Letter to Parents

September 11^th, 2013.

Dear parents/ guardians,

Welcome to another exciting year of learning at Happy Valley Elementary School.  Your child is in Div. 1, a straight grade 6 class.  I am Rupert Gadd, their teacher.  I have been teaching at Happy Valley for 4 years, and taught at Dunsmuir Middle School for 10 years before that.  I have also taught in Japan and England. I have a son in grade 2 and appreciate the importance of this special time in your child’s life and school career.

Please do not hesitate to contact me by email, at rgadd@sd62.bc.ca, on the phone at (250)478-3232, or by coming in after school.  My goal is to help your child be as successful as they can be in grade 6, and in transition to middle school, but you are the expert when it comes to your individual child. Often students share concerns at home that they do not voice at school, so if you have any worries, please share them.

Here are some highlights of the school week:

Monday: Spelling words go home, Music

Tuesday: Library Book Exchange

Wednesday: Music

Thursday: Class Run, spelling sentences due

Friday: Spelling Test

Before School: The school day starts at 8:25.  Students are asked to line up outside and enter together through the upstairs, side door.  Students will leave through the same door. 

Parents in the school: Any adults visiting during the school day are asked to sign in at the office upon arriving.

Lunch Schedule: This year our school population has topped 400.   In order to give students more room at lunchtime recess, primaries will take their play break before eating time, and intermediates will play outside after eating.  Morning recess will still be together.

PE: We have PE every day.  It is important that students have appropriate shoes on their feet for Gym class.  We may go outside for PE even in light rain, or when the field is wet, so students should have a change of gym clothes at school.

Agendas and Homework: As students prepare for middle school, they will begin to take a more active role in planning and organizing their work.  We will use our agendas daily to track our work and communicate with home.  Thank you to everyone who has already purchased an agenda.  Students in grade 6 should be working towards 60 minutes of homework per night.  This includes set assignments as well as independent study.  I will work with your child to develop a homework plan.  If your child is unsure of what they are to do for homework, check the agenda.  If your child is still in doubt, encourage reading, or review of math facts during this time.

Scholastic Book Orders: Each month your child will bring home an order form from Scholastic Canada.  Scholastic often offers books at discounted prices and is a good way to stock your home library. Of course, ordering is completely optional, and the school and public libraries are great sources of free reading.  We are able to use ‘points’ earned from class book sales to buy books and other resources for the class.  Please make cheques payable to Scholastic Canada.

Lunch: Thank you for sending your children with healthy snacks and lunch. Their food is the fuel that keeps them focused and learning all day.  Students will not be permitted to eat candy or sugared drinks in class.  We try to encourage the use of environmentally friendly packaging such as reusable containers rather than disposable wrappers.  At this time, the school does not have the capacity to recycle plastics or compost. Students will be asked to pack recyclables home to put in the blue bin.  Refundables are still being collected to fund school programs.  We do not currently have any students with severe allergies, but there are other students in the school with severe nut allergies.  Please remind your child that if they are eating foods containing nuts, once they are finished they are to wash their hands.

Spelling:  Students will be doing the Words their way spelling program this year.  This week, students were assessed to find their spelling levels.  They will be grouped by learning needs.  Spelling words will go home each Monday.  Students will have the week to write spelling sentences, using the week’s grammar lesson, and study the words for a Friday test.  Spelling sentences are due in good copy each Thursday.  I will reassess students each term.

I look forward to working with you and your child in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Rupert Gadd