St. Bernadette Elementary School
Newsletter
November 4th, 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
• AGM
• Increment Weather
• Poppy Sales
• Google Review
• Agape Ministries – Halloween Candy Collection
• Grade 6 Immunization
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE
• Nov. 2nd – 27th – ongoing parent/student conferences
• Nov. 5th – AGM – 6:30pm via Zoom – Registration required (see below)
• Nov. 10th – St. Vincent De Paul food drive begins
• Nov. 11th – Remembrance Day – No School
• Nov. 13th – No School – Pro-D
• Nov. 16th – Lights of Hope Fundraiser begins
• Nov. 24th – PJ Day for Covenant House
AGM NOVEMBER 5TH @ 6:30PM
We are hosting our AGM online this year. Unlike our other online meetings, this one will be more interactive and allow for participants to join with or without video. Upon entry, everyone will be muted. During the Q&A at the end of the meeting participants can unmute themselves to ask a question. You will need to register in advance for this meeting:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
INCREMENT WEATHER
We have noticed that children are coming to school unprepared for the increment rainy and cold weather. 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.
POPPY SALES
Once again the school is supporting the selling of poppies in class. Children can bring in any size of a donation to receive a poppy. Sales will continue until November 10th.
GOOGLE REVIEWS
The school relies on positive social media presence to help celebrate our school and to attract families to our community who will benefit from a Catholic education. To help foster this presence, Ms. Jed Molina runs all of our social media sites. We share student work, classroom activities, major events, extra-curricular events and fun photos we think the wider community will enjoy.
Our presence on Google took a hit when two erroneous reviews were given by what was believed to be bots. These reviews had nothing to do with the school and hurt our rating. As much as we tried to remove the reviews, they are still there. Our best effort to reduce the impact false reviews have on our school is to increase the amount of reviews we have.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
A letter went home last week informing families of additions we have made to our school uniform. In an attempt to maintain our commitment to our health and safety plans and to provide children with a comfortable work environment, the PEC has agreed to extend our uniform to allow children to wear the school hoodie and sweatpants during class time. All other jackets and outerwear is to be worn to and from school and during recess times.
Most sizes from the 2019 collection are sold out as they are moving to a better quality product. The 2020 hoodies and sweatpants do not have an image yet, but you can click on the placeholder to go to the purchasing page. The colour and design are the same.
2021-2022 SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
Admissions are now open for the 2021-2022 school year. We have 20 spots available in Kindergarten next year and roughly one spot in a couple of the other grades. Since advertising this just a week or two ago, we already have 8 applicants. Please send families to our website to download a form. Siblings of students currently attending St. Bernadette’s will be automatically enrolled during re-registration.
The pandemic will not afford us the opportunity to reach out to parishioners as we have done in the past. More than ever, we need your help to reach those who want to send their child to our school so that they receive the message that admissions are open. We have already had good response from the community without any advertising, however we want to ensure that all parishioners who want to send their child to our school knows to get in their application as soon as possible.
We will not be hosting an Open House this year. Arrangements will be made with new families to the school to tour the school through an appointment.
FAMILIES WITH SIBLINGS ENTERING KINDERGARTEN FOR 2O21-2022
Our records currently show 10 children of families currently attending our school will be entering into Kindergarten next year. If you think your child might not be on our list, please contact the office. We want to ensure all siblings entering Kindergarten are registered for next year prior to opening up spots to the general public.
HALLOWEEN CANDY FOR AGAPE MINISTRIES
We are hoping your child is able to donate some of their halloween candy to the Agape Ministries. They use the candy to create initial contact with people living on the streets. If your child wishes to donate their candy, they can drop it off at the office window.
GRADE 6 IMMUNIZATION
A letter was received from Fraser Health today, stating:
“Public Health will commence the School Immunization Program for this year’s Grade 6 students in January 2021. Public Health will also provide catch-up immunizations to students who did not complete their immunizations last school year or over the summer.”