February has a MEGA Long Weekend??? Yes, yes it does.

Important Announcement - Internet Safety

Please note, our school really does it's best not to "over message" parents - the Parent Association may be a different story ;) - and I'm sure you've already received the email/text/phone message regarding this topic -- this is a topic our school feels is VERY relevant and important in todays time. The grade 4/5/6 presentation is not free, and school budgets are tight, but our school recognizes this topic is important enough that they paid to bring this presenter to our school.  We are very fortunate.  By securing Paul to speak to our students, it also provided parents an opportunity to attend this Parent Education Workshop.  If you are able to attend, please do.  Even if your children are young - this information will become relevant to you sooner than you can imagine!! (And we do not know if/when we will have another opportunity like this)  I have room available in my vehicle to take a few parents.  If you would like to attend do not have transportation, please call the school and leave a message for Parent Council, and I will return your call within a day or so.

Regards,

Pineridge School Council Chairperson,

Karen MacKinnon

***

Dear Parents and Guardians of Pineridge School

You are INVITED!!

What: Parent Education Workshop - An Evening with Paul Davis

Why: Learn great tips and strategies on how to support safe use of technology for your children

When: Thursday, February 2, 2017 @ 7:00 – NEXT WEEK!

Where: Dr. Gordon Higgins School

Who: Parents of Dr. Gordon Higgins School, Parents of Cecil Swanson School, Parents of Pineridge School

Paul Davis is an expert on educating students and empowering parents about social media and online safety. Paul will be speaking to all Pineridge Grade 4, 5 and 6 students on the afternoon of February 2, 2017, following a morning at Dr. Higgins and Cecil Swanson. Paul has invited all parents of Pineridge to join the parents of Cecil Swanson School and Dr. Gordon Higgins School to attend a special evening presentation. This event will take place at Dr. Gordon Higgins School in the Rundle community. A reminder notice will be sent out with address and further details next week.

This is a must attend session for parents who want to learn how to support a safe and responsible use of all digital technologies (smart phones, tablets, etc...). This session is designed for parents. Please do not bring young children as he will address delicate topics such as:

SNAPCHAT/TWITTER/INSTAGRAM/FACEBOOK
SMARTPHONES AND DIGITAL TRAILS
CYBERBULLYING TEXTING
SEXTING
ONLINE GAMING & ONLINE SECURITY

We highly recommend that you attend this informative session. 

Pineridge School

Upcoming Events

Next Thursday afternoon (February 2nd) there will be an author coming to do a presentation for the younger grades in the morning, and a technology expert (safety related) presenting to the grade 4/5/6s in the afternoon.

On the evening of February 2nd (time to soon be announced) there will be a Technology Safety Parent Meeting held at the Dr. Gordon Higgins School where the same speaker will present.  Technology and safety is becoming a growing concern, and all parents are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting. Due to the nature of the meeting and some of the topics that will be covered, children are not permitted attend.  The school will soon be sending home information about this event.

Pineridge School Family Literacy Day was a HIT!!

It was so great to see so many parents and younger siblings attend and participate in this event (I don't think anyone was expecting such a great morning mob turn out!) and you could certainly tell the students all enjoyed it as well!!

A big thank you again to the school for organizing and hosting this event, and for arranging for the draw prices etc.!  And a final thanks to the volunteers who stepped up to make this event a success!

Have a terrific weekend!!

Family Literacy Day is a SCHOOL AND FAMILY event!

Re: Friday's "Pajama Party" aka, Family Literacy Day

As per Kristina Flood (aka, the word's smiliest, friendliest, happiest teacher, ever):

Students will be participating in a variety of activities all morning in their classrooms and in the gym. Volunteers with security clearance may help out with these activities. We would love to have volunteers help with the activities in the gym in particular. This may include helping to organize students with their siblings/cousins/friends as they come to the gym with their reading rally tickets. Some groups of students may love to have a volunteer read with them (in the gym) as well:)

Families (including those parents who do not have security clearance) are welcome to come to the school to participate in literacy activities in the Learning Commons. Parents may bring their young children and can stay for any length of time between 9 AM and 11:30 AM. If families choose to, they may pull their school age children from class to read in the Learning Commons. That option is open to every family.

We do ask that everyone sign in at the office as the event is during school hours. All are welcome to wear to their pyjamas!

It's not a Pajama Party - It's Family Literacy Day! Okay, maybe it's both!

In support of Family Literacy Day, our school is hosting a Reading Rally on January 27th - 9:30am-11:30am!

If your child did not bring home the notice, please contact the school for deals.  We would love as many volunteers as possible for this event!

Although the children are excitedly referring to this as a "Pajama Party!"; our school is very mindful to link any fun school events like this, back to learning.  As per such, the "Pajama Party!" will be rooted in learning!  Thank you so much to our school for finding such a fun way to get children excited about Family Literacy Day!!

Results of Parent Association AGM

Thank you to those who attended last night's Parent Association AGM.  We voted on executive positions, and the following people filled the following positions:

Chair: Karen Mackinnon

Co-Chair: Dominica Witt
Treasurer: Meghan Pittman
Secretary: Crystal Carstens

A big thank you Alli Dyck, who stepped down from the Treasurer position (her son is in his final years at Pineridge School) - Alli has always been very diligent and helpful in her role, is a dedicated "Parent Council" participant and will still be supporting the Council/Association in a training capacity.  Thank you!

The next meeting is on February 13, 2017, 6pm, at the school. From now on, School Council/Parent Association Meetings will be combined, and meetings will be capped at 90 minutes in length.

Meeting Agenda Posted

Look under: Meeting Agendas, to find the information pertaining to the January 23rds Pineridge School Parent Association meeting!  As a reminder, the meeting is at the Village Square Co-Op Community Room, at 6:30pm.

Thank you for coming to Volunteer Orientation!

Hello Everyone, 

It was great to meet some of you at our first biannual Volunteer Orientation and thank you for taking the time to learn more about Pineridge School and our New Volunteer process. 

If you have filled out our Volunteer Application, completed our Security Clearance and the Green Volunteer sheet (at the office) and attended our required Orientation then I will be following up with you individually about your specific volunteer interests in the next few days.

As we mentioned at the orientation our focus is on improving reading at our school this year. At this time we have 2 classes that are eagerly wanting a volunteer. If you are interested in helping in this way, we have a list of students and can help get you started. We will do our best to match you with your children's class if possible.

Your questions and feedback help us as well so I encourage you to express yourself freely. I will be in touch individually soon and if you have any questions in the meantime, let me know.

Warm regards,

Astrid Ritz 

Pineridge School Volunteer Coordinator 

PS. If you did not make it to the orientation meeting please contact me for the next steps to follow.

Direct your questions to our dedicated phone line at (403) 777-6750 extension  4. (School Council)

Report Cards - January 26th

Report cards are coming home on January 26. Report cards focus on six essential learning skills and work habits students need to succeed. Each skill is reported as Excellent (E), Good (G), Satisfactory(S) or Needs Improvement. The six skills and habits are: Responsibility Organization Independent Work Collaboration Initiative Self-regulation Report Cards let you know early in the school year about your child's progress and how well he/she is developing important learning skills and work habits. For academic subjects like math, language and science, the progress report tells you whether your child is progressing very well, well or with difficulty. Progress Report Cards do not have letter grades or percentage marks. They include clear, meaningful comments from your child's teacher and highlight strengths and areas for improvement. Seeing this as a chance to celebrate your children in their progression in learning, sets the tone for it to be a positive experience with feedback from others. Who doesn't appreciate supportive families who model feedback as an important but non threatening partnership between our children and their learning environment.

Volunteer Orientation

Are you interested in volunteering at Pineridge?

On Thursday, January 12th at 2:00 pm we will be hosting a parent volunteer orientation presentation at the school. (RSVP to Ms Best, Assistant Principal, by emailing/calling the school)

Information will be shared on how you can get involved and what volunteering looks like. We will share how you can work with teachers and students. 

As our focus at school this month is reading, We will share some reading strategies to use prior to reading, during reading and after reading. We will cover the process of transitioning students from working with a volunteer to coming back to the classroom.

Please contact the school by Wednesday, January 11th if you plan on attending. 

ALL PARENTS who want to volunteer at the school are invited. 

Location provided upon signing in at the office on Jan 12.

Kindergarten Registration is Open

Kindergarten registration is now open!  Please bring your child's birth certificate when you go in to register!

For more information please visit: http://www.cbe.ab.ca/programs/kindergarten/Pages/default.aspx

January 2017 PSPA Newsletter!!

If you haven't already, please get your Volunteer Security Clearance (Police Check) completed!!  The process was outlined in this month's newsletter.  It's free, easy to do, and lasts five years!!  Contrary to most people's assumptions - you do NOT have to go to a police station to do this!!  Just bring your ID into the office and an office administrator will initiate the process for you!