News From the Nest

• Wednesday, Nov. 4 - Early Dismissal @ 2:09pm
• Friday, Nov. 6 - Remembrance Day Assembly @ 10:30am
• November Break - November 9-13
• Metis Week - November 16-20
• Tuesday, Nov. 17 - Hot Lunch
• Tuesday, Nov. 17 - Parent Teacher Interviews, 4-7pm
• Wednesday Nov. 28 - Early Dismiaal @ 2:09pm
• Thursday, Nov. 19 - Parent Teacher Interviews, 4-7pm
• Friday, Nov. 20 - Metis Week Assembly at 2pm
• Tuesday, Nov. 24 - Hot Lunch
• Tuesday, Nov. 24 - Jersey Day
• Tuesday, Nov. 24 - School Council Meeting at 6pm
• Wednesday, Nov. 25 - Early Dismissal @ 2:09pm
• Thursday, Nov. 26 - Kinder A Hot Lunch

Christmas Concert Season (see more information below)

• Wednesday, Dec. 2 - Christmas Concert Gr. 1-6
• Thursday, Dec. 10 - Kinder A Christmas Concert
• Friday, Dec. 11 - Kinder B Christmas Concert

Hello All,

I hope everyone had an amazing Halloween! Friday was a blast at Mills Haven. Thanks to all the caregivers who joined us for the Costume Parade. The kids are always excited to show off their costumes, and it was great to have so many of you there.

With all the Halloween treats now at home, we would appreciate families keeping an eye on how much candy makes its way to school. A few treats are certainly fun, but too many can make for some unhappy tummies!

As we turn the calendar to November, we have Remembrance Day, Parent-Teacher Interviews, and Christmas concert preparations ahead of us. Our Remembrance Day ceremony will be this Friday at 10:30 a.m. Families are welcome to attend. It is always nice to share this time of reflection with our school community.

Our first round of Parent-Teacher Interviews will take place after fall break. Please look for the article in this newsletter explaining how to sign up. We look forward to connecting with you about how things are going for your child.

You may also be hearing the kids sing their Christmas concert songs at home. That’s because it’s coming up quickly! Mr. Funke and Miss Schellenberg are already busy practising with the students. The concert will be on December 2 at The Park Church. Stay tuned for more details.

I hope everyone has a great fall break and a chance to rest and recharge before the busy stretch leading up to Christmas!

Mr. McKay

We will be having our Remembrance Day Assembly on Friday, Nov. 6 from 10:30 to 11:00 am in the gym. Families are invited and welcome to join us.

Parent-teacher interviews will be held on Tuesday, November 17 and Thursday, November 19 from 4:00-7:00pm.

Interview appointments can be booked starting on Thursday, November 5 at 4:00pm, and can only be booked on our website.

BOOK HERE for Parent Teacher Interviews.

If your child is in Kindergarten, there are additional afternoon appointments available on Thursday, November 19 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm for Mrs Hale and Mrs. Smit. Please book those through the additional Kindergarten Afternoon Interviews event on our website starting Thursday, November at 4:00pm.

BOOK HERE for Kindergarten Afternoon Appointments

Please note that:
1. Babysitting is not provided for either night.
2. Interview appointments are 10 minutes each and please only book one interview per child, per family. Duplicate appointments may be cancelled.
3. Interview bookings will close Tuesday, November 17 at 10:00am.

We look forward to meeting with you!

Mills Haven will be recognizing Métis week from Nov. 16-20. Métis week is an opportunity to honour the contributions, culture, traditions and history of the Métis Nation. Classes will be completing activities to acknowledge the week and learn more about Métis people. We will also be having an assembly where Jerome Chabot, EIPS First Nations, Metis and Inuit Consultant, will demonstrate fiddling and jigging to us. The assembly will be Friday, Nov. 20 at 2:00 pm.

The students are hard at work and practice has begun for the upcoming Christmas Concert season!

More information will come out closer to the date, but mark your calendars!

Date: December 2, 2026

Location: The Park Church, 1 Brower Dr, Sherwood Park

Grades 1-3 Concert at 6:00 PM

Grades 4-6 Concert at 7:00 PM

Please note that this concert requires your child to have a parent or guardian present at the venue for the entire event. Thank you.

Kindergarten Christmas Concerts at Mills Haven Elementary School

KAH & KAS: Thursday, December 10, 2:00-2:45pm

KBH: Friday, December 11, 2:00-2:45pm

The Kindergarten Christmas Concerts will take place in the Mills Haven Elementary Gym.

Mills Haven Student and School Enhancement Society is excited to launch our online 50/50 fundraiser!

This initiative helps us support the amazing students and staff at Mills Haven Elementary.

With your participation, we can continue providing meaningful resources, enriching learning experiences, and school‑wide events that build connection and community. These funds help us offer opportunities that inspire students, strengthen school spirit, and enhance the learning environment throughout the year.

Get your tickets here!

The winner will be contacted directly to claim their prize.

Raffle Rules and Details:

AGLC License Number: 793790

Eligibility: Participants must reside in Alberta, be 18 years of age or older, and purchase tickets using a major credit card or Visa debit card with an Alberta billing address.

School fees for the 2026-2027 school year are now posted and can be found in your Parent Portal in PowerSchool.

Fees are due 30 days after they are posted. Please see here for more information regarding fees in EIPS and MHV.

If circumstances exist where you're unable to pay your fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived. To learn more about the fee waiver process please see here. Please note there is a deadline of December 15, 2026 to apply to the school division for a fee waiver and no applications will be accepted after that date.

If you have any questions about fees or need help getting into your PowerSchool account, please give Mrs. Kimble, in the office a call at 780-467-5556.

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.

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

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