Betty Huff Elementary
Welcome Back Newsletter - September 2021
A Message from your Administration
Dear Parents, Students, and Families of Betty Huff Elementary,
Welcome back to another year at Betty Huff! We are glad to be getting back to learning and to working with those little ones! We are excited to be opening another school year where we are that much closer to a "normal" school year!
Our staff are back at work this week busily getting ready for the school year's annual placements! Students will know who their teacher is on Tuesday afternoon. We are facing an enrolment decline of approximately 10 students overall from what we were projected in the Spring for now, and were just approved for our organization after school yesterday (Thursday). Teachers now need time to meet and slot students into their "best fit" classes.
Please remember to stay connected to our school community through the Betty Huff app (downloadable from the Apple App Store, and GooglePlay apps on your mobile device. As well, all relevant information is posted on the school website, and sometimes Twitter (@BettyHuffElem).
Warm Regards,
Mr. B. Helland and Ms. C. Koppensteiner
DAILY HEALTH CHECK
Parents and caregivers MUST assess their child(ren) DAILY BEFORE sending them to school. If your child experiences any cold symptoms, you MUST keep them at home. Your child must stay home until there has been an assessment by a health care provider AND the symptoms have resolved. Please call the office if this is the case for your child. School staff follow the same expectations and are required to do a Daily Health Check.
Daily Health Check is here: Daily Health Self-Check
Some NEW School Rules
- As mentioned above, parents and caregivers must assess their child(ren) DAILY BEFORE sending them to school. There is an app created by the Province to help with this: Download the K-12 Daily Health Check App If your child experiences any cold symptoms, you MUST keep them at home. Your child must stay home until there has been an assessment by a health care provider AND the symptoms have resolved. Please call the office if this is the case for your child.
- Parents or caregivers must pick up their child, as soon as possible, if they are notified that their child is ill.
- Students and staff must wash their hands upon entering the building. Students will also be asked to wash their hands frequently. For classrooms without sinks, hand sanitizer will be provided.
- Parents and caregivers must remain outside the school building for pickup and drop off.
- All school doors will remain locked during the day. No schools are allowing visitors at this time without good reason, and without an appointment. That is, if you wish to come into the school, you must have an appointment approved by the Principal/Vice-Principal.
- No lunch drop offs will be permitted. Students are expected to arrive with all that they need to start and finish the day. Please also send children with a filled water bottle.
- Children will be spending more time outdoors when practical. Please dress for the weather each day.
- If you need to pickup your child early, please call the school and we will escort your child to the front door for pickup.
NO LUNCH DROP OFFS
Breakfast Club and Lunch Program
Breakfast Club (drop-in) begins on Monday, September 13.
Lunch Program begins on Tuesday, September 14. Please be sure to get the signup form if you are interested in signing up. The teacher should have the form. If not, we have forms in the office.
PAC-Organized Hot Lunches
Field Trips
We are so excited that field trips will be allowed once again this year. Teachers organize field trips when they enhance the school program and what students are learning in classrooms. As well, there will be varying levels of comfort around field trips initially (considering both staff and parents), and as a school we respect that and will work with this accordingly.
There are rules surrounding field trips that teachers must follow and support in organization. In car pools,
- Spread out occupants as much as possible
- Travel with the same people whenever possible
- Masks recommended for those 9 and older
- Hand hygiene before and after
- Open windows when practical in accordance with the weather
- Clean high touch surfaces
- Set ventilation to bring in the fresh outside air, not recirculate
Bell Schedule 2021-2022
Please do not arrive more than 15 minutes earlier than your scheduled time. Supervision occurs only 15 minutes before, and 15 minutes after our school bells. Students are expected to arrive no earlier and leave no later than that.
Our regular bell schedule runs from 8:35am to 2:35pm, Monday to Friday.
Kindergarten students are on a gradual entry program (as they are every year) and their calendar is in place until September 17th. Please refer to your own specific Kindergarten group and check the Kindergarten calendar to determine your time each day.
Face Masks
The Public Health Officer has made several recommendations for elementary schools which we will be following. Elementary-aged students (Grades 4-7 in Surrey) are required to wear masks while indoors. The School District will provide all students with a mask to keep with them at school.
Staff will be wearing masks in all areas except when eating their lunch, or in their own space without others nearby. That is, your child's teacher is required to wear a mask while working with his/her own class.
Your Child's Planner
Immunizations (including those other than COVID)
Good Neighbours
We continue to be concerned about incidents of vandalism around our school (eg. broken windows, small fires, broken bottles, drug paraphernalia). When you see suspicious people hanging around the school after hours or on weekends, please call Protectron (ADT) Security at 778-328-7751 and tell them the location of the vandals. If you see a crime in progress, and it's an emergency, then please call 911.
Doing this will also show your children one of the three things that we celebrate at Betty Huff Elementary - "Taking Care of This Place".
Staff Parking Lot
Please note that the parking lot at Betty Huff Elementary is for staff and for pre-arranged guests. We expect that the bulk of our students walk to school as they live in-catchment at a distance that is relatively short and good for everyone's health to take that extra walk. It enables you to remind your children how you used to walk 5 miles to school, uphill both ways, in knee-high snow. It releases endorphins and combats physical and mental illness.
Please do not pull your vehicle into the staff parking lot unless you are arriving for a scheduled meeting with a teacher or school administrator (which will most likely be an online meeting this year initially), or unless you have a handicap decal/card issued by your doctor, in which case we expect you to park in a designated handicap space, as they are reserved for this purpose. DO NOT park in lane ways. If you are not following these expectations, a staff member may speak with you to remind you of our school rules.
If you must drive your child to school, please make use of our Kiss and Drop Lane on the south side of the school near the school sign.
So, once again, DO NOT pull your vehicle into our staff parking lot. Thank you.
Supplies
Betty Huff Elementary
Email: helland_b@surreyschools.ca
Website: surreyschools.ca/bettyhuff
Location: 13055 Huntley Avenue, Surrey, BC, Canada
Phone: 604-585-3104
Twitter: @BettyHuffElem