april newsletter 2015!! - Grosvenor Wentworth Park School

APRIL NEWSLETTER 2015!!
Les nouvelles d’avril 2015!!
ÉCOLE GROSVENOR WENTWORTH PARK SCHOOL
Phone: 902-457-8422/23 E-mail: gwp@hrsb.ns.ca
Fax: 902-457-8430
Principal : Moira Cavanaugh Vice Principal : Tim McClare
Administrative Assistant : Donna Rogers
It has been an unusual start to spring with the piles of snow we have in our yard. Despite how it makes us feel, students
are enjoying playing in the white stuff! I could not resist tweeting a photo of students on our first day back from break
with their colourful snowsuits contrasted against the pristine banks of snow! If you would like to follow us on twitter
you can do so through our school website. Thank you to everyone who walked their children to school and made extra
effort to decrease the amount of traffic around the school in the mornings and afternoons. It has helped and your
continued support is appreciated.
It is hard to believe that on March 30 we began Term 3! April is a busy month here at Grosvenor Wentworth Park.
Teachers are working diligently preparing report cards based on the evidence of each child’s achievement. A lot of
thought and preparation goes into creating report cards and as such, our new date for sending second term’s report cards
home will be Monday, April 13. Thanks to the generosity of our Parent-Teacher Group, one of the activities students
will enjoy this month is a workshop on hip hop dancing.
IMPORTANT DATES:
April 1st
April 2nd
April 3rd
April 6th
th
April 7
April 13th
April 22nd
April 24th
th
April 28
June 25th
-
Easter Hop 6:30 – 8:00
Out of Area Requests Accepted 8:00 a.m.
Wear Blue for World Autism Awareness Day!
Milk Orders Due – Date on the Order Form is an Error
Popcorn Thursday instead of Good Friday $1.00 per bag
Good Friday – No School
Easter Monday – No School
Yearbook Orders Due (Absolutely the Last Day)
Report Cards Go Home
PD Day in the a.m. – No School for Students
Parent/Teacher 1:15 – 3:15
Parent/Teacher 6:00 – 8:00
Wear Blue to Save the Whales $1.00 Donation (Eco Kids)
Heritage Fair Open House 1:30 – 3:00
Grade 6 Closing at 1:30
GRADE 4-6 HERITAGE FAIR:
We are excited to bring to Grosvenor Wentworth Park our first Historica Heritage Fair. The Historica Heritage Fair is a
program developed to increase awareness and interest in Canadian History. It presents an opportunity for students, with
the help and guidance of their teachers and family, to tell their history stories and share information about their family,
local or national heroes and events in their own way. The final project will be presented orally with visuals such as
presentation boards, models, costumes, pictures etc. We realize there is a cost to buying a presentation board therefore if
this poses a problem to you, please let your child’s teacher or administration know. Parents and the community are
invited to join us to view these projects on April 28th, 2015 at 1:30 pm. Please check the school website for further
information.
YEARBOOK ORDERS:
The due date on the yearbook order forms is April 2nd on the actual order. We have extended the due date to Tuesday,
April 7th. This is the absolute last day that orders can be accepted. Late orders are unable to be accepted, so please
make sure to get your order in on time.
PLAYGROUND SAFETY:
Staff and lunch monitors are on the playground to keep our students safe. Parents who may be coming to pick up their
child at lunch for appointments, etc. or dropping their children off from lunch or appointments, must still report to the
office to sign their child in/out. It is very important that parents are aware of safety precautions that we have in place
during outdoor recess and lunch. Parents cannot be on the playground without someone in the office knowing who they
are and why they are there.
A reminder that there is no supervision at the school for students until 8:40 a.m., so please do not drop your children off
before this time. As well, if your child is dismissed at 2:45 they must be picked up at 2:45. Children are not permitted
to wait in the office or out on the playground for an older sibling or adult to pick them up, as there is no supervision.
With the beginning of nicer weather upon us, this becomes a problem. We understand that the children like to remain on
the school grounds to play, but they must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
PROGRESS REPORTS:
Progress reports will be sent home on Monday, April 13th. As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding
these reports, please contact your child’s teacher directly by email. The results from these reports can also be discussed
during Parent/Teacher interviews on April 22nd. Appointments are to be booked using the Optis program as we did for
first term parent/teacher. Please follow the link from our website. Appointments can be booked from Monday, April 13th
– Tuesday, April 21st. Please do not call the main office to book appointments. All appointments are booked on this
secure site.
GETTING TO GREAT SURVEY AND CONTINUOUS SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT:
Welcome to another year of Getting to Great, Halifax Regional School Board’s continuous school improvement survey.
The Getting to Great survey provides an opportunity for students in grades 4-12, all parents/guardians, and all teachers
to share information that will help us improve schools. We are on a mission to make every school a great school, but we
cannot get to great without you. Your voluntary participation in this survey will help us to identify the strengths and
areas for growth at our school. This will enable us to enhance the opportunities we provide for students to learn. Your
input is valuable in helping us make improvements that will directly impact your child’s learning and school experience.
The online survey is available from April 20th, 2015. Please visit the website: http://survey.hrsb.ns.ca select Grosvenor
Wentworth Park School to start the survey. You are welcome to complete a survey for each of your children attending
our school. Please remember, all survey information is anonymous and is not used to evaluate individuals. At the end of
the survey, you will find space to make any additional comments you wish to share with us anonymously.
Thank you for your participation; your input is very important to us!
EXCEL REGISTRATION INFORMATION FOR 2015-2016:
Families who are interested in registering their children in the 2015/2016 EXCEL program are encouraged to mark the
following important dates on your calendars:
•
April 27th - Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on April 27th current participants of the 2014/2015 EXCEL program may
submit an application for the coming school year via the online application system, by email, or by fax. Current
participants will receive a letter in mid-April identifying a user name and password providing them exclusive
access to the online application system. Current participant families that have additional siblings that will be
registering for the first time with EXCEL may register all eligible children in their family during this early
registration period.
•
May 4th - General Registration begins for all EXCEL Before & After school programs at 8:00 a.m. on May 4th.
Applications may be submitted via the online system or the EXCEL office at 25 Alfred Street, Dartmouth.
Individuals paying by Pre-Authorized Payment, MasterCard or Visa ONLY may register on-line. Go to
https://secure.hrsb.ns.ca/excel to access.
We encourage parents to submit their applications in a timely manner to ensure the greatest opportunity for entry into
the program as demand often exceeds capacity. Notifications for acceptance into the program will be forwarded to
applicants as per the following schedule:
ENTRANCE
PRIORITY
Before & After
5 days/week
After Only
5 days/week
Before & After
< 5 days/week
NOTICES TO PARENTS:
Notifications for BA-FT applications to be processed beginning April 28th, 2015
Notifications for A-FT applications to be processed beginning June 1st, 2015
Notifications for Part-Time applications to be processed beginning June 29th, 2015