News & Notes, Volume 13, No. 8

News & Notes

Volume 13, No. 8

November 28, 2017

School Closures

Please note that we will close at 11:00am on Thursday, November 30, 2017 to facilitate our term I parent-teacher interviews.  We will also be closed on Friday, December 1, 2017 because of teacher professional development.

Newsletters

As you know by now, we have elected to distribute our communications this year electronically through e-mail. As we can’t be entirely confident that these actually reach everyone’s inbox, we would like your assistance in checking with your friends and family to ensure that they are receiving them.  If they don’t see our emails in their inboxes, please ask them to check their junk or spam folders.  If they are not receiving them or would like them sent to a different e-mail address, they should contact us here at the school.

Christmas Concert

Our Christmas concert this year will feature our super talented learners in grades three and four.  It is scheduled for 1:00pm on Thursday, December 7, 2017. Tickets will be on sale starting tomorrow (Wednesday) for $5 each on the basis of two per learner for now.  Families who would like additional tickets should check with us on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 at which point any unsold tickets will be made available on a “first come, first served” basis.

To purchase tickets, please enclose the correct amount of money in an envelope/baggie with your name on it with a note indicating that it is for concert tickets and have your child pass it directly to your child’s teacher.

Christmas Vacation

Please note that our Christmas vacation commences at 12:30pm on Friday, December 22, 2017.  School will reopen at 8:30am on Monday, January 8, 2018.

Christmas Collection

Continuing our efforts to instill values around community service, we have selected the Thrive Community Network as our charity for Christmas giving this year.  The Thrive Community Network is a local organization that was established in 2001 as part of the province’s Community Youth Networks.  The mandate of this organization is to provide services and support to resilient youth and young adults who live in poverty with limited access to mainstream programs and services.

Thrive is looking for new personal care items and stocking stuffers in order to give holiday stockings to its members at their annual Christmas dinner.  They are specifically looking for men’s and women’s deodorant, body wash/soap, shampoo/conditioner, razors, shaving cream, men’s and women’s socks, individual tissue packs, warm hats and gloves, and of course, chocolate or other treats.

We will be accepting donations up to and including Friday, December 8, 2017 at which point we will deliver our collection.

Let’s show this organization our best generosity ever and support them in their efforts to shape the lives of these youth and young adults.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

We are looking forward to our conversations with you about your child’s learning and achievement over the course of term I.  To that end, we have established our online appointment system through which you can make an appointment to see your child(ren)’s teacher(s).  Please point your web browsers to:

www.parentinterviews.com/beachycove

If you have difficulty making an appointment, please call one of our secretaries at 895-2241 for assistance.

 

Eyeglasses Project
Thank you so much for your enthusiastic participation in our recent partnership project with the Lions Club of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s.  Thanks to your collective efforts, our school community collected 627 pairs.  Mme Kennedy’s class collected 196 pairs and Mrs. Tobin’s kindergarten class collected 152 pairs and consequently deserve special mention.

It was a tremendous pleasure to partner with these community builders in this special project that will improve vision health for Haitians through their work with Team Broken Earth.

Read-In

We’re thrilled to host our first annual “Read-In” tomorrow, Wednesday, November 29, 2017. 

A “Read-In” is a special celebration of literacy during which we will have guest readers in each of our classrooms to read to our learners. 

Learners of all ages enjoy being read to and we have a great lineup of guests who will be joining us to share their love of reading with us.  These include Dr. Andrew Furey (Team Broken Earth), Janet Fox-Beer (Community Health Nurse), Lorraine Michael (Interim NDP Leader and MHA), Jan Buley (MUN’s Faculty of Education), Fergus O’Byrne (local musician), Toni Marie Wiseman (NTV), Dr. Jennifer O’Dea (Pediatrician, Eastern Health), Richard Murphy (PCSP Fire Department), Fred Hollett (PCSP Fire Department), Deborah Martin (NLESD), Cst. Tanya Schwartz (RNC), David Brazil (MHA), Eddy Sheerr (NTV Meteorologist), Joe Boland (RNC Chief), Todd Perrin (Mallard Cottage), Kyran Dwyer (Principal, St. Theresa’s School), Bonnie Oakley (Principal, St. Andrew’s School), Hon. Dale Kirby (Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development), Linda Swain (VOCM News Director), Carol MacDonald (PCSP Mayor), Peter Cowan (CBC), Carolyn Stokes (CBC), Greg Smith (VOCM), Brian Bradley (Hits FM and “Merb’y”), Leo Etchegary (Principal, PCSPI), and Doug Pippy (Assistant Principal, PCSPI).

 

Field Trips

We pride ourselves on supplementing classroom experiences with educational excursions to various sites within our region.  Please note the following as you prepare yourselves for these special events:

  • A signed consent form from parents is required in order for our learners to participate; we will no longer accept permission over the telephone. In the interest of avoiding disappointment and having you come to the school to sign the form on the day of the field trip, please be prompt in submitting the required forms.
  • Should teachers require parents to volunteer as chaperones, we require a current certificate of conduct with the vulnerable sector check completed. If this documentation is not in place, you may still attend the field trip; however, you may only chaperone your child.

50/50 Lottery

Our second 50/50 ticket lottery this year will take place on December 15, 2017.  Some tickets for this final lottery of the year were distributed yesterday with the remainder being distributed today.  Funds raised from these initiatives will offset the costs associated with our ArtsSmarts program, BrainPop subscription, and our literacy and technology programs.

Thank you for your tremendous support of our first 50/50 lottery.  If you would like to purchase/sell additional tickets, please call us at the school (895-2241) and we will happily provide some if we have any on hand.  Conversely, if you have tickets that you cannot sell, please return them promptly as we have others who may be waiting on them.

We congratulate Gary Byrne who was the winner of our first lottery.  Gary walked away with a cheque for $4831.

Telephone Messages

We will happily deliver any telephone messages to your children as long as they are received by 1:00pm; we are unable to guarantee delivery of messages received after 1:00pm.

Beachy Cove Mascot

We were thrilled last week to introduce our school mascot “Pounce” to our school community. “Pounce” the Puma made his way to our school assembly and delighted everyone with his presence.  Our learners are now excitedly accumulating “Puma Paws” that they can redeem for a class visit by Pounce.

Allergies

We have many learners with life threatening allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Consequently, peanuts, tree nuts, and products containing them, including peanut butter, are banned schoolwide.

You should also be aware that soy butter products which have been formulated to have the same consistency and taste as peanut butter is also banned.  This is to avoid any potential for confusion and mistakes in consumption by our learners with allergies.

Another of our young learners has a life-threatening allergy to sesame seeds; however, while we don’t have a ban on sesame seeds and products containing them, we strongly encourage our families to bear this in mind when shopping for and packing lunches and snacks for school.

We have another learner who has a life-threatening allergy to kiwi fruit; however, it is not an airborne allergen.  Consequently, kiwi fruit, like sesame seeds and products that contain them, are not banned but we encourage caution when packing them. 

Finally, cooked eggs (i.e., boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, fired eggs, poached eggs, egg salad sandwiches or in any other stand-alone form) are also banned.

All of the families affected by these allergens extend their thanks and appreciation to our entire school community for adhering to these expectations.

Twitter

Our school, and many of our teachers, have active Twitter accounts.  We use this to communicate short bursts of timely information.   Our main school account (@beachycoveelem) has 2014 followers which means that this system works well.

If you don’t have an account, you are encouraged you to get one and follow us so that you can stay informed.

Late Students

We extend a big “Thumbs up!” to all of our learners and their families who arrive at school on time for the beginning of our instructional day.  Ensuring that we are at our desks, ready and organized for learning by 8:30am each morning is really an important life lesson that is reflective of promptness and respect for others as no one is interrupted by late arrivals.

Recycling Blitzes

We accept recyclable beverage containers at our recycling shed every Tuesday morning during morning arrival.  Thank you so much for your anticipated support and cooperation.

If you are interested in volunteering with us on our parking lot from 8:10am-8:30am each morning, please let us know as soon as possible.

Upcoming Events

Please note the following dates for various events scheduled for this year.  We reserve the right to change these dates with advance notice to you.

Term I Parent-Teacher Interviews – Thursday, November 30, 2017 (school closes at 11:00am);

Professional Development Day (no school) – Friday, December 1, 2017

Grade 3/4 Christmas Concert – Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 1:00pm;

School Closes for Christmas – Friday, December 22, 2017 at 12:30pm;

School Re-Opens following Christmas Break            – Monday, January 8, 2018 at 8:30am;

Grade Four Immunizations -Thursday/Friday, January 11-12, 2018;

KinderStart #1 (no school for K) – Friday, February 23, 2018;

Professional Development Day (no school) – Friday, February 9, 2018

Mid-Winter Break (no school) – Friday, February 16, 2018;

Mid-Winter Break (no school) – Monday, February 19, 2018 (yes, both days);

Education Week – February 18-24, 2018;

Skating Sessions (details to follow) – February 20-23, 2018;

Term II Progress Reports Released – Monday, March 19, 2018;

Term II Parent-Teacher Interviews -Thursday, March 22, 2018 (closing at 11:00am);

KinderStart #2 (no school for K) – Friday, March 23, 2018;

School Closes for Easter Vacation – Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 2:40pm;

School Re-Opens following Easter Break – Monday, April 9, 2018 at 8:30am;

Earth Day Assembly (grade three) – Friday, April 20, 2018 at 1:30pm;

KinderStart #3 (no school for K) – Friday, April 27, 2018;

Art Day (details to follow) – Friday, April 27, 2018;

Spring Concert for grades ½ – Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 1:00pm;

Kindergarten Spring Concert – Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 1:00pm;

Professional Development Day (no school) – Friday, May 18, 2018

Victoria Day (no school) – Monday, May 21, 2018;

KinderStart #4 (no school for K) – Friday, May 25, 2018;

School Leaving Ceremony for Grade Four – Friday, June 1, 2018 at 1:00pm;

K-2 Sports Day – Tuesday, June 19, 2018;

3-4 Sports Day – Thursday, June 21, 2018;

Alternate Day for K-2 Sports Day – Friday, June 22, 2018

Alternate Day for 3-4 Sports Day – Monday, June 25, 2018;

School Closes for the Year – Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 12:30pm.

 

 

 

 

A respectful community of leaders and learners. 

Une communauté de modèles et d’apprenants qui se respectent.

 

 

 

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