St. Bernadette Elementary
School Newsletter
October 26th, 2016
Highlights
• Changes to the School Parking Procedures
• Halloween Dress Code
• Clothing Drive
• Fall Social
October 28th Pro-D Day (NO SCHOOL)
October 31st Halloween – Non- Uniform Day
October 31st Halloween Parade @ 1pm (parents may wish to attend)
November 1st All Saints day Mass (6)
November 5th Fall Social
School News
CHANGES TO THE SCHOOL PARKING PROCEDURES
Every year we monitor and adjust our safety procedures in oder to improve student safety and wellbeing. During our monitoring of the current pick up and drop off routines, we have noticed an increase of reckless and dangerous behaviour. This mainly pertains to the alleyway alongside the parish hall where parents are able to drop off their child and immediately exit. Although many of the instances do not involve our parents, the danger still presents itself.
Starting immediately, there will no longer be access to the alleyway for drop-offs. Parents are asked to drop their child off in the parking lot and escort them to the other side of the yellow line. We understand that this is going to increase traffic into our parking lot, we also understand that this not a perfect solution, but one that is necessary at this time.
We have also noticed that there are still some parents who are crossing the yellow line with their vehicle, especially on rainy days. This has caused us to put cones back on the yellow line to prevent this from happening. Please make note not to cross the yellow line at anytime while school is in session (7am – 6pm).
HALLOWEEN DRESS UP
Monday, October 31st students may come to school in costume or dress in Halloween colours. If your child is coming in costume please remember that children are not to wear costumes that would be deemed inappropriate. We ask that costumes refrain from portraying violent characters and/or images, and promoting characters and/or imagery that depicts parts of society that causes harm to others . All weapons, no matter how fake or harmless they are (foam, cardboard, etc.), must be kept at home. We have had great success in the past with families complying with this request. Please remember that wearing a costume is a privilege and the principal reserves the right to ask any student to remove their costume for any reason.
We will have our annual Costume Parade for the students at 1:00pm. Parents are more than welcome to come and watch the students parade from classroom to classroom.
CHRISTMAS BREAK EARLY DISMISSAL
Dismissal for Friday, December 16th will be at 12:15pm. This was not originally posted on the school calendar, but has since been updated. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused.
REMEMBRANCE DAY POPPIES
Grade Six students will be visiting each classroom with poppies on a daily basis starting Monday, November 7th until Thursday, November 11th . A donation of any amount is required to purchase poppies; all proceeds are given directly to the Canadian Legion.
HALLOWEEN CANDY
We will be collecting hallowe’en candy again this year. The Grade 7 students will be putting together candy bags for Agape Ministries. There will be a box in the school hallway by the office for the candy donations. Thank you for your ongoing support and thoughtfulness. It is through your generosity that we are able to carry out God’s ministry to those who are less fortunate.
TONE CHIME/BELL PROGRAM
Our tone chime/bell choir classes will teach students in grade 5 – 7 tone chime and hand bell techniques. There is no charge for students enrolled at St. Bernadette to attend these classes. Typically the chime/bell choir plays at Mass, the Seniors Christmas Dinner, school concerts, St. Nicholas Breakfast, Christmas Eve Mass, the Crowning of Mary and other events. Practices are Wednesdays 12:15pm – 12:45pm and again on Wednesdays from 2:20pm to 2:50pm depending on enrolment. The first class will begin on October 26th. If parents have any questions they can call Mr. Pierre Roy at 604-572-3787 or they can contact the school.
CLOTHING DRIVE
The clothing drive fundraiser will be on Sunday November 6th 9:00am-1:00pm and Monday, November 7th before and after school. All donations are to be dropped off at the school ONLY on these dates. If there are no bags available, you are to use your own.
FALL SOCIAL
Our Annual Fall Social is on November 5th at the ONE20PUB on 120th Street in Surrey. Doors open at 7pm. This is a well attended event and typically sells out. There will be a balloon raffle and a silent action along with other fun events! Tickets and extra gift cards can be purchased by filling out the order form below. The deadline to buy tickets is Friday Oct 28th/16.
KINDERGARTEN 2017
If you have a child that was born in 2012 and will be attending kindergarten in September 2017, please call the school office.
Fall Social Order Form
Please click on 2016-fall-social-order-form to fill out the form to obtain your tickets and extra gift cards.
Reminders
SCHOOL CLOSURES
As we move into the fall and winter months, storms may become more severe causing a school closure. School closures are done because it is unsafe for families to drive to school, or it is unsafe for students to be at the school. Typically a school might be closed due to icy/unsafe road conditions, power outages, or a gas leak/unsafe environment in and around the school area.
In the event of a school closure, families will be notified in the following ways (please do not call the school to ask if school is opened or closed – we would need to keep the phone lines open in the event of an emergency)
Classroom Parent Representative – Your classroom parent rep will call/text you to inform you of the school closure. For those parents with multiple children in the school this would mean that you will be contacted by more than one parent rep. It is important that you answer your phone or reply to the text message so that the parent rep knows that you have been informed to not attend school for the day or to pick up your child early. Once all the parents have been contacted, the classroom teacher will be informed and the teacher will inform the school.
Alternate forms of communication if the school is closed
These are only done if possible and should not be relied on as a main function for finding out if school is closed or open.
Website – If possible the school will update the website with a post under news (scroll down the homepage) that will state that the school is closed.
Radio and TV – In the event of a school closure that happens before the start of school, the principal will contact CKNW 980 and NEWS 1130 along with Global TV to broadcast that the school is closed. This is typically only done if the school is closed due to unsafe driving conditions before school starts
Email – Only done if the school is closed part way through the day and the school has power. The school will issue a school wide email out to all parents. Do not respond to this email – instead please make contact with your parent rep.
Social Media – In addition to the parent rep making contact the school will attempt to update the Facebook and Twitter accounts.
PEER HELPERS
We are proud to have our Peer Helper Program up and running. The Peer Helper Program is designed to help students from Kindergarten to Gr. 3 interact appropriately and created positive experiences at recess times. The Peer Helpers are a group of grade 5-7 students who are trained to help students with problem solving, socializing, playing games, and safety on the playground.
In addition to the Peer Helper Program we have a Buddy Bench. This area is for students of all grades who may not have anyone to play with for a variety of reasons. The bench brings students together in fun activities and helps children make new friends.
We ask that you talk to your child about these programs so that they can make use of them if needed.
SCHOOL E-MAIL ADDRESS
We have a new e-mail address, please make note of it:
admin@stbernadette.ca
INCLEMENT WEATHER
With the cold and rainy season coming, please make sure your children are appropriately dressed for the weather. Students are expected to go outside for recess in order to get some exercise and fresh air. Coats, gloves, hats and boots are recommended, depending on the weather. Please make sure your child has everything he or she needs before coming to school.
If it is raining when your child comes to school, the students are permitted to go directly into the classrooms. They must still go through their designated doors and not through the front doors. Any outdoor footwear must be removed immediately upon entering the school. Please make sure that all coats, boots, umbrellas, etc. are labeled with your child’s name.
Links
School Calendar
Absentee Forms
Stingers Club
St. Bernadette Elementary Catholic School
13130 65B Ave
Surrey, BC V3W 9M1
phone: (604) 596-1101
fax: (604) 596-1550
admin@stbernadette.ca
