Dear Belfast Families, 

 

Thank you for coming out to so many school events this week!  We had a great family turnout for our Terry Fox run on Monday, and had many families attend our School Council/Parent Society meetings on Tuesday.   Last night’s Meet the Teacher was also a huge success: the students were so proud to show off their learning, the families were excited to be in the school, and the book fair was busy.  

 

We would like to remind families that there is no school today, as it is a Professional Learning day for staff.   Our staff will be working with Elder Kerrie Moore around trauma response and then Clancy will be leading a session on visual journalling.  We will be working with staff from Vista Heights, Erin Woods, and Alex Munro.   

 

We encourage all our families to follow our school’s Instagram account (@BelfastSchoolcbe) and visit our school website to see pictures from the week.   

 

Welcome, Ms. Reading! 

Shelagh Reading will be the Acting Principal at Belfast during my medical leave, beginning on Monday.  Shelagh and I have met and she has heard all about how wonderful Belfast is!  She is looking forward to her time at Belfast, and brings a wealth of experience and talent with her.  Welcome to Belfast, Ms. Reading!   You can contact Ms. Reading at spreading@cbe.ab.ca  

 

New Staff Member  

We have hired a new lunch supervisor, Laudy Elhajjahmad.  Welcome to Belfast, Laudy!  We are still looking to hire a final lunchroom position and will update you when we do.   

 

Picture Day is Monday 

Smile!  Picture Day is this upcoming Monday and it will be outside, unless the weather does not cooperate.  Thank you to our two parent volunteers – Sam and Stephanie – for your help in ensuring the day runs smoothly!  

 

Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – Subway 

Our first Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch will be Subway on Wednesday, October 18.  To order the lunch, please visit The Healthy Hunger website here and set up your parent account.   Fun Lunches are a fundraiser through our Belfast Parent Society and give parents a nice break from packing lunches!  If your family is unable to afford a Fun Lunch and you wish for your child to participate, please contact Clancy at cleevans@cbe.ab.ca or call the school.  Thank you to our parent organizer, Alisha, for setting all of this up! If you have questions about ordering, please reach out to our Fun Lunch coordinator at funlunchbelfast@gmail.com  

 

Bus Zone Updates 

With support from CBE’s transportation department, we have asked the city to change some of the signage in front of the school, along 17A Street.  Every school requires a bus zone and a loading zone, where parents can pull over and drop off, but can’t leave cars unattended. We have asked for the addition of a parking zone where cars can be left unattended and that has been approved.  

These locations will be marked with new signage in roughly 6-12 weeks; in the meantime, parents parking in the bus zone could be ticketed.  We want to remind parents that parking along 10 Ave is available if you need to leave your car.   

Thank you for your patience as we await the new signage and designations.   

 

School-wide Book:  “I Hope” by Monique Gray Smith  

Every student and staff member at Belfast has explored the book, “I Hope” by Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard.   “I Hope” is a beautiful story of love and optimism that focuses on bringing joy into each child’s life.  The book begins with “I hope that you and those you love know joy”, and then takes the reader through many hopes:  from clean water, to showing kindness, to taking care of Mother Earth.  The final page of the book asks, “I have lots of hopes, for you and for me, but I wonder...what are your hopes?”   

As a school community, we have all identified some hopes we have for the school year.  Students and staff have recorded their hopes on the bulletin board at the front of the school.  The hopes range from the personal “I hope I am brave enough to make new friends”), to hopes for home (“I hope my family has good food to eat”), to hopes for school (“I hope students at Belfast are kind to each other”).   

We encourage you to listen to the book I Hope | Reading Books for Kids, and listen to the author talking about her book here 

 

Truth and Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day 

All classes will be learning about Truth and Reconciliation throughout the school year, with a particular focus these next few weeks on learning about the history and legacy of Residential Schools.  We will have our school’s Orange Shirt Day on Thursday, September 28; by that date, all students will be able to share with their families what they have learned about Residential Schools and why we all wear orange that day.  Families can learn more about Orange Shirt Day here.  

We will be sharing our collective understanding of Orange Shirt Day through a school-wide mosaic – stay tuned!  

 

Terry Fox Update 

Thank you to everyone who donated money for our “Toonies for Terry”. We raised $266 as a school and will be donating that money to cancer research.  

 

Reminder:  School Council & Parent Fundraising Society  – You are all Invited!  

Did you know that as a Belfast School family, you are automatically a member of our School Council?  School Council’s role is advisory: they represent the families and students and advocate for student learning through collaboration with school administration.  You can learn more about the role of School Councils here.  Our School Council meets each month on a Tuesday at 6:30.   

After each Council meeting, there will be a Parent Fundraising Society Meeting.  Our Fundraising Society helps raise and allocate funds that support our school.  Without fundraising efforts and approval, we would not have the technology, supplies, field trips, and other enrichment opportunities that we are fortunate to have at Belfast.  You can learn more about the Parent Fundraising Society here.   

 

Reminder:  Google Classrooms 

All of our teachers have sent out instructions on how to access Google Classroom.  Please be sure to log and check out the format of each class; this classroom is your first stop for school work, when your child is absent, or for extra resources.  Please contact your child’s teacher if you are having issues accessing the Classroom. 

 

Reminder:  Friday Attendance is Important! 

Our school sees a significant increase in the number of absent students on Fridays.  We would like to remind families that important learning takes place on Fridays, even if students are only here until 12:15.  Regular attendance is critical for student success: 

·        By Grade 3, students with chronic absenteeism are less likely to read at grade level 

·        By Grade 6, chronic absenteeism puts students at a greater risk of not completing high school 

We need to ensure that our students are coming to school regularly, including on Fridays; these good habits in elementary school contribute to greater success in all future grades.  

   

Important Dates  

Friday, September 22 – PD Day (no school) 

Monday, September 25 – Picture Day  

Tuesday, September 26 – Grade 6 vaccinations  

Thursday, September 28 – Belfast’s Orange Shirt Day; Community Day 

Friday, September 29 – No School – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation  

 

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