Dear DG Families,

Welcome back- we hope you had a wonderful Spring Break!  The 3rd term is often very busy with lots going on!  In addition to notices and other correspondence from your child’s teacher, you can also stay up to date by reading these weekly posts, as well as other emails sent via the office, checking the calendar on our website and by attending PAC meetings.

Our Focus for April is Open Mindedness (that’s the “O” in ROARS

Each month at our school we have a focus area that’s connected to our ROARS grid.  Teachers spend time talking about/teaching to the focus area and these efforts are further supported by reminders and tips on the daily announcements.   For the month of April, the focus is “Open Mindedness”.   Though we may have a lot in common with other people, we also see and experience things differently. We all eat food yet prefer different types of food, often depending on our cultures. We can live in the same town and have different places that makes us feel connected to the community.   We all listen to music and have different feelings about what we hear. Families don’t all look the same.  People can have different ideas, feelings and perspectives, and that makes the world interesting and wonderful!   Here’s a short video you can share with family to help support this learning at home:

Track and Field

Track and Field activities will begin for our grades 4 – 7 students shortly after Spring Break. Your intermediate child will be able to share with you, shortly, his/her schedule of when they need to come to school with their running shoes and athletic clothes.

For those of you who ordered Track t-shirts, we expect them to be delivered to the school by the beginning of May.  Please stay tuned for more information.

There are 2 Track Meets for Delta students:

• the Regional or Zone Meet (ours is Thursday, May 9th)

and, for those who qualify,

• the District Meet the following week (date to be confirmed).

A reminder to all drivers that the upper parking lot is for school district staff and emergency vehicles only. The lower parking lot is for student pick-up and drop-offs at all times.

The school recognizes that the parking situation at DG is less than ideal, particularly for parents needing to park and walk with their child/ren to drop off and pick up at line up areas. When picking up and dropping off in the parent parking lot, please be respectful and mindful of others.

Thank you for parking only in parking stalls. Double parking and blocking in other vehicles who are parked in stalls creates frustration and is disrespectful. We have seen an increase in double parking and blocking in other vehicles (if the lot is full, please DO NOT ENTER).  Aggressive conflicts between drivers (including profanity) are inappropriate and unsafe for a school setting and we will be working with Delta Police to follow up on any such incidents reported to us (license plate numbers help).  Let’s work together to avoid this!  Please do your part to model safe and appropriate behaviours for our students. Give yourself extra time, part a little farther away, and don’t drive into the parking lot if it’s already full.

Traffic Calming Measures along Russell Drive

New speed bumps have been installed at the start of the school zone along Russell Drive.  As always, please drive with caution.

Grade 7 Bottle Drive

To help support end-of-year activities for the grade 7 students, the Grade 7 parents are planning a bottle drive.  Please see details below (and please save your bottles & cans to drop off on April 20th!):

Reminder – PAC Family Movie Night is Friday

The PAC is hosing at Family Movie Night this Friday.  A reminder that pre-purchase of entries was required (they’ll be sent home with students this week) and you’ll need to show these at the door to get in).  As this is a family movie event, students must be in the company of their parent/guardian.  Questions?  Please email the PAC at: pacdevongardens@gmail.com.

The next PAC Meeting is:

Term 3 Special Lunch & Snack Day Ordering – Deadline to order is April 9th

PAC Hanging Basket Fundraiser

This year we are trying something new… Our PAC has partnered up with Clearview Nursery in Langley

12″ hanging baskets! For every one purchased Devon Gardens PAC receives $10 in fundraising money!

Fundraiser closes on May 1st, so order now before you forget!

This fundraiser is for hanging baskets only. There is an assortment of baskets to choose from including fuchsias, new guinea impatiens, and mixed baskets with lots of colour choices.

Vouchers will be available for pick-up on Monday May 6^th after school in the undercover area.  Once you have the voucher, it must be exchanged at the store (located at 26350 56 Ave, Langley) for the basket of your choice.

To order click on the link below:

https://clearviewgardenshop.com/product/devon-gardens-elementary-pac-12-hanging-basket-fundraiser/

Please feel free to share this link with your family and friends!

Questions???  Please send an email to pacdevongardens@gmail.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Kinder Books

Introducing the Kinder Books Loyalty Program for schools! This year-long fundraising program is designed to help schools earn credit towards purchasing books for their school library.

Here’s how it works: for every net book purchase made at Kinder Books, the school will earn 10% of the purchase amount towards a credit at our store. At the end of the fundraiser, we will notify the school of their credit amount. The school can then decide to use the credit at the beginning of the new school year or at the end of the calendar year.

The best part? This program applies to all book purchases at our store, including special orders for kids and books for adults. Plus, orders can be placed online at www.kinderbooks.ca, making it easy for grandparents or other family members who live out of town to participate. Simply mention your school’s name at checkout, and we’ll credit your school accordingly.

Online orders can be picked up at the store during business hours or shipped through Canada Post

 

Return-it Express

PAC has created a school fundraising account. To participate, simply bring your containers to the depot in sealed, clear bags, and enter the registered phone number, 604-581-6185, into the Express kiosk. You will be prompted to select the number of bags you’re dropping off, the kiosk will automatically print the same number of sticker tags displaying our PACs unique Express account code. Tag each of your bags with a sticker tag and drop the bags off in the designated Express drop-off area to be counted. For a list of Return-it Express location visit https://www.return-it.ca/locations/express/

Cobs Bread Dough Raiser Program

This program enables us to raise money for our school throughout the year! Be sure to mention Devon Gardens Elementary (or code 7806) each time you make a purchase at COBS Bread Scott 72 Centre; they will donate 10% of your purchase back to our school.

Level Ground Trading

Level Ground is a BC business that works with fair trade coffee, tea, dried fruit and spice producers.

Supporters enter the code devongardens in the ‘discount code’ field at the checkout.
All products on our web store qualify for the fundraiser. Orders must be $40 or more. These orders also qualify for free shipping to most addresses in Canada (there is a shipping fee on all orders shipped to NU/NT/YK). All orders are paid for through our web site and shipped directly to your supporters. No need to collect orders or distribute products to households.
Your fundraising amount is 20% of total sales.  So on a $100 order your school will receive $20.

Online Stay Safe & Babysitting Courses

Offered through First Aid Hero. When registering use promo/coupon code “DevGardens24” and our PAC will earn $5.00 from each registration. For details, available course dates and online registration, please follow the link: www.FirstAidHero.com

Questions? Send an email to pacdevongardens@gmail.com

Are you interested in hosting an International Student?  Or, do you know of a family who might be?  Delta School District International Programs is currently recruiting homestay families for international students coming to Delta School District for September 2024. They will arrive from all over the world and have a strong desire to be in Delta.

The reimbursement for hosting will be increasing to $1,150 per month as of September 2024. Multiple students from different nationalities can be hosted in one home. The majority of students in the homestay program are from Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy, and Brazil. At the moment, more that 20 different countries are represented in the homestay program.

Many are looking for a family connection and being a part of a family during their stay in Delta. Their study periods range from 3 months to half a school year, to a full school year, to multiple years.

We have two 3-week summer programs where host parents welcome younger English learners into their home. It is a great way for students to see what school (and life) in Delta is like and for new homestay families to get a small sample of what hosting is like. Reimbursement for each 3-week program is $850 per student.

If you are interested in hosting, please reach out to homestay@godelta.ca. If you are not able to host but know of a family who can, please send them our way. There are referral bonuses available for referring families.

Other Opportunities, Events & Activities

City of Delta Earth Day Photo Contest – Deadline is April 3rd

The City of Delta is hosting the 16th annual Earth Day Photo Contest, a popular event celebrating Delta’s incredible natural ecosystems. Submissions have grown from 21 photo submissions in 2009 to nearly 200 submissions in 2023.
This year’s theme, Natural Areas, encourages participants to explore and celebrate the unique ecosystems found throughout Delta, including the Delta Nature Reserve, the Fraser River Estuary, Watershed Park, Boundary Bay, and so many more. These natural areas play a vital role in supporting native species and biodiversity, making them essential components of our community’s ecological health.  Students are encouraged to participate by submitting a photo in the child category (ages 5-12) and youth category (ages 13-17). Winners of the Earth Day Photo Contest will be invited to a presentation at Council on Monday, April 22nd and will receive a prize awarded by the Mayor.
The entry deadline is Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024.  Please contact the Office of Climate Action & Environment with any questions at 604-946-3253, or email cae@delta.ca.

Royal Soccer Club Summer Camps
The Royal Soccer Club is a registered non-profit community organization that offers summer day camps that promote a healthy and active lifestyle, and also encourage and teach personal development, team
building, and leadership. Their program promotes inclusivity for all children aged 5 to 13 (kindergarten to Grade 8).