Last week we experienced something very special…  we experienced our students challenging themselves to do their personal best during our Bastion Mini-Boogie cross-country run.  To have our students cheering each other on and showing great sportsmanship was wonderful to see.  The Mini-Boogie was a great event, and I would like to thank all of the family members who helped around the course, at the finish line and in the marshaling area!  We have amazing and supportive families at Bastion!!

Here’s what’s happening during what will be another great week at our school:

Monday, April 29th
Interim Reports. Teachers will be doing an Interim Report for each child at some point during the week, with some teachers completing the reports next week. Some students will receive an update in the form of a written report – this could be a student self-assessment or an update from the teacher. Some classes will be inviting families in for Student-Led Conferences. Your child’s teacher will communicate the format of the Interim Report to you. The purpose the Interim Report is to provide a brief check-in with families as we begin the final push to the end of the school year.
PAC Meeting. The PAC meeting will start at 6:30 pm, with free babysitting provided. All of our students’ families are invited to attend. The current PAC executive is currently taking names of interested family members who might be interested in forming next year’s PAC executive. If you are interesting in taking on the role of President, Vice-president or Treasurer, please forward your name to Mr. Menzies and he will pass your info on to the current executive. Please keep in mind that if Bastion does not have a functioning PAC, we will not receive our annual grant, which provides many resources and activities for our students and teachers.

Tuesday, April 30th
Science World Presentations. Science World on the Road will be visiting Bastion to present two different shows. The Grade 4/5 students will see a presentation called Earth, Wind and Science at 8:45 – 9:30. Our primary students will see a presentation called How 2 Science at 10:10 – 10:55.
A Visit from Shuswap Middle School. It’s that time of year when our Grade 5 students begin to get excited (or nervous) about the transition to Grade 6 at SMS. To help our Grade 5s feel a little more comfortable and confident about going to SMS, the principal and vice-principal from SMS will be visiting all of our Grade 5 classes to talk to the students and give them a little glimpse into what life will be like in middle school. The English Grade 5s will meet with Mrs. Woodhurst (principal) at 10:10, and the French Immersion Grade 5s will meet with Mme Jegues (vice-principal) at 10:55. All of our Grade 5 students will have the opportunity to visit SMS at the beginning of June.

Wednesday, May 1st
Choir Music Festival. All of our students who are currently in the choir will be going to the Shuswap Music Festival to perform a selection of songs, under the direction of Mme Shannon, our Music teacher. Our choir sounds amazing and this will be a fantastic opportunity for the choir to perform in a public setting! The choir will be back at 12:00, so those who are on the cross-country running team can participate in the Bastion Boogie.
Bastion Boogie. Members of the cross-country team will participate in their second run of the season. Students from Hillcrest Elementary will join us for the Bastion Boogie, as a lead-up to next week’s district-wide cross-country run at Little Mountain. If our students do as well as they did at last week’s Mini-Boogie, I know they will represent our school well. Good luck, everyone!

Thursday, May 2nd
Swim @ School Program. Some of our classes will be walk to the swimming pool to participate in the first session of the swim program. Please see the schedule below, as a reminder of when your child(ren) will be going swimmming.

Fun Food Day. Please note that the date of Fun Food Day was changed due to next week’s district-wide cross-country run. The students will receive their pizza or nuggets on May 2nd instead of May 9th. Thank you to our Fun Food Coordinators and volunteers for providing this opportunity for the students!!

Friday, May 3rd
Grade 4/5 Rec. Swim. The Grade 4/5 classes will be going to the swimming pool to participate in a recreational swim. Hopefully everyone remembers their swimsuits and towels!
Field Trip to Arts Centre. Mme Jesse’s Kindergarten class will be going to the Salmon Arts Centre to experience the exhibit called Flight.

Hopefully all of our families had a wonderful long-weekend!!

It’s a short week, but we continue to be busy doing great things at Bastion.

Thursday, April 25th
Bastion Mini-Boogie. All of our students (even the ones who are not on the cross-country running team) will participate in the Bastion Mini-Boogie. This is an event where all of our students can challenge themselves to do their personal best! The event will start at 12:45, and our first age group will be the Kindergarten students. Please ensure your son/daughter has appropriate running clothing and a pair of runners. A healthy lunch and bottle(s) of water will be a great idea. The event will run rain or shine, so the students should be prepared for the weather.

Friday, April 26th
Arts Center Field Trips. Mrs. Isaac’s class and Mrs. Smith’s class will be visiting the Salmon Arm Arts Center. The students will be viewing the exhibition called Flight, which focuses on the disappearing songbird population and features 2D and 3D work from local artists.
SMS Scouting Trip. Five of our Grade 5 students will be visiting Shuswap Middle School to “scout out” where they will be attending school next year. Our “scouts” will have a tour of the school and meet some staff members, as they take pictures and ask questions. The “scouts” will then come back to Bastion and tell the rest of the Grade 5 students what they learned about life at SMS.

A Note About Class Placement Requests…

In June, the School-Based Team (SBT) will meet and discuss the class placement of each student. Tentative classes for September 2019 will be created in June, then finalized during the first week of September. The SBT consists of the outgoing and potential receiving classroom teachers, Learning Resource Teacher, Vice-principal and Principal. The SBT looks at the strengths and needs of the children and the team will make decisions based on the following:

High Priority Considerations
• Instructional groupings;
• Class composition, including special needs requirements;
• Social/cultural issues (independence, interactions, leadership);
• Behavioural/social concerns;
• Diversity in development (academic, social, emotional).

Middle Priority Considerations
• Groupings in previous years;
• Dominant grade grouping;
• Physical/social maturation;
• Learning style;
• Siblings and relations.

Lower Priority Considerations
• Friendships;
• Teacher-learner compatibility;
• Class size (room to accommodate new students).

Student placement requests for September 2019, will be accepted starting May 13th. Requests must be submitted by June 3rd, in order to be considered. If parents or guardians have a specific request for their child(ren)’s class placement for September 2019, please submit a letter to Mr. Menzies (dropped off at the main office or emailed directly to Mr. Menzies at jmenzies@sd83.bc.ca). The letter must clearly outline the request as well as provide specific educational reasons for the placement request.

When creating tentative classes, parent requests will be considered. However, we are unable to guarantee that requests can be fulfilled.

Here is what is happening at Bastion Elementary this week…

Monday, April 15th
Author Visit with Isabelle LaRouche. Ms. LaRouche will be working with some of our Grade 4/5 students who are in French Immersion. She will be here all week, helping our students write stories, connected to Indigenous culture, with the goal of having Secwepmec stories published in French and English. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to participate in some authentic writing, for a larger audience.
SPCA Presentations. Volunteers from the SPCA will be visiting some of our classes to talk about a variety of topics related to domestic and wild animals. Some topics include: kindness to animals, caring for the needs of animals, having pets as companions, and being safe around animals. The volunteers will be at Bastion on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Wednesday, April 17th
Division 9 Class Play. The students in Mme Candy’s class have been working very hard over the last couple of months to prepare a French play called, “Le parc-en-ciel” or “Rainbow Park”. Some French Immersion classes from Shuswap Middle School will be coming to Bastion for a performance at 10:30. At 12:45, many of our Bastion students will have the opportunity to watch the performance. Parents are welcome to attend either performance. Please keep in mind, the performance will presented in French.

April 19th – 23rd
Easter Long-Weekend. School will not be in session on Friday (Good Friday) or Monday (Easter Monday). The students will also have Tuesday off, as Tuesday is a Professional Development Day. We will look forward to seeing the students back at school on Wednesday, April 24th! Have a wonderful long-weekend!!

The Grade 4 & 5 students and teachers are continuing their efforts to raise money for year-end field trips.  Their next fundraising event will be a…

Who is invited?  All Bastion Families
When is Bingo Night?  Wednesday, April 10^th at 6:00 pm (doors open at 5:40)
Where will the event take place?  Bastion Gymnasium

One bingo board will cost $2.00 (only 195 bingo boards are available!)
Popcorn and water will also be for sale.

Come to enjoy some Bingo fun and prizes!!!

The students and teachers would like to thank you in advance for your support!!

Parents/Guardians of all Salmon Arm schools are invited to attend a parent information event hosted by School District No. 83.  The focus of the event will be the redesigned curriculum, including the Core Competencies.  There will be a presentation, followed by an opportunity for discussion.

The event will take place at Shuswap Middle School on Thursday, April 11th, at 6:00 pm.