St. Edmunds Newsletter – September 2024
We are thrilled to welcome all our returning and new families to another exciting year of learning and growth at St. Edmund’s. We hope your summer was filled with memorable experiences and much-needed relaxation.
This September, we look forward to embarking on a journey of discovery, creativity and achievement. Our dedicated staff has been preparing to ensure that this year is filled with enriching educational opportunities and a supportive environment for all.
This year’s spiritual theme is “Living, Celebrating and Proclaiming Our Faith” and throughout the coming months we will be implementing this theme. We hope that students and the community at large will put our faith into action in the classroom, on the playground and at home, focusing on social justice and humanity.
We encourage everyone to stay informed and engaged by reading our monthly newsletters, visiting our school website, and participating in school events. Together, let’s make this year a memorable and successful one!
Thank you for your commitment to Catholic education.
TBIRD Code of Conduct
St. Edmund’s Elementary School teams are known as the TBIRDS. Each letter represents a foundational element in our student code of conduct.
A St. Edmund’s community member is called to be:
- Trustworthy
- Brave
- Inclusive
- Respectful
- a Disciple
Developing these values in our students helps create an environment conducive to learning, personal growth, and mutual respect, benefiting students, educators, and the broader school community.
School Uniform
As we begin the school year, it is appropriate to be reminded that the school uniform be worn with pride and with attention to detail:
- Sweaters are worn daily.
- Shoes are all black, non-marking soles. Navy blue dress socks are to be worn with dress shoes.
- Hair should not be dyed or coloured in any way. Hair accessories that tie back long hair should be subdued in nature. (Plain black, blue or tartan pattern.)
- Jewelry must be subdued in nature. Only stud earrings are permitted.
- Nails should be clear (no colour polish) and of reasonable length. Make-up is not to be worn.
PE uniform can be purchased from the school on Wednesdays and Thursdays when Ms. David is in the office. Other uniform pieces are to be purchased at Cambridge Uniforms. Please ensure all uniform pieces are labelled with your child’s name.
Thank you for supporting our uniform policy and keeping our students looking their best.
First Day of School & Kindergarten Gradual Entry
Tuesday, Sept. 3rd is our first day of school for students in Grades 1-7 starting at 8:45 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Beginning Wednesday Sept.4th, students will be in session from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Kindergarten gradual entry schedule which begins on Sept. 4th to 13th was sent out via email to parents in June. Please refer to the schedule for the exact times your child will attend.
School Bell Schedule/Hours of Instruction
8:30 a.m. Supervision begins: Students enter school grounds through Mahon Street gate entrance
8:45 a.m. School begins with morning assembly and prayer
10:30 to 10:45 a.m. Morning Recess
12:00 to 12:30 p.m. Lunch Recess (Play first)
12:30 -12:45 p.m. Eating Lunch in Classroom for all Students
3:00 p.m. All Students Dismissed
Regular attendance and prompt arrival at school is important if your child is to gain full benefit from the school program. Please ensure your child arrives on time each day. If your child is going to be late or absent for any reason, please use the Report Absentee link on the school website or email the school office at office@stemunds.ca. If we do not receive a call, email or notification and your child is not at school, we will call parents to ensure their safe arrival.
Health and Safety Updates
A reminder that the following Health & Safety Protocols continue to be in place for all staff & students:
- Daily Health Check – Stay home if sick
- Mask wearing is a personal choice
- Continued emphasis on diligent hand & respiratory hygiene
- Frequently touched surfaces to be cleaned daily
- Vaccines – “It is important to get all recommended vaccine doses to get the most effective protection against serious cases of COVID-19.” Please note, the school does not collect or keep any COVID vaccination records.
Medical Alerts & Allergies
Ensuring a safe and healthy school environment is a responsibility shared by students, parents, and staff. We have several students in our school who have serious allergies to nut products. This means that any contact with peanuts, nuts or nut products, in even trace amounts, may endanger a life. We are requesting the assistance of all families to keep our school a nut aware environment. Please do not send snacks and lunch items that contain nuts or nut oils. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
All students who have an Epi-pen are required to update their Epi-pen and emergency plan by the family doctor and must bring them to the school office. This is an annual requirement whether or not there are any changes to your child’s emergency plan.
School Lunches
Please ensure that your child brings a healthy recess snack and healthy lunch to school each day. Reusable water bottles should also be brought daily and should be labeled with your child’s name. In the interest of being stewards of the Earth as well as not having the ability to handle large amounts of food waste in our garbage, we will continue to ask students to bring all leftover food back home so that it can be put into the compost. Please send school lunches in reusable, labelled plastic (no glass) containers, helping to reduce the amount of waste going into the landfill.
For parents who are interested in ordering lunch, please see the Hot Lunch Link on our school website.
School Lunch Program
The school lunch menu is now ready and you can start to order your children’s lunches. Hot Lunch will begin on Monday, September 16th. Please place your order by Tuesday September 10th.
St. Edmund’s Schools follows the BC School Food Guidelines which encourages whole foods, non-processed, ingredients plant-based nutrition, and fewer sugar options to be sold at schools and therefore; we continue to update our menu items for healthy options.
You must register online at: https://stedmunds.hotlunches.net/admin/?action=register-form
Any questions please contact the school office. Thank you for supporting our school lunch program.
With Appreciation & Gratitude
- Welcome back to Miss Bautista and Miss Conejar who are returning to our St. Edmund’s Learning Team after joining us in the last term of last school year.
- Welcome to Ms. Annette David who is joining us in office. David will be available on Wednesdays and Thursdays to assist our school community.
- We would also like to welcome Fr. Jeevan Dalmeda, our new assistant pastor. We look forward to growing in faith with his and Fr. Steny’s spiritual leadership. Please join us for our first whole school mass on Wednesday September, 11th.
- Thank you to Mike Brown at Midland Appliance who donated a new fridge for our staff room and to Ms. Nadia Louzado for connecting us to this great community partner!
- We are also grateful to our “watering team” who diligently came by the school over the summer to keep our courtyard garden from drying out!
- I would also like to thank Mrs. deFreitas, Mr. Dodds and all the staff for all their preparation over the summer to get ready for our return to school. Well Done TBIRDS!
Be a Good Neighbour: Student Drop Off / Pick Up Procedure
The “safety first” procedure for dropping off and picking up of students is as follows:
- The posted speed limit is 30 km/hr during school hours (8:00 am – 5:00 pm)
- The drop off area on Mahon Avenue in front of the school is for drop-off only – NO PARKING. The Fire Zone is also a NO STOPPING area.
- If you need to park your car, please be conscientious of our neighbours. You may park along the tennis court area on 6th or along the school on 5th Street.
- Please do not double-park and please do a shoulder-check before you pull-out onto the street. Thank you for making our students’ safety a priority.
St. Edmund’s School Calendar 2024-25
September 3 First day of School, Early Dismissal @ 12:00
September 17 Meet The Teacher
September 30 T&R Stat. – No school
October 7 Early Dismissal @ 12:00
October 14 Thanksgiving Stat. – No school
October 24 Learning Update Parent-Teacher Conferences (PT) – No Classes
October 25 Pro-Day Retreat – No School
November 4 Early Dismissal @ 12:00
November 8 Pro-Day – No School
November 11 Remembrance Day Stat. – No school
November 22 CISVA Pro-D Day – No School
December 6 Learning Update Report 1 sent home
December 19 Christmas Concert 7 pm
December 20 Last day of classes before Christmas Vacation Early Dismissal @ 12:00
January 6 School Opens
January 27 Pro-Day – No School
January 31 Communicating Student Learning Reports to Parents
February 3 Early Dismissal @ 12:00
February 12 Student Led Conferences – No “classes” – Student Presentation Times
February 13 Catholic Educators Conference – No School
February 14 Catholic Educators Conference – No School
February 17 Family Day Stat. No school
March 13 Learning Update Report 2 sent home
March 14 Last day of classes before Spring Break Early Dismissal @ 12:00
March 31 School re-opens
April 17 Holy Thursday Early Dismissal @ 12:00
April 18 Good Friday Stat. – No school
April 21 Easter Monday Holiday – No school
May 5 Early Dismissal @ 12:00
May 16 Pro Day – No School
May 19 Victoria Day Stat. – No school
June 9 Pro Day – No School
June 13 Sports Day Early Dismissal @ 12:00
June 26 Last day of classes Early Dismissal @ 12:00
June 27 Last day for Educational Staff