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Dear Parent/Guardians,
Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year at East Chilliwack Elementary. If you have returning children, I hope you are ready for another great year. If you are new to East Chilliwack, I hope you will soon feel at home here.
My name is Janine McCurdy and I have the pleasure of being the new Principal of East Chilliwack Elementary. I have enjoyed the last week meeting students and parents. I am trying to learn names as fast as possible!! I look forward to meeting all of you as the year progresses.
East Chilliwack is a growing community and we currently have an enrollment of 280 students. This growth has resulted in the need for an additional classroom to be created. This classroom will be a Grade1/2 class.
A permanent teacher will be hired for the Grade1/2 classroom as soon as possible. Until that time,
Ms. Venkataya (aka Ms. V) will be teaching in that classroom. Currently, this classroom is in the Multi-Purpose room, but we are going to be doing some classroom shuffling once our third portable is painted and ready for occupancy.
Communication is an area that is extremely important and we are trying to improve the way that information is sent home. Here are some ways that we use to keep everyone informed:
1. Monthly newsletters will be sent home the first Friday of every month. If you would like them emailed to you, please include your email address on the Verification forms when they get sent home.
2. Our school website, http://eastchilliwack.sd33.bc.ca/ is kept up to date.
It is also vital that you communicate with us, so if your child is going to be absent, please call the school at
604 794-7533.
Also if there is any information that is necessary for us to know in order to provide the best educational environment possible, please contact your child’s teacher or phone the office.
Finally, there is nothing more upsetting for a child than to be sick and none of their contact phone numbers are correct. Please let the office know if any of your contact
information changes throughout the school year.
Until next month!
Janine
Monday, September 14th – PAC Meeting @ 7 PM
Wednesday, September 16th – Meet the Teacher
Friday, September 25th – Professional Development Day
Wednesday, September 30th – Terry Fox Run
Monday, October 5th – Individual Photo Day
Monday, October 12th – Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, October 22nd – Early Dismissal
Friday, October 23rd – Professional Development Day
Saturday, October 31st – Halloween
Tuesday, November 10th – Remembrance Day Assembly
Wednesday, November 11th – Remembrance Day
Friday, November 27th – Professional Development Day
We are very lucky to have some new staff members joining us at East Chilliwack Elementary. Please extend a warm East Chilliwack welcome to Ms. Ratzlaff, who will be teaching Grade 1. Mrs. Hinksman, who will be teaching Grade 3. Ms. Chan, who will be sharing a classroom with Mrs. Odermatt and Ms. Dargatz, who will be our new Prep teacher. Ms. McKenna, will be one of our Noon Hour Supervisors. Welcome!!
Before school and after school, our parking lot is a very busy place to be. We have 3 lanes in the parking lot. The lane close to the school is reserved for Busses Only. The middle lane is a Drop Off Lane. Please move to the top of the lane and drop your child(ren) off. You may not get out of your vehicle in this lane. The third lane is a drive-thru lane and there should be no stopping in this lane. Please remember that there are students getting in or out of vehicles so be extra cautious as you drive through. Parking stalls are also at a premium at East Chilliwack. Please do not park in the areas that are designated for Staff Parking. Thank you.
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The first PAC meeting of the year will take place on Monday, September 14th @ 7 PM in the Library.
All parents are invited to attend.
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On Wednesday, September 16th, from 4 – 6 PM, our teachers will have their classrooms open for you to come and meet your child’s teacher. This will be a drop in open house. Hope to see you there.
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A big East Chilliwack thank you to Martens Asphalt for once again supporting our school in the Chilliwack Chiefs Adopt A School Program.
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There will be NO school for students on Friday, September 25th as it is a Professional Development Day. All staff will be participating in Professional Development activities.
The National School Run day is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30th. Watch for more information in an upcoming newsletter.
Individual photos will be taken on Monday, October 5th. LifeTouch Studios will be taking the photos.
More information will be sent home closer to the date.
Please do not send your children to school before 7:45 as we are unable to provide adequate supervision until then.
8:05 School Entry Bell
8:10 Morning classes begin
10:00 Recess begins
10:10 Recess ends
11:50-12:30 Lunch
12:30 Afternoon classes begin
1:58 Dismissal
Administration
Ms. J. McCurdy, Principal
Primary Teachers
Kindergarten - Mrs. Odematt, Ms. Chan, Mrs. Durflinger,
Grade 1 - Ms. Simpson, Ms. Ratzlaff, TBA
Grade 2 - Ms. Yolkowski, TBA
Grade 3 - Mrs. Hinksman, Mrs. Pauls
Intermediate Teachers
Grade 4 - Mrs. Pauls, Mrs. Rogers-Stadnyk
Grade 5 - Mrs. Baker, Ms. Eburn,
Grade 6 – Ms. Eburn, Mr. Letkeman
Support Teachers
Mrs. C. Bergen, Teacher-Librarian
Mrs. R. Solheim, Learning Assistance/Resource Teacher
Ms. M. Dargatz, Prep Teacher
Mr. G. Soon, ELL/ESD Teacher
Mrs. C. Vogt, Speech-Language Pathologist
Mrs. P. Martin, Counsellor
Secretary
Mrs. K. Wishlow
Education Assistants
Mrs. L. Arlt, Mrs. Desrochers, Mrs. Massey,
Mrs. G.Shultz,
Aboriginal Support
Ms. E. Michelenko
Custodians
Mr. Elias, Mr. Woelders
Supervision Assistants
Mrs. Graves, Ms. McKenna
This past July, the Chilliwack School District along with many School Districts across the province transitioned over to a new student information system referred to as MyEducation BC, which replaced the existing student information system known as BCeSIS.
The core functions of MyEducation BC include the management of student demographics, enrolment and attendance, programs and courses, student achievement, individual education and learning plans, and reports.
However, we have experienced some challenges with performance leading up to school startup. The Ministry of Education and Fujitsu Consulting (Canada) have been working on the performance issue and will continue to monitor performance province wide, as we commence a new school year. As a result, we request your patience, especially at the Middle and Secondary School level as we continue to enroll new students and mange course
changes for new and existing students.
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