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June Updates

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June Updates

Principal/Vice-Principal Message

As we enter into the final month of the school year, staff and students are looking forward to upcoming outdoor events, year-end trips and school celebrations. Education & Mental Health week was welcomed back at Helen Detwiler during our Open House in May! We had a great turn out and enjoyed an entertaining night with our choir and ukulele club playing at our French Café. The desserts were delicious, thank you to Madame Payant and our students for running the event. The book fair was also a success all week with students excited to purchase some new books! Thank you to everyone for helping with set up and sales!

On behalf of the Helen Detwiler staff, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our departing staff members for their dedication to the school and community. We wish them all the best!

  • Mrs. Kawamoto
  • Mrs. Duke
  • Ms. Danyal
  • Mr. De Fazio
  • Ms. Telfer
  • Mrs. Azzopardi
  • Ms. Kovacs
  • Mrs. Akther
  • Ms. Neil
  • Ms. Sampson
  • Mrs. Garcia
  • Mrs. Ritchie

We would like welcome new staff members that will be joining Helen Detwiler for the 2023/24 school year:

  • Mrs. Zablocki
  • Mr. Lane
  • Mr. Blanche

Finally, We would like to thank our grade 8 students that will be leaving Helen Detwiler. We wish you nothing but success in your next adventure in high school. We hope that you stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. Remember, that you will always be a part of the Helen Detwiler Family!

Sincerely,

Mr. Ro and Mrs. Laws

Pride Month (June 2023)

Pride Month is an annual event typically celebrated in June around the world. Over the course of the month, HWDSB strives to recognize and celebrate Two Spirit & LGBTQIA+ contributions and identities, and the allies who stand in solidarity and support. It is also a time of action; a time to raise awareness about the rise in discrimination, hate, and violence toward Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ people and communities both locally and globally. 

To kick off Pride Month, the Progress Pride flag or Rainbow flags are being raised at the Education Centre and all HWDSB schools. The annual flag raising is to honour and celebrate students, families, staff, and members of our local communities who are of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. For more information, click here.

Student Council Update – Be You! Day – June 8th

Our Student Council is proud to announce that they would like to hold a “Be You” Day on Thursday, June 8th where everyone can dress to represent their best selves according to their personal cultural heritage, their favourite sports team, or just simply by wearing their favourite set of clothes that make them feel great! Our HD community is encouraged to talk about their choice to their class if they feel comfortable so others may know why this expression is important to them.

Upcoming Talent Show – June 9th!

Helen Detwiler is getting ready to shine the spotlight on its most talented students once again! Auditions have taken place and our finalists are getting ready to show us their best on Detwiler’s big stage on Friday, June 9th at 11:15am! Parents/Caregivers/Guardians are welcome to attend.

Play Day – June 14th

On Wednesday, June 14th we will be having our play day where our older Helen Detwiler students plan and lead younger students through fun outdoor activities on our back field. A big thank you to our school council for providing all students with freezies on our Play Day!

2023-2024 School Organization

Every year, the school board provides student enrolment projections for the upcoming school year. Based on these projections, our school organization is listed below:

Kindergarten: K1, K2, K3, K4

Primary: 1A, 12A, 12B, 23A, 23B, 3A

Junior: 34A, 45A, 45B, 56A, 56B, 56C

Intermediate: 7A, 78A, 78B, 78C

Class Placements for 2023-24

Many factors are considered by our admin team, classroom educators and support staff when placing students in their classes for next year. To honour the integrity of the class building process, our students will be placed into their next grade class using a school team approach. While we do not take parental requests for specific class placements for their child, we listen and take input from parents and caregivers into consideration. Ultimately, class placements will be a school based decision. Thank you for respecting this process and trusting the Helen Detwiler staff with your child’s placement.

We recognize that communication about elementary class placement of students is very important to students and their families in anticipation of the upcoming school year. Many factors need to be considered when determining a student’s placement or schedule, and many changes can occur over the summer months. For this reason, we will share information about student class placements the week before school begins (August 28, 2023) via the Parent Portal. Families having trouble accessing the parent portal, can call the school August 28th – Sept 1st for support.

Term 2 Report Cards

With the conclusion of term two, report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, June 27th. We encourage you to reflect and discuss the report card with your child focusing on the key learnings, their strengths and next steps for improvement. This discussion is valuable in promoting ongoing learning and improvement. The signed third page can be returned before the last day of school for students which is Wednesday, June 28th.

Student Medication Pick-Up

With the end of the year coming, it is very important to ensure that all medications and epi-pens are picked up from the main office and classrooms. If your child has medication that is stored at school it is important that you make arrangements for pick up at the main office by Thursday, June 29th.

Exterior Window/Door Replacement During Summer

The school board will be replacing the exterior windows and doors at Helen Detwiler. There will be construction on site over the summer months and the project is expected to be completed by the start of the 2023-24 school year.

Heat Alerts at HWDSB

Hamilton Public Health Services monitors weather forecasts closely and notifies the media and community partners of a heat event. 

A Heat Warning is issued when there are two or more consecutive days forecast with daytime highs greater than or equal to 31C and nighttime lows greater than or equal to 20C or two or more consecutive days with a Humidex of 40C or greater. 

An Extended Heat Warning is issued when there are three or more consecutive days observed with daytime highs greater than or equal to 31C and nighttime lows greater than or equal to 20C or three or more consecutive days with a Humidex of 40C or greater. For more information click here.

 

 

 

Updated on Thursday, June 01, 2023.
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