February 8th, 2021
Dear Parents and Families,
Please see information below regarding happenings at Elm Street School and upcoming dates/events regarding:
- Cold Weather considerations
- Lock Down Drill
- Table Talk Activities supporting Literacy
Lock-Down Drill
All schools have an emergency response plan. As part of that plan, we practice safety protocols with our staff and students. Thursday, February 11, we will practice a Lock Down drill.
A lock down drill is one of a variety drills we contact at school each year. A lock down drill is a drill that is meant to prepare students from within the school and it is a drill that is completed in all Medicine Hat Public Schools.
During the drill, an announcement will be made over the intercom, stating to begin the drill. At that time, teachers will ask that students leave their tables and desks and sit quietly in a designated area of the room until the drill is over.
At school, students will be informed of the fact that what is happening is planned, and that it is a drill. With that said we encourage families to talk about this at home as well.
Cold Weather considerations
A few reminders with this week’s cold weather:
- Our policy is to have students remain indoors for recess when the temperatures reach -25°C, including the wind chill. It is very likely that students will not have outdoor recesses this week.
- While we certainly will allow any early birds in the school prior to 8:15, we ask that you try and have students arrive close to 8:15. Prior to 8:15, staff is still working to organize for the day, put out breakfast items, etc.
- Finally, should your student require hats/mittens/gloves, we do have many new items we can give to students. Should this be a support to you, please contact Mrs. Hanson and she will ensure that your child receives the required new winter gear.
Working Together to Support Literacy
Elm Street School is committed to doing our best to ensure all students are successful. We especially want to ensure that all of our students grow to be strong readers who have a love for reading and learning.
Now at the mid point of the year, we have just taken an inventory of sorts regarding student growth in terms of reading. While we are pleased with what we are seeing, we have high expectations and are pushing to see even more growth.
In order to see your children meet their maximum potential, we are asking for your help at home.
Every two weeks, we are hopeful that we can share tips with you about how you can work with your children to grow their capacity. We also hope that we can provide you with ways of doing this that blend with family life, and it is not adding more on your plate. We appreciate your feedback or questions regarding as we move forward.
For the rest of January, we are asking that you might consider the following:
Did You Know… that having regular conversations with your child helps build a number of reading skills? Try these table talk activities when you sit down at supper, drive in the car, go for a walk or as part of your bedtime routine. The great thing about them is that they can really be done anywhere at any time and help to build vocabulary, background knowledge and attention.
Table Talk Ideas for February
- What is your favorite song/band?
- What is your favourite brain break at school? Why?
- If you could plan the whole day, what would we do?
- If you could choose any superpower, what superpower would you choose? Why?
- What is your favorite subject in school? “Nothing” is not an option.
- If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
- What is a ‘Growth Mindset’ and how do you use one at school or in your life?
- What’s the best thing about your school?
- If you could have any animal as a pet, what would you choose?
- What was the last book you read? Did you like it? What can you tell me about it?
- What are some strategies you can use when you have ‘Big’ emotions?
- What do you do when you hang out with your friends?
- What is the best gift you have ever gotten?
- Do you like cake or pie more? Why?
- What was the last funny video you saw?
- What is your favorite snack?
- Would you rather have a hot breakfast or cold cereal?
- What’s your favorite number? Why?
- What cartoon character would you want to be?
- If you could change your name, what would it be?
- What three words best describe you?
Hello parents and guardians,
We are excited to launch our online registration system on Feb 1, 2021. In preparation for our online registration we want to make sure that all families have access to our system (PowerSchool Parent Portal), in order to fill out student re-enrollment forms successfully. If you have not logged into PowerSchool Parent Portal in the last 30 days, please take the time to login today and reactivate your account. Most families already have a Power School Parent Portal account, if you don’t have an account please contact your school to get started.
What is the Power School Parent Portal?
The PowerSchool Parent Portal is a web-based software system that we use to share student information with families. Online registration is part of the PowerSchool Parent Portal and you will need an active account in order to access and use this system.
If you have forgotten your username or password, please follow the step by step process in the tutorial video below to activate your PowerSchool Parent Portal account. If you do not have access to view online videos, please read through the following Pdf guides:
Add an additional parent: If you would like an additional parent portal account for another guardian please contact the school and they will work with you to set that up. If you already have a portal account, you can register a new student using the same account (you do not need to create a new account).
Online Registration Technical Support: If you have gone through all of the steps above and still encounter issues, we have established temporary online registration technical support to assist you.
Call or email:
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Monday – Friday)
403.528.6812
onlineregistration@sd76.ab.ca
If we receive your email or voicemail outside of office hours, will connect with you on the following business day.
Thank you for your time, we look forward to opening online registration on Feb 1, 2021.
Sincerely,
Mark Davidson, Superintendent
http://mhpsd.ca/
Dear parent and families,
Thank you for checking in. We will continue to post newsletters in the space, however at this time, we shall shift the use of this space to provide supports for parents, and how they can support the Elm Street School and students to be appropriate in their use of technology, as this has emerged as a concern.
HOW TO CHECK BROWSER HISTORY ON A CHROMEBOOK
(double click to enlarge)