January 8th 2020

 

Dear Parents:

 

Happy New Year!

 

It is great to be back and see everyone’s smiling, well-rested faces! I hope everyone had a great holiday break and are ready to get back into the swing of things.

 

Our Christmas Food Drive and our Mitten Tree were a big success! We were very pleased to be able to provide families in the Durham Region with food and mitten tree donations. Thank you for your generous donations!

 

Our school continues to offer after school, March Break and summer tutoring for students and non-students. If you are interested, please see the office for further information.

 

“March Break” is fast approaching. Information on our March Break Camps will be sent home within the next two weeks. Please note that due to the Child Care Early Years Act we must adhere to our License requirements. We anticipate our camps to fill up quickly. We will also be offering an age 4 and up camp.

Registration for the 2020-2021 school year will soon be underway. Recommend us to your friends and family! If they register with us we will give you a discount of $100 for the month of your choice. Re-enrolment letters will be going out early February. Please note that our Pre-Casa Toddler Room and our Casa 1 classroom will fill up quickly. Mrs. Mason has distributed Durham Academy Secondary School packages to our Grade 8 students. You may also book a tour at Durham Academy. A special deal will be given to our D.E.P.S students only. The owners of D.E.P.S will keep the tuition the same at Durham Academy as our families are paying at D.E.P.S. Please see Mrs. Mason for clarification. Please do not hesitate to call the office if you would like a meeting to discuss Durham Academy with Mrs. Mason.

 

We are working on our Summer Camp Brochure and it will be available to you after March Break.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

Winter is here! Please provide your children with the appropriate clothing for outdoor activity. All students require hats, mittens, snow pants and boots. That includes our students Grade 4-8. Thank you! Please be advised that there will be no sledding at lunch recess. Your child’s teacher will arrange a snow day for the class to have some winter fun outside sledding, weather permitting. This was discussed with staff and due to previous injuries, we feel that this is a safer option than all the classes being combined at recess.

 

Intramurals – Intramural forms will be sent home next week for Floor Hockey, which will be starting on Tuesday, January 21st.

 

After School Programs – Dodgeball will be starting with Mr. Clement on Wednesday, January 15th. The program will run for 8 weeks every Wednesday from 3:45pm – 4:45pm in the gymnasium. Dodgeball forms were sent home earlier this week.

 

Badminton will be starting with Mrs. Jones on Thursday, January 16th. This program will run for 8 weeks on every Thursday from 3:45pm – 4:45pm in the gymnasium. Permission forms were sent home with students today.

 

Speeches – This year D.E.P.S students from Grades 3 to 8 will present speeches. The teachers will choose 2 students in each class to present their speech to an audience. This will take place on Friday, February 21st at 1:00pm in our gymnasium. Parents will be informed of who will be presenting the first week in February.

 

Report Cards – Reports will be issued Friday, February 21st. Parent/Teacher Interviews will be Tuesday, February 25th from 4:00pm – 6:00pm and 7:00pm – 8:15pm. Sign-Up sheets will be posted in the front foyer on Thursday, February 20th.

 

Program Enhancements – This morning Scientists in School came in to visit our Grade 7/8 class for the “Cell Explorer” workshop. The students enjoyed discovering cell structures within plants and animals. On Wednesday, January 15th Scientists in School will be back again to visit our Grade 5/6 class for the “Watt’s Up? Energy and Electricity” workshop!

 

On Tuesday, January 21st our Casa 1’s will be visited by The Travelling Stage for the “Animal & Nature Yoga” where they will exercise their gross motor skills while exploring animal poses and nature in a fun and interactive way!

 

Liza Goldberg from Creative Art will be coming to visit the Casa 2’s and Casa 3’s on Wednesday, January 29th, where the students will have fun using their imaginations to create some unique and creative artistic pieces!

 

To our D.E.P.S girls! If the weather is -10 or colder you are permitted to wear the school uniform grey pants. However, please keep in mind that the uniform pants should not be a replacement for snow pants.

 

In closing, I am very happy with how successful the school year has been. As always, if we are not meeting your expectations or if you have any questions/concerns, please don’t hesitate to call me or come in and see me. The door is always open.

 

Until next time….

 

Suzanna Mason

Principal