Important Dates
Tuesday, September 16 – School Council Meeting, 6:30 PM
Monday, September 22 – Picture day
Thursday, September 25 – No school for kindergarten; Meet the Teacher 6:00-7:30
Friday, September 26 – Orange Shirt Day at schools
Monday, September 29 – No school; non-instructional day
Tuesday, September 30 – No school; National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Dear Belfast Families,
Next week, we have an AusKick residency starting. AusKick is Australian football and will be a brand-new residency for Belfast. Ms. S has done a wonderful job booking novel and engaging PEW residencies for the year, and we appreciate our Belfast School Council and Parent Fundraising Society for supporting these events. Check out Instagram next week to see what AusKick is all about!
Follow us on Instagram!
We encourage all our families to follow our school’s Instagram account (@BelfastSchoolcbe) and visit our school website to see pictures from the week. If you do not see your child on Instagram, it may be because they do not have clearance.
Healthy Hunger Fun Lunches – See Updates in BOLD!
As shared in email earlier this week, we have partnered with Healthy Hunger again this year to offer a monthly Fun Lunch to our Grades 1-6 students and those kindergartners who attend Belfast Student Care. If parents wish, they can go onto the Healthy Hunger website and order their child a special lunch. The lunches are delivered to the school and distributed by parent and student volunteers.
This year, our Fun Lunches are:
- October 1 – Subway *New date due to potential strike beginning October 6
- November 5 – McDonalds
- December 12 – Tim Hortons (*Friday donut day)
- January 7 – Spolumbos
- February 11 – Edo
- March 11 – Mary Brown’s
- April 8 – Coco Brooks Pizza
- May 6 – Jugo Juice
- June 12 Tim Hortons (*Friday donut day)
Truth & Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day
This year, schools will recognize Orange Shirt Day on Friday, September 26. When our students and staff wear orange, they show everyone that they know the history and ongoing intergenerational impacts of Residential Schools on Indigenous peoples. All students will be learning about Truth and Reconciliation throughout the school, with a particular emphasis over the next few weeks. We encourage all families to talk to your children about what they are learning, as often our children are the ones who can help us unlearn and relearn the history of our country. If parents want to learn more, the Blanket Exercise is a wonderful starting point...
Blanket Exercise – October 16, 6:00 PM
I will be leading a Blanket Exercise for any interested adults who want to attend. The Blanket Exercise is used to “build understanding about our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada by walking through pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance. Everyone is actively involved as they step onto blankets that represent the land, and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and later Métis peoples. By engaging on an emotional and intellectual level, the Blanket Exercise effectively educates and increases empathy” (Kairos).
It is the story of Canada that many adults did not learn in school, and covers topics like the Indian Act, Residential Schools, and the Sixties Scoop. The exercise is interactive, and as it covers heavy topics, there will be a circle and optional smudge to end the evening in a good way.
If you have any questions, you can read more about what to expect here.
An RSVP is required to prepare, so please email me at mllundgren@cbe.ab.ca if you can make it or want to know more.
Meet the Teacher – September 25
On September 25, from 6:00-7:30 PM, we will be hosting our annual Meet the Teacher. Although we met most of you at our Welcome Back BBQ, this is an opportunity for you to see your child’s classroom, look at some of the learning that has taken place already this year, and connect face-to-face with their teacher.
Meet the Teacher is not a parent/teacher conference (those are in November), but if you ever have any questions for your child’s teacher, please reach out to them through email as needed.
We will have popcorn for sale at Meet the Teacher for $1 per bag, with all proceeds going to school initiatives that help to build community.
New Bus & Parking Signage
To accommodate our new accessible bus, all signage in front of the school will be adjusted in the upcoming days. Parents, please pay attention to accessible bus signs, loading only, and no stopping signs.
Reminder: School Council – Free Babysitting Provided!
We encourage all of our families to attend School Council and the Parent Fundraising Society meeting on Tuesday, September 16 at 6:30 PM. Attending these meetings allows you to stay informed and have a voice in decision making at the school. While you attend the meeting, there are certified babysitters available to look after your school-aged children. We hope to see you all there!
Reminder: Clearance to Post Student Work and Pictures
If you would like to see your child (or your child’s work!) on Instagram or up in the hall and on bulletin boards, please ensure you give clearance in SchoolEngage as you complete your annual forms.
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