Signal Hill Circular - October 14th, 2022
October 14th, 2022
Today was our Fall Harvest Pit Cook and Celebration! And what a celebration it was! After harvesting vegetables from our garden in the last few weeks, students and staff prepared "the pit" and sticks for the salmon this week. Then, at 4:30am this morning, staff and volunteers got the fire going to warm the bricks in preparation for lowering the vegetables into the pit. The whole school and community members joined this morning to sing and drum and celebrate the lowering of the food. Then it was covered to cook for hours. Meanwhile, staff, volunteers, and students cooked bannock, and the T’aqsa7 (BBQ'd Salmon). Chef Stef and her crew from A Chef's Life also made additional BBQ Salmon for the whole school. Then, after all the hard work, it was time for a feast! What an amazing way to come together as a community and celebrate and learn. Kúkwstum̓ckacw to all our amazing volunteers, community elders, staff, students, and our super amazing PAC for making this all come together!
A Few Reminders for Parents and Students:
Parking is at a premium here at drop off and pick up times! Please do not park in the bus lanes, on the sides of the driveways or block other drivers. For safety reasons, do not park in the staff parking lot on the right when you drive onto the school property. Please do not do U turns in the parking lot! We ask that you pick up your child and leave immediately so others have a chance to park. For those who have primary students, you can park in the Tiyata Roundabout too! Thank you for your understanding. 😊
Dogs are permitted on school grounds only with a leash and under the control of their person. Please do not tie up dogs on the school grounds and keep them with you on leash at all times. Please clean up after your dog. 😊 If your dog is nervous around children or crowds we ask that you keep them at home. Thank you for your understanding!
News, Updates, and Reminders:
PICTURE ORDERS ARE DUE BY 9 AM FRIDAY OCTOBER 14TH
If you are sending in an order for pictures, they are due by 9:00 am on Friday, October 14th. If you are ordering online, you can order anytime. Retakes are Nov. 10th.
BUS ROUTE CANCELLATIONS NEXT WEEK
Due to a shortage of school bus drivers, we will be unable to run the following Pemberton area bus routes:
Wednesday, October 19, 2022:
· Bus Route #1 (AM & PM): D’Arcy and Birken
Thursday, October 20, 2022:
· Bus Route #2 (AM & PM): Pemberton Meadows
We understand that the bus cancellations due to the shortage of bus drivers continue to inconvenience the daily routines of our families, and we appreciate everyone's understanding while we navigate these challenging times. We are actively looking for innovative solutions to help resolve the issue at hand.
If you have concerns regarding the bus driver shortage, please go to the following link:
TruEarth Fundraiser for Breakfast and Lunch programs
Signal Hill is fundraising for our breakfast and lunch program for our students! Check out the TruEarth products – free shipping, all eco-friendly and all packaging is completely recyclable! TruEarth is a Canadian company and the school receives 20% of all sales. If you are interested, please check out our online campaign at:
IMPORTANT FORMS TO SIGN ONLINE
You will be receiving emails from our Cash Online Program today to sign forms online that are required by the school district. We apologize if you receive more than one email, you will only need to sign in once to complete all of the forms.
These forms include the Walking Field Trip form (Off-Site Activity Consent for Local Low-Risk Day Trip), Self-Identification of Indigenous Ancestry (First Nations, Metis or Inuit) form, Annual Student Personal Information, Technology and Media in School Consent form, Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation Consent form and the G-Suite Consent form.
Please go to https://sd48seatosky.schoolcashonline.com and sign the forms. If you have not yet set up an account, please open one. You can also take this opportunity to pay for your child’s school supplies if you have not yet.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while we set up our students and families for this school year!
Upcoming Important Dates:
Thursday, October 20th - Cross Country Meet at Nairn Falls, Pemberton
Friday, October 21st - No School – Professional Day for Teachers
Tuesday, October 25th - Grade 6 Immunizations – forms have gone home for parents
Thursday, October 27th - Cross Country Meet at Squamish Elementary School
Monday, October 31st - Halloween Dance for Intermediate (Gr 4-7) Students
Truth and Reconciliation
Downie Wenjack Fund, and the Wenjack Walk
Our school is learning about the story of Chanie Wenjack, born Jan. 19/54 in Northwestern Ontario. At 9 years old he was sent to Indian residential school with his sisters. When he was 12, Chanie and 9 other children ran away from the Indian residential school trying to make it back home, 600 km from the school. However the other children were caught and brought back to the school. A week after he escaped, Chanie died near the train tracks. He died of hunger and exposeure on Oct. 22/66. He was 60 km away from the residential school.
Gord Downie (The Tragically Hip) wrote ‘The secret path book and song, in hopes to create a path in making Canada a better country and towards reconciliation."
In 2017, Gord Downie died of cancer, but his story about Wenjack hopes to ignite a passion in each of us to “Do something." The Downie Wenjack Fund Legacy School program helps to bring awareness to schools with some history of Canada’s residential school system . They both joined the spirit world in October, which is the reason for the ‘Walk for Wenjack" in the month of October.
We are hoping to plan our own Wenjack Walk - more information to come.
The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Youtube channel:
Learning Connections
Students in Ms. McMurray's and Ms. McArthur's classes were among the first to try out the new basketball court with some net sports in Mr. Gray's gym class!
Some amazing Fall themed art gracing our Intermediate hallway:
What Parents and Students Need to Know
It can be hard for adults to know what to say or do to ease a child’s worries, especially during times of change and uncertainty. As the most important big people in their world, parents and caregivers can help children feel safer and soften the sharp edges of whatever is making their worries grow.
To help support learning across environments, EASE K–7 lessons have been adapted for use by parents and caregivers to help children manage worries and everyday anxiety at home.
Please have a look at this website and see some of the resources available: https://healthymindsbc.gov.bc.ca/ease-at-home/
POPARD Family School Liaison workshops (FREE) – designed for parents & families of students with ASD
· Oct 11 (330-430pm) & Oct 14 (12-1pm) Promoting Functional Skills in the Home Environment
· Oct 18 (330-430pm) & Oct 20 (12-1pm) Autism in the Teen Years
· Oct 25 (330-430pm) & Oct 27 (12-1pm) Supporting Autistic Girls
All POPARD training events (and registration links) are posted on our website at https://autismoutreach.ca/upcoming-training-dates/
FamilySmart Monthly Events: Every month, FamilySmart hosts online events for parents & caregivers who are parenting a child or youth with mental health and/or substance use challenge called “in the know.” We watch a video and share experiences and strategies that help in the hard moments and focus on strengthening our understanding and connection with our kids. For more information on this helpful resource, please click here.
Skícza7ul's Words of the Week
T’aqsa7 is BBQ’d salmon. It refers to the salmon that has or is being BBQ’d.
T’aqsa7 (Ucwalmícwts) - kloksha7 (phonetic)
(the “t’” has a click sound like the “cl” in clock)
(The 1st “a” is the same long sound as the “o” in fog)
The last “a7” sound is short like the “a” sound in cat”
(the “t’” has a click sound like the “cl” in clock)
(The 1st “a” is the same long sound as the “o” in fog)
The last “a7” sound is short like the “a” sound in cat”
French Words of the Week
harvest - récolter
Parent Advisory Committee
Health and Safety