Apr i l 5 , 2016

Volume 1, I ssue 8

Parkside Elementary School Newsletter

Principal’s Message

It is officially spring but the weather has not warmed up yet. Do not put away your child's hat or mitts as this past Monday children were keep indoors because of minus 20 degrees wind chill. Burr...we need to keep them warm. Weather aside, everyday I am seeing student success and hearing great stories from staff members about how many students are at or above grade level. On April 15th(no classes) we will be working on mentor text with our colleagues from Elm Street School , updating our data for our school goal on improving student writing and doing student writing assessments in teacher groups (moderated marking). Our teachers are now working with children to determine what matters in writing and how they can become better writers. Our adventures this year (Mill River, Brookvale, Island Strom assembly etc...) are all a part of a massive plot to give students new experience for ideas to write about. It is working. Thank you parents for reading and writing with your children. You are making a commitment that is huge in your child's education. Hats off to you and hats on to your children. Ms. Cameron

Dates to Remember

April 7th – Early Years Evaluation April 8th – Early Years Evaluation April 12th – Home and School Meeting - Full Cast Rehearsal April 13th – Zone qualifier for badminton - Well Dress Wednesday April 14th – Hop for Muscular Dystrophy - Easter Seals Assembly April 15th – PD Day (no classes) April 19th – Zones for doubles badminton April 21st – Zones for singles badminton April 24th – Online food orders due April 26th – Full Cast Rehearsal April 28th – Food order payments due April 29th – Collaborative Day (no classes) May 9th to June 10th - School Fees 2016-17

Phone: 902-888-8472

School B log: parks ideelementary.wordpress.com

Cereal Program Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to our cereal program this year. Your support is very much appreciated! Unfortunately our cereal supply is currently running low so we are once again requesting help from our Parkside family community. It would be fantastic if each family could donate one box of cereal to our school program. If your family would like to make a donation please send a box of one of the following kinds of cereal to school with your child:

Cheerios (regular or multi-grain)

Raisin Bran

Kellogg Mini-Wheats

Thank you! News from the Gym Badminton- Badminton has been up and going for the last couple of weeks! Students have been participating in

intramurals at lunch-time and we have held 4 try-outs for boys and girls interested in being considered for the badminton team. Our school team has just been decided and we will be competing in the zone qualifier in a couple of weeks! Students who finish in the top 4 will qualify for the zone meet which takes place on April 19 for singles and on April 21 for doubles. The provincial dates are April 29 and 30. Ms MacDonald and Mrs Brown would like to thank all students who came out to try-outs and hope to see everyone involved in intramural badminton at lunch-time! Notes from the Music Room Upcoming Lion King KIDS After-School Rehearsals: Tuesday, April 5 - SMALL GROUP Rehearsal (See blog for details) Tuesday, April 12 - FULL CAST Rehearsal

Tuesday, April 19 - To Be Announced (TBA) Tuesday, April 26 - FULL CAST Rehearsal Miss Gallant will email parents and will update the music room blog & school website with further details pertaining to the students required at rehearsals marked “TBA”. Lion King performance times are as follows:

o May 19 @ 6:30PM

o May 20 @ 6:30PM

More information regarding ticket sales will be coming very soon! Student Fees 2016-17 Parents can start to pay student fees from May 9th until June 10th. The fees are $40.00. Any questions, please contact the office.

Hop for Muscular Dystrophy On Thursday, April 14th all K- 3 classes will be participating in our annual Hop for Muscular Dystrophy. Teachers will be asking all students to bring in a donation to help raise money for this worthy cause. Any donation will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance! TOSH VS Police Hockey Game TOSH will be play the Police on April 10th at 2:30 at the CUP as a fundraiser for the The City of Summerside Youth Committee. This committee will provide a communication link between the youth of Summerside and the City of Summerside as well as encourage facilities, programs and services that enhance the health, well-being and quality of life of youth in our community. It will provide a voice for the youth in the City of Summerside and

the means to design, plan and execute real municipal-related projects for youth in our community. Tickets are $2 for students and $5 dollars for adults – prizes are a CUP Membership, Signed Chtown Islander Jersey and a Mini IPad. Grooviest Book Fair Ever! Great News! Parkside is a school of readers! Sales at our March Book Fair came close to matching our November Fair's record-breaking sales. With a 10% bonus added on for having a second Fair in the same school year, we did manage to set a new sales record: $4814.60. A portion of the profit was taken in books from the Fair. The remainder was taken as cash to purchase books from other suppliers. The Book Fairs are our main source of funding to keep our library collection growing. Thank you

so much to everyone for your support of Parkside's library and your child's reading development. Birthday Book Club A number of new members have joined the Club since February adding some great new books to our library collection. Kennah B. chose My Dad Thinks He's Funny by Karina Germein; Xander C. selected The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma by Philemon Sturges; and Ellen M. picked If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't! by Elise Parsley. Welcome these new members and invite anyone else who like to participate to contact Ms. Driscoll before the end of April, regardless of when your child's birthday is. This is the final month for joining the Club for this school year.

Coding Camp Coding Camp is coming this summer We offer week-long day camps for students aged 7-14 offering fun courses in Robotics, Mobile game design, and Minecraft Modding. Our curriculum is tailored for children using game play and 3D game design to teach coding fundamentals. We emphasize creativity, exploration and friendship. Students will discover new tech skills in an energetic, kid friendly learning environment. Week-long day camps include personalized instruction and a variety of fun camp activities. We take frequent breaks and incorporate a balance of high-energy outdoor games and STEM building activities. More information about our camps including how to register can be found at www.codingcamp.ca.

Thank you for considering this program, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I can be reached at info@codingcamp.ca Jeff Hughes Request for Feedback Your parent representative for the new Family of Schools District Advisory Council is Sara Courtney. The DAC reps are collecting feedback from parents for discussion at the next meeting. They are looking for any feedback you have on the below 4 items. If you wish to provide any feedback on the below 4 topics please send it to Sara at sahracourtney@hotmail.com or call her at 902-886-2002 1. What are the key issues or priorities for parents in your school community? What values and beliefs represent

parents in your school community? 2. What do schools need to know about your children to help them learn and be successful in their program? 3. What do you want schools to do to help your children learn and be successful in their program? 4. What role do you want to play in your child’s schooling? Home and School News, April 2016 Next Parkside Home and School meeting is April 12th at 6:30 1. Still time to register for the AGM & Convention on April 9th There is still time to register your school’s delegates for the PEI Home and School Federation’s Annual Meeting & Convention coming up on Saturday, April 9th, 2016 at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel, Charlottetown. All members are welcome - any parent, guardian, teacher, administrator and

staff person. Each Association is asked to designate five of your attendees as your voting delegates. Delegates are asked to indicate which of the two afternoon workshops they wish to attend. The two options are: 1. Workshopping Different Models For Education = Gerry Hopkirk, Facilitator 2. Atlantic FabLab = Tour at UPEI Complete registration details are online at: http://peihsf.ca/2016agm 2. District Advisory Council Meeting Highlights The mandate of the Family of Schools District Advisory Councils is to help shape an education system that is focused on and meets the needs of learners, by advising the Minister of Education, Early Learning and Culture on education matters. Check the department’s website

for the list of current members, meeting highlights and upcoming meetings at: http://www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/DAC#agenda 3. 2016-2017 School Calendar The 2016-2017 School Calendar is available for downloading from the Education, Early Learning and Culture department’s website at: http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/eelccalendar16.pdf 4. School Bus Driver of the Year Award This award recognizes school bus drivers on Prince Edward Island for their service in keeping our students safe as they travel to and from school each day. Nominations are due: May 13, 2016 Find the nomination form: http://peihsf.ca/sites/default/files/2016%20%20Bus%20Driver%20%20Award%20Flyer.pdf and details at: http://peihsf.ca/bus

5. School Crossing Guard of the Year Award This award recognizes a school crossing guard on Prince Edward Island for their service in keeping our students safe as they travel to and from school each day. Nominations are due: April 29, 2016. Find the nomination form at: http://peihsf.ca/sites/default/files/NominationForm-CrossingGuard-2016.pages_.pdf and details at: http://peihsf.ca/crossing-guard-award

Save the Dates

Welcome to Kindergarten Please bring

kindergarten student Tuesday May 10, 2016 At 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Parkside Gym

Kindergarten Orientation

Friday, June 3 Drop off student at

9a.m. Pick up student at 11:30

Students will need a small snack

Provincial Science Fair

Parkside students had a great day at the provincial science fair in Charlottetown on April 5th. A special congratulation goes out to Cadi (5X), Lauren (5F), Allie (5F), Lana (5F) and Payton (5F) who all received medals for their science fair projects. With only 8 prizes awarded in grade 5, Parkside took 3 of them! What a great showing by Parkside School!

Parent Teacher Attendance

93% of students had an adult come to Parent Teacher interviews. We love it! Bus Lanes for Buses

Only A reminder that the bus lane must remain clear of vehicles. Please drop off your child away from this area.

Grant Awarded We received exciting news this week that we will be the recipients of a $1000 grant through the Journal Pioneer Literacy Fund. The funds will be used to purchase French books on CD and picture books on CD for the library collection. We will also purchase multiple copies of novels to go with books on CD for teachers to use at listening centres in their classrooms. We appreciate being selected for this grant. Thank you to the Journal Pioneer for supporting literacy in our community!

Well Dressed Wednesday

On April 13, students can dress up and donate $2 for the Easter Seals campaign.