EE Oliver Elementary
February 2020
Pink Shirt Day
E.E. Oliver is participating in Pink Shirt Day again this year and we are encouraging all students to please wear a pink shirt or something else pink on Wednesday, February 26th
Does wearing pink stop bullying? Absolutely not! But people who are caring and kind can and do make a difference. Wearing pink is a way of reminding ourselves to stand together, lift each other up and to be caring and kind to one another.
Now a movement celebrated across the globe, Pink Shirt Day has humble beginnings. It was inspired by an act of kindness in small-town Nova Scotia. Here is a snippet of an article detailing the original incident:
“David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied [for wearing a pink shirt]…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school. ‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’ So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag. As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled. The bullies were never heard from again.”
Rockstar Day
It's great to see our students really getting into our Spirit Days. Thanks to our student council for coming up with new themes every month!
Living Lung Presentation
Cross country skiing and snowshoeing in February
So many students have taken the opportunity and have really enjoyed it!
Winter Walk 2020
Free Throw competition
Holy pancake mix!!!
We had 340 people attend! That's a whole lot of pancake mix!
Thank you to everyone who came.
And don't we have the cutest staff!!!
Heartbeat Theatre
Students in grades 4-6 also got the chance to have a Q & A session with actors after the show!!
Wellness Options day
We wish to send out a huge thank you to everyone that came together to make the afternoon a wonderful success.
Special thanks to Doreen Vershoor for instructing Tai Chi & Jennifer Roy for leading students in Yoga! You are both awesome!!!
100 Day celebrations!!
There were treats and games and work and even Zero the Hero came by to deliver donuts!!
Congratulations Grade 1!! And teachers.......who barely survived!!
Grade 5 & 6 ski trip
A big thank you to all our volunteers who made it such a fantastic day!!
Janine Giesbrecht, Trevor & Heather Giesbrecht, Trisha James, Kristy Schleier, Rhonda Johnson, Valerie Olson and Gus DeJong ( who also treated all the kids to a hot chocolate!)
Days like these would not exist without our wonderful volunteers!
Indigenous Studies
Events hosted by the school begin with an acknowledgement to honour the Aboriginal homelands on which E.E.Oliver sits. It's a tradition for Indigenous people, but for many non-Indigenous Canadians, it is a fairly new concept. However, it's an act that many Indigenous people feel marks a small but essential step towards recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
Grade one and two continue their learning of the Seven Sacred Teachings. In the second teaching the beaver brings us the teaching of Wisdom. Students are asked to: Gain wisdom with perseverance and time, nothing comes without effort. Show wisdom by helping classmates and those who are struggling to understand. Share wisdom with others by being a good role model.
Grade 2
Grade 2
Working on Gitsigakomim (Blackfoot for I love you) on the drums
Student Records
School Divisions in the province are governed by The Student Record Regulation (Alberta Regulation 97/2019).
“Retention of student record
4(1) Subject to subsection (2), a board or an early childhood services program private operator must retain the student records for a student or child containing the information referred to in section 2(1) and (4) for 7 years after the student or child ceases to attend a school operated by the board or the early childhood services program private operator or until the student record has been provided in accordance with section 8(1) or (2).
Disposal and destruction of a student records
5(1) A board, other than a person responsible for the operation of a private school, must dispose of or destroy student records that are no longer required to be kept under section 4.”
Moving forward, after April 15, 2020, PRSD will not retain records past the required 7 year retention.
Spotlight on safety
March is a time to look forward to warmer temperatures, melting snow, and longer days. The transition from winter to spring begins the transformation of frozen rivers, ponds, creeks and dug outs to bodies of open water. Many of our PRSD schools are located close to water sources and during this time ice can become unstable and extremely dangerous.
Please take a few minutes and talk to your children about ice safety and the dangers associated with being on rivers, ponds, creeks and dug outs during this time of the year.
For more information about knowing the dangers of ice please follow the attached link provided by the Canadian Red Cross.
PRSD Safety Advisory Committee
A few words from Mr. Bennett
As Pink Shirt Day (February 26, 2020) approaches, we reflect on the great opportunity we have in Peace River School Division (PRSD) to support and guide students in creating a culture of kindness and respect. We are very proud of our work in this regard and are pleased to share that our latest survey results show that 90.1% of our students, staff and parents feel that PRSD schools provide safe and caring learning environments for students. Our result in the area of Safe and Caring on the government report exceeds the provincial average.
Pink Shirt Day is one day per year where we wear pink in a united stand to support healthy relationships, wellness and diversity. However, the work we do in this regard is on-going through various programs, initiatives and presentations focused on healthy relationships and personal well-being. Examples of such programs and initiatives include the work of our divisional Social Workers, school-based Youth Education Support Workers, Success Coaches, student leadership groups, mentorship programs, behaviour support programs, wellness programs, the focus on citizenship division-wide, daily learning incorporated into the curriculum and the important support that comes from community involvement and various agencies.
Thank you so much for your involvement and support and we invite you to join us on February 26, 2020 for Pink Shirt Day when PRSD students and staff will wear pink in support of healthy relationships, wellness, and diversity.
Paul Bennett,
Superintendent of Schools
Peace River School Division
FEBRUARY 2020 Healthy School Calendars and Newsletters Please see the February 2020 Healthy Schools Calendar attached. February’s calendar highlights Winter Walk Day. Bundle up and enjoy! Visit Teaching and Learning | Alberta Health Services to access all the Healthy School Calendars and newsletters. Recess Forums 2020 Ever Active, in partnership with the Health and Physical Education Council is hosting a regional Recess Forum in Grande Prairie in April. This one day, free event will highlight strategies to increase physical activity, social connection, and leisure time, share best practices, and learn about available supports. Stayed tuned for more information! Resource Spotlight Shape Safari: An Exploratory Movement Adventure! This new resource from Ever Active is designed to encourage creative, fun movement and breathing exploration for kids! Check out Shape Safari! Stress Strategies Stress Strategies is a new website from The Psychology Foundation of Canada that recognizes that stress can be addressed and improved through practical problem solving methods. Check it out to learn more about managing stress!
If you need support or would like more information about any of these updates,
please refer to contact information as above and also attached to this email.
Important Dates
20th - Parent Council Meeting
28th - Jersey Day
March -
5th - NO SCHOOL - Teacher's Convention
6th - NO SCHOOL - Teacher's Convention
13th - Report Cards go home
17th - Parent Teacher Interviews
17th - Book Fair
19th - Parent Teacher Interviews
19th - Book Fair
20th - Twin Day
23rd - 27th - SPRING BREAK