Ecole Chebucto Heights School

February / March 2019

February is Registration Month!

Registration for the 2019-2020 school year will be taking place during the month

of February. If you have a child or know someone in the neighborhood who has a

child that will be five years old on or before December 31st, 2019, they are eligi-

ble for school in September 2019. Please drop by the school during the month of

February to register. Early registration is important as it will be a factor in our

staffing for the next school year. We will require the following information from

you when registering your child: Child’s Birth Certificate, Proof of Address, and

Child’s Health Card Number. To facilitate a smooth registration parents may also

go to the Regional Centre’s website and download the registration form and com-

plete it at home before coming to register. Please note that we cannot accept any

registrations without a birth certificate.

Dates to Remember:

February 1: Registration for 2019-2020 School Year Begins

February 11: Lockdown Drill

February 12: French Im-mersion Information Ses-sion for Primary 2019 Par-ents (6:oopm)

February 18: Maud Lewis Heritage Day—No School

February 21 –Soul Food Potluck (5:00pm-7:00pm)

February 28: Home and School (6pm) and SAC Meeting (7pm)

March 1: African Heritage Month Assembly

March 8: Assessment and Evaluation Day (No School for Students)

March 18-22: March Break

March 29: Delmore Buddy Daye African NS History Challenges Awards Cere-mony at ECHS

Principal’s Message It is hard to believe that we have hit the halfway point of the year. Here are some of the exciting events occurring at ECHS this month. February is African Heritage Month, we will be having a couple assem-blies, African drumming sessions with all the students and daily quiz questions. Please ask your child what they are learning. Our focus will be learning about notable African Nova Scotians.

230 Cowie H i l l Ro ad , H a l i f ax , B3P 2M3 902 -479 -4298 cbh@hrsb .ns .ca P r in c ipa l : C r a ig Myr a Admin is t r a t iv e Ass is tan t : Ch r is t ina Wi the rs V ice P r in c ipa l : Amy Weedo n

ALLERGIES We have a number of students at Chebucto Heights who are allergic to specific foods, espe-cially nuts. Because all students will be eating together in designated lunch rooms, Chebucto Heights continues to be a Nut Aware School – similar to many other elementary schools in the HRSB. Please send recess snacks and lunches that contain only nut free

products.

Strongly scented products cause many children and adults to experience breathing problems, dizziness and/or headaches. Our school is a Scent Aware School. Please refrain from wearing strongly scented products when visiting the school.

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Chebucto Heights is Starting an Afterschool Student Success Program

Starting the week of February 11th we are starting an afterschool program to sup-

port students with academic needs. The program will run on Tuesdays and

Wednesdays afterschool with a maximum of 20 student each day. The program will

run from 3:10-5:00pm on each of these days. Teachers are currently selecting stu-

dents who they feel will benefit from the program and be successful working within

small groups with an adult. Students need to fill out a registration form to partici-

pate in the program. If any parents/guardians are interested in volunteering for this

program, please contact the school.

Soul Food Potluck—February 21st From 5:00-7:00pm in Gymnasium

We are inviting families to come together and try different foods from around the world,

during our Soul Food Potluck.

Families are encouraged to bring an African Nova Scotian dish, or share one of their cul-

tural dishes or a family favorite recipe. .**Nut free dishes only please!**

We are asking each family to bring a dish that will be enough to feed your own family, so

when sharing, we will ensure that there will be enough food for all in attendance.

Below are suggested categories of food that classes could bring (these are only sugges-

tions to ensure we have a variety of dishes).

Pre-primaries - Beverages (juice, milk, water, soda...)

Primaries and Grade 1s - Salads

Grade 2s - Breads, biscuits & rolls

Grade 3s - Desserts

Grade 4s - Side dishes (rice, potato, pasta or other starchy dishes)

Grade 5s and 6s - Main dishes (meat and vegetarian)

If you are bringing a hot dish, please heat your dish before coming, label your potluck

dishes so that you are easily able to locate it at the end of the evening.

***This is a family event and students are required to be supervised by an adult at all

times.

We are excited about this African Heritage Month event and look forward to sharing a

meal with you and your family.

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Hot Lunch Starts this Week!!

Reminder to all parents who have signed up their child for hot lunch, it starts this

week and runs on the following days:

TUESDAYS (Sandwiches) - February 5, 12, 19 & 26 / March 5, 12 & 26 / April 2

WEDNESDAYS (Pasta & Nuggets) - February 6, 13, 20 & 27 / March 6, 13 & 27 /

April 3

THURSDAYS (Pizza) - February 7, 14, 21 & 28 / March 7, 14 & 28 / April 4

Missing School Clothing Order

School clothing orders were placed

back in December during parent

teacher interviews and we have a

clothing item that was not yet picked

up. Unfortunately, the form was not

filled out completely and no name

was provided! If you ordered and

paid for a clothing item and did not

receive it yet, please contact the of-

fice and we will send it home with

your child. You just need to tell us

what it was!

French Immersion Information Session for 2018-19 Primaries

On Tuesday, February 12th at 6:00pm we are having an information session for

parents who are considering registering their children for Early French Immersion

next year. This will be an opportunity to learn about the Early Immersion program

and ask questions that you may have while you are considering if French Immer-

sion is something you want your child enrolled in. Please contact the school at

(902-479-4298) if you are planning to attend this event.

Fluoride Mouth Rinse Program

This is a reminder that our fluoride mouth rinse pro-

gram takes place once a week for those students

who have parental consent. If you are not signed up

for the program and wish to be, permission forms

can be picked up in the office and need to be re-

turned before a student can start.

For those already enrolled, we do have some stu-

dents who are refusing to do the rinse as they may

be nervous and unfamiliar with it. We encourage

parents to talk to their child(ren) about the mouth

rinse and to ensure them that they have their per-

mission to do it. They do not swallow it and it is not

going to harm them. Parents may be contacted if a

student continues to refuse.

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Beer & Wine Tasting with Silent Auction

Adult Fundraising Event - Friday, April 26, 2019

Mark your calendars, Chebucto Heights Home & School is

hosting an evening of fun for the Adults in our school and

community on Friday, April 26th between 6:30 and 9pm, to

help raise funds for our school! Our goal is to raise $10,000

over a series of fundraising event so we can have a play-

ground installed in the lower courtyard suitable for ages 3 and up.

Westside Beer, Wine & Spirits (located on Lacewood Drive) will be coming to our

school gymnasium to provide samples of their many different beverages (Beer,

Wine, Ciders and Spirits) that are available in store. You will also have an oppor-

tunity to place your order, with a percentage of all sales coming back to the school!

An entrance fee of $20 each or 2 for $30 will be required at the door.

Also during the event we will have a silent auction with lots of great items! We are

in the process of canvassing stores and businesses to be able to offer many excit-

ing options! If you wish to just come and enjoy the silent auction and not partici-

pate in the tasting event, and entrance fee of $10 will be required at the door.

Watch for more information in the coming weeks about this event! As there will be

alcohol at this event, no children will be able to attend.

Donations Needed for Silent Auction!

We are hosting a Silent Auction event (see above) on Friday, April 26th and are

looking for donations from parents, so we can have class baskets done up for the

event. Each grade level will be assigned a different theme, as noted below.

Please start sending in your donations as soon as possible!! If you have any other

items you could offer to us for the auction, we would gladly accept your donation!

Items can be dropped off to the office or sent to school with your child.

Grade Primaries - Reading items

Grade Ones - Spring Toys

Grade Twos - Arts & Crafts items

Grade Threes - Baking items

Grade Fours - Family Game Night items

Grade Fives - Bath & Pamper items

Grade Sixes - Movie Night items

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We are having another Lockdown Drill in February!

As you are likely aware, our school practices lockdowns as part of our emergency planning/preparedness cycle.

Staff and students are familiar with lockdowns, but we wish to increase your knowledge of our procedures. It is

important to understand that school staff will implement a lockdown and call police if/and when there is any reason

to believe that imminent danger to students and staff may exist. At this stage, everyone in the school will move to a

secure location, safe from harm. Police will respond to the school and no one will enter or leave, until the situation

is resolved.

The first instinct of parents/guardians is to either phone the school directly or your child, or to come directly to the

school. You are asked not to do any of these, but instead to understand and follow the procedures outlined in this

letter.

Roadways need to be kept clear for responding emergency vehicles. Parents and others attempting to drive to the

school can slow police and other emergency responders from getting to and securing the area as quickly as possible.

Therefore, if you hear that a lockdown is occurring at your child’s school, do not proceed to the school. Instead, you

may go to your schools’ designated Parent location, Chocolate Lake Community Center, to receive information

which will be provided by police and school representatives. This location is selected as being far enough from the

school to maximize your safety and that of others. Please be assured that every effort will be made to keep you in-

formed as to what is happening during the event. Experience has shown that incorrect information often circulates

during an event when it does not come directly from the police or school board. Please note that, for safety reasons,

some situations may require that some information be withheld until the situation is resolved. (In lockdown situa-

tions you may also contact the Regional Centre by calling 902-464-2000.) After the lockdown, you may be asked to

go to the school or to wait where you are until your child is brought to your location. We also ask that you not at-

tempt to phone your child. In a lockdown, everyone must remain quiet, and a ringing cell phone may draw undue

attention to the secure location where your child and his/her classmates are.

Aside from lockdown procedures, your child’s school may also implement a precautionary “Hold & Secure” if

there is an unrelated emergency situation occurring outside the building or in the neighborhood that could potential-

ly present a danger to the school. In this situation all doors to the school are locked and monitored to ensure no one

enters or exits the school. Classes will generally continue but no one will be allowed to enter or leave the building

until the situation is resolved. We also ask that you do NOT proceed to the school unless asked to do so by school

board staff.

We encourage you to discuss school safety with your child and to address any concerns they may have and we wel-

come any questions you have about this or any other issue related to the safety and security of our school. CHE

will be having a lock-down drill on February 11th in the morning, so we can practice this procedure just as

we do with evacuation drills. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the

school at 902-479-4298.