South Oaks School
September 2023 - Welcome Back!
Let's Get Going!
Regarding changes to staffing this year; unfortunately, we had to say farewell to Bev Olfert who will be teaching in Kleefeld this year. We wish Mrs. Olfert all the best in her new school and hope to stay in touch with her. We also welcome Scott Dueck to our Learning Support department, who is in for Jonelle Koop-Yumang. Otherwise, our staff remains much the same for 2023-24, with some shuffling of assignments internally. The teachers for this year are as follows;
Kindergarten; Deniece Reimer, Gwen Guenther, Joanne Lafreniere
Grade 1; Bret Johnson, Glenys Robinson
Grade 1/2 multiage; Carrie Enns
Grade 2; Lindsey Friesen, Melanie Ciavaglia
Grade 3/4 multiage; Kelsey Berkowski, Bonnie Taylor
Grade 3; Craig Froese, Lisa Johnson
Grade 4; Carol Hill, Alvera Peters
Phys. Ed; Ken Friesen (gr. 2-4), Scott Dueck (gr. 1)
Music; Eileen Dueck, Joelle Heier (gr. 1)
Learning Support; Jodi Davies, Scott Dueck
Counsellor; Joelle Heier
Whatever class your child is in, they will experience a safe learning environment, characterized by kindness and with many opportunities to learn. We are all striving to be Safe, Kind, Learners at South Oaks School!
We also work diligently to provide ample communication with you throughout the year. Our office will send a monthly newsletter home with news for parents. At other times, we may send an email as something emerges, or plans change throughout the month. Each teacher will also communicate with parents using See-Saw/email/phone calls, as needed. Please know that you can speak or meet with your child's teacher anytime you have a question or concern. When the adults work collaboratively and communicate sufficiently, it is always good for kids. We endeavor to partner and collaborate with parents, to provide the best possible educational experience for your child.
This year, you will notice some changes in our Phys. Ed and Music departments, since we have experienced some staffing cuts, unfortunately. All students will receive PE and Music. However, the Kindergarten PE and Music will be provided by the homeroom teachers. The grade 1 PE will be taught by Mr. Scott Dueck. The grade 1 Music will be taught by Mrs. Joelle Heier. The remainder of classes (including the 1/2 multiage class), will receive PE/Music with Mr. Ken Friesen and Mrs. Eileen Dueck, who are now both working half time.
As a result of these changes, we will likely not be able to do a Spring Concert event this year, as we have in the past. So, our staff is considering other options for connecting with you in the Spring and we will keep you posted. Let us know what you would like us to consider if you have suggestions!
That is all for today. I wish you all a smooth start to the school year. If there are bumps along the way, we are here to help! For now, let's get going and see what we can accomplish together.
Dale Martens
Principal
Dates to Remember
Sept. 5 - Grade 1-4 Meet the Teacher "Open House" from 4:00pm - 5:30 pm (see below for details)
Sept. 6 & 7 - Kindergarten interviews
Sept. 8, 11, 12, 13 - Kindergarten Staggered Entry - half classes
Sept. 14 - Regular K class routines begin - full classes
Sept. 15 & 18 - "Strong Connections"
Sept. 21 & 22 - Picture Days
Sept. 22 - Terry Fox Run at 2:30 pm
Sept. 29 - Orange Shirt Day (students invited to wear orange to commemorate Day of Truth and Reconciliation)
Meet the Teacher Event - Sept. 5
Our Meet the Teacher event is on Sept 5 from 4:00 - 5:30 pm. This event is for grade 1 - 4 students only, since Kindergarten does the staggered entry process instead.
This is an "open house" style event, but we want to regulate the number of families in each class to 3 at a time, to avoid overcrowding and allow time for proper introductions. So, please be prepared to wait a few minutes in the hallway, if it is necessary.
Plan for a brief meeting with the teacher. This is not the time for a private meeting to discuss personal plans or goals for your child. This is just a chance to help your child "bridge" to their new teacher or to reconnect with the teacher from the previous year. This bridging helps with attachment to the teacher, which is needed for learning to occur.
See the map above to know where your classrooms are located, or ask the staff for assistance when you arrive. We are here to help!
Please attempt to keep your visits to about 10 minutes, so all families will be able to meet their teacher during this event.
We look forward to meeting you all and to get this year started! See you soon.
End of Day Pick-up
Strong Connections - Sept. 15 and 18
The office will schedule your child for one of the two days of Strong Connections. Your child would stay home for the other day. Once this is ready, we will let you know which day your child should attend. We will make every effort to schedule all your children on the same day at both South Oaks and GVS. We look forward to this special event with your child! Please note that we will begin classes at 9:00 am on both Strong Connections days.
Terry Fox Run - Sept. 22
We will also have a jar for cash donations at the school. Thank you for your support!
School Picture Days - Sept. 21 and 22
Arrival/Dismissal/Lunch Hour Procedures
Upon arrival;
- Students may go directly to the playground. We will have supervision on the playground starting at 8:40 am. Please don't drop your child off before 8:40 am, as they would be unsupervised. Staff will meet students and then direct them to their proper entry doors when the entry bell rings at 8:50 am. See updated map below.
- Cross-walk coverage for walkers/bikers will be available from 8:40 - 9:00 am at Main Street and 8:45 - 9:00 am at Southwood/Oak and at the bus loop crossing. If your child is too early or too late, please know that there won't be supervisors available beyond those times.
- Note: if your child is late to school and we have not received a message or phone call from you to excuse them, an automated call will be sent to you at 9:40 am to let you know that we have not seen your child at school. This is done to ensure your child's safety.
End of the Day Dismissal;
- New this year! In an effort to streamline the dismissal routine, we will dismiss all walkers, car pick-ups and daycare bus students at 3:35 pm.
- We are continuing with the same entry/exit doors as last year, to maintain an orderly dismissal and to prevent crowding. See map below.
- Daycare bus students will be dropped off and picked up in the bus loop again this year.
- Car pick-ups will be dismissed out of their designated cohort doors (same as their entry doors) to meet their parents outside. Gr. 3 and 4 will meet parents on the West side of the school, near the bike racks. Gr. 1 and 2 students will meet parents at the drop off area by the huts. K students will meet parents at the front main doors. All the same as last year.
- When picking up your child, please know that we want to do a "hand off", rather than letting the child run to the car. This is for your child's safety, so please help us by getting out of your car and coming to pick up your child. Thank-you.
Lunch/Recess breaks;
- New for this year! We heard from our students that it was important to them that they could have recess with all of their peers from their grade level. So, this year, we plan to have all students outside with their grade level peers. Grade 3 and 4 students will all have recess together. Also, Grade K-2 students will have their recesses together. Hopefully this addresses the concern that was brought forward and helps students to stay connected to their friends.
Lunch Break;
- If there is a chance that your child could go home for lunch each day, it would be strongly recommended to do so. The break is good for them and it reduces the supervision load in the school.
- It is important for parents to reinforce the policies of no food sharing with other students due to individual dietary needs.
- KG1 will need to function as a "peanut free class" this year, since we have a student in the class with a peanut allergy. All other classes may enjoy their peanut products.
Orange Shirt Day - Sept. 29
South Oaks also wants to support the students in any way we can. So, please consider having your child wear orange on Sept. 29 to show we care about how people are treated in Canada. Thanks for your consideration. (photo below - Phyllis Webstad; author and founder of Orange Shirt Day)