April 02

Hello Brackendale families,

Welcome back to school! I hope everyone was able to spend some time with family, friends and loved ones over the break. It is always a bit of an adjustment returning to school after a long break, but most students seemed excited to return to school on Monday. We spent the week re-establishing our routines in our classrooms, hallways, and outside spaces. There were a lot of good-natured pranks on April Fool’s Day, and it added a smile to everyone’s faces. The week went quickly and we find ourselves with a four-day weekend coming up. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Tuesday.

There are two quick pieces of information I wanted to convey:

• Student Illnesses
• A number of students returned from break with illness. While we understand that the complexities of everyone’s lives make it hard to stay home with a sick child, it is very important that everyone respect and follow the guidelines of Vancouver Coastal Health regarding when to keep your child home from school.
• Things to consider if your child feels unwell:
• The wellbeing of your child. Without proper rest, a child may have a hard time fighting an illness or be at risk for other illnesses.
• The ability of your child to actively take part and learn at school.
• The school staff cannot care for a sick child and give them the support that they may need.
• The protection of other children.
• Please keep your child home if they:
• Have a fever.
• Are too sick to take part in all normal school activities.
• Have a suspected or known communicable disease (i.e. strep throat, chicken pox, measles).
• Is vomiting or has diarrhea. It is recommended that students be symptom free at least 24 hours before returning to school.
• Keep your child home until they are able to participate fully in normal school activities or as told by a health care provider.

• PAC Bingo Night
• The Brackendale PAC is hosting their annual Bingo Night next Friday, April 10. This family-friendly community event is a great way to reconnect with the school community.

• Student Led Conferences

Antony Blaikie – Principal

Brackendale Elementary School

Sea to Sky School District, SD48

I am honoured to be living, working, and learning on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sḵwxwú7mesh Nation.