| It is hard to believe that the school year is coming to a close. My first year at Douglasdale has brought me incredible joy as I got to know all of your amazing children and meet all of you families. It is a dynamic school community and I am proud to say that I work with an exceptional staff who are highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals. I thank them for their dedication and work with students this year. We have truly joined together as educators and parents to support student success in a way that is unprecedented. With classes being cancelled in March you became the stewards of your children’s learning at home. Together we have navigated through challenging times and collaborated to support each other. Continue to ask questions of all of us as we build shared understanding about our vision for teaching and learning and for student success and achievement.
The month of June is significant in terms of celebrating our students. For our grade 4 students it will be the time to say farewell to the school they know and love as they move on to new schools and adventures in learning. The grade four team has special events planned as they meet virtually this month. For the rest of our students, we are celebrating their learning and sending them off to enjoy their summer before we gather in the fall. Teachers have year-end activities planned as well as the year draws to a close. Although there is still uncertainty on what the start-up will look like at Douglasdale in the fall, we are certain that we will all be here to welcome you into our learning community with passion, commitment and care.
School Council has made a huge difference in the learning opportunities that have been offered to our students throughout this school year. In addition to the events that were planned and hosted by School Council such as the family picnic and the many fundraisers, the funds provided by council have undoubtedly enriched the learning for all of the students in our school. We thank you for your support of the fundraising initiatives which have enabled us to provide enhanced learning experiences for our students this year including bussing for fieldtrips, student activities, purchasing art supplies, repairing our drums for the music program, and build our technology to support student learning.
As the month of June comes to a close we are sadly saying goodbye to two of our outstanding staff members. We would like to say farewell to Rachel Oke, our grade 4 teacher and Lorna Dodd, our school assistant. Rachel has been surplussed from our school (based on HR guidelines) due to a decrease in our school budget. She will be placed in another school. We and wish her all the best in her new position and will share her new placement once it is confirmed. Lorna is off to retirement and we are grateful for her time here with us at Douglasdale. We will miss her positive attitude, friendly smile and willingness to always go the extra mile.
Warm regards,
Edie Reichardt and Shawna Weir
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