Dear DG Families,

It’s the last week of school before Winter Break & it’s going to be a busy one!   Please read on for important information and reminders about Tuesday’s concerts (and more!) …

We all want to have a healthy and happy Winter holiday.   For everyone’s health and safety, please don’t send your children to school when they are ill

End of Day Dismissal

A reminder, dismissal is 3:00 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.   Every Wednesday, we dismiss at 1:45 pm.   If you are allowing your child to play on the playground after school, please make sure you are there to supervise them.  Supervision is provided by staff for 15 minutes after dismissal time.

For safety reasons, it’s important that students head home, promptly, at dismissal time.   Days are getting shorter and shorter; it’s often dark by 4:00 pm.  Please talk to your children if they walk/ride their bike home about the importance of heading home promptly.

For parents/daycares picking up students, please be on time.   Lately we have noticed an increase in students, even those as young as Kindergarten, being picked up VERY late from school – sometimes an hour or more after dismissal, and often without a phone call to the school letting us know you will be late.   This is very stressful for the student who is left waiting, as well as for our staff.

We understand that, occasionally, there may be an exceptional circumstance (a traffic accident, a family emergency, etc… ) – that’s not what we’re talking about, here.   Routinely arriving late to pick up your child on a Wednesday, or leaving your child at school while you finish your shopping or attend to other things, while expecting school staff to provide childcare, is another matter.

Once students are dismissed, staff are busy finishing up their work, preparing lessons for the next day, marking assignments, meeting with colleagues and parents, etc… so that they can wrap things up and head home to their own families.  We do not have onsite childcare at our school.

In an exceptional circumstance, where you realize you’re going to be late picking up your child, call the school office as soon as possible to let us know you are going to be late and/or let us know what alternate pick-up arrangements you have made.  Calling ahead is the courteous thing to do and will prevent us, and your child, from worrying.

Term 1 Report Cards (now called “Learning Updates) now available on Parent Connect

A reminder, Term 1 Learning Updates were available for viewing online  as of Thursday, December 14th.  You will need to log onto Parent Connect in order to view your child’s Learning Update.   If you are having any difficulty, please contact Ms Labrosse in the office.

Parent Connect Link: https://cimsweb.deltasd.bc.ca/schoolconnect/parentsignone.aspx

Family Hampers – thank you!

For the past few years, we have partnered up with another school in Delta and exchanged families in need, in order to provide them with Christmas hampers/gifts.  Our sister school provides hampers/gifts for our families and in turn we collect items to help their families. We do this in the spirit of trying to keep things private and confidential for the families to whom we are donating.   We wrapped up (literally and figuratively!) our donation drive on Friday.   The donations that came in from our school community (DG families and our DG staff) were plentiful and so thoughtful!   Thank you!   Your generous donations will be delivered to the 3 families this week (if you still have something you want to send in on Monday, at the absolute latest, we could still add it to the hampers).  

Christmas Concerts are on Tuesday!

Our Christmas Concerts are this Tuesday, December 19th, and we CANNOT WAIT to see you there!!!

There will be two shows – 1:30pm and 6:30pm.

As typically there are more guests at the evening concert, we are encouraging those who are available to come to the afternoon performance to do so.   There is no limit to the number of family members who can attend the afternoon show and tickets are not required.

You will, however, need your tickets (sent home a couple of weeks ago) in order to get in to the evening concert.   We have issued two tickets per family.  There are a few (very few) additional tickets that have been returned to the office, which have been distributed to families on the waiting list for additional tickets.

Please bring a canned food item as your “entry” to the concert.

Also, the PAC will be selling 50/50 tickets, and running a concession in the undercover area, so bring along some cash.

Parking Reminders for the Concerts (and every day!)

A reminder, when you come to the concert, please park in the parent/visitor lot or find street parking in the neighbourhood.  Please be respectful of our neighbours, and each other, when parking.  Ensure you are not blocking other cars, or access to houses/driveways/the sidewalk.

There is NO PARKING for guests in the staff lot (even if you think you see an empty spot).   There are no extra spots in our staff parking lot for parents/guardians, visitors or guests. We have just enough parking for staff.    Not all of our staff have the same start times or lunch break.  We also have staff who work at more than one school in the same day.  At all times, the staff parking lot is for staff only. 

Please also see our Christmas Concert Q & A list, below:

Question: When is the Christmas Concert?

Answer: Tuesday, December 19th. There are 2 performances – 1:30pm and 6:30pm.  Doors open 30 min before the concert start times (so 1:00pm and 6:00pm)

Question: Is there early dismissal on Tuesday, December 19th?

Answer:  No, it’s a regular dismissal day

Question: Do students stay at school until the evening concert begins?

Answer: No.  Students go home at regular dismissal time (3:00pm), and are asked to be back at the school at 6:00 pm (not earlier).

Students will report to their classes, using their usual doors. 

Parents who are staying to watch the evening performance will line up at the outside gym doors.

• The door closest to the staff parking lot will be for winners of the best seats contest only 
• General admission will be through the outside gym doors closest to the undercover area

Please note, there is no entrance to the gym for parents/guests through the school.  

Parents who aren’t staying for the evening performance, you can drop your child off to their line-up area or classroom and come back to pick them up when the concert is over, at approximately 7:45pm

Question: Is there an entry fee for the concert?  

Answer:  No, but we are asking for a canned food item as we’re collecting donations for Deltassist.  For the evening concert, you will also need to present your tickets (sent home Nov 30th). No tickets are needed for the afternoon concert.   

Also, the PAC is running a concession and a 50/50 draw, so be sure to bring some cash!

Question: Will my child be performing in both the afternoon and the evening concerts?

Answer: Yes!  We want to ensure both audiences see a great show.  This means we need students to attend in the evening as well.

If there is an exceptional circumstance, and your child is unable to be here for the evening performance, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible.

Question: Given that my child will be performing in both the afternoon and evening shows, should I come and watch both performances?  

Answer: No.  Due to limited seating capacity, we ask that parents and guests attend either the afternoon or the evening concert, but not both.   Tickets are required for the evening performance.  2 tickets per family were sent home last week.   Tickets are not required for the afternoon performance, so this would be a great time for grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc… to come and see the concert.

Parents who aren’t attending the evening performance should drop their child off at their usual door/line-up area at 6:00 pm.  When the concert is over, at approximately 7:45 pm, parents will pick students up from their classrooms.

Question: Can I leave right after my child’s class is finished performing in the concert? 

Answer: No, please stay and enjoy the entire show!  Leaving part way through is disruptive to the audience.   Plus, all of our students and staff have worked really hard to put this event together so we want to ensure that the classes performing at the end of the concert are not looking at a bunch of empty seats. That would be really discouraging!

Question: If I won the “best seats” contest for the evening performance, do I still need my tickets to get in?

 Answer: Yes, for the evening concert.  If you won best seats at the evening concert, you still need your tickets to get in.  No tickets are required for the afternoon concert.

If you won the “best seats” contest (winners have been notified by email), this means you have reserved seating in the first 4 rows (ie – the “best seats”!).   “Best seats” winners will be entering the gym through the outside gym doors closest to the staff parking lot.    Your “best seats” will be labelled with your names.

 Question:  What doors do students use for the evening when coming for the evening concert? 

Answer: For the evening concert, students should arrive at 6:00pm (no earlier) and enter the school through their own/regular doors.  Grade 7 student helpers will be stationed at the doors to greet students and assist them to their classrooms.

Parents, while you are welcome to walk your children to their classrooms if you wish,  we suggest that you don’t as you will, then, need to then go back outside and line up outside the gym doors for entry into the concert.  This is going to take you longer. 

Our suggestion, instead, is that you drop your children outside their entry door and then make your way to the outside gym doors to line up for admission to the concert.  This is why we will have big buddies at the doors to greet students and make sure they get to their classrooms.

Please note, there is no entry to the gym, for audience members, through the interior of the school.   

Question: What doors do parents and guests use when coming to the concert. 

Answer: For both the 1:30 and the 6:30 concerts, parents/guests will use the outside gym doors.

The door closest to the staff parking lot will be for winners of the best seats contest only 

General admission will be through the outside gym doors closest to the undercover area

Doors will open 30 min before the concert start time (1:00 for the afternoon concert and 6:00 for the evening concert).  

Question:  Are you as excited as we are?  

We can’t wait to see you there!

If you have any further questions about the concerts, please contact your child’s teacher.

Volunteer Basketball Coaches Needed

Are you interested in helping to coach grade 6 & 7 basketball?

We are looking for volunteer basketball coaches, starting in January, for a Grade 7 Boys Team and a Grade 6 & 7 combined Girls Team.

Practices can be either at lunch or after school, and games are typically once a week, after school.  Schedule yet to be determined.

If you are interested, please contact Ms Leveque via email at kleveque@deltaschools.ca

PAC INFORMATION

PAC Fundraisers at Christmas Concert (remember to bring cash!)  

cash only!

PAC Fundraisers ongoing throughout the year

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

Information from the School District

French Immersion for the 2024-25 School Year

There are two French Immersion Programs offered in Delta: EARLY French Immersion Program (Kindergarten to Grade 12) and LATE French Immersion Program (Grade 6 to Grade 12). Do you, or does someone you know, have a child who might be interested in the French Immersion Programs staring in September?

While it might seem early, now is the time to start looking into it!  There is an application process, with very strict deadlines.

The first step is to attend a French Immersion Parent Information Meeting.

For Early French Immersion (entry in Kindergarten):

A pre-recorded Early French Immersion Information presentation is available here: https://vimeo.com/649615646

In person Information Nights: Jan 15^th at 6:30pm at Burnsview Secondary and Jan 18^th at 6:30pm at South Delta Secondary

Application deadline: January 22^nd at 4p.m.

For Late French Immersion (entry in grade 6):

A pre-recorded Late French Immersion Information presentation is available here: https://vimeo.com/503206055

Online Information Nights: Jan 24^th 6:30pm and Jan 25^th 6:30pm. Sign-up form to receive the meeting link:

Late French Immersion Parent Question and Answer Period Registration Form

In-person Information Nights Feb 7^th at 6:30pm at Chalmers Elementary and Feb 8^th at 6:30pm at Cliff Drive Elementary.

Application deadline: February 12^th at 4p.m.

You can find out more about French Immersion in Delta, as well as the application process, in this section of the School District Website.   If this doesn’t apply to your family, but you know someone else who might be interested, please pass the information along.

WILL’S JAMS Live at Genesis Theatre!

Sunday, JANUARY 21, 2024, 3:00 pm

Genesis Theatre, 5005 45th Avenue, Ladner

Will Stroet of Will’s Jams is a JUNO-nominated musician, nationally recognized educator, and former CBC Kids TV star. His high-energy rock-pop music in English and French is full of witty wordplay and sing-along choruses, inspiring kids to be active, creative, caring, and community-minded.

Will discovered his talent for writing kids’ music while completing his Bachelor of Education at UBC. After releasing his first album in 2005 and performing hundreds of shows locally, Will knew he had found his calling. In 2009, he left teaching to pursue music full time and has never looked back. To date, Will has performed 2,500+ shows at festivals, theatres, and schools across Canada and China.

Will’s 12 albums in English and French have garnered national acclaim, including a 2017 JUNO nomination, 9 nominations from the Western Canadian Music Awards, 3 from the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and 2 from the SiriusXM Indies.

TICKETS:  $12

Purchase ON-LINE:  https://genesis-theatre.tickit.ca/  

Tuesday, December 19th: Christmas Concerts 1:30 & 6:30 pm

• parents and guests enter through the outside gym doors only (no entrance through the school)
• did you win “best seats”?  Line up at the gym doors by the parking lot.  Otherwise, line up in the undercover area
• bring a canned food item as your entry fee
• bring some cash as the PAC is running a concession & a 50/50 draw
• evening concert only – drop your kids off at their regular entry door at 6:00 pm (no earlier), then line up outside the gym doors for concert entry (no entry through the school)
• evening concert only – bring your tickets!
• questions? contact your child’s teacher

Wednesday, December 20th: Pyjama Day (no slippers, please – regular shoes for safety!)

Friday, December 22nd: Red & Green / Santa Hat day

Friday, December 22nd: last day of school before Winter break

Please note, not all important dates are listed here.   Other dates and events are listed on our school calendar on our website: https://dg.deltasd.bc.ca/events-calendar/  Please check it often.