Week 8 - Oct 23 to 27

Please take the time to share this information with your child/children.
It is a good way for families to connect with the school. 

School Council Meets on the third Monday of each month in the Staff room or Learning Commons.
All parents are welcome to attend.

The Week in Review…

Halloween Food Drive
The BHES Student Council is organizing a Food Drive in support of the Richmond Hill Food Bank. Food Banks are always in need of community support, and we applaud our School Council for recognizing this time of the year as one where need may be high.








Halloween Costumes
For some members of our community, Halloween brings memories of dress-up parades, costume and pumpkin carving competitions, and classroom parties whereas for others it bears a very different meaning. As with each of our traditions and ways of doing things, it is valuable to revisit our practices to ensure that they are both equitable and inclusive. Together, we need to ensure that these practices are reflective of the values and realities of all our students. It is important for us to recognize that not all families celebrate and participate in Halloween, for many reasons including cultural, religious, socioeconomic and personal reasons. Teachers were asked to keep this in mind when planning Halloween activities.

Students celebrating this occasion in costume at our school must comply with the Safe School’s policy. Costume accessories including, but not limited to, weapons or replica weapons such as toy guns, knives, axes, swords, clubs, etc. are not in compliance with York Region District School Board’s Safe Schools Policy #668.0 and MUST be left at home. This policy applies to all students at all levels, including Kindergarten. Additionally, face masks are considered unsafe at school because they limit a child’s ability to see, and school staff are not able to recognize the wearer of a mask and may not know if the individual is a member of the school community. If you send your child with a mask, they will be asked to either carry it or wear it on the top of their head for safety.

Treaty Week
During the week of November 6-10, 2017, we will be recognizing the importance of treaties in the lives of all Ontarians. To bring awareness to the treaty relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the province, legislation was passed in 2016 declaring the first week of November Treaties Recognition Week. As the first legislation of its kind in Canada, Treaties Recognition Week provides a recurring opportunity for teachers to co-plan learning activities about treaties during the school year, and will help promote awareness of these agreements in the broader public sector. 

Glass Containers

Over the last few weeks we have had several incidents where a student has brought a glass container to school and the container has broken. In one case a student cut their finger and required First Aid. The clean-up of broken glass can be difficult if the glass is on the grass or in carpeting. We are requesting that students, parents and staff do not to bring glass containers to school.







The Week Ahead…

Date
Event/Activity
Monday, October 30th
Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Tuesday, October 31st
Halloween
1:50-3:30 – HPV and Hep B Clinic for Grade 7s
1:50-2:30 – Primary Halloween Costume Parade
Wednesday, November 1st
4:00-8:00 – Intermediate Girls’ Volleyball Tournament
Thursday, November 2nd
10:30-Noon – Ring of Peace ceremony for Children in Action
Friday, November 3rd


On-going Events…

October is Islamic Heritage month
Go Girls
Intermediate Girls' and Boys' Volleyball
Choir - rehearses each Day 1 and 2 until early November
First Lego League


Week 7 - Oct 16 to 20

Week 7 – Oct 19 to 20 2017


Please take the time to share this information with your child/children.
It is a good way for families to connect with the school.

School Council Meets on the third Monday of each month.
All parents are welcome to attend.

The Week in Review…

Land Acknowledgement
The Land Acknowledgement is an important message that will be part of how we interact with each other. It was shared for the first time with school staff at the beginning of our October 20th PA Day meeting:
We would like to start by acknowledging that we are on the traditional territories of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe peoples, whose presence here continues to this day. We would also like to acknowledge the land we are on is at the meeting place of two treaties, the lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit​ and those of the First Nations of the Williams Treaty. We would to thank them and other Indigenous peoples for sharing this land with us. We would also like to acknowledge the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation as our closest Indigenous community and our partners in education. We acknowledge this land and the people because the first step to reconciliation is recognizing the existence of Indigenous people. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action (numbers 62-63​) speak to the significance of education as the key to reconciliation. A shared understanding of how our collective past brought us to where we                                                            are today will help us walk together into a better future.

Equity and Inclusivity
Our ongoing work with equity and inclusivity as a Board and as a school took a big step forward on October 20th. We took our first look at our School Climate data for the Spring 2017 survey, but did it in a different and more meaningful way by considering social identities and their intersectionality. At the core, and as a Board, we recognize significant gaps in achievement and disparity in well-being and inclusion as an ongoing challenge. Some of those challenges and opportunities include:
  • Various data suggest that students of certain marginalized identities are over-represented within these outcomes.
  • We have a collective responsibility to undertake actions to close this gap through explicit and deliberate actions grounded in human rights and the principles of equity and inclusive education.
  • Developing critical consciousness and using both an anti-oppression lens and social justice framework will assist us in identifying and removing systemic barriers, intentionally interrupt the status quo and change our practices to improve outcomes for all students.
  • We know that this vital work will take time, ongoing learning, committed leadership and intentional action at both the system and school levels.


Diversity is our strength, Equity our commitment, Inclusion our goal.


Cross-Country
On October 17th, ten members of the BHES Cross Country team participated in the YRDSB Regional Cross Country Meet. It was a beautiful day, that saw our runners compete on a challenging course with hundreds of other athletes. We are proud of all of our student athletes. We had 3 runners finish in the top 20 with one runner finishing 6th overall. Great Job, Bengals!



The Week Ahead…

Date
Event/Activity
Monday, October 23rd
12:50pm to 1:15pm – Go Girls (Room 130)
Tuesday, October 24th

Wednesday, October 25th
10:40am to 11:10am – CIA Meeting
Jnana Panchami
Thursday, October 26th

Friday, October 27th
School Yard Clean Up
10:40am to 11:10am – Eco Club Meeting

On-going Events…

October is Islamic Heritage month
Go Girls
Intermediate Girls' and Boys' Volleyball
Choir - rehearses each Day 1 and 2 until early November
First Lego League



Week 6 – Oct 9 to 13




Please take the time to share this information with your child/children.
It is a good way for families to connect with the school.


School Council Meets on the third Monday of each month.
Council has 4 positions available for the current year.
Please consider joining us to take an active role in Council
All parents are welcome to attend.


The Week in Review…

Routinely, our Board reviews they policies and procedures. All working document policies on which feedback is currently being collected are posted on the Policies and Procedures for Comment page of the Board’s public website.  Due dates for input/feedback are identified.

The Board welcomes questions, comments and suggestions. Input and dialogue is an important component of the review process.

Questions about the content of Board policies and/or procedures should first be raised with the principal, manager or supervisor, where applicable.  If additional clarification is required, principals, managers and supervisors may contact the lead superintendent and/or subject matter expert outlined in the executive summary.

Feedback on policies and/or procedures may be submitted through the school council, principal, manager or superintendent, where applicable, and should include the following;

  • identification of the specific section(s) of the policy and/or procedure that you would like to see addressed,
  • specific, alternate wording to reflect your position, and
  • a rationale for the concerns.

Input should be forwarded by email to policy.committee@yrdsb.ca, via fax at 905-727-3984 or by mail to the education Center Aurora.

Questions about the policy and procedure review process can be directed to Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services at policy.committee@yrdsb.ca or at the Education Centre Aurora at extension 2217.


Student Council
Ms. Ali is in the process of reviewing applications from grade 7 and 8 students to form our Student Council. Student Council works to organize events and to raise funds or collect food and toy items throughout the year.

Bus Safety
Our students recently participated in our annual Bus Safety program. Students were reminded of all aspects of safety in and around our buses. As a reminder to students, please be aware of the Bus Danger Zone: The school bus danger zone is a 3.06 metre (10 ft.) wide area on the front and sides and 3.66 metre (12 ft.) wide area at the back of a school bus. This is the area that most people are in danger of being hit. Any person who enters the school bus danger zone should obtain permission from the driver before proceeding.

Eco-Club
Ms. Bowman will be running an Eco-club for interested students in grades 2 and 3. Stewardship of the environment is an important responsibility that all people need to think about. We look forward to the work they will do.







CASL
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation prevent us from sending out electronic information of a commercial nature without your permission. If you want to receive information from the school regarding activities or events such as pizza days or after school programs, please go to the school website and look for the sign-up box on the opening page. It looks like the box below.





The Week Ahead…

Date
Event/Activity
Monday, October 16th
7:00 – School Council Meeting in the Staff Room. All parents are welcome
Tuesday, October 17th
Picture Day
Wednesday, October 18th
Diwali
Mahavira Nirvana
Thursday, October 19th

Friday, October 20th
P.A. Day – No school for students
Skanda Shashti Vratham begins

On-going Events…
Go Girls
Cross Country – Regional Runners are still training
Intermediate Girls' and Boys' Volleyball
Choir - rehearses each Day 1 and 2 until early November
First Lego League


Week 5 - October 2 to 6

Please take the time to share this information with your child/children.
It is a good way for families to connect with the school.

School Council Meets on the third Monday of each month.
Council has 4 positions available for the current year.
Please consider joining us to take an active role in Council
All parents are welcome to attend.

The Week in Review…

Islamic Heritage Month Workshop
Discovering Islamic Art with Your Child
Workshop Description: In recognition of Islamic Heritage Month, parents/guardians and children grades 1 to 8 are invited to participate in a free Art History Workshop facilitated by the Aga Khan Museum. This workshop will consist of an introduction to the Aga Khan Museum and an understanding of the diversity and pluralism in Islam through museum artifacts. Families will explore patterns from the art and architectures of the museum. Each participant will create and take home their own clay tile designs.

Registration form available from: shila.mahdavi@yrdsb.ca or 905-884-2046 ex.265
Workshop Location:
HG Bernard Public School
245 Bernard Ave, Richmond Hill, ON L4S 1E1
Time: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 6:00 -7:30 p.m.
Registration will be confirmed via email from Inclusive School and Community Services.

Parking Lot Reminder
Student safety is our biggest priority, and we are asking parents to help us out. We have a number of authorized school vehicles, buses, vans and taxis, that pick students up at the end of the day. As a result, our entire parking lot is devoted to this purpose at the end of the day. We respectfully ask parents to say out of the parking lot and bus loop from 3:15 to 3:45 p.m. Please park your vehicle on the street and walk into the school if needed.

Go Girls
Go Girls began this week. Go Girls is facilitated from Big Brothers Big Sisters. It is to provide girls with information and support to make informed choices about active living, balanced eating and feeling good. The girls will participate in fun, educational games and activities that encouraged relationship- building as well as self- reflection and group discussions.

Camp Muskoka
Our Grade 7 students travelled to beautiful Muskoka to spend three days at Camp Muskoka. There they worked on team building and personal challenge skills. The Aerial Park, a ropes and ladder course, was a big hit with the students. It provided them with the opportunity to challenge themselves physically and mentally as they worked towards the chance to run zip line. Thank you to our staff who volunteered their time to make sure our students were safe.






Cross Country
The Bengals ran hard and proud on at this year’s cross country event at Richmond Green. All runners represented the school with sportsmanship and athleticism. 9 runners qualified to run at the Regional Cross Country event later in the month. Well done, Bengals!



The Week Ahead…

Date
Event/Activity
Monday, October 9th
Thanksgiving Holiday
Tuesday, October 10th
Bus Safety all day
12:50-1:15 – Go Girls in room 130
Wednesday, October 11th
Bus Safety
Thursday, October 12th
Shemini Atzeret
10:40-11:40 – Eco-Club for grade 2 and 3 in room 232
Friday, October 13th
Simchat Torah

On-going Events…

Go Girls
Cross Country – Regional Runners are still training
Intermediate Girls' and Boys' Volleyball
Choir - rehearses each Day 1 and 2 until early November
First Lego League