Principal's Corner

What's Going On At Veritas In May!

May 2025

Welcome to the month of May!

Thank you to all parents, families, and community members who assisted and cheered on our students at the Pacific Northwest Music Festival! Students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 each presented two class poems. Grade 4 students presented individual Sacred Readings and students in grades 5 and 6 wrote and presented speeches. Every performance was amazing - we are so proud of our students!

We are looking forward to an active May and June. Some of our classes have local field trips planned in May and our grade 6, 7, 8, & 9 classes have longer overnight trips planned. Please watch carefully for notes and information from your child’s teacher. If you wish to volunteer in the coming months, please ensure all your volunteer paperwork, including your criminal record check and driver's paperwork, is complete. If you are unsure of the status of your volunteer paperwork, please call the school office at 250-635-3035.

May Dates

Friday, May 2 - No After School Care

Monday, May 5 - Hot Lunch (Pizza Hut)

Wednesday, May 7 - Hot Lunch (McDonalds)

Wednesday, May 7 - Growing Smiles delivery expected

Thursday, May 8 - School Council Meeting at 7:00 pm

Friday, May 9 - Mother's Day Lunch

Monday, May 12 - Hot Lunch (Pizza Hut)

Tuesday, May 13 - VPSG Meeting at 7:15 pm

Wednesday, May 14 - Hot Lunch (Hot Dogs)

Friday, May 16 - Pro-D Day, No School for Students

Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day, School Closed

Tuesday, May 20 - Hot Lunch (Pizza Hut)

Wednesday, May 21 - Hot Lunch (Chicken Strips)

Monday, May 26 - Hot Lunch (Pizza Hut)

Wednesday, May 28 - School Mass at 9:00 am led by Grade 3

Wednesday, May 28 - Hot Lunch (Lola's)

Thursday, May 29 - Yearbook Order Forms Due

Friday, May 30 - Gr 9 Bottle Drive

Family Support and Online Safety

Safer Schools Together: Safer Schools Together has a current website with a variety or resources for families on digital safety, social media, and privacy protection. More information can be found on their website at https://saferschoolstogether.com/resources/parent-caregiver-resources/

Creating a Substance Use Prevention Plan Webinar for Parents: The ministry, with Dr. Hayley Watson, adolescent clinical psychologist from Open Parachute, is hosting free virtual sessions for parents, guardians and caregivers on creating a personalized, step-by-step plan for implementing substance use prevention skills in their home. Participants are required to register in advance for one of the sessions on May 7 or May 8 from 6:00-7:30 pm PDT.

New Resources for Families Going through Separation: The Health and Justice Alliance has created a new, free resource to support family well-being during parental separation. This toolkit contains six key messages, images, social media posts and newsletter text that are linked to practical actions and tangible resources on an updated, interactive website to help parents and children navigate this stressful time and foster resilience. For more information, please visit the FamiliesChange.ca website.

Veritas Parent Support Group

A message from Birke Schemmerling, VPSG Chair . . .

Hot Lunch Program: Our Hot Lunch program is in danger of not operating in September! We are desperately looking for a Hot Lunch team or a team to share this role! Silvia and Sabrina, our current Hot Lunch coordinators, are willing to provide support and training in May and June to facilitate a seamless handover. If you are interested please contact the school office.

Hot Lunch: Part 2 (May / June) of the spring Hot Lunch session is now open for ordering at https://www.munchalunch.com/. The kindergarten parents are responsible for Wednesdays in the month of May and grade 1 parents are responsible for Wednesdays in June. Thank you for your support!

VPSG Meetings: The date of the next VPSG meeting is Tuesday, May 13 at 7:15. At this meeting, there will be coffee and tea available, and childcare will also be provided in the gym by a few of our dedicated grade 7/8/9 students. I look forward to seeing everyone!

VPSG Executive: The VPSG Executive includes a Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. Birke Schemmerling is our Chair, Ashley Medeiros is our Vice-Chair, Gillian McCutcheon is our Secretary, and Joan Iamele is our Treasurer. If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to reach out to me (Birke) via text (250-615-1491), Facebook, or email (birkepferd@hotmail.com).

Items of Note!

Illness: This spring, our number of sick children has been much higher than normal. We do our best to encourage students to sanitize, wash their hands, use tissues, etc. We also are cleaning high touch surfaces more frequently to reduce the spread of germs. Please keep your children home when they are sick out of concern for the health of other students and staff!

Playground Supervision: Please remember that morning supervision begins at 8:20 with a teacher outside near the parking lot supervising children as they arrive. Students are not allowed in the playground or field before school as there is not adequate supervision at this time. During both recess breaks (10:15 - 10:30 and 12:20 - 12:55), there are four staff members supervising students on the school fields and playgrounds. After school, there is parking lot supervision from 3:00 - 3:15.

School Council: The next School Council meeting is on Thursday, May 8 at 7:00pm at the school. The meeting begins with an open invitation to all, before we move to the in-camera portion of the meeting. The mandate of School Council is to oversee the operation of Veritas School, including finances and staffing.

Absentee Notes: Please contact the school explaining your child's absences with a Seesaw message to Office Staff and your child's teacher. Absentee reports are crucial to our school's funding, as numerous unexplained absences throughout the school year can mean less government funding for your child.

Catholic Corner

In the Catholic Church, the month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This year, the liturgical season of Easter ends on June 8, Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost Sunday celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. White is the liturgical colour represented until Pentecost Sunday, which is why you will see the church altar, our entrance prayer table, and each classroom’s prayer table adorned in white. White is the colour of light and a symbol of joy, purity, and innocence.