News & Updates

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Our school will be closed on Thursday, September 30, 2021 in observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.  

(The class calendars that have been sent home by your child(ren)’s teacher(s) may not indicate that as we only learned of it this morning.)

We will observe our “Orange Shirt Day” on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.  We invite all of our learners, staff, and our families to join us in wearing an orange shirt (or a shirt with orange on it) on this day.  Our goal is to create awareness of the individual, family and community iner-generational impacts of Residential Schools through Orange Shirt Day activities.

Please do not go out and spend your hard earned money on new shirts – that’s not the intention behind this initiative; we encourage you to use a shirt from your existing wardrobes that is orange or has orange in it.  The most important part of this for us and our learners will be the learning around it leading up to the national day.

Curriculum Night

We will provide further details about our Curriculum Night/Meet-the-Teacher Night in the coming days.  We’re still exploring options in light of Covid-19 and have not yet fully decided if we will do this in-person or virtually.

Covid-19 Precautions

Here at the school we have implemented several measures to protect our learners and school staff from Covid-19. These include:

  • We encourage all of our staff and learners to wear a mask while at school and while riding the bus.  We don’t have the authority to enforce this and as such it is merely a recommendation; however, we are pleased to see as many masks as we have seen over the past couple of days.
  • Our learners will play outside with their classmates every day, weather permitting (and, in Mme Paula’s class – even in inclement weather!).  We will not have full grade levels playing together as we are trying hard to maintain cohorts and large crowds.  This may change as we progress deeper into the fall depending on epidemiology, but it will remain in place for now.  We acknowledge that this is a cautious approach but given that our learners have not yet been vaccinated, we believe that it is a sensible decision at this point.  
  • We will not host in-person attendance at concerts or assemblies; however, we will actively explore virtual options so that we can continue to build community and share the talents of our learners and staff.
  • We will encourage regular handwashing and regular use of hand sanitizer.
  • To the extent possible, we will encourage physical distancing.
  • We encourage all of our families and staff to avail of the online screening tool for Covid-19 and to stay at home if any symptoms should present themselves.

Class Facebook Groups

We understand that some families have created Facebook groups for their child(ren)’s classes.  Please understand that as a school with an experienced staff (experienced in teaching and experienced with Facebook groups), we discourage the creation of these groups and your participation in them.

All of our teachers, without exception, have created e-mail distribution lists that they will regularly use for the duration of the school year to keep you informed of events and happenings in the classroom.  Parents and families are encouraged to reach out to our teachers with any questions or concerns so that you can get accurate and timely information.

Our experience from the past with our professional character and integrity being assailed in Facebook posts and groups has been anything but pleasant and has left us with negative feelings about the whole experience.  These groups allow for things to be written and posted that would never be said to anyone in person and thus becomes an incredibly demoralizing experience for all concerned.

We know that these groups have been set up with good intentions; however, we kindly ask that you refrain from creating and/or posting in these forums.  We’re here and we’re accessible – please reach out.

Cafeteria Service

We are pleased to advise that our cafeteria operator will resume operations as of this Monday coming, September 13, 2021.  All of the details with respect to the daily menu and online ordering have been posted to our school’s website.

If you choose not to order online or if you have difficulties doing so, you can simply write your order on a piece of paper (including your child’s name and his/her teacher’s name) and place it in a baggie or an envelope.  Your child will then place the order in a container in his/her classroom and it will be delivered to the cafeteria each morning.  (Correct change is appreciated.)

Lunch orders will be delivered to individual classrooms at lunchtime each day.

Beachy Cove Breakfast Club

We are thrilled and elated to announce that our Kids Eat Smart Breakfast Club will resume “normal” operations over the coming weeks.  Those families who were with us two years ago will recall the amazing effort our volunteers poured into each and every breakfast served.  Stay tuned for further details as plans become more firm in the coming weeks.  If you are interested in volunteering in any way, please send me an email and I will connect you with our coordinator.

Bussing

Please note the following information about bussing for 2021-2022:

  • Some of our routes have changed from those in place in recent years.  Please click here to see a full list of routes and descriptions.
  • Routes are determined and created by the Transportation Division at the school district office.
  • Our school staff, the bus company, or bus drivers have no authority to modify routes or stops – those decisions are made entirely by the Transportation Division at the school district office.
  • Courtesy Seating will begin the week of September 27 and families will be notified in writing as to whether requests have been approved. Until that time, families are responsible for using the designated stop as listed in the bus portal. If you have not received the information on creating an account for the portal, please email Mrs. Lethbridge at carolynlethbridge@nlesd.ca.
  • If you have questions about these processes, please use the online enquiry form which goes to the Transportation Division at the school board office.

Parking Lot

Now that we have the first week nearly behind us, it is timely to remind our families about our parking lot.  The row of spaces nearest to Beachy Cove Road have been set aside for families and visitors to our school while the two rows of parking in the centre of the lot are for teachers, administration, and staff.

Beachy Cove’s Twitter Account

If you haven’t done so already, please consider creating a Twitter account and following our school’s account (@beachycoveelem) and the accounts of many of our teachers.

Grade Four Immunizations

Our community health nurse has advised us that our grade four learners will receive their Meningococcal vaccinations on December 10, 2021.  Further information will follow as we get closer to that date.

Water Bottles

Please provide your child with a water bottle each day. It is important for our learners to drink plenty of water throughout the day. However, due to current COVID restrictions, we are unable to have learners drink directly from the water fountain. We have bottle filling stations available for refilling water bottles during the day.

Follow Us On Twitter

Follow Our Twitter