November 18 BUZZ
Happy Monday!
Welcome back from November break! We hope you’re feeling refreshed and ready for the exciting week ahead. This week we’re shining a spotlight on an essential part of who we are at Glen Allan Elementary: Kindness.
It’s Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, and our school is buzzing with activities centered around our theme, BEE Kind. Together, we’ll explore what it means to be kind—to ourselves, to others, and to our environment. By cultivating a culture of kindness, we help build a safe, inclusive, and joyful community where everyone feels valued.
There will be a variety of lessons and activities planned in classes and for the school centered on this important Be Paw - Be Kind. You can see the list of acitvities in the blog post articles below. We are proud of our students and staff for the thought and care they bring to this important week. Thank you, families, for your ongoing support in helping us nurture a kind, compassionate, and inclusive school community.
Let’s BEE the change we wish to see in the world! We also hope to see many parents Thursday evening at our Glen Allan School Council meeting. All caregivers are welcome to join us in the library at 6:30 pm.
It's a great week for a great week!
Please read through the following blog post articles for important Glen Allan information.
Action
- Glen Allan School Council Meeting - Thursday, November 19 @ 6:30 pm
- BEE Kind at Glen Allan - Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week
Opportunity
Information
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Information
- Remembrance Day Ceremony
- Glen Allan Highlights
WEEK AT A GLANCE - November 18 - November 22
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ACTION
Glen Allan School Council Meeting - Thurday, November 21 @ 6:30 pm
The Glen Allan School Council is a wonderful way to be involved in your child's school community. We invite all our parents and caregivers to be involved in our Glen Allan School Council.
We would like to welcome and encourage you to join us for our November Glen Allan School Council (GASC) meeting on Thursday, November 21 at 6:30 p.m. The meetings are in-person, in our school library. If you are unable to join us in-person, you can also join us through a Microsoft Teams Meet. The link to the meeting along with the meeting agenda can be found here.
For more information about the Glen Allan School Council, check out the GASC pages on our website for an overview, executive members, meeting dates, agendas and past minutes.
BEE Kind at Glen Allan - Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week
As mentioned in the blog post introduction, this week is Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. At Glen Allan we will be focussing on being kind. This is one of our four BE Paws. The theme for the week builds off the Glen Allan Staff Halloween costumes - BEE Kind.
Here are some of the highlights planned for this week:
Morning Announcements
Each day will begin with an inspiring kindness quote to remind us of the power of our words and actions. From Maya Angelou to Dr. Seuss, these messages will encourage us to make kindness a habit.
BEE Kind Bulletin Board
If you're in the school be sure to check out the beautiful bulletin board by the gym featuring kindness activities and our Hive of Compliments. Students will write encouraging messages on hexagons that will come together to create vibrant hives of positivity.
Various Classroom Activities
Students will be provided with opportunities to explore how they can show kindness to themselves, others, and the environment.
OPPORTUNITY
Regulation Strategies
At Glen Allan we are taking intentional steps to enhance understanding and awareness of regulation and how our brains work with both students and staff. Our goal is to nurture emotional resilience and well-being among our students and school community.
Each week on Wellness Wednesdays we will share a regulatory strategy that we're practicing at the school to keep our amygdalas calm.
Numeracy at Home
There are many reasons to play math games at home. A few reasons why are:
- Provide purposeful practice of number facts
- Meaningful opportunities to think strategically
- Develop critical thinking skills
- Taking turns
- Working with others
- Communicating clearly
- Follow expectations/rules
Games such as Yahtzee, Pig, and Crib are highly engaging and easy to play! Need a new game? Try Trash! Trash is an exciting card game that is a fun way to recognize and practice numbers in a ten-frame. See who can organize their Trash the fastest!
Literacy at Home
Helping your child as they learn to write can feel complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Encourage your child to try out real- life writing tasks to help develop their skills. Here are some practical ways to get your child writing:
- Write a grocery list
- Create a to-do list for weekend activities and chores
- Write an email to a teacher to ask a question about an assignment
- Write a Get Well card or a Thank You card
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Write a review for your favourite restaurant
Making writing authentic to what happens in daily life can help your child grow in
expressing themselves or organizing their thoughts. For more writing practice ideas, check out this article.
INFORMATION
Did you know? - Collaborative Planning Time & Collective Efficacy
Research shows sustained, collaborative and job-embedded professional learning significantly enhances teacher efficacy and student achievement. Simply put, the more times teachers get to learn from one another during the year, the better it is for student success. Professional learning doesn’t mean a day off for staff—they improve upon their knowledge using time dedicated for collaboration, growth and relationship-building. This ensures students continue to receive high-quality education throughout the school year.
At Glen Allan, grade group teachers have collaborative planning time on Kindergarten A Fridays while students participate in FitKids. Teachers have identified an area they want to focus their time on based on our School Education Plan goals and the needs of their students. This year grade groups have chosen to focus on either our litereacy goal, specifically on the writing pilot, or numeracy goal, specifically numeracy warm-ups and new curriculum resources.
Inclement Weather
With the winter season almost here, we have a few reminders for families:
- Ensure students have clothing appropriate for expected weather conditions.
- If weather conditions are bad enough to impact student transportation, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) advises families directly, as well as posting on social media and eips.ca as early as possible.
- Decisions regarding bus cancellations are guided by an EIPS administrative procedure that states, “school bus service may be suspended…when there is a forecast or current temperature of -40 C, including wind chill factor, in one or more regions.”
- Other reasons for suspending or delaying school bus services include adverse weather and poor road conditions.
- When school bus services are suspended, schools remain open to students.
For more information, contact EIPS Student Transportation at 780-417-8151.
FIRST NATIONS, MÉTIS, AND INUIT INFORMATION
Metis Week
Prior to November Break, Glen Allan staff and students honored Métis Week. We started with an assembly where we learned the Métis National Anthem, explored the significance of the Métis sash, and even had a chance to learn a traditional broom dance. We also joined in celebrating Rock Your Mocs, a day that highlights Indigenous identity and pride through the wearing of moccasins. We enjoyed seeing the unique slippers and moccasins—each pair telling its own story and reflecting personal and cultural history.
Self-identified Students
One of our EIPS First Nations, Metis and Inuit Consultants will be at Glen Allan on Monday, November 18 to meet with our self-identified students from 11:00 – 12:00. Each student will have the opportunity to create pouches to hold items when we go for a medicine/forest walk in the spring.
PHOTO GALLERIES
Remembrance Day Ceremony
Glen Allan Highlights
