| St. Bernadette Elementary School Newsletter October 14th, 2020 |
| HIGHLIGHTS • School Evaluation • Ordering School Masks • Parent/Student Conferences • Admissions and Annual Open House • A Great Start to the Week • Growing Number of School Exposures • Walkathon Update • Spanish Interpreter Needed THE MONTH AT A GLANCE • Oct 21st – 22nd – Ministry of Ed. School Evaluation • Oct. 30th – Halloween Non-Uniform Day • Nov. 2nd – 27th – ongoing parent/student conferences • Nov. 5th – AGM – 6:30pm via Zoom Webinar • Nov. 11th – Remembrance Day – No School • Nov. 13th – No School – Pro-D • Nov. 15th – Open House – more information to follow |
SCHOOL EVALUATION
Every independent school is on a six year cycle for an evaluation from the Ministry of Education. The evaluation looks at all functions, programming, policies, guidelines and protocols for the school to determine if the school is in compliance with Ministry of Education standards and practices.
Due to the current pandemic, the nature of the evaluation will not follow typical functionality. All members of the evaluation committee will not be permitted to enter any part of the school except for the office area. They will not be visiting classrooms, meeting with teachers or any other activities that do not align with our health and safety plans. The evaluation team has agreed to these conditions and will be primarily working from one of the rooms in the parish hall. The school will maintain its strict protocols around all visitors to ensure the health and safety of the staff and students.
NOW ACCEPTING ORDERS FOR OUR CUSTOM SCHOOL MASK
St. Bernadette’s is now allowing families to purchase our custom school mask. Each student was given one mask, however families were asking if they could purchase more for their child and themselves. We are not treating this as a fundraiser, but a desire to see everyone in masks so that we are all adding an additional layer of protection to our daily lives. There are 2 sizes to choose from and both cost the same amount.
1 mask = $16
2 masks = $30
3 masks = $40
Orders are through Munchalunch and can be purchased up to October 30th. Masks will arrive the week of November 9th – 13th.
Please go to https://munchalunch.com/schools/stbernadettebc to make your purchase.
PARENT/STUDENT CONFERENCES
Parent/student conferences will not be in person this year. Teachers will be creating their own schedule to accommodate parents as best as they can. This might be over a series of days or weeks depending on the teacher. Please be on the look out for a schedule in the next week or so. Conferences will start in November.
WALKATHON
Our walkathon raised $14,010.00!!!
Thank you to all the families who participated. It was one of our most successful walkathons in recent history at a time when the school needs it the most. We are very appreciative of all the support, kind words of affirmation, and enthusiasm we have received. I feel that every week I say this and it is going to be said again, we are so blessed to have such a supportive and caring community of parents and extended family members. We are a family and the overwhelming support we have received shows how great of a community this is.
2021-2022 SCHOOL ADMISSIONS AND OPEN HOUSE
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. Please go to our website to download a form.
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.
A GREAT START TO THE WEEK
Thank you to families for ensuring that students are dropped off safely to the school. I spoke with the primary teachers and they were very satisfied with how the new drop off routine is workings. Just a few reminders:
– Only Kindergarten and grade 1 parents can drop off their child to the school. All adults must be physically distant from each other and wear a mask when on school grounds.
– Families are not permitted to arrive early, especially when parents are escorting their child in Kindergarten and grade 1. The goal is to eventually have students enter and exit the school on their own. We want to avoid congregating and contact with other families while on school property.
GROWING NUMBER OF SCHOOL EXPOSURES
As you might be aware, there are a growing number of school exposures in BC. As of writing this there are no outbreaks or clusters in schools. The rate of transmission among children is currently at 7 for every 1000 children or 0.7% infection rate.
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
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. We have had 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. We encourage families who leave their car, to sanitize their hands when possible.
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.
SPANISH INTERPRETER NEEDED
We are very excited to be welcoming 2 boys from Peru to our school in December. They have been adopted by a family in our community and will be attending Grade 3 and 4. We have an interpreter for the Grade 3 class but we are still in need of someone who is able to speak Spanish to be with the boy in Grade 4. If you speak Spanish and would like to assist in helping our new students adapt to our school and teach them basic English, please contact me at principal@stbernadette.ca.