AHE March 2025 Newsletter
Principal’s Message
We have just two short weeks leading up to Spring Break, but we have a lot going on! The focus for the month of March is Celebrate our Success!
Our second written learning update will be sent home to families on March 12th. These formal learning updates are intended to be a snapshot of your child’s learning in the moment, rather than an average across the term. Formal written updates are one of the tools used by teachers to communicate growth and progress. Additionally, your child’s teacher may use class newsletters, emails or phone calls to keep you informed of what they are learning. Student-led conferences will be held on April 16th and 17th, giving our students an opportunity to show off their strengths and share their progress on their learning goals.
Upcoming events this month such as Battle of the Books and AHE’s Got Talent! highlight our success in reading and celebrate the diverse talents of students. We hope you can join us for these fun events.
I hope you all enjoy a restful and happy break.
Mrs. Pam Mair
Kindness Month
The school-wide focus for the month of February was Kindness. With a focus on Random Acts of Kindness, and Treating Others As We Wish To Be Treated, our staff and student body took part in many fun activities such as: the grade 7 class treating students to popcorn and hot chocolate at recess, Royalty for a Day, Think Pink Week (Including Pink Shirt Day)!
Winter Fun!
Our students have taken advantage of the little bit of snow we had this year by building, shovelling, sliding and tobogganing. The shovels and toboggans purchased by our PAC are a very popular items! Our Mud(dy) kitchen at the front entry has been another popular addition this year. Thank you to Mr. Evans and his woodworking team at RSS and our SD 19 Maintenance Crew for this new installation. You’ll notice after spring break that it will have a new location in the forest; close to the outdoor classroom.
Road hockey continues to be a passion with our students at recess and lunch. We are struggling to keep our sticks from shattering, and think wooden sticks might better serve the purpose. If you have any used wooden sticks taking up space in your garage, we would gladly give them a new home!
We enjoyed the last bit of our snow on Friday, February 28th with a Winter Fun afternoon in collaboration with staff and students at EDG. Grade 7 leaders did an amazing job of running the stations and a good time was had by all. Thanks to PAC for the hot chocolate station!
Battle of the Books
Battle of Books is a great example of how we are working towards our goal of nurturing a love for literacy!
Many AHE students are busy reading some of the ten titles in each age category in preparation for the District Battle of the Books event coming up on Wednesday, March 5 at CPE. The top teams will again have the opportunity to travel to Vernon to compete in an Inter-District Battle on April 3. Huge thanks to Ms. Draboczi for her work in organizing books and teams, and in holding BOB fest events to help students prepare for the district battle!
AHE’s Got Talent
Auditions have been held and students are preparing their performances for our second AHE’s Got Talent Show! Grade 7 students will be hosting the event on March 13, 2025 from 6:00-8:00. Admission is by donation with proceeds being split among the Gr. 7 trip to SunnyBrae, and our two charities: Trees for Tots and The Revelstoke District Health Foundation. Please come and join us celebrate the diverse talents of our students! 
Kindergarten Registration
Early registration helps us with planning our class configurations for next year. If you know anyone with a child born in 2020, please remind them that Kindergarten registration is ongoing! Kindergarten students attending AHE in the fall are invited to Pre-K play at the school on April 24th and May 29th. It was so nice to meet and greet our new families on February 27th for some exploration in the classroom. Registration is not necessary. Come and join us next time to play in the gym!
Ready Set Learn
Calling all future SD 19 students born in 2021! We will once again be hosting Ready, Set Learn in the BVE gymnasium on March 5th from 4:00-6:00. This is a great chance to meet SD 19 Principals and Kindergarten teachers and get to know our community partners. Sign up for the pizza take-away at ssalon@sd19.bc.ca!
Mental Health
SD 19 will now be offering a monthly Mental Health Newsletter. Families will find information and links to the upcoming Parent & Caregiver Series on March 11th, as well as links to other resources and virtual presentations. Follow the link below to the newsletter.
Numeracy News 
Loose parts play helps children develop math skills by encouraging them to explore, sort, and count. Loose parts are open-ended materials that can be used in many different ways to support math learning.
How loose parts help with math:
- Sorting and classifying: Children can sort and classify loose parts like pine cones and leaves.
- Counting: Children can count loose parts.
- Measuring and comparing: Children can compare and measure loose parts like rocks by weight or size.
- Investigating shape and symmetry: Children can investigate shape and symmetry using loose parts like leaves.
We are continuing to build our loose parts collection, not only for numeracy but also for literacy!
Other benefits of loose parts play:
- Imagination and creativity: Children can use loose parts to create imaginary objects and fantasy worlds.
- Problem solving: Children can use loose parts to solve problems and think critically.
- Social and emotional development: Children can develop social and emotional skills through loose parts play.
- Language and vocabulary development: Children can develop language and vocabulary skills through loose parts play.
- Independence: Children can develop greater independence through loose parts play.
While completing your spring cleaning, if you come up with collections of items (buttons, craft supplies, screws, nuts & bolts, etc.) we will happily accept donations for our new Numeracy Lab! Donations can be left at the front office with Mrs. Pendergast.
School Sports
Basketball
Our basketball season ended with great success! Both teams were underdogs and showed amazing teamwork and growth over the season. Thanks to our coaches Mr. Cadegan, Ms. Draboczi and Ms. Butler for their support! The gym continues to be open at 8am for extra shooting and dribbling practice until Spring Break!
Smashball
Smash Ball starts for grade 6 and 7 students on Thursday, March 6th after school at RSS. Smash Ball is a lead – up to Volleyball, where students play 3 to a team, learning volleyball skills in preparation for full court games. Students may walk or travel by bus to RSS after school but will need to be picked up at the end. Permission slips and more information is available with the grade 6 and 7 teachers. Thank you to Mr. Gardiner for being our sponsor teacher!
Traffic and Bike Safety
School busses are a common sight at the front of the school, whether it be that students are arriving for their day, high school students are catching the bus to RSS, field trips are occurring, or students are heading home at the end of the day. Please be reminded that you cannot pass a bus from behind or from either direction if it is stopped to load or unload children. If the yellow or red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, traffic must stop.
After Spring Break, I expect our bike racks to be full! Please remember when driving by and parking in front of the school to keep an extra eye out for our students walking and biking to school. Also, a friendly reminder that the 30km/hr zone extends along Park Drive from Nichol Road to McKinnon Dr. and U-turns in this area are very unsafe. A further reminder to turn your vehicle off while you are waiting.
Thanks for doing your part to keep our kids safe!
PAC News
Spring sure is springing! March is upon us, and PAC will be providing a soup hot lunch on March 14th, just before spring break.
A big thank you to all the volunteers and to Save on Foods for their generous donation of hot chocolate powder and whipped cream, which helped make Winter Fun Day on Friday, February 28th, a success!
PAC is also running an Easter Purdy’s campaign—a fantastic way to support PAC, as we receive proceeds from each order. You can find more information and place your orders via this link:
https://fundraising.purdys.com/join.aspx/1619618-127428
School Fundraiser
By popular request, we now have AHE stickers! Stickers can be purchased at the front office starting this week for $2. They will also be used as prizes for the numeracy question of the week and other student incentives for the rest of the year. Any profits from sticker sales will help to offset the cost of food, treats and other necessities for our beloved Spice (he eats a lot!!).
Important Dates
March 3 – PAC meeting 6:30-7:30
March 5 – District Battle of the Books at CPE (9am)
March 5 – Ready, Set, Learn 4:00-6:00
March 6 – Hot Lunch (Community Kitchen) Spaghetti and Meatballs
March 11 – Parent and Caregiver Series – Hannah Beach
March 12 – Written LearningUpdate #2 sent home
March 13 – AHE’s Got Talent 6:00-8:00
March 14 – Wear Green
March 14 – PAC Soup Lunch
March 17-28 – Spring Break
March 31 – First day back to school
April 3 – Hot lunch
April 7 – POPS (grade 1) in the p.m.
April 7 – PAC meeting 6:30
April 11 – Class Photos
Stay connected!
Please visit our website arrowheights.sd19.bc.ca
