HPS May 29 Weekly Update
Hello HPS Families! Here is your weekly update.
Hard to believe this week we are into June already!
This is a great time to work hard to wrap up any outstanding assignments and begin reviewing material for end-of-year assessments. Starting early gives you lots of extra time to process and recall information.
Weekly Update
Guest Speakers - Monday, May 29
On May 23rd, 2023, students will be seeing presentations from two guest speakers: Alison Springer, and Mihai Covasei from the Rick Hansen Foundation. Please see the synopsis of each presentation below and contact our office if you require additional information.
Alison Springer will be presenting to grades 4-9 students throughout the day. Here is the schedule and synopsis of each talk:
- Grade 4&5 - Balcony and Basement Friends (healthy friendships and relationships theme)
It can be hard to swallow when an adult tells you who you can and cannot hang out
with. Experience allows us to see things that students do not. In this presentation,
Alison empowers students with tools to discern between healthy and unhealthy
friendships. Using the terminology of balcony and basement friends, students will be
challenged to examine what kind of friend they are and who they surround themselves
with. They will also leave the session knowing what's involved in being a balcony friend.
- Grade 6&7 - Speaking Up Leads to Safe Spaces (community resources and asking for help theme)
This interactive session supports student’s desire to be courageous and do the right
thing. Alison facilitates a conversation with students, addressing issues within their
student body along with hindrances that keep them from speaking up in order to keep
their school and community a safe place for all. After attending this session students
will know what to do and what to say if they witness a problem in their school, in their
community or online.
- Grade 8&9 - Wait For It (resilience, diversity, self-image themes)
You are the way you are for a reason, just wait for it’ is the main message of this talk.
Everyone has something they wish they could change about themselves. For some the
list runs long. In this session, Alison shares her personal story about the four things she
wished she could change about herself and how those things today have served to her
advantage. Her humourous and relatable story will have students reflect on their own
lives with great hope and promise opening their eyes to see that the things they despise
will help them to rise...Just wait for it.
- Open Assembly for interested grades 4-9 students at lunch - Hope FULL (hope and tools to deal with anxiety, fear and worries theme)
This talk was birthed out of the pandemic. There were a lot of students losing motivation
and ambition, giving up on dreams for the future saying things like, “What’s the point?
There’s no future anyways.” It’s been a tough season for many with so much change. This
talk is designed to inject hope into the listeners. Alison speaks to Hopelessness, giving
students practical tools of what to do when they are stressed, feeling down, or anxious.
Students will be encouraged to dream and write it out.
Mihai Covasei from the Rick Hansen Foundation will be presenting to students from K-9 via Google Meet.
Mihai Covaser is a student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, in Kelowna, British Columbia. He enjoys debate, music, studying philosophy, culture, and politics and sharing his passion with friends and loved ones. Mihai also works as a language and writing tutor, as a Student Ambassador for UBCO, and as a fundraiser and host for events that highlight accessibility and inclusion! Mihai was born with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that affects the muscles in his legs and results in a mild mobility impairment. He believes that society’s primary focus should be on what everyone, including people with disabilities, can do, rather what they cannot do. Mihai articulates that an individual should be assessed based on their relevant capabilities for any position in an institution and a decision made on that basis, before they are rejected because of prejudice, bias, or the assumption that living with a disability places an individual below another on the general playing field of potential.
- Presentation Overview: Be Bold is based on the idea that everyone can make a difference – no matter their age. Being bold encompasses more than just standing up for oneself. It involves embracing courage, supporting others, and valuing diversity.
Try-Me Tryathlon
If your child is participating in this event on Friday, please remember to contact our office to let us know about their absence from school.
Student Placement Feedback Form
As we plan for the fall, we recognize that some parents want to provide insight into their child(ren) that will help guide student placement in classrooms for the upcoming school year. We would like to provide you this opportunity to share information specific to your child, as we look at classroom configurations. Though we will try to honour specific information or requests made, please understand that it may not be possible to do so. Class lists are prepared based on many factors, and in consultation with administration, and are guided by the best interests of students at all times. We understand that parents may have specific requests for their child, however, please know that we are not always able to honour these. Classroom placements, once made, are considered final. Due to the complexity involved, we do not routinely make changes to placements for students once class lists have been created.
This feedback form will close for responses on June 1st at 4:30 pm. No further responses will be accepted after that time.
PAL Presents - Wilhauk Fathers’ Day Fundraiser
Forms for this fundraiser have gone out to classes. All orders are due back in by June 8th. Thanks for supporting our fundraising committee!
Write On Stationery and School Supply Lists
It's that time of year to consider next year's school supplies. High Park has been working with Write On Stationery for many years. This is not a fundraiser and so they are able to pass on the best available price on all supplies. If you would rather shop on your own, simply visit the HPS or Write On website for the Grade Lists.
Bottle Drive - High Park School Wildfire Relief Fundraiser for Red Cross
Please consider supporting our school’s efforts to raise money for the Wildfire Relief efforts by the Red Cross. Donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the provincial and federal governments till the end of this week, making our donations worth three times their initial amount! If you have bottles to donate, please bring them to the Stony Plain bottle depot before June 1st and let them know your donation is to go towards High Park Alberta Wildfire Relief Fund. Thank you for supporting this cause!
High Park's Got Talent!
Thank you to everyone who participated in or supported our performers during our Talent Show! Well done, performers - High Park truly does have amazing talent!
School Fees
All school fees are now past due. Please login to Parent Portal to complete payment for this year’s fees. If you are unable to make payment for school fees due to financial constraints, please contact our office as soon as possible to make alternate arrangements.
Hot Lunch
If your child will be absent and you’d like to pick up their lunch or send it to another child, please call or email the office at 780-963-2222 or highpark@psd.ca no later than 10:00 am the day of hot lunch. Please note that refunds are not available. The deadline to order hot lunches for the upcoming month is the 25th of the current month. The link to order is https://hpspal.hotlunches.net/admin/ and the code to register is always HPHL.
Stay in Touch!
Follow us on our various websites and communication platforms:
- High Park School Website
- HPS Facebook
- Instagram (high_park_school)
- HPS PAL (Parent Advisory League) Facebook page - fundraising information, hot lunch details, and other reminders
- HPS School Calendar
As always, should you have questions or require more information please feel free to reach out to Mr. Oldham or myself at the school or via email at dave.oldham@psd.ca or adrienne.owen@psd.ca. Please follow us on Facebook/Instagram and our website for updates and information throughout the year!
Important Upcoming Dates:
- May 30 - Division Elementary Track Meet
- June 2 - Parkland School Division Try Me Try-athlon
- June 15-16 - FitSet Ninja course at High Park
- June 18 - Fathers’ Day
- June 20 - Grade 6&9 ELA Part B PAT
- June 21 - National Indigenous Peoples’ Day - events happening throughout the school
- June 22 - Grade 6&9 Math Part A PAT
- June 22 - Grade 7&8 ELA Part B Final Exam
- June 23 - Elementary Fun Afternoon - details TBA
- June 23 - Grade 6&9 Math Part B PAT
- June 23 - Grade 7&8 Social Studies Final Exam
- June 26 - Grade 6&9 Social Studies PAT
- June 26 - Grade 7&8 Math Final Exam
- June 27 - Grade 6&9 Science PAT
- June 27 - Grade 7&8 Science Final Exam
- June 27 - Elementary Field Trips to Stony Plain Outdoor Pool
- June 28 - Grade 3, 4, 5 classes field trip to Landmark Cinemas
- June 28 - Grade 7-9 Year-End field trip to World Waterpark
- June 29 - Junior High Awards Ceremony and Grade 9 Awards - 1:00 in school gymnasium - details TBA
- June 29 - Last day of school for all students
- June 30 - No School - PD Day