Mustang Memo - May 24, 2024
DCE students are talented!
Today was our 6th annual DCE Speech Competition and it was incredible! We heard speeches about dragons, the dangers of vaping, the importance of being taught to read, and why Pride Month matters. One student spoke about why he thinks nurses and doctors should be paid more than professional hockey players while another student taught us all about kindness. We also laughed out loud as the gold medal winner for Grade 6 told us all about why his parents are strange!
Thank you to our judges: Superintendent Stoddard, Board Chair Allen and Trustee Boymook. I don't know how they decided on the winners as all of the speeches were truly phenomenal!
Thank you to Mrs. Hansen and Mr. Miller for organizing this event once again. Shout out to Mrs. Coates who was a great host on the mic. Who knew she had a special talent for dad jokes?
Congratulations to all of our students for their hard work researching, writing, and delivering speeches both in the classroom and in the competition.
Have a great weekend!
Helene Hewitt & Jay Robertson
Principal & Assistant Principal
You belong here!
Table of Contents
Week At a Glance
Action
- Davidson Creek School Council Annual General Meeting and Elections
- Write On School Supplies
Opportunity
- Counsellor's Corner
- Jump Rope for Heart Ramping Up
- Pancake Day is Coming
Information
- Class Lists
- Parents Make the Difference
WEEK AT A GLANCE
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ACTION
Davidson Creek School Council Annual General Meeting and Elections
Please join us on Thursday, June 13 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the library for our Annual General Meetings for our Davidson Creek School Council (DCSC) and Davidson Creek Fundraising Society (DCFS). We will be holding our annual elections during these meetings.
Both of our parent groups are made up of parents or guardians of children who attend Davidson Creek Elementary. It is run by elected council members and meetings are held monthly on the 3rd Tuesday of the month starting at 6:30 p.m. (there are no meetings in December and April). *please note that meeting times and dates may change as determined in our Annual General Meeting.
Being on our school council or fundraising parent group is a great opportunity to learn more about the school, provide support to excellent programs and resources for the students, and provide input and feedback to the school. We also have cookies!
Below is specific information about each parent group including positions that have vacancies:
Davidson Creek School Council
We will are actively recruiting talented parents to take on a few positions on our school council for the 2024-25 school year:
- Secretary
- Vice Chair
- Chair
To read descriptions of these positions as well as details on how school council functions, click here to read our DCSC Operating Procedures.
Davidson Creek Fundraising Society
We are actively recruiting parents to fill the following positions:
- Directors at Large
You can read more about these positions in the DCFS Policies & Procedures. Additionally, you can read our official bylaws in our Certification of Incorporation.
We hope to see you there!
OPPORTUNITY
Counsellor's Corner
Looking ahead to the summer break, we wanted to share some updated information about mental health resources available to Albertans.
- Alberta Health Services Help in Tough Times is an up-to-date and comprehensive website where Albertans of all ages can quickly find information about coping and stress management, access to community support services and virtual mental health supports.
- Hope for All - Immediate Help Phone Numbers
- Alberta Health Services has a text resources and service called Text4Hope.
- Youth Help Card
Important Mental Health Numbers:
- Addiction Helpline – 1-866-332-2322
- Bullying Helpline: 1-888-456-2323 (bullyfreealberta.ca)
- Children's Mental Health Crisis Line: 780-427-4491 (albertahealthservices.ca)
- Community Resources – 211 Alberta
- Crisis Text Line - Text CONNECT to 741741
- Family Violence – Find Supports – 310-1818
- Income Supports – 1-866-644-5135
- Kids Help Phone – 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868
- Mental Health Helpline – 1-877-303-2642
Jump Rope for Heart is Ramping Up
We are almost ready for our Jump Day taking place this Wednesday!
With $4230 already collected, we are getting closer to our school fundraising goal of $7600 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
While our jump day is on May 29, fundraising will stay open until June 15! Let's get to that important goal so that we can help more people!
Here is a link to our school fundraising page: https://jumpropeforheart.crowdchange.ca/51978
Go, Mustangs, go!
Pancake Day is Coming
It's almost time for everyone's favourite sticky-fingered treat day! Pancake Day is taking place this Friday!
What is Pancake Day? It is a day where our staff and our brave parent volunteers cook tasty pancakes for every child in the school. We call classes down to eat a tasty pancake (gluten free options available) with butter, syrup or plain.
It is a fun DCE tradition! If you like to cook pancakes on a big outdoor griddle, stop by and help out! We promise to feed you a pancake or two!
INFORMATION
Class Placements
Our teachers have begun the daunting task of creating balanced class lists for the upcoming school year. We want to share information about the involved process we follow to establish classes.
Teachers develop draft lists as a grade level team. They look at all of the students in that grade level and consider the following factors:
- balancing medical/safety needs or students who have more complex programming needs
- balancing academic needs
- balancing behavioural needs
- managing student dynamics - which students are best together or apart (help each other vs. get off task with each other)
- connecting students with certain staff members for specific reasons (ex. finding a male role model, staff have specialized training, etc.)
- supporting friendship dynamics (helping kids to start the year off with a friend connection where possible)
As you can imagine this is not an easy task! The process does not end there! After the initial draft lists are established the next steps are:
- Administration, counselling team, and music team review lists for unintended problems and make suggestions for adjustments.
- Teachers rebalance lists according to the feedback
- All staff review the lists and provide feedback during the June staff meeting
- Final revisions are made based on whole staff feedback
It is our goal to create balanced classes that provide an excellent educational experience for each child. We appreciate your trust in our professionalism and our desire to do right by all students while balancing the various needs of each family.
As you can see, the process for creating class lists is complex and is for that reason that we do not entertain requests for classroom placements. With over 600 students, it would be impossible to accommodate each person's request while ensuring that classrooms are functional for excellent learning.
If there is an extenuating circumstance that will have a significant impact on your child or family that you feel we need to consider, you can share that information in writing via email to the principal, Helene Hewitt, by June 3, 2024.
Parents make the difference
Here is this week's article with helpful tips for families:
Help your child give back during summer break
Volunteering as a family is a great way to show children the importance of community. It also teaches children about responsibility, compassion, generosity and more.
When making summer plans, include a few volunteer activities. Your family might:
- Clean a favorite spot. Inspect places your family spends time, such as your street, a park or the beach. You may be surprised by how much trash and debris is there. Supervise as your family fills garbage and recycling bags.
- Provide shelter. Many groups build or improve housing for others. Find one that welcomes kids’ help. Your child might sweep, carry items or hand out nails while you hammer.
- Provide food. Community food banks are always in need of groceries and helpers. Homeless shelters and meal-delivery programs often need supplies. Your child may be able to collect food and supplies or even make sandwiches.
- Care for animals. Call an animal shelter to learn about its needs. If you and your child can’t work directly with pets, consider other ideas, such as raising awareness about animal adoption or collecting pet food, blankets and beds.
- Make cards. Find a charity that serves elderly or homebound citizens. A letter from a child may be more uplifting than anything else.
Reprinted with permission from the May 2024 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2024 The Parent Institute®, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc.