HIGHLIGHTS
• Raise the Dough Fundraiser
• Updated Ministry of Education Health and Safety Plans
• Scholastic Book Fair and Virtual Book Fair
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE
• February 24th – Pink Shirt Day – Non-Uniform Day
• March 1st – 5th – Annual Book Fair
• March 3rd – 6pm-8pm Virtual Book Fair “Family Night”
• March 12th – Early Dismissal (No Stingers Club after school)
• March 13th – 28th – Spring Break
• April 1st – Holy Thursday – Early Dismissal (No Stingers Club after school)
• April 2nd – Good Friday – No School
• April 5th – Easter Monday – No School
| UPDATED MINISTRY OF EDUCATION HEALTH AND SAFETY PLANS On Thursday February 4th the Ministry of Education announced updates to the health and safety plans for all BC schools. St. Bernadette’s is currently working on updating our plans based on the updates from the ministry and the BCCDC. Once our plans are updated, we will post them on our website and notify parents of the updates.The new updates focus mainly on:- prevention of crowding, especially at the start and end of the day- mask wearing, physical distancing and other preventative measures.- new mask mandate for staff- new requirements for Physical Education classes Many of the updates we are already doing. We are proud of our plans and the work we have done to keep everyone safe and healthy. We understand that there is no guarantee that with all measure in place we can prevent an exposure. However, we do believe that due to everyone’s vigilance we can keep it as that, an exposure, and not allow the virus to transmit within our school. Continued cooperation is needed from everyone in our community. Please see below in ways that you can help by monitoring your family’s health and practicing physical distancing and mask wearing on school property.We also want to remind parents that families are not to allow their child(ren) to play in the courtyard after school, families are to collect their child(ren) and immediate vacate the school grounds, families are not to gather on school property, and all families and visitors must wear masks at all times when they are out of their vehicle and on school property.More updates are to come. DAILY HEALTH CHECKS We would like to remind families that health checks are part of the school’s health and safety plans. Health checks must be done by families every school day. If your child is home from school because they are sick or not feeling well, it is important that you check for any symptoms that might be related to COVID-19 and call 811 to see if a test is needed. NEW HEALTH CHECK APP There is a new daily health check app that the BC government has recently put out. Please go to https://www.k12dailycheck.gov.bc.ca/healthcheck?execution=e1s1 It is essential that families do a health check every morning prior to leaving for school and that students stay home if they show any signs or symptoms listed on the health check or if they are feeling unwell. Health checks are a vital part of our health and safety plans. It is important that families do a health check every day and get tested if necessary. |
| SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR MARCH 1ST – 5TH We are happy to announce that we will be having our annual book fair again this year. There will be some changes made so that the fair can run safely for all students and staff:- The book fair will only be open during class time. – School staff will be running the cashier and monitoring the students- Each class has signed up for a time and teachers will inform parents which days their class will go down to the book fair- The book fair is being held on the larger side of the Library Learning Commons to accommodate more spacing between students- The book fair will be closed before school, during recesses and after school. Students can only attend the book fair with their class and classroom teacher- There is an online option too. See below for more details. |
SCHOLASTIC VIRTUAL BOOK FAIR
On Wednesday March 3rd from 6-8pm, our book fair will have a “virtual family night”. Any books purchased during this time will receive free shipping regardless of the amount spent. All other times shipping is a flat $6.00. All throughout the week you can purchase books online, however, it is during our “virtual family night” that you will receive free shipping. Anyone can purchase virtually so please pass this along to the book lovers you know and help support our school and literacy initiatives for our children. The link will be in next week’s newsletter.
REMINDERS
ADMISSIONS UPDATE
We would like to thank all the families who promoted our school through word of mouth over these past few months. Once again we experienced a tremendous response from the community to be a part of our school. Although enrolment was slow at first, January was very busy and we are now full in almost all of our classes. Below are the space that are left in our school:
Kindergarten – Full (Waitlist only)
Gr. 1 – Full (Waitlist only)
Gr. 2 – Full (Waitlist only)
Gr. 3 – Full (Waitlist only)
Gr. 4- Full (Waitlist only)
Gr. 5 – 3 spots available
Gr. 6 – Full (Waitlist only)
Gr. 7 – 4 spots available
PARISH TAX RECEIPTS
Tax receipts for donations in 2020 to the parish and Project Advance are now available for pickup from the parish office. The office is open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4pm this week. If you are sending someone to pick up on your behalf, please contact the parish office by email (parish@stbernadette.ca) or by phone (604-596-0566) to provide us with the name of the person you wish to release your tax receipt to; we will not release this very private information without your permission.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
As the weather continues to bring rain, cold temperatures and the possibility of snow, it is important that children come to school dressed for the weather we are expecting on that day. As part of our health and safety plans, it was stated that:
“As much as possible, classes will be held outdoors, and students will be required to be outdoors during recess times.”
• Students need to be prepared for the weather when going outside for recess. Sunscreen and hats are recommended for the warmer months, while winter/rain jackets, gloves, toques, rain boots, umbrellas and other similar items are recommended for the rainy, snowy and cold months.
• “Indoor recess will only occur if the outdoor conditions are unsafe for the students.” – STB Family Planning and Return to School September 2020 document
Children will be going outside during rainy and cold weather. Having an umbrella and/or a good rain jacket is essential. Being outside for recess is healthy for the student and the classroom. Your child needs fresh air and recess times allow the air in the classroom to cycle quicker and bring more fresh air in.
WEARING MASKS IN SCHOOL
St. Bernadette School has excellent compliance with mask wearing. With recent mask wearing orders coming to public spaces, questions were asked about if schools were going to make masks mandatory too. As of now, masks are still not mandatory. However, you will see calls from the BCTF and other educational groups asking parents to speak with their children about wearing masks in class.
There is significant credible research that speaks to the importance and effectiveness of wearing a mask. In addition, in the U.S., the director of the CDC stated that face masks are “the most important, powerful public health tool we have.” Face masks reduce the amount of droplets and aerosols in the air, reduce the viral load, and creates a “form of ‘variolation’ that would generate immunity and thereby slow the spread of the virus while we wait for a vaccine” as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
We are asking students to treat masks as part of their uniform, to wear them in class, to take breaks from wearing them when they are outside or eating, and to ensure that they are wearing them properly (over the mouth and nose).
We continue to view masks as one layer of a multilayered approach to our health and safety plan. It is not a be all, end all method, in the same way that physical distancing, health checks and hand washing are each not effective on their own. However, as we learn more about the virus, its infection through droplets and aerosols, its contagion rate, the short and long term health effects, and other aspects, mask wearing is important and will continue to be effective.
Please continue to speak with your child(ten) about following the health and safety plans of the school, and if they share the fantastic work they are doing to keep themselves and others safe and healthy, please congratulate them on doing a great job in following the health and safety plans of the school.
PREPARING FOR UNEXPECTED CHANGES TO LEARNING
St. Bernadette School wants to ensure that we are all prepared for unexpected directives from Fraser Health or the Ministry of Education due to the changing public health landscape as a result of rising COVID-19 cases in our community. There are several scenarios that could impact in-class learning:
– Fraser Health ordering a student/teacher/staff to self isolate due to a school exposure
– Fraser Health ordering a class to self isolate due to a school exposure
– Fraser Health ordering a Learning Group (Cohort) to self-isolate due to a school exposure
– Fraser Health ordering our school to close due to an outbreak
– Ordering of us to close due to staff shortages
– The Provincial Health Officer ordering a shift to remote learning or hybrid learning
We are mindful that COVID-19’s prevalence is growing in our community exponentially and we have to be prepared to respond accordingly. This notice is written to provide you the assurance that we got this. We are on top of it. We are responding to it. We are well prepared for all the possible scenarios.
Since the beginning of November, the staff has been working on plans and preparations for a possible disruption to in-class learning. It is our intention to ensure that every student is prepared with the necessary skills and resources if a disruption would occur. You may notice that students are beginning to transport more resources back and forth from school each day. This is so we are prepared to move to another stage of learning if we are asked to suddenly pivot overnight. Teachers are also transporting more items back and forth from school each day so they too can pivot quickly and effectively.
St. Bernadette students are in good hands, we are well prepared and as always, are ready for all possible scenarios. We are on top of it and are working collaboratively to ensure that we will continue to provide a sound and meaningful education if we need to quickly move to another stage of learning. With your ongoing support and community buy-in, we can continue to do our best to keep everyone safe and healthy as we move closer to Christmas break.
IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING PROPER HEALTH AND SAFETY
St. Bernadette’s believes strongly that a multilayered approach is essential to reducing risk at our school. We have identified 4 areas that will keep everyone safe:
1. Physical Distancing – it is especially important that adults maintain physical distancing from each other and other children, especially when on school property. Children must maintain physical distancing from other students outside of their Learning Group. Families should not be getting together and students should not be having playdates.
2. Masks – Mask wearing is mandatory for visitors and adults while on school property. Masks must be worn properly and have a minimum of 2 layers of protection. Students are encouraged to wear a mask as much as possible throughout the day. Teachers will suggest to students they should put on their mask if physical distancing cannot be maintained. We continue to have great compliance with mask wearing in the school.
3. Washing Hands – Children will wash their hands anywhere from 6 – 10+ times per day. Every time a student transitions, they will wash their hands. Students should wash their hands prior to leaving their house.
4. Health Checks and Testing – Ensuring we are healthy on a daily basis is very important. Families have shown excellent compliance thus far. If a child is unwell, they cannot return to school until they are well again and symptoms have subsided. If your child is unwell and has COVID like symptoms, you must call 811 and they will give you further guidance.
With everyone in our community working together and adhering to these 4 layers of protection, we can keep each other safe and healthy as we head into the winter months.
Resources
Flip Give – Join our team now by clicking this link: https://flipgive.app.link/teams/join?fundraiser_name=Cindy%20Chiang&joincode=LZ3CFW If you are prompted for a join code, please enter our code: LZ3CFW.
Used Uniforms – If you have used uniforms to donate or need a uniform for you child, please email useduniforms@stbernadette.ca. You can also drop off your used uniforms at the box located outside of our front doors at any time.
Stingers Club – For inquiries for registration or other questions regarding before and after school care, please email stingersclub@stbernadette.ca To pick your child up, please call 236-518-6402
Shout Out Submissions – if you would like to recognize someone or a group in our community please email shoutout@stbernadette.ca
PEC Chair – If you have questions, concerns or comments for our Parish Education Committee, please email pec@stbernadette.ca