Braemar Bulletin

Please check in with Braemar’s calendar to stay up to date on school events.

• October 15 - Lockdown Drill at 1:35 pm
  
• October 25 - Province Wide Professional Development Day, students do not attend
  
• October 30 – Collaboration Day, students dismissed at 2 pm
  
• November 1 – School Based Professional Development Day, students do not attend
  

Dear Braemar Parents and Guardians:

Subject: Emergency “Lockdown” Procedure and Practice Drill – Tuesday, October 15 at 1:35 pm

The North Vancouver School District, in partnership with the North Vancouver R.C.M.P., has recently undertaken an annual review of our emergency lockdown procedures. Between September 23 and October 18, 2024, all schools in the NVSD will be conducting a practice lockdown drill, which will include the participation of all students and staff. At Braemar, we will be conducting our lockdown drill on Tuesday, October 15 at 1:35 pm.

In preparing this communication, we realize that even the mention of the word “lockdown” can introduce unwelcome thoughts and raise questions and concerns. In the attachment below, please find a series of Questions & Answers to further explain what a “lockdown” means and our procedures for addressing this scenario, however unlikely, in our schools.

We realize that an actual lockdown scenario is intensely stressful for everyone involved. One of the most common reactions in parents is reaching their child by cellphone. However, as is explained in the Q & A, cellphone communication can put individuals who find themselves in a lockdown situation at greater risk. For this reason, we ask all parents for their cooperation in respecting the law enforcement directive prohibiting the use of cellphones by staff and students during a lockdown.

Both the North Vancouver School District, and our school, always recognize our collective responsibility for the safety of students and staff on our premises. While the likelihood of threatening behaviours/incidents in our schools is very, very low, we hope you will find this knowledge of our procedures to be reassuring. Please don’t hesitate to discuss this information with me here at the school. Questions or concerns can also be communicated to Sarah Best, District Principal for Safe and Healthy Schools, via her email at sbest@sd44.ca.

As a friendly reminder, for the safety and comfort of all our students, staff, and visitors, we kindly ask that dogs (with the exception of service animals) are not brought onto school grounds during school hours or events.

While we know many of our students love pets, this policy helps us ensure a safe environment for everyone, especially those who may be fearful of or allergic to dogs.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in keeping our school a safe and welcoming place for all.

It's amazing how time flies! We are quickly approaching the end of the first term. Students and staff are preparing for the upcomingConferences with classroom teacher(s).

Staff will be sending out information regarding signing up for a conference in the coming weeks.

Please ensure that you sign up for a conference as your participation with your child is a valuable opportunity to meet with your child's classroom teacher(s) and celebrate your child's strengths, progress and learning goal(s).

Please remember that conference dates are as follows:

• Wednesday, November 13

• Thursday, November 14

• Monday, November 18

• Tuesday, November 19

Dismissal time for all these dates is 2 pm.

When you are attending the conferences in person, please be sure to look at the Lost and Found display that will be set up in the mezzanine on the second floor.

Halloween is a wonderful time of celebration for our community and families. We enjoy it when students dress up for Halloween, but we do ask for your cooperation to help keep Halloween safe and fun for everyone. We celebrate diversity and inclusion in the North Vancouver School District and expect that students be respectful when selecting costumes. There are also important safety considerations that students and parents need to be aware

of:

• Students in costume at school (when permitted) should be easily recognizable and/or identifythemselves to any school district staff members when asked.
  
• Replica weapons (guns, knives, etc.) are not allowed.
  
• Costumes that are offensive in any way are not allowed. Please consider the rights maintainedin the Canadian Human Rights Act when selecting costumes (consider: race, ethnicity, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic characteristics, disability).
  
• It is inappropriate to wear costumes in poor taste (e.g., culturally insensitive).
  
• School Codes of Conduct must always be followed, even when in costume. This includes maintaining respectful and appropriate behaviour with others and with school property.

If students are not interested in wearing a costume, we encourage them to wear orange and black clothing.

On Thursday, October 31st at 1:30 pm, Braemar Elementary will be hosting a Monsters Laugh Halloween Parade. Students in all divisions will be part of a parade around the school (rain or shine) in their Halloween costumes which they can wear all day. We are also encouraging children to leave candy at home before and after Halloween.

Thursday, October 24th is our Annual Hoedown at Braemar! We are going to have it in the school gym. Parents are invited to attend their child's session (please see below). Students are encouraged to wear: cowboy hats, scarves, jeans, cowboy boots, plaid shirts, etc.

Here is the schedule:

9:00 am - 9:25 am (Gr. 5/6 and Gr. 6 classes)

F02 Mme. Mitchell, F02L Mme. Callow/Ho, E03 Mrs. Badesha

9:30 am - 9:55 am (Gr. 1/2 class, Gr. 2, and Gr. 3 classes)

E08 Mrs. Sykes/Hinze, F05 Mme. Lee, F04 Mme. Brazier, E07 Mrs. Pedersen, E06 Mrs. Shah/Brett

10:00 am - 10:25 am (Gr. 3/4, Gr. 4, and Gr. 4/5 classes)

E05 Mrs. Bishop/Frechette, F03 Mme. Hebert-Wong, E04 Mrs. Peristeris/Poppy

10:55 am - 11:25 am (Gr. 6/7 and Gr. 7 classes)

E01 Mrs. Morrow, E02 Ms. Ham/Turnbull, F01 Mme. Miles, F01L Mme. Zwart

11:30 am - 12 noon (Kindergarten and Gr. 1 classes)

E10 Mrs. MacNaught, E09 Ms. Carruth, F07 Mme. Thue, F06 Mme. Piteux

This will be a fun day for students, staff, and our parent community, with a focus on community building!