Principal's Message - Winnipeg School Division
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RIVER ELM SCHOOL
NEWSLETTER
January
2021
Phone 204-667-9006
Principal’s Message…
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Welcome Back! It’s 2021 and the year of change is just beginning. Thank you for the continual support and trust
you have shown by sending your children to school during these uncertain times. The first two weeks of the
school year will look a little different but it will be business as usual even if your child is involved in the
temporary “Remote Learning” option or attending classes.
For parents/caregivers who selected the option of having their child take part in temporary “Remote Learning” it
will start on January 4, 2021 to January 14, 2021. The Province of Manitoba and the Winnipeg School Division
have indicated that all students are to return to in-class lessons on Monday, January 18, 2021. The remote
learning option will not be extended past January 18, 2021 unless the Province indicates that we are going into a
Code RED.
The primary focus of the temporary remote learning opportunity with be Literacy and Numeracy. Your son and/
or daughter will have an opportunity twice a day to interact with their classroom teacher via their educational
platform. The recommended amount of contact time for students with the classroom teacher is five to six hours
per week during a remote learning period. Our Art, Physical Education and Music teacher(s) will also be
uploading learning activities during the two week remote learning period via Seesaw and Google Classroom, so
that your child can follow their daily routine during this two week period.
For the safety of your children, we will continue to have regular scheduled fire drills (once a month). We will
also continue to practice Lockdown and hold & secure drills (three per school year) for the 2020-21 school year.
These drills are not intended to alarm students, but rather ensure that they are aware of what to do should an
emergency situation arise. It’s imperative that all drills happen quickly and effectively and we will continue to
practice drills monthly.
Please contact me directly at the school if you have any questions.
LOCKDOWN - THREAT INSIDE THE BUILDING:
• An unwanted intruder has entered the school building.
• All classrooms in the school are secured and locked, and the students are kept inside the classroom with the lights off
and away from the windows.
• Staff will be given the “all clear” by the school Principal when the threat is over.
HOLD AND SECURE - OUTSIDE THREAT:
• If the threat is outside the building (for example, in the neighbourhood), ALL the doors leading outside will be locked
so that no one can enter the building. Staff will be posted at each door. We will refer to this as a Hold & Secure.
• An announcement will be made via the intercom to inform staff and students of the threat and the conditions of the
“Hold and Secure”.
• Students and staff will NOT be allowed to leave the building until the threat is over however, they will be able to
continue moving to classes within the building.
• Remain calm and proceed as usual until you hear that the “Hold & Secure” has been lifted.
Principal’s Message Continued…
Again, we have added the winter staging procedures and protocols for River Elm School. Please read carefully as
we will continue to follow the WSD and Provincial COVID-19 screening protocols even during the winter
months to ensure the safety of your child, classmates, staff and other individuals in the building. The following
information is written in bullet form to keep the content clear and direct.
The winter staging plan took effect on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The temporary remote learning option for
January will not impact or change the current winter staging procedure. Thank you for the continual support of
our school during these uncertain times.
River Elm Elementary School- Winter Staging COVID-19 Protocol/Procedures
• Staging area screening time is between 8:45 a.m.-8:55 a.m.
• Families are encouraged to send their children to school between 8:45 a.m.-8:55 a.m. (for staging and
screening purposes).
• Classroom teachers will head out to their designated staging areas @ 8:45 a.m. sharp (staging area marked
by a cone).
• Once students arrive their teacher will screen students individually and bring them directly into their class
rooms.
• The teacher will then head back outside and repeat this process until 8:55 a.m.
• Late arrivals (after 8:55 a.m.) will stage in the front of the school, (500 Riverton Ave-main entrance) current
protocol/procedures apply.
• Students that are not a part of the lunch program will be dismissed at 12:00 p.m. (walked out by the class-
room teacher) to their designated staging area or outside of the school and will return to River Elm at 12:55
p.m. and will report to the front of the school (500 Riverton Ave-main entrance). Students will be
individually walked to their classroom(s) by WSD staff (not their classroom teacher).
• At 3:20 p.m. staff and students will begin getting ready for their 3:30 p.m. dismissal, will be walked out by
the teacher to their staging area and then dismissed as usual. We ask that you be on time if you are picking
up your child.
E’Kosi
Cree R. Crowchild
Principal
We wish you all the best in 2021!
2
Lunch Program News…
If you are interested in having your child attend River Elm’s Lunch Program,
please contact the school office and you will be given a registration package to
complete. Once you have completed the registration package and have returned
it to the school with payment your child will be able to attend the Lunch
Program.
• The emergency drop in fee is $2.00 per child per day. Parent/Guardians
MUST call the school to make ar r angements.
February Lunch Program Fees are due
by Wednesday, January 20th, 2021
Thank you
River Elm School Lunch Program
Parent and Guardian Information…
PAC [Parent Advisor y Council]
It is wonderful having parents come and share their ideas to help River Elm be
the best school for our children to learn.
All meetings are an open forum and everyone is welcome to attend any PAC
meeting.
Our next VIRTUAL meeting is on
Thursday, January 21, 2021
@ 6:00 PM.
3
Room 102 . . . Classroom News…
Hello Families of 102,
In the month of December we learned about the sacred teaching of Respect. The students were intro-
duced to the animal Bison and practiced showing respect throughout our daily learning. We even drew a
picture of Bobbie Bison and the students practiced copying words from the board. If you would like to
see your child's work, please log into Seesaw.
Remember to check Seesaw every week. I post student classwork often and the students are very excited
when I say they can show their parents at home.
As the colder weather rolls in, please remember to send your child with a jacket, ski pants, boots, hat,
mitts and a scarf or neck warmer every day. We play outside daily, have gym outside once a cycle (day
2 Am and day 3 Pm) and always stage outside for home time regardless of the temperature. The kids
have been doing an amazing job getting ready independently and are very proud to be in the Zipper
Club!
Ms. Robertson
Room 105 . . . Classroom News…
We cannot not believe how quickly the year has gone by. Our class is an articulate group of students who love to
talk and share their ideas. Everyone loves to play outside as a team. It’s been great to finish off the year with so
many accomplishments.
We have been working hard on letters, letter sounds along with reading and writing. Everyday we count forwards,
backwards, identify the day of the week and day of the month. We also practice a Math concept each week. We
have been teaching our students that it is ok to make mistakes, to not give up and to keep practicing.
We have been building resilient learners.
Ms.Yu
4
Room 114 . . . Classroom News…
This month we continue to read with fluency in our daily reading of texts. We continue to practice our sight words
by reading them on cards and printing them on our white boards. A reminder for your child to practice reading on
Raz Kids as part of our Home Reading Program.
As part of the writing process, students are learning to circle the word if they are not sure of the correct spelling.
We continue to practice this skill while writing our Narrative pieces.
Through Number Talks in math, the students are now practicing compatible numbers to 10 (see photo below) gr.1
& numbers to 50 -gr. 2. We are learning to identify odd and even numbers to 100 and doubles to 20.
In Science we are talking about the 5 Senses and the parts of the body involved with the senses.
In Health our class is discussing healthy habits & bodies (food groups) & whole body learning (We Thinkers
program).
In Social Studies we are learning about The Teaching of Honour and are discussing how to be a responsible &
respectful citizens at home, school and in our community.
Thank you for your continued support with your child's
learning.
Wishing you a safe and joyous Holiday Season,
Mrs. Harrison
Room 115 . . . Classroom News…
December has been an incredibly busy but exciting month for us in Room 115. The students selected their first
unit of inquiry and decided that they would like to research about wolves. So far we have learned about the
colours of wolves, what they eat and how far they can run. We will be continuing our exploration by constructing
our VERY OWN book about WOLVES!! Students will also be making their own diorama about where wolves
live. In math we have been learning how to add to 10 and compatible numbers for 10 and 20. In Health we have
learned to identify the food groups as well as how to plan a healthy meal. In Social Studies we are learning about
our community of Elmwood and have been identifying people and building we see. We discussed the teaching of
respect and identified ways we can show respect here at River Elm school (ex: include everyone, being an active
listener and by taking our turn).
In the upcoming month of January we will be exploring our community using Google Maps to learn how to use
landmarks to give directions. In literacy we will be learning how to write a persuasive writing piece. In Math we
will begin exploring measurement and how to
repeatedly measure objects in our world
accurately.
The pictures attached to this newsletter are of
some of the research about wolves we have done
and the title pages of our books about wolves.
Have a wonderful winter break!
Mr. Braden
5
Room 120 . . . Classroom News…
Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a safe, healthy and happy Winter Break! December was a busy month of
learning together in Room 120. We had been learning about writing personal narratives. Through reading books
and writing together, we learned about what a personal narrative includes and how to write one. Students worked
hard to write their own personal narratives that we have put together in a class book entitled, “Let me tell you a
story!” You can read the students’ stories in our class Seesaw!
In math we have been learning about compatible numbers and addition strategies. Students have been working
hard to develop their understanding of numbers that add together to make 10 and 20! We practiced our strategies
by playing math games, using manipulatives and participating in whole class number talks.
Students are encouraged to check Seesaw regularly as I will continue to post pictures and messages about our
learning in class. Seesaw will be especially important if we switch to remote learning for all or some students.
Students are also encouraged to daily practice their reading of Raz Kids. Feel free to contact me at the school or
via email @ kdueck@wsd1.org if you have any questions or
concerns.
Thanks for your support!
Mrs. Dueck
Room 121 . . . Classroom News…
…And just like that 2020 is done! This has been another busy month!
We have been continuing to learn and practice new reading strategies. Please remember to read and practice these strategies
every day! We have also been so busy doing lots of writing this month. We mailed thank you letters to St. Boniface Hospital to
thank all of the hard working medical staff during this time, we also wrote and mailed letters to Santa…we really hope he
sends us one back!
In math, we have been continuing to practice our skip counting by various multiples and non- multiples, as well as increasing
and decreasing number patterns. We have also been continuing to work on commutative property, if you don’t know what that
means, ask your children!
In Social Studies, we have began learning about the world. The students LOVE exploring the map and have so many questions
about the world. Some students, have also shared a little bit of info about the country they originated from. They love to share
and the other students love to listen and learn from their peers.
In Science, we began our unit on structures. We are defining structures as anything that is built, using materials. We had lots of
fun looking at pictures of a variety of cool structures from around the world.
In addition to all of this learning, our seven teaching for the month is on respect. Our class was responsible for creating a
virtual assembly! We were nervous, even though it’s virtual, but we still did a great job!!
Parents, please remember to have your children access Seesaw and
Raz Kids on a regular basis to supplement their in class learning!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Forde
6
Room 122 . . . Classroom
With the holidays quickly approaching the class of 122 is diligently learning. This month the class will be looking
at the seven sacred teaching of respect. In English, the class is continuing to explore narrative stories and is
exploring the use of dialogue within writing. In Math, the class is continuing to refine skip counting abilities,
graphing, compatible numbers to 20 and 50, and basic measurement. In Science, the class is continuing to learn
about recognizing the five senses and animal habitats. In Social Studies, the class is working on learning about the
provinces and territories of Canada and identifying community landmarks.
Students, please remember to stay safe and social distance, do not forget to continue to complete your Raz Kids
readings and to log into your seesaw.
Keep up the hard work!
Mr. Spencer
Room 201 . . . Classroom News…
Wow! I can’t believe it is already the winter break! We have all been working so hard in room 201. In Math, we
are wrapping up our different strategies by playing different math games. Some of these math games can be
played with cards or dice so they would be fun to play over the winter break!
In Writing we have been learning about how to write a persuasive letter. We have picked a few people to write
letters to and have talked about the kinds of words that should be included in persuasive writing.
We are wrapping up our unit on the Arctic and Arctic animals by writing a class book. It is a silly mixed up book
inspired by “A is for Musk Ox” When it is finished I will scan the book and send home an electronic copy to
families.
Please remember that over the break it is important to be reading every day on
RazKids and to be going on Prodigy every day. Each one should only take about
15 minutes, so about a half hour a day of “homework” will continue to help your
child significantly when we come back in January!
Mrs. Grosvenor
7
Room 202 . . . Classroom News…
Room 202 has been making big strides in their writing this past month. For our published book, which we cele-
brated and worked very hard on, we produced classic fairy tales with a twist. Students were tasked with reading
and recalling a classic fairy tale and thinking up some dastardly twist that would make it more interesting for their
audience. Some students chose to change the outcome of the story, some students thought to bring a dose of reality
into the tale, and some even chose to introduce characters from other stories altogether! It was a very entertaining
and enlightening experience. Students demonstrated an ability to be adaptive and imaginative when creating narra-
tive writing. We have begun using dialogue in combination with description sentences, which makes our writing
more and more interesting for our audience.
Room 202 is a class full of incredible authors. Every day we are seeing more and more students taking risks and
experimenting with new and exciting kinds of writing.
Mr. Beniston
Room 203 . . . Classroom News…
I hope that you had a restful break and were able to recharge and spend time with family.
Though things were different this year, I hope that some good memories were made. In
December, our class finished several units. In Science, we learned about Weather and
Climate. In Social Studies, we finished our Indigenous Peoples projects. Students were very
proud to present these to the class. In ELA, we studied the novel, The Giver. It dealt with the
important topic of choices vs. freedom. In Math, we finished off Multiplication with
quizzes. We also learned about Fractions, including Comparing and Ordering Fractions.
The first two weeks of January will be a combination of in-school and remote learning. If you
have chosen remote learning for your child, please make sure that they log in to our Google
Meets each day and complete the assignments. The Google Meet schedule
was sent home on the last day before Winter Break.
I hope that we can get back to "normal" soon. In the meantime, thank you
for all you are doing to support your child's learning!
Mrs. Havelka
8
Room 204 . . . Classroom News…
Happy New Year! I cannot believe that 2020 is finally over, what a year. This past month we have continued
looking at patterns progressing to growing patterns. In the new year we will be doing a mini unit on time, and then
going back to basics and look at different strategies for mental math. In ELA we will continue our novel study of
Charlotte's Web. For reading, we will start doing responses once a week to the books that the kids are reading
daily. We are also moving on to persuasive writing and really looking at word choice and who our audience is.
For science we have started a new unit on Light. We have been doing experiments to test how light moves and
how it can be manipulated. We are also working on our new unit in social studies; exploring the world.
As we enter the unknown of the new year please remember to read 20 minutes a day everyday and practice basic
math facts. This little bit of work at home will go a long way.
Stay safe and thank you for all your continued support.
Mrs. Van Helvert
Room 205… Classroom News…
It is so wonderful to communicate with you via this newsletter. Four months have gone so fast, and the students
of room 205 have learned to work very hard in their learning of new skills. Let us continue with this in the New
Year and make 2021 the best!!
The month of December focused on improving our writing skills. We are working on adding voice, choosing
more complex words, and using quotation marks correctly in our daily writing. We have continued reading our
own books and keeping a reading log. In Math, we have continued in learning multiplication strategies and
applying them to our division skills. Please continue practising your skills at home. In social Studies, we have
begun our new unit on Simple Machines, we even built our own machines, now that was a lot of fun! In Social
Studies, we have begun learning about colonization and how Canada became a country. In Health, we continue
learning about maintaining our bodies healthy, we will soon be learning about the different body systems, such as
the respiratory and digestive systems. We have a very busy classroom, thank you for continuing to work on the
activities in Google Classroom and the Raz-Kids reading program.
I would like to take this time and wish everyone a safe holiday and a Happy New Year!!!
Mrs. Giubega
Making a Lever-Simple Machines
We enjoyed making our own simple machines.
We were able to use classroom materials and experiment
on how levers work. We then wrote our procedures in
our science notebooks. Simple machines
makes lifting heavy things much easier.
9
Phys Ed News . . .
Happy New Year!
It is great to be back in school and yes our phys. ed. classes will continue to be outside while
weather permits. This month students will have the opportunity to participate in some fun
winter activities like snowshoeing, cross country skiing and a variety of Indigenous outdoor
activities.
Please continue to send warm winter clothing with your children to ensure they are safe and
having fun while enjoying the Manitoba winter.
I also can't stress enough how positive the students are being while participating in activities
outside all the time. Our Roadrunners are really resilient and this makes us all very proud!
Mr. Evason
Happy New Year. . .
10Music & Movement . . .
During the preparations for the month of December, I came across multiple lessons about the music and
dance in the ballet, The Nutcracker. It was because of finding all this material that it was decided to
change the focus of the Music and Movement classes, and spend the three weeks learning about the story
of The Nutcracker, as well as the history behind the ballet..
It turned out to be a great choice, with activities that were appropriate right down to Nursery and Kinder-
garten. We talked about the main points of Hoffman’s
original story, and learned about how it was made into a
ballet after being translated into French.
In addition, all classes had the opportunity to play instru-
ments to the various pieces of music, watch videos of the
Bolshoi and New York Ballet perform various choreogra-
phy, and discuss the differences between the choices
made by the choreographers.
We watched how dancers alter their pointe shoes, and
how a dancer learns to dance one of the hardest solos in
The Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy Variation.
Students in Nursery to Grade 4 were also able to use
movement scarves to move to the different
pieces.
Mr. Budlong
11Guidance News…
Kids in the Know
In January, we will begin working with the Kids in the Know Curriculum.
Developed by the Canadian Center for Child Protection, it is a national safety
education program. Kids in the Know engages students with interactive activities
to help build skills that increase their personal safety and reduce their risk of
victimization online and offline.
Kids in the know is research and evidence based that balances empowerment with
protections. It communicates without value statements, builds on students past
experiences and involved them in activity-based learning. Kids in the Know is a
powerful way to have important discussions about personal safety without the use
of fear.
Classroom teachers will be working with Mr. Roberts to deliver these important
lessons. Look for further activities and information on Google Classroom (Grade
5&6) and SeeSaw.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Roberts.
12Art News…
In Art the students discussed the teaching of Wisdom,
how the Beaver helped the community, and what the Beaver meant to them.
River Elm students have had fun decora ng holiday cards for the community. We are
showing respect to elders and thanks to community members for all they do.
13Family Room News…
For our PARENTS and GUARDIANS...
Monday Morning Mom’s Meet-up
All MOMS (Grandmas, Kookums and Nannies) welcome!
This will happen on January 4, 11, 18 and 25, 2020 @ 10:00 AM
Portfolio Making
January 12, 19 and 26, 2020 (1:00-3:00 PM)
Supplies and handouts will be given the morning of each session.
We need a MINIMUM of 6 adults to participate.
Community Kitchen
Friday, January 22, 2021 @ 10:00 AM
Again we will limit to 6 participants and first come, first served.
You must be able to pick up the bag of ingredients (following school protocol) and meet me on
Google-Meet-Up and cook together.
Please RSVP for all of these programs to cacampbell@wsd1.org or contact Ms. Campbell-Pereira at the school
(204-667-9006).
Every time you participate in a virtual program, your name will be entered to win a monthly PRIZE (example: if
you attend 3 programs in January –you will have 3 ballots/chances to win January’s prize
14Parent & Guardian Info…
15Cold Weather Guidelines
The decision to close a school in the Winnipeg School
Division is made by the Chief Superintendent.
Indoor Recess:
Students stay indoors for recess when the wind chill reaches –28 degrees Celsius
according to Environment Canada’s temperature reading at the Forks.
The following media outlets are contacted in the early morning to ask that they
broadcast and/or post bus cancellation information:
CBC Radio 92 CITI FM 99.9 BOB FM TSN 1290 QX 104 FM
CJOB Radio KISS 102 FM CKSB – French 94.3 The Virgin 103
Drive FM
CTV News Global TV CityTV CKJR Power
97
winnipegfreepress.com met- winnipeg-
ronews.ca sun.com
16Patrol Cold Weather Guidelines
Patrol Extreme Cold Weather Guidelines
(from Cold Weather Guidelines for Schools—Environment Canada)
Use extreme caution in extreme cold conditions.
Procedures for responding to extreme weather conditions, such as cold, lightning,
hail and storms, should be included in patrol training. The following cold weather
guidelines should be communicated to patrols and to the parents/guardians of
patrols. During extremely cold weather, the following guidelines for an
abbreviated student patrol schedule will be followed:
Windchill
-27 °C to -34 °C
It is recommended that time on post not exceed 10 minutes. Warm clothing is
essential. Facial protection is recommended.
-35 °C to -40 °C
It is recommended that time on post not exceed five minutes. Posts located more
than a five-minute walk from the school will not be patrolled. Warm clothing and
facial protection is essential.
Below -40 °C
No student patrols on post. The school will notify the students and parents of this
abbreviated patrol schedule.
How to Dress
• Scarves, hat, mitts, snowsuit, boots, etc.
• Do not restrict the vision of the patrol.
17January 2021
1 2
* All dates subject to change *
3 9
“Active Dismissal”
@ 3:30 pm
Staff Meeting
@ 3:40 pm
Temporary Remote
Learning Begins
For students whose parents have Temporary Remote Temporary Remote Temporary Remote Temporary Remote
opted for temporary remote learning
during restricted level (orange) Learning Learning Learning Learning
10 16
Non-
Instructional
Day
Temporary Remote Temporary Remote Temporary Remote Temporary Remote
Learning Learning Learning Learning Ends
17 23
Temporary Remote
Students return to REMINDER Virtual
in school classes PAC Meeting
Lunch Program
Fees Due @ 6:00 pm
24 30
31
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