Principal’s MessageDear Nightingale Community, We had a beautiful and smooth beginning to a new school year. My gratitude goes to our staff and the entire community of Parents and Guardians for their support during these first weeks of school. They have ensured that our students are settled into their new grades and able to explore the opportunities offered to them at school, and that they continue to learn, grow and blossom in the safe, caring and welcoming place we call Florence Nightingale Elementary School.

Many thanks to all of you who attended our first Open House of the school year 2017-2018 on Sept. 20th. What a great way to celebrate our school and meet each other. We started in a circle of students, parents, and teachers in the gymnasium introducing our teaching staff and reviewing our school expectations, followed by a tour of the school. We value our partnership and we believe that a strong relationship between home and school has an immense impact on our students’ learning and performance.

September 21st was Terry Fox Day at Nightingale. Many thanks go to the organizing committee: Mrs. Brown, Ms. Pearson, Mr. Doolan, and Mr. Hartwick and to our students and staff for making the day a success. We were able to raise $300 dollars to help the Cancer Research. Thank you all for your contributions!

And last but not least, we had a meaningful first Professional Development Day at our school on September 22nd. This gathering gave us a chance to focus on our school goals of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Aboriginal Perspectives and led to many thought-provoking conversations and ideas that we will implement throughout the school year. As a school, we are embracing Second Step Program, which is an effective SEL Programming that promotes SEL school-wide by supporting evidence-based practices that are S.A.F.E (Sequenced activities or steps, Active learning methods, Focus on skill development, Explicitly targeted SEL Skills). Please read more about SEL in our newsletter.

Thanks for reading this newsletter carefully, and as always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at school. Armin SamieiPrincipal

Nightingale News “PROUD TO BE HAWKS” Honest, Awesome Attitude, Working hard, Kind, Safe

2740 Guelph StreetVancouver, BC V5T 3P7

MRS. ARMIN SAMIEIPRINCIPAL

PHONE: 604-713-5290 FAX: 604-713-5292

Mr. Aaron DavisDirector of Instruction

Field Services Team604-713-5000

Ms. Dianne TurnerLiaison School Trustee

dianne.turner@vsb.bc.ca

Ms Melanie AntweilerDistrict Parent Chair

Southlands604-713-5414

Heather BerryPAC Chair

pac_nig@vsb.bc.ca

NEWSLETTER #2 October September 30, 2017

Nightingale’s School Goals:Social & Emotional Learning and Aboriginal Perspectives

The staff at Nightingale will continue to enhance their shared knowledge and skills in the area of social emotional learning in order to promote self-regulation, self-esteem and active participation within our school and larger community. Furthermore, we continue to increase knowledge, acceptance, empathy, awareness and appreciation of Aboriginal histories, traditions, cultures and contributions among all students.

What is Social and Emotional Learning? “Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” (Retrieved from http://www.casel.org/what-is-sel/ 0 24/09/2017)

This school year, our staff is implementing Second Step, a SEL program covering the five core competencies that promote students’ emotional, social and academic learning: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision-Making.

(Retrieved from http://www.casel.org/what-is-sel/ 0 24/09/2017)

SECOND STEPFamily Letter

Dear Family, We want your child to be as successful as possible at school. Success in school is not just about reading and math. It is also about knowing how to learn and how to get along with others. We will be using the Second Step program in your child’s classroom to teach these critical skills.

The Second Step program teaches skills in the following four areas: 1. Skills for Learning: Students gain skills to help themselves learn, including how to focus their attention, listen carefully, use self-talk to stay on task, and be assertive when asking for help with schoolwork. 2. Empathy: Students learn to identify and understand their own and others’ feelings. Students also learn how to take another’s perspective and how to show compassion. 3. Emotion Management: Students learn specific skills for calming down when experiencing strong feelings, such as anxiety or anger. 4. Problem Solving: Students learn a process for solving problems with others in a positive way.

Your child will be learning a lot this year—and he or she will need your help! Throughout the year, your child will be bringing home Home Links that go with several of the Second Step lessons. Home Links are simple, fun activities for you and your child to complete together. They are a great way for you to understand what your child is learning and for your child to show you what he or she knows. If you have any questions about the Second Step program, please do not hesitate to contact your classroom teacher and/or Mrs. Samiei, the school principal for more information.

Thank you for supporting your child in learning the skills that lead to success in school and in life.

Goal Setting ConferencesOctober 4th and 5th

Goal setting conferences will take place on Wednesday, October 4th and Thursday, Oct. 5th. Students are dismissed at 2:00pm on both days. Please make arrangements for your child to be picked up at 2:00pm on September 4th and 5th. These 15 minutes conferences will create space for you, your child and the classroom teacher to discuss your child’s performance at school.Letters went home on Monday, Sept. 25th and were due September 29th. You will be notified of the date and time of the conferences by your classroom teacher. If you did not receive this letter, please contact your classroom teacher or the office to book a conference.

Change of Address or Phone Number?Please inform the Office if you have changed your address or telephone number. For safety and enrolment purposes, it is vital that the school office has this information.

LIBRARY NEWS

Monday, October 23 is National School Library Day. Mr. Doolan would love to have you visit the library. MORNING/AFTERNOON SUPERVISION

School is in session from 8:55am to 3:00pm. The outside supervision takes place from 8:40am to 8:55am in the mornings and 3:00 to 3:20pm in the afternoons. On most mornings, our teacher-librarian, Mr. Doolan opens up the library at 8:30am for interested students. Our breakfast program starts at 8:30am. There is no supervision outside these hours for students who are dropped off too early at school. The safety of our students is our first priority, and we need your support to do our job well with the only resources we have available to us at this time. Thank you for your consideration and ensuring that your children are not dropped off at and picked up from school outside of the supervision hours.

Vancouver Board of Education SAFE ARRIVAL PROCEDURES

If your child will be absent from school, please call 604-713-5159 to report this absence as early as possible. Parents should leave a message at the dedicated answering service by calling the number provided. You will be prompted to provide the two-digit extension for your child’s school to access the school’s voicemail box for reporting an absence. The two-digit extension for Nightingale Elementary is 59. It is important to report your child’s absence prior to 9:00 a.m. on

the first day of the absence.If your child is late for school they must sign in at the office before they make their way to the classroom. School offices are busy places: consistently notifying the school in advance of your child’s absence will significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Safe Arrival Morning Routine.

MUSIC AT NIGHTINGALEWe are very pleased to welcome Ms. Nicole Dale, our new Music Teacher to Nightingale! Ms. Dale brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in Music instruction and production to our school.She will be at our school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Get ready for some noise!

Sarah McLachlan School of Music

We feel privileged to continue our partnership with Sarah McLachlan School of Music. Last year, our focus was on our upper intermediate students. This school year, we will offer this opportunity to our younger students:-Term 1: Gr. 3 & 3/4: Ms. Shaw & Gelson-Term 2: Gr. 4/5: Ms. Wong-Term 3: Gr. 1/2 & 2: Mr. Canning & Ms Hahn

VISUAL ARTS AT NIGHTINGALE

Artwork by our 2016-2017 Kindergarten students

We are pleased to welcome back our Artist in Residence, Ms. Margaret Milne to our school for another wonderful year of Artist in Residence Studio program. Maggie has been the artist in residence at Florence Nightingale for the last two years, working on developing the Artist in Residence Studio (AIRS) program district-wide with Colleen Mieczaniec, the lead teacher at Nightingale and co-visionary for this project, and other dedicated people. This enriching opportunity has been made possible at Nightingale by private donations from The Rennie Foundation and additional one-time grants from The Betty Wellborn Artistic Legacies Fund and The Learning Journey Grant sponsored by The Reggio Consortium Society.In Term 1, Maggie will be exploring the theme of Belonging with students. She is looking at using a variety of media to examine issues of self and what it means to belong, through metaphor, symbol and story. This theme is aligned with the core competency of personal and social (Personal and Cultural Identity, Personal Awareness and Responsibility), as part of the redesigned curriculum.Please Visit our Arts Studio on the third floor and stay tuned for our exhibitions throughout the school year.

School Active Travel Planning Program

Florence Nightingale Elementary is participating in the City of Vancouver’s School Active Travel Planning program to encourage and promote walking and cycling to school. The program takes place over two years and includes several types of projects to address barriers to active travel:

• Gathering information from students and families about their travel choices • Conducting a walkabout with City staff and the school community to identify school travel challenges and opportunities • Consulting with stakeholders such as VPD, Parking Enforcement, HUB, among others • Creating a school travel action plan • Upgrading transportation infrastructure near the school • Promoting active travel education and awareness

Studies have shown that active travel has many benefits for students, the community, and the environment, including:

• Increasing physical activity among students, leading to healthier, happier, and more alert learners • Creating opportunities to engage with neighbours and socialize on the way to school • Reducing car travel to school, in turn decreasing traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution • Inspiring active travel habits early in life to carry into adulthood

To learn more about the program, please visit the City of Vancouver School Active Travel Planning Website http://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/school-active-travel-planning.aspx If you have any questions the School Active Travel Program, please contact Liliana Quintero at schoolactivetravel@vancouver.ca.

A MESSAGE FROM NIGHTINGALE PAC CHAIR

2017/18 PAC Meeting Dates

Thursday, September 28, 2017 PAC Meeting Draft Agenda, Minutes from May 16, 2017 for approvalThursday, October 26, 2017 PAC Budget MeetingThursday, November 16, 2017 PAC MeetingThursday, December 21, 2017 Tentative – PAC Xmas Social Thursday, January 18, 2018 PAC MeetingThursday, February 15, 2018 PAC MeetingThursday, April 26, 2018 PAC MeetingThursday, May 17, 2018 PAC Meeting & AGMThursday, June 21, 2018 PAC Summer Social Potluck - everyone welcome

Sign up for the Nightingale PAC E-news or join our Facebook group by emailing pac_nig@vsb.bc.ca

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat2 3 4

Goal Setting Conferences-2:00-7:00pm - Early Dismissal 2:00pm

5 Goal Setting Conferences-2:00-7:00pm - Early Dismissal 2:00pmDental Screening (9:00am-12:00pm)

6 7

8 9 ThanksgivingSchool Cloased

10Picture Day

11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19Grade 6 Immunization

20ProD – School Not in Session

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22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31Halloween Activities

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