 6th to 9th; SoundKreations will come for Dance residency from May 27 to 31 for all grade levels; Swimming for gr. 1 & 2 students at our Highwood community pool beside our school.  More information will come at a later time.

Book Fair Coming Soon

It’s time for our school’s Book Fair! From November 20-24, discover new and bestselling titles coming right to our school. Books and school supplies are available for purchase and prices range from $1 to $25. Unfortunately, Scholastic is no longer offering online purchasing at this time, but in-person shopping will be open to students from Monday to Thursday during school hours and to parents on Friday November 24th during parent-teacher conferences. Every purchase supports our school and helps to keep kids reading!

Tips for Parents

Spelling game:

Play a spelling game with your child.  First give them the word you want to spell. Then take turn with your child at saying the first letter, then second, etc. after the word is spelled, giving them a turn at choosing the word and to start with the first letter.

Questions:

Say to your child that you are thinking about a person, a place or a thing. They can ask you 10 questions to try and guess what it is.  Then, it’s their turn!

What am I counting?

A person in the car select an object outside (keep it a secret) and begins counting when the object is spotted. The others try to guess what they are counting. For example, you choose to count red cars. Every time you see a red car, you count 1, then 2, etc.

Most of all, have fun with your child!

Pick-Up and Drop-Off

A reminder about pick-up and drop-off safety. We want to keep all of our students safe!

Please follow the link: https://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/highwood/registration/getting-school/parking/pages/default.aspx

Important November Dates

October 31: Halloween Safety tips for families: https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/safety-and-injury-prevention/halloween_safety
Wednesday, Nov. 1: Beginning of Annual Donations Campaign is starting
Thursday, Nov. 2: Grade 3 hosting assembly; Grade 3 parents are welcome to attend. The assembly will be at 1:00 PM
Friday, Nov. 3: Monday/Wednesday Kindergarten students attend
Wednesday, Nov. 8: Last Day of class for students before Fall Break
Thursday, Nov. 9: PD Day – no school for students
Friday, Nov. 10: FALL BREAK – NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, Nov. 15: Class Resume
Friday, Nov. 17: Tuesday/Thursday Kindergarten Students attend
Monday, Nov. 20-24: Book Fair in our Learning Commons
Wednesday, Nov. 22: Pictures retakes and Monday/Wednesday Kindergarten pictures
Thursday, Nov. 23: Parent-Teacher Conferences from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM – online meetings
Friday, Nov. 24: PD day – Parent-Teacher Conferences from 8:00 to 1:00 PM – In person meetings -  no school for students – Book Fair opened to parents from 8:00 to 1:00 in Learning Commons
Thursday, Nov. 30:  Our new School Development Plan will be posted on our school website under About Us – Our School; Last day for our Annual Donations Campaign – Thank you all for your generosity!

Sincerely,

Lucie Lejeune
Acting Principal