Hello Belfast Families,
We have had an incredible start to our 2023-2024 school year: our returning students were so happy to be back, our new students were warmly welcomed, and many of our families attended School Council's coffee and chat on the first day.
As a staff, we came together during the first few days of school to revisit what makes Belfast so special. Only one third of our students live in the area, so we are a school of choice for many. Why do people choose us? What makes us so unique? Why do our families bring their children here when there are so many other options closer to home? When our staff reflected on these questions, we kept coming back to one concept: community. When you walk into Belfast, there is a sense of warmth, belonging, and happiness. Our students, staff, and families have strong relationships with one another, and we all work together to put students first.
At Belfast, we love sharing our strong sense of community with our newest families. Ms. Hutchison's LEAD class is growing, and we will soon be adding a second LEAD class. Not only are many of our Belfast families new to our school, they are new to Canada! We are excited about the reciprocal teaching and learning that will continue to take place this year: we will learn about our newest families and their language, culture, and experiences, and we will share the stories of our land, language, and ways of life. We are so thankful for our growing school community and appreciate the warm welcome our newest students and families have been given.
Community is the heart of Belfast School; as such, our staff is committed to ensuring we continue to plan with this in mind: from our first annual Welcome Back BBQ, to our increase in volunteer opportunities; from our new Open House night, to our multifaith celebrations, we want our students and their families to feel seen, appreciated, and valued at our school.
If you have a suggestion for other ways Belfast School can continue to foster a strong sense of community, we would love to hear from you! You can email me at mllundgren@cbe.ab.ca.
For those of you returning, welcome back to Belfast! For those new to us, we are so excited to have you join our Belfast family.
I wish you all a wonderful 2023-2024 school year!
Meagan Lundgren, Principal
