Bel Ayr Elementary School
November 2021 Newsletter
Administration
First term will end on November 18th and students will receive their report cards electronically on December 3rd. Our teachers will be in contact with you if your child is still searching for success. Please have frequent conversations at home about what your child(ren) is(are) learning in school. By working together as a team we can help all students achieve at higher levels and reach their personal best. Thank you for your support at home!
Sincerely,
Mr. Marsh and Ms. Rossi
Calendar
November 10 - Remembrance Day Virtual Assembly for Students
November 11 - Remembrance Day (No classes)
November 18 - Last Day of Term 1
November 19 - Assessment & Evaluation Day - Elem/Jr High (No classes)
November 22 - First Day of Term 2
November 23 - Virtual PEBS Assembly - 1pm
November 24 - SAC 6PM / Home and School (7PM - Virtual)
November 25 - PD in the am and Parent-teacher in the pm (No classes)
December 2 - Report Cards Sent Home
Parent/Guardian - Teacher Interviews
School Cash/New "Pizza Thursdays"
If you haven't done so already please visit https://hrce.schoolcashonline.com/ and click Register to create an online e-transfer account with our School Cash System (schoolcashonline.com/Home/Support).
A paper notice will be sent home this Thursday to explain the details of our new "Pizza Thursday" lunch program which officially begins on Thursday, November 18th. Our Home and & School Committee recently secured an agreement with Kenny's Pizza in Cole Harbour for individually wrapped and personalized pizzas. After creating a School Cash account you will be able to place monthly orders for our pizzas. The transaction window in School Cash will close the Sunday before each new delivery period. The cost will be $13.00 including taxes for four "Pizza Thursdays" ($3.25 for each of four pizzas in advance). We realize the cost of these pizzas is greater than in previous years. The increased costs associated with packaging, services, and food ingredients during the pandemic have greatly affected our bottom line. Thank you to all Home and School volunteers for helping us bring this together as an option for student lunches.
Colder Weather
Concerts
Important Reminders
Drop-off Times - Please note that the drop-off time in the morning for preprimary students is 8:50 am. Preprimary staff are not available until this time. The drop-off time for all grade primary to grade 6 students is 8:30 am. Staff will not be on duty until 8:30 am so it is important for students not to be on school grounds or dropped off before this time.
Paper Newsletters - If you wish to receive paper copies of our newsletter please fill out this form or send in a note to your homeroom teacher.
Lunch Monitors - We need lunch monitors! If this interests you please phone the school or send an email to Mr. Marsh (smarsh@hrce.ca). Lunch monitors work 1-3 hours per day supervising students outside and in their classrooms. The wages are $13.41 per hour.
Water Bottles - Please make sure your child brings a refillable water bottle to school. Our water refill stations are open but the fountain faucets have been closed off to limit the spread of germs.
Electronic Devices - Please remind your children that electronic devices such as phones, ipods, ipads, Nintendos, etc are not permitted at school unless a teacher sends home a note to bring them on a particular day for educational purposes. Students who have chrome books or laptops can bring these devices to school for educational purposes with the permission of a classroom teacher. The school will not be responsible for any theft or damages to devices brought from home.
Allergies - Please be reminded that we have students who have life threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, and eggs (ingestion only). We would ask that you do not send food items in lunch bags containing peanuts, tree nuts and sesame seeds as these can contaminate surfaces.
COVID Screening/Health Measures
Mandatory Vaccination (new)
All staff and outside service providers will be required to show proof of vaccination by November 30, 2021.
Rapid Test Kits (new)
All PP-6 students recieved a package of 5 rapid test kits last month. Families can use these when their children have symtoms at home. If a result is negative, a student can come back to school the following day.
COVID Screening
We use the Daily COVID Checklist in the link below to screen students or staff who have symptoms at school.
https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/docs/Daily-COVID-checklist-en.pdf
** Students who have a cough or two or more of the other symptoms on the list will be sent home and office staff will ask families to book a COVID test for their child. A student can return to school after being symptom free and receiving a negative test.
Health Measures
We are following the 2021-22 Back to School Plan (https://backtoschool.ednet.ns.ca/). All students are required to wear masks on the bus and inside the building. Exceptions to mask wearing occur when students eat, drink, and engage in physical activity in the gymnasium. Students sanitize their hands after crossing thresholds, before and after using devices, and before having snacks or lunch. On September 29th, Public Health made a decision to continue mask wearing in schools for the foreseeable future.
Bel Ayr Elementary School
Email: bla@hrce.ca
Website: bla.hrce.ca
Location: 4 Bell Street, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
Phone: 902-435-8353
Twitter: @belayrschool