Bel Ayr Elementary School

Dear families,

As we head into November, we are reminded of the sacrifices made by the members of our military and other service people. Thank you to Ms. Jamieson, Ms. Gibson, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Jordan and all of our students and staff for working hard on plans for our Remembrance Day Assembly this Thursday after recess. Parents, guardians, and other family members who are service people are welcome to attend this assembly each year. Please phone our main office number to RSVP so we can make seating arrangements for our honoured guests. Students in Cadets, Beavers, Sparks, Embers, Boy Scouts, and Girl Guides are also invited to wear their uniforms to school that day. Lest we forget!

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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NOVEMBER

6: Second School Lunch Ordering Period Closes (Noon)

7: Remembrance Day Assembly (11:00AM)

8: Quincy-Mac- Learn from and Indigenous Pro (PP-6 Student Workshops)

11: Remembrance Day - no classes all schools

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

14: Picture Retakes (first thing in the morning)

14: 4-6 Trip to Shubie Park

22: Assessment & Evaluation day - no classes

DECEMBER

3: Report cards sent home

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

10: Concert 1 (PS, P/1M, 1/2HH, and 2/3B) --1:15 PM (evening show is tentative)

12: Concert 2 (3/4R, 4F, 5D, 6J and Band) -- 1:15 PM (evening show is tentative)

20: Last Day of School Before the Holiday Break

We've completed a lot of upgrades to improve accessibility at Bel Ayr since the spring. We have new electronic doors, paved ramps, new lifting equipment, assistive technology devices, an upgraded washroom, newly painted handicap parking, and an outside railing for safety next to one of our new ramps that was just installed on Monday.

Our SAC is having conversations about continued improvements to boost accessibility for students and staff. We have a long way to go but are thankful for the work our HRCE Operations Team have completed thus far. Advocating for continued improvements in our outside spaces is a current focus.

Thank you to our Home and School for organizing another amazing Hallowe'en Dance! Our students are still talking about it!

Mr. Clarke will be reaching out to families for input about song and content selection for our upcoming concert performances in December (see dates below). Our school is becoming more diverse each year and we are thankful for being able to learn so much from each other. The Inclusive Education Policy guides our work so as to make these experiences meaningful, relevant, and inclusive for students. This includes, but is not limited to, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Pongal, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, the Lunar New Year, and Diwali to name some our students have shared in the past. We hope that by inviting students and their families to contribute, we will have another year of performances that make everyone feel included.

Please note that the two dates in our calendar are for afternoon performances on December 10th and 12th at this point. We are still analysing staff volunteer numbers for our evening shows to see if we can support additional performances outside of the regular school day. This requires a great deal of supervision and coordination from the adults who have established relationships with our students. We hope to be able to confirm either way by Monday in another communication.

Performance Dates

Tuesday, December, 10: Concert 1 (PS, P/1M, 1/2HH, and 2/3B) 1:15 PM

Thursday, December 12: Concert 2 (3/4R, 4F, 5D, 6J and Band) 1:15 PM

Congratulations to Jeff Morse, our newest SAC member. We still have one community seat available for someone who lives or works in our community and doesn't have children or grandchildren in our school. The perspectives of our community SAC members are valued and unique! Please feel free pass along the contact information below to anyone interested.

Contact: Shawn Marsh - smarsh@hrce.ca (902-435-8353/1)

You can learn more about SACs here.

Please click here to view our new website. On this site, you will find information about our SAC, a staff directory, useful links, schedules, calendars and who to contact to get help and assistance. This site is a work in progress as we continue to post relevant information in service of our students and their families.

Ms. McKenna is creating a sneaker library to support students who may forget their sneakers for PE. If your family has gently used sneakers at home that no longer fit and you would like to donate them, please have your child bring them to Ms. McKenna. Donations are greatly appreciated!

As mentioned in previous newsletters, 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.

Your SchoolsPlus team in the Woodlawn Family of Schools is organizing a series of parent and caregiver information sessions. We'd like your input on what sessions you'd find most helpful and have a survey attached for you to complete. Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. Stay tuned for upcoming parent and caregiver sessions in your area.

https://forms.office.com/r/cafMBBUeMs

The second ordering window for the School Lunch Program (nslunch.ca) closes this Wednesday at noon. When any ordering window closes, new orders cannot be made, and existing ones cannot be cancelled or changed. If your child is absent during a day or days when they are supposed to be served a school lunch, the recommendation is to order for free to make up any losses the following ordering period. Students are not allowed to bring these lunches home and schools are not authorized to refrigerate them due to food/health regulations and the risk of bacterial contamination. Lunches come in recyclable containers with wooden utensils to minimize the volume of waste. Our lunch monitors have been busy teaching students about disposing of food waste in our green bins and ensuring that the recyclable containers get placed in our blue bins.

Our students continue to try new dishes, and it is generating a lot of great conversations about healthy eating. If you have questions or concerns about the School Lunch Program, the organizers want your feedback so they can make improvements. Please forward your questions to lunch@hrce.ca.

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!

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