Mustang Memo - October 18, 2024

We are learning all about our brains this year! 

Our Mental Health Capacity Builder, Ms. Julia, and our learning consultant, Mrs. Richardson, have been visiting classes and doing lessons on how our brains deal with stress and what we can do to help our brains to stay calm and ready for thinking. Classes have been practicing different simple techniques that we can use that help our brains and nervous systems to settle down and help us be ready for learning. 

Did you know we are doing a mind fitness challenge this month? We have challenged our classes to practice 30 second self-regulation techniques at least 10 times a day. Every time they use a technique, they add a sticker to the chart. The class with the most stickers at the end of the month will win a pizza party!

Want to learn more about the brain? Check out this video:

Have a great weekend!

Helene Hewitt & Jay Robertson

Principal & Assistant Principal

A place where you belong!

Table of Contents

Week At a Glance

Action

• Sign Up for Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews
• 100% Fundraiser
• Calendar Consultation

Opportunity 

• AMA Patrollers: Student Citizenship in Action
• Counsellor's Corner
• Scholastic Book Fair is Back!
• School Spirit Wear Swag Shop is Open

Information

• Halloween Parade
• October is Dyslexia Awareness Month
• Parents Make the Difference

WEEK AT A GLANCE

ACTION

It's Not Too Late: Sign up for a Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews

It's time for our first learning check-in! It's not too late to sign up for a 10 minutes discussion with your child's teacher! 

Sign up for a spot in our upcoming interviews by clicking here!

You can also stop by the bookfair in the library!

See you there!

100% Fundraiser & Chromebook Raffle

Thank you to all of our DCE families who have already returned their 100% fundraiser! If you have yet to do so, it's not too late! We will take in your forms up to October 21.

Your Davidson Creek Fundraising Society is also hosting a raffle to win a Chromebook during parent/student/teacher interviews next week. They will be selling 370 tickets at $5 each. The raffle booth will be set up in the front foyer so come and buy a ticket!

Calendar Consultation - What Would this mean for DCE?

At our last school council meeting, we talked about the calendar consultation survey recently sent out to all families. We wanted to help clarify a few things about the survey so that our families are in the loop!

What is the purpose of the survey?

In the past, calendar surveys asked parents to vote on an option they liked best. This survey has a different purpose: to gather information on what the benefits and drawbacks would be if EIPS tried out a different calendar model than the status quo.

So is this a done deal?

No! They want information on how alternate calendars might impact our community. They are not asking about the status quo calendar because they already know how that one works. Themes from the survey will inform the discussion held with the Trustees on whether or not they may consider moving to a different calendar.

Why consider a different calendar?

We want to be the best educators possible for each and every child. To be the best, we need time to collaborate within our work hours on a regular, consistent basis. When all teachers work together to improve how we teach, we improve teacher collective efficacy which improves student learning:

Did you know:

• student achievement goes up when teachers work together to look at student data, talk about instructional practices, and develop common strategies across the school?
• infrequent collaboration has less impact on students?
• students will not lose instructional minutes? 8 to 10 minutes will be added to the school day.
• it will not impact November break?
• most teachers in EIPS do not have job-embedded collaboration time?
• very few schools can afford to provide collaboration time for teachers within the work day? 
• several local school divisions already have calendars like this with weekly early outs?
• EIPS is investigating ways they can partner with community agencies to increase access to afterschool care/activities?

How would an alternate calendar impact DCE?

At DCE we already prioritize collaboration and it is built into our timetables through our own budget. Teachers collaborate once a week while students go to music or physical education classes with all of the students in their grade level. This allows teachers to meet but does not include our educational assistants nor our music teachers (they are with the kids at this time). 

An alternate calendar would support DCE students by:

• freeing up funds currently spent on collaboration to increase student supports (ex. more educational assistant and/or counselling time)
• reducing the need to group half a grade level together to release teachers (some students find larger groupings more challenging)
• supporting regular, highly structured collaborative response meetings where we talk about specific instructional challenges taking place in classes, immediate steps we can take to improve them while tracking student data to see if our collective interventions are working.
• enabling our educational assistants to be part of the collaboration 
• releasing all staff at the same time so that we can mix up collaboration groups (including music and EAs)

I already filled out the survey! What now?

The survey is designed to take your honest and open feedback. If you have already filled it out but now have new thoughts to share, we encourage you to fill it out again. Invite your friends to fill it out as well! EIPS is committed to grouping comments into themes so that they have a good understanding of how alternate calendars could impact families. 

OPPORTUNITY

Counsellor's Corner

This week we wanted to share some updated information about mental health resources available to all Albertans.

1. 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.
2. Hope for All - Immediate Help Phone Numbers
3. Alberta Health Services has a text resources and service called Text4Hope.
4. 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

Working with you,

Mrs. Bashaw & Ms. Mitchell

DCE School Counsellors

The Scholastic Book Fair is Back!

The Scholastic Book Fair will be open next week from Oct 22 – 25.  

Purchases can be made during:

• the Parent/Student/Teacher interview evenings (4pm – 7pm) on Oct. 23 & 24 and
• lunch recesses according to the schedule listed below (for grade 3 through 6 students ONLY*).

Please take NOTE of this schedule for lunch-recess shopping:

• Tuesday, Oct. 22: Grade 3
• Wednesday, Oct. 23: Grade 4
• Thursday, Oct. 24: Grade 5
• Friday, Oct. 25: Grade 6

To keep line-ups manageable, it would be great to have help from parent volunteers. If you can help at the book fair for a lunch recess or an evening (or even part of an evening), please email our librarian, Janeen Eng, at janeen.eng@eips.ca.

You can also visit our Book Fair Homepage for more information and to preview items: https://bookfairs.scholastic.ca/bf/davidsoncreekelemschool

* Students in Kindergarten, Grade 1 or Grade 2, will be able to purchase book fair items during the evenings with their parents. Due to time constraints, we are unable to accommodate the younger students during lunch recesses. Also, the younger kids need one-on-one help to understand how to spend their money, and we do not have enough volunteers to provide that kind of assistance. Thank you for your understanding! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Eng.

DCE Spirit Wear Swag Shop is Open!

Do you want to buy some Davidson Creek Mustang spirit wear? Do wish you could order it year round? You're in luck! 

Check out our new DCE Swag Shop: https://davidsoncreekelementary.entripyshops.com/

You can select clothing from a variety of styles, colours and logo placements. Our school gets a small portion of the proceeds. Have fun shopping!

INFORMATION

AMA Patrollers: Student Citizenship in Action!

You may have noticed this week that there are patrollers at the crosswalk going across Davenport Drive! AMA patrollers have begun to help students cross the street safely. Here is a little video describing what our patrollers are doing and how you can help us all be safe: 

Thank you so much!

Mr. Versteegt & Mrs. Kotronis

Your Patroller Team Leaders

Halloween Parade

It's almost time for our little ghouls and goblins to walk the halls in their spooky Halloween costumes! Please help us keep things safe and fun for all students when preparing your costumes. Here are our guidelines:

• masks will only be worn during the parade but will stay in the locker for regular class time
• please ensure masks are not too scary/grotesque for our youngest students
• please leave weapons at home
• if you choose to wear an inflatable costume, we will ask you to leave it uninflated when using the stairs. That means that you might be deflated during the parade for safety reasons!

Parents are welcome to come and watch the parade which begins at 12:45 p.m. Come into the school and find a spot in the gym to enjoy the fun!

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that makes learning to read a challenge. Did you know that dyslexia is one of the most common learning disabilities? Here are 10 facts to know about dyslexia (from Decoding Dyslexia.org:

1. Dyslexia is a very common learning difficulty that makes it hard-but not impossible - to read, write and spell. It is estimated that 6 to 17% of the world's population are dyslexic!
2. Dyslexia is a neurobiological condition that is often inherited.
3. Dyslexia is typically diagnosed or described as a type of learning disability or specific learning disorder and is the most common learning disability: 80% of all children identified with a learning disability are dyslexic.
4. Many children with dyslexia have more than one exceptionality such as dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, giftedness, ADHD or central auditory processing disorder.
5. There is no cure for it nor do children outgrow it. Early identification is key to providing interventions that can limit the long-term negative impacts of dyslexia.
6. All kids can learn to read - including children with dyslexia!
7. Structured literacy is essential for struggling readers and benefit all students!
8. In Canada, 40% of students with learning disabilities including dyslexia experience mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
9. Adults with dyslexia are more than 5 times as likely to have suffered physical abuse.
10. With support, children with dyslexia can learn and achieve their full potential!

You can learn more about dyslexia including definitions, signs of dyslexia and how to help struggling readers at these websites:

Reading Rockets: Dyslexia Basics

Reading Rockets: Helping All Readers

Parents Make the Difference

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

Are you teaching your child how to be resilient?

All children face obstacles. Encouraging resilience helps kids overcome them. Resilient students deal with challenges in positive ways—at home and in school.

Answer yes or no to the questions below to see if you are helping your child develop resilience:

1. Do you give your child plenty of opportunities to make decisions? It’s a skill that improves with practice.
2. Do you listen when your child is trying to make a decision without taking over and solving the problem?
3. Do you talk to your child about how you find a solution when you are faced with a problem? 
4. Do you discuss your elementary schooler’s strengths and suggest drawing on those strengths when facing challenges?
5. Do you offer reminders about how your child successfully handled tough situations in the past?

How well are you doing?

Mostly yes answers mean you are helping your child become more resilient. For no answers, try those ideas from the quiz.

Reprinted with permission from the October 2024 issue of Parents make the difference!^®  (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2024 The Parent Institute^®, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc.