10/08/2021
Cloverdale Traditional School
Bi-Weekly News
2 WEEK LOOK AHEAD:
October 8 – Coupon Books Sent Home
October 11 – Thanksgiving Day – School Closed
October 20 – Photo Retake Day
October 21 – Earthquake Drill – Great BC Shake Out
October 22 – Non-Instructional Day – No Students in Session
For a further look ahead, please browse the calendar section of our website here: https://cloverdale.sd61.bc.ca/calendar/
SCHOOL UPDATES:
Principal’s Message
It is hard to believe we are already into October. The weather is changing as we settle into fall. Please remember that the children at Cloverdale spend time outdoors daily, in most weather conditions. It is important that the students come ready for the variable weather that Victoria is known for, with rain gear and warm clothing if necessary. We know that this outdoor time is beneficial to the health and wellness of our students, and are expecting families to please help students remember appropriate clothing.
Thank you to parents for taking the time this week to speak with teachers. These important conversations give us all a bigger picture of the programming happening in classes and the individual needs of students, in order to progress their learning. Although we cannot host families in the school yet, we have found these meetings a valuable way to remain connected. We had a super turn out!
We had our very first fire drill of the year last week! The students were spectacular; very well behaved and respectful of the seriousness of this practice.
Thanks to our generous families we raised over $770 for the Terry Fox Foundation. Way to go!
We are well on our way to another successful year.
Photo Retakes
Photo retakes are on October 20. If your child misses photo day, or you wish to have their photo retaken, please send a note to the teacher through the agenda planner or through an email to the teachers so they are aware of who requires a photo retake.
Volunteers Needed
Our school LOVES to read and consequently our library exchanges hundreds of books each week. If you have a bit of spare time to help us with reshelving some of those books, please contact our Teacher Librarian, Ms. Aerts, at [email protected]. No experience is necessary, we will show you how it's done. As with any person entering our building, volunteers must be double vaccinated and will be required to wear a mask unless they have a medical exemption. Thanks for your consideration.
SCHOOL DISTRICT & COMMNITY UPDATES:
School District 61 is Hiring
The school district is looking for qualified applicants for entry level clerical positions. Minimum requirements are proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Publisher, Excel, Word & Outlook), great communication and basic office skills. Please note that there is a testing process for all applicants, which consists of Microsoft Suite tasks. Resumes can be forwarded to [email protected] RE; Clerical Vacancies
Mental Health and Wellness Snapshot
Please see the link for this month’s info on Helping Children Develop Their Decision Making Skills. https://src.campayn.com/stakmails/web_version/424b1e3f3221bf622b2752ea6389eff6d4146f3fede243e56234b03dac0d4f67/Stakmail/259011/0/shared/0
1000 x 5
As you prepare for the end of the month celebrations with fun costumes and food, can you find a minute to locate 3 gently used books for babies and toddlers and drop them off in the pink bin in the school office. These books will entertain and enrich wee ones long after the October fun has ended. 250,000 books in 10 years!! Thank you.
CTS PARENT ADVISORY COUNSEL UPDATES:
Thank You
Thank you to all the parents that joined us for our first PAC meeting of the year. It was so wonderful to see so many new and returning faces. PAC meetings are held every two months and are a great way to stay up to date with what’s happening around the school and to connect with other parents and our Principal Ms. Susan Ottenbreit and our Vice-Principal Mrs. Barbara Sapsford. The next PAC Meeting is Tuesday November 2, 2021 over Microsoft Teams. Look for the meeting link in an email closer to the date.
What Happens When There’s a COVID Exposure at CTS?
As many of you know, there has been a significant increase in positive COVID-19 cases amongst elementary school aged children since the start of school in September. We’ve heard from many concerned parents that they would appreciate more information regarding school exposures. It’s been our experience that if there is a positive COVID-19 exposure *in your child’s classroom*, you should receive an email notifying you of the dates of this exposure from Island Health.
Furthermore, there are very specific contact tracing investigations that take place, in which Island Health determines who should be self-isolating, who should self-monitor, and the appropriate next steps. We found it reassuring to hear from our admin team that a seating chart is kept on file at the office for each classroom to assist public health with contact tracing.
Recently, the BCCDC has published two documents which explain the process of contact tracing in schools. They can be found at the following links:
Text version here:http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/Contact_tracing_schools_2021.pdf
Infographic version here:http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/Contact_Tracing.pdf
Please note that Island Health is no longer sending a notification for school exposures to the whole school. It is our understanding that they contact families by phone who have a child that will need to isolate and they email only the affected classroom. If you wish to stay up to date on COVID-19 Exposures in schools in the Island Health Region, this information is published here: https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19/schools
Please remember the most important parts of preventing the spread of COVID-19 at CTS is to do a daily health check with your child and STAY HOME and GET TESTED when experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness. Here’s the link to the daily health check:
https://www.k12dailycheck.gov.bc.ca/healthcheck?execution=e1s1
BC School Covid Tracker
Many parents are seeking additional information about school COVID-19 exposures this year. A parent-run database called “BC School Covid Tracker” continues to track school exposures across BC this year. This information can be found on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/BCSchoolCovidTracker or on the web here: https://bcschoolcovidtracker.knack.com/bc-school-covid-tracker /
Many CTS parents would appreciate it if families would report any COVID-19 exposures to this database. Please note: your identity will remain confidential in the BC School Covid Tracker database.
