We hope all of our students and their families have a safe and enjoyable summer!!

Office Hours.  The school office will be open from 8:30 – 2:30, starting Monday, August 31^st.  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, September 1^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, 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 September 1^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 8^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 8^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 9^th.  Information about the Kindergarten Gradual Entry will be sent to families in mid-August.

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).  To view a copy of the 2020-2021 School Fee Schedule, please click on the link below:

School Fee Schedule 2020-2021

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

Monday, June 22nd
All students who have been attending on Mondays & Tuesdays, since June 1st, will attend school on Monday this week. Those students who are not returning to the building this week, should take all of their personal items home for the summer.

Tuesday, June 23rd
All students who have been attending on Thursdays & Fridays, since June 1st, will attend school on Tuesday this week. Those students who are not returning to the building this week, should take all of their personal items home for the summer.

Wednesday, June 24th
Grade 5 Farewell. This year’s Grade 5 Farewell will look a little different than it has in the past. We will be honouring the traditions of Bastion’s farewell to the Grade 5 students, but we will have to do so while respecting health and safety regulations. The Grade 5 students, from each class, will come to school at a schedule time.

Mrs. Smith’s Grade 5 Farewell… 9:15 – 10:00
Ms. Mitchell & Mrs. Kehl’s Grade 5 Farewell… 10:15 – 11:00
Mme Valerie’s Grade 5 Farewell… 11:15 – 12:00
Mme Genevieve’s Grade 5 Farewell… 12:15 – 1:00
Mme Candy & Mr. Menzies’ Grade 5 Farewell… 1:15 – 2:00

We are requesting that a maximum of only two guests accompany each student, as we will need to respect the 50 person maximum for an event. We are also requesting that physical distancing is maintained among those families who are not part of each other’s “bubble”. Thank you!

Students who have been regularly attending school on Wednesdays are welcome to come to school.

Thursday, June 25th
Drive-thru Report Card Pick-up. The teachers will be at the drop-off/pick-up lane, handing out report cards to our students and/or their families, between 8:05 and 10:05. Families who’s childrens’ last names begin with A-M, can have drive through between 8:05 and 9:05. Families who’s childrens’ last names begin with N-Z, can have drive through between 9:05 and 10:05.

Friday, June 26th

Monday was an excellent first day of our return to in-class learning!  Seeing the students smiles and hearing them laugh and enjoy themselves was a wonderful way to start the week!!

Below are a few reminders, to help ensure things go smoothly throughout the day:

Morning Health Checks, at Home:

• Before the students come to school, we would appreciate if all families could complete an initial health check.  It is extremely important that all children who enter the school are healthy and symptom free of any type of illness.  Please click on the link below, which lists questions you should be asking each day.
• Daily Health Check at Home
• If the answer is “yes” to any of the questions in the document, please keep your child at home.

Morning Drop-off :

• Please remember to give your children a hug,  a kiss, and say good-bye at the school gates.  The children can then walk onto the school grounds independently.
• Our goal is to minimize the number of adults on the school grounds, at the beginning of the day.
• Hopefully, children will be on time, so they can do the Health Check with their classroom teacher.  If a student is late due to an appointment, please have your child come to the main office, knock on the door, and an office staff member will complete the Health Check and the student can then walk to class.

Afternoon Pick-up:

• Teachers will be parking off school grounds to open up parking spots, so parents can park, walk to collect their children from the class pick-up spot, and then immediately head home.  At the end of the day, we are working towards keeping the school grounds free of groups of adults.  Please only use the drive-thru lane if you see your child waiting at the fence.
• Children who ride their bikes or walk, will be dismissed at 2:05.
• Playgrounds will be closed at the end of the day, until 2:30.

General Reminders:

• Continue to encourage your children to practice the healthy habits of hand-washing and physical distancing.
• Provide your children with a couple of filled water bottles and easy to open food containers.
• Parents, caregivers and guests will not be allowed in the building, unless they schedule an appointment with Mr. Menzies or Mme Jegues.  If you need to give your child a message, please contact the main office (250.832.3741).
• We would like to keep to the weekly schedule of which students will be at school as firm as possible.  If you decide to have your child attend school or you choose to have your child stop attending, please contact Mr. Menzies or Mme Jegues.  A survey will be sent home each week, so families can indicate whether they would like to keep the schedule the same or make a change to the schedule, for the following week.
• If your children are not attending school, please refrain from having your children come to the school to visit with friends at Recess, Lunch or the end of the day.  Only students who are scheduled to be at school should be on the school grounds.

Thank you very much for your continued support!!!

With many student returning to Bastion Elementary during the week of June 1st – 5th, we would like to share our new protocols and procedures to help reduce the chance of our students or staff members becoming ill.

Our goal is to implement various practices and procedures to maintain a safe and healthy learning and working environment.

Below is a video for parents to watch with their children, so our students can see what to expect when they are at school. 

 

Please click on the link below to read a document that outlines the various safety measures we are implementing at Bastion Elementary.

Letter to Families_Regarding School Health and Safety

A Note About Class Placement Requests…

We would like to start off by saying, Class Placement Requests are not a necessary part of the process.  Bastion has a history of accepting numerous placement requests, and moving forward we would like to work towards minimizing the number of requests received.  Class placement requests should focus on the child’s placement based on educational reasons.  Please read the following carefully prior to submitting your request.

In June, the School-Based Team (SBT) will meet and discuss the class placement of each student. Tentative classes for September 2020 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 (Please note… requests based on friendships must be reciprocated and submitted by all families involved in the specific request);
• Teacher-learner compatibility;
• Class size (room to accommodate new students).

Student placement requests for September 2020, will be accepted starting May 13th. Requests must be submitted by May 29th, in order to be considered.

If parents or guardians have a specific request for their child(ren)’s class placement for September 2020, please submit a letter to Mr. Menzies (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.  We are unable to guarantee specific placements, as we must consider what is best of all 380 students and we cannot guarantee that all teaching assignments will remain the same.

Thank you.