Willow Park School|Principal: Rhonda Brunken 780-986-8456 School Hours: 8:35 – 12:00/12:50 – 3:15

Inclement Weather Bus Cancellation notice:

Please note that Black Gold Regional Schools will not be operating any school busses in the Division Wednesday, January 18, 2012 due to the warning issued by Environment Canada as follows:

This is a warning that extreme wind chill conditions are imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.

Cold Arctic air has invaded much of Alberta and will bring temperatures of minus 30 to 35 overnight. These temperatures combined with winds near 15 to 20 km/h will give wind chills of minus 40 to 50 in the above mentioned regions overnight.

At these extreme wind chill values frostbite on exposed skin may occur in less than 10 minutes.

So far I have heard from Parkland School Division, St. Thomas Aquinas School Division and Elk Island Catholic Schools that they will not be running. Wetaskiwin Public Schools have said they will intend to run and make the decision in the morning.

The information can also be found on the main website at http://www.blackgold.ca an automatic voice mail will be sent to all bus student’s parents and drivers will contact rural parents.

Schools are open.

We will be having our next School Spirit day on Wednesday, December 14 – Decoration Day. Students are encouraged to wear their Santa hats, reindeer antlers or other festive items to school. We will deck our halls and the students with Christmas decorations!

December has arrived and along with the new month come some exciting activities! The students are busy preparing for the upcoming Christmas concerts, as well as taking part in Christmas activities and crafts. The sights and sounds of Christmas are definitely in the air and as we get closer to the Christmas vacation, the excitement is sure to grow.

Our school-wide theme for this month is Caring and Sharing and we will be working to recognize how we can show kindness to others within our school and our community. Our Student Teachers from the University of Alberta are organizing a project to give back to our community by supporting the Christmas Elves and Leduc Food Bank this month. Please help us to support these worthwhile charities.

Finally, on behalf of all the staff at Willow Park, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mrs. Rhonda Brunken

For the safety of everyone, and the condition of our school, please remove the footwear that brought you here. Water and sand will make our floors very slippery. Bring clean indoor shoes with you to wear while you are in our school. Thank you for keeping our school safe and clean.

IN FLANDER’S FIELDS

In Flander’s fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flander’s fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, tho poppies grow
In Flander’s fields.

Liet. -Col. John McCrae

In honour of Remembrance Day, there is no School November 11, 2011.

In November, our focus will be on nutrition, with students trying out different healthy snacks twice each week.

If your child has any allergies to foods that we need to know about please send a note to your child’s teacher by Nov. 7^th.

Thank you to No Frills for sponsoring this tasty event and providing the weekly snack for our students!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Parent Teacher Conferences in October. Our intent with these early interviews was to provide you with more frequent reporting and information about your child’s progress. Our first report card will be sent out this month, as a follow-up to the information that was discussed with you in October.

Thanks as well to everyone who voted for our PAWS Playground Project during the first round of the Aviva Community Fund voting. Unfortunately we did not make the semi finals yet, but we still have a chance in Round 2, with your continued support. Log on to vote or you can also vote through Facebook. Please remember to vote everyday. Help to make our playground a reality!

Finally, remember to stop by our One Stop Shop on Saturday, October 29th from 10am – 4pm. Over 35 vendors will be on site, with a silent auction, concession, face painting, crafts and activities for children all in support of our Playground Project. We hope to see you there!

Mrs. Rhonda Brunken

The PAWS Playground Project is entered in the Aviva Community Fund in the Youth category for $125,000 in funding. Please help us make it to the finals by voting each day for our playground project. Anyone with an e-mail address can register to vote at:

You can help by voting for the PAWS Playground Project every day from Monday, October 3rd to Wednesday, October 19th to get us to the next round.

Please register and vote at:

AVIVA

You can vote daily so the sooner you start the better!!

Please pass this along to friends, coworkers, neighbours and relatives. The more votes we get the better our chances of getting our playground! Please see the Playground Information section of the newsletter for more ways to help.

Happy Voting!

School fees for all grade levels are due by the end of September. Receipts will be issued for all payments. Please make sure to retain your receipts. If you are unable to pay your school fees at this time or need to arrange a payment program, please contact the school office at 780-986-8456.

Kindergarten fees- $115*
Grades 1-6 fees – $65*
*Includes a $5 Parent Association Fee

Please remember that there is no supervision on the school grounds until 8:20 a.m. Prior to this time, teachers are busy preparing lessons for the day. For safety reasons, please do not send your child to school before 8:20 a.m. If your child must be at school before 8:20, our Out of School Program is available from 7:00 a.m. Please contact the school for more information.