Submitted by Principal Sharon Fischer
Halloween week was one of great excitement at Settler Elementary School. We had class parties, a dance for the Grade 5 and 6 students, and a costume parade throughout the school. As well, the Kindergarten and Grade 1 students had a Halloween safety presentation given by Cst. McNickle. The presentation was very interesting, but it also held some very important tips for these young students.
The day after Halloween we had a group of Grade 5 and 6 students travel to Calgary to take part in WE Day. SES is once again participating in the WE Movement, encouraging our students to reach inward and outward in their journey to make a difference in the world. Mrs. Prehn therefore took this year’s group of WE Give leaders to the Saddledome to attend the annual WE Day event. This event is about spotlighting perseverance, acceptance, hard work, and gratitude and these messages were shared with the participants through various speakers and performers.
Friday, November 3 was a Professional Development Day at SES, but unlike many of the PD Days, the day looked very different for many of our staff members. Play School and Kindergarten staff traveled to Calgary for a conference on Friday and Saturday, while some of our Grade 5 and 6 teachers traveled to Sherwood Park to visit Brentwood School there. We also had a number of our teachers who spent the day at Clearview Division Office being trained in the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmarking program that has been purchased for each of the schools. Staff that remained at the school worked collaboratively with the literacy resources at the school, so overall it was a very busy and very successful day.
Also at the school, we had Penny Warford taking on a lead role in the planning and organization of the mother/daughter conference held in the complex. The CARS program along with Heartland Youth Center, Association of Communities Against Abuse and AHS hosted the first annual UNSTOPPABLE Mother Daughter Conference on Friday, November 3 for girls in Grades 5 through 8 and their moms. We had lots of people help out, volunteer, and sponsor the day. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped during the day and the many community agencies and sponsors who helped us put out snacks and lunch, as well as lots of door prizes and swag for the girls: Stettler and District FCSS, Canlin Energy, Dirt Road Pretty, Escape Zone, Remedy Art Studio, Jewel Theatre, Performance Fitness and Physio, Crysyal Ranch, Boston Pizza, Exteme Pita, Tasty Wok, Club Cafe, Roots Yoga, Elfa Senft, Heartland Victim Services, the Chapman Family, the Anderson Family, Pharmasave, Fresh Wife, Panda Flowers, Sobeys, the Shuckburgh family, Tim Hortons. Also thank you to our guest speakers/presenters who were amazing! Kim Chapman, Charlee Mappin, Lorna Abel, Alicia Tate, Winnie and Kelsey Bissett, Stephanie Hadley, and Cst. Leanne Zeilke.
Then on Monday, November 6 we had retake day and class photos at Stettler Elementary School. It also served as a reminder of the early October snowstorms and the havoc that resulted in trying to get photos completed the first time around. We are trusting we have all of the smiles captured, we will have photos back in time for Christmas. And on one last note, we are looking very forward to the school’s Remembrance Day ceremony being held on Friday, November 10, and we invite parents, grandparents, and community members to join us during this very special event.