We are very excited to release the video for this year’s CBC Canadian Music Class Challenge! The students in Mrs. Williams, Mme van Varseveld, Mme Dollack and Mme Bernard’s classes, along with Mme Shannon, have done a wonderful job singing Small, but Mighty by Canadian singer, Ginalina. The video is more than just the presentation of a song… Mme Shannon helped the students connect to their home community of Salmon Arm. The students were involved in letter writing and working with local musicians to prepare for the recording of the song and video. Thank you to everyone who helped make this project possible – your contributions to the success of the is project is appreciated. Our Bastion Bobcat community can be extremely proud of our contribution to the CBC Canadian Music Class Challenge!!

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!!

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.

Bastion students will be invited to wear their Halloween costumes to school on Friday, October 29th. 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 29th. 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!

Dear Bastion Families…

We certainly hope all of our Bastion families have had a wonderful summer. We’re sure some plans were changed or cancelled due to the wildfires and smoke that affected much of British Columbia. However, knowing our Bastion families, we’re sure everyone was able to adapt and still have the opportunity to have some wonderful adventures and create some great summer memories.

Only four more sleeps and then we get to begin a brand new school year!! Many teachers have been in the school, getting their classrooms ready and they are looking forward to reconnecting with the students they taught last year, and they are excited to meet the students who will be in their class for the 2021-2022 school year. Hopefully all of our students are looking forward to starting a new school year (even if they say they’re not… deep down they really are)!!

Sincerely,

Joel Menzies (Principal) and Laura Jegues (Vice-Principal)

The September newsletter will have lots of important information for families to review, and you can expect that newsletter to come home near the end the first week. In the meantime, here is some information about our school start-up:

First Week of School

The Grade 1 – 5 students will start school on Tuesday, September 7^th.  When the Welcoming Bell rings at 8:02, the students will line-up at the exterior door of last year’s classroom.  The students will spend the first day in their last year’s classrooms, so we can determine who has moved away and who has recently registered.  All students new to Bastion can meet Mr. Menzies and Mme Jegues at the stairs, by the main entrance of the school.  On September 7^th, the students will be dismissed at 11:12 am.  On Wednesday (maybe even Thursday), the students will be able to go to their classrooms for the year and meet their teachers. 

On Tuesday evening, families will receive an email from Mr. Menzies.  The email will state one of the following:

1. On Wednesday, September 8^th, the students will remain in their last year’s class until the School District gives Mr. Menzies the “OK” to have students go to their new classroom.

or

2. On Wednesday, September 8^th, the students will be able to go to their new classrooms and meet their new teachers.  The email will let families know who their child’s 2021-2022 teacher will be, as well as the Division and Room Number.

Last year we had an email issue where some families did not receive the email, stating which class their children were in. If this happens again, and you do not receive notification on Tuesday evening, several staff members will be available on Wednesday morning to tell families which classes their child(ren) will go to. Due to privacy protection, schools are no longer allowed to post class lists. We apologize in advance if families do not receive this important information in a timely manner.

Kindergarten students will begin their Gradual Entry on Wednesday, September 8^th.  Information about the Kindergarten Gradual Entry, including the students’ group, was emailed to families on June 30^th, 2021.  We are very excited to meet all of our new Kindergarten students!!

School Supplies

Families do not need to go to the store and purchase school supplies for their children. The school has already purchased supplies for each child, and we charge a School Supply Fee. Feel free to click on the Bastion Fee Schedule link, to view the breakdown of School Supplies Fees and Activity Fees. Please remember to bring indoor shoes, a backpack and a snack on the first day!

Daily Health Checks

Last year, our Bastion Bobcat community did a fantastic job of helping our school be healthy and safe by conducting Daily Health Checks and keeping their children home if the children were not feeling well. This is one of the most important strategies in keeping our community safe and ensuring school can continue as normal as possible.  Parents will be required to complete a daily Health Check with their child again this year. Our hope is that families will continue to be vigilant and monitor their children for symptoms of illness. Please click the link below for information about the K-12 Daily Health Check and the Daily Health Check Mobile App:

K-12 Daily Health Check Information

Masks at School

The Provincial Health Officer has mandated that students in Grade 4 and up, staff members and visitors are required to wear masks, while inside the school. Please click the link below, for a brief Q & A about face masks at school:

School District No. 83 Return to School Plan

Earlier this week, School District No. 83 released updated information about Covid-19 Protocols and Procedures. Many of our protocols and procedures will remain the same as last spring. There are some updates to make note of, so please take the time to review information by clicking on the link below. The Bastion Elementary Health & Safety Plan is being updated by our Health & Safety Committee and will be posted on the school’s website very soon.

https://sd83.bc.ca/2021/08/31/its-almost-time-for-school/