Mustang Memo - May 31, 2024

Today was Pancake Day!

Delicious, fluffy and syrupy pancakes were devoured by our students all morning. We would like to thank our four dedicated parents who braved the wind to work the griddle this morning! We think the quality of our pancakes improved this year simply because Mrs. Hewitt stayed off the griddle and stuck to buttering! It's high time she leaves the cooking to our team of incredible parent volunteers!

We'd also like to thank Mrs. Gawron who organized this event by booking griddles, getting the batter premade and purchasing plates, butter and 12 litres of syrup! Team work makes the dream work! 

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

Opportunity 

• Counsellor's Corner
• Celebrating Pride at DCE
• Caregiver Series: June Sessions

Information

• 2023-24 EIPS Annual Feedback Survey Results Report  
• Parents Make the Difference

WEEK AT A GLANCE

ACTION

Davidson Creek School Council Annual General Meeting and Elections

Please join us on Thursday, June 20 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

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 Pride flag and students are invited to wear rainbow colours. We will show this video about diversity in the announcements. 
• Tuesday: we will show a read aloud of Todd Parr's The Family Book in the announcements.
• Wednesday: Chalk Art drop-in activity at lunch. Students can decorate the side walk with messages of love, belonging and kindness. We will show this CBC kids video about what it means to be unique or different
• Thursday: Button Making drop-in activity at lunch. Students in grades 4-6 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 this read aloud of Joanna Gaines' The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be book
• Friday: Button Making drop-in activity at lunch for students who missed it or for students in grades 1-3 who are interested. 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

Next Week is Pride Week here at EIPS! We are excited to celebrate with students, staff and families. Please check out the following resources for supporting the mental health of gender and sexual minorities in our community. If you have questions about how else you can help support 2SLGBTQI+ youth, please reach out to the DCE counselling team!

A few stats and quotes from Canadian Mental Health Association: (CMHA)  

• "When we support the 2SLGBTQI+ community, we make Alberta a safer, healthier place to live."
• 74% of Canadians know someone who is 2SLGBTQI+, and 40% of the 2SLGBTQI+ community have experienced discrimination.
• CMHA believes that having healthy and supportive places to live, work, play and learn can protect the mental health of those in the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

2SLGBTQI+ Resources

Alberta

• The Pride Centre of Edmonton
• Brite Line – Brite Line is Edmonton’s first mental health and wellness helpline dedicated to supporting people in Edmonton’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community
• Calgary Pride
• Central Alberta Pride Society (Red Deer)
• University of Alberta Institute for Sexual Minority Studies & Services
• The altView Foundation for Gender Variant and Sexual Minorities’ – provides resources and support to sexual minority and gender variant persons in Strathcona County and surrounding regions.
• The Outloud Foundation for Community LGBTQ Supports and Services – a non-profit organization that provides resources and programming to 2SLGBTQI+ youth and adults in St. Albert, Alberta.
• Edmonton Two Spirit Society – provides social, health, and/or cultural programs and services primarily for 2Spirit, IndigiQueer and/or Indigenous LGBTQIA+ communities.
• The LGBTQ Wellness Centre – provides wraparound wellness services for transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse people in Northern Alberta including social supports, mental and physical health services, and educational opportunities.
• Rainbow Alliance for Youth of Edmonton – sharing the diverse stories of 2SLGBTQI+ youth between ages 12 – 24 living in the Edmonton area to promote increased understanding, empathy, and knowledge of this community’s specific needs, strengths, and experiences.
• Alberta Health Services – 2SLGBTQI+ / Sexual and Gender Diversity Resources
• Trans Equality Society of Alberta
• Calgary Outlink – a community-based, not-for-profit charity dedicated to providing support, education, outreach, and referrals for the 2SLGBTQI+ and allied community in Calgary, Alberta.
• Centre for Sexuality (Calgary) – provides services and supports for the 2SLGBTQI+ community including comprehensive health education and counselling; they also host Camp fYrefly, a national leadership retreat for 2SLGBTQI+ youth aged 14-24.

National

• CMHA Ontario – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Queer Identified People and Mental Health
• Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans Youthline – The Lesbian, Gay, Bi & Trans Youthline offers free peer support for youth aged 26 and under (1-800-268-9688).
• Parents, Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) – PFLAG is a resource for 2SLGBTQI+ people and their families.
• Kids Help Phone – Children and youth ages 5 to 20 can speak with trained counsellors at Kids Health Phone (1-800-668-6868).
• Egale – National lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) human rights organization: advancing equality, diversity, education and justice.

Ms. Bashaw and Ms. Mitchell

~ DCE School Counselling Team

Caregiver Series: June Sessions

Alberta Health Services offers free online programming for parents and caregivers of children and youth. Sessions are offered through Zoom. Upcoming topics include understanding anxiety, wellness exchange, test anxiety and silver linings. The list of June 2024 sessions is now available.

INFORMATION

2023-24 EIPS Annual Feedback Survey Results Report  

The results are now available for the 2023-24 EIPS Annual Feedback Survey: For Parents and Caregivers conducted in March. Thank you to all families who took the time to share their feedback with the Division. The survey included a series of questions related to the three priorities outlined in the EIPS Four-Year Education Plan: 2022-26 (Year 2).

• Priority 1: Promote growth and success for all students
• Priority 2: Enhance high-quality learning and working environments
• Priority 3: Enhance public education through effective engagement

The overall Division results represent close to 1,900 responses from parents and caregivers across the Division.

The survey results for Davidson Creek Elementary have helped us identify the following areas of strength and opportunities for growth.

Areas of strength:

• 98% of respondents agree that our school encourages children to be a responsible, respectful and engaged citizen
• 96% of respondents agree that their child is encouraged to do their best
• 94% of respondents agree that their child is ready for Grade 1 after kindergarten programming

Opportunities for growth:

• 85% of respondents agreed there was open and honest communication within the school
• 72% of respondents are satisfied with the resources available to support their children's learning - we will look at creative solutions to maximize the resources we have.
• 66% of respondents agree that discipline is handled fairly and reasonably. This number is misleading as 27% of respondents responded that they didn't know. If you have not had your child involved in a disciplinary situation, you probably are unaware of what happens. This means that we are doing a good job of maintaining the privacy and dignity of our students, even when they make mistakes! If we adjust for the non-applicable respondents not being included in the final number, the percentage changes to 94%.

The feedback gathered in the survey will help our school and the Division measure its progress toward meeting the priorities and goals outlined in the EIPS Four-Year Education Plan and develop strategies to better serve students and the wider community moving forward. 

Annual Feedback Survey Results: Division

Annual Feedback Survey Results for Parents and Caregivers: Davidson Creek Elementary

Parents make the difference

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

Five strategies can keep children reading through summer months

Students who don’t read over the summer months can lose months of growth in reading skills. Those who keep reading often experience gains.

The more your child reads, the easier reading will be—and the more likely your child is to want to read. Set a goal for your elementary schooler to read at least 30 minutes every day.

You can make reading fun with activities like these:

1. Read the news together. Give your child the comics to read. Ask which one’s the funniest. Discuss sports, the weather, letters to the editor, travel destinations, etc. If you don’t get a printed newspaper, share articles of interest you find online.
2. Read aloud together. You read a page of a book, then your child does. Or, you read the narrative and let your child read the dialogue.
3. Dramatize what you read. Select a simple scene from one of your child’s books. Assign character roles. Discuss what happens first, second, next. Then act it out, adding lots of dialogue.
4. Promote practical reading. Ask your child to read the recipe while you bake cookies. Involve your child in reading instructions to build or repair something.
5. Create reading-related jobs. Ask your child to rewrite damaged recipe cards, organize the family bookshelf or put kitchen spices in alphabetical order.

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.