News From the Nest

• Tuesday, Sept. 8 - School Council Meeting - 6PM
• Wednesday, Sept 9 - Early Dismissal at 2:08pm
• Tuesday, Sept. 15 - Hot Lunch
• Wednesday, Sept. 16 - Early Dismissal at 2:08pm
• Thursday, Sept 17 - *Kinder A Hot Lunch only*
• Monday, Sept. 21 - Picture Day
• Tuesday, Sept. 22 - Picture day for Kinder B
• Wednesday, Sept. 23 - Early Dismissal at 2:08pm
• Friday, Sept. 25 - Terry Fox Walk in the afternoon
• Tuesday, Sept. 29 - Hot Lunch
• Tuesday, Sept. 29 - Orange Shirt Day
• Wednesday Sept. 30 - NO SCHOOL - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Friday, Oct. 2 - NO SCHOOL - EIPS PD Day

Hello again everyone! I hope you had a great long weekend and are geared up for a great 2026-27 at Mills Haven School. My name is Paul McKay and I am the very proud principal of MIlls Haven. This is my 30th year in education and 3rd year at Mills Haven. Yes, I started teaching in the 1900's and things are starting to come full circle. We have kids of the kids I taught! I feed off the energy of the kids it is what keeps me young at heart.

We are continuing our theme of Tawaw this year. It is a Cree word for everyone is welcome. It is also the first year of our new school education plan. Our goal at Mills Haven this year is to focus on Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. We will be spending time ensuring that all of our students needs are met, and they have a voice in our school and our teaching.

It is an exciting beginning of the year. We are so greatful to have smaller class sizes and a complexity team to serve our students this year. At Mills Haven we have 3 classes of all grades from K to 6. This also means that we welcomed new staff members this year. Mrs. Wainright is teaching grade 5 until Mrs. Antoniw returns from maternity leave. Mrs. Dexter is teaching grade 6 until Mrs. Mazurik returns from leave.

I look forward to another great year being a part of the Mills Haven community and I hope to get to know more of our families as the year progresses. If you ever have a questions or concern, do not hesitate call or email me. paul.mckay@eips.ca

As was mentioned last year we had a pretty significant change to our bell schedule. The reason behind the change is bussing. Transportation has the biggest influence on school schedules. There is a new transfer station at Forest Grove which means our busses leave a bit earlier than last year. In order to accomodate this change and still provide staff with their required lunch break we reduced the eating time to 18 minutes. We recognize that this is a short time to eat, however historically most kids are finished well before the 1/2 hour is over and are itching to get outside. Students also have a morning snack time before or after recess and I know that many teachers allow them to grab a snack if necessary during the afternoon. We will closely monitor the situation and if it proves to be too short we will address it. Thank you for your patience as we get students back into rountine and hopefully used to a shorter eating time.

The Hot Lunch program is online at Healthy Hunger, and provides students a chance to order hot lunch throughout the month, with proceeds from each order going to the school for enhancements and initiatives at our school.

Please note the schedule and deadline for ordering:

• Tuesday - Grades 1-6 & Kinder KBH - Deadline to order is Thursday at 11:59 p.m.
• Thursday - Kinder KAH/KAS - Deadline to order is Saturday at 11:59 p.m

To create an account go to www.HealthyHunger.ca and click REGISTER YOUR STUDENT. After your account is created you will be able to add your student and view and order upcoming lunches.

Volunteers Needed
We’re looking for some awesome volunteers to help out with sorting and handing out lunches on Hot Lunch Days. It’s a fun way to meet other parents and see your kids during the day! You can sign up on Healthy Hunger when you place your order or email at mhvschoolcouncil@gmail.com for more information.

EIPS has outlined rules about the use of personal mobile devices for each grade level in Administrative Procedure 145: Use of Personal Mobile Devices. Processes outlined within this AP are based on direction provided by the provincial government through Ministerial Order 014/2024: Standards for the Use of Personal Mobile Devices and Social Media in Schools. This includes the use of various electronic devices, including smartwatches and Meta glasses.

MHV also has a Personal Mobile Device (PMD) Plan that provides additional details for our school.

We encourage families to review our PMD plan with their child to ensure students understand where and when they can and cannot access their personal mobile devices at school.

This year, our school is proudly taking part in the annual Terry Fox School Run to continue Terry's dream of a world without cancer.

For every $1,000 raised 1 staff member will get a pie thrown at their face!

For every donation your child receives, they will get one entry into the draw to have a chance to be a pie thrower.

Donations can be made online at https://schools.terryfox.ca/136721 or using the donation sheet that will be sent home with your child.

Deadline for donations is Friday September 25, 2026.

Let's see how many pies can be thrown this year!

The walk will be on Friday September 25. We will meet outside at 1:45 pm. and the walk will start at 2:00 pm.

Parents and Guardians are invited to attend the MHV School Council Meetings that take place through out the school year. Here you will learn about what happening around the school and meet members of the MHV School Council and Fundraising Society. It is a great opportunity to learn about how you can get involved at MHV and meet other parents!

The first meeting is tonight - Sept. 8 at 6pm - we hope to see you there!

We are looking for volunteers to help us at the upcoming Casino at the Camrose Resort Casino on September 30 and October 1, 2026, proceeds from this casino will be donated to Mills Haven School. This is a major fundraiser for our school, we rely on volunteers for its success. Sign up for a shift using the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044EA5AA2BA1F5C16-64385848-casino#/

Your support is greatly appreciated! Contact MHVschoolcouncil@gmail.com with any questions.

Wednesday September 9th! Papa John's Pizza Night

• Order from Wye Road Papa John's to get 15% off, plus 15% of each sale goes to Mills Haven School
• Use code 15MHE for 15% off - Sherwood Park Wye Road location only
• Call 780-467-7266 to order.

Agendas have been handed out to all of the Grade 1-6 students. There is a $5.00 fee associated with agendas. If you wish not to purchase an agenda could you please contact Mrs. Kimble at shauna.kimble@eips.ca and she will remove the fee for you.

In 2026-27, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) is piloting a new reporting scale for communicating elementary student achievement. Most recently, kindergarten to Grade 6 student achievement has been reported using a five-point scale. This year, the Division is piloting a new three-point scale for kindergarten to Grade 2 and a four-point scale for grades 3 to 6. The goals of the pilot are to provide useful, clear communication to parents and caregivers about their child’s progress, and provide a clear, consistent framework for teachers to use for assessment of student learning.

The draft achievement scales were developed based on teacher and administrator input, assessment research and reviews of best practices across Alberta, Canada and the world. However, it’s critical parents and caregivers feel confident about the reporting structure. Throughout the fall and winter, Division and school staff will share more information to introduce the new grade scales, collect initial feedback and answer questions through school council meetings, school interviews and school newsletters. The feedback collected will help EIPS revise the grading scales as needed, and opportunities for further feedback will be available later in the school year.

In 2026-27, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) is piloting a new mechanism for families to have live, direct access to student assessment information for grades 1 to 6. Through the PowerTeacher Pro dashboard in the PowerSchool Parent Portal, parents and caregivers will be able to log in to see assessment information as it’s entered, rather than waiting for a report card. With this change, elementary schools will also shift to two formal report cards for grades 1 to 6 for the school year, rather than three.

Elementary schools will roll out the new approach in two groups. Mills Haven Elementary School is part of phase 2 and live access to student assessment information will be available starting in Semester 2.

Throughout Semester 1, you’ll continue receiving information about your child’s progress through existing methods of communication—including school interviews, which will still be conducted in the fall and spring, or individual teacher communication.

This new approach does not replace any existing methods of communicating student learning with families. Live access to student assessment information through the Parent Portal is just an additional way EIPS schools will communicate student learning for the coming year.

Throughout the fall, parents and caregivers are encouraged to log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal, to ensure the login process works smoothly and to get familiar with the platform if you haven’t used it in the past. If you have any issues logging into your account, reach out to the school office at 780-467-5556.

Learn more about the changes

Hi MHV families! I’m Kenzie Marchant, your School-Based Social Worker, and I’m so happy to be back for another amazing year!

My role is to support the social and emotional well-being of our students and families. I provide brief, school-based support to help kiddos navigate things like big feelings, friendships, coping skills, and changes or challenges at home or school. I’m also here to help families find and connect with community resources and supports when needed.

If you would like your child to be able to meet with me individually, signed parent/guardian consent is required. Please feel free to email me at kenzie.marchant@eips.ca and I’d be happy to send you the consent form.

I’m looking forward to another great year with our MHV families!

Tawâw!

My name is Sarah Choo and I am the First Nations, Métis and Inuit lead teacher for Mills Haven this year. This year, our school is using the Cree word tawâw as a guiding principle. Tawâw broadly means welcome, there is a place for you here. I will be working to ensure that Mills Haven has a place for First Nations, Métis and Inuit ways of knowing.

This year we are excited to continue offering regular smudging opportunities for students who would like to participate. Smudging is an important cultural practice for many First Nations and Métis people. It involves the burning of sage (most often used in Division schools), sweetgrass, willow fungus and/or other plant medicines gathered from Mother Earth. Smudge involves no open flame, and the creation of minimal smoke as only small amounts of medicine are used. Smudge does have a distinct odour but dissipates in a short time. Smudging can contribute to the positive mental health of both students and staff, and increase cultural understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing. Smudging at school will always be led by a staff member who has been given the teachings around smudging from an Elder or Knowledge Keeper.

When smudging, sacred plants are burned to cleanse the body, mind and spirit of any bad feelings, negative thoughts, or negative energy. Smudging allows people to remember, to connect and to be grounded in the present. Smudging is always voluntary and there are many ways to participate - by actively smudging or by standing nearby to observe. If consent for a student to smudge is granted, there is no obligation for the student to smudge on any given day; it is purely up to participants if they wish to smudge when offered. If consent is not granted, the child will not participate in smudging.

For those who are interested in participating and have provided consent, we will have smudging available before school on Tuesdays in the gym, starting on September 22, from 8:18 am-8:30 am. Students who wish to join and who have consent to do so can enter the school anytime between 8:18 am and the first bell to smudge before starting their school day. Families and siblings are welcome to join also!

Please find the consent form here: https://permission.click/vmivn82i8zhw/ca

We hope to see you there,

Sarah Choo