June 2017

The Eagle Gazette

South Kelowna Elementary School

www.ske.sd23.bc.ca Phone 250-870-5107

June promises to be just as busy as May – or more so! We have just completed a month worth of activities at a rec-ord pace. What an amazing year we've had! Why is it that as the day light hours get longer, the speed at which the days fly by gets so much faster?

Over the past few weeks, our track and field practice sessions were a huge success. All the intermediate students rotated through an array of events, preparing them for the culmination of the school-level Apple Bowl held at the Apple Bowl on May 30th. Good fun, sportsmanship, and all kinds of neat track and field experience was had by all, again due in great part to the contingency of dedicated parents running the different events. A special thank you to Ms. Vecchio, Mrs. Shanks, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Wiebe and Mr. Flood for their work in organizing this special event. Stu-dents who exceeded specific criteria for consistent performance, work ethic, and good sportsmanship, were selected to participate in the school district’s track and field meet being held on June 7th at the Apple Bowl. These students will have an opportunity to compete in their strongest events (maximum two, plus a relay), against students from other district schools in their age group. A very special thank you to all of you who gave of your time to help make the Apple Bowl Track and Field event a success. Your flexibility and your dedication to making this a memorable experience for our elementary intermediate students is appreciated.

Last month, our grade 6’s had the time of their lives at Gardom Lake Camp. It was an incredibly worthwhile experi-ence which has been well supported by the parents and thoroughly planned to ensure a learning experience like no other for a group of about 40 well deserving students. Many thanks to the parents, through all their fund raising efforts, for helping to make this trip a reality.

We are so very grateful of all the parent support we have at SKE that we said thank you by inviting parents to have a coffee and a treat bag at our Community/Parent Appreciation Drive Thru on Thursday, May 25th from 8:00 to 8:35 am. On this day, parents were allowed to use the driveway in front of the school to drive through and pick up a coffee and treat!

Our programs would not be possible without the time, commitment and energy of every-one involved. Our school appreciates everything you do, constantly helping our students to be successful, and feel supported at school. Also, thank you, to our PAC Executive and the general PAC group! Thank you for the Appreciation Luncheon planned for our staff on June 14th. I know we will be spoiled with a delicious array of tasty choices. Thank you from all of us and for the incredibly and amazing ways you support our school!

True to form, South Kelowna parents truly outdo themselves be it through literacy

programs, fund raising, field trips, reading support, classroom helpers, or taking the time to sign daily planners. It has been said before, but I’ll say it again. Our school wouldn’t be the dynamic place it is without parents like you!

Inside this issue:

2017-2018 School Organization

Play Day

Airband 2017

Year End Final Assembly/ Gr. 6 Year End

SKE PAC News

SKE Community Pot Luck Dinner

2017-2018 School Bus Transportation

2017-2018 Calendar/Bell Schedule

Principal’s Message

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As in every year, teaching assignments and class organization are subject to change in the fall. If you are moving over

the summer and/or your children will not be attending SKE in the fall, please let the office know ASAP.

While we always try to accommodate parent requests for a specific classroom placement, we are not able to

accommodate all of those that we receive. There are many factors that go into building balanced classes and we ask

that parents trust the decisions that we make.

Staff Changes

After many years of dedication and being part of our SKE family, we sadly say good bye to Mrs. Lachmuth, who has touched the lives of thousands of children and their families. Congratulations on your well deserved retirement! You will be missed, but never forgotten. You have done so much for all of us! At the end of this school year, we will also say good bye to a few teachers Mr. Flood, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Wiebe, and to Education Assis-tants, Mrs. Semmelink, and Mrs. Kupchanko. We wish all of our departing staff members the best in their future endeavors. It has been a pleasure having all of you at SKE. We will miss each and every one of you! We welcome Mrs. Black and Mrs. Jordan to our teaching staff, and welcome back Mrs. Brazeau and Mrs. Picklyk. We look forward to having you on staff and part of our SKE staff and Community.

2017-2018 School Organization

The tentative teaching staff and class configurations for 2017/2018 are as follows:

Kindergarten Mrs. Pullan/Mrs. Schell Grade 3 Mrs. Estey

Kinderg/Gr. 1 Miss Robertson Grade 4 Ms. Vecchio

Grade 1 Mrs. Jennejohn Grade 4/5 T.B.A.

Grade 1/2 Mrs. Kirschner Grade 5/6 Mrs. Black

Grade 2/3 Ms. Lees Grade 5/6 Mrs. Shanks

T.B.A. Teacher-Librarian Ms. Roddricks Speech & Language Pathologist

Mrs. Jordan Music, Drama, Prep Mrs. Harvey Resource Teacher (Special Needs)

Mrs. Bitcon Learning Assistance Mrs. Proulx Counsellor

Our intermediate students are working hard on designing and practicing their Airband performances. Soon they will be ready to showcase their talents! Families please join us in the Multipurpose Room on Monday, June 19th and Tuesday, June 20th during the times below. Bring your cameras along!

Monday, June 19th Mrs. Wiebe —12:00 noon

Mrs. Vecchio —12:50 pm

Tuesday, June 20th Ms. Lees—10:10 am

Mrs. Shanks—12:00 noon

Mr. Flood—12:50 pm

Mrs. Estey—2:00 pm

Airband 2017

Report Cards

Report cards will be distributed on Thursday, June 29th. Families planning to shorten the school year with an early departure holiday may arrange to have their report card(s) mailed. Two post-age stamps per report are required, otherwise reports will be held in the school office for pick up in September.

Play Day will be held on Friday, June 9th. Mark your calendars for this fun year-end event. As in past years, we have

asked for parent volunteers to help run the stations. A notice has gone home with more information and an opportuni-

ty to sign-up. Please send lunch for your child that day.

SPECIAL TREAT! The SKE PAC wish to provide a special “free” frozen treat to all students

on Play Day!

Play Day—Friday, June 9th

The first day back to school is Tuesday, September 5, 2017. The first day of school is a half day. Busses will be running and students will be dismissed at 11:15 am. All new Gr. 1-6 SKE students will report to the library at 8:30 a.m. on September 5th. Following a brief orientation and school tour, all new students will be placed into age- appropriate, temporary classrooms. Regular school hours (8:30-2:30 pm) commence on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 for Gr. 1-6. Returning SKE students will go to last year’s classrooms for each of the mornings on Tuesday, Sept. 5th, Wednesday, Sept. 6th and possibly Thursday, September 7th. The new class lists should be finalized and posted in the morning as soon as we possibly can and students will settle in to their new classrooms. Happy Summer!

Here Are A Few Reminders About Back To School…

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Grade Six Year End Activities

The Grade 6 students will be recognized at the school-wide year end assembly on Thursday, June 29th at 9:00 am in the Gymnasium, in front of all of their South Kelowna peers and parents.

Following this assembly, there will be cake for the Grade 6 students and their parents. Cameras are more than welcome!

As part of the Grade 6 Year End, they will be spending a full day at Myra Canyon Adventure Park, Wed., June 21st!

New Registrations/Summer Closure

Please inform any new neighbors or relatives with children who will be attending SKE next year, that we are taking registrations up to and including Friday , June 30th, the last day the office is open before summer break. The school administration will be back in the office on Monday, August 28th for any late registrations.

We encourage new arrivals to register as soon as possible online, so that arrangements can be made and students can be placed in their designated class.

The website to use for online application for student registration is:

https://enrollment.sd23.bc.ca

Currently, most classes are reaching their capacity, so if you or anyone you know is looking to attend SKE in the fall, please contact the office as soon as possible!

Magazine Fund Raising Campaign

South Kelowna Elementary will once again be offering the Magazine Fund Raiser next fall—

so save your subscription renewals till then and help support our school!

It’s a great opportunity to receive quality magazines for a much reduced price. Subscrip-

tions make great gifts too! We are looking at ways to help alleviate the pressure some par-

ents feel as their children are relentless in their pursuit to sell subscriptions in order to get a prize.

Are You Moving?

In order to make accurate plans for next year’s school organization, we need your assistance in confirming student enrollment for September. If you know you will be moving, between now and the end of summer, please call the school’s office at 250-870-5107 and write a brief note to your child’s teacher at your earliest conven-ience.

Textbooks

Periodically, teachers conduct thorough textbook checks. During these checks, we sometimes discover that some stu-

dents have either lost or damaged the textbook(s) they were issued at the start of the year. Each student is financially

responsible for books issued to them. Return of the textbook or payment for the lost or damaged textbook should be

made as soon as possible.

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2017-2018 School Fee Payments

School fees for 2017-2018 will remain at $40.00 for all students Grade K through Grade 6.

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PAC Elections

Let me introduce your 2017-2018 SKE PAC Executive as elected at our Annual General Meeting in May.

President Hot Lunch Coordinator(s) Parent/Classroom Rep

Barb Drake Vacant Karen Ellis

Vice President Popcorn Coordinator KLO Middle School Rep

Jody Gibson No Candidate Vacant

Secretary Event/Fundraising Coordinator Health & Safety Officer

Robyn Thompson Shauna Burnell Vacant

Treasurer Joint Use Liaison

Vacant Amanda Rentiers

We still need to fill some positions on the PAC for next year. If you are interested in volunteering for any of the

vacant positions, please contact Jody Gibson at djac@telus.net.

Our family potluck is approaching on June 22nd from 5:00—7:30 pm. Forms have been sent home with information

concerning items to bring and if you are available to help volunteer that afternoon. Please remember the hot dogs

are free this year, however we still need to know how many to make so please rsvp to Amanda at

arentiers@gmail.com.

Our last PAC meeting for the year is on June 20th, in the Library at 6:30—8:00 pm. This is a very special meeting—we

will have school board personnel on hand to discuss and answer questions regarding our South Kelowna catchment

area. I hope to see many of you there.

Thank you and have a great summer!

Your SKE PAC

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Spring Fun + Fitness at SKE!

We are wrapping up our school-wide running program in mid-June. Teachers will be busy figuring out how many students obtained half marathons, full marathons, ultra marathons and ultra marathon plus.

Afterwards, we encourage everyone to continue getting out as often as possible to run or walk, even though we are officially finished.

THANK YOU!!

Special “thanks” to our staff for

organizing

so many great events…

Special “thanks” to our parents

for all your support!

We couldn’t do it without you!

In partnership with the

City of Kelowna—

South Kelowna Programs

SKCR & PAC Year End Celebration and

Pot Luck Dinner

Walking Your Wheels at School

All students are reminded that gear with wheels (i.e. skateboards, bikes, scooters, roller-blades, and heelies) may only be walked or carried on school grounds. For safety reasons, no riding, scooting or skating is permitted inside or outside the building.

Be Sun Savvy!

The UV Index is a measure of the intensity of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation in the sun-burning spectrum. As the UV Index increases, the sun’s rays can do more harm to your skin, eyes, and immune system. In Canada, the UV Index ranges from 0 to 10 and is issued in the weather forecast. As the UV Index increases from 0 to 10, take more precautions. In the spring, ozone depletion is at its worst so skin damage can occur quickly. Take the same precautions you do in the summer. In the summer, consider doing outside activities such as swimming before 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Water and sand reflect UV radiation. Find shade, wear clothes that cover your skin, a hat, and sunglasses. Apply sunscreen at least 20 minutes before going into the sun and re-apply every 2 hours.

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Special thank you to Darlene Eisenkrein for hand-

crafting and creating our SKE Growth Mindset Rock

Garden sign. It’s a beautiful reminder of how we are

all ‘unique’.

Thanks to Greg with your help with the sign!

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