Bienvenue & Welcome back Lynx families,
I am happy to welcome you all back to the school for the 2023-24 school year. Both Mme Laurelle and I have had an opportunity to meet all the new students, either in assembly or when visiting classrooms and we are both overjoyed to have the students back in the building. It was great seeing students connect and begin building relationships amongst themselves and their teachers. Building relationships and a positive school culture are cornerstones in creating a safe, welcoming school environment and it will be one of our foci this year.
You, as parents/guardians of the students, are crucial to their success and the strength of the school and we welcome your involvement. There are many ways to be involved with G.P. Vanier: from staying connected to your child’s learning by monitoring PowerSchool and Google Classroom; having nightly conversations about what they learned in school today; volunteering on school field trips or class events; or joining parent council are just a few. Teachers will also be sending out monthly updates via email to parents that I encourage you to read.
Mme. Laurelle and I have an open-door policy, so please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or we can be of assistance. That being stated, your first connection is your child’s teachers. We have an extraordinarily strong teaching staff here and I encourage you to reach out and introduce yourself to your child’s teaching team to begin building that relationship.
To facilitate the connection, we are inviting all parents to a “Meet the Teacher” evening from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm next Thursday, September 7th and it will be in person. I will be welcoming parents with an introduction presentation before students lead their parents/guardians around the school. We are also currently updating our school website, which is where you will find contact details for all our teachers.
This year, we currently have been fluctuating with around 550 students enrolled in our numerous programs. This has led to an increase in staff which, on top of being a good thing, means that our parking lot is a full place and some of our staff are now forced to park in the visitor car parks or on the street. Parents, we are asking that if you need to drop off your child during peak times you avoid using the parking lot. The quietest place to drop off your child is along 32nd Ave below the school parking lot. They could then just walk back up the hill towards the school.
Finally, I apologize for the bombardment of paperwork and information you will be receiving over the next few weeks. We will do our best to stagger this information to avoid overwhelming our community, however, if you want to reach out with any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, either via email, phone or in person.
I hope you all enjoy the long weekend, and we look forward to seeing students back on Tuesday, September 5th.
Bonne fin de semaine,
Chad Edmonds
Principal Georges P. Vanier
