November 2018 36321 Vye Road, Abbotsford, BC V3G 1Z5 604.852.3900 uppersumas.abbyschools.ca Principal, Mrs. Erica Hopkins Admin Assistant, Mrs. Jenny Frederick Report Cards & Parent/Teacher Conferences Students will be bringing home their first term report card on Wednesday, November 21 st. These report cards represent your child s progress with the skills and concepts specific for their grade. Often these skills and concepts will be further developed and reinforced in the next term. I would like to take this time to praise our students for their hard work and perseverance over term one. I would also like to acknowledge our hard-working staff and you, the families, for your tireless commitment to your child s journey in learning. Be sure to read the report over with your child and celebrate achievements and growth! As well, practice goal setting by making plans for maintaining or improving in identified competency areas for the second school term. As per our District calendar, Thursday, November 22 nd, has been designated for parent/teacher conferences. There is no school for students on this day. The majority of our conferences will be held on this day between 9-3 pm. Evening appointments will be offered on Wednesday, November 21 st, between 5-8 pm. Parent/teacher conferences are a great time to discuss your child s progress to date, ask questions and work with your child s teacher to further support your child s learning both at school and at home. Remember, you are encouraged to contact your child s teacher at any time in the school year if you have any questions regarding your child s progress. Please complete the Parent/Teacher Conference Request form being sent home on Monday, November 5 th, to request your preferred appointment date/time. Forms need to be completed and returned to school by Thursday, November 15 th. A confirmed time of your conference will be sent home on Monday, November 19 th. While conferences are not mandatory, all families are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to meet. Calendar of Events Nov 2 Basketball Club (Gr 1/2) from 6:00-7:00 pm Baking Club (Gr 3) from 3:15-4:15 pm Little Bits Club (Gr 3) from 3:15-4:15 pm Handball Game @ Upper Sumas (3:00 pm) Hot Lunch-Subway Remembrance Day Assembly @ 11:00 am Basketball Club (Gr 1/2) from 6:00-7:00 pm Nov 12 Day in lieu of Remembrance Day-No School Nov 14 Baking Club (Gr 3) from 3:15-4:15 pm Nov 14 Little Bits Club (Gr 3) from 3:15-4:15 pm Nov 14 Handball Game (inter-school @ 3:15 pm) Nov 15 Rock Your Mocs Day Nov 16 Hot Lunch Orders Due Nov 16 Spirit Day-Twin Day Nov 16 Basketball Club (Gr 1/2) from 6:00-7:00 pm Nov 21 Term 1 Report Cards Go Home Nov 21 Handball Game @ Upper Sumas (3:00 pm) Nov 21 Parent/Teacher Conference Evening 5-8 pm Nov 22 Parent/Teacher Conference Day 9-3 pm Nov 23 Pro D Day #2 Nov 26 Purdy Orders Due Nov 26 PAC Mtg @ 7:00 pm Nov 28 Baking Club (Gr 3) from 3:15-4:15 pm Nov 28 Little Bits Club (Gr 3) from 3:15-4:15 pm Nov 28 Handball Game @ Jackson (3:00 pm) Nov 30 Hot Lunch Orders Due Nov 30 Hot Lunch-Freshii Nov 30 Basketball Club (Gr 1/2) from 6:00-7:00 pm Dec 7 Ice Skating Field Trip (All Divisions) Dec 11 Christmas Concert @ Abby Arts Centre 7 pm Dec 20 Christmas Store Dec 21 Last day before Christmas break
Parent Survey: Thank You! This past month we invited parents to participate in an online survey about reading habits at home. A big thank you to those who participated; we had a high response rate. One question the survey asked was if families would be interested in attending a Literacy Night for parents to learn tips and strategies for reading with your child at home. Parent interest for a Literacy Night was strong. Our staff will be working in collaboration with the Abbotsford School District s Curriculum Department to plan such an event in the new year. Information about this exciting night will be shared with all families come January. Important Dates to Note Nov 5 Parent/Teacher Conference Request Forms Go Home Nov 15 Conference Request Forms Due Nov 19 Conference Confirmations Go Home Nov 21 Report Cards Go Home Nov 21 Parent/Teacher Conference Evening from 5-8 pm Nov 22 Parent/Teacher Conference Day from 9-3 pm (no school for students on this day) Nov 23 Pro-D Day #2 AbbySchools App-Follow Us! Remembrance Day Our school Remembrance Day assembly will take place on Friday, November 9 th, at 11:00 am in the gym. Please have students dress in formal type clothing out of respect. Parents/guardians are welcome to come by and share in this assembly. A reminder that there is no school on Monday, November 12 th. Grade 4/5 Handball Students in grades 4 & 5 have the opportunity to play handball against other schools in our district. Students participating must fill out a sports team consent form and return to the school. Game times start at 3:00 pm! Handball Game Schedule North Poplar @ Upper Sumas Nov 14 Inter-school game @ Upper Sumas *3:15-4:15 pm Nov 21 Alexander @ Upper Sumas Nov 28 Upper Sumas @ Jackson *leave school at 2:40 pm
Follow Us on Facebook! Purdys Fundraiser for Grade 5 Camp Upper Sumas Elementary will be offering a Purdys Chocolate fundraiser for the month of November. The proceeds of this fundraiser will go to support sending our Grade 5 students to camp in June. Purdys makes for great stocking-stuffer or hostess gifts for the holiday season. Ordering information will be going home on November 1 st with all orders due by November 26 th. Thank you for supporting our students! Annual Christmas Concert Our Christmas concert will be on Tuesday, December 11 th @ 7:00 pm at the Abbotsford Arts Centre. Mark your calendars! November After School Clubs After school clubs will be starting up in November on Wednesdays from 3:15-4:15 pm. Parents are required to arrange for student pick-up @ 4:15 pm. The following clubs will be offered this month: Baking Club (Gr 3) 3-Week session on Wednesdays on, 14 & 28 Join us as we learn to bake some yummy treats! (students were pre-selected from a waitlist for this session) Little Bits Club (Gr 3) 3-Week Session on Wednesdays on, 14 & 28 Join us for this engineering and building club! Save the Date On Thursday, December 20 th, students will have the opportunity to shop in the Upper Sumas Christmas Store in the multi-purpose room for gifts for their loved ones. Requesting Donations We are looking for donations of new and/or gently used items to stock our store. No movies and no books please. We especially need gifts for children, moms and dads!! Please drop donated items off in the multi-purpose room. As well, gift bags, tags, bows & tape donations would be gratefully appreciated.
Rock Your Mocs on Nov 15! November Spirit Day Friday, November 16 th, is Twin Day! Show your school spirit and dress up as a twin today to be entered into a draw to win some fabulous prizes! PAC Next PAC Meeting Please note that our PAC meetings have changed to the fourth Monday of each month! Mon, Nov 26 th @ 7:00 pm Hot Lunch Dates for November Nov 30 Contact Us Our PAC can be reached at: uppersumaselementarypac@gmail.com Fall & Winter Weather Read below on how the district alerts parents/guardians of school closures. Important: To keep our school phone lines open, we kindly ask that you do not phone the school to ask it we are open, but rather utilize one of the many other information mediums below for potential school closure information. During the late fall and winter months, weather conditions might cause a school or schools to shut down. The Superintendent of Schools has authority, on behalf of the Board, to temporarily close a school or schools. A number of factors go into this decision, including: student safety, the conditions of roads near schools, school grounds, school bus routes, and whether facilities are fully operational. The decision to close a school is made in a timely manner, as circumstances allow. Details and updates are always distributed via the below platforms; please connect with us online. o District/School Website (www.abbyschools.ca); o Our AbbySchools App o Twitter (@AbbotsfordSD); o Facebook (@AbbotsfordSchoolDistrict); o o Instagram (@AbbotsfordSD); Local Media Stations Country 107.1, STAR 98.3, News 1130, CKNW 980AM, CBC 690AM, Punjabi Radio 1550 AM, Red FM 93.1 FM, Jack 96.9 FM, City TV and Abbotsford News Opt-In to Receive Text Messages The District will also send out an automated message from its messaging system, SchoolConnects. Parents/guardians and staff who want to also receive text messages from the Abbotsford School District must opt-in by texting the word JOIN to 56360 from the mobile phone they wish to receive text messages on.
Check out some of our Book Character Pumpkins! Thank you to all our students/families that participated in our Book Character Pumpkin Contest. We had so many fabulous pumpkins entered into the contest. The pictures above are only a small sampling of the creative pumpkins that were brought in. Students voted on their favorite pumpkin and the top 3 pumpkins were: 1. Pig the Pug -Alba Barnbrook 2. Dog Man-Josiah Dykshoorn 3. Donkey from Puss in Boots-Ashton Roy Congratulations to our top 3 contest winners and to all of our students that participated! Thank you to Mrs. Sidhu for organizing this fun contest for our school.