South Oaks School
May 2019
Principal's Message
Let's Go for a Walk!
The weather is lovely these days and it feels so good to be outside in the sunshine! As you know, South Oaks made significant changes to our walker routes and supervision this year to provide safer routes to the school. As part of the change process, we engaged with Sean Carlson from the Green Action Center in Winnipeg to provide suggestions for how to promote active transport for students living close to the school. If you look at the map below, the green circle is considered the "walk zone". After a look at our community and where people live, he gave this feedback to us;
So, we have a lot of students living close enough to walk to school. Now that the weather is nice, we encourage walking and biking if possible. That being said, we do want kids to be safe, so we encourage them to walk with a buddy, so they are not alone. We also do see some parents walking their kids to school and that is a great option (if you have time). We also request that all people in cars watch carefully as more children are on the sidewalks.
We are currently doing a "Bike/Walk/Roll" survey with the students, to establish our baseline data. We will monitor this data to see if we can have a positive impact on promoting active and safe routes to school. Active and safe routes will increase student fitness and reduce vehicle traffic around the school as well. Let's give it a try!
Dale Martens
Principal
Dates to Remember
May 2 - Spring Concert 2 pm & 7 pm
May 8 & 9 - Pre-Kindergarten AssessmentsMay 12 - Mother's Day
May 20 - Victoria Day - No Classes
May 23 & 24 - WISE Science Workshops
May 30 and 31 - Bike Rodeo
Grade 2 Swimming Lessons
Just a reminder for Grade 2 families that swimming lessons will be taking place during school hours from June 3-14. Swimming is a big highlight for the Grade 2 students and such an important life skill; so on behalf of South Oaks we are excited to participate in this event with our students. We are pleased that all students will be participating and thank you for submitting all your forms within a timely fashion.
Happy Swimming Grade 2's!
Spring Concert - May 2
South Oaks will once again be having a Spring Concert this year. All the grade 3 & 4 students will be presenting the musical "Summer Camp", and we want to especially invite the parents of the students in those grades. The concert will be held on Thursday, May 2, at 2 pm & 7 pm in the gym. For the evening performance, please have your child at school for 6:30 pm. If you are able to come for the afternoon performance, please do so since the evening tends to be very full. See you at Summer Camp!
Education Survey
Bike Rodeo - May 30 and 31
May 30 4AP 2LF 2CF 1GR 4BJ 4KL
May 31, 3KB 3EC 2CE 1ED 1JD 3JH 3BT
New! South Oaks Bridging Event
During the Bridging event, your child will be grouped with their new class and spend some time with their new teacher in their new room. They will hear about how the class routines work and see who their classmates will be. Then, in the fall when school starts, they will already know where they belong. Our hope is that this will promote a solid foundation to start the year together.
PTA Report
Dear Parents,
The South Oaks Parent Advisory Council (PAC) has been having a wonderful year working with both you and the South Oaks School staff. The purpose of the PAC is to:
● Discuss matters that are relevant to education in the school
● Discuss matters that are relevant to education in the Hanover School Division
● Discuss matters that are of concern to parents of South Oaks students
● To provide moral and financial support for educational programs which enhance or enrich the curriculum
We usually meet 4-5 times per school year to discuss these issues and others with our principal, Mr. Dale Martens, and the staff representative, Mr. Craig Froese.
This year the PAC was comprised of the following 4 members:
● Lorraine Wiens (President)
● Randy Fast (Vice-President and Treasurer)
● Teresa Wiens (Secretary)
● Jon Rempel
*We currently have 2 positions open in our PAC group and are looking for one male and one female to fill these roles.
If this is something you would be interested in being a part of, please contact the school or one of the above parents*
Some of the ways the PAC have been involved this past year include:
● Winter Fun Day (preparing & serving the hot lunch, funding for the Sleigh ride)
● The spring “World’s Finest Chocolate” fundraiser (helping with the distribution of chocolates)
● Teacher Appreciation Lunch (organizing & serving the lunch)
● School Picnic (June 2019) – (funding for the bouncy castles & preparing the hot lunch)
If any parent has questions, suggestions or concerns for the PAC to address, please feel free to forward them to any one of the members.
Our contact information can all be found on the school website under the “Parent Council Info” tab.
Thanks again for allowing us to represent you parents within the South Oaks School.
Sincerely,
South Oaks School PAC
WISE Science Workshops
WISE Kid-Netic Energy is a University of Manitoba Faculty of Engineering non-profit organization that runs science, engineering and technology-based workshops throughout the school year. Our students will participate in the science workshop on May 23 or 24 at the school. Topics include the senses, structures, coding. rocks/minerals and a variety of other curriculum based options. We anticipate a great couple of days of Science learning.