2026 April Newsletter

Welcome back from what we hope was a refreshing Spring Vacation! As we write this message, we are into the ‘home stretch.’ The past seven months have sure flown by. The last three months will fly by even faster. We would also like to say that we are very proud of all the progress our students have made, both academically and socially, in the past seven months. The students were very proud to take home their second term progress reports, which reflected hard work and dedication to their studies. Keep in mind with the onset of nice weather, there will be competition with outside school commitments such as community sports, recreation, and family time, all very important to the development of the whole child.

There are two days set aside in April and May, to make us think about the world we live in and how we relate to it. On April 22, we celebrate Earth Day. This day challenges us to think about our planet in terms of issues like resource use, ecological footprint, pollution, and caring for our environment. What can you do to celebrate and protect the Earth that we depend on? Mrs. Dion and Mrs. Krastel, with the support of AP Teacher Marnie Birkeland at GESS, apllied for a recieved a $2800 grant from the SPARK Foundation, to help students learn outdoors. Research shows that time in nature improves mental and physical well-being. Our students will be spending more time learning on the land, collecting nature observations, restoring ecosystems, and contributing to community science. These efforts grow our collective knowledge and strengthen the care of this beautiful place we call home.

Fencing Program

From April 20 – 23, students in grades 1-5 will be participating in the 'Okanagan Freestyle Fencing' program in our gym. Fencing is an exciting sport that improves cardio, strength, balance, and eye-hand coordination, and it can be matched to all ability levels! Fencing is often called physical chess, as it involves the same aspects of focus, strategy, and decision making. These mental aspects of the sport help our athletes to become confident and disciplined.

Grade 3 Swimming Program – April 22, 29, and May 6

All of our grade 3 students will be participating in the Okanagan Swims Program on April 22, 29, and May 6. Many children locally do not have the opportunity to participate in structured swimming lessons. There are many reasons for this including availability of a local facility, whether it is seen as a valued life-skill in a household, whether parents themselves know how to swim or not, or for financial reasons; many local families simply cannot afford to enroll their children in lessons. According to the Lifesaving Society, drowning is the 2nd leading cause of preventable death in kids under 10 years old. All children are at risk of drowning without the proper education and exposure to instruction. In the Okanagan, with lakes, creeks and backyard pools, preventable water incidents occur each summer. This program provides free access to emergency water safety lessons, including transportation to and from school, for all grade 3 and 4 children in School District 23.

Intermediate Track and Field

Considering that it is April, plans for our Intermediate track and field season will soon be underway. As in the past, our Intermediate classes will be participating in our track and field rotations that take place immediately following recess in the afternoon. Our Intermediate Track and Field Meet with Oyama Elementary takes place this year on Monday, May 25th, 2026. Parents who can help with this event are asked to contact their child’s teacher. Teachers will also be reaching out to parent/caregivers. There is a district-wide Track and Field Meet for select students who qualify for a competitive experience on Wednesday, June 3, also at the Apple Bowl.

With Gratitude,

Mr. J. Minkus and Ms. T. Kuzik

In order to make accurate plans for next year’s school organization, we need your assistance in confirming student enrollment for September. If you know you will be moving between now and the end of summer, please call Mrs. Nuyens in the school’s office or write a brief note to your child’s teacher at your earliest convenience.

March 30 Schools Reopen After Spring Vacation

April 3 Good Friday: Schools Closed

April 6 Easter Monday: Schools Closed

April 7 StrongStart Closed Today

April 10 Fire Drill # 5 10:5

April 10 PAC Family Dance 5:30

April 13 HS Grenda Transition Visit to PGE 9:15

April 14 PAC Meeting at 6:30 in Library or on Zoom: (https://sd23.zoom.us/j/2735419423)

April 16 Lockdown Drill 10:50

April 20 - 23 Fencing Program

April 22 Happy Administrative Professionals Day Mrs. Nuyens!

April 22 Grade 3 Swimming Program 10:45

April 24 Class and Group Photo Day

April 30 Early Learning for Families 4:30

May 4 Music Monday 9:30

May 4 Parent Info Session for Parents of Grade 5 Students at HS Grenda Middle School 5:30

May 6 Ceremonial Sockeye Salmon Release at Vernon Creek

May 8 Lake Country Fire Dept Safe Program 9:10 am

Our Vice Principal, Tracy Kuzik, is undergoing a performance appraisal, which is standard practice for administrators in the second year of an assignment in Central Okanagan Public Schools. As performance criteria includes the principal’s/vice-principal’s working relationship with parents, the parent advisory council, staff and students, these groups are consulted during this process. There shall also be a review of other relevant data sources including financial records, organizational structures, school records, resource allocations and school plans.

Parents - please consider completing this survey. It will be open from April 1 - 30, 2026.

With the current warmer weather, it is a nice time of year for students to walk and/or bike to school. A reminder to all that students must wear a helmet to ride to and from school. Bikes (like scooters and skateboards) must be parked upon arrival at school, students may not ride them on school grounds. Students must dismount upon entering the school property and walk their bicycle, scooter or skateboard to the bike rack, or their class lineup.

StrongStart is a free drop-in early learning program for children aged 0 to 5 years (prior to entry into kindergarten), who are accompanied by their parents or caregivers. It is the beginning of a special partnership between families and schools. The program at Peter Greer is facilitated by Chelsea Coates, a Licensed Early Childhood Educator. Click here for more information.

If you are a returning StrongStart family, then feel free to drop-in on days that work for you. StrongStart Centres are open: Monday – Friday 8:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

BC students deserve to eat the best, and that’s BC grown fruits and vegetables. PGE has been part of the BC School Fruit & Vegetable Nutritional Program since 2008. All classrooms receive a supply of fresh fruit or a vegetable up to 12 times during the school year. The program is funded by the Ministry of Education and Childcare's Feeding Futures Program.

BCSFVNP has grown from an initial launch of 10 schools to over 1,400 K-12 public schools and K-12 First Nations schools that are participating in the program for the 2025/2026 school year. With the help of our over 4,000 volunteers and incredible agricultural partners, we now provide fresh fruits and vegetables 12 - 24 times in the school year to over 530,000 students. Many of those students are trying new foods for the first time and finding out how great they taste. They are also making connections to where their food comes from and learning that eating BC grown produce supports local farmers and the economies of rural regions — building blocks toward a lifetime of healthy and sustainable eating. This program has become a well appreciated part of our healthy eating initiative. Our thanks to Mrs. Nuyens and CEA Mrs. Buhler and her students for the deliveries and for keeping things up and running so smoothly.

From now until May 1, 2026, parents of students in grade 4 are invited to participate in the 2026 Ministry of Education Student Learning Survey in cooperation with all other school districts throughout the Province.

Students in grades 4, 7, 10 and 12 will also be completing the survey. Your feedback is important, and the survey will not take a lot of time to complete. The purpose of this survey is to gather information on school processes, the learning environment, as well as to gather information on the well-being of our students. Looks for details on the survey on how to win a $50.00 gift card from Indigo Books!

It is illegal to:

• Drive through a marked crosswalk when it is occupied by pedestrians. As you approach a crosswalk, scan both ends and stop if occupied. Try to make eye contact with the pedestrian.
• Park or stop on any marked crosswalk or within 6 m of the approach side of a crosswalk. The curb will be painted yellow or red. If you do, you are in contravention of Traffic Bylaw 98-186. Parking on the crosswalk forces young children to attempt to cross the road elsewhere and puts them at risk of being hit by a vehicle.
• Make a U-turn if it interferes with other traffic.
• Park across the entrance to a driveway or intersection.
• Park where a curb is painted yelloow.

Other reminders:

• The driveway and parking lot in front of the school is closed to all traffic except staff, fire, and vehicles equipped with a handicap pass.
• Safely walking, cycling, riding scooters and skateboards require continuous reinforcement both at home and at school. This equipment is not to be used on school property until after 2:45 pm.
• A reminder to parents that there are lots of students out and about during peak drop off and pick up times and we urge you to use extra caution while driving.
• Also, parents are asked to use the sidewalks if walking their children to and from school and not to cut through the parking lot as it is not safe.

FOR NON HOST SCHOOLS

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT THE BC GAMES THIS SUMMER

The BC Summer Games are coming to Kelowna this July 22 - 26. Events like this need reliable volunteers to help create memorable experiences for the young athletes. If you are interested in helping out please

The HMS Student Support Team is busy planning the articulation process for the next school year. We are excited to be welcoming the feeder school grade five students into HMS and wanted to take a moment to share our plans. Below are some key articulation dates and events that will occur over the next few months.

Monday, April 14 (English) and Tuesday, April 15 (French) @ 12: 30 – The HMS team will be visiting our grade 5 students to share some information about HMS and meet with the grade 5 teachers. The Vice Principal, along with a couple of their grade 7/8 leadership students will share a presentation with the students that will take approximately 40 minutes. There will also be time for students to ask questions and time for the team to gain some insights into what our student's passions might be. The HSM Team is also hoping to meet with classes individually where it makes sense to have more intimate groups and an opportunity to get to know the students.

At the same time, the HSM School Based Team (LAT/Counsellor/SEL/RT) and Principal will meet with the classroom teachers to gain important articulation information including strengths and stretches in academics, behaviour, and social emotional needs. They will also be asking who they would recommend students to be placed with and if there any groupings that should be avoided.

Month of May – HMS School Based Team will follow up with elementary school SBT to gain any further information to support any students that may need extra support with the transition. This may include follow- up meetings, additional school tours, time to sit down etc.

Monday, May 26th – Our grade 5 students will walk to HSM to participate in the Grade 5 Welcome, School Tour, and BBQ lunch (hot dogs/juice/chips) from 9:30 am – 11:30 am. Please save the date in your school calendar. (During part of the morning, we will be asking the grade 5 teachers to look over the community placements we have made from the information shared in April. Any fine tuning will be done at this point.)

Monday, May 26th - Grade 5 Parent Information Session and Open House from 5:30 – 6:30 pm.

Thursday, August 27 – Grade 6 Orientation Day from 9:30am – 11:00am.