What’s happening at Park West School – November 26th
Important Dates
November 26 Adaptations will be sent home via email
December 1 Grade 7 Immunization Clinic – catch up for grade 8 & 9 students if needed
December 2-4 Book Fair Purchasing Days
December 3 Report Cards will be sent home via email
December 4 Professional Learning for staff / Progress Conversations with families – no school for students
December 9,10 Concerts
December 19 Last Day for Students
December 22 Professional Learning for staff– last day for staff
Important Health Reminder
Please help us keep our school community healthy by not sending students to school when they are unwell. If your child is experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, vomiting, or any other illness, we ask that they remain at home until they are fully recovered.
This helps prevent the spread of illness and ensures that all students and staff can stay safe and healthy. We appreciate your cooperation and support.
Planning for Inclement Weather for Arrival on Time
As the weather shifts and we begin to see more rain and snow, it becomes even more important for students to arrive at school on time. On rainy days in particular, we are averaging 15% of our students arriving late, which has a noticeable impact on learning. Late arrivals not only cause students to miss valuable instruction but also disrupt the flow of learning for the rest of the class.
Please plan for a little extra time in the mornings to account for road and weather conditions. With the colder weather setting in, all students should also come prepared to be outdoors daily.
Book Fair
We are excited to once again be hosting a book fair! Our Book Fair purchasing days will take place from December 2–4. Students will visit the library by grade, and purchases can be made using cash, debit, or credit card. The Book Fair will also be open during the afternoon and evening of Family Conversations. Students will have a chance to purchase each day the book fair is open.
The Fall Scholastic Book Fair will take place in the library from Tues., Dec. 2 to Thurs., Dec 4. On Tues. and Wed.the fair will be open 8:30 am to 3:30 am, closed at lunch time.
On Dec 4, it will be open during the P/T interview times.
Cash, debit, Visa, Master card, and cheques made out to Park West School will be accepted.
We look forward to an exciting fair with lots of popular book titles and gift choices for the holidays.
December Concerts
We are excited to invite you to a holiday concert, happening here at Park West School on December 9th and 10th, 2025! Concerts will begin at 1:10pm on each day.
Our band students are working with Mr. Pasher to prepare a few tunes for the event, and our Primary through grade 6 students will be practicing a couple of songs with their classroom music teachers, Ms. MacIsaac and Mr. Pasher.
Below is the roster of which classes will perform on each day. You are invited to attend on the afternoon your child is performing.
| December 9, 2025 | December 10, 2025 |
| Grade 9 band | Grades 7 and 8 bands |
| P Campbell | P McLellan |
| P/1 Gallant | P Tempro |
| 1 MacLeod | 1 Blades |
| 1/2 Khan | 1 Levine |
| 2 Ssebazza | 2 Kostlac |
| 2/3 MacInnis | 2 Matheson |
| 3 Parsons | 3 Greenwood |
| 4 Auton | 3 Thurston |
| 4 Ross/Hood | 4 Nicholl |
| 5 Shupe | 4 Beaton |
| 5 Tracey | 5 Lohnes |
| 5 Graham | |
| 6 Armstrong (Class & band) | 6 Misra (Class & band) |
| 6 Fournier-White (Class & band) | 6 Morley (Class & band) |
We look forward to sharing this exciting event with you!
Immunization Clinic
Our student immunization clinic will take place on December 1st for all Grade 7 students, as well as for any Grade 8 or 9 students who may have missed previous immunizations. This year, consent forms were sent electronically by Public Health, initially on August 28th, with reminder emails sent every three days since. If you have not seen any communication, please check your junk or spam folder.
On the day of the clinic, students will be called down by class. After receiving their immunization, they will be offered a juice pack and snack to help them feel comfortable.
Progress Conversations
In addition, on December 4th, we will be holding Progress Conversations to discuss each student’s progress to date. Meetings will take place from 1:00–3:00 p.m. and 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Grades P–6: Families will use an online sign-up system to book a time. The portal for booking will open to families on Friday, November 28th at noon.
Please use the following information to schedule your appointment:
- Go to: https://www.schoolinterviews.ca/
- Click on make a booking
- Enter code: q7z98
Appointment times are 10 minutes. If you require additional time, please arrange a separate meeting with your child’s teacher outside of this date.
- Grades 7–9: Teachers will continue to meet with families in the gym, as per usual practice. No online booking is required. Appointment times are 10 minutes. If you require additional time, please arrange a separate meeting with your child’s teacher outside of this date.
Heppy’s Pies
Thank you for all your support with this fundraiser.
If you have not yet picked up your order, please make arrangements with the office. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go back into the school to help support classroom initiatives, guest speakers and programming, to name a few.
From Feed Nova Scotia
We can’t let any more time get away from us before thanking you for your incredible support. Your event in September made a real impact, collecting 270kg of food for our community. We’re so grateful for the time, energy, and generosity you poured into making it a success.
This past year has been one of the most challenging our province has ever seen. More Nova Scotians, families, children, and even those working full-time, have been forced to turn to food banks than ever before. These numbers are hard to absorb, but your willingness to step up and support your neighbours offers real hope.
And while the recent federal budget didn’t include the level of social support so many were counting on, we remain deeply thankful for community partners like you who refuse to wait for change before creating it. Your event is a reminder of what’s possible when people come together with compassion and purpose.
Your efforts directly support more than 130 food banks, meal programs, and shelters across Nova Scotia, helping them meet growing demand while we also work toward long-term systemic change. Every dollar and every kilogram of food you raised strengthens the path toward a food-secure province.
As we move toward year-end, we do so knowing that your contribution helped ensure that families across Nova Scotia felt supported this holiday season. Thank you again for making such a meaningful difference.
Wishing you a warm and happy holiday season.
On behalf of the entire Feed Nova Scotia team, THANK YOU!
SchoolsPlus is here to support you
SchoolsPlus is a confidential, free service available in every school in Nova Scotia. Our goal is to build positive relationships between families, schools, and communities.
Parents, guardians and students (12+) can self-refer to SchoolsPlus 12 months a year! Just contact the SchoolsPlus Facilitator at your school.
Call 902-464-2000, ext. 2331 or email schoolsplus@hrce.ca.
Learn more about SchoolsPlus here.
Resources for Parents from Unplugged Canada
If you’re concerned about your kids’ screen time, smartphone use, or social media pressure, there are some wonderful resources below to help parents and caregivers navigate the challenges of raising kids in a digital world.
For parents: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt highlights the research and evidence behind how early smartphone and social media exposure have shaped a generation over the last 10–15 years. Ten Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World by Jean Twenge offers practical, actionable guidance to help parents set healthy boundaries and support their kids’ digital wellbeing.
For kids: The Amazing Generation, written for pre-teens and teens and co-authored by Jonathan Haidt, will be released on December 30. It explains the impact of today’s digital environment in an engaging, age-appropriate way.
All of these books are available at your local library or bookstore.
New educational technology resource for families
We’re excited to share a new online resource designed to help families understand how technology supports student learning in HRCE. This page provides an overview of how tools like Chromebooks and Google for Education are used in classrooms, what provincially approved online platforms students may access, and how student privacy is protected. You’ll also find information about Nova Scotia’s guidance on the provincial cell phone expectations, tips for supporting online safety and digital citizenship at home, and an introduction to how students are learning about artificial intelligence in a thoughtful and responsible way. It also includes answers to common questions about screen time, passwords, communication during the school day, and more.
You can find the webpage here.
Planning for Inclement Weather
Did you know? HRCE takes great care when making the decision to alter the regular operations of schools and school buses in the event of severe or inclement weather.
It is HRCE’s goal to communicate any changes to the regular operations of schools and/or buses as close to 6:00 a.m. as possible. A 6:00 a.m. announcement could be:
- All schools are delayed in opening by two hours and bus pickups are delayed by two hours; or
- All schools are open, but some or all busses are not operating for the day; or
- Some schools (either individually or by family) are closed for the day; or
- All schools are closed for the day.
If weather deteriorates, or is forecasted to worsen throughout the morning, an 11:00 a.m. announcement could be:
- Bussed students will be picked up two hours earlier than their regular dismissal time; and
- Walking students will be dismissed at their regularly scheduled lunch hour.
How will I find out?
- By email to the addresses in PowerSchool
- By text message, if you have opted-in. If you aren’t sure if you have opted-in, text Y to the following number: 978338
- On the HRCE website
- On Instagram
It’s important to always have a plan in place for childcare in the event of any cancellation. Please remember: As a parent or guardian you always have the choice of whether or not to send your child to school.
For more information on how HRCE manages during inclement weather, visit hrce.ca/families/cancellations.
From PW Admin