Dear Families,
It is hard to believe that November is coming to an end. When we reflect on the past three months, students are understanding routines, adapting to new routines as well and taking the time to develop and further their learning goals. As we begin the upcoming week, BCPS students will be focusing on our community of care. Students are working on our monthly activity on caring for themselves and others. For our community outreach, Our students and staff will be collecting non-perishable food items for our food drive. This initiative will support our local Bells Corners community and the FAMSAC Food Cupboard.
Staffing Updates
Roxana Jahani will be teaching Math and English to our grade 5/6 middle french immersion as well as the arts to primary and kindergarten coverage. Ms. Jahani will be with us until the end of the year.
Rebecca Jean Paul will be providing support to our junior and primary classes in the mornings. She will also be providing kindergarten coverage and teaching some arts in the primary grades. Welcome Ms. Jahani and Ms. Jean Paul.
Fundraising: November 29/30!
Check out this flyer from our School Council.
The Weather is Changing
We are entering into cooler weather in the coming weeks. We ask families to please send your student to school with layers - sweater, jacket, hat, gloves/mittens, longer and thicker pants, etc. to be comfortable as the temperature changes throughout the day. As much as possible, do check the forecast for the day before heading out. We try as much as possible to keep students outside as it contributes to health and well-being. Therefore, if it drizzles a little, we will try to stay out as much as possible.
The expectation for staff is that students are sent out in the clothing they arrived in at school.
Bulldog Clothing Sales on hold until January
Due to issues with meeting timelines, Bulldog clothing will be on sale in January 2022.
Busing
Due to continued driver shortage, our red bus (route X86) may be consistently late in either the morning run or the evening run. This will be the case until they can find a more permanent driver to take over the run. OSTA assures families and the school that they will continue to work at finding a solution to this issue. We will notify families via our twitter feed on the evenings the bus is over 20 minutes late.
Twitter: @BellsCornersPS
School Council:
Next School Council meeting will be held Tuesday, December 7th @ 6:30 p.m.. Please email [email protected] if you would like to attend via google meet.
School Council Information:Scholastic Book Orders:
Deadline to order Scholastic books that will be mailed to BCPS is December 1. Estimated arrival date is 10 days later.
With a minimum order of $40, you get free delivery to your home.
Order online using code RC133201. Doing so earns BCPS 20% in reward money. This Fall, our school library was able to spend $700 on new books thanks to parents who support reading through Scholastic.
https://classroomessentials.scholastic.ca/s/cec-ca/en/digital-catalogues
Food Drive: BCPS is Giving Back To The Community
Bells Corners food drive is an initiative that supports the local food bank. We are permitted to collect non-perishable food items. We will begin our food drive on November 30th to December 6, 2021, where students can bring in non-perishable food items during this week.
December is about CARING
We continue to dive into our next BCPS core value of CARING with staff and students through our daily morning announcements and mini lessons and activities done in class. We encourage families to extend this learning at home by participating in the following activity this upcoming week:
Title of activity: Habit Pictionary
Inspire
When we care for ourselves, we are naturally better able to care for others. Caring starts with one: YOU. How do you care for yourself through words and actions? Ignoring your own self-care leaves you depleted and drained. You cannot properly care for others without first caring for yourself. Caring is feeling and showing concern for others. This week, we will highlight how we care for OURSELVES. Our goal is to inspire each person in your home to examine HOW you care for yourself and areas that might be overlooked. Remember, you cannot care for others without first caring for yourself!
Discussion Starter
Guide your family in a game of “Self-Care Pictionary”. Starting with the older members, have everyone choose one current activity they do that focuses on self-care using the following prompt: What is something you do to care for yourself? This could be getting up early, spending time doing a hobby, or focusing on personal hygiene. Have the oldest person in the group draw their example of self-care as the rest of the group guesses. After 30 seconds (or a correct guess) the person will then explain WHY this activity is important to them and HOW it allows them to care for themselves. Repeat until everyone is able to draw. Journal Prompt
It’s very important to be aware of how you care for yourself in both words and actions as this helps you increase your care for others as well. Caring starts with one: YOU. In your journal, choose one of the following to help you grow and/or reflect on this topic.
● DRAW: Draw a picture that shows someone caring for another person or animal. ● DO: What is something you love doing just for yourself? Do it! Ask a parent for help, if necessary.
● WRITE: What is an area of self-care you struggle with or forget or overlook? What can you do to change that?
It is just as important to care for ourselves through kind words and actions as it is to care for others.
We wish all our families a wonderful weekend!
Take Care,
Sadhana and Elysa