September 1, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians;
Hello and Welcome Back to EES for another year! I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer. EES Office is open and can be reached daily. Please feel free to contact the school if you have any questions.
The start of the year is always an exciting time for students and staff. Not only do we have the anticipation of what the year will bring but we usually have some changes including new staff and students. This year we do have some extensive changes to staffing at EES. We welcome back Ms. Rose Johnston as our Administrative Assistant. If you are a new family please take an opportunity to drop by the Office or call in and introduce yourself to Rose. This year we have four new members to our staff. We welcome Mrs. Melissa Moffat in the role of Educational Assistant. Mrs. Moffat is new to the area and has experience working as an Education Assistant. Our school continues to expand and we have three new additions to our teaching staff. Mrs. McKenney (some students will know her as Ms. Pollock) worked last September at EES teaching in the Gr 6-7 room, she has been a substitute teacher in SD6 and worked at Windermere Elementary the last few years. Mrs. McKenney will be teaching Gr 3-4. Ms. Searle has worked in SD6 for the last few years at EMP and joins our staff to teach Gr 1-2. Our third new addition, Ms. McGuire, has worked the last few years at DTSS as their Learning Services teacher. She will join us as our Gr 6-7 teacher. All three teachers bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience and we are very excited to have them join our EES staff.
As usual we have had some physical changes to EES over the summer. Last year we had our Outdoor Classroom built and our school kitchen completely remodelled. This year, with our expanding numbers, we will be adding an entire new classroom. Maintenance has worked extremely hard all summer to make three brand new classrooms out of two very large existing rooms. The renovations look wonderful and the rooms really are a substantial upgrade to our primary wing of the school.
As mentioned, our numbers continue to grow. We will not know exact numbers until after next week, however, we continue to get registrations and expecting over 150 students. This year our class configurations are planned for seven divisions; Gr K-1, Gr 1, Gr 1-2, Gr 3, Gr 3-4, Gr 5-6, Gr 6-7. Of course, these may possibly change depending on the students we see Sept 3. Please discuss with your child the possibly of being moved around after the first day – quite possibly the first day classrooms will have many changes as the week unfolds. There is a possibility that some students will need to be moved to accommodate opening day changes. Classes have already been set but there could be changes made as required. The decision for placement is collaboratively done by staff and myself. Many factors go into the placement decision and in the end we choose what we feel is the absolute best placement for your child’s success.
Busses will be running on Day 1 (note the Day 1 schedule at end of this letter). Please contact the Office if you have any transportation questions (bus registration is online – please contact the Office if you need assistance registering for the bus transportation).
Our ‘Welcome Back BBQ’ will happen again this year. I will chat with staff and our Parent Advisory Council regarding details for the BBQ. We will communicate information to families as soon as we work out the details. We will have our first Parent Advisory Council Meeting immediately after the BBQ. We welcome new families and always need extra support. PAC does a wonderful job supporting EES and enhancing our student’s educational experience.
Reminder – We will be, as usual, gathering start-up communication information from families. For the last two years SD6 moved from sending home forms to a process involving online communication of information. With anything new there is often wrinkles that require ironing. We are hoping most of these wrinkles are ironed out. The Office will communicate instructions in a future email and it should make submitting info much easier. Please make sure your e-mail, phone number, and current physical address is updated with the Office. We expect school supplies to arrive for students and be in each classroom on Day One. Students will receive supplies, an agenda, and a fridge magnet on the first day.
Please check the SD6 website or contact the school for bus schedules (any additions to the route can be requested by contacting EES Office or the School board Office). Please be aware that there may be some confusion with bussing as students figure out stops and times. Any new students may need to be added to the list so please contact EES (Office is now open) so we can have your stop confirmed. And, we ask that parents please be patient the first few days as drivers adapt to a new school year. If any problems occur, please notify the school so we can rectify the issue.
I have included an opening day schedule (below) for the first day. Our first day with students will be September 3. Please note that day 1 this year will be a full day of school. This should help to relieve any confusion or answer any questions but if you wish any further clarification please do not hesitate to contact the school. The Office will now be open daily during normal hours.
The staff at EES is excited to get started and we are looking forward to another tremendous year.
At EES we … Care, Create, Collaborate! Go Eagles!
Darryl Turner, Principal