Southwood School November 2026

CARE. LEARN. GROW Points and Celebrations

Southwood School celebrates and acknowledges our students as they act in ways that show they know our CARE, LEARN, GROW motto. Teachers and other staff fill out Care Learn Grow Slips when students show care and kindness for others, spend extra effort on learning tasks or show they learned something they didn't know or demonstrate before. Student pictures are featured on our screen in the lobby and students enter part of their House Point slip into their cohort's draw box.

Beginning in October, student names are drawn weekly from the collected CLG slips. If their names are picked, they are presented with a certificate at a party with the Principals. They also eat a snack and chat either in the Southwood Staff Room or at a local restaurant. When their name is drawn, you will be notified via email and your child will bring their certificate home so that you may also celebrate with them.

Please pick up your child at the designated Grade Level Pick Up and Drop off points. Do not park in the staff parking lot. This is for safety reasons. As well, please make every effort to help your child say goodbye to you at the outside doorway as we do ask that parents are not in the building without checking in at the office first. If your child has difficulty leaving you at the door, please contact your child's teacher or our Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Baudry for some tips and strategies to make this easier.

However, if you are picking up multiple students from multiple grades and would like things to be a bit more streamlined, please contact your oldest child's teacher and the office to arrange that your oldest child will meet you at the youngest child's drop off point. We ask that you do not attempt to have your child meet you at alternative spots without special communication with the teacher or the office as this creates confusion for students and staff who are working very diligently to get all of our students safely to their homes and parents. Thanks for following these requests.

Picture retakes will be Wednesday, November 25th beginning at 9:00 a.m. until we are finished with all of the retakes. Please email your students homeroom teacher if you wish your child to have retakes.

If your child does not attend Kindergarten that day, please bring them to the front office at 9:00 a.m. and we will get them to the gym to have their picture taken.

For any questions or concerns about pictures or your order please contact Lifetouch at 1-866-457-8212.

Leading up to our holiday season, Southwood School students and staff will be collecting toys and non-perishable food items to donate to Steinbach Community Christmas.

The first is a toy drive which is for all students Kindergarten - Grade Four. We are collecting new, unwrapped toys for children newborn to 17 years old (no toy guns please).

We are also having a food drive to help fill Christmas hampers. Please see below for ideas for items to bring in.

We will be collecting these items from November 2nd to November 23rd.

Cake mixes, juice boxes

Boxed or canned soup, kraft dinner, rice, ready to serve soup

Jam, peanut butter, cookies,

Oatmeal, cream of wheat, cereal, pancake mix, pancake syrup,

Ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, canned fish or meat,

Baby formula, diapers, baby wipes, baby food, baby crackers

We are also accepting donations of new toys for children (not wrapped in wrapping paper, please).

If you are able to participate, please send the items to school with your child.

Thank you kindly for your support!

Term 1 Report Cards will be sent out this month. They will be available on the Parent Portal sometime on November 27, 2026. Please contact the office for information on how to get your Parent Portal account set up to view your child's report card.

Parent - Teacher conferences will be held on Thursday, November 26th between 4:30p.m and 8:00 p.m. You may book your 10 minute appointment with your child's teacher on the Parent Portal beginning on November 19th. The purpose of the meeting will be for parents to hear directly from their child's teacher about their child's learning and school experience thus far. Depending on classroom teacher, you may be asked to bring your child with you to the meeting. As well, if you would see it as beneficial to bring your child, please contact your child's teacher to have this conversation ahead of time. Many of our teachers have chairs, books in a corner of the room for your children to play with while you meet with their teacher.

Mark your calendars! Our annual Scholastics Book Fair is taking place in the Makerspace from November 24th – November 26th this year. Students will have the opportunity to come and browse the book fair with their classes early in the week and then will have a chance on a different day to come make purchases should they so wish. Families will also be able to make purchases online, if they are willing to pay for the shipping. A link will follow closer to the date.

We will also be having our family night that will coincide with the student led conferences on the evening of November 26th. Join us to browse and shop in the Makerspace between 4:30 pm -7:30pm!

Please consider purchasing a book to donate to your child’s classroom while you are at the fair. Your generosity is always greatly appreciated!

Remember that the book fair benefits Southwood School directly with all money raised from it staying within our own school.

See you at the fair!

If you have used child sized skates laying around in your house that your family no longer needs and you'd love to see put to good use, please drop them off at the school for our Grade 4 skating program. It will run close to the Holiday Season and we could sure use a few more pairs of skates so that everyone has a chance to enjoy the activity.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We would like to inform you that a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) is available to support

students within our school.

From time to time, classroom teachers may request a brief screening of a student’s speech

sounds if they have concerns about how clearly a child is speaking. These screenings are

informal and are used to help determine whether a student may benefit from further observation,

classroom support, or possible follow-up.

Please note that not all students who are screened will require additional support, and in some

cases, a screening may not be necessary. Decisions to proceed with a screening are made on a

case-by-case basis in collaboration with the classroom teacher and school team.

If a screening is completed and any concerns are identified, you will be informed, and next steps

will be discussed with you.

If you do not want your child’s speech to be screened, please contact your child’s classroom

teacher.

If you have any questions about speech sound development or would like more information,

please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or the school.

Thank you for your continued support.

As the colder weather and winter approach, please remember to send your children to school with warm winter clothing -- warm boots, mittens, toques, and scarves. Ski-pants or lined pants are also important as students will be sent out to play unless the temperature and windchill are colder than -25 degrees.

A darker morning may also play a role in safety planning this winter. When students arrive at school in the morning during parts of November, December and January, the sun will not yet have risen, resulting in some periods of darkness or dim lighting between 8:30 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. Depending on the lighting, play on the play structure may be restricted in the time prior to school starting for safety recess. Cold weather, paired with dark mornings may result in some isolated decisions to send students in prior to the 8:50 a.m. bell.

As well please note the School Closure Policies -- The Hanover School Division's cold weather policy ensures the safety and well-being of students during extreme cold conditions. Schools will close when the temperature is -35°C or colder at 6:00 a.m., or when there is a wind chill of -45°C or colder. If the weather deteriorates after the school day has started, students will remain in school until arrangements can be made for their safe return. Parents and caregivers have the discretion to keep their children at home for their safety during extreme weather. The school division will also provide learning opportunities on days when schools are closed due to extreme weather.

Southwood Teachers will send home Winter Closure work packages in November to ensure your children can learn from home, should there be weather related closures in the upcoming months. In the event that classes are cancelled due to cold or hazardous weather, your child's teacher will send an email or Seesaw communication on that date about what students should complete on those dates.

Were you in foster care in Manitoba between January 1, 2005 and March 31, 2019?

The Children’s Special Allowance Settlement is a court approved settlement for people who were provincially funded children in the care of a Manitoba Child and Family Services agency during this period. You may be eligible to receive settlement money. Claims must be submitted by January 5, 2027. There is no cost to apply, and help is available for people who need assistance completing a claim.

To learn more or get help applying, contact the Claims Administrator:

Phone: +1 (844) 947-7101

Email: info@csasettlement.com

Website: csasettlement.com

It's official...we have an ice time scheduled for each of the grade 4 classes to go skating at the Southeast Event Center! Watch for more info to come later in November!

Here are the dates and times:

4A - Tuesday, December 15th, PM

4N - Wednesday, December 16th, PM

4P - Thursday, December 17th, PM

Nov. 10 -- Assembly 9:05 a.m. – Remembrance Day

Nov. 11 -- Remembrance Day - Tuesday, No School for Students

Nov. 16 -- Admin/PD Day - Monday, No School for Students

Nov. 25 -- Picture Retake Day

Nov. 26 -- Parent Teacher Conferences – 4:30 - 8:00 p.m. and Book Fair Evening - 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 27 -- Report Cards Term 1 On Parent Portal

Dec. 10 -- Southwood Winter Concert ( Gr. 3 & 4)

Dec. 15, 16, 17 -- Grade 4 Skating at the Event Centre

Dec. 18 -- Assembly – 3:00 - 3:25 p.m. – Holiday Celebration

Dec. 18 -- Last day of classes before Winter Break