Principal Message September 18th
Dear Coventry Families,
This school year has started with a calm and ease as our students have transitioned into their new classrooms. We look forward to the wonderful learning we will accomplish throughout the year. The past two weeks have allowed for students and teachers to settle into their new routines and classrooms. We have had an increase in enrollment of approximately 40 students which allowed us to hire two new full-time teachers who are teaching Grade 1 and Grade 4 to lower some of our class sizes. We know that the teacher makes a significant impact on student learning and that lowering class sizes are a priority within our parent community. In addition, Mrs. Bessemer our music teacher is also teaching half time in grade 5. While we know that changes occurring after the start of September classes can be difficult, we are making these decisions in the best interest of student learning and reflects the CBE value of “Students Come First.”
Coventry Hills Parent Viewpoint
We are sending home a short parent viewpoint for families to fill out and return to school. This information is informative to teachers and helps them to understand their students more from a holistic perspective. In addition, information shared on this form may be used as conversation starters between parents and teachers. Thank you in advance for taking the time to fill out the information and returning the form to your child’s teacher by Wednesday, September 25th.
Coventry Hills School Meet the Teacher Open House – Thursday, September 26th.
Teachers are looking forward to connecting and sharing information about your child’s grade during our Meet the Teacher Open House. We will be running concurrently 45-minute sessions starting at 4:15, 5:00 and lastly 5:45. This is a chance to learn about the expectations and learning experiences your child will be experiencing during the school year. This is a chance to meet the teachers and learn about how teachers at Coventry Hills School work together to ensure successful learning experiences for each child. This presentation will be approximately 45 minutes long. Please sign up using the following link Meet the Teacher Open House Session Sign Up. In this session, teachers will review the Google Classroom and share important information regarding what your child’s day at school looks like.
Volunteers are an important aspect of school life. During our Open House Mrs. Baker and Ms. Dalton will also be running information sessions for parents interested in volunteering. Just a reminder that when filling out your child’s documents on SchoolEngage, there is a section regarding volunteering in schools. This session will provide information on what to do to get started, what types of volunteer opportunities there are in the school and protocols for school volunteers. Every year, we need volunteers to help out in our classrooms, field trips, school special events and so much more. We are looking to expand the number of volunteers in our school so if you are interested in and intend on volunteering, we encourage you to stop in our grand hall to join us for one of the sessions before or after you attend your child’s teacher session. Please sign up for the session using this link: Volunteer Information Session so that we can estimate how many chairs to set up.
Terry Fox Run –Friday, September 20th
On Friday morning at 11:00 we will start off with a quick assembly before heading out to run in our designated field area. Thank you to those parents who have already signed up to support the Terry Fox Run. We will be running in all weather so please plan on sending additional clothing if it is cold and wet. One of Terry Fox’s traits was he ability to persevere even when things are challenging. We aspire to be like Terry Fox and by us running and challenging ourselves, we fulfill Terry Fox’s legacy of being able to overcome obstacles no matter how big or small. We are still looking for more volunteers to help us on the day to support students in following the designated route and cheering them on. Please register on the following link Terry Fox Run Volunteers.
Picture Day – Monday, September 23
Monday is our school picture day. Individual student pictures will be taken throughout the day. In October, we will have our retake day and our class photos. We are looking for 4 volunteers who can help us out with supporting the photographers and running to get the classes ready for pictures. Please click the link Picture Day Volunteers.
Orange Shirt Day School Celebration – Thursday, September 26th
Monday, September 30th is National Truth and Reconciliation Day and there is no school on this day. In preparation for our students to acknowledge this day, our Grade 3 students will be hosting and leading a whole school assembly on Thursday, September 26th at 2:30 pm. We invite our students to wear Orange in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation through Education as a part of our TRC commitment and ReconciliACTION in learning about the history between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through age-appropriate learning tasks and conversations. We would like to extend an invitation to our parent community to join us on this day and a link will be sent out early next week for parents to sign up, so we know how many chairs to set up for parents who plan on joining us.