February 2024 BVE Newsletter

Feb 04, 2024
Newsletters

Principal’s Message:

From Deep Freeze to Spring-like Melt, a lot has happened in a month!  Here at school, we have been enjoying the focus on books and literature, occasioned by Family Literacy Week and the upcoming Battle of the Books.  As well, we continue to highlight across the grades engaging and real-life mathematics to bring number sense and numerical thinking to life.  Some examples include: estimating the number of books in our library, predicting how many students would choose to go outside on the coldest day, discussing the change of temperature over the course of three days (it dropped 30 degrees! – imagine if it had gone up by 30 degrees!), counting the number of cedar trees in our back forest using a referent block… and many more examples every day. We hope the answer to “When are we ever going to use this?” is really clear 🙂  Please read on for more detail on what’s happening here at BVE!

Ariel McDowell, BVE Principal

Upcoming Dates:

  • February 5 – PAC Meeting 6:30pm in the BVE Library
  • February 9 – Regular BVE Assembly, all welcome 8:40-9:10
  • February 13 – FREE District-provided hot lunch from Community Kitchen
  • February 14 – Wear Pink or Red for Valentine’s Day (please don’t send candy or sweets to school)
  • February 16 – Professional Development Day (ProD Day) no school
  • February 19 – Family Day in BC (no school)
  • February 28 – Purdy’s Easter Chocolate orders due (pick up March 14th)
  • March 4 – PAC Meeting 6:30pm in the BVE Library
  • March 5 – District Battle of the Books event (at Arrow Heights this year)

Battle of the Books

Many students from Grades 3 – 7 are busy reading some of the ten titles in each age category in preparation for the District Battle of the Books event coming up on March 5th .  The Battle will be hosted this year by Arrow Heights, and top teams will again have the opportunity to travel to Vernon to compete in an inter-District Battle in April.  Huge thanks to Mrs. Wilson for her work in organizing the books and teams, and in readying participants to be confident in answering questions about the books!

Kindergarten Registration

As of the time of this writing, 35 students have already been registered for Kindergarten next year!  Registrations can be completed online or in person.  Please encourage any families you know with children born in 2019 to register at their neighbourhood school.  Knowing how many students we have coming into Kindergarten helps us plan classrooms and staffing for the year ahead.

Technology and Social Media

Screen Smart Revelstoke, in partnership with School District 19, recently offered a series of three presentations to support families with parenting amid the challenges of the digital/online world.  The first was on gaming, risks and rewards, the second was on social media, and the third was on consent in an online world.  Each presentation was attended by about 15-20 in-person, and 18-24 on the livestream.  While these specific presentations are not available in a recorded format, the presenter Scott Rothermel has recommended several resources that families can access.  There are plans to have Mr. Rothermel return in-person within the year, so when that is finalized we will share details.

Some sites and top line take-away points that Scott Rothermel recommended include:

  1. Kids in the House https://www.kidsinthehouse.com/playlist/internet-safety-month?id=7378#playvid/7378
  2. Common Sense Media https://www.commonsensemedia.org
  3. Scott’s go-to acronym to help guide caregivers in the digital age:

School District No. 19 (Revelstoke) Strategic Plan

Trustees and other school personnel have been working to update the District’s Strategic Plan, to create a road map for the next 5 years.  At the March PAC meeting, Trustee Sarah Zimmer will share the initial work, and ask for input from BVE Parents.  Please attend if you can, and would like your voice to be heard.  March 4th 6:30 pm in the BVE Library.

Family Literacy Week Book Swap & Book Character Day

Here at BVE we celebrated Family Literacy Week with two special events.  On Wednesday, January 24th, students got to select some new-to-them books at the Green Team’s Book Swap.  Thank you so much to the many, many families who supported this event with donations of gently used books! There was a broad selection, and hundreds of books were passed along to be enjoyed anew.  That Friday we celebrated “Dress as Your Favourite Book Character Day”.  Once again, the costumes were incredibly creative, ranging from simple to elaborate.  We celebrate books and reading every day at school, but we sure enjoy Family Literacy Week for the opportunity to bring it to the next level – and BVE students, families and staff always do that!

 

Valentine’s Day

February brings another special season: Valentine’s Day!  In our school, Valentine’s day is highlighted as an opportunity to show appreciation and caring for each other.  Just a reminder that we ask families NOT to send candy or treats for Valentine’s Day.  Without this restriction, we find that Valentine’s Day becomes overwhelming.  Too much sugar is not good brain food, so please keep sweet treats for special occasions at home.  Mr. MacIntosh’s Grade 6/7 class will offer Friendship grams for sale as a fundraiser for the Grade 7 trip to Sunnybrae; they cost $1 each.  Students can write a note to a friend, and these will be delivered to classrooms on Valentine’s Day.  We invite everyone to dress in Red/White/Pink or some combination of all three to celebrate the day!

Communicating Student Learning

The second Learning Update will be coming home on March 13th.  If you have any questions about your child’s progress before then though, please reach out to your child’s teacher.  The formal Learning Updates are intended to be just one tool to communicate student growth and progress.  Evaluation is based on a student’s current understanding and progress and is a snapshot in the moment rather than an average across the term/course. Additionally, your child’s teacher may use class newsletters, blogs, websites, emails, phone calls, or online platforms to help keep you informed about what they are learning.  Student-led conferences will also be coming up April 17th and 18th, providing families the opportunity to come into the classroom and see first-hand the learning that your child is doing.  Please note that school will dismiss at 12:30 on these days.

Parents of Primary Students: Information Presentation on Sexual Health Education

 

Local nurse and sexual health educator Jessica Wyslouzil is offering parents of Kindergarten to Grade 3 students an opportunity to hear her speak about the importance of developmentally appropriate conversations about sexual health at home.  She will be presenting on Monday, February 26th from 6:30-7:15pm in the BVE Library, and will leave 15 minutes for questions at the end.  Topics she will address include: Why sex ed and starting the conversation at home is important, the basics of anatomy for primary kids, and why correct anatomical terms should be used. The talk will also address the challenges for parents and young people in this age of easy access to sexually explicit material online, and where parents and children can find correct information on sex and sexual health.  Jessica will help parents feel more confident about how and when to answer sex and body questions from your kids and provide resources parents can use to answer these questions.

Please note that this first presentation is intended for parents of Primary-aged students, and that Jessica will present later this year (likely in the Fall) for parents of Intermediate-aged students.  Please RSVP for the Primary Parent session on February 26th to Meredith Biollo in the BVE office by calling 837-3085.

Sports of all Sorts

The basketball season is well underway, with noticeable weekly improvements in the players and teams!  Most Thursdays the teams have had District matches, and without the wonderful volunteer referees and scorekeepers we could not hold these events.  Thank you to Emily Schutz and Amanda Cockburn and Grusky Layco and Allan Shea for refereeing, and to students Ella Cameron and Lauryn Mollerud for timekeeping and scoring!  Particular thanks as well to coaches Josianne Langlois, Greg Uremovich, Kim Floyd and Colleen Wall for their work coaching the boys’ and girls’ teams this year!  In addition to the improvements in game play, coaches are particularly proud of the good sportsmanship and positivity of the teams as a whole.  The wrap up tournament is scheduled to take place in the RSS Gym on February 22nd starting at approximately 3:15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some other amazing sports highlights:
  • Nordic Skiing After School takes place every Tuesday, and includes FREE bussing, FREE snacks, FREE XC ski rentals, FREE coaching to any student from Grade 3 to 7 who wants to join!  Permission slips are available in the BVE office.
  • Grade 3/4/5 Basketball skills with parent volunteer Conor MacKenzie – also free! Also on Tuesdays.  Another great opportunity.
  • Revelstoke School District-sponsored Grade specific sports explorations continue.  Recently the Grade 1 (skating), Grade 3 and 6 (RMR skiing and snowboarding), Grade 4 (Nordic skiing) and Grade 7 (curling) sessions just finished, or are finishing this week.  Kindergartens went to Gymnastics earlier in the school year, and Grade 2s and 5s will get a chance to do some swimming.  We are very lucky for this unique opportunity in our District!
  • Grade 2/3 Indoor Soccer continues with parent volunteer Peter Dixon on Fridays after school.  There is no cost for this program either, and permission slips are in the office too.

Watch for information in the month ahead for Grade 6 and 7 Smashball, a pre-Volleyball skill development sport that is offered District-wide!

PAC News

Congratulations to the BVE PAC for a very successful Family Glow Party dance on January 19th! From Jo Gawler, the PAC President: “What an amazing night!! The community spirit and the child/ parent memories made were sooooo good!!!  … we have everything we need for the next one!!! So we can easily put on another dance and …the memories made were AMAZING 😍”

 

If you are curious about what the Parent Advisory Council is and does, perhaps plan to attend a meeting.  Every parent or guardian of a BVE student can be a part of the BVE PAC.  The BVE PAC meets monthly, usually on the first Monday of each month, at 6:30 in the BVE Library.  The next meetings are February 5th and March 4th.  Hope to see you there!

Easter Purdy’s fundraiser for Gr 7 trip

Easter lands during Spring Break this year, so the Grade 7 Purdy’s campaign is a little earlier than usual.  With Groundhog Day behind us, it’s time to start thinking about the Easter Bunny! Use this link to order: https://fundraising.purdys.com/1924484-116091

BVE T-shirts

We still have many sizes of these super-stylish, locally printed T-shirts available for purchase from the BVE office.  Please see the display in the front foyer.  Cash and cheque only.

Nsylxcin Language Teacher

Illicillewaet, Kuskanax, Nakusp, Slocan, Incomappleaux…what do these all have in common?  They are local and nearby place names adapted from the language of the Sinixt, called Nselxcin.  Over the past couple of years, students and staff alike here at BVE have been working to learn a few words and phrases in Nsylxcin.  We have included some of these in our announcements and assemblies, and now we have an opportunity to learn some more from a Sinixt language teacher, Mr. Donovan.  Mr. Donovan will visit some classes each month to share some of the language, and the story and meaning that comes with it.

Indigenous Education

Throughout the month of February, the SD 19 Indigenous Education Department is offering visits to the tipi in its long-term home outside the Board Office.  This location allows us to have more room and a small fire inside. This month we invite classes to join us in the tipi for a fire and stories. Families can learn more about Storytelling Season using these resources:

Thank you to Erin England, and the Indigenous Education Department, for hosting such great events for our students, and for curating sites to explore for further learning!

Dress up Days/Spirit Days

For ease in planning, here are the Spirit Days for the year at BVE:

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