Thank you to all of our Bastion Bobcat families who participated in the Pumpkin Decorating Showcase!! The pumpkins look absolutely amazing!!! Mrs. Matuga and our Grade 5 Leaders did a wonderful job of organizing and promoting the event. Here is a video of all the pumpkins. Have a fun and safe Halloween!!
Month: October 2021
Buddy Bench at Bastion
When Anita Pieper, a beloved Certified Education Assistant (CEA) suddenly passed away in October 2018, her family wanted to honour her memory in a special way. “Anita left an incredible legacy which includes her warm smile, her kind heart, her inclusive nature, and the importance she placed on friendship,” comments Jennifer Findlay, District Principal for School District No. 83 North Okanagan-Shuswap. “I had the pleasure of working with Anita at Len Wood Elementary many years ago, and she quickly became a friend who was like family.”
The Pieper family decided to honour Anita’s legacy with the Buddy Bench Project. Currently, there are five Buddy Benches in place on SD83 school playgrounds. Including a Buddy Bench on the playground can encourage students to look out for one another so no one feels left out. Some of the guidelines include:
- If you are looking for someone to play with or a friend, please sit on the Buddy Bench
- If you see someone sitting on the bench, talk to them and invite them to play
- If you are sitting on the bench and someone invites you to play, say “yes”
The most recent Buddy Bench installation took place at Bastion Elementary School. This bench was a true community project in memory of Paul Whyte (February 29, 1984 to December 24, 2020). Paul was born in Victoria, BC and moved to Salmon Arm in 1993. He attended Bastion Elementary from 1993 (Grade 3) until 1997 (Grade 7) and he graduated from Salmon Arm Senior Secondary in 2002. Paul was an accomplished helicopter pilot, a talented photographer, an avid traveler, and a loving son, brother, and friend. He will be missed by many and remembered for his kindness, compassion, honesty, and integrity. Paul’s family is honoured to have the Buddy Bench placed at Bastion School in his memory.
A huge thanks goes out to everyone who was involved with this project including the Pieper, Kusisto, Wagner, Stanley, and Findlay families. Thank you also to Leko Precast for providing the concrete foundation.
Halloween Costume Day 2022
Bastion students will be invited to wear their Halloween costumes to school on Monday, October 31st. If a student would like to save their Halloween costume for Halloween night and not wear the costume to school, students can also choose to wear Orange and Black on October 31st. We would like to remind our students and their families of Bastion’s guidelines for Halloween costumes:
- Please ensure costumes are respectful of various races and cultures;
- Replica weapons (sword, dagger, gun, etc.) should be left at home and saved for Halloween night;
- Masks of any type should be left at home and saved for Halloween night;
- Costumes should follow the school’s dress code in order to be respectful to self and others.
In this current day and age, we have to be very careful with students bringing replica weapons to school or wearing masks at school. There is a lot of sensitivity (for a variety of reasons) to these types of items and we need to be respectful to all members of our school community, while still providing a fun opportunity for students to celebrate the day in their Halloween costumes.
If there is a chance your son or daughter will get uncomfortable in his/her costume during the day, we are encouraging those students to bring a change of clothes to put on later in the day. During the day, we would like all students to act responsibly with their costumes, to ensure that none of the costumes get ruined before Halloween night.
Classroom teachers will be deciding how their classrooms will celebrate Halloween, and make plans appropriate for the age group. If you have any specific questions regarding the classroom activities, please contact your child’s teacher.
Our school believes in healthy eating, we would like to strongly recommend that all students save their Halloween treats to be eaten and enjoyed at home, after school. Thank you for support!
Ministry seeking feedback
The Ministry of Education is seeking feedback from parents/guardians on its draft K-12 Student Reporting Policy.
Director of Instruction Carol-Ann Leidloff comments SD83 is pleased to share the draft K-12 Reporting Policy, recently released by the Ministry of Education. “This follows four years of work across the province, where schools have worked to align teaching and assessment practices with our renewed curriculum.”
“The SD83 Parent Guide to Communicating Student Learning will help you understand the rationale behind some of the changes, and to clarify what information will be shared during each reporting period.”
Please read through both the Parent Guide and the Draft K-12 Student Reporting Policy, then share your feedback with the Ministry by November 5, 2021.
The SD83 Parent Guide to Communicating Student Learning
Draft K-12 Student Reporting Policy
Read more from the Ministry here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/govtogetherbc/consultation/studentreporting/
Go directly to providing feedback by clicking here: https://feedback.engage.gov.bc.ca/944758
Kindy registration for 2022
Do you have a child who will start kindergarten in September 2022? Welcome!
Registration for regular kindergarten and the district’s two programs of choice opens at 9 a.m. on today and remains open for the rest of the school year. We are looking forward to welcoming you and your child to North Okanagan School District No. 83!
You will need to register at your child’s catchment school (based on your physical address) or specialty school (Bastion – Early French Immersion or South Canoe – Outdoor Learning). To access our catchment school locator tool or find out more information about our specialty schools, Click Here.
All Kindergarten registrations completed on Tuesday, October 12th are treated as “equal”, so there is no need for line-ups on that day. Registrations received after October 12th, will be date/time stamped and treated on a first come, first served basis. This information will be used to determine placement IF catchment area schools or programs are full. Students with siblings already registered in a Program of Choice (French Immersion or Outdoor Learning) will be given priority if there is limited space.
If you have any questions about the Kindergarten registration process, please contact: Jennifer Findlay, District Principal, at jfindlay@sd83.bc.ca
In case you need it, here is a list of our elementary schools (click on the school name and the email address will pop up) and their telephone numbers.
Armstrong Elementary – (250) 546-8778
Bastion Elementary – includes English kindergarten & Early French Immersion program – (250) 832-3741
Carlin Elementary Middle – (250) 835- 4520
Falkland Elementary – (250) 379-2320
Grindrod Elementary – (250) 838-7579
Highland Park Elementary – (250) 546-8723
Hillcrest Elementary – (250) 832-7195
M.V. Beattie Elementary – (250) 838-6434
North Canoe Elementary – (250) 832-4950
North Shuswap Elementary – (250) 955-2214
Parkview Elementary – (250) 836-2871
Ranchero Elementary – (250) 832-7018
Salmon Arm West Elementary – (250) 832-3862
Silver Creek Elementary – (250) 832-8282
Sorrento Elementary – (250) 675-2311
South Broadview – (250) 832-2167
South Canoe Elementary – Outdoor Learning Program – (250) 832-3122
École Élémentaire Bastion Elementary School 