| Good afternoon Buffalo Rubbing Stone families,
I hope our brighter, warmer mornings and sunnier days are indications of beautiful spring weather ahead. It seems many people had a restful spring break and are ready to make the last three months of the school year great! We always plan for linear growth in student learning yet we often see exponential growth at this time of year. All the hard work of the fall and winter comes to fruition in April, May, and June. This week, we are reminding our students of the COVID-19 protocols in place to keep themselves and each other safe. Please remind your children of the following AHS/CBE/BRS rules:
- Use the AHS COVID-19 Checklist every day before coming to school and access the CBE website for other COVID-19 information
- Enter and exit the school from your designated door only
- Main door – deJesus, Rojas, Derby, Dorsey, Hodgins
- East door (Portables) – Shaw, Doucette, Kollee, McEachern
- Compound door – Straiton, Gallant, Clark, Plimmer, Hill
- Playground door – McIsaac, Craig, Thomson, Gibson, Shepard, Montgomery
- Wash or sanitize your hands when entering or exiting the building or a room in the building
- Wear your mask properly at all times (other than during masks breaks)
- Avoid large groups and be physically distanced even when outside
- The playground is closed for the 15 minutes before and after school and is open to BRS students only during school hours.
These personal health measures, along with our school and classroom safety protocols, are important ways for us to mitigate risk. In the spring, we always begin planning for the fall. BRS is closed to only those families who live in our attendance area. If you have moved during the school year or you will be moving over the summer, we are pleased to support your transfer to your 2021-2022 designated school for September. Please contact the office so we can start the process. The more accurate our attendance numbers are, the better able we are to plan for next year. Similarly, your new school wants to be ready for your child's arrival. Transfers to CBe-learn must be submitted by Friday, April 23. CBE transfer forms need to be signed by the principal so it's important to contact me in advance of the deadline, if you are considering CBe-learn for your child(ren). BRS hub students will be automatically enrolled in BRS (or Captain Nichola Goddard for grade 6) for in-person learning in September, unless parents indicate otherwise.
Another element of planning is engaging parents in important conversations through online surveys and school council conversations. The Alberta Assurance Survey (formerly the Accountability Pillar Survey) was sent by Alberta Education to parents of our grade four students in late March. This survey elicits parent, student, and teacher perceptions of the education students receive at Buffalo Rubbing Stone School; it is specific to your experience with our school. Responses range from “very satisfied" to “very dissatisfied." One of the responses is “don't know." “Don't know" counts as a negative response. If you don't know but you don't want your response counted as negative, please use “not applicable" or leave the question blank. Next week, I will be sending a School Budget and Fees Survey, again specific to our school. We will discuss this survey at our BRS School Council meeting on Thursday, April 29. We deeply appreciate the time you take to complete these surveys. They provide an opportunity for you to share your thoughts and they inform our plans for next year. Finally, we encourage all Albertans to examine the Alberta Education Draft Curriculum and provide feedback to the government at https://www.alberta.ca/curriculum-have-your-say.aspx. Take good care,
Allison E.G. Bobenic
Principal
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