Dear Falkland Families;

I hope by now you have all had the opportunity to review your child's progress from the second report card (the first written report) made available to parents online through the MyEd Family Portal on Friday, February 25th. If you need help accessing this information or would prefer a paper copy, please contact Dani and she can either walk you through it or print a copy off for you. In reviewing the report, I hope that you have had the opportunity to find ways to further support your child's learning, in particular their goal area as identified at our student, parent, teacher conference in November AND celebrate their accomplishments.

Please CLICK HERE to check out the Falkland School contribution to the SD83 Art Fair display at Picadilly Mall in Salmon Arm. Soon it will be displayed at the Okanagan Regional Library in Falkland. What an amazing showcase of talent by our students.

As we move into Spring and the likelihood of wetter weather, please remember to send your children to school with the necessary outdoor gear to protect them from the wet. We go outside each recess and lunch (unless the temperature is colder than -13 or rain is too heavy) and often learn outside during the instructional time. Spare clothing is helpful for children who love to explore the wet, mucky puddles. This helps to keep outside time fun.

In addition, we would like to take this opportunity to remind our families that we no longer have water fountains. They have been replaced with water bottle filling stations. Please ensure your child has a water bottle for school each day.

If you are interested in helping volunteer at the school, a reminder that all volunteers MUST have a police information check completed and on file with the school district. This takes several weeks so we encourage you to contact Dani for the online link to get started on the process right away. There is a manual process that can be shared as well but this takes a little longer. This process needs to be renewed every three years.

Supervision starts in the mornings at 8:00 AM. Please do not send your children to school before 8:00 AM. Students are directed to go home immediately after school unless supervised by a parent. If your child's after school plan is different from the norm, please inform Dani at the office (250-379-2320). We are very busy at the end of the school day so please contact the office to advise of a change of plans as early as possible. Children are more than welcome to return to school to play after 2:30 PM but are the responsibility of their parent.

Please remember when your child is absent from school to contact Dani at the office by email (fal@sd83.bc.ca) or phone (250-379-2320). Include in your message the reason for their absence. Thank you very much.

Keeping parents informed is important to us at Falkland School. There are several ways we keep parents informed of the happenings at our school: e-newsletters, weekly emails, our website, and Facebook. Posts on our website automatically go on our Facebook page so please LIKE or FOLLOW US on Facebook. You can always call myself or Dani at the school; we are more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

Have a wonderful Spring Break. See you Monday, April 4th.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Cull
Mask Mandate Lifted when we return from Spring Break
CLICK HERE to access the most recent Provincial COVID-19 Communicable Disease Guidelines for K-12 School Setting from the Ministry of Education, starting after Spring Break. Some things will be the same and some things will be different.

Things that will be the same...
  • we will continue to provide opportunities for students to practice hand hygiene before entering the school and bus, before eating, and after using the toilet
  • we will continue to encourage students to respect the personal space of others
  • we will continue to require students, visitors, and staff to complete the daily health check before coming to school and to stay home when they have symptoms of illness.
  • we will continue to follow the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health
  • we will continue to practice our regular routines to maintain a safe, caring, and orderly school

Things that will be different...
  • we will be able to meet in person again and have whole school assemblies
  • the wearing of masks is no longer mandated. It will be a personal choice and that choice will be supported and respected.

If you would like a COVID-19 Antigen test, please contact the office as we have several available for our families. You can make arrangements for pick up by calling Dani at 250-379-2320. We are only able to send these home with parents.
Practical Approaches to Managing Anxiety in Children
CLICK HERE to access a post on our website containing a link and slide deck to the recording of the Practical Strategies for parents and educators to Managing Anxiety in Children Session with Dr. Sean Larsen from March 10th. It's approximately 2 hours long.
Sexual Health Presentations to Students in Grade 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
We are pleased to have Amy Witt, SD83 Sexual Health Support Teacher, return to Falkland School to teach students the sexual health content of the Physical Health Education Curriculum. A letter outlining presentations was emailed home to all parents of students in grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 on March 9th. CLICK HERE to access the letter which not only outlines the curriculum, but the dates and times the presentations will be occurring in classrooms.
Lost and Found

Our fabulous custodian, Bonnie Strotmann, has put all the lost and found items at our school on display for students yesterday and today. She will be moving this display to our fence for parents to view on Friday, March 18th, the last day of school before Spring Break. These items will be available outside for parents to view anytime after 1 PM until 4:00 PM, weather permitting.
Student Led Conferences - April 28th

SAVE THE DATE
To fulfill our reporting obligation with respect to Communicating Student Learning, the staff at Falkland School would like to invite parents into the school on Thursday, April 28th to participate in student led conferences, as the second informal report.
During student-led conferences, students will guide you through their learning using work samples and/or activities specifically selected as evidence of their growth. Each conference should last approximately 20 minutes. While opportunities for practice will be provided, the teacher will be present to support your child if needed and answer questions you may have about their work samples or process.

This is a sacred time between a student and their parents. In order to ensure this time is uninterrupted, we ask that parents find child care for siblings, or use the child minding that will be available outside. The school will ensure we have school support staff on sight to provide care for your children on the playground so you can attend your child's student led conference.

More information will be coming soon about how to sign up between 2:30 - 4:00 PM on Thursday, April 28th.
Be an Upstander
Bullying is unwanted, repeated, intentional behaviour to harm someone else, emotionally or physically. Typically there is an imbalance of power. While bullying is unkind, not all unkind behaviour is bullying.

Please CLICK HERE to access the ERASE website, dedicated to promoting safe and caring schools.

An UPSTANDER is someone who recognizes when something is wrong and acts to make it right. When we stand up for what is right, and do our best to help support and protect someone who is being hurt, we are being socially responsible.

CLICK HERE to watch a video about what it means to be an UPSTANDER in both bullying and unkind situations.

Follow up with all students involved in a conflict situation typically occurs so students learn their role in contributing positively to our school community. Students can make choices to be an UPSTANDER and more helpful in a bullying/unkind situation. Our expectation is that all students will do their part in doing what's right as an UPSTANDER. Keeping parents informed of their child's behaviour at school is important to me as Principal at Falkland School. Thank you for your continued support at home to encourage your child to do the right thing when they observe unkind behaviour. We all have a role to report unkind behaviour and bullying to ensure our working and learning environment is safe and caring for all.
When students see behaviour that is unkind, they can stop it by getting involved. As an UPSTANDER, they could try:

  • Saying something like, “leave him/her alone,” or “cut it out"
  • Modeling the use of kind words to others
  • Directing attention away from the unkind behaviour
  • Getting support from friends to stand up against the person acting unkind
  • Reporting the unkind behaviour to adults

Don’t be a BYSTANDER and encourage unkind or bullying behaviour by:

  • Sticking around while it is happening to observe - your presence adds to the problem
  • Laughing, cheering or recording it, even DARING others
  • Forwarding bullying or unkind photos or texts or spreading information about the incident
  • “Liking” mean comments or photos on social media
  • Joining in on the bullying or unkindness
Basketball - Grade 6, 7, 8
Our Falkland Wolves Basketball Team played their one and only game of the year at Len Wood Middle School. A special THANK YOU to parent helper Coach Jacqui Gingras, Coach Celesta and Coach/teacher Mr. Clarke for creating the many opportunities for these students to enhance their skills. We are all so proud of their effort and drive on the court. It was a close game winning only by 10 points 51 - 41.
Cross Country Running

Stay tuned for more information after Spring Break about our Falkland School Cross Country Running Team for students K-8. Thanks to our Head Coach Ryan Smithson for taking on our Falkland Wolves Cross Country Team. We would love some parent volunteers to assist with practices (likely 2-3 times a week from 11:30 - noon) and the various runs offered this school year. On practice days team members will eat their lunch from 12:15 - 12:30 as a group.

Here are two cross country runs we know of so far and these dates are only tentative at this time:

K-8 Salmon River Run @ Silver Creek School: Wednesday, May 11th
K-7 Cross Country Running @ Little Mountain Park in Salmon Arm: Tuesday, May 3rd
School Spirit Day - Green Day

Students and staff dressed up and/or accessorized with GREEN to show their school spirit today, March 17th.
Information from PAC
Thanks to the following parents for taking on executive positions with PAC:

President: Adina Strotmann
Vice President: Megan Jackson
Treasurer: position available
Secretary: Rebecca McDougall
Directors: Shelby Jacobi, Jodie Gillman, Jill Pruner, 1 more please
DPAC rep: Jill Pruner
Hot Lunch Coordinator: still needed
Greenhouse: Shelby Jacobi

The next PAC meeting is Wednesday, April 6th at 12:30 PM in person at the school. PAC is still looking to fill the following volunteer roles: Treasurer, HOT LUNCH coordinator, and 1 more director.

Please contact Adina Strotmann (250-463-5750) or Shelly Cull (250-833-2806 or 250-379-2320) to discuss ways you can get involved with PAC or the school and contribute to your child's school experience.

PAC's Shuswap COFFEE fundraiser will be delivered by Friday, March 18th.

Our PAC is providing a small Easter Egg hunt for students at Falkland School before the Easter long weekend on the afternoon of Thursday, April 14th.
PAC Meeting Dates:

Please record the following dates in your calendars:

Wednesday, April 6th
Wednesday, May 4th
Wednesday, June 1st

Tell your Friends and Family....
If you shop at Cobs Bread in Vernon and mention that you are supporting Falkland School, 5% of your purchase will be donated back to Falkland PAC.

FlipGive
Looking for an easy way to support the PAC? For everyday shopping online, download the FlipGive app and continue to shop at your usual favourite stores. Join our team now using our invite code KBQVBV in one of two ways:

  1. CLICK HERE to download the FlipGive app.
  2. CLICK HERE to Join online or to acquire more information.
For additional PAC related information please check out the following Facebook Pages:

CLICK HERE for information specific to parents - parents only page.

CLICK HERE for PAC's community page - anyone can join.
 
You can also check out our updates on our website www.fal.sd83.bc.ca. Past meeting minutes, agendas, principal reports, and treasurer reports can be found HERE or under the PARENT tab.
Thank you PAC for all you do in support of our students, staff, and school.
CLICK HERE to read more about our Soup Day on Monday, February 28th.

CLICK HERE to read more about the PAC's Purdy's Easter Fundraiser due Sunday, March 27th.

CLICK HERE to read about the arrival of our Grade 8 Hoodies.

CLICK HERE to read about the Pancake Breakfast on Friday, December 17th.
If you are interested in volunteering at the school, a reminder that all volunteers MUST have a police information check completed and on file with the school district. This takes several weeks so we encourage you to see Dani for the online link to get started on the process right away. There is a manual process that can be shared as well but takes a little longer. This process needs to be renewed every three years.
Annual Growing Smiles
Falkland School Fundraiser

Just in time for Mother's Day, CLICK HERE to learn more about our upcoming annual school fundraiser. We are raising money for our outdoor learning space. We thank for your continued support of our school. Orders are due April 13th and will be delivered to the school May 2nd.
Student Learning Survey - Grade 4 and 7 Students and their Parents

The Provincial Student Learning Survey is unique in its scope, size, and usefulness to schools. It gathers information from parents/guardians/caregivers, teachers, and students on topics related to school environment, safety, and achievement. The information is used for planning in individual schools and provides a district and provincial perspective.

Early in 2022 the Student Learning Survey will be administered to students in grades 4 and 7, their parents/guardians/caregivers, and all school staff when we return from Spring Break. We encourage parents/guardians/caregivers to participate in this survey, as the results are important in identifying and celebrating current strengths, as well as determining where the school needs to focus improvement. The surveys contain standard questions for the Province. The survey can be completed electronically and a link will be shared when we return from Spring Break.

The survey can be accessed through the link with or without an anonymous logon code by selecting the school district and school name where your child attends school. Provincial, District, and School Reports for previous years can be viewed at the same site under the Results section. The e-survey site will be open until April 29th.
Upcoming Events - check our website for upcoming events.
FALKLAND SCHOOL  | 5756 TUKTAKAMIN ROAD, FALKLAND BC

250 - 379 - 2320| fal.sd83.bc.ca | fal@sd83.bc.ca