Posted: September 10, 2023
Information
Class Placements
On Monday, we will be moving into our permanent classes for the year. We thank you for your patience as we work to navigate over 60 new grade 1-5 students coming into the school, along with numerous requests for pairings of friends, or matching teaching and learning styles. As you can imagine, this is neither a simple nor an easy task, and it is one we spend considerable time on. Teachers and support staff spend hours creating classes that are balanced with respect to gender, friendships, learning needs and personalities, all while staying within the boundaries set by the School Act and the Teachers’ Contract. I am proud of the work our staff have done to create these classes, and I hope you join me in thanking them for this difficult, and often emotional, work.
On Monday morning, please bring your kids to the same place they have been meeting for the last four days. We will do the redistribution to permanent classes sometime before recess. While the students will spend the majority of their day with their new teachers, we will bring them back to the old spot for just one more dismissal, so you can meet them there at 2:33. At that time, your children will be able to tell you their new drop-off and pick-up place for Tuesday. We will have extra staff outside to help navigate that process if you need assistance on Tuesday morning.
Combined Classes
We will have some combined-grade classes again this year. Parents can sometimes worry about their kids in those classes, but it’s really going to be OK. Langley principal, Mr. Wejr, wrote this excellent article on the topic a number of years ago, and I thought it worth sharing. Will My Childe Be OK In a Split Class.
Cops for Cancer
We are excited to be a stop on the Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast (including one of our own fantastic RBE parents) this Friday at midday. Law enforcement personnel from all over the lower mainland are working to raise funds for childhood cancer patients and research. Come by and watch (expected arrival is 11:47), make a donation, and join us.
As part of the fundraising, Cops for Cancer have a raffle with some pretty amazing prizes. Click the image below to go to the ticket sales page and have your purchase our school’s fundraising efforts.
Terry Fox Run
Our Terry Fox Run will be on Friday, September 22. Watch this space next week for info on our Toonies for Terry fundraiser for the Terry Fox Foundation.
Sick is sick
We hope you all stayed healthy during the summer, and that you stay healthy all year. While there are not any specific COVID-19 (how is that almost 4 years ago, now?) procedures this year, we would remind you to please keep your kids home if they are sick. New variants of COVID, and all the other less-prominent but just as unpleasant viruses, are still out there, and we want to keep our community as safe as we can.
Stomach ailments, in particular, go through a class (or a whole school) like wildfire, so if a child has been throwing up, they should be staying home for a day afterwards to make sure the virus has cleared their system. Otherwise, we risk all just passing the same germs around all school year long. If we work together, we can keep everyone as healthy as possible.
We are growing…
We don’t think we could possibly fit many more students in here, but we have! As of this writing, we have 635 students registered. That’s 10 more than last week, even! As the kindergarten students finish with their gradual entry, expect the driveways to become even more congested. Please do your utmost to park the car and walk a block, if you must bring the car at all. You’ll find yourself back on the road more quickly. Really.
A message from Ms. Smith in the library
Welcome Back Richard Bulpitt Families!
My name is Mrs. Shannon Smith and I am the Library Learning Commons teacher here at RBE. We are kickstarting the year off with a special author and illustrator visit to our school next Friday, September 15th. Here is a bit of information about who we have visiting:
Author/Illustrator duo, Deanna Kent and Neil Hooson (the aunt and uncle of 2 of our students!) are visiting Richard Bulpitt on Friday, September 15. They’ll be doing a reading/drawing/how-to-make comics presentation. Before they created books, Deanna and Neil were with the Walt Disney Company for almost 10 years working with teams like Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. Neil has also worked in animation on shows like Pete the Cat for Amazon. You may have seen some of Deanna and Neil’s creative work in the MRI rooms at Vancouver Children’s Hospital. These days, along with creating fun things for kids, they work with a North American team making mobile games. They love forests and exploring.
*You can purchase any of Deanna and Neil’s books on their website and they will sign it (with your child’s name!) and bring it to the school library on the day of the presentation. Buy their books here: https://deannaandneil.com/snazzy-store
*IMPORTANT- PLEASE READ*- While we would love to have all classes attend the presentation, we only have space for 4 classes to attend this time around. We will be selecting only 4 classes from the grade 3 and 4 group for this presentation. You can, however, still purchase books from Deanna and Neil and they will sign your copy and bring it to the school and Mrs. Smith will deliver to students. If your child’s class will be attending the presentation, you will be notified. Thank you for your understanding and support. We hope to have Deanna and Neil back in the very near future for more presentations!
Thank you
Don’t forget…
You’ve probably noticed, but just in case you have not, the 30 km/h school zone around our school is now in effect 24 hours a day on school days. Don’t forget and end up with a ticket!
Photo credit: Katie Mercer via Burnaby Now
Welcome, new staff!
We are excited to welcome (or welcome back) a number of new staff to the school for this year and beyond. Please join us in welcoming (in no particular order) the following new members of the team:
- Mr. Navarro – Special Education Assistant
Accidents Happen
In the event you require accident or critical illness insurance, this plan, or something similar has been offered to families for as long as I have been an educator or student (that’s pretty long). Click here for details.
PAC News
Welcome back!
Hello RBE families,
We hope this first week back went well!
Thank you to everyone who stopped by Kona Ice after school! That line was long!!
Kona Ice will donate up to 25% of sales (after 4 visits) back to us to support our school and students! This was visit #3, and they’ll be back for Meet The Teacher night!
Thanks for the support!
Upcoming Fundraisers
Watch for updates on Hot Lunch and Spirit Wear. Details are coming soon!
Winter Market
RBE’s Winter Market is coming up on Friday November 24th, from 5-8 PM. We are looking for vendors that sell handcrafted or artisanal items.
We are currently accepting vendor applications here: https://tinyurl.com/rbewintermarket
Cost for one table and two chairs:
RBE Students: Free
Middle & High school students: $20
Adults: $40
Additional tables are $20 each.
You can email rbepacwintermarket@gmail.com with any questions.
Stay in the Know
We now have a website where you can find information about the PAC, how to get involved, hot lunch, upcoming events and fundraisers and so much more!
Follow the Richard Bulpitt PAC Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/745815738765109), our Instagram (@rbepac) and now visit our website to stay up-to-date with all the details!
Quote(s) of the week
Things to Remember from the Calendar
Monday, September 11
- Move to permanent classes
Friday, September 15
- Cops for Cancer – Tour de Coast
Monday, September 18
- First full day of Kindergarten
Wednesday, September 20
- Meet the Teacher (grades 1-5) 5pm
Friday, September 22
- Terry Fox Run
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