Bel Ayr Elementary School

Dear families,

October is Mi'kmaq History Month! The theme this year is "Food Gathers us Together". Our teachers are using the Treaty Education Framework to teach students about Truth and Reconciliation at each grade level in a developmentally appropriate way. As we bring the 2024 theme to life in our classrooms we are always circling back to the following questions:

- Who are the Mi’kmaq historically and today?

- What are Treaties and why are they important?

- What has happened to the Treaty relationship in Nova Scotia?

- What are we doing to reconcile our shared history to ensure justice and equity?

We hope your children are enjoying the 2024-25 school year. As always, reach out to your homeroom teacher if you have questions about curriculum, instruction, assessment, your child's well-being, or any other concerns that come up at home. Ms. Hendrin and I are also available if further questions arise from meeting with teachers or if safety is a primary concern.

We will all work together as a team to help our students thrive!

Sincerely,

Shawn Marsh

Principal

Please be reminded that we have students who have life threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, and eggs (ingestion only). We would ask that you do not send food items in lunch bags containing peanuts, tree nuts and sesame seeds as these can contaminate surfaces.

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OCTOBER

1: Treaty Day - Wear more orange!

4: Picture Day (Friday morning in the gymnasium)

8: Grade 6 Provincial Assessment (Reading and Writing Day 1)

9: SAC 6 PM/Home and School 7 PM

10: Grade 6 Provincial Assessment (Reading and Writing Day 2)

11: Professional development day - no classes all schools

14: Thanksgiving Day - no classes all schools

15: Grade 6 Provincial Assessment (Mathematics Day 1)

17: Grade 6 Provincial Assessment (Mathematics Day 2)

24: Halloween Family Dance 6:30-7:30 PM

25: NSTU Provincial conference day - no classes all schools

31: Diwali

NOVEMBER

7: Remembrance Day Assembly (10:45)

8: Indigenous Motivational Speaker (Assembly)

11: Remembrance Day - no classes all schools

13: SAC 6PM/Home and School 7PM(Wed)

22: Assessment & Evaluation day - no classes

DECEMBER

Dec 3: Report cards sent home

Dec 5: No Classes - Professional Learning AM and Parent/Guardian - Teacher Conferences 1-3 PM and 6-8 PM

A reminder that we still have two open seats on our SAC for the 2024-25 school year; one for a parent/guardian member, and one for a community member who does not have children or grandchildren in our school. If the parent/guardian seat interests you, please send an email to Mr. Marsh at the address below. If you know of any community members who may be interested, please forward this information to them. If more than one parent/guardian or community member expresses interest in a vacant seat, we will hold an election.

Contact: Shawn Marsh - smarsh@hrce.ca

You can learn more about SACs here.

As mentioned in the last newsletter, we are actively searching for artists, poets, authors, musicians, etc from historically racialized communities. Please contact Mr. Schlegel (jschlegel@hrce.ca) or our SAC Chair, Nakita Strowbridge-Ford (hrce-sac-bla@gnspes.ca) if you know someone or have expertise yourself. We're hiring!

Our vision is to have "Artists in Residence" working with our students to share their talents, life experiences, and culture with our students.

If you are interested in helping us plan school events and raising money for special initiatives, please feel welcome to attend our first Home and School meeting on Wednesday, October 9th at 7PM. We are an informal group with various volunteers you take on the organization of different events.

Adams Photography is our new school photography provider. Please check you child's backpack for a paper flyer with important information. Students will have their pictures taken in the gymnasium Friday morning. If you are a volunteer with both checks completed and would like to help out with the schedule and walking classes to and from the gymnasium, please contact Mr. Marsh (smarsh@hrce.ca)

Thank you to Nakita Strowbridge-Ford and her family for cleaning up our front garden over the summer and rejuvenating it with mulch and new plants over the long weekend. It looks fabulous! There are bags of hostas in front of our school for the taking if anyone is interested! Fall planting is in session!

Please check out menus and information about ordering future school lunches at nslunch.ca. Please also note that the new lunch program will not make use of School Cash Online as we have done with our own Pizza Thursday ordering. The province designed nslunch.ca to be completely anonymous. No one will know how much families are paying, not even the vendors or staff at the school. We will only receive information about the meals ordered for each student. When you open the nslunch.ca site, you will have a choice to pay the full amount ($6.50) or whatever you can afford. Families from Bel Ayr will have a chance to order meals from this site beginning on October 18th with the first deliveries being sent to the school on October 28, 2024. There will be two choices per day and orders can only be made for two weeks in advance. When the meal ordering periods close, there won't be an option to be added to an active two-week delivery period. If your child is absent from school, the meals will be disposed of due to food and health regulations. Families will be encouraged to order for free during the following ordering period to make up any losses incurred from previous orders. Please contact Ms. MacLeod at the school if online ordering is not your thing or if you need help.

October 21-25, 2024 is School Bus Safety Week in Nova Scotia!

Did you know that more than 30,000 HRCE students ride the school bus every day?

School Bus Safety Week is a great time to remind students, families and schools of a few daily safety tips that everyone can follow to ensure all students get to school safely.

Bus Stop Safety

• Be on time for the bus and please don’t run to/from the bus.

• Stand back off the road and don't push or shove when waiting at a stop.

• Always cross in front of the bus. Walk three metres (10 feet) in front of the bus to a point where you can see the driver and wait for the driver's signal to cross. Proceed to the centre of the road, STOP, LOOK & LISTEN and cross the road when it is safe.

• Never crawl under a school bus or cross the road behind the bus.

• Know the danger zones around the bus.

School Bus Safety

• Please respect and listen to the driver and avoid distracting them.

• Please keep noise levels to a minimum.

• Do not stand or move seats while the bus is in motion.

• Never put your hands, arms, feet or head out of the bus window.

• Ask the driver for permission before you open the bus windows.

• Do not throw anything inside the bus or out of the windows.

• Keep the aisle clear at all times when the bus is in motion.

You can find out more information about School Bus Safety Week, including more safety tips, here.

Our school will post items for purchase and assign school fees relevant to your child (eg. milk orders). You can make all purchases and payments from your phone, tablet or computer.

We would like families to register as soon as possible.

To get started, please register for SchoolCash Online. It’s free and takes less than two minutes. You will receive an email once items are posted for purchase.

Visit https://hrce.schoolcashonline.com/ and click Register to get started.

Need support? Connect with the SchoolCash Online help desk at schoolcashonline.com/Home/Support

We hope that SchoolCash Online makes paying school-related fees more convenient!

The current ordering window is closed for Pizza Thursdays. The first deliveries to classrooms will be this Thursday, October 3rd and will conclude at the onset of the new school lunch program at the end of the month. We are still assessing the feasability of running both programs with limited volunteers to help during the lunch hour. Stay tuned in November!

Please use caution when walking on our paved areas around the school. We have a newly paved area on the PP-2 side in addition to some potholes and uneven surfaces.

SchoolsPlus is hosting a Thanksgiving Food Drive, and we need your help!

SchoolsPlus operates a Food Pantry at Eric Graves Memorial Jr. High that is accessible to students and families in the Woodlawn family of schools. We are working to re-stock our shelves, and will be hosting a food drive from Tuesday, October 1st – Thursday, October 3rd to collect non-perishable food items. All donations are greatly appreciated!

Please open this form if you are interested in volunteering at our school. Our list is growing!

School Closures

Sometimes schools are closed when storms or conditions become severe. The HRCE has three types of emergency closure procedures; all or some schools closed, early dismissals, and 2 hour delayed openings. There may also be occasions when buses are cancelled but schools remain open. Please read about this in greater detail in the link below.

https://www.hrce.ca/weather

How will I find out?

• By email to the addresses in PowerSchool
• By text message, if you have opted-in. If you aren’t sure if you have opted-in, text Y to the following number: 978338
• On our website www.hrce.ca
• On X (formerly Twitter) at Twitter.com/HRCE_NS
• On Instagram at www.instagram.com/hrce_ns/

Make sure you listen for either the Family of Schools name or the individual name of your child's school in cancellation announcements. Click here to find your Family of Schools.

Paper Newsletters - If you wish to receive paper copies of our newsletter, please contact Ms. MacLeod in the main office (902-435-8353)

School Insurance Program (SIP) - Your child is automatically covered for accidents and injuries that happen during the school day. If you want to have 24/7 coverage including the summer months it only costs $14.00/year for a gold plan.

Email: bla@hrce.ca
Website: bla.hrce.ca
Location: 4 Bell Street, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
Phone: 902-435-8353
X(Twitter): @belayrschool