See our School Calendar for all of the upcoming dates and events.
Field Trips
This week, we had every single student off-site for a Physical Education and Wellness (PEW) trip. We were lucky to receive a grant from Ed Matters, which is how we were able to make this all happen! Each family paid a small amount for a trip that would normally cost much, much more.
Field trips are a critical component of the school experience. This week, students challenged themselves to overcome fears, to try new things, and to get out of their comfort zones. Some students in K-3 went in a pool for the first time ever, while others bravely jumped in without life jackets; some Grade 3-4 students climbed to the top of the climbing walls and jumped off platforms 15 feet in the air, and the Grade 5/6/LEAD students experienced bootcamp workouts, and were exposed to new activities like kickboxing and pickleball.
Field trips do so much more for students than just curricular learning. Trips teach critical life skills like independence, resilience, and healthy risk taking.
Thank you to Ms. Szymanek for organizing the activities, and to all staff for assisting and supervising. Thank you to all of our volunteers – we literally could not go on any of these trips without all of you! We have many trips still planned for the rest of the year, so please have a look at the “Important Dates” above if you are interested in volunteering for more!
Social Media
Follow us on Instagram @BelfastSchoolcbe. If you do not see your child on Instagram and would like to, please complete the annual authorization form on MyCBE.
School Council Meeting Tuesday
Our next School Council and Parent Fundraising Society meetings will be Tuesday in-person at the school, starting at 6:30 PM. Babysitting will be provided. We will share school updates and initial thoughts for next year’s planning. We hope to see everyone there!
Complexity Team & Staffing Impacts
As we shared last week, the Government of Alberta is funding “complexity teams” at some schools, and Belfast has been assigned a team. We will be given one teacher and two Educational Assistants (EAs) for the rest of this year and next. Due to significant shortages of available teachers and support staff for this initiative, school boards have had to come up with different strategies and plans.
For the rest of this year, Dana Powell will move from her Grade ½ classroom position to become the Classroom Complexity Teacher (CCT). Ms. Powell is an expert in early literacy and will be providing support to the K-2 students and teachers. Ms. Powell’s student teacher, Ms. Pika, has graduated will be the full-time teacher in the classroom, starting April 29. We are so thankful to have Ms. Powell’s expertise and are thankful that Ms. Pika can take over in a class she already knows well.
We are also welcoming some substitute EAs for additional supports and hours, which is wonderful. We hope for consistency for the rest of this year. For next year, there will be a teacher hired for the role and two EAs hired as well, who will be with us for the full year that the government has committed to funding.
Thank you to our Pre-Service Teachers!
Today, our three student teachers finished their last day of their practicum, and I want to take a moment to thank the three of them. We are so fortunate that all three of our student teachers this year were complete rockstars! Ms. Grewal learned so much from Mr. U, and has played a significant role in our fine arts programming and productions – thank you, Prab! Mr. Gill was fortunate to learn from both Ms. Teasdale and Ms. Medland, and he absolutely thrived in his role in the Grade ¾ classroom – as he did in his role as Bonhomme at our Winterfest! Thank you, Gurjit! Ms. Pika is going to take a week off and then begin her position replacing Ms. Powell in the classroom – and we are absolutely thrilled to have her continue to be a part of the Belfast family!
Next Year Planning
Schools receive their Resource Allocation Method (RAM) on Thursday, April 23. RAM is our budget for the following school year and determines our staffing decisions; staffing decisions then impact class configurations and teaching assignments. It is a busy time of year for administration in schools, and we will keep you posted throughout the process as decisions are made. We encourage families to come to School Council to provide feedback on initial plans throughout the spring.
Pie-in-the-Face Returns!
Apparently, our students enjoy throwing food at staff because Leadership Club is bringing back the pie-in-the-face fundraiser! This year, the proceeds will be split between our Parent Fundraising Society and our charity of the year, Parachutes for Pets.
Leadership Club students will sell tickets every morning from April 20 – May 1. The assembly will be on Thursday, May 7 at 10:00 and families are welcome to come and watch if they would like. Tickets will be 4 for $1, and students can choose to put all their tickets into one staff member’s envelope or split them up. We will draw names right at the assembly to see who gets to pie each staff member!
Friend’s Pizza Fundraiser Night
On Wednesday, April 29, skip the dinner preparations and call Friend’s Pizza! Our generous Friend’s Pizza neighbours will donate a portion of all proceeds back to our Parent Fundraising Society. Be sure to tell them that you’re with Belfast School when you order. Check out the menu and ordering options here
Volunteer Breakfast – Please RSVP
We will be hosting a volunteer appreciation breakfast on Thursday, May 14 at 9:00. We hope that anyone who has volunteered at the school, on Council, on a field trip, and so on, can come out to be celebrated. An RSVP is required by May 1 to Shelley at sngayford@cbe.ab.ca