Volume 1, Issue 1
September 2, 2015
Welcome Back
Dixonville School News
PEACE RIVER SCHOOL DIVISION
I would like to welcome all the
students, parents and community
groups to the Dixonville School. I
hope everyone had an enjoyable,
fun filled summer vacation.
My name is Calvin Estey. I am
the new Principal at Dixonville
School.
I have 34 years of teaching experience in New Brunswick. I have
taught Kindergarten, Phys. Ed
and all core subjects through to
Grade 12. The majority of my
teaching was in rural communities
where people lumbered, fished,
guided or had small farms. I have
contracted lumber using a cable
skidder and owned as high as 35
herford cows and calves. I enjoy
hunting and fishing.
This year I will be teaching Grade
4 through 9 a variety of subjects.
I look forward to meeting all of
the parents of Dixonville School.
Come join us on September 17 at
7 p.m. for our annual “Meet the
Teahcer” night.
I wish all the students at Dixonville a successful and wonderful year.
Dixonville School Staff
Principal - Mr. Calvin Estey
Educational Assiatant - Mrs. Judy Woods
Office Manager - Mrs. Linora Somerville
Educational Assistant - Ms. Cayley Russell
Kindergarten - Mrs. Kathy Woods
Custodian Mrs. Juanita Boily
Grade 1-2-3 - Ms. Christina Pyke
Grade 4-5 - Mrs. Lynette Stone
Grade 6-7-8-9 - Mr. Calvin Estey
Information Specialist - Mrs. Kathy Woods
Computer Tech - Mrs. Kathy Woods
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is the beginning of
many new beginnings. Many
new and exciting things are in
store for your Kindergarten and
Play School children.
Kindergarten and Play School
will be instructed by Mrs. Kathy
Woods again this year.
We are looking forward to meeting all the Kindergarten students.
The first day for Kindergarten is
September 15, 2015 and will run
every Monday, Tuesday and
Thursday until May. Please
watch for notices in your child’s
back pack as some PD days and
no school days to also fall on
Kindergarten days.
Play School will have their first
day on October 7, 2015.
We will have fun, work hard and
learn many new things.
Grade 1-2-3
I am the new teacher for the Grade
1, 2 and 3 classroom. I will also be
taking the Kindergartens for Physical Education as well as being in
the grades 4-9 class for some music
and drama as well as one Physical
Education class. I hope to quickly
get to know all the students as I
will be working throughout the
school, though primarily with the
Grades 1, 2 and 3 students.
I am originally from Nova Scotia,
though I did my degrees in Newfoundland and have been teaching
in Alberta for the past two years.
This is my first year in the Peace
River School Division and I am very
excited to be living in the communi-
ty and working in such a beautiful
area. I cannot wait for this school
year to get going and to get settled
in a new area.
Christina Pyke
Grade 4-5
It is an honour to be a member
of the Dixonville Teaching Staff
for the 2015/2016 School Year.
I am looking forward to a funfilled year of learning with new
and returning students! I will be
teaching Grade 4/5 Science and
Social and Grade 6-9 Language
Arts. I will be facilitating an 80
minute block, for Grades 6-9, on
Tuesday for Flex Time and various options, as well. During this
Page 2
time, students will have access
to enrichment activities, extra
curriculum support in all class
subjects and various options
such as Robotics, Study Skills,
Computers, Sewing, etc. I am
also the Students Union Coordinator for the school. Under the
leadership of our students, I
hope to assist with various activities throughout the year. Some
activities may include Pajama
Day, Wacky Hair Day, and Hat/
Shades Day! I will do my best to
keep all parents/guardians informed with the various learning
outcomes and activities that your
Children may be involved in.
D I X O NV I L L E S C H O O L NE W S
I Coach
I am the Inclusion Coach
(usually shortened to I Coach) at
Dixonville School. This means
that I am part of an Intervention
Team which helps to insure that
all students are getting the supports they need for success in
their education programs. Other
members of the learning support
team are: the principal, and all
staff, Learning Coach for Dixonville Speech-Language specialists, Occupational Therapist,
Psychologist, Youth Support
Worker, and, most importantly,
you, the parents and caregivers.
Along with the classroom teachers, I do assessments, and coordinate support services and extra
programming for the students
who would benefit from instruction in a small group on a 1:1
basis. I also teach Language
Arts to grade 4 and 5, and LA to
grades 6-9 on Mondays.
me through the office at 780 971
3770 in regards to any of these
matters.
Along with you, I look forward
to a great year!
Mary Klein
The Breakfast program will
begin on Sept. 8th. We need volunteers to serve the students
from 8:30 – 8:50 in the morning.
Donations for the food are always welcome. Please contact
Prairie Art Gallery Exhibit
Prairie Art Gallery has sent us a
new exhibit to display at our
school. The exhibit is called
“Because It Isn’t the Same Without You.” Please come to the
school after September 8th to
view the art exhibit.
MEET THE TEACHER
Please join the Dixonville
School Staff on September
17, 2015 at 7-8 p.m. Enjoy
our “Build Your Own Ice
Cream Sundae”
dents and staff so we can
get to know who is who.
Everyone Welcome!
Enjoy an hour of social interaction with Parents, stuVOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Page 3
25 years ago, DMI started a reading program in all our regional schools called “Patti Poplar.” Patti was very popular
(for a poplar) and her roots grew in every direction—Manning, Grimshaw, Dixonville, Nampa and beyond. But Patti
grew up and she graduated high school and went away . . . And we missed her. What to do? Well, we knew that the
Poplar family was able to repopulate (which is why DMI LOVES them), so we found a new way to have the children and
students in our region read, read, read . . .
1,000,000 Minutes To Win It!
Reading is about joy, adventure, learning about cultures, travel, people, personalities and most importantly: IMAGINATION! Dixonville Community Library will be bringing bring the Million Minutes Reading Program to Dixonville
School again this year, with fun incentives to encourage our participants to track their minutes!
When the teacher’s send home the monthly calendar, start tracking all the minutes your child reads or is read to. Get
creative - be IMAGI-NATIVE! Challenge them to read everything, make it fun, and show them that the world has so
many questions and answers but you have to look for them in all sorts of places. Fill out your calendar - and then send
it to school. Make sure your teachers are tracking the numbers as well! Sometimes we forget and we want to make
sure we have 1 Million Minutes to Win It in 2016!
Rules:
All reading counts! (Independent, class assignments, teacher read-aloud,
guest readers, reading at home, etc.) Please note that this may also be at
the teacher’s discretion.
Students keep track of independent reading on home calendar sheets Parents will need to sign the calendar for minutes read at home—Teachers
and students will keep track of classroom reading time.
Independent reading is an ongoing homework assignment. Please encourage
your child to read at home each night—remember, every minute counts!
Reaching the 1,000,000 Minute Goal
When the goal of 1,000,000 minutes has been reached, there will be a
great celebration assembly!
Be patient . . . there are always surprises
at the end of a good story!
ISuperintendants
Message
It is my great pleasure to welcome students, staff, parents and guardians back for the 2015-2016 school
year. We hope you enjoyed a wonderful summer break.
To our new families and staff, welcome to the Peace River School Division family. We are a public school
system committed to supporting students to reach their full potential in safe and caring learning environments.
Our goal is to nurture the unique talents and gifts of our students while we provide a broad range of engaging academic and extra-curricular programming. To achieve this, we have adopted an Inclusive Education
system. An inclusive education system takes responsibility for all students, ensuring each student belongs
and receives a quality education no matter their ability or disability, language, cultural background, gender
or age.
In addition, equal emphasis is placed on safety, wellness, community involvement and relationship building.
We are thankful for the relationships shared with our parents, guardians, community members, businesses
and organizations that bring greater opportunities for our students and most of all – demonstrates to our students that they are supported by their community.
Parents play an important role in education and we welcome, value and appreciate your involvement and
input. We understand that parental involvement looks different based on many factors and will continue to
ensure parents are informed of ways they can be involved and feel at home in our schools. We look forward
to celebrating parents during PRSD’s annual “Parents Matter Appreciation Week” this November.
Our staff are committed and passionate individuals that put student needs first and our schools are families
that work together as a team. Whether you are a student, staff member, parent or community member, you
are an important part of the Peace River School Division family and we wish you a rewarding and enjoyable
2015-2016 school year.
Paul Bennett, PRSD Superintendent
September 2015
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1st day for
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Meet The
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Site Based PD
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