We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer!!

Office Hours.  The school office will be open from 8:30 – 2:30, starting Monday, August 30^th.  Our secretaries, along with Mme Jegues (VP) and Mr. Menzies (Principal) will be in the school all week, preparing for a new school year and welcoming any parents/students who wish to stop by and say “hi”.  We do have some student report cards and personal items which were not picked up in June.  If you did not receive your child’s report card in June, feel free to stop by and pick up the report card.

New Student Registration.  Registration for new students will take place on Tuesday, August 31^st.  When coming to register your child(ren), please bring each child’s birth certificate, BC Services Card (or equivalent provincial medical card), and a document showing your home address (eg. driver’s license, utility bill, lease agreement etc.).  Once the registration is complete, we will be more than happy to give parents and their children a tour of the school.  If you are not able to come for registration on August 31^st, please call the school and we can make alternate arrangements.

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.  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. 

Kindergarten students will begin their Gradual Entry on Wednesday, September 8^th.  Information about the Kindergarten Gradual Entry will be sent to families.

Please note:  Due to any revisions of the Ministry of Education’s COVID-19 restrictions and regulations, our plan for school start-up may change.  We will inform families of any new start-up procedures as soon as we receive direction from the Ministry of Education and School District No. 83.

School Supplies.  Families do not need to go out and purchase school supplies for their children.  The school has purchased school supplies for each classroom, and families are charged a School Supply Fee to cover the cost of the supplies used over the course of year.  In preparation for the first day, students will need to have a backpack and a clean pair of indoor runners (with non-marking soles). 

Have a wonderful summer and we are looking forward to seeing all of the students’ smiling faces in September.

Bastion students have been working very hard on learning the bilingual lyrics to our new Bastion School Song. We filmed and recorded the song and are so excited to share out the final product as a piece of our school’s history!!

We would like to thank our two fantastic music teachers, Shannon MacLachlan and Chelsea Goshulak, who worked so incredibly hard with composer Nicholas Longstaff to create this amazing piece of history for our school! We would also like to thank all the staff, volunteers and community members who helped out along the way. Go Bobcats go!

Some of the lyrics…

Bienvenue dans nos bois…once you’re here you are home! École Bastion!

Ici, les jeunes Bobcats aiment collaborer,
whether we’re at work or play.
Step-up to amazing…keep each other praising, laissez-nous vous inspirer!

L’amitié vit ici – the greatest place in B.C.!
où j’apprends à me trouver.
Teaching us to reach far – saisissant
notre pouvoir!
Watch us set out on our way!

Thank you very much for all of the support from our parent community. We had several parents assist with videoing. A big “thank you” to Colby Gedak for filming and editing the video!

Here’s what’s happening at Bastion Elementary, this week…

Monday, April 26th

Fire Drill. The students and staff will be participating in a Fire Drill, just before Lunch. Watching almost 400 students and staff members quietly exit the building, in about 5 minutes, is pretty amazing. All of our Bobcats do a great job!

PAC Meeting. The April PAC meeting will take place at 6:30pm, via Teams. If you would like to join the meeting, please email Mr. Menzies before 3:00, as he will send out the meeting link shortly after 3:00. Along with our regular agenda items (eg. financial report, fundraising, etc.), one addition to the agenda will be a discussion around nominations and elections of PAC executive members, for the 2021-2022 school year.

Tuesday, April 27th

Division 4 Field Trip. Mrs. MacDermott’s class will be going on a field trip to the Allan Brook Nature Centre. At the Nature Centre, the students will participate in a variety of nature-based activities to engage their natural curiosity and allow them to reconnect with the joys of nature.

SMS Principal to Visit Grade 5 Students. The principal of Shuswap Middle School, Ms. Sydney Griffith, will be coming to Bastion to meet all of our Grade 5 students. There will be two presentations – one for the English cohort and one for the French cohort. Ms. Griffith will show the students a PowerPoint presentation about “A Day in the Life of a Middle School Student” and she will have a Q & A period. If students have any specific questions they would like to ask, this will be the perfect time.

Cross-Country Running. Many students have continued to run for 30 minutes at Lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Seeing the students strive to reach new levels of physical fitness, while having fun, is great to see!

Wednesday, April 28th

Administrative Professionals’ Day. We would like to acknowledge all of the amazing work our clerical staff does to help our school be a great place to learn and work. Mrs. Mohle and Jong-Ae work incredibly hard to support all of our staff members and our students. Whether they are helping teachers fix the photocopier, making sure Mr. Menzies is on top of the school’s budget, celebrating a student’s first time losing a tooth, or greeting guests at our school with a smile, we appreciate everything Mrs. Mohle and Jong-Ae do!! We are very lucky to have such wonderful Administrative Professionals!!

Thursday, April 29th

Poem in Your Pocket Day. Our Teacher-Librarian, Ms. Murrells-Allaway is promoting the national “Poem in Your Pocket Day”. Each class will have a chance to post poems on a display board in the hall – these can be poems the students write or find at home or in class. We may even have a little poetry reading at Lunch, where students or staff members could share a favorite poem.

Friday, April 30th.

School Spirit Day. Our Gr. 5 Leadership Team has put up posters to promote Hat Day. All of our students and staff members are invited to wear a hat on Friday. It could be a favorite hat, a unique hat, or a team hat – any hat that is brought to school can be worn all day!

Division 10 and 11 Field Trip. Mme Dollack and Monsieur Sorban’s classes will be walking to the Salmon Arm Foreshore Trail to explore the local ecosystem. We know our students will be great ambassadors for our school, as they respect all parts of nature and show their wonderful smiles to other people enjoying the trail.

Here is another wonderful example of how one of our Bastion Bobcats is making a difference in our local community. We’re proud of you, Armaan!!

Please click on the photo to read the news story and learn about Armaan’s generosity.