February Update for Families

Please see the note below from our Principal, Mr. Rosseel:

As we lead into the weekend, I am reflecting on our school community, and all of the efforts and cooperation required to run a school together, even under the best of circumstances. Despite ALL of the challenges faced by our staff, students and families, there has also been so much good taking place that I had to stop and reflect on the purpose of what we do, and the positive impact it can have with all of your support.

This week alone at B.E.S., we have had:

• 5 new students register or return to start classes at our school;
• Mr. Earwaker come and build snow sculptures with students from K4 – Grade 6;
• The “outdoor campground” setup for student use in our Nurturing Support Centre (complete with “stargazing”);
• The chance to finish building and shelving the entire collection in our new library which will be ready for consistent student use as of next week;
• Artist Jimmy Baptiste come begin the ELAN Culture in Schools mural project focused on Diversity & Belonging with our Cycle 3 students.

Students have been able to engage in outdoor learning and play, take on leadership roles, express their creativity, ignite their spark for reading, receive all of the support they need to feel safe and be taken care of at school, and still engage in strong pedagogical learning in the classroom. All of this amidst rapid testing, COVID case and isolation management, high levels of absences, staffing changes, and everything else that goes into day-to-day school operations. Sometimes we need to stop, step back and take a look at the “bigger picture” when things become challenging. Although this has certainly been difficult for all of us, the return to school has also come with a positive reminder of our purpose here together.  I want to thank you as always for your support and cooperation. We are all on the same team working to make this school experience the best it can be for our students and your children. B.E.S. strong!

I’m very proud of what this community has accomplished this week (as always), and will be leaving today on a positive note. A reminder that Monday, February 7^th & Tuesday, February 8^th are WQSB PD days, so the school will be closed to students. We look forward to welcoming the students back on Wednesday, February 9^th!