And believe it or not, the first week of October is in the history books! We’ve had a great week at school celebrating Read in Week! Thank you to Mrs. Bettac for organizing our guest readers and a special thanks to our Mayor, Karl Hauch and our EIPS Literacy and Social Studies Consultant, Natalie McIntyre for reading to our students!

We as a staff are looking forward to our Professional Learning day tomorrow and our students are looking forward to the extra long weekend! Have a great weekend, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you to all those parents who attended our October School Council meeting this week on Tuesday, October 3. In total there were 15 of us at the meeting! Thanks for showing your support for our school, and let's keep the great momentum going!

Next Meeting: Tuesday, November 14 @ 5:30pm

Bruderheim School Library

Childcare provided!

READ IN Week

World Teachers' Day

Swimming Grades 1-3 (1:00 pm)

Professional Learning Day (schools closed to students)

Thanksgiving Day (schools closed to staff and students)

Swimming Lessons Grades 4-6 (1:00 pm)

School-wide Bus Evacuation Drill

Little Elk Island Adventure

Swimming Lessons Grades 1-3 (1:00 pm)

School Bus Safety Week

Swimming Lessons Grades 4-6 (1:00 pm)

School Picture Day

Swimming Lessons Grades 1-3 (1:00 pm)

Early Dismissal

Remembrance Day Assembly 10:30 am Parents Welcome

October 5 is World Teachers’ Day! Launched in 1994 by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Teachers’ Day is celebrated annually around the world as a way to recognize teachers and the integral role they play in providing quality education to students. On October 5, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) encourages all of its students, parents, caregivers and community members to show their appreciation for their teachers and the positive impact they make on our lives.

EIPS extends its heartfelt thank you to all Division teachers for their dedication, hard work and commitment in guiding and educating students through their kindergarten to Grade 12 years.

Read In Week returned to Bruderheim School this week! This year’s theme: “Read In Reimagined.” Through various activities, students spent the week learning how to reimagine reading—it’s more than just story books—reading happens everywhere and is for everyone, no matter your age.

Read In Week is a division-wide initiative held annually to encourage a lifelong love of reading and to enhance literacy awareness among students, staff, families and community members. Bruderheim School invites all families to participate in Read In Week by reading yourself, with your child or with someone in the community.

Don’t forget to share what you’ve learned using the hashtag #eipsreads and thanks so much to our community and Elk Island Public School volunteers for sharing their time with our students.

For more information, visit the Read In website at Homepage-readin - Read In (imagineeverything.com)

Information from Lifetouch

EASY Way of accessing your child’s images online:

Lifetouch Photography is excited to announce the launch of a new way to access photos online.
After much safety and security testing, Lifetouch has developed a way for families to access their child’s photo using their student ID number.
Go to our website at www.mylifetouch.ca, click on Student ID and follow the detailed instructions to view and order photos.
If you have any questions on this ordering process, please call the Lifetouch Customer Care Line at 1.866.457.8212 or access the live chat on our website, www.mylifetouch.ca
Parents can still access their photos online by using their child’s portrait ID and access code. By enabling the option of using your child’s student ID number, gives people another way to access photos if they lose their proof sheet.
Lifetouch Rewards for families!
Discounts and information on Lifetouch Rewards at my.lifetouch.ca

Lifetouch Customer Care Contact:
Any questions about your fall photos status, errors on orders or how to place orders, please call our Lifetouch Customer Care line at 1.866.457.8212 or go to our ordering website, www.mylifetouch.ca

Pay School Fees Online!

School fee information for the 2023-24 school year is now posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. To access your fee information, simply log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal and go to “Student Fees.” There you can view your fees and pay them online.

Don’t forget to also log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal regularly throughout the year. Fees are often added to your child’s account to cover the cost of various school activities such as field trips, class projects, extracurricular activities fees and more.

If circumstances exist where you’re unable to pay your fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived by submitting an Application for a Waiver of Fees. The application deadline is Dec. 15, 2023.

For more information about school fees, waivers and payment deadlines visit eips.ca. Alternatively, contact Ms. Carlson at Bruderheim School at 780-796-3936.

Download the SchoolMessenger App

Bruderheim School and the Division use the SchoolMessenger platform for communicating with families—through both phone and email. Be sure to add communications@eips.ca and general.bru@eips.ca to your safe sender list to avoid having important messages funneled into your junk mail folder.

You can directly manage your phone and email subscription preferences through SchoolMessenger. Simply log in to your account—or create one if you don’t already have one—and select the message types you’d like to receive to each phone number and email address on file.

The easiest way to stay connected is to download the SchoolMessenger app. Get the latest updates direct to your mobile device and enable push notifications to never miss a message. Families can also check back on past messages—for up to 30 days—directly in the app rather than searching to find an old message buried in your inbox. Download the SchoolMessenger app from the App Store or Google Play today.

As part of Elk Island Public Schools’ (EIPS) ongoing efforts to enhance the literacy and numeracy of students in all grade levels, the Division is once again administering the Star Early Literacy, Star Reading and Star Math assessment tools in the 2023-24 school year. These tools focus on literacy and numeracy, are digitally based and offer an opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning. The goal: To provide timely information to teachers, help enhance classroom instruction and identify student learning needs.

Three times a year, EIPS students in Grade 1 complete the Star Early Literacy assessment and students in grades 2-12 complete the Star Reading assessment. Both assessments are administered electronically and take about 20 minutes. Students in grades 2 through 10 also complete the Star Math, a mathematic screening tool. It, too, is administered electronically and takes about 30 minutes for students to complete. The results offer teachers a clearer picture of a student’s learning needs and help determine if subsequent instructional planning is required. NOTE: Semester students complete the Star Math twice, at the start and end of the course.

In addition to the Star assessments, Alberta Education now mandates all students in grades 1-3 complete additional literacy and numeracy assessments. Students in Grade 2 and Grade 3 complete these provincial assessments in September. Grade 1 students will complete the assessments in January 2023.

The scores of the assessments aren’t used toward a student’s grade, and there is no need to study ahead of time. The tools simply provide the teacher with information to better understand where each student is in terms of reading comprehension and mathematic ability. If, after analyzing the results, it’s determined a student can benefit from extra support, the teacher will contact the family to discuss possible support strategies.

For more information about the Division’s Star and MIPI assessment tools, contact EIPS Supports for Students at 780-464-3477.

Join the University of Alberta and Amii for an engaging 45-minute online webinar designed to boost AI literacy for parents of kids of all ages, from kindergarten to graduate students. The session will focus on global citizenship, online safety, and education and career guidance.

Don't miss this fun and informative opportunity to empower your parenting in the age of AI, ensuring your kids thrive in tomorrow's tech-driven world.

Event Details:

Date: Nov. 2, 2023 Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 p.m.

Location: Virtual From Alexa to Algorithms: Parenting in the Era of AI (amii.ca)

The health and safety of staff, students and visitors is a top priority. Continue to reinforce the following hygiene habits to protect staff and students from spreading respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.

· Stay home if you’re feeling sick.

· Wash or sanitize your hands often.

· Cover your coughs and sneezes.

· Avoid touching your face.

· Clean and disinfect high touch surfaces regularly.

· Wear a mask if you get sick or develop symptoms while at school or work.

As per Alberta Health guidelines, staff, students, contractors and visitors who have symptoms of respiratory Illness or test positive for COVID, should stay home until:

· symptoms have improved,

· they feel well enough to resume normal activities, and

· they have been fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications.

For anyone who has a respiratory illness or has tested positive for COVID, it is recommended that they wear a mask for a total of 10 days from the onset of symptoms—even if the symptoms have resolved or improved—when in indoor settings with other individuals.

Alberta Health Services hosts a variety of virtual caregiver information sessions throughout the year focused on ways to support students’ mental health. The sessions are free and geared toward parents, caregivers, teachers and community members who want to learn more about challenges impacting children and adolescents. Session topics include anxiety, ADHD, depression, self-harm, technology, teens and teaching leadership skills, communication, resiliency and more. Visit Caregiver Education to see the monthly caregiver sessions.

Schools throughout Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) are celebrating School Bus Safety Week October 15-21. The theme: ‘Stand Back From Yellow and Black,’ which focuses on proper school bus safety behaviour. Throughout the week, various activities are planned, including information sessions, bus-safety lesson plans and bus-evacuation drills.

As part of School Bus Safety Week, Bruderheim School reminds students and families all Division school buses are equipped with a Tyler Drive tablet, bus-pass scanner, GPS technology, the Child Check-Mate system and surveillance equipment, which allows Student Transportation to better monitor and manage its more than 175 buses. Families and students also have access to the Traversa Ride 360 app, a mobile tool to help determine the location of a bus, projected arrival times and when a child is scanned onto a bus.

For more information, visit EIPS Student Transportation or contact 780-417-8151.

A monthly group for parents whose children face mental health challenges. This groups is a safe and supportive place for parents and caregivers to:

• share challenges and concerns
• learn and grow as a caregiver, and
• access supports from those who are facing similar struggles.

To register, please call 780-992-6267.