Dear DG Families,
Celebrating Diwali!
We have been learning about Diwali at school by sharing music and information about Diwali during our morning announcements and, tomorrow, we will be having an assembly. Students are encouraged to wear their Indian clothing to school, tomorrow. They may also wish to bring another set of clothing so they can change before going out for recess. Thank you to Ms Arjun, Mme Jassal, Mme Turner, Mr. Mok, Mme Santos and Ms Chan for planning the Diwali celebration.
October Focus
This month, we are working on Sympathy, Empathy and Compassion. In addition to learning about this in their classrooms with their teachers, we also share information and reminders with students via our daily announcements and during small group assemblies. 
Emergency Preparedness
Last Thursday, our school participated in “The Great Shakeout”; the largest ever earthquake drill! “The Great ShakeOut” is an annual opportunity to practice how to be safer in case of an earthquake (“Drop, Cover and Hold On”), although we don’t just do this once a year. We practice this emergency procedure, along with others such as fire drills and shelter in place procedures, several times throughout the school year. In addition to participating in the Great ShakeOut, every fall we also review our school’s emergency plan and supplies. We also ask families for a small annual donation to help us keep our emergency bin (the big metal bin by the gravel field) well stocked. This notice went home last Thursday. Thank you, in advance, for sending in your donations Your contributions are a vital part of our Emergency Prep program!
Here’s a photo of the inside of our EP Bin, which was recently organized and tidied!
Road Safety
When dropping off your child to school, please do not stop your car in the driving lanes of Russell Drive, or stop your car to drop off your child at the crosswalk. With one lane going in each direction of Russell Drive, it blocks the flow of traffic when cars stop in the driving lane to let children out. Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe at drop off and pick up times.
Please Be Considerate When Parking
We’ve received several complaints, lately, about cars double parking in the Parent/Visitor parking lot and blocking the entrance/exit to the parking lot. When parking at school, please do so safely and legally, and in a way that is considerate of others.
Crossing Guard Schedule
A huge thank you to our student crossing guards! We are sharing the crossing guard schedule with parents as we know that prior arrangements need to be made at home to ensure that your child can come to school earlier or stay a little bit later after school. Thank you to our crossing guard monitors for helping us! Ms Grund is in charge of our Student Crossing Guard program, so please contact her with any questions.
Here is the crossing guard schedule so far: Schedules – Crossing Guard
Halloween
Halloween is just a week away. This year, Ms Grund will be organizing our Halloween Parade, which will take place next Monday morning (October 31st) at approximately 9:15 am. The parade will be on the field, weather permitting and parents are welcome to attend to take photos. In case of rain the parade route will be modified and parents will be welcome to watch from the undercover area and/or the gym.
Students who wish to dress up for the parade should come to school dressed in their Halloween Costume. Students will want to bring an extra set of clothes for after the parade. This will ensure that costumes are kept safe and intact for trick or treating that evening.
Guidelines for Halloween Costumes at School:
- should not be too scary
- should be age appropriate
- that promote illegal activities, drugs/alcohol, or could be offensive or perpetuate a stereotype of someone’s culture, gender, heritage, or religion are not ok for school
- must be safe & comfortable. Students must be able to sit, walk, breathe, see and hear. Anything that limits vision or restricts movement can lead to falling & other injuries. That’s no fun on Halloween! (students may wear masks during the parade, though)
- must be in line with our dress guidelines (students are sufficiently covered and dressed for the weather)
Also:
- toy weapons are not to be brought to school
- not all students like to dress up (and that’s ok, too!)
- since costumes worn to school may not survive the day intact, consider a spare/alternate costume and save the “real” one for trick or treating that night
If students have questions about the suitability of their costumes for school, they should check with their teacher, or Mme Greenhalgh, ahead of time.
Winter is coming …. eventually!
Although the weather has been unseasonably warm so far this fall, we know it won’t last forever. In fact, the forecast is calling for rain starting this week. In anticipation of the colder weather, now is the time for us to dig wet/cold weather clothing out of the back of the closets/storage areas.
Ensuring students come dressed for the weather isn’t just important for playing outside. It’s also important in case of an emergency requiring evacuation of the building.
Reminder – PAC Fundraisers ongoing throughout the year
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 devongardensin the ‘discount code’ field at the checkout.
- All products on our web store (com) 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 DGPAC and our PAC will earn $8 from each registration. For details, available course dates and online registration, please follow the links below: Babysitting – https://firstaidhero.com/babysitting-courses/online-babysitting-courses/ Stay Safe – https://firstaidhero.com/stay-safe/
Questions? Send an email to pacdevongardens@gmail.com
Thank you,
Your Devon Gardens PAC
Monday, October 24th: Happy Diwali
Tuesday, October 25th: Grade 7 Volleyball home game 3:20 pm
Wednesday, October 26th: Cross-Country Run at Sunshine Hills Elementary, 3:30 – 5:15 pm
Thursday, October 27th: Grade 7 Volleyball away game (Hellings) 3:20 pm
Friday, October 28th: Special Lunch Day (Subway)
Monday, October 31st: Happy Halloween (Halloween Parade 9:15am – approx)
Tuesday, November 1st: Pyjama day
Tuesday, November 1st: Grade 7 Volleyball home game 3:20 pm
Thursday, November 3rd: Photo retake day
Thursday, November 3rd: Grade 7 Volleyball away game (Brooke) 3:20 pm
Monday, November 7th: PAC meeting, 7:00pm