Fulford Community Elementary School

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SEPT 10th, 2021

Greetings Fulford Families,

🍎Welcome back to a new school year! We had a great first week of school and staff and students are settling into new settings and routines. The beautiful weather invited classes to bring the learning outside daily; our school property offers many learning opportunities.

We would like to welcome all the new students and their families to Fulford School. We will had an “outdoor” whole school meeting on Thursday to introduce the new students and the staff, and to celebrate being together. We won’t be able to hold the whole school meetings weekly inside like we usually do but we felt it was important to come together at the start of the year.

New Staff

😊This year we welcome five new staff members to the Fulford team. Kim Moffat is teaching the Grades 5-6 class, Megan Cameron is our new LIST (Special Ed) and prep teacher, and Amber Thompson is sharing the Grade 5-6 class, as well as taking on the role of Teacher Librarian and prep teacher. Brandon Bronson is the Itinerant Band Teacher for the elementary and middle schools so he will be at Fulford on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We also welcome a new Education Assistant (EA) Victoria Hunter.

Administration Change

We announced earlier this week that Marie is on a partial medical leave for the next little while and will be working mornings only for the most part. Kaz Lundgren is Acting Vice Principal during this time and will be in charge in Marie’s absence. Please contact both of Kaz and Marie about school business and one of them will respond in a timely fashion.

Beginner Band

🎺Students is Grades 5 and 6 who would like to join the beginner band program must return their Band Program expression of interest slips by Tuesday.

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️Terry Fox Run 

We will have our annual Terry Fox School Run on Thursday, September 16 from 2:30 – 3:00 pm, weather permitting. Students and staff will run or walk laps around the school field. Students are asked to bring a $1 or $2 coin (or more) as a donation to the Terry Fox Foundation by Thursday.

🕛Early Dismissal for Tell Me About Your Child Interviews – September 23

School will be dismissed at 12:00 on Thursday, September 23 so that teachers can hold Tell Me About Your Child interviews with parents. Please contact your child’s teacher to arrange a meeting time. If you are unable to attend a meeting on that day, please arrange an alternate day and time to meet.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SEPT 16th, 2021

Greetings Fulford Families,

🍂We had an amazing week with everyone settling into their new routines. Our Terry Fox run today was a success and students gave it their all; thank you to all who contributed donations.

🚌Students who ride the bus were sent home with a card today that they will swipe to track their ridership on the bus. There is a letter included to explain the details. There were a few missing and so if you feel you should have received, one contact Tania at the email at the bottom of your letter.

Here is note from our Garden Co-Ordinator:

🥕🍅🌿GARDEN FENCING PROJECT WORK PARTY

Thank You to Robin Jenkinson we received a $4000.00 grant from the Saltspring Foundation to replace the fence around the school garden. We are looking for parent volunteers to help get this done on October 4, 5, and 6. There will be other garden improvement projects going on at the same time as the fence. Check the garden out if you have a chance and you will see there is much fun work to be had for all. Right now we have a few people booked in and we are looking for more. If there are any hours that you can donate during these three days, please let me know so I can plan the work around the number of people. If you can email me your availability that would be excellent.

Glen Wilson (Drew’s dad-Grade 3)

250 653 4290 home

250 539 0633-text

glenmayne.wilson@gmail.com

📝Please send classroom fees AND return your September forms by Monday. If you are e-transferring you can use this email and the password Fulford. The fees and the forms are time sensitive so please make sure you have them in after the weekend. If paying classroom fees cause hardship, please reach out and let your child’s teacher or Rebecca know. Our PAC can help cover those fees if there is a need.

🧦The weather fluctuated a bit this week and we saw students dealing with some mishaps due to them wearing inappropriate clothing for the weather. Please make sure your child wears weather-appropriate clothing and brings a change of clothing to keep at school for emergencies.

🕛Next Thursday, September 23^rd is a HALF DAY! Dismissal is at 12:00 and buses will run shortly thereafter.. Please connect with your child’s teacher to book a time for your Tell Me About Your Child interview. If you are unable to make it that afternoon, please arrange an alternate day and time with the teacher.

🧡Schools will be closed to observe a new stat holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, on September 30. We will celebrate Orange Shirt Day at school on Wednesday, September 29. Students and staff are invited to wear orange that day to show their support for survivors of residential schools. Prior to then, teachers will teach the students the meaning of Orange Shirt Day in developmentally appropriate ways. We will hold a whole school meeting on September 29 and will place our 215 painted rocks in the garden beds around the school. We began this legacy project in June in recognition of the discovery of the remains of 215 children at the Kamloops Residential School.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 23rd, 2021

Greetings Fulford Families,

🍁We welcomed Fall this week with the changes in the trees and slightly cooler mornings. Remember to make sure your child has a coat and a change of clothes; the weather can change quickly around here!

😷We saw some sniffles in our school this week marking the beginning of cold and flu season. We appreciate your caution around our community health at this time. It is essential that students stay home when they are sick and should not return to school until symptoms have improved and/or COVID test results have been received. The K-12 Health Check App continues to be the best way to navigate around illness: K-12 Health Check App.

💲If you have not sent your class fees or returned your forms, please do so as soon as possible. Teachers pay for supplies and planners out of pocket and are reimbursed through the class fees collected from students. If paying for class fees causes hardship, please let your child’s teacher or Rebecca know.

📷It is picture day on Monday September 27. Students will go with their classes in the morning to do individual portraits.

📅Next week is a very rare, three-day school week due to the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30^th. SD64 in partnership with DPAC invite all school district community members to an evening event to listen, (un)learn and reflect about Relationships, Reciprocity and Reconciliation, on the eve of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The event will be via Zoom, 7-9 pm on Wednesday, September 29. The event is free but you must register here: EventBrite.

♥️We will recognize Orange Shirt Day at school on Wednesday, September 29 by inviting staff and students to wear orange and by holding a special ceremony to complete our Painted Rock Legacy Project that began last June. As usual, we will raffle one orange t-shirt for each class on Tuesday, September 28 so that 6 lucky students will have a special Orange Shirt Day t-shirt to wear on Wednesday.

Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day that honors the children who survived Indian Residential Schools and remembers those who did not. This day relates to the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, on her first day of school, where she arrived dressed in a new orange shirt, which was taken from her. It is now a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.

🥕A message from Glen, our Garden Co-ordinator

GARDEN FENCING PROJECT WORK PARTY Thank You to Robin Jenkinson we received a $4000.00 grant from the Saltspring Foundation to replace the fence around the school garden. We are looking for parent volunteers to help get this done on October 4, 5, and 6. There will be other garden improvement projects going on at the same time as the fence. Check the garden out if you have a chance and you will see there is much fun work to be had for all. Right now we have a few people booked in and we are looking for more. If there are any hours that you can donate during these three days, please let me know so I can plan the work around the number of people. If you can email me your availability that would be excellent.

Glen Wilson (Drew’s dad-Grade 3)

250 653 4290 home

250 539 0633-text glenmayne.wilson@gmail.com

Have a wonderful weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 30th

^{Greetings Fulford Families,}

^{🔶This week we had a rare three-day week due to the first National Truth and Reconciliation Day. Ask your children about their learning around Orange Shirt Day and the history of residential schools in Canada. We have been inspired by, and optimistic about, our students’ thoughts and words about this important topic. It was also heartening to see so many students wearing orange today. We invite students to wear their orange shirts again on Monday when we plan to have our National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and Rock Legacy Project ceremony that was postponed due to weather.}

^{☑️Please consider participating in our Parents Advisory Council to see how you can support learning at Fulford School. The PAC is an essential part of the functioning of our school and every parent is welcomed and encouraged to participate. Our first PAC meeting of the year will be at 8:15 am on Tuesday, October 5th in the staff room. Please remember to sign in at the office for contact tracing purposes and wear a mask while you are inside the school. We hope to see you at the meeting!}

🎼We are pleased to announce that choir will resume for the first time in 18 months. Thank you to Mrs. Freeman for doing this extracurricular activity. Choir will be on Wednesdays from 11:30 to 12:00.

🚒Next Wednesday, October 6, the Salt Spring Fire Department will be at Fulford School to talk to each class about fire prevention. We will also practice our first fire drill that day. Please talk to your children about the importance of practicing these drills so that students know exactly what to do in the case of an emergency. You are encouraged to talk with your children about developing a fire prevention plan for home.

📅Schools will be closed on Monday, October 11 for Thanksgiving but will be in session on Friday, October 15.

📝Please remember to fill out the criminal record check if you would like to volunteer your time in class or on fieldtrips. To access the online request, go to: https://justice.gov.bc.ca/eCRC/

Criminal Record Check Home Page - British Columbia

To Submit an online request for a criminal record check, you must: Be at least 12 years of age as of today's date. Have your identity verified through the Electronic Identity Verification (EIV) process. Please Note: Not all individuals will be able to use the EIV process and may be required to submit the request for a criminal record check through the manual paper process.

justice.gov.bc.ca

. Access Code: DNW8SBGDPQ

^{🧡We hope that you are able to find the time to reflect on Truth and Reconciliation today and that you enjoy your extra-long weekend.}

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 7th

Greetings Fulford Families,

🦃Monday, October 11^th is Thanksgiving so schools will be closed. School will be in session on Friday, October 15 to make up for the holiday Monday. We are grateful for having the opportunity to work in such a vibrant and close school community and we send our thanks to all our students and families at this time of Thanksgiving. We wish you all a wonderful, extra-long Thanksgiving weekend.

📢We have declared Friday, October 15 to be Pyjama Day at Fulford School. Students and staff are invited to wear their pyjamas to school that day.

🧡 We had an exciting week this week! We started our week with our ceremony for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Students placed 215 rocks around the garden bed outside the office to honour the children whose remains were discovered at the residential school in Kamloops. Please ask your child to share anything that they have learned around this topic; the understanding that many of our students have shown has been profound. We also had a visit from Quentin, our Indigenous Artist and Cultural advisor, this week and your child may have learned a new word or have a story to share.

😷We implemented an expanded mask mandate this week and we are impressed with how our K-Grade 3 students quickly adapted to this new measure. The children are so flexible and resilient. We will continue teaching the students about healthy mask etiquette. If your child is using a reusable mask, please consider packing an extra mask so that your child can put on a fresh mask for the afternoon.

📝Students who are in Grade 4 will soon be completing the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA). The FSA is an annual assessment in which students in Grades 4 and 7 participate. It measures literacy and numeracy skills set out in the provincial curricula and is part of the overall assessment of learning program in the district and province. The FSA has both online and written components and the components will be spread out throughout the six-week assessment period. We will do a practice test online with the students so that they have an idea of what to expect and they can learn how to navigate. Our students have been very successful in the FSA in past years and they have enjoyed many aspects of the assessment process. For more information about the FSAs, please see this link. If you have any questions, please contact Marie.

🚒Members of the Fire Department came on Wednesday to share fire safety and prevention with the children and we had our first fire drill of the year. Please spend some time talking with your child about fire safety plans for your home.

🔔Fulford School will be participating in the Great BC Shakeout on October 21. Students will learn and practice the Earthquake Procedures so that they are able to respond quickly and calmly in the case of a real emergency. Please continue to conversation about earthquake safety planning at home.

🎼Choir and Band are now in full swing! We are excited to be able to able to offer great music programs this year. We look forward to seeing the students grow in their musical ability and joy!

🚌Many classes have started going on field trips again this month which is exciting! If you are interested in volunteering and are not sure if you have an up-to-date Criminal Record Check please contact Rebecca (fulford@sd64.org) and she will let you know the status of your criminal record check.

Community Opportunities

Spirit of Adventure Education is offering a Dance Adventure Series on Saltspring Island for a variety of age groups on Wednesdays this Fall! https://www.spiritofadventure.ca/kids-camps/#dance-adventures

DANCE ADVENTURE FALL SERIES will happen on Wednesdays at Beaver Point Hall this Fall, 2021! Beginning October 13th, choose from a variety of Dance series that feature a variety of teachers and work towards a "Fun Performance-Dec. 22nd" at the end of the season. All levels welcome. Click on direct links below for details and to register! (Note: "Move and Groove" is now Full)

Dance Adventure Fall Series

Playful Performers: Creative Movement & Dance Exploration Ages 3-5 | Oct 13th - Dec 22nd

Register

Dance Adventures: A co-creative journey! Multiage-Home school ages | Oct 13th - Dec 22nd

Register

Move and Groove: Hip Hop/Acro Dance/Modern and more! Ages 5-7 | Oct 13th - Dec 22nd

Register

Magic, Movement, and Musical Theatre

Ages 7-9 | Oct 13th - Dec 22nd

Register

Street Style: Lyrical/Street Jazz/Hip Hop/Glitch/Fusion

Ages 10-13 | Oct 13th - Dec 22nd

Register

Dance into Connection: Creative Dance Exploration

Adults | Oct 13th - Dec 22nd

Register

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 15th

🍁Summer seems far behind us as the skies lower and darken, but a streak of light cutting through the clouds reflects off trees like a bejeweled colour guard. This week Fulford School seems connected to the outside world as we deal with health issues that are common around the globe. We want to thank our families for being so responsive, understanding and kind as we worked through this challenging week. Your cooperation and attention to personal safety measures are indeed a valuable guard around our school.

📅Students who have been isolating this week are permitted to return to school and other normal activities on Monday unless they have been directed otherwise by Island Health. Parents of students who have been isolating this week must continue to monitor their child for symptoms until October 21.

Illness at School

😷Thank you for keeping your children home when they are displaying any evidence of illness. Children can test positive for Covid with very minor symptoms so it is easy to dismiss them as nothing of concern. Although children are resilient and may not develop serious illness, they can spread the disease to a more vulnerable population. Please remain diligent in keeping your children home with even the most minor symptoms.

PUMPKIN PATCH

🎃We have delayed and combined our field trips to Bonn Acres Pumpkin Patch until Thursday, October 28. All our classes will go to the pumpkin patch that day. What a great way to start off the Halloween weekend.

✏️PRO-D Day Friday, October 22 our whole staff will be busy sharpening their skills and improving their knowledge with Pro-D activities. Students do not attend school that day.

Photo Re-Takes

📷We will have retakes of school photos on Monday, November 1. Please fill out a form if your child missed picture day or if you are not satisfied with the pictures from the last photo day. They can be redone on Monday, November 1. If you are happy with the your child’s photo proofs, please go ahead and order the package you would like online. The website and photo code should be on the envelope that the photo proofs were sent in. The sooner you order, the sooner they will be available to you.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 21th

Dear Fulford Families,

🍂We were happy to welcome most of our students back into the school this week and to get back to our regular school routines. Some students needed to finish their isolation periods last week and we look forward to seeing them next week. These past weeks have been stressful for everyone, including the children. For so long, we have put in measures to prevent Covid transmission and suddenly we had to deal with the reality of Covid in in our school. Some students were nervous about getting or transmitting Covid to a loved one, and others were worried about their friends and classmates who had Covid. The children have been listening to how the adults talk about Covid for 18 months. After our recent Covid exposures at school, we are noticing a lot of students showing symptoms of anxiety. Please let us know if your child is struggling. It is good to know when children might need some extra support at school. Here are some resources for your family to explore in regards to talking to children about COVID and anxiety in children.

https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/talking-to-kids-about-covid-19/

https://www.anxietycanada.com/learn-about-anxiety/anxiety-in-children/

Also, I find this app to be helpful and accessible for kids...

https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/stop-breathe-think-kids/id1215758068

😷Covid Exposures Vs. Close Contacts

If a student tests positive for Covid and Island Health determines that the child attended school while they were potentially contagious, Island Health will direct the school to send out a potential Covid exposure letter to the parents of the students in that class. If Island Health determines that another student is a “close contact” of the positive case, contact tracers will call that student’s parents and give them directions (likely that the student needs to self-isolate for 10 days and monitor for symptoms). Please note that this process is directed by Island Health and school staff are not permitted to disclose any information without being directed to do so by Island Health.

👩‍⚕️Public Health Nurse, Savanna Long, will hold a vaccination clinic on Wednesday at 1 pm for the Grade 6 students whose parents have provided consent. Please note that this vaccination clinic is unrelated to Covid.

🎃👻Everyone is excited for Hallowe’en! On October 28, students are invited to wear school-appropriate costumes (not too scary for little ones, not too cumbersome). Please leave all weapons/props at home. We will have a Costume Parade outside, weather-permitting, at 9:45 am for students to share their costumes with their school mates. We ask that parents do not send homemade treats to school for class Hallowe’en celebrations as they have in the past; current restrictions do not allow for sharing of food and beverages. After Hallowe’en, we encourage parents to keep Hallowe’en candy at home for students to enjoy after school rather than sending it in their lunches. Students who are going on the Pumpkin Patch field trip in the afternoon may want to bring a change of clothes to wear to on the field trip.

🙂Seamless Day Pilot Project

We are very near the completion of the licensing process for our “Seamless Day Pilot Program” and we plan to start the after school care for 12 students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 on November 1. Those parents who expressed interest last June will get priority. Families who are interested in accessing this program should email fulford@sd64.org to let us know.

🕒🚙Please note that our after-school supervision ends at 3:15 pm so students should be picked up by then. Students who are not picked up by 3:15 will be brought into the foyer of the school to be supervised until pick up. 

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 27th

Weekly Newsletter October 27, 2021

🎃Our school week started with a wind storm and ended in Hallowe’en celebration. The students had fun sharing their costumes during the costume parade and doing Hallowe’en activities with their classes. We wish everyone a safe and fun-filled Hallowe’en weekend. Please remember to keep candy treats at home next week. Those treats are best enjoyed at home.

📸Photo retakes are on Monday Nov 1st . Photos will begin early in the morning so if you need photo retakes, please ensure your child is at school on time.

⛈The weather has changed abruptly so please ensure your child has weather appropriate clothing. Children need to have outdoor gear and waterproof footwear every day as the conditions change quickly.

🤒Thank you for continuing to do your daily health check and keeping students home with any symptoms of illness. We need to be able contact parents in case a student is unwell at school. If you are not going to be reachable by phone or email during the day for an extended period of time, please let us know. We have had some students stuck downstairs not feeling well for a long time while waiting for parents to pick them up.

💲Our school relies on the fundraising efforts of parents in many ways. Please remember to stuff receipts in our box at Country Grocer as the school benefits greatly from this program!

🕒Our Seamless Day In-School Care pilot program that will provide after school care for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 is beginning Monday, November 1. The hours of care will be 8:00 – 8:13 and 3:00 – 5:00 pm. Please contact the school if you are interested.

We are only licensed for a maximum of 12 students.

👶We are pleased to welcome our new ELF facilitator, Laurel MacRae, to our school community. ELF will resume in November and we will soon be sharing with families how the programming will look.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 4th

Greetings Fulford Families,

💧We had a great week at school this week welcoming more wintery, west coast wet weather. Students need to have appropriate clothing for outside play for health and safety reasons. Please ensure your child has appropriate clothing for outdoor play and a change of clothes (pants especially) that can be kept at school.

CHOIR

🎼On Wednesday, November 10^th at 11:30 am the Fulford Choir will be giving their first performance since before the pandemic started. This will be a closed performance, however a video will be shared with parents afterwards. Students are asked to wear a white shirt and dark (black) pants and if you don’t have a white shirt a dark (black) shirt will do. Please encourage your child to practice the songs: “Song for World Peace” and “The Rainbow Connection.”

The link to view the song will be sent out after the performance.

🍁Next week is a bit of a strange week with a stat holiday on Thursday November 11^th and a Friday school day.

UPDATED ABSENCE PROCEDURES PLEASE READ

📞We are changing our attendance procedures in the school. If your child will be absent, please email your classroom teacher and CC fulford@sd64.org.

If for some reason you cannot do this the night before or prior to 8am, you can call the school and let us know that your student will be absent AND the reason for absence.

Safety Concern

🚫Safety concerns have come to light about students on the Water Treatment Plant property. This is not a safe place for children. There are chemicals in the waste tank and electrical connections at ground level that could pose a hazard if disturbed. Muddy footprints indicate that someone has been jumping on some of the tanks. The tanks are full of water so if damage caused anyone to fall in they would drown. Contractors will be on site to erect fencing in the next few weeks. We are asking parents to remind their children to stay safe and stay away from the treatment plant. Thank you. Carole Eyles, Chair, Fulford Water District Commission.

FULFORD ELF

🐤Our Elf program will be starting next week for parents and children in the Fulford Catchment under 5yrs old. Please email our new ELF co-ordinator Laurel Macrae lmacrae@sd64.org if you have interest. See the bio and photo of Laurel attached to this email.

Seamless Day

🐞Our Seamless Day program has begun. Janice Shields will be with students from 8 am until school begins and ECE and ELF Co-ordinator Laurel Macrae will be providing after school programs for enrolled students from K to 3 until 5pm. This program is accessible up to 4 days a week and can be accessed as a drop in but requires registration. The cost of this program will be subsidized by provincial programs that are generous for families. Please email the school with interest or questions.

Fall Back

🕑Remember to turn your clocks back one hour on Saturday night. Daylight Savings ends on November 7 at 2:00 am.

EPIC Writing Project

✍We have continued our EPIC writing project this year with Mrs. Thompson taking the lead. She has been team teaching with Ms. Moffat and Mr. Lightfoot for the past 4 weeks, focusing on the Ideas and Organization writing traits. The students have also been learning about peer editing whereby they identify two positive things about someone’s writing and one thing the writer could improve.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 12th

Greetings Fulford Families:

☔It is officially the dark, dreary and rainy season. We cannot stress enough the importance of students wearing weather appropriate clothing and having a change of clothes kept at school. Students need to have indoor and outdoor shoes and a jacket for wet and cold days. We have had so many wet and muddy children this week and we need to make sure they are dry and comfortable so they are well regulated for their learning activities.

Ask your child about the Remembrance Day activities they did in their classrooms. The choir had their first performance in a very long time. It was a treat to have the children singing together once again, albeit while wearing a mask. The choir performance was partially video recorded. Unfortunately, the videographer was very inexperienced and somehow turned the video off while filming so only managed to capture the second song of the choir performance. That videographer, Marie, has been fired and will not be responsible for future video recordings. 😊 We plan to upload the video to a closed YouTube channel to send out to parents to view. Thankfully, the still photographer was much better and managed to take some beautiful photos. We will post those photos next week, too.

📌Please remember to email your child’s teacher and the office (fulford@sd64.org) if your child will be absent and let us know the reason for the absence. We have changed our attendance procedures so your help in remembering to email the teacher and the office will help us keep our records accurate.

📋PAC Meeting – The next meeting is on Wednesday, November 17 at 8:20 am in the staff room. We need more parents to be involved in PAC. Please do your best to get involved!

😄 Games Club

Mrs. Thompson has kindly started a Games Club for intermediate students on Wednesdays at lunch time. Students may bring games from home or use those owned by the school. The students have really enjoyed it so far! Thanks Mrs. Thompson!

PLEASE READ THIS THROUGH:

⛄Inclement Weather and Snow Day Procedures 

There are three possible scenarios for Salt Spring Island schools during inclement weather: 

1) Buses running on main roads only: Schools  are open as normal but the buses will be running on the main roads only, which means there is no Bus 2 (Beaver Point Road). Parents should listen to one of the following radio stations to hear announcements regarding bus service: CJSU 89.7 FM Duncan, CBC Radio  1 690 AM, CBC Radio 1 Victoria 9O.5 FM and CFSI 1O7.9 FM Salt Spring. Marie will also send an email out to the parents and a notice will be posted on the district website. See the following link for a main roads only schedule: Main Roads Only Route 

2) Buses and/or water taxis not running yet School Is Open: Most  students will likely not attend yet school is open. Parents should listen to one of the following radio stations to hear announcements regarding bus service: CJSU 89.7 FM Duncan, CBC Radio 1 690 AM, CBC Radio 1 Victoria 9O.5 FM and CFSI 1O7.9 FM Salt Spring. Marie will also send an email out to make this announcement if there isn’t a power outage and a notice will be posted on the school district website. Please use your discretion to decide if it is safe to transport your child to and from school. 

3) Schools closed:  Only in the most extreme cases would the school actually be closed. In this situation, Marie will send an email out to the parents and class phone trees will be activated to notify parents of the closure (for the few parents in each class who have requested a phone call). Announcements will again be made on the radio.

* Please note: the phone trees will only be activated in the event of a school closure. In the other situations, it is parents’ responsibility to listen for announcements on the radio regarding bus service or check for an email from Marie. Notices are also posted on the front page of the district website. 

Have a great short weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 18th

Greetings Fulford Families:

📋PAC Meeting – The next meeting is on Wednesday, November 17 at 8:20 am in the staff room. We need more parents to be involved in PAC. Please do your best to get involved!

😄 Games Club

PLEASE READ THIS THROUGH:

⛄Inclement Weather and Snow Day Procedures 

There are three possible scenarios for Salt Spring Island schools during inclement weather: 

Have a great short weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 25th

Dear Fulford Families,

☔After a beautiful week of deceptively warm sunny weather, we await the next round of atmospheric river impact. We hope that everyone is prepared and stays safe this weekend. Please see the below link for information about the upcoming ‘parade of storms’ as they are calling it. Please continue to stay on top of your email when these weather events are happening in terms of bus changes and any school related notices.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8392801/environment-canada-significant-weather-bc-storm-warning/

🤧We know of colds and flus circulating, and we are perceiving that families are not being tested as much after the exposure events we experienced in October. We want to remind people that COVID is still circulating our community and that the reason we identified cases at Fulford was only due to diligent testing and not because any families saw significant illness. Following the BC health apps for self and kids and phoning 811 or seeing a doctor in the case of illness is a crucial part of reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our school and wider community and is an expected step before returning to school. We know that testing and staying home when there are symptoms has become extremely inconvenient and tiresome for families; we appreciate everyone’s continued diligence and caution. https://www.k12dailycheck.gov.bc.ca/healthcheck?execution=e1s1

🙋‍♀️Next Thursday, December 2 is an early dismissal for parent-teacher conferences. Students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm and the bus will run shortly thereafter. Conferences will be held by Zoom or phone to reduce the number of adults coming into the building and the number of cars using fuel during the fuel reduction mandates. If you would like to meet with your child’s teacher, please contact you’re the teacher to book an appointment; alternatively, your child’s teacher may contact you if they would like to meet with you.

🛑For some reason we have seen a rise in people bringing gifts to give or toys to play with at school. This inevitably causes some issues so please remember that unless your child’s whole class is included, gifts are for out of school times and toys should remain home.

🧦We are still seeing students without a change of clothes or waterproof/weather appropriate clothes for recess times. Please remember to pack a change of clothes (recommended in a separate bag to remain on their hook at school), and ensure students have appropriate indoor and outdoor shoes.

🎁We are very pleased to announce that our Re-Gift Fest will proceed again this year on December 9 but this time indoors! For those of you who are new to the school community, Re-Gift Fest is a much-loved school event where families and community members donate gently used items for us to set up in our “Christmas Store.” The students then shop in the Christmas Store for free for gifts for each of their immediate family members. We will need donations to be brought in at least a week before the event. There will be large totes in the foyer outside the office for donations to be put; you can also bring donations into the office to store them on the other side of the blue table. Families are asked to kindly start setting aside gently used items suitable for a range of ages (baby to adult) but no clothing, please. We suggest you donate the same number of items as there are members in your family. Please make sure the items are clean and in good working order.

Many thanks to Jocelyn Lukow who stepped up to help coordinate ReGift Fest alongside long-time coordinator, Catherine Black. We will be looking for parent volunteers for the ReGift day to help with shopping and wrapping gifts, along with store set up on December 8. If you are willing and able to help, please let Rebecca know.

🔔We will be having our first Lockdown Drill on Tuesday next week. Teachers have explained the procedure to the students in a developmentally appropriate way. This can be a sensitive and scary protocol for the students and they may feel a bit anxious. Please help your children by reminding them that this is just like the fire and earthquake drills – we practice it them in case they ever happen but that doesn’t mean they will happen at school.

🎼On Wednesday, December 15th. at 11:30 a.m the Fulford Elementary School Choir will be giving a performance before the holiday Due to the covid guidelines as outlined by the Health and Safety commission, this will be a closed performance; however, a video will be taken for you to view this performance afterwards online. The students will be asked to wear a light (or white coloured T-shirt or blouse) and either dark pants or a dark skirt. We will be singing the following: ‘Winter Lullaby’ ‘What’s This?’ (Your child will have taken home a revised copy of this song during the last practice) Please encourage your child to practice their songs for this performance.

Fulford Futsal

⚽We are hosting a Fulford Futsal (Soccer) on Tuesday's from 4:45 to 6:15.

Dates before Christmas: November 30 + December 7 and 14.

Open to boys and girls from Grades 4 to 6.

Must wear appropriate indoor gym shoes.

Ciaran Ayton will organize teams and supervise.

Questions? Email Ciaran - ciaranayton@gmail.com (Oisin’s dad)

Have a great weekend,

Rebecca Nygard

Administrative Assistant

fulford@sd64.org

T: (250)-653-9223 F: (250)-653-2090

Fulford Community Elementary School

203 South Ridge Drive, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 179

Mailing Address:

112 Rainbow Road, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 2K3

WEBSITE:

www.fulford.sd64.bc.ca

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2nd

Dear Fulford Parents:

🌧 We all breathed a sigh of relief when we didn’t get the “parade of storms” forecasted for the week and instead enjoyed the dry weather. It is hard to believe we are already into December and only have two weeks before Winter Break! It is supposed to snow tonight which will help us get into the festive season.❄️

📅 Our week ended with an early dismissal for Parent-Teacher conferences. If you couldn’t schedule an interview for Thursday, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your child’s teacher to set up an alternate day and time. First term report cards will be sent home on the last day of school before the break, on December 16th.

🎄We will be putting on a scaled-down Christmas Concert with only staff and students in attendance during the week of December 13-16. The staff really wanted to bring some of the seasonal fun back for the students to experience. The choir will also do a performance. We will record the concert and choir performances and upload them to a private YouTube account to share with parents. 🎼

🎁 Our Re-Gift Fest is next week! The “store” will be set up on Wednesday, and the shopping and wrapping event will happen on Thursday morning. We will need more volunteers to help with the setup on Wednesday morning and the wrapping and takedown on Thursday. Please let Rebecca know if and when you can help. We also need more donations of gently used items for people of all ages and wrapping paper. Parents are welcome to come to the school for a “free shop” at noon on Thursday before the volunteers pack up the leftover items. All volunteers and visitors need to sign in at the office when they arrive. Thank you to Catherine and Jocelyn for coordinating this much-loved event!🎅

🍎 ✏️ We have a rare 5-day school week next week. There are four five-day weeks to meet the instructional minute requirements this school year while still enjoying a two-week Spring Break.

Have a great weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 9th

Weekly Newsletter December 10^th, 2021

Greetings Fulford Families,

❄️We had our first snow last week and although it melted pretty quickly, the kids had a great time playing in it, right up until Friday when there were just large, frozen boulders of snow left on the field!

🎁Our Re-Gift Fest was a great success again this year. Thank you to Catherine Black, Jocelyn Lukow, Matt Lacarte, Rachel Glickman, Megumi Bourns, Aurelia Louvet, Clare Hoffman Heather Kalf, Jenny Storey, Ramona DeVane, Stephanie Roberts, Ellisa Strem and Erin Morris for making it happen. The kids have such a great time and they enjoy the experience of “giving” rather than just “receiving” at Christmas.

📕Please ensure your children return their library books to the school next week so the books don’t get lost over the two-week break. If your child has overdue books that haven’t been found, please connect with Rebecca about replacement costs.

🎤On Wednesday, December 15^th at 11:30 a.m. the Fulford Elementary School Choir will be performing their Winter songs. Due to the guidelines outlined by the Provincial Health Office, this will be a closed performance, however, a video will be taken for you to view afterwards online on the private Fulford Youtube channel. The students will be asked to wear a light or white coloured t-shirt or blouse, and either dark pants or a dark skirt. We will be singing the following: ‘Winter Lullaby’ ‘What’s This?’ (Your child will have taken home a revised copy of this song during the last practice) Please encourage your child to practice their songs for this performance.

🎄On Wednesday afternoon, we will have our staff and students only Christmas Concert. This will be a much lower-key event than our usual Christmas concerts, but each class will perform a song, skit or dance for their school mates. This concert will also be recorded for parents to view online later.

📙First term Report Cards will be sent home next Thursday, December 16^th. Please return your child’s report card envelope to the school in the new year so they can be reused for term two reports.

🐻 Students are invited to wear their pyjamas to school on Thursday, December 16^th for the last day of school before Winter Break.

Thank you,

Rebecca Nygard

Administrative Assistant

fulford@sd64.org

T: (250)-653-9223 F: (250)-653-2090

Fulford Community Elementary School

203 South Ridge Drive, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 179

Mailing Address:

112 Rainbow Road, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 2K3

WEBSITE:

www.fulford.sd64.bc.ca

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 16th

Season’s Greetings Fulford Families,

🎄We had a great week leading up to our break with lots of holiday activities and fun!

✏️Report cards went home today so please check your child’s backpack. Unfortunately, with all of the frenzy at the end of the day, the report cards for the students in Kaz’s class did not get distributed so they will be sent home on Tuesday, January 4. If you have any questions about your child’s report card, please contact your child’s classroom teacher. PLEASE SIGN THE BACK OF THE REPORT CARD ENVELOPE and RETURN IT TO SCHOOL in January so that it can be re-used next term.

🎶On Wednesday we had our Christmas Choir Concert as well as our first whole school Christmas performance in two years! It felt so good to all be together in one space again. You can access the choir performance and each class presentation through the links below:

Kindergarten Performance

Kerrigan Performance

Lundgren Performance

MacQueen Performance

MacQueen Performance #2

Lightfoot Performance

Moffat Performance

Choir 1

Choir 2

As we have previously announced, Kaz is now Acting Principal of Fulford School while Marie takes a “wellness break” until spring break. Brandice Seabrook will be teaching Marie’s literacy groups and sharing the Grades 2-3 class with Kaz during Marie’s absence. This provides continuity for the students because Mrs. Seabrook has been working in the Grades 2-3 class for the past few months.

Mrs. Thompson will also be working at Fulford full time as of January while she takes the Lead Teacher role for both our EPIC writing project and our Mental Health Literacy project. We will be implementing a mental health literacy program to support students in all grades.

♥️We hope your families have a wonderful break and have an opportunity to rest, connect and celebrate with one another during the holidays. Please remember to do so in a safe and responsible manner so that we can all return to school in January without fear of covid transmission in our school.

Happy Holidays!

Rebecca Nygard

Administrative Assistant

fulford@sd64.org

T: (250)-653-9223 F: (250)-653-2090

Fulford Community Elementary School

203 South Ridge Drive, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 179

Mailing Address:

112 Rainbow Road, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 2K3

WEBSITE:

www.fulford.sd64.bc.ca

Thank you,

Rebecca Nygard

Administrative Assistant

fulford@sd64.org

T: (250)-653-9223 F: (250)-653-2090

Fulford Community Elementary School

203 South Ridge Drive, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 179

Mailing Address:

112 Rainbow Road, Salt Spring Island B.C. V8K 2K3

WEBSITE:

www.fulford.sd64.bc.ca

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER JANUARY 13th

Greetings Fulford Families,

^{☔We had a wonderful return to school this week. Despite the cold, icy and wet weather, students seemed happy to be back with their peers and ready to learn. Please send your child with weather appropriate outer wear and a full change of clothes including socks and maybe extra gloves.}

^{☎️As a school we need to track illnesses related absences to alert our school community and public health about covid related events. Please email the classroom teacher and the school or alternatively call the school}^{before 9am}^{to let us know if there is an illness.}

^✅^{Continue to use the}^{UPDATED BC Health checkBC Health check}^{and the}^{K-12 Health App}^{to determine next steps if you should develop symptoms of illness whatever they may be. As you know, our testing sites are overwhelmed so we have been advised to use these resources along with 811 and diligently follow the recommendations.}

^{🔶We are entering a time that could affect staff attendance and functional closure of our school, it is VERY important that you check your email before bringing your child to the bus stop or dropping them off in the morning. There may be instances in the future where the school needs to notify you of changes to your child’s day or school closure.}

^F^{If you have not already, please join our FULFORD COMMUNITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Facebook Group. This group is for school-based announcements only.}I cannot provide a link in this email so please search that full title as there is another group that is not our current school group.

🥕SCHOOL GARDEN WORK AFTERNOONS

Now that the weather is improved the Tuesday Afternoon garden work will happen again at 1:30 - 3:00 pm.

⛏SCHOOL GARDEN FENCE PROJECT WORK PARTY

Jan 23 10am to 2 pm. Bring kids, shovel, rake, wheelbarrow, or just yourself.

🔥SEE THE BELOW NOTICE FROM OUR PAC:

Hi Fulford Elementary Families,

The Fulford PAC is holding a raffle for a cord of firewood to raise funds for school equipment, supplies, and field trips. Now seems like a good time to get extra wood for the fireplace!

We are asking families to help by selling raffle tickets. Each student has been given a book of 10 tickets, with each ticket costing $5.00. Tickets can be purchased with cash or by Etransfer to fulford@sd64.org, placing the purchaser’s name and ticket number(s) in the memo with the security answer “Fulford.”

Attached is a flyer that you can post at your mailbox or in your community to let people know about this fundraiser. As you and your friends and family members are buying raffle tickets, please note the wood is well-seasoned and will burn - but not completely dry at this point. Firewood will be delivered to the raffle winner.

Please return tickets (including any not sold) and money in your child’s planner by Wednesday, January 26^th. The raffle draw will be Monday, January 31, 2022.

If you have questions or would like more tickets to sell or buy please contact the PAC at fulfordpac@gmail.com.

We are also attaching the minutes from our January 9 Zoom PAC meeting, and we apologize to those who could not make it due to the short notice. Our next meeting will be January 26th by Zoom starting around 8:30, please join us!

Thank you in advance for your support.

Fulford PAC

😊Have a wonderful weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER JANUARY 20th

Weekly Newsletter January 20^th, 2022

Greetings Fulford Families,

We enjoyed mild weather this week but still saw a lot of wet pants and a continuing need for changes of pants and socks for students. Please make sure you are sending students with something to change into.

Please see the attached Kindergarten Registration information and pass along to families who are in our catchment. We would like to see as many EARLY registrations as possible for planning and staffing purposes.

CROSS BOUNDARY – please follow this link to the cross boundary form if your family is out of catchment. PLEASE send this in ASAP for next years enrollment. https://sd64.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cross-boundary-request.pdf

🥕SCHOOL GARDEN WORK AFTERNOONS

Now that the weather is improved the Tuesday Afternoon garden work will happen again at 1:30 - 3:00 pm.

⛏SCHOOL GARDEN FENCE PROJECT WORK PARTY

Jan 23 10am to 2 pm. Bring kids, shovel, rake, wheelbarrow, or just yourself.

Our Seamless Day programming has been running now for 3 months. We are proud to be the place of this important pilot project offering primary students after school care and the kids have been having a wonderful time with our ECE Laurel MacCrae. Let us know if this is something that may be beneficial to your family, although there is a cost it can be offset considerably by government grants aimed at helping families access care. Contact fulford@sd64.org with questions.

Thank you to our school community as we move through this latest phase of pandemic response. We currently have a healthy school and staff population and we deeply appreciate everyone’s dedication to maintaining a balance of emotional and physical well being.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER JANUARY 27th

Greetings Fulford Families,

☀️We ended the week playing outside in the beautiful sun and noticing buds on the trees and other tiny signs of Spring.

😷Thank you for your continued diligence and use of the K-12 Health App which changes almost daily. We know it has been hard for families to keep children home with very mild symptoms and we are aware and grateful for the immense effort being made to keep our community healthy.

🎟If you have not returned your PAC raffle tickets, your final chance is Monday AM. The Draw will take place Monday afternoon rain or shine.

We hope you have a great weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 3rd

Greetings Fulford Families,

🌧We saw some wet wintery weather by the end of the week and many students were not prepared with their winter gear! Please make sure that your child has their winter items as they spend a lot of time outside even when it is wet and rainy.

🖍It is Kindergarten registration time, if you or a family you know have a child that is turning 5 before the end of 2022 now is the time to register! https://sd64.bc.ca/student-registration/

Student Registration - SD64

student registration and registration form. CROSS BOUNDARY TRANSFER REQUESTS: Should you wish to enrol your child in a school outside of your catchment area, a cross-boundary transfer request form must be completed annually (Policy and Procedure 525).. Prior to submitting the form to the School Board Office, parents must obtain signatures from the principal of the catchment area school and the ...

sd64.bc.ca

👨‍🌾GARDEN WORK PARTY - SUNDAY WILL BE SUNNY!

On  Feb 6 Sunday from 10 til 2  we will have another Fulford Garden Work Party.  If we are lucky we will finish the fence!  Bring kids, lunch, shovels, dirt rakes, wheelbarrows, or just yourself!

ALSO..

If anyone has scrub brushes on handles - we need them to wash and scrub the outdoor classroom floor.

😷We know that the changing expectations around COVID have been stressful and challenging to navigate. Please let us know if you are not sure what the guidelines are about symptoms, illness and return to school after illness. We appreciate how responsive our school community has been at this time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 10th

Greetings Fulford Families,

🌤We had another awesome week at school.

💌Valentine’s Day is next week, your child’s teacher may have sent home instructions about classroom activities and exchanges, please reach out to them if you have any questions .

📘We are going to have a Scholastic Book fair on March 10^th! We will need volunteers for the set up on the 9^th from 3 to 5 and for the “retail” on the 10^th either from 8 to 12 or from 12 to 4. Please let the school know if you can help. Thank you to Ms. Thompson for organizing this fun event.

⚾Please see the below notice from Salt Spring Minor Baseball

Baseball registration is now open! Information can be found on our website:

https://www.saltspringbaseball.ca/

Or you can register directly here:

https://saltspringbaseball.sportngin.com/register/form/406006263

Look forward to seeing you on the field!

💗Pink Shirt Day is February 23^rd. Students are invited to wear pink and take a stand against bullying.

🐌Please be reminded about the 30km limit in our school zone, we have had some comments about the speed at which parents are approaching the school and travelling within our parking lot. We want to ensure the safety of all our school and neighborhood pedestrians.

ArtSpring Presents Dancers of Damelahamid: Spirit and Tradition

Leading Indigenous dance company, Dancers of Damelahamid, come to ArtSpring for a special show for younger audiences. Spirit and Tradition layers projected imagery, soundscape, and Coastal masked dance, immersing the audience into the rich and diverse ecosystem of British Columbia’s coastal mountains and Pacific Ocean. Spirit and Tradition’s key themes are reciprocity and ecological sustainability, conveying important cultural teachings on balance, interconnectedness, and community.

Thursday March 24, at 1pm

Tickets $5. Available from the ArtSpring box office, in person, by phone, or by email.

Hours - Tuesday-Friday, 10am-1pm

Phone - 250.537.2102

Email - tickets@artspring.ca

As per the current public health order, proof of vaccination required for everyone age 12+. Valid government ID for everyone age 19+. Face masks required for everyone age 5+.

Trailer - https://vimeo.com/479109307

Have a great weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 17th

Greetings Fulford Families,

😊We had another great week of school!

February is Black History month. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month.html

Using OWTA’s trademark edutainment style that combines video, slam poetry, stand-up comedy, and audience participation & interaction, "Tracking Black Canada - Trailblazers Edition'' will highlight the contributions and achievements made by prominent residents in these forgotten communities, while illuminating the conditions that led to their systemic demise, and how their impact is still felt today.

You and they can register using the QR code on the attached poster. The poster also contains a hot link to register when the pdf. is downloaded.

📚The Scholastic Book Fair is happening at Fulford School on Thursday March 10th! Students and parents will have the opportunity to browse a range of books to purchase, with the proceeds going to the school library.

The fair (held in the library) will be open for parents to shop before school (8am until 9am), lunch time (12pm until 1pm) and after school (3.00pm until 4.30pm). We ask that masks are worn when in the building and hands sanitized upon entry.

Students will visit the fair with their class at a time suitable for their teacher and may bring cash (recommended no more than $20 in a labelled baggie please). Parents may pay with cash or credit/debit card.

There will also be a virtual book fair available for parents to shop at on the same day, the link will be provided a week before the fair. Get ready to find some great Spring Break reading!

🦉We will need volunteers for the set up on the 9^th from 3 to 5 and for the “retail” on the 10^th either from 8 to 12 or from 12 to 4. Please let the school know if you can help. Thank you to Ms. Thompson for organizing this fun event.

If you are a cross boundary family, please send your forms as soon as possible.

Many families with Kindergarten students have not registered for Fall yet. If your family has a Kindie coming in September please register them ASAP.

Pink Shirt Day is Wednesday February 23^rd. Take a moment to review the intention behind this movement and talk to your child about the importance of inclusion and diversity. https://pinkshirtdaycanada.ca/

Pink Shirt Day Canada 2022 – Presenting the founder of Pink Shirt Day Travis Price

B e a part of this year’s Pink Shirt Day national broadcast. Join Travis Price, co-founder of Pink Shirt Day, Witsup the walrus and their special guests in celebrating kindness in Canada! This 40-minute show is exclusive to schools in Canada and is all about reducing bullying & conflict and increasing inclusion and positive relationships.

pinkshirtdaycanada.ca

We have a long weekend this weekend! February 21^st is Family Day and February 25^th is a Friday school day!

Have a great four-day weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 25th

Hello Fulford Families,

🌤We had a fun Friday with lots of students and staff wearing their PJs and crazy hair. We also had PINK Shirt Day and our first Whole School Meeting in two years! Please note that Thursday March 3 is early dismissal for Parent/Teacher conferences. Your child’s classroom teacher will be in touch with you if they require a meeting, if you do not hear from them and would like to meet, please contact the teacher directly. Buses will be running on an earlier schedule departing school shortly after 12:00. Additionally, make note that Friday March 11 is a school day, making that week a 5-day school week. W

👩‍🌾School Garden Committee –message from Glen Wilson

#1 - We need a committee to organize and plan the school garden for this year and into the beginning of next school year. I am looking for parent and staff involvement to facilitate turning it into an exceptional outdoor educational and fun time. We need to evolve it to fit with school nature and existing educational programs. If you would like to be on this committee, please email me at glenmayne.wilson@gmail.com or call me at 250 653 4290.

Our first meeting will be in the garden on Tuesday March 1st at 3:15 pm. If you cannot be at the meeting but want to send me ideas and interests, please do so.

Yahoo - spring is coming fast!

#2 SCHOOL GARDEN WORK PARTY

Our next school garden work party will be Sunday, March 6th from 10-2. Bring kids, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, or just yourself.

Every Tuesday from 130 - 3 there are parents working in the garden. Come join us.

⚠️ROBLOX WARNING

We want to share a reminder to parents about internet safety. ROBLOX for example, is a game that may seem harmless but can be a very dangerous, inappropriate and harmful online environment for children. We urge you to research whether this game is appropriate for your child and go online with them to see what they are being exposed to within this game. https://www.familyzone.com/anz/families/blog/roblox-parents-review#:~:text=The%20lack%20of%20moderation%20(despite,digital%20parent%20can%20be%20difficult.

📚Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair is happening at Fulford School on Thursday March 10th! Students and parents will have the opportunity to browse a range of books to purchase, with the proceeds going to the school library.

There will also be a virtual book fair available for parents to shop at on the same day, the link will be provided a week before the fair. Get ready to find some great Spring Break reading!

📕WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR MARCH 10^th for the morning and afternoon “retail” shifts. We have enough volunteers for set up. Please let the school know if you are available.

Have a great (short) weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER MARCH 3rd

Greetings Fulford Families,

🥕SCHOOL GARDEN WORK PARTY

Our next school garden work party will be Sunday, March 6th from 10-2. Bring kids, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, or just yourself.

Every Tuesday from 1:30 - 3 there are parents working in the garden. Come join us.

🍕Thursday March 10^th is PIZZA DAY! It is essential that your orders and money is in on MONDAY! Please let us know if there is a financial barrier to ordering.

🗓Next week is a 5-day school week, report cards will be sent home Thursday the 10th.

Have a great long weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER MARCH 11th

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER MARCH 17th

🚲 😎 It's a big day at Fulford Elementary. Not because it’s the last day before Spring Break, but because it’s MR. LIGHTFOOT'S LAST DAY EVER!

After an incredible 34 years of heartfelt guidance, technical prowess, and corny jokes, he has decided to retire. On behalf of the staff, students, parents and alumni, we’d like to extend a most sincere THANK YOU for your years of dedication and kindness. This one’s for you, Mr. Lightfoot, because we think you're wheelie cool...

How do bikes help the environment?

By recycling!!!

Attached are a few pictures from today's whole school meeting, where Mr. Lightfoot was presented with a beautiful card and the highly coveted golden boot!

📃 REPORT CARDS were sent home with students today. Please remember to send the signed envelope back to school after spring break. Ms Moffat's report cards will be sent home after the break.

👩‍🌾. SCHOOL GARDEN WORK PARTIES

There is a lot to do before spring planting! It looks awesome in the garden but we are not quite there. The greenhouse is not ready but the weather is ready for the greenhouse. There is also a whack of other things to complete to make the planting areas ready. It is really fun.

There will be three WORK PARTIES over spring break -

Sunday March 20 10-2

Sunday March 27 10-2

Sunday April 3 10-2

Bring KIDS, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, food, pruners, picks.

The Tuesday afternoon garden work times between 1:30 and 3:00 will be cancelled during spring break.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PARENT VOLUNTEERS WHO WANT TO HELP IN THE SCHOOL GARDEN DURING NATURE CLASSES. OR IF YOU HAVE GARDEN KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE KIDS please call me 250 653 4290 or email glenmayne.wilson@gmail.com

😷 MASKS will be optional when we return from spring break. You can view the updated BC mandate here:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/covid-19-safe-schools#masks

COVID-19 safe schools - Province of British Columbia

Health and safety measures. Safety measures are in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These include effective personal practices like daily health checks, staying home when sick and and regular hand washing.

www2.gov.bc.ca

And with that, it’s SPRING BREAK! Now we can properly recover from the time change...

Have a fun, safe, and restful break. See you on MONDAY APRIL 4TH!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER APRIL 7th

Dear Fulford Families,

🌧 This week, the erratic weather showed us we have transitioned to the Spring season. The week started with a wild windstorm that caused power outages, road closures and complicated our end of day routines. We were pleased to see staff, students and parents calmly respond to the emergency. Thank you to Will and Amanda, caretakers of the Christmas Tree Farm property, for providing access to the property so that students could be picked up on the main road.

Marie has appreciated the warm welcome back to school from students and parents. She is back to working full time and has had some transition time with Kaz to be brought up to date. A big THANK YOU to Kaz for being an amazing Acting Principal during Marie’s absence.

😃 After a long period of masking, it is so great to be able to see faces and smiles again. This new phase of the pandemic is one where some restrictions have been lifted, but others remain in place to help keep our community safe. People are welcome to continue to wear masks and we will continue to provide them to adults and students who request them, but they are no longer required. We will continue with our hand hygiene practices and will continue to create space between people and groups as much as we can. Two essential guidelines that remain are the daily health checks and staying home when sick. Thank you for following these guidelines even when it causes disruptions and inconveniences for you as parents.

Please be advised we would like parents and visitors to continue to sign in when they enter the school, even though it is no longer required for contact tracing. It is best practice to know who is, or has been, in the building throughout the day. There is a visitor log in on the blue table in front of the office. We look forward to seeing more parents and community members in our school.

🎷 🎭 🎨 We’re also excited to announce we’ll be going ahead with our Spring Showcase on Thursday, April 21^st at 1:15pm. At this point, we’re not sure if parents will be able to attend, but we look forward to once again holding such a fun event. We invite the students to get involved and flex their creative muscles. A sign-up form was sent home with students and is attached. If your child would like to perform or enter something into the display, please fill out the form and have it returned by next week.

📗 📕 Bring a Book! Take a Book!

Earth Day is coming up! Mrs. Thompson is organizing a 'Bring a Book! Take a Book!' event to recycle books and encourage everyone to read. Please look through any children's books you have at home and consider sending one (or three!) that are good quality and about the same grade level as your child. The students will then get the chance to browse and take a different book home on Thursday April 21st!

Any books that do not go home will be donated into classroom libraries. Please do not send books into school until the week of April 21st. Thank you for your generosity!

⚾. Baseball registration is now open! Information can be found on our website:

https://www.saltspringbaseball.ca/

Or you can register directly here:

https://saltspringbaseball.sportngin.com/register/form/406006263

Look forward to seeing you on the field!

🏊‍♀️. 🏊‍♂️. Please see the attached notice about registration for The Salt Spring Stingrays (Swim Team).

🥕 SCHOOL GARDEN

There will be another GARDEN WORK PARTY at the garden this coming SUNDAY, APRIL 10 from 10-2.

Bring Kids, food, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, humour, etc. Especially wheelbarrows and shovels - If anyone has a gas powered weed eater that would be great.

Also- If anyone has extra bedding plants they want to donate to the garden - we will need some as this year the students will most likely not have time to start their own.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER APRIL 14th

Our Spring Showcase is fast approaching! Students were asked to perform for their teacher to show they’ve been practicing, but we know some students have been away due to illness. Please reach out to Ms. K or Ms. Van Riel if your child was not at school this week. For those who don’t wish to perform, we invite you to bring something to the showcase that can be put on display: Lego creations, artwork, baking, collections, or crafts, just to name a few. The showcase is at 1:15pm on Thursday April 21^st and parents are welcome to join. Feel free to come at 1:00pm in order to view the student-made creations that will be on display. Please let the office know if you’re planning to attend in an effort to be conscious of comfort and space.

Congratulations to Kaz Lundgren, our Gr. 2-3 teacher and recent Acting Principal, who has been appointed Principal of Mayne Island School beginning in August. While we are sad to be losing such an integral part of our team, we are happy for Kaz and Mayne School. Kaz is feeling a mixture of sadness about leaving Fulford and excitement about becoming Principal of Mayne Island School. We will all miss you, Kaz!

A big THANK YOU to Dr. Tara Martin, mother of Silka and Mateo, for working with small groups of students on Monday to plant rare Indigenous plants that used to flourish on the Gulf Islands. These plants were cared for and used for food by the Indigenous peoples. They have become very rare due to farming and uncontrolled deer populations. Tara has donated the plants that have a value of $600 + Learning about these plants and re-establishing them on the island lands is a passion of Tara’s. This will provide educational opportunities as well as fund raising opportunities if Fulford School chooses to propagate and sell them. Photos are attached.

Parents of students in Grade 4 are reminded that they are invited to complete the Student Learning Survey by April 30^th to provide feedback to the ministry, district and school. The letter that was sent home to parents of Grade 4 students in January with instructions on how to complete the survey will be resent in a separate email. Students in Grade 4 will be completing the survey in the next two weeks.

April 22, 2022 is Earth Day, and in honour of Ghandi’s satyagraha or “truth force”, a peace walk is being held in town. There will be walking, dancing, drumming and singing. Please see the attached poster for more information.

Have a hoppy long weekend, everyone! A reminder there is NO SCHOOL MONDAY, APRIL 18th, class is back in session TUESDAY APRIL 19^th and FRIDAY APRIL 22^nd is an instructional day.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER APRIL 22nd

Hi Families

🎨 🎂 🎤 Our Spring Showcase this week focused on some wonderful and talented students who crafted, baked, designed, sang, danced and entertained us. Thanks to the students who bravely shared their talents and to their parents for supporting them. This is such a welcoming and supportive community! Look for photos and videos to be posted on the school website soon. We've attached photos of the beautiful displays (and the teachers' incredible moves!), but if you have any photos of the performances, please send them along. Thank you to Mrs. Van Riel and Mrs. Kerrigan for organizing and hosting the Spring Showcase and for the other teachers for auditioning the students in their classes.

🌍 We had a great Earth Day at Fulford School today. Thank you to Mrs. Thompson for organizing the Bring a Book, Take a Book event today. Every child had the opportunity to take a book home with them today and the remaining books will go to classroom libraries. This was a great Earth Day-Reading combination event! All the classes engaged in fun Earth Day activities, from using recycled objects and materials to create art to removing broom from the property.

📝 Parents of students in Grade 4 are reminded that they are invited to complete the Student Learning Survey by April 30^th to provide feedback to the ministry, district and school. The letter that was sent home to parents of Grade 4 students in January with instructions on how to complete the survey will be resent in a separate email. Students in Grade 4 will be completing the survey next week.

🥕 Gardening News

We will be looking for families to take on garden care on a weekly basis in the summer. Hopefully families will sign up for different weeks to keep things alive and healthy.

Glen 250 653 4290 or glenmayne.wilson@gmail.com

Have a wonderful, albeit short, weekend!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER APRIL 28th

Weekly Newsletter - April 28

COVID guidelines update

We have had a high rate of illness within our school community recently and we have had many inquiries about how long students should stay home from school when sick. Our pre-Covid policy was that students should stay home for a least 24 hours after they have stopped vomiting, had a fever, or lots of congestion and coughing. Since Covid began, we have more stringent guidelines for staying home when ill. The new covid guidelines for self-isolation state that people under the age of 18 must stay home until at least 5 days have passed since symptoms started, or from covid positive test date if you did not have symptoms.

Here is a symptom tracker that can inform you of when to test for Covid: Covid symptom tracker.

Further information about guidelines can be found at this website: If You Have Covid

5 Day School Week

Next week we have another of our rare 5-day school weeks so school will be in session on Friday. These 5-day school weeks allow us to continue to enjoy our 2-week spring break and still make up the correct number of school days. Look for the possibility of a “Spirit Day” notice to come out.

Field Trips

Field trips are back on the agenda now so watch for consent forms coming home. We cannot allow students to attend field trips without the written consent of their parents. Several of our intermediate classes will be going on the Conservancy Field Trips. Next Thursday, May 5, the Grade 4-5 class will be going on that field trip so make sure consent forms are sent in.

Grade 6 Immunization

The next set of immunizations for the Grade 6 students will happen on May 11. These are the regular Grade 6 immunizations and not covid related.

1000 x 5 books

-families can once again donate books to the red bin outside the office

-touch base with Janice for details

May 5 Red Dress Day

-Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women, Girl and Two Spirit Campaign

https://leadingedgepromo.ca/product-category/murdered-and-missing-indigenous-women-and-girls/

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER MAY 12th

Greetings Fulford Families,

Our week ended with a full-day dance residency with Natasha from Jess Dance and a whole school performance. The students (and staff) really enjoyed the energetic Hip Hop style dance and were keen to show their school mates. Thank you to the parents who were able to make it to see the classes perform. It is so nice to be able to have these types of activities in our school again! A few photos are attached.

Field Trips

We are seeing a lot of field trips being planned and parents are often asked to come along as volunteers. Please make sure your Volunteer Criminal Record Check on file with the district is still current. It takes a few weeks to complete the process so if you want to help out on field trips or special events, please complete the online process now.

https://sd64.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-Criminal-Record-Checks.pdf

Also, sometimes students have not brought their signed field trip consent forms back to school by the day of the field trip. Students are not permitted to attend a field trip without a parent’s signature on the field trip consent form. We can no longer accept verbal or email consent on the day of the field trip. Students who do not have a signed SD64 consent form will be required to stay at school with another class rather than go on the field trip.

Important Dates

May 17 – Choir Field trip to visit Lost Chords; Grade 5-6 class Conservancy field trip

May 18 – Choir Performance at the school, 11:30 am

May 23 – Schools closed for Victoria Day

May 27 – Friday School Day; Kindergarten Orientation; PAC Family BBQ – 3:15 – 3:30

A Choir Invitation

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday, May 18th at 11:30 a.m., you are invited to come and watch the Fulford Elementary School Choir sing at our Whole School Meeting in the gym.

Choir is also going on a field trip to visit the senior’s choir group the Lost Cords and will be having a pizza lunch on May 17^th.

We look forward to seeing you at our Whole School Meeting, if you can be there!

Yours sincerely,

Mary Freeman

(Music teacher)

PAC News

BBQ FUNdraiser: June 2^nd from 3:15 – 5pm we will be hosting a BBQ. There will be games, food and even (drum roll please) magic! We’re looking for parent volunteers for this fun, family-oriented event. Please check out this link sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e45a8a62fa4fd0-fulford

GARDEN NEWS
- Garden work parties are still happening on Tuesday from 1:30-3:00. Drop in and we hope to see you there!
- Garden work party A NEW TIME: SATURDAY MAY 14 1-3 PM. Bring kids, shovels, wheelbarrows if possible. There are a few projects to do to finish the greenhouse (moving soil mostly) and the gutters on the outdoor classroom need cleaning. Help is needed for these things.
MUD KITCHEN: We’re getting a mud kitchen and are looking for donations of pots and pans and a sink to place in the kitchen. Please talk to Ara Van Riel if you have something you’d like to donate.
2022/23 PAC Officers: Our PAC could use your help next year as an officer. Please reach out to fulfordpac@gmail.com if you are interested.

Community News

Please see attached poster with info on the upcoming Family Literacy Fest. Our first event will be outdoors this Friday May 13 in the United Church Meadow. A musical concert for kids and families with Jim Raddysh!

Suitable for young children. Please refer to the poster for more info, dates and locations.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER MAY 6th

Greetings Fulford Families,

🌧The grey and rainy first week of May was brightened by a visit from Ache Brasil, a troupe that performed traditional Brazilian music, dance and Capoeira. It was a lively and engaging performance and the students loved it, especially after not having visiting artists for a few years. The troupe shared that “ache” with a high five or fist pump means to wish people positive energy in Capoeira custom so spread a little ache with others! Next Thursday, May 12, we will be having a dance residency for the full day whereby a dance teacher will work with each class in the school and the day will end with all classes coming together to perform their dance for the rest of the school. Parents who wish to come a bit earlier to see the dance performance should come to the gym by 2:10 pm on Thursday. It has been great to be able to resume some of these fun activities that have been on hold during Covid.

Grade 6 Immunization 

✔️The next set of immunizations for the Grade 6 students will happen on May 11th at 1 pm. These are the regular Grade 6 immunizations and not Covid related. We are still looking for one or two parent volunteers to come to the school to support the students before and after their vaccines. Please email the school if you are able to help out

Parent Volunteers

👍As we resume field trips and other activities that parents can be included in, it is essential that parents who want to participate have an up-to-date criminal record check. Please see the attached memo with all the instructions you will need to apply if you do not have one. https://sd64.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-Criminal-Record-Checks.pdf

EPIC Writing Project

✏️Our EPIC Writing project continues to go well with the Kindergarten and Grades 1-2 classes doing the writing sprint with Mrs. Thompson. Mrs. Van Riel’s class has been writing about Spring, adding detail to their pictures and using graphic organizers to generate their ideas (The Ideas Trait). The kindergarten students are also working on building stamina for writing, leaving spaces between words and making sure their words match their picture. Ms. K’s class has been writing poetry focusing on the Word Choice Trait, using juicy words and other literary devices such as simile and alliteration to make their writing more interesting. Mrs. Thompson is also working with Jessica’s Grade 4-5 class once per week and then Jessica continues the work for the remainder of the week. They have been writing an imaginative short story, which is the most challenging genre for children to write but also the most motivating. The students are working on the Organization Trait to ensure they have a strong beginning, middle and end. They are also using sensory detail and ‘show don’t tell’ to help the reader get hooked into their story.

Mental Health Literacy Project

🦋The Grades 2-3 and 3-4 classes are currently working with Mrs. Thompson on the Mental Health Literacy project. Both classes are working on identifying and regulating their emotions using a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being calm, cool and collected and 5 highly dysregulated (being out of control). The students are learning to be able to ask for help or use calming strategies when they reach level three, so they don't get to a level 5. Ask your children about what they are learning in these sessions.

Busing Challenges

🚌We know that the recent bus route rescheduling has caused some inconvenience for families. We understand your concerns and frustrations, and we want to let you know why this has been happening. The transportation department is experiencing staff shortages in regular and on-call drivers. When there are not enough drivers to run all regular routes, Lisa and bus 2 are reassigned to another route. This is done to provide service to as many students as possible, but it means that the bus 2 pickup times are much earlier in the morning and drop off is much later for Bus 1 students at the end of the day. It also means that students who usually get picked up at the end of Beddis and Stewart Road do not get bus service. Every effort is made to give as much notice as possible to parents when these changes occur. Like every other industry, the school district is experiencing staff shortages in all departments, and we are actively recruiting people.

Check out this free parenting resource

https://afineparent.com/positive-parenting-conference?ref=43049-Big-Life-Journal&utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=us-friday-campaign%20My%20Feelings%20Flip-Book%20%28VSqYJv%29&type=Campaign&_kx=uUijyCKpBD4mseTp2Nb1UO4TnbfC4d6k881jW9v3a0I%3D.MMSabf

💐 We would like to wish all the parents/caregivers in our school community that celebrate “Mother’s Day” a Sunday filled with appreciation love and joy!

Community Event:

🌸🌺💮11th annual Blossom Picnic at the Heiwa Garden in the Peace Park!

11 am - 2 pm

Sunday May 15th

Come and celebrate spring in the refreshed Heiwa Garden!

Dress up contest - get a prize! Japanese theme or cosplay (Register at

the site 11:00 - 11:50 am).

Make an origami Ninja star and play the target game!

Make a paper airplane and see it fly!

There will be..

Bamboo flute, Koto (Japanese zither),

Karate and Kendo demonstration,

12:00 Cosplay and Dress up Contest

12:30 Paper airplane race

Music performed by SS Japanese Community

Yo-yo water balloons and more!

Don't miss our home style inari sushi lunch $6,

for pre-order lunch: call 250-653-0099 (Mana)

for more information: e-mail JGS <info@saltspringjapanesegarden.com>