ʔə́y̓ swéyəl, Bonjour, Hello Dragon Families,
Congratulations to all the Dragons who participated in Sunshine Hills’ Cross-Country Challenge last Wednesday!
Thank you to Mr. Rodgers for organizing all the Dragons for the event and setting up the Dragon’s Lair at Sunshine Hills, and to Ms. V for running practices for students before the big day!
Toonies for Terry – Grand Total!
Thank you to Ms. Leveque for coordinating our Terry Fox Run and collecting and counting all the Toonies for Terry!
Thanks to your generosity, we surpassed our goal, raising a total of $601.20 for the Terry Fox Foundation!
Well done Dragons!
Our intermediate students participated in the BC Student Vote on Thursday, October 22nd.
Student Vote by Civix is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn about the democratic process and experience it first-hand, casting ballots for the official candidates in their riding.
Once results are counted and verified, they will be shared with students.
Thank you to all of our intermediate teachers for their work teaching about, planning, and organizing the student vote!
We are seeing an increase in students arriving after 9:00 am as the mornings get darker.
A reminder that students should be lined up by 8:45 am and class begins at 8:48 am.
Missing 12 minutes of school a day adds up over time. If your child is consistently missing the first 12 minutes of the day, they are missing an hour of instructional time in a week, and 1200 minutes or 20 hours of instructional time if they’re late 100 of 185 days.
Halloween – Our Halloween parade will be Friday, October 30th.
As Halloween approaches, we want to remind you of the importance of choosing costumes that are fun and respectful. Costumes that use traditional clothing, cultural symbols, or stereotypes can hurt people, even if unintentionally, and show disrespect to members of our community. Choosing costumes that don’t use or make fun of someone else’s culture demonstrates kindness, respect, and care for everyone in our school. This expectation aligns with our code of conduct, and students whose costumes are harmful to others will, at the very least, be asked to change or remove them. We look forward to a creative, fun, and thoughtful Halloween.
We encourage all students to celebrate Halloween safely with the following hints and tips:
- Practice costume safety: Make sure all costumes, wigs and accessories are fire resistant. Make sure the costume is comfortable and doesn’t pose a tripping hazard for your child.
- For costumes worn to school:
- Please ensure your child’s face is always visible. Masks and any other items that prevent students from being identified will not be permitted at school.
- Costumes must not include weapons, replica weapons or objects that can be mistaken as such.
- If using makeup, choose non-toxic cosmetic products and test on a small area first to see if any irritation occurs. Many kids have sensitive skin.
- When Trick or Treating –
- Give kids a refresher on traffic safety. Tell them to look both ways and only cross when no cars are coming. Cross at marked crosswalks and intersections and never cross between parked cars.
- Increase your child’s visibility – bright costumes make it easier for drivers to see children. Use reflective tape or give them flashlights or glow sticks to carry to ensure they are visible to motorists.
- Encourage kids to stay together for trick or treating, and have them stick to familiar, well-lit areas.
- Reiterate that they should only approach homes with lights on and they should never enter a stranger’s house or accept a ride from someone they don’t know.
- Inspect your child’s candy before they indulge and make sure to remove any treats that aren’t age appropriate (e.g., gum or jawbreakers) or that contain food items they are allergic to.
For additional helpful hints, please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/home-safety/halloween-safety.html
Thank you for talking with your child(ren) and helping to ensure that Halloween is a fun, safe and respectful celebration for our entire community.
Parking Lot – The Upper Parking Lot is NOT for parent drop-off or pick-up.
The city anticipates closing Shepherd Way and Patricia Drive the week of November 9th. We are currently working with the Delta Police Department Traffic Unit to establish the best traffic flow during the Shepherd Way and Patricia Drive closure. As soon as a traffic pattern has been established, we will email it to families.
Expect reduced parking close to the school – you will need to park farther away if you would like to walk your child to their line-up spot.
Devon Gardens is in the third year of our Numeracy Goal.
During the 2024-25 school year, the entire school began working with the MathMinds approach to Jump Math, and continues to do so.
We have gathered data and continued to refine our instructional practice over the past two years, based on the data we have collected.
This year all students completed a Math Check-in at the start of the year that has been developed by the district. Teachers used the check-ins to develop a ‘heat map’ for their class, which clearly identifies areas where students need more instruction and support to develop a strong math foundation.
Over the summer, the district has also developed a number of “Fact Fluency” activities that teachers will also be using so students can get quicker at basic math facts. By making addition, subtraction, multiplication and division more automatic, it frees up a student’s mind to take on higher order mathematical thinking.
If you would like to read more about our school goal, please check out the school website: https://dg.deltasd335.upanupstage.com/our-school/school-goals/
Are you looking to support math fluency at home? Check out these district resources: https://deltalearns.ca/numeracy/fact-fluency-at-home/
Emergency Preparedness Fee
In 2024, the district introduced an annual Emergency Preparedness Fee of $10 per student. This fee covers the maintenance and replenishment of emergency provisions, including food, water, sanitation and first aid items, to help care for students in case of a large-scale incident such as an earthquake.
Last year’s Emergency Preparedness Fee was used to bolster emergency food and water supplies and enabled us to reach our goal of ensuring that schools across the district now have a three-day supply of both. It also enabled the district to provide sanitation carts containing portable toilets, privacy shelters, garbage and bio-hazard bags, sanitation supplies, and personal protection equipment to all schools. This year’s $10 Emergency Preparedness Fee will be used to replace water reserves and first aid items that are about to expire, and to purchase additional sanitation supplies.
Please send $10 by cash or a cheque (made payable to the name of your child’s school) to the school office or pay online through Parent Connect where available as soon as possible. If your family requires financial support in relation to this fee, please contact the school office. Discretion will be maintained. Thank you for your support of this important initiative.
DIYAfest
The City of Delta is excited to announce the return of DIYAfest – a South Asian celebration of Diwali and Bandi Chorr Divas – on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 3 to 9 pm at the North Delta Recreation Centre! DIYAfest brings our community together to celebrate South Asian culture and traditions, centred around the diya, a traditional oil lamp symbolizing light, hope, and unity. The City of Delta warmly invites you and your family to join us for an exciting evening featuring cultural performances, live music, diverse food vendors, interactive activities, an artisan market, and a full-sized illuminated Ferris wheel offering free rides for the community! See the poster for details.
We have an incredible Parent Advisory Council at Devon Gardens!
Please join us for our next PAC Meeting on Monday, November 2nd at 7:30 pm in the school library or on Teams. The link will be sent out that day.
If you would like more information, please reach out to pacdevongardens@gmail.com and/or join the Parent WhatsApp. More information can also be found here: 26-27PAC One Pager
The PAC is hosting a Bake Sale to raise money for a new playground!
If you would like to contribute, please contact the PAC at pacdevongardens@gmail.com. The deadline is October 29th.
ONGOING PAC FUNDRAISERS
Use your personal Return-It account by clicking donate and looking up Devon Gardens Elementary.
Use this link https://mabelslabels.ca/en-CA/fundraising/support to make a purchase (search Devon Gardens Elementary PAC) and 20% of your purchase goes back to our school.
October 28th: A reminder that dismissal on Wednesdays is at 1:45 PM.
October 29th: PAC special lunch day – Panago
October 30th: Halloween Parade in the morning
October 30th: PAC Bake Sale After School
November 2nd: The Lunch Lady program begins daily delivery
November 2nd: PAC Meeting at 7:30 PM in the library or on Teams
November 8th: Diwali
November 10th: Remembrance Day assembly
November 11th: Remembrance Day – No school
hay ce:p q̓aʔ. Merci. Thank you.