Posted: October 27, 2024

Information

 Happy Diwali

This week isn’t just Halloween! Diwali also falls this week, though I’m having continued challenges finding definitively if it is on October 31 or November 1. Diwali is a religious and cultural celebration that originated on the Indian subcontinent.

From the Wikipedia entry:

“During the festival, the celebrants illuminate their homes, temples and workspaces with diyas (oil lamps), candles and lanterns.^[8] Hindus, in particular, have a ritual oil bath at dawn on each day of the festival.^[23] Diwali is also marked with fireworks as well as the decoration of floors with rangoli designs and other parts of the house with jhalars. Food is a major focus with families partaking in feasts and sharing mithai.^[24] The festival is an annual homecoming and bonding period not only for families,^[16][17] but also for communities and associations, particularly those in urban areas, which will organise activities, events, and gatherings.^[25][26] Many towns organise community parades and fairs with parades or music and dance performances in parks.^[27] Some Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs will send Diwali greeting cards to family near and far during the festive season, occasionally with boxes of Indian confectionery.^[27] Another aspect of the festival is remembering the ancestors.^[28]“

Trick or Treat!

Halloween is this week, though the spectacular displays in our community have been up and scaring us for a couple of weeks now. According to the wikipedia entry, though, one historical practice was that the people going door-to-door were the ones who put on a small performance to ‘earn’ their treat. This was called ‘guising’, and the first recorded North American instance of it was in Ontario, in 1911.  There is lots of interesting history you can read about, if you want.

When you go out this Thursday, please, please stay safe. And don’t eat so much you get a tummy ache! 

Student Inclusive Conferences are coming

If you were with us last spring, you will recall the Student Inclusive Conferences that took place in the spring. This year, we will have those conferences twice: once in late November, and again in the spring. While our appointment system is not quite ready for release, this information document about the conferences as a whole is.

Halloween Costumes & Replica Weapons (repeat)

The District is sharing a reminder that no one can have “any weapon for any purpose” on school property. This means that weapons are not allowed to be used as part of an educational project, drama production, or themed costume. Examples of weapons include but are not limited to knives, bb guns, and toy guns. At Halloween, we will specify further to add swords, axes, lightsabers, Ninja stars, Wolverine claws, and chainsaws. This may seem like overdoing things a bit, but Mr. Oliver has dealt with all of these in his 20 years in school administration. These expectations hold during the school day on Halloween. Please leave those props at home and save them for Halloween night.

We’d also ask that, when students wear costumes to the school on Halloween, that particularly precious or fragile components not be risked by bringing them in. We do still play outside, and costumes are often not built for durability. In fact, the wisest approach might be to be dressed so that you can wear your costume for the parade, but your regular clothes for playtime.

Also, when choosing masks, please remember that many of our students could be scared by a really, really scary mask, and we don’t really want to ruin their day. We also like to know who’s who during the day, so we’ll ask kids not to wear masks all day anyhow.

Poppies for Remembrance Day

It is a long-standing tradition for schools to support our veterans and the efforts of the Royal Canadian Legion. Once again this year, our school will be receiving a poppy for every student and distributing them to classes. We will continue to collect funds this year in support of the Legion’s Poppy Campaign but kindly ask students and their families to donate online via School Cash Online: https://sd35.schoolcashonline.com/. Please do not send cash or cheques with your child to school. If you need assistance accessing School Cash Online, please contact the school office.

We appreciate your generosity. As always, our school is committed to educating our community about the meaning of the poppy and Remembrance Day.

Quote(s) of the week

From the PAC

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Want to learn more? Check out this 2 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vTO_Qg4n80

Email bulpittpac@outlook.com with any questions.

Stay in the Know

Follow the Richard Bulpitt PAC Facebook page, our Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/rbepac/) and now visit our website to stay up-to-date with all the details!

Something to read

Things to Remember from the Calendar

Monday, October 28

• Kung Jaadee presentation (gardes 2-5)

Thursday, October 31

• Halloween Costume Parade (first thing)
• PAC Fun Lunch (Subway)

Friday, November 1

• Diwali

Thursday, November 7

• Remembrance Day Assemblies

Friday, November 8

• Design & Assessment Day – Students do not attend

Monday, November 11

• Remembrance Day – School closed