Mustang Memo - May 30, 2025

In honour of Canada Day, this week we enjoyed Pancake Day!

Delicious, fluffy and syrupy pancakes were devoured by our students yesterday and today. We would like to thank our dedicated volunteers and staff who worked on our brand new griddles over the past two days! While some of us were flipping pancakes the rest of us had fun doling out butter and syrup! Delish!

We'd also like to thank Mrs. Gawron who organized this event by getting the premade batter and purchasing plates, butter and 12 litres of syrup! Thanks to our school council and Davidson Creek Fundraising Society for sponsoring the event! Team work makes the dream work! 

As a fun ending of the week, we had our Jump Rope for Heart jump day today. To make the event even more fun, we gathered in the field to watch a special race! The top 5 fundraising students nominated 5 staff members to compete in a relay race while wearing inflatable costumes. The winning racer was Ms. Mikitka in a shark costume.

Thank you to our Jump Rope for Heart planning team as well as to our community for raising $3840 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. We love the way our Mustang community comes together to support great causes.

Have a great weekend!

Helene Hewitt & Jay Robertson

Principal & Assistant Principal

You belong here!

Table of Contents

Week At a Glance

Action

• Reminder: 2024-25 School Fees
• Student Transportation: 2025-26 registration

Opportunity 

• Pre-kindergarten Programming at EIPS
• Celebrating Pride at DCE
• Counsellor's Corner

Information

• Did you know?
• Parents Make the Difference

WEEK AT A GLANCE

ACTION

REMINDER: 2024-25 school fees

School fees for the 2024-25 school year are posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. Throughout the year, fees are often added to cover the costs for various activities, such as field trips, extracurricular activities, and late, damaged or lost textbooks.

To access your fee information, simply log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal and go to “Student Fees.” There you can view fees and pay them online using a Mastercard or Visa credit or debit card. Make sure to monitor your child’s account on an ongoing basis.

For more information about school fees, waivers and payment deadlines, visit eips.ca/schools/fees. And, if you have questions, think there’s an error or need help creating a PowerSchool Parent Portal account, contact your child’s school directly before the summer break.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Pursuant to Board Policy 23: School Fees and Administrative Procedure 505: School and Administrative Fees, EIPS will forward any unpaid 2024-25 fee amounts to a collection agency. To prevent this from happening, remember to pay your fees before Aug. 31, 2025.

Student Transportation: 2025-26 registration

Planning to use Student Transportation in the 2025-26 school year? If so, make sure your child is registered so Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) can plan routes and send your child a bus pass before the first day of school.

All students who indicated needing transportation services through the returning student or new student registration processes are now registered. Those families have also received tentative route schedules and invoices—fees are due June 30, 2025.

For those students who did not indicate needing transportation services during the registration process and want to now register, complete a Busing Setup form through the Transportation Service Desk.

NOTE: Families can pay fees online using the PowerSchool Parent Portal. To pay in-person, visit the EIPS Student Transportation building during its office hours—Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school closure days.

OPPORTUNITY

Pre-kindergarten Programming at EIPS

Is there a preschooler in your life experiencing identified developmental delays or challenges with speech-language—big or small? If so, Elk Island Public School’s Play And Learn at School (PALS) program could help.

Early learning lays the foundation for success in primary grades and beyond. As such, EIPS offers the pre-kindergarten PALS program in five of its elementary school locations. Applications are now open for free speech-language assessments for those interested in registering in the PALS program this fall. The assessment helps determine if PALS is appropriate for your child.

If you know a preschooler, born in 2021 or 2022, who could benefit from pre-kindergarten programming or want to book an assessment, fill out the PALS Program Request Form or call 780-417-8219. For more information, visit eips.ca.

Celebrating Pride at DCE

Next week we will join EIPS in celebrating Pride Week. Our focus will be on themes of inclusivity, belonging, and kindness. The activities that we have planned are voluntary and designed to support feelings of belonging and safety for all of our students.

Here is our outline of the events of the week*:

• Monday: We will hang the progressive Pride flag in our foyer. Colour and Chill drop-in activity at lunch. Students in Division 1 are invited to come and colour in the library. We will have selection of coloring pages with hopeful affirmations. We will show this video about diversity in the announcements. 
• Tuesday: Button Making drop-in activity at lunch. Students in Grade 5 may choose to design a button (with a pin backing) to celebrate kindness, belonging or any art they think will look great on a button! We will show a read aloud of Todd Parr's The Family Book in the announcements.
• Wednesday: Button making drop-in activity for Grade 6 at lunch. We will show this CBC kids video about what it means to be unique or different.
• Thursday:  Chalk Art drop-in activity at lunch. Students in Division 2 can decorate the side walk with messages of love, belonging and kindness. Bubble Dance Party at lunch - students in Division 1 can dance to songs about being yourself while blowing bubbles. We will show this read aloud of Joanna Gaines' The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be book.
• Friday: Wear your Favourite Colour day. We will show this video about how labels affect us on the announcements.

*Please note: We will not be providing any direct instruction on topics of human sexuality during this week. When human sexuality lessons are being taught as part of the health and wellness curriculum in grades 4-6, you will receive a consent notification letter in Permission Click outlining the curricular outcomes being taught and the materials used to teach the lessons. 

Questions about Pride Week? Check out this EIPS Pride Week FAQ!

Counsellor's Corner

Here are some of the upcoming Pride events that will be hosted in and around our community!

Activities

Strathcona County has linked most of its Pride information to the Edmonton Pride website. Some key events include:

• Pride Month Flag Raising and After-Party: May 31st, with the flag raising at 10:00 am and after-party at the Strathcona County Museum and Archives. 
• Pride Colored Powder Fight: June 18th at Gibbons Memorial Park. 
• Pride Trivia Night: June 26th, location to be determined. 
• Library Programs:
• Community Art Project 
• Stitch Your Pride: June 25th. 
• Understand Gender Stereotyping: June 17th. 

Fort Saskatchewan has many activities planned which you can read more about on their Facebook page at Facebook Page (@FortSaskPride) Some key events include:

• Flag Raising and Kick Off at Families First and City Hall- June 13th
• Families First Play Mob- June 16^th
• Library-Drive with Pride: Rearview Mirror Hangers-June 18th
• Pride Market- June 19^th
• Pride Week Closing Celebrations at Legacy Park- June 19^th

Learning Opportunity

From the Heart: Understanding the impacts of AB’s anti-transgender laws, 30 May, 7:00-9:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time at Riverbend United Church, Edmonton, and on YouTube:

“Join us for personal stories of the impacts of Bills 26, 28, and 29 on Albertan athletes, teachers, parents, children, and church members. Learn together how we can take action in support of gender-diverse people.  Behind the headlines and debates, what is happening to transgender people in Alberta? This isn’t only a legal and legislative matter; it has lived impacts on people’s bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits. We thank our speakers, who are joining us to describe the impact on their lives. We invite you to come with an open mind and heart, and hear their stories, no matter your opinion on this legislation. Please see all details here.  Our YouTube stream is scheduled here.”   

Mrs. Bashaw and Ms. Mitchell

~ DCE School Counselling Team

Did you know?

When schools are closed during the summer, many EIPS staff are still hard at work. School staff create lesson plans, engage in professional development and take part in other activities to help enhance student success. Several staff will also support EIPS Summer School. Additionally, Central Services staff work through the break to prepare for the upcoming school year, from staff recruitment to school repairs and more. In mid-August, school staff return to their schools to get ready to welcome students back to class.

Parents make the difference

Here is this week's article with helpful tips for families:

Build your child’s character and leadership skills with service

The world’s problems can seem overwhelming. It’s vital for kids to learn that every person can make a difference, and that when people work together, the results are amazing!

Summer volunteering is an effective way to teach this lesson to your child—all while building confidence, compassion and leadership skills.

To get started, talk with your child about:

• How do your child’s interests relate to community needs? An animal lover could look for ways to help an animal rescue group. A young entrepreneur could help with a fundraiser.
• Your child’s abilities and strengths can be gifts to others. Your child might hold a bake sale or read to younger children. Sometimes it’s fun to learn new skills, too, such as how to help with landscaping or home repairs.
• Perhaps your child has noticed a park that needs sprucing up. Or, maybe local families need clothing or food. Go online with your child and search for upcoming community service events in your area. You could even ask your child’s teacher if the school needs help over the summer.
• Volunteering takes time, and families are busy! Set realistic goals that leave room for other priorities. Depending on your family’s commitments, you and your child might volunteer just a few hours here and there—or decide to take on one large, exciting project!

Reprinted with permission from the May 2025 issue of Parents make the difference!®  (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2025 The Parent Institute®, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc.