L. E. Shaw Elementary School

486 Oak Island Road, Avonport, NS B0P 1B0

Principal: Cordelia Gallant

Phone (902) 542-6900 Fax (902) 542-6905

Running Club! L.E. Shaw School will be offering a four week program to help students in grade 3-5 improve their personal fitness

and learn to sustain their running pace. This program is for students that enjoy running/walking for a period of time (45 minutes). This program will work on each child’s personal fitness goals. Some of us will walk, some of us will

jog and others may run. Students will come each week hoping to improve their laps from the week before. The

program will run on Tuesday starting May 14th to June 4

th from 2:30-3:30. Permission forms have gone home with

children in these grades. No consent forms will be excepted after May 14th

.

Drop off Zone for students Please use our parking lot loop when dropping off students. We have had a few cases of families parking and

dropping off students in the staff/guest parking lot, only to have students dash between parked cars and

traffic. The safest exit from cars for students would be to use the car door closest to the school sidewalk (on

the right side of the car) to prevent any accidents from occurring. At the end of the day, I have seen students

go between parked cars and run across the parking lot to get to the person in the car that is picking them up.

We need all families to be mindful when dropping off and picking up students in the parking lot. There have

been a few incidents where drivers have been seen using their cell phones while driving out of the parking

lot. Please remember that there is no cell phone usage while driving whether you are on the road or in a

parking lot. Thank you!!

When coming into the school Please be sure to check in at the office before

proceeding through the school to classrooms. This is

purely a safety issue as we need to know who is in the

building and why. The office will give you a visitor’s

badge so that staff members are not stopping you in the

halls. If you are just dropping off a student, there is no

need to accompany them as it is important for them to

develop independence for entering the school and

morning routines.

The Grade 5 Transition Fun Day

Students will be visiting their “new” middle

school (Hantsport or Wolfville). This year there

are two different dates for the two schools.

Students attending Wolfville School next year

will attend on May 13 and be transported by

parents. Students attending Hantsport School

will be visiting on May 21st. They will be leaving

L. E. Shaw @ 8:30 and be back for lunch time

break.

Principals Note ~ Thank you for your continued support at home and in working with staff to help ensure that your

student continues to be successful in all areas. Parents can help their students to continue to be

successful by reminding them that there are still two months left in the school year. There is still lots

of learning yet to come and attendance is important. If you have any questions or concerns about

how things are going, as always, the first contact should always be with the classroom teacher.

As you may know this is a busy time of year as we finish up one school year and plan for the next. It

is at this time we start to examine enrollment, staffing needs, and scheduling, as we work with the

Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education to ensure we have the resources required to meet

the needs of our school community. The process for configuring classes is very thorough. I want to

assure you that teachers, resource staff, and administration put a great deal of thought into who is

placed in each class. If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to give me a call or stop in for a

visit. My door is always open.

We had a great turn-out at our parent/teacher student led conferences in April. It was great to see the

students so excited to share their work with you.

May Swimming for students in grades 3,4,5 on June 6th, 13th, 20th from 11-12Pm

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 2 3 - Primary

Orientation – No School for current Grade P/1 students. Middle School principals visiting Gr5

6 Open Gym night 6-7:30pm

7

8 Whole school and Grade 5 photo

9 10

13 Open Gym night 6-7:30pm Grade 5 Orientation at Wolfville School

14 15 Regional shut down – No school for students

16 17 Whole School Musical at 11am and 1:15pm

20 Victoria Day No School

21 Grade 5 Orientation at Hantsport School

22 Grade 3 – Provincial Literacy Assessment

23 Grade 3 – Provincial Literacy Assessment

24

27 Open Gym night 6-7:30pm

28 Grade 3 – Provincial Math Assessment

29 Grade 3 – Provincial Math Assessment *New* Assembly - Families welcome

30 31

AVRCE Volunteers in School Policy The AVRCE has had a Volunteer in Schools Policy since 1999. As stated in this policy, the Centre

takes its obligation seriously to ensure safe environments for learning by taking all reasonable steps

to minimize risks and threats to students. Because student safety is a top priority, in January 2015,

this policy underwent an extensive review to ensure that any potential gaps in practice are closed or

minimized. All recommendations for change were presented to our school community members and

was circulated to our school stakeholders for the opportunity to respond to the proposed changes

and to provide further input. To highlight some of the changes: • clearly defines volunteers versus

visitors; • requires volunteers to complete a standard application form for any volunteering; • will

continue to require the completion of Criminal Records Check (including the Vulnerable Sector)

and Child Abuse Registry checks prior to working with students but will now require re-checks be

completed every (3) three years; and, • as of January 8, 2015, will require all current volunteers to

renew their Criminal Records Check (including the Vulnerable Sector) and Child Abuse Registry if

it has been over (3) three years since it was last completed. The recommended changes to the

Volunteers in Schools policy are not to discourage volunteering in the AVRCE. It is to employ the

best practices to ensure our policy is as effective as possible for decreasing the chances of student

harm from volunteers. We will be reminding our volunteers throughout the remainder of the school

year so that we are well prepared for events, such as Class Trips.

NOTES FROM THE MUSIC ROOM… Our whole school will be performing in a musical on Friday May 17th at 11:00am and 1:15pm. Our theme this year is the fables and tales of Aesop. From the slow tortoise to the country mouse who loved his home, we will be entertaining you with stories that teach us many life lessons. Each class will present a different tale through song and rhyme, with a moral to each story. All are invited to join us. Be ready to be entertained by our wonderful LE Shaw students!

School Year 2019-2020: Preparations are underway for next year. We anticipate having six classrooms for next year. Based on current numbers and class caps we continue to review class set ups which could include: single grade classes and some combined grade classes. This process is detailed based as we review many things when looking at class placements for students. Please note that there are many factors considered when placing students in classes in order to create balanced and equitable classes for all students. Academic ability, behavioral/emotional needs, learning and teaching style, friendships, student leadership, health concerns and input from parents are but a few of the things that are considered when faced with difficult decisions. The final decision for class assignments is made by the principal, after consultation with staff, and consideration of many factors. Please be assured that as a staff we strive to provide a suitable learning environment for all students, regardless of class configuration. We are at or very close to class caps in most grades for next year. The movement in or out of families could change the class make-up before September. If you are moving, or if you are aware of any families who may be moving in or out of our area over the next few months we would appreciate having that information. This helps us plan for students who may move on to other schools, and be prepared for students who may register with us. Please note that in September we may need to rearrange class configurations in order to reduce large class size at several grade levels. There are provincial class caps that need to be followed. What this means is that all students currently enrolled in a P-5 classroom at L. E. Shaw Elementary could potentially be affected in some way. In some cases, students will either keep or change homeroom teachers. Others may be switched from one grade configuration to another.

We are thankful for Sandy and Wayne who keep our school inside and outside

area clean & fresh each day!

Bus Notes:

We would like to take a moment to remind

families that bus notes for each day should be

sent with children the morning of the change

and be brought to the office first thing. Notes

should contain the child’s first and last name,

date and either a civic address or the name of

another child they will be getting off the bus with.

Although we understand that circumstances arise

throughout the day we have been receiving

notice of plans changing very late in the day,

sometimes to the point of removing a child from

a bus. Thank you for your assistance in a smooth

transition from school to home in the afternoon.

As a school family we continue to think of “green” ways that we can reduce our foot print on this planet. We try and use reusable items when we provide breakfast and lunch meals within our school. We use washable dishes, cups, utensils, and paper cups over plastic. We have 3 water bottle filling stations in our building. We can all work together to make our space a green space for our school family.

Parking lot and student drop off in the am: Just a reminder please do not park cars in the loop as it is for student drop off only. If you need to come into the school please park your car in a designated parking spot. Thank you for helping us keep our students and staff safe ❤ We need to keep the flow of traffic moving safely. If you are parking for even just a few minutes, this can cause confusion and congestion in that area. Please park your car and walk over to the school with your child.

Community Events….

11th Annual Valley Youth Fun Run 3KM

When: Saturday June 15th at 11:00am Where: Berwick & District School Who: Youth age 5-15

Registration forms are available at your school and local recreation departments. T-Shirt sizes are subject to availability. Registration starts at

9:30am and goes until 10:30am. Cost is $10.00 per runner. For more information contact Shawn Fevens at 902-690-6101 or email

sfevens@countyofkings.ca.

Cadance Academy in New Minas will be offering several dance camps throughout the summer for students aged four and up. An early

bird discount is offered until May 31. Camps feature a variety of dance styles, themes, crafts, and outdoor activity. For more information,

www.cadanceacademy.ca/schedulesDanceCamp.html or contact the office by email: info@cadanceacademy.ca or phone: 902-679-3616.

Valley Bulldogs Annual spring Flag Football Camp Where: Raymond Field Acadia University When: Wednesday 6-8pm & Sunday 1-3pm Who: Boys and Girls age 6 to 16 Starts: 5 May 2019 Cost: Only $110 for 8 weeks of fun and exercise with your friends No experience required this is a non-contact introduction to basic football skills with an emphasis on fun and hard work. Wednesdays will be game nights all flag no contact. Register on the first day at Acadia Raymond Field Contact us for more information at bulldogsregistration@hotmail.com Treasure Hunt 2019: A Junior Math and Computer Science Camp A week of fun and enriching indoor and outdoor activities designed to develop a child’s curiosity and enjoyment of math and computer science. A treasure hunt theme will include topics like data science, robotics, cryptography, geocaching and art & math. Who: Children entering grade 5 or 6 When: July 8 – 12, 2019 from 8:30 – 4:30pm each day Where: Acadia University, Wolfville, NS Registration: $75 per child (plus admin fee). Some financial assistance available. Online registration now open, and is limited to 20 participants. Registration closes June 24. https://math.acadiau.ca/outreach/summer-camp.html Integrity Cheer Empire Allstar Cheer & Tumble We, at Integrity Cheer Empire are proud to announce that we are entering our 10th season in the sport of competitive cheerleading, tumbling and gymnastics. Placements for our new season teams are up and coming on June 1st and June 2nd, 2019. We have a team for everyone- thats why we do a placement. Every athlete is accepted and placed on a team for their age grouping and level. We are proud to offer a team for each experience, from new to seasoned athlete. We welcome you to visit our website and contact us for information on our program! We cannot wait to meet you and welcome you to ICE! www.integritycheerempire.com info@integritycheerempire.com Wolfville Tennis Club (WTC) In June an after school drop in tennis program for ages 8 to 16 at the Wolfville courts will run from 3:30 to 5:30pm. Cost $20. WTC is also offering tennis lessons for children aged 8 to 16 this summer at the Wolfville Rotary Courts. Lessons run during July and August. For more information or to register contact Dave Lang at dkeslang@gmail.com or visit our site at wolfvilletennisclub.com.

How can I support my child at home?

Literacy Focus:

P/1 Students: Continue to read with your child every night and talk about what is happening in the book/story. Practice

lowercase letter at home. Practice High Frequency Words (those words appear frequently in texts- students need to read

automatically as they play a key role in comprehension and fluency)

Gr. 2-5: lower case letters within words, capitals for proper nouns (names or places and days/months), No-Excuse

words: spelling high frequency words automatically and conventionally in their writing.

Gr. 4: When writing at home, encourage children to use proper capital letter rules; For example-beginning of

sentences, capital I, days of week, places, names, and no random capitals in the middle of a sentence or words(raBBit).

Math focus:

Gr. 1: Students are expected to show an understanding of the addition of two single-digit numbers and the

corresponding subtraction. Students will be expected to use and describe strategies to determine sums and differences

using strategies including · counting on or counting up · one more or one less · making ten · doubles · near doubles.

Gr. 2: Create an addition or a subtraction number sentence and a story problem for a given solution. For example

16+8=24 – Mia had 16 books and she got 8 new books for her birthday, how many does she have altogether?

Gr. 3: Look for ways we use factions and times we share things evenly. Talk about fraction and practice saying them

(one half, two thirds…) Continue to work on quick subtraction facts.

Gr. 4: practice telling time on an analog clock, including quarter to, quarter after, and half past.

Safe and Inclusive goal:

All Grades: Being mindful of the words that we use when speaking. Talk to your children about “strong or

inappropriate words”. Remind your children that words are powerful and can have a profound effect on others.