Dear BVE Families,

I hope that you and your family are enjoying these beautiful summer days!  I started seeing lots of “Back to School” ads already, so thought it was time to get out a mini-newsletter to hopefully answer any questions you might have about school start up 🙂

First Partial Day Tuesday, September 3rd Welcome Back!

Our first day will be a partial day, and will begin at 9:30 am and end at 12:00 noon.  We will have the traditional “Mug and Muffin” (coffee and time to visit parents, students and school staff together) to start the first day of the year.

**Note that for families of Kindergarten students, you will follow the gradual entry schedule in your Kindergarten letter, rather than the schedule below.**

9:30 – 10:00    Mug and Muffin around the back of BVE (basketball court area) Bring your own mug!

Families are encouraged to bike or walk with your children as parking will be rare on Ninth.  Coffee will be served on tables set up under the blue shade sail.  Help yourself with your own mug, then come meet your child(ren)’s teacher(s) and our support staff members. Teachers can be located on the soccer field – they’ll have big signs to help you find each one more easily this year.

10:00    The school bell will ring, students will line up with their teacher and head to class.

Recess                 There will be a 20 minute outside play and snack time, so please pack your child a recess snack.

12:00    Dismissal – this first day is a partial day, be please have a plan for your child to walk/ride home or be picked up .

Wednesday, Sept. 4th will be regular school hours for Grades 1 through 7, 8:30 – 2:30

 

BVE Staff and classes –  Class lists and teachers will be posted on the front entry doors of the school after 3:30 pm on Friday, August 30th . We use first names only for privacy, with last name initials if needed for clarity.  We welcome a few new staff members this year:  Amy Ashford (Wednesdays in Grade 1/2), Joelle Malcolm (Grade 7), Stephanie Duguay (EA), and welcome back to Jeremy Weddell who will be teaching Gym/teacher preparation time, and Leah Poirier who will be half time Learning Support.

 

Kindergarten and other Families New to BVE  – Kindergarten students have a slightly different gradual entry schedule from other grades.  Letters will go out to Kindergarten families this week, so if you do not receive yours, please contact the school office the week of August 26th – August 30th  to receive your child’s schedule for the first days of school 250-837-3085.   Families of students in other grades who are new to our school, Welcome!  If you would like to arrange a little tour of the school, please call the office on Monday (August 26th) and we’ll try to get you and your child(ren) through to have a look.

 

Configuration of Classes – We are planning for 13 divisions, and about 279 students.  If we have many families who have moved to our area, or many who have moved away, our class configurations may change.  The partial day on September 3rd allows us to count “whites of eyes” to know exactly who will be attending in the year ahead.  If your child will not be in attendance on September 3rd , but will be attending BVE this year, ensure that you call the office to include them in our student numbers. While we have drafted class lists, there may be a need to make some changes in the first few days of school.  Classroom placement is a thoughtful and collaborative process. Requests to change classes are rare and are only considered after all options to make the placement work have been tried. In our configuration, multi-aged or combined classes will exist.  This practice is well supported by research, and it also accommodates the number of children in each grade.

 

Agenda books and Student Handbook – Each BVE student in Grades 1 through 7 is required to purchase an agenda book, available from the school for $8.  This is an important tool to aid in planning and to facilitate communication between home and the classroom.  As well, the agenda book contains the BVE Student Handbook (the first few pages of the agenda).  Please carefully read the Handbook together with your child, and sign that you’ve read it.  If you have questions about the Handbook, please don’t hesitate to contact me or your child’s teacher, either by phone or email.  One important school policy to note is that students are not to come to school with a phone or other connected device, including watches that can access the internet.  We have school iPads and laptops to facilitate instructional technology use, and the use of phones, cameras, social media distracts from rather than enhances the elementary school experience.  If your child needs their phone after school hours, they may bring it and leave it in airplane mode, either in the office or with their teacher until after school.

 

Help Keep our School Healthy – In order to keep our BVE community healthy, please keep your child home if they are feeling unwell or displaying symptoms of illness.

 

Supplies –The BVE Supply Purchase program includes the entire year’s supply of classroom materials needed. As we have found prices for supplies went up considerably, we have had to increase the fee to $45, this includes $37 for supplies + cost of agenda book, $8.  Be sure to send a water bottle, clean indoor running shoes with non-marking soles, and a pair of headphones labelled with your child’s name.  Your child’s supply and agenda fee can be paid by cash or cheque to your child’s classroom teacher. If you would rather purchase supplies yourself for your child, there are supply lists on the BVE website here for each grade.

 

Traffic flow – We will continue to reserve the BVE cul-de-sac area for families with students in Kindergarten and Grade 1, or for Cornerstones drop off and pick up.  All other traffic should drop off and pick up along Ninth Street, or another street nearby that is a walkable distance from school.  As much as possible, please encourage your child to walk or ride to school

 

On behalf of the BVE Staff, we are so much looking forward to the year ahead, and the enormous privilege of teaching your child.  See you in a few weeks!

 

Sincerely,

Ariel McDowell,

Principal,

Begbie View Elementary