Dear HV Families,

We are off to a wonderful start to the school year! Our classes are full and children are quickly adjusting to the many changes that a new school year brings. Thanks to all parents for helping your children with transitions to full days at school. September is always exciting and it can be an especially tiring time for children. Some children experience a lot of anxiety with change, and we appreciate the efforts parents make to reassure children that our school is a safe, happy and supportive place. We have a stellar staff at Happy Valley who are here to ensure children have a calm and positive school experience. Thank you to our entire school community for making Happy Valley an amazing school!

Introducing the Happy Valley Staff (2021-2022)

Ron Caley                       Crossing Guard

Jeannie Kwan                Crossing Guard; Supervision Assistant; Educational Assistant

Quentin Danvers           Custodian

James Dillon                  Custodian

Amina Mehraliyeva      Supervision Assistant

Julie Neville                   Supervision Assistant

Tim Slevan                     Supervision Assistant

Christina Formanek     Supervision Assistant

Cathy Gordon Findlay Supervision Assistant

Lidia Van De Water     Library Assistant

Elizabeth Slugget         Health Care Assistant

Michelle Baxter            Health Care Assistant

Lea Marshall                 Secretary

Linda Brown                 Elementary School Clerk

Lisa Pauls                      Early Childhood Educator

Shae Mellors                Student Engagement Facilitator

Max Weinstein            ELL teacher

Laura Schaefer            Counsellor

Catty Santilli                Speech Language Pathologist

Alyssa Frerichs            Education Assistant

Diane Galbraith           Education Assistant

Tracy Green                  Education Assistant

Margo Griffiths            Education Assistant

Janet Herrington         Education Assistant

Sam Horonowistch      Education Assistant

Sam Nywening            Education Assistant

Tara Poirier                  Education Assistant

Brandi Price                 Education Assistant

Michaela Romine        Education Assistant

Maria Soares                Education Assistant

Kim Weinmeyer          Education Assistant

Darla Yalden                Education Assistant

Sharon Schwartz         Inclusion Support Teacher

Liz Postle                      Reading Recovery; Inclusion Support

Joanne Gregory           Learning Assistance; Inclusion Support

Kristine Kosolofski      Music Teacher

Lois McKenna              Music Teacher

Sue Allen                      Teacher-Librarian; Grade 3/4 (Div. 7)

Rupert Gadd                Grade 5 (Div. 1)

Rob Cook                      Grade 5 (Div. 2)

Chelsea Sihota             Grade 5 (Div. 3)

Josh Johnson               Grade 4 (Div. 4)

Rachel Dwyre              Grade 4 (Div. 5)

Toby Owen                   Grade 4 (Div. 5)

Camille McRae            Grade 4 (Div. 6)

Stephanie Holmes      Grade 3 / 4 (Div. 7)

Shelley Roberts           Grade 3 (Div. 8)

Sherri Ewer                 Grade 3 (Div. 9)

Sarah Stirling              Grade 2 / 3 (Div. 10)

Lisa Therrien               Grade 2 ( Div. 11)

Alexis Milne                 Grade 2 (Div. 11)

Michelle O’Regan       Grade 2 (Div. 12)

Laura Parker                Grade 2 (Div. 13)

Linda Logan                 Grade 1 (Div. 14)

Heather Jensen           Grade 1 (Div. 15)

Pauline MacLean        Grade 1 (Div. 16)

Kareen Kimoto            Kindergarten (Div. 17)

Kristin Holland            Kindergarten (Div. 18) ; Vice Principal

Meghan Schmitz         Kindergarten (Div. 18)

Kelly Hancock              Kindergarten (Div. 19)

Karen Sjerven              Principal

UPCOMING DATES TO NOTE:

Wed. Sept. 15^th – First full day of Kindergarten ; First PAC Meeting @ 6:30

Mon. Sept. 27^th– District Wide School Planning Day – Students not in session

Tues. Sept. 28^th – Fri. Sept. 29^th  – Orange Shirt Week

Tues. September 28^th – Lifetouch Individual Photos

Wed. September 29^th – Tour De Rock Drive-by

Thurs. Sept. 30^th – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – Students not in session

Friday, Oct. 1^st – Terry Fox Run at Happy Valley

Mon. Oct. 11^th – Thanksgiving

Fri. Oct. 22^nd – Pro D Day

PAC Meeting – Wednesday, September 15^th @ 6:30

The PAC is our school’s Parent Advisory Council. All parents are welcome to join in our monthly PAC meetings. At this time, our PAC meetings are being held virtually. Our PAC Executive includes an incredible group of HV parents who are committed to enriching the school experience for all children. As well as supporting fundraising for classroom supplies, school-wide events, equipment, field trips and more, our PAC work hard to offer children some special opportunities. These include regular school-wide lunch sales and support for many whole-school events. Thank you to our PAC for their lovely photo opportunity for our Kindergarten children during their first week at school. We appreciate the work PAC has done to deliver MONK school supplies this week. We look forward to working with our PAC to find ways to continue to support our school while adhering to current health guidelines.  Thank you for your supportive involvement!

2021-2022 PAC Executive:

President – Dara Hickman

Vice-Presidents- Mercedes Deernsted & Susie Robinson

Secretary- Ally Puchinger

Treasurer- Caitlin Fletcher

Hot Lunch Coordinators – Bonnie Brooks & Jennifer Gardener

SPEAC Rep- Rachel Hennessey

Our first PAC meeting of the year is Wednesday, Sept 15 at 6:30pm via MS Teams. Everyone is welcome to attend using the link provided below. We will be introducing ourselves and making plans for the upcoming school year. The following week, we will have our next meeting to set our budget.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ODMwNDhjMzgtNjIzYy00NGU4LTlkMDAtOTI2ZDMzODhkNjU0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22f7c5b01f-413e-4ee8-9788-ce578108cd30%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f44c442e-37a3-458c-9784-81881bf13e7c%22%7d

Health and Safety Protocols

Many of our guidelines from last year are continuing at this time. These will continue to evolve according to updated mandates from the Public Health Officer.   Students are doing a terrific job of adhering to our Health and Safety protocols! These include:

·         Mask wearing indoors for students in grades 4 and up*

·         Mask wearing indoors strongly encouraged for students in K-3*

·         Mask wearing for adults indoors

·         Frequent handwashing 

·         Being mindful of social distancing in crowded spaces

·         Access to school building limited to staff and students

·         Parent access to school building through prior appointment only

·         Shared food is not allowed at this time (sorry- no birthday treats, etc.)

*Mask wearing exemptions will apply in some situations. We advise students to have replacement masks in their backpack. We have limited numbers of masks to distribute at school.

We will continue to keep parents up to date with new information as changes evolve. 

Happy Valley Routines and Reminders

·         Upon arrival at school in the morning, children must go directly to their class line-ups. Playgrounds remain closed before school.

·         This year, playgrounds are open after school for families.

·         Within the hours of the school day (8:30-2:38) we are considered a “closed campus” which means that our grounds are limited to our 450 students in session. Families are welcome to enjoy the playground with their younger children after school hours.

·         Bus students are supervised upon arrival at school in the morning and before pick-up after school. Students must remain with the bus group during these times.

·         Thanks to all parents for adhering to our signage for reserved parking at all times. This includes all marked staff parking stalls, disabled parking and bus zones.

·         Our District Policy in SD62 states that dogs are not permitted on the school grounds. We have a large population of children and families at drop-off and pick up times and we ask that you not bring dogs onto the school property. Thank you for your help.

Parent Portal and School Cash Online

The Parent Portal is the place to access attendance etc. School Cash Online is the system for making any online payments to school. This year, we will be utilizing School Cash online for payments for any school fees.  Instructions for School Cash online are attached. The Parent Portal information page may be accessed through the link below:

MyEd BC Family Portal

Agenda Payments 

Some classes will be using School Agendas. Teachers will inform their classes about whether they will be using these agendas this year.  Agendas were pre-purchased by the school last year and are only  available for purchase through School Cash online.  See the attachment for using this payment system.

The Terry Fox Run is Coming!

Friday, October 1^st is Happy Valley’s Terry Fox Run. This is a special annual event at Happy Valley and we pride ourselves on doing some amazing fundraising for the Terry Fox Foundation in support of cancer research. Pledge forms will be coming home soon and donations can also be made online. We will be sending home more details about the routes for the run for all classes soon. Thank you in advance for your support of this important cause.

We are delighted to be working with your children. Thank you for your kindness and support.

Sincerely,

Karen Sjerven

Principal

Happy Valley Elementary

ksjerven@sd62.bc.ca

phone 250 478 3232