Dear DG Families,
It was great to welcome our students and their families to school last week! We have lots of new families who have joined our DG school community – welcome! We look forward to getting to know you children better over the course of the school year.
Line up spots
A map, showing the line up spots (effective Monday morning), has been emailed to families. Please note, this map is not to scale & is meant to give you an approximate idea, only, of where your child’s line up spot is.
As there are several classes lining up in the same areas, we ask that parents and guardians stand back from the line up spots to avoid additional congestion in these areas.
Stay up-to-date with School Events
Please be sure to check the Events Calendar on our website, frequently (side tab on the Home Page). This calendar gets updated regularly throughout the year, as new events are scheduled, so it’s the best way to stay on top of what’s coming up at school.
Here is the link: https://dg.deltasd.bc.ca/events-calendar/
Parent Connect
Please take the time to log in to Parent Connect and to update your forms. Each year, the Delta School District requires that parents approve, through Parent Connect, various permission forms (eg. walking field trip, Fruit & Veggie program, Photo & Media consent,
Google Apps). Our first Fruit and Veggie delivery is next week. Only students whose parents have given consent will be able to participate.
It is important that the information that we have for you is up to date. As well, parent connect is the portal that you will need to use when booking parent teacher interviews. Please see the link for details.
Reporting Absences
Student absences must be reported directly to the office, rather than through your child’s teacher. Of course, you can also let the teacher know, but it is very important to let the office know, directly. As such, if your child will be absent from school, please remember to either call our office at 604-581-6185, or email the school’s general mailbox at devongardens.elem@deltaschools.ca , to let us know.
In your message, please include:
- your child’s full name (first and last)
- their teacher and/or division number
- the date(s) they will be away
- the reason for your child’s absence.
If your child is away due to illness, please also let us know your child’s symptoms; particularly in the case of communicable diseases such as respiratory infections, strep throat, chickenpox,stomach flu, etc… as this helps us to know if there are any communicable diseases circulating through the school and, to take additional precautions as needed such as enhanced cleaning protocols and connecting with Fraser Health.
When leaving a voicemail message, please speak slowly and clearly.
Student Safety at Arrival and Dismissal
Pick up times can be very busy, and Russell Drive and 112th are very busy roads. As such, we encourage families to walk to and from school if possible, or to even park a little further away and walk the rest of the way. Annieville Park is a great alternative parking spot. There is ample parking available and it’s only about a 6 min walk away!
Parents can continue to help us keep our students safe during pickup and drop off times, by doing the following.
- Use the designated parent parking lot (safely and courteously!) across the street from the school. Please do not double park or block the entry/exit to the parking lot
- Follow the directions of the crossing guards, including our Student Crossing Guards
- Use the cross walk to cross Russell Drive and encourage your children to do the same (it’s not safe for kids to run across the middle of Russell Drive)
- Keep our staff parking lot clear of parent vehicles and pedestrians (lately we’ve noticed an increase in parent vehicles driving through, and even parking in, the staff lot; please don’t do this)
- Stress to your children that they should not hang out in or run across the staff parking lot. Use the path across the front grass areas, rather than cutting through the staff parking lot.
- Keep vehicles clear of Downs Road – there is NO student drop off/pick up, here
- Do not block private driveways of houses near our school
- Encourage older students to walk or bike to school
- If possible, walk younger students to school
- Drive slowly and cautiously
Here’s a link to the traffic reminders/parking map on our website. ‘
Snack, Lunch, and Water Bottles
Please ensure that your child comes to school with all that they need for the day, including their snack, lunch and water bottle. These items should come to school with your child in the morning, packed in their backpack. Please refrain from dropping items off mid-day for your child. We do have some items on hand for students who forget their lunch.
Due to very serious allergies, we ask that NO seafood/fish, onions or nuts be brought to school. Please also keep this in mind whether it be a lunch prepared at home as well as if you are dropping off a commercially prepared lunch (eg. fast food) for your child.
NO:
onions
seafood/fish
nuts
Managing Life Threatening Allergies at school
While many people suffer from bothersome but manageable allergies (eg. pet dander, seasonal allergies, etc…), a small number of people have severe, life threatening allergies.
At Devon Gardens, we have students and staff who have severe allergies to nuts, seafood/fish and onions. Their allergies are so severe that these items cannot be brought to school, at all.
In addition to this, if your child is in a class with a student who has a severe allergy, you will receive a letter from the school outlining if certain food/products need to be avoided by students in the class in order to create a safe environment. Thank you for your cooperation. With your help, we can do our best to prevent a reaction and to make sure that all of our students are safe, healthy, and able to concentrate on learning. Anyone wishing further explanation or information on this type of allergy may contact the school.
If your child has life-threatening allergies, please ensure you have informed the school by calling the school office 604-581-6185.
MEDICATION AT SCHOOL
If your child has any serious allergies or medical conditions, and/or needs to have access to medication such as an inhaler or epipen at school, it is imperative that the school be made aware to ensure we have all the required information, as well as your child’s medication, at school. We have already contacted families of returning students who had medication at school last year, to request that their medication be brought back. If you have not already sent this in, please do so asap. This is especially important if your child requires an epipen for allergies resulting in anaphylaxis
If you are new to us this year and your child requires medication at school, please contact the office promptly.
We are pleased to welcome the following staff members to Devon Gardens!
- Ms. Choudry – Fine Arts Teacher
- Mr. Laszlo – Learning Support Teacher
- Mme Pasieka – French Immersion Teacher
- Mr. Rodgers – Vice Principal
- Ms. Salabante – Custodian
- Ms. Simpson – Education Assistant
We are also welcoming the following staff members back to Devon Gardens:
- Ms. Burr – Montessori Teacher
- Ms. Lin – Montessori Teacher
- Ms. Oghabi – Montessori Teacher
- Ms. Panesar – Education Assistant
- Ms. Porter – Regular Program Teacher
- Ms. Richmond – Montessori Teacher
School Supply Lists
A reminder that school supply lists can be found on our website.
Please note, you do not need to buy everything on the list, every year. The calculator, ruler and/or pencil crayons you purchased last year will be just fine again this year. If you need any assistance with school supplies, please contact Mme Greenhalgh egreenhalgh@deltaschools.ca The school can help!
Information from the School District
REMINDER – RESTRICTIONS TO PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN SCHOOLS
Please be reminded that, as required by the Provincial Government, the School District implemented updated restrictions on the use of cellphones and other personal digital devices came into effect on July 1, 2024.
Please note that earbuds, headphones and smartwatches are included in the updated restrictions. These items should not be coming to school.
Constable Calnan’s Corner – A Message from your Police Liaison Officer
For more than 50 years, the Delta Police Department and the Delta School District have been working in partnership through the School Liaison Program.
The role of the School Liaison Officer (SLO) includes; enforcement of the Criminal Code and other Federal and Provincial Statutes, including the School Act. The focus, however of the SLOs is education and prevention, through positive contact with the student population, forming positive relationships with the youth of Delta as they progress through the school system, and into adulthood.
Constable Calnan is the SLO for Devon Gardens. In addition to the other supports Constable Calnan provides to our school (eg. routine visits, safety presentations to students, assistance with some of our emergency drills, and more), from time to time, he’ll also be sharing information with DG families through the Constable Calnan’s Corner section of our weekly news posts. Here’s the first one:
The first PAC meeting of the year is Monday, September 8th at 7:00 pm, in the school library. You can also join via Zoom if you are unable to attend in person.
A zoom link, along with the agenda, will be emailed to parents prior to the meeting on Monday
We hope you will join us!
TERM 1 SPECIAL LUNCH AND SNACK DAYS – Orders due by Sat, September 13th
Welcome Back to Devon Gardens! Hope You All had a Good Summer!
Term 1 dates:
- TCBY Frozen Yogurt Snack (for recess) – Thurs Sep 18
- Subway Sandwiches Lunch – Thurs Oct 2 (Gluten-free bread option available)
- Panago Hot Lunch – Thurs Oct 30 (Gluten-free crust available)
- Cobs Buns and Cinnamon Buns Snack (for recess) – Wed Nov 12
- Booster Juice Smoothies & Wraps Lunch – Thurs Dec 11
Online ordering opens – Monday September 8th
Deadline to submit online orders – Saturday, September 13
- 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 school/student/classroom needs/supplies/events, etc.
- No additional utensils or condiments will be provided. Please ensure you send utensils for your child on special lunch days.
- Please feel free to send a drink, etc. to supplement your child(s) order.
- Please make sure you order under your child’s name, rather than your (parent/guardian) name
- 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 special lunch, the meal will be automatically donated to someone else. If you would prefer to pick up your child’s lunch instead, please email your child’s teacher to say you want to pick up their food. Pick up is between 1:30-2:15PM at the office on the day of the hot lunch.
Questions??? Please send an email to pacdevongardens@gmail.com before ordering.
Thank you,
Your Devon Gardens PAC
Monday, September 8th: PAC meeting 7:00 pm in-person in the library, or via Zoom
Saturday, September 13th: Deadline to submit PAC special lunch orders for term 1 (online ordering only)
Tuesday, September 16th: Individual student photos
Tuesday, September 16th: Student Crossing Guard Training @ lunchtime
Wednesday, September 17th: Terry Fox Run
Thursday, September 18th: PAC recess snack day (TCBY)
Thursday, September 18th: Term 1 previews sent home electronically
Thursday, September 18th: DG Open House 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Friday, September 19th: Professional Development day (school is not in session)
Other dates and events are listed on our school calendar on our website: https://dg.deltasd.bc.ca/events-calendar/