Important Dates
- May 7 – Vaccinations for Grade 6; students requiring catch-up
- May 8 – Hats on for Mental Health * incorrect date last week; Grades 2-4 Drumheller trip (late dismissal for field trip)
- May 15 – Fun Lunch
- May 16 – Volunteer Tea, 2:00; Kindergarten orientation night, 6:30-7:30
- May 17 – PD Day - no school
- May 20 – Victoria Day – no school
Dear Belfast Families,
Thank you so much to the parents who came out to our last School Council/Parent Fundraising Society on Tuesday. We had a wonderful turnout, and our babysitters were awesome! All the kids who came enjoyed the movie and the doting care provided by our babysitters. Belfast is so fortunate to have such incredible student leaders who set a wonderful example for our younger students. Thank you to our Council Chair, Kim, for keeping us on time and organized. Our meetings are informative and productive, and we would love for more families to join us.
We encourage all our families to follow our school’s Instagram account (@BelfastSchoolcbe) and visit our school website to see pictures from the week.
School Phone Issues
We are aware of some issues with our school phone and apologize for any inconvenience. The technician was in today and will be back on Monday to resolve the issue. If you need to reach the office, email Kari at klforrest@cbe.ab.ca ; to reach teachers, please email them directly.
Cell Phone Reminder
Belfast School does not allow cell phones in the classroom. If students bring their cell phones to school, they must stay in the child’s bag unless directed by a teacher. As we do not have lockers and bags are accessible to anyone, we strongly encourage students to leave phones at home unless they need it to and from school.
Class Configurations – Next Year
We have finalized our budget for next year and have a plan for staffing and class configurations. Although much can change over the next few months, our current plan for the 2024-2025 school year is:
- Kindergarten – one class (AM)
- Grade 1/ 2 – two classes
- Grade 3/ 4 – three classes
- Grade 5/6 - two classes
- LEAD – two classes
We will continue to have a full-time Fine Arts teacher and are adding a half-time Physical Education & Wellness teacher.
Families will be contacted at the end of August and informed of their child’s homeroom and teacher.
Class Lists
With our small numbers and our strong relationships with students, our staff know our students well and feel confident making class lists. We put a lot of effort into creating class lists each spring and may tweak them again in August when staff return. Class lists are an intensive process and we are incredibly thoughtful when building our homeroom classes. We do not take teacher requests or friend requests, but If you have information about your child’s learning that you feel the school may not, please reach out. Our focus is always on what is best for student learning and wellbeing.
Volunteer Tea – Babysitting Provided!
If you have volunteered in any way this year – with field trips, in the classroom, helping out in the office, etc. - we would love to celebrate you! Please join us on Thursday, May 16 at 2:00 for refreshments, conversation, and student performances. An RSVP is required for this event so we can plan accordingly. Please email Ms. Devos at cldevos@cbe.ab.ca if you are able to attend. There will be babysitting provided by our certified babysitters during the tea for any younger siblings aged two and up.
Lacrosse was a Massive Success!
Thank you to the Belfast Parent Fundraising Society for bringing Elev8 Lacrosse to Belfast! The students have loved the experience and have learned so much! Coach Dan was absolutely amazing and the students loved having a “real life Roughneck” in the school.
We would like to remind families that Elev8 Lacrosse is hosting a FREE Lacrosse clinic on May 11 for any student interested in joining a lacrosse program. Check out this link.
Reminder: Busy Spring Coming Up: Save the Dates!
May and June are always incredibly busy at schools. We wanted to give our families some notice about key dates:
- Thursday, May 16 – Volunteer Tea, 2:00
- Thursday, May 16 – Kindergarten orientation night, 6:30-7:30
- Friday, May 17 – PD Day – no school
- Monday, May 20 – Victoria Day – no school
- Tuesday, May 21 – Kindergarten full day at Telus Spark
- Thursday, May 23 – Grades 1-3 at Heritage Park
- Thursday, May 23 – School Dance, 6:00-7:30 – hosted by School Council
- Tuesday, May 28 – School Council/Fundraising Society (online)
- Monday, June 3 – Climbing Centre for Grades 5, 6, LEAD
- Wednesday, June 4 – Opera matinee, 1:30
- Thursday, June 5 – Patrol party at Heritage Park
- Thursday, June 5 – Opera performance, 6:30
- Tuesday, June 11 – LEAD tour at Terry Fox (Grade 6 LEAD only)
- Thursday, June 13 – Fun Run (PM - families welcome)
- Wednesday, June 19 – LEAD classes at Calaway Park
- Wednesday, June 19 – Grade 6 social PAT
- Thursday, June 20 – Grade 6 science PAT
- Thursday, June 20 – No school for kindergarten
- Thursday, June 20, 1:30 – Tony Tootoosis and family here (Indigenous dance, song, and circle – families welcome to attend)
- Thursday, June 20, 6:30-8:00 – Grade 6 Farewell (“red carpet” theme)
- Friday, June 21 – Community Day events for National Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Monday, June 24 – No school for Kindergarten
- Wednesday, June 26 – Summerfest (PM)
- Thursday, June 27 – Last Day of School – 12:15 dismissal
Reminder: Opera Update
We are right on track for our Opera production, and can’t wait to perform for all of you at one of our two shows:
- Wednesday, June 5 – Matinee at 1:30
- Thursday, June 6 – Evening performance at 6:30
Just as we did with the winter concert, we plan for immediate family (roughly two tickets per student) to attend the evening performance; all extended family should attend the matinee performance. We would be so disappointed to have to turn people away from the evening performance, and ask for your support in adhering to this plan.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have anything you would like to share.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Meagan Lundgren
Principal
Belfast School