Good day Belvedere Parkway Families
June has either been a long time coming, or might seem sudden for some. There has been a lot going on this year and certainly June has been no different!
Over the coming weeks our Website will be updated with more current information, so please look there first and remain vigilant for incoming messages!
We have several updates and appreciations to share with you at this time. We have had a successful year working together with our School Council. A big thank you to Tess McCormick (Chair), Ellery Chyzyk (Vice chair) and all our School Council members for all their hard work in running our School Council and Parent Fund-raising Association. The Staff Appreciation Committee led by Dori Lee have boosted the morale of our staff through the year and put on a phenomenal and artistic (!) charcuterie spread for everyone this week! You are all amazing and our families, staff and students thank you!
We are excited to share that the BP Parent Fund-raising Association raised $2275 through the recent Big BelPark Raffle. Many thanks to Andrea Boucher and those involved in donating and securing prizes and in rolling out this effort! This year we have so many people to thank for their continuous efforts in fund-raising through various initiatives such as; Growing Smiles, Mom's Pantry, Healthy Hunger, Gift cards and Coco Brooks.
We have been very fortunate to have the support of our new Learning Gardens team led by Trina Wickson. They and volunteer families came down to the school and worked hard to get the Learning Gardens prepared for planting this Spring. Sign up Genius will be available for families to sign up and come on down at various times during the summer to keep on top of weeds and ensure everyone’s children will benefit come harvest time! A special thank you to Jill Edgington-Kirby for her support in grant writing, which we hope will provide much needed funds for Learning Garden renovations and Badminton nets and posts.
Our Administrative secretaries Rana Jones and Joleen Schneider have also gone above and beyond in supporting our students, staff and families raising dollars for the school through Purdy's Chocolates, Mabel’s Labels and Popcorn sales!
We topped off the year with a Family Fun Night organized by our Parent Association and coordinated with the second Scholastic Book Fair of the year which pulled in $5,700 worth of book money for the Learning Commons.
We look forward to the replacement of a section of the Playground that was damaged earlier this month. Hopefully this will be sooner rather than later, but we will keep you posted!
I would also like to take the opportunity to celebrate the amazing efforts of our staff here at BelPark. Teachers and all members of our staff work together and show daily commitment to meet challenges in supporting our students, families and each other in meeting student need. We are truly blessed here to have such a solid foundation and positive environment for our children to be welcomed into each day.
As always, there comes sad times for goodbyes and this year is no different as we congratulate our Grade 6 students on moving forward to their next exciting adventure into Junior High, and also to some of our staff as they too move on to different positions. We will be saying a tearful goodbye to our Assistant Principal, Chris Dewsbury and congratulate him on his retirement after 32 years with the CBE. We are also saying goodbye to Tyler Kirby, an outstanding support as Lunchroom supervisor for our Bridges program, and also to Celina Haddad, our Braille assistant. They have been a great fit for our school and we are so grateful for all their hard work.
In September we will be welcoming some new faces, not just students, but also staff. Please join us in welcoming our new Assistant Principal, Liz Styan who is an experienced AP coming from W.O. Mitchell School and a new Grade 1 teacher, Jamie Schroeder, who has taught in many areas of the city!
They will be introducing themselves to their students as do all our teachers in August with a welcome email.
There are three Kindergarten programs in the 2024-2025 school year – AM, PM and Full day Tuesday/Thursday. They will have a staggered entry during the first few days to support our brand-new students to school life. This means half of the class at a time are introduced to their classroom and peers for their first day at school. Parents will be receiving detailed emails regarding days and start times for their children in the third or fourth week of August. All other students will be attending school as normal, first day back – Thursday August 29, 2024.
We will be having our usual Open House on Wednesday August 28, between 10:00am – 11:00am. This is an opportunity for families and students to pop in and say hello to the teacher, see their classroom and feel comfortable in knowing which door will be their designated entry /exit door so everyone knows where to go on the morning of their first day.
From all of us, to all of you, we wish you rest and relaxation with a healthy dollop of fun this summer!
Best wishes,
Jane Gibson Principal
Chris Dewsbury Assistant Principal