Dear DG Families,
Halloween Costumes
On Friday, October 29th, students (who want to) are welcome to come to school dressed in their Halloween Costume. Students will have a chance to share, with their classroom friends, what they are wearing. In keeping with COVID safety guidelines, we will not be able to have students parade through all the classrooms to show their costumes. But we can still have lots of fun!
Halloween Costume Guidelines
Students who wish to wear a costume to school on Friday, should also bring an extra set of clothes to change into. This will ensure that costumes are kept safe and intact for trick or treating on Sunday.
Please be reminded that costumes:
- 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!
- must be in line with our dress guidelines (students are sufficiently covered and dressed for the weather)
Also:
- toy weapons should be kept at home
- not all students like to dress up and that’s ok, too! Wearing Halloween colours, like black & orange, face painting, Halloween-themed t-shirts, socks or other accessories, or just coming as you are, are great alternatives to wearing a costume. Students should not feel pressure to dress up.
Halloween Treats
Your child’s teacher will let you know if they are planning any special Halloween activities or class parties. When it comes to Halloween treats, students are welcome to bring their own Halloween treats to enjoy. Please remind your child not to share food/drinks with others due to COVID precautions. If you are wanting to send treats for the class, please first check with your child’s teacher. Due to COVID safety protocols, treats must be commercially prepared (eg. not homemade) and individually pre-packaged/wrapped. Please also ensure treats are nut free, as we have many students with life-threatening nut allergies. But, again, please first check with your child’s teacher prior to sending any treats for the class.
Individual Photo Retakes Day
Our individual photo retakes day is on Thursday, October 28th. If your child is needing a photo retake, please send a note to your child’s classroom teacher via email or through the planners. This helps us out from having all students, especially our young primary students, deciding themselves that they would like to get their photos retaken.
Student Crossing Guard Schedule
Thank you to all of our Intermediate students who have shown an interest in being a crossing guard. Student Crossing Guards are an important part of the Traffic Safety program at our school and they receive training from the Delta Police.
Most of the Crossing Guards who have handed in their permission forms have now been scheduled (please see the schedule link below). If your child is unable to cover his/her shift we are asking them to find a replacement.
If your child has handed in their permission form and has not yet been scheduled, it could be because the partner listed has not handed their form in. Please be patient with all of us while we update the schedule as we get permission forms in to the office.
If your child would like to be a Crossing Guard, it’s not too late! They can see Ms. Tee for more information and submit a permission form (see link below).
crossing guard permission slip
Cops for Cancer – Guessing Jar Challenge
Lots of guesses have come in so far for our first Our Cops for Cancer fundraiser – “The Guessing Jar Challenge”. Students still have a few more days to submit their guesses, as this event will run until the end of the month. Guesses are $2 each and students may enter as many times as they wish. The closest guess for each jar, wins! This is a great way for students to practice their estimation skills and help the Cops for Cancer Team raise funds for paediatric cancer research, all at the same time! Guessing Tickets are available from classroom teachers and from the office.
Reading Support Dog Program
Our Learning Support Teachers (Mme Erker, Ms. Syens and Ms. Raven), along with Mme Greenhalgh, will be developing a reading support dog program for Devon Gardens. This is a program Mme Greenhalgh has previously done at another school, where it ran successfully for 6 years with great results. We are excited to do something similar, here, at Devon Gardens!
Research has shown many benefits to therapy and reading dogs in school settings. In addition to offering comfort and support, the benefits of having a specialized dog at school can also help students improve their reading, self-regulation, and social skills. The presence of the dog can also help students build confidence and develop empathy and nurturing skills.
Mme Greenhalgh’s dog, Missy, is very calm and gentle and she has completed behavioural training and assessment for this program. In preparation for the launch of the dog reading program, the next step is to start having Missy visit the school on a regular basis. While at school, Missy will be supervised by Mme Greenhalgh, or by Mme Erker, Ms. Syens or Ms. Raven, who are working closely with Mme Greenhalgh on this project. Children will not be left unattended with Missy.
Should you have any questions or concerns, particularly if your child is fearful of or has allergies to dogs, please contact Mme Greenhalgh for more information.
Vision 2030: The Big Reveal
The Delta School District is getting ready to unveil its Vision for the next ten years. Through the visioning process, the voices of almost 3,000 individuals were heard – it’s almost time to see what they said. Stay tuned for more information this time next week.
PAC Meeting
Our next PAC meeting will be on Monday, November 1st at 7:30 p.m., via zoom. All parents with children attending Devon Gardens are automatically members of the PAC and are encourages to attend monthly PAC meetings. A zoom link and agenda will be sent out on Monday morning.
Creating Conversations: Gang Prevention for Parents/Caregivers
Delta ParentCaregiver Session – Oct 27 2021
Thursday, October 28: Individual Photo retake day
Monday, November 1: PAC meeting via zoom 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 10th: Virtual Remembrance Day Assembly 11 a.m.
Thursday, November 11th: Remembrance Day (School is closed)
Other dates and events are listed on our school calendar on our website: https://dg.deltasd.bc.ca/events-calendar/