September 11, 2015

2299 Mountain Drive, Abbotsford, BC V3G 1E6 604.852.7299 mountain.sd34.bc.ca Principal, Ms. Alison Moore

Dates to Note

Sept. 10 Kindergarten Orientation

6:30 Multipurpose Room

Sept. 15 PAC meeting 6:30 Mountain

Library

Sept 18 Terry Fox Run

Sept 23 Axis Theatre ArtStarts

Performance 9:30

Sept 24 Meet the Teacher and Family

BBQ evening

Sept 24 Cops for Cancer cyclist visit

and fundraiser

Sept 25 Non-instructional Day #1 (no

school)

Sept 30 Blues Berries ArtStarts

Performance 11:30

Oct 1 Photo day

Oct 12 Thanksgiving (no school)

.

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents,

Welcome back everyone and especially our new families! The kindergarten parents met last night at their orientation meeting and it was amazing to see how many of those families are first-timers to Mountain. You will find that Mountain is a tremendous school with dedicated teachers, high achieving students and supportive parents. Everyone does their part to ensure the success of all of our students and to create a great community feel in our school.

We currently have 362 students enrolled in 15 divisions and are quite full as are all of our neighbouring schools here on the east side of Abbotsford. Our Kindergarten students start full time on Wednesday September 16 as they have been attending in smaller groups these first few days of school. Parents of Division 4 students have been notified that we are currently in the process of staffing that position. We hope to have the permanent teacher in place by next week. In the meantime Ms. Martin has been doing a fantastic job of welcoming the students and starting the year of focusing on learning and new routines.

I know you are all aware of the bear in the area. The APD and Conservation officer contacted us on Wednesday to say the bear was active near the school at about 1:30 pm on Wednesday. I was still on the phone with Conservation with the APD showed up. Obviously they were concerned enough to initiate the level of support that they did, which included sending the officer to the school and setting up the bear trap very close to our school. Evidently this bear has been quite active in the area for the past few weeks. Parents of children who typically walk home were called. Thank you for responding so positively and arranging for pick up for your children. For recess and lunch on Thursday and Friday we did the let the children go outside but we had extra supervision and a signal in case we needed to have them leave the field quickly. We also asked them not to play close to the fence line. As always, my prime concern is student safety. Thank you for helping out with that!

We are looking forward to a wonderful year

Be sure to follow

us on Twitter

@mountainSD34

.

Save the Date……..September 24th, 2015

5:00 – 6:00 pm Meet the Teacher / 6:00 – 7:00 pm BBQ

Please contact Stacey Vermeeren if you would like to help

mountainpac@gmail.com The PAC is sending home food order forms and

additional information about our BBQ today, Friday September 11th. Be

sure to order your food before Tuesday, September 15th.

Please xwelcome the following new staff:

Mr. Jiwa Div 12 (with Mrs. Howe); Mrs. Loehndorf Div 14; Mrs. Little Resource room; Ms. Sargent Music

Mountain PAC News Next Meeting: September 15th ~ 6:30 pm Mountain Library

Welcome Mountain Elementary Families! We are so excited to get this year off to a great start!! First things first we have a “Welcome Back BBQ” on September 24th. We are thankful to M&M meats for helping us out with this again. They do such a great job! This coordinates with our “Meet the Teacher” night. We will be sending home order forms and will get each family a voucher for the food they have ordered, so keep an eye out for that right away! We will also be having our first PAC meeting on September 15th at 6:30. We welcome everyone to attend! We love making new friends and having fresh ideas! This is the most important one as we will be voting on how we are allocating funds for the year. Come and make your voice heard. :)

.

NEW PAC EXECUTIVE For 2015/2016

The new PAC executive was elected at the Annual General Meeting.

Stacy Vermeeren - Chair

Tracy Foley - Vice Chair Tom Lawson - Treasurer

Colette Rozell - Secretary Committee style - Fundraising Coordinator

Stacy Vermeeren/ Amanda Atkinson - Hot Lunch Coordinator

Amanda Atkinson, Kari Coppen, Alana Garandza and Michelle Rodde - School Planning Council

Vacant - DPAC Cara-lyn Field, Leah Eyjolfson - Members At Large

mountainpac@gmail.com

Call for Noon Hour Supervisors…..

If you are interested in working as a Noon Hour Supervisor please see Ms. Moore. This is a paid position and we are asking for a commitment of a least 2-3 days a week. Ideally someone would be available to work 5 days a week over the lunch hour. Duties each day include:

arriving in time to prepare for supervision by becoming aware of the needs and issues of the day and getting walkie-talkies in working order

supervising students during the eating and play time

using a restorative approach to student discipline which includes proactive approaches, advising and talking to students, giving timeouts when necessary, speaking to teachers or principals in the case of serious rule infractions

being aware of and prepared for emergency procedures

HARDSHIP CLAUSE The Board will ensure that no student is denied an opportunity to participate in educational programs or educational curricular activities based on financial hardship. Please speak with your child’s teacher or the principal.

LIVING IN AN ONLINE WORLD

Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to enhance the learning opportunities of children. However both parents and students must be aware of their responsibility in using these tools in an ethical and age appropriate way. School District policy AP 334 deals with such issues as online behaviour, posting of photographs of other students, personal safety and privacy while online, and online copyright laws. Please read this policy in more detail here: School District Policy AP 334

PHONES AND MULTI MEDIA DEVICES

This policy was developed by the Board of Education for the safety, security and privacy of students and staff. The use of handheld devices by students should in no way interfere with the safety, security and privacy of students and/or staff. These devices are to be off and out of sight during school hours unless the teacher has requested their use for educational purposes. This includes on school busses and after school sports activities. Devices will never be used for the purpose of cyberbullying or to capture the image or voice of another individual unless expressly allowed as part of a classroom assignment. Since these items are expensive, we do suggest that they be left at home. Please read the entire policy AP 323 here: School District Policy AP323

DRESS CODE Clothing should be appropriate to a learning/working environment, and should not be distracting to others:

NO spaghetti straps, must be three-finger width for shoulders. NO tummy showing NO undergarments visible (Bra straps, underwear, etc…) NO mini-skirts/shorts. Hems should be past fingers when arms extended. NO hats or sunglasses are to be worn inside. NO clothing items that promote alcohol, drugs, racism, or inappropriate language NO flip flops/sandals in PE class. Proper gym shoes are required at all times.

ALLERGIC SHOCK (ANAPHYLAXIS) Parent and/or guardians of students are responsible for informing the school about their child’s potential risk for anaphylaxis and for ensuring the provision of ongoing health support services. Upon registration, identify children with anaphylaxis to the school principal.

- Complete the “Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan” form. - Identify allergens that trigger reaction. - Describe the treatment protocol signed by a physician. - Provide an adequate and current supply of auto-injectors (or other medications) as per the

Emergency Plan. - Update the child’s condition whenever there is a significant change related to the child. - Authorize permission for the posting and sharing of the child’s photograph and medical

information normally contained in the medical alert form. - Provide a medical alert bracelet to be worn by the student at all times.

School Hours 2015 - 2016

(* actual bell rings)

9:00* Welcome Bell

9:05* Class begins

11:05* - 11:20* Recess (15 min Teacher supervision

provided)

12:40 Lunch 12:55* Outside Time

1:25* Lunch ends 1:30 Class begins

(50 min NHS supervision provided)

Mountain Staff Principal: Ms. Alison Moore Clerical: Ms. Joanne Carter

Div 1 Ms. Putman Gr. 5 Div 2 Mrs. Goddard Gr. 4/5

Div 3 Mrs Bevan/Mrs Dyck Gr. 4/5 Div 4 TBA Gr 4 Div 5 Mr. Holwerda Gr. 3/4

Div 6 Mrs. Voth Gr. 3 Div 7 Mrs. Nailen/Mrs. Levings Gr. 3 Div 8 Mrs. McDonald Gr. 2

Div 9 Mrs. Bartlett Gr. 2 Div 10 Mrs. Moorthy Gr. 1/2

Div 11 Ms. Derksen Gr. 1 Div 12 Mrs. Howe/ Mr Jiwa Gr. 1 Div 13 Mrs. Bining Gr. K

Div 14 Mrs. Loehndorf Gr. K Div 15 Ms. Olson Gr. K

Learning Assistance Mr. Rochon Resource Teacher Mrs. Little

English Language Mrs. Weinkam Library Mrs. Levings PE Mr. Hill

Music Ms. Sargent

Educational Assistants: Mrs. Kipper; Mrs. Crawford; Ms. Montgomery; Mrs. Naples;

Mrs. Bereti; Mrs. Duke; Ms. Ruiter; Aboriginal Educational Assistant: Mrs. Gilding

Join us in the Library! The Mountain library team is looking for volunteers for the 2015-16 school year. If you would like to

volunteer a little of your time each week, to help in a fun and friendly environment, please contact Mrs. Brenna Levings at the school or email brenna_levings@sd34.bc.ca We have a great team of volunteers right

now, and would LOVE for more to join us! THANKS!

FVRL Summer Reading Did you participate in the FVRL Kids Summer Reading Club? If so, bring your completed public library

reading record to Mrs. Levings in the school library to receive a prize!

PLANNERS

Please note your child will be using a Planner again this

year. The cost is $4.50, and should be sent to school

as soon as possible. Please make cheques payable to

Mountain Elementary.

NEW….You can use School Cash online to pay for

this, School Cash Online, if you’re not set up, a computer will be set up in the office during the

first couple of weeks of school. Please come in and

get signed up.

Child and Youth Mental Health

If you and your child need additional support, please consider heading over to CYMH offices on Tuesdays – they are now offering a walk-in clinic

every Tuesday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and children/youth/families are guaranteed to see someone face-to-face. CYMH is located at 2828 Cruickshank Street, across from Galaxy Bowl.

.

ABSENCES / LATES

Parents are asked to call the school (604-852-7299) each time your child is

absent or late to school. Feel free to leave a message on our voicemail outside of office hours. Also, students must report to the office if they arrive at school late. If parents do not call, the school will contact the home to ensure the child

is safe.

Student attendance and punctuality is an important aspect of schooling and has an impact on student success. Please be aware that Ms. Moore will be following up with families and children whose records indicate a problem with

chronic attendance and lateness issues each month.

Support Cancer Research

Every year students at Mountain Elementary participate in fundraising and awareness for important charities. This year we will be participating in both the Terry Fox Run (Friday Sept 18) and Cops for Cancer (Sept 28). We are asking families to donate to both or one of these organizations either by sending in money or using our new School Case online system (link and /or registration link here) **Toonies for Terry: Bring a donation of $2 or more to support the Terry Fox Foundation http://www.terryfox.org/Run/ . Students will run on a course around our field at 11:30. Students track their laps and compete with each other for bragging rights. Each grade level recognizes their top runners, but of course we also celebrate everyone’s efforts. **Toonie Wheelers: New to our school this year is Cops for Cancer. http://bit.ly/1Bhk01w Cops for Cancer is an exciting annual event that takes place each fall, when over a hundred law enforcement and emergency services personnel from across the province brave all types of weather as they cycle up to two weeks across the daunting terrain of Vancouver Island, Northern BC, the coast of British Columbia and the Fraser Valley. The riders will arrive at Mountain at 1:55 on Sept 28. We will be waiting outside for them and we will greet them with trinkets and banners. The riders interact with the students and it’s quite an exciting event. Bring a donation of $2 or more prior to the event and your name will be put on a Toonie Wheeler sign and displayed around the front lobby of our school. If we raise $600 Mr. Hill will dye his hair purple. If we hit $1,200 Ms. Ruiter will cut her hair short. WOW!! Brave!!

Traffic

Please remember that the road leading up to Mountain is very narrow and we have a lot of traffic and children trying to enter the school. Our neighbours are most concerned and they have asked me to remind you that safety of our children is crucial.

Slow down! A speed reader board has been set up to remind you that this is the law. The speed limit up Mountain Drive is 40 km even before the school zone. No U turns. This is extremely dangerous with so many people walking across the street Don’t block driveways. Thank you for remembering…

Safety First!!

You love Fido and so do we,

however, please note there

is an Abbotsford School

District policy of NO

DOGS on school grounds.

Even the friendliest of

dogs can be spooked or

unpredictable around small

children. We thank you for

your assistance and

cooperation with this

matter.