Smore logo
remove_red_eye 519
page background

Colts Connection - Parents Edition

February 2022

Colts Connection -Parents EditionFebruary 2022

What is the Colts Connection?

The Colts Connection is a monthly message sent out to our school families to keep in touch with all the great things happening at our school. Although we keep our website up to date and are fairly active on our Social Media Pages, this is another way we can keep in touch with you.

COVID Restrictions Lifted in Schools

As mentioned in Mr. De Ruyck's email today, the province is moving forward with stage 2 which changes restrictions in the school again in response to COVID. While students can now mix cohorts inside and outside the school and adults no longer are required to wear masks in the school as of tomorrow, isolation and daily checklist requirements are still the same (click here for the most up-to-date health screen checklist - pg 3 is for students under 18).


We found that in the fall starting the school year with no restrictions posed some challenges in navigating and supporting students, so although the restrictions have changed, we will be easing our way back into the "pre-COVID" ways. We also recognize that not all students are ready/comfortable with the changes in restrictions and we want to ensure all of our students are successful through this change back to "normal". As different events arise in the coming weeks, please understand that we do want to see our parents and families back in the school, but some events were planned before changes in restrictions occurred so we are keeping with those plans. We will make sure parents/families are aware of the opportunities available to them to come into the school and which events are planned while restrictions are in place.


If you have any questions about the restrictions changes or upcoming events, please do not hesitate to reach out to the school or to Mr. McEntee directly.

Leaders of Tomorrow Nominations Now Open

The Leaders of Tomorrow has been recognizing youth in and around Ponoka for 26 years for their hard work, dedication and overall great character. If you know of any youth grades K-12 who exemplifies great character and leadership qualities, you are encouraged to nominate them. Any youth from in and around Ponoka can be nominated. Nomination forms can be done online or via a paper copy linked on the Leaders of Tomorrow website - http://ponokaleadersoftomorrow.weebly.com/
zoom_out_map
zoom_out_map
zoom_out_map

Parent Portal Marks Feedback

We have been "live" with posting student marks in Parent Portal and we would like to hear what you think as a parent about the program. Please take a moment to fill out this feedback form (click here). We will be randomly selecting one lucky person who submits the form to win a Tim's Gift Card.

March Book Madness

March Book Madness is an event that Miss Strawson and Miss Harvey have been putting on for a couple of years now. It follows a bracket system like March Madness in College Basketball. There are recordings of teachers and other prominent people who read 16 different books. The students watch/listen to the book being read and vote on which book they like best. Each week books are eliminated in the bracket until a final champion or the “favourite book” of March Madness is determined. Click on the link below to see the March Book Madness trailer video.
MBM 2022 Trailer.mp4

MBM 2022 Trailer.mp4

launch drive.google.com

Book Fair

We are excited to announce that our Book Fair will be taking place the week of March 7th to March 10th.


All classes will have an opportunity to preview the Book Fair for 15 minutes on Monday, March 7th and Tuesday, March 8th. No purchases will be made during the preview time. During the students' regular scheduled Library period on March 9th and 10th, students can come with money to purchase items from the book fair.


In addition to the in-school Book Fair for students, there is an online option available for parents to shop. Families will not be attending in person. All earnings will go towards the school's book fair sales.


Here is the link to the Virtual Book Fair.

PONOKA ELEM SCHOOL - https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5173033


The Virtual Book Fair will open online on March 7th and close on March 10th at 11:59PM EST.

Cilantro and Chive Ice Cream Sandwich Fundraiser

Cilantro and Chive have chosen PES for their Ice Cream Sandwich fundraiser. $1 from every sandwich they sell at their Lacombe location will be donated to PES. They will also be doing at least one day where students can order the ice cream sandwich through the school. The sandwiches will be pre-packaged and delivered to the school. All proceeds from the school orders will also be donated back to the school. We will be putting the money towards replacing our outdoor recess equipment (soccer balls, footballs, frisbees, etc) that needs a refresh.

zoom_out_map
zoom_out_map
zoom_out_map

Alberta Education Survey

Evert year Alberta Education puts out a survey to parents and students. The survey is directed to Grade 4 students and parents in the school community and all teaching staff. The survey information is anonymous but the data is then shared with each school and school division to help with their planning and connections with the community. If you are a parent of a Grade 4 student you will receive a code to access an online survey (or a paper copy you can fill out and submit). The link to access the survey will be available on the school website starting tomorrow, March 1st.

COVID Impact Grant Update

It was announced in the fall by the Minister of Education that a grant was created for schools/school divisions to apply to in order to support students in Grade 1-3 impacted by the pandemic. Earlier in the fall, we received money to hire a teacher to support Grade 2 and 3 students in Numeracy and Literacy. Mrs. Shauna Wessner has been working with students in small group interventions to bridge the pandemic learning disruption gap.


We recently completed our Grade 1 Numeracy and Literacy assessments and submitted our results to the government. We are now waiting to hear what/if support will be provided for our Grade 1 students whose learning has been impacted by the pandemic.


These grants are intended to support the ongoing in-class interventions our teachers and educational assistants already support in the classroom on a daily basis.

March School Spirit Days

March 4th - Crazy Hair Day- wear your hair in the craziest way you can.


March 17th - Wear Green Day - celebrate St Patrick's Day by wearing as much green as you can!


March 21st - Crazy Socks for Down Syndrome Day - rock your wildest, loudest, most fun socks for World Down Syndrome Day

March Dates to Remember

March 4th - Grade 5 Skiing

March 8th - Boston Pizza Hot Lunch

March 9th - Grade 6 Skiing

March 10th - Parent Teacher Interviews

March 11th - No School for Students - Staff PD Day

March 25th-April 3rd - Spring Break



Click here to see the school calendar.

PES February 2022 Month in Review
Click Here to Provide Feedback
Click Feedback Button to provide feedback - goes directly to Mr. McEntee
zoom_out_map

Ponoka Elementary School

Email: nathan.mcentee@wolfcreek.ab.ca
Website: pes.wolfcreek.ab.ca
Phone: (403)783-3583
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PonokaElementarySchool
Twitter: @PonokaElem

Loading indicator

close

Created with

Communicate quickly and effectively with interactive newsletters.

Smore empowers educators to connect with their community, streamline school communications,
and increase engagement.

Create a newsletter