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.  It gets updated regularly and is the best way to stay on top of important upcoming events 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.

https://dg.deltasd.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/09/parent-connect-instructions-.pdf

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 also let us know the reason of 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…

Road Safety

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 .  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 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 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.

Please ensure your child’s lunch does not include:

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 an anaphylactic reaction.  

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. Barker – Counsellor

Ms. Beaudry – Fine Arts Teacher

M. Binnie – French Immersion Teacher, grade 4/5

Ms Evanson – Education Assistant

Ms Ng – Inclusive Team Teacher

Mme Tardif – Learning Support Teacher

Ms Totah – Montessori Teacher, grade 2/3

Ms Sran – Education Assistant

Ms Yuen – Montessori Teacher, Kindergarten

We are also welcoming back Mme Oliveira following her maternity leave.

Ms Labrosse is leaving us

Ms Labrosse has taken a new position within the School District and we are sad to see her go!  We wish her good luck as she transitions to her new role as Clerical Peer Support.  Ms. Malesku will be with us as a casual in our office, while we undergo the process of finding Ms Labrosse’s replacement.

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 or Mme Hamilton hhamilton@deltaschools.ca  We can help!

The first PAC meeting of the year is Monday, September 9th at 7:30 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 on Monday

We hope you will join us!

PAC POPCORN SALE FUNDRAISER –  This WEDNESDAY at RECESS!

The PAC will be holding a Popcorn Sale on Wednesday, September 11th, at recess.

• $1.00/bag, limit 2 bags per student
• Students are asked to please bring exact change

Devon Gardens PAC Fundraiser – Hot Lunches and Snack Days

Welcome Back to Devon Gardens! Hope You All had a Good Summer!

Subway Sandwiches Lunch  – Thurs Sep 26 and Dec 5

(Gluten-free bread option available)

Panago Pizza Lunch – Thurs Oct 10, Nov 21 and Dec 19

(Gluten-free crust available)

Whitespot Lunch – Thurs Oct 24 and Nov 7

TCBY Frozen Yogurt Snack (for recess) – Wed Oct 16 and Nov 27

Booster Juice Smoothies (for recess) – Wed Oct 30

Cobs Buns and Cinnamon Buns Snack (for recess) – Wed Nov 13

Online ordering opens – Monday September 9^th

Deadline to submit online orders – Wednesday, September 18^th

*Please note that hot lunches are Thursdays and snack days are Wednesdays

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 school/student/classroom needs/supplies/events, etc.
• 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:
  • Subway Nutritional Information and Ingredient Guide
  • Cobs
  • Panago
  • Whitespot
  •  TCBY
  • Booster Juice info still to come.
• 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. 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

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

Online Stay Safe & Babysitting Courses

Offered through First Aid Hero. When registering use promo/coupon code “DevGardens25” and our PAC will earn $5 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

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

Monday, September 9th: PAC meeting 7:30 pm in-person in the library, or via Zoom

Wednesday, September 11th: PAC popcorn sale at recess

Wednesday, September 18th: Terry Fox Run

Wednesday, September 18th: Deadline to submit PAC special lunch orders for term 1 (online ordering only)

Thursday, September 19th: Term 1 previews sent home electronically

Thursday, September 20th: DG Open House 5:30 – 6:30 pm

Friday, September 21st: 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/