Dear DG Families,
With Spring Break just around the corner, we hope that our families will have an opportunity to spend some more some quality time with one another. We want to you thank you for your continued support to make our school the best it can be. Your partnership means so much!
A reminder, the last day of school before Spring Break is this Friday, and we are back in session on Tuesday, April 2nd.
Did you remember to set your clocks ahead one hour?
Cold and Flu Season
We are still in the cold and flu season. Please help by reminding your children to please wash their hands with soap and water before eating and after using the washroom, to cough into their elbow, to use and then dispose tissues to prevent the spread of germs. We also talk about these things at school. If your child is ill, they should not be coming to school. Thank you so much for your support.
Lost and Found
Please remind your children to take a look in the lost and found for any items that belong to them. Any unclaimed items will be donated to charity prior at the end of this week.
Term 2 Learning Updates (report cards)
Term 2 Learning Updates will be available for viewing online (via Parent Connect) March 13th. Please watch for an email from Ms. Labrosse letting you know they’re ready for viewing.
Semaine de la Francophonie
Semaine de la Francophonie (Francophone week) is a yearly event, celebrated during the month of March around the world. It’s an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the French language in all its diversity. This week and next, French Immersion classes will participate in a variety of activities celebrating French culture around the world. Un gros MERCI to our French Immersion Teachers who have done a great deal of planning and preparation to put these activities together! In addition, French songs from around the world, as well as different French idiomatic expressions, will be shared with the whole school each morning on the announcements. And, on March 13th, we have Duffle Bag Theatre coming to present a bilingual version of Cinderella/Cendrillion to the whole school.
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.
2024/2025 School Year Budget
In preparation for development of the 2024/2025 budget, the Delta Board of Education is encouraging parents/caregivers, staff, partners, and rights-holders to share their priorities for the upcoming school year.
For the last few years, the board has offered public input sessions via Zoom to gather feedback. As a result of limited participation, the board is taking a different approach with the aim of increasing engagement and gathering more feedback from the community. This new approach involves an online survey, as well as more traditional methods such as email, mail and through the school’s PAC.
Following the release of the draft budget recommendations on April 18, the board will again invite feedback from parents/caregivers, staff, partners, and rights-holders.
Please click here to learn more about this year’s consultation process and to access the first online survey. The deadline for completing this survey is 12 noon on March 18, 2024.
Translation available: To view this information in a different language, please click here and select the ‘Language’ button in the top right-hand corner of the web-page.
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.
Term 3 Special Lunch & Snack Day Ordering – Open Now (deadline to order April 9th)
Devon Gardens PAC Fundraiser Hot Lunch and Snack Days
Have a wonderful Spring Break!
Subway Sandwiches Lunch (Gluten-free bread option available) – Thursday Apr 18
Boston Pizza – Thursday May 2
Cobs Buns and Cinnamon Buns Snack (for recess) – Wednesday May 8
Booster Juice – Thursday May 23
TCBY Frozen Yogurt Snack (for recess) – Wednesday Jun 5
Panago Pizza Lunch (Gluten-free crust available) – Friday Jun 14 *Sports Day
Deadline to submit online orders – Tuesday Apr 9
How to Order
- Visit https://devonpac.hotlunches.net/ and register for an account (you must register for a new account each year, may use same login and password as previous years)
- Select items/order per child & pay
- For step-by-step instructions on registering and ordering/payment, click here.
Other information to note:
- Hot Lunch ordering is optional. Absolutely no-obligation to order.
- Proceeds from all hot lunch fundraising will be administered by the PAC and go towards the purchase of extra school and classroom materials.
- No additional utensils or condiments will be provided. Please feel free to send a drink, etc. to supplement your child(s) order.
- If you have more than one child at the school, place orders for all children first and then proceed to final payment. This will save you transaction fees.
- Nutritional information:
- Please be mindful of known absences/vacations when placing orders.
- If your child is absent on the day of the hot lunch, the meal will be automatically donated to someone else. Please email your child’s teacher if you want to pick up their food.
- *If you need to pay through an alternate method (cash or e-transfer) please place the order through the hotlunch website and email us to arrange payment.
Questions??? Please send an email to pacdevongardens@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Your Devon Gardens PAC
Reminder – PAC Movie Night Entry Forms Due Tuesday
Need another copy of the form?
PAC Fundraisers ongoing throughout the year:
Purchases made at M&M using the account# 55037790 will provide the PAC with 15% cashback of the total. Only flyer pricing will be honoured on this account, personalized offers, coupons and vouchers are not permitted.
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
Other Opportunities, Events & Activities
City of Delta Earth Day Photo Contest
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).
This week/cette semaine: Semaine de la Francophonie continues
Tuesday, March 11th: PAC movie night entry forms due
Wednesday, March 13th: Duffle Bag Theatre Cinderella/Cendrillon
Wednesday, March 13th: Term 2 Learning Updates available online
Thursday, March 14th: PAC special lunch day
Friday, March 15th: last day of school before Spring Break
Tuesday, April 2nd: Back to school after Spring 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/