Welcome Back Message From Mr. Borkowski
Welcome back to the start of another school year!
School Year Theme
This year’s school theme is “Seeking Truth, Healing and Reconciliation.” The inspiration of this theme is the goal of the Church to continue to learn and grow in its relationship with First Nations people. The theme also lends itself to a wider discussion of truth, healing, and reconciliation generally. These terms, each one loaded with importance and meaning, are strikingly pertinent given all the things that have gone on over the past two years. We are all due for some healing and this year we will continue to take a trauma-informed approach to helping our children have a happy, safe, and peaceful school year.
Communicable Disease Prevention
This is my third year here as Principal at Star of the Sea School but, God willing, will be the first year that won’t be primarily focussed on Covid protocols. I am so happy to have a “normal” year. Our Communicable Disease Prevention Plan is in place, but the guidelines are now much more in line pre-covid best practices. Masks are not required, but individuals are welcome to make their own choice regarding their use. Visitors and volunteers are most welcome back into the school. I look forward to seeing parents at our Masses, assemblies, and other events.
School Improvements
There were a lot of changes at our school over the summer to improve the look, feel, comfort, and functionality of our school. The primary classrooms have new and improved HVAC systems that include full air conditioning. Regardless of the weather outside, our classrooms will be comfortable and cool. Don’t worry intermediate students, your rooms are on track for next summer and will be a major focus of this year’s fundraising efforts.
An improvement the intermediate classes will enjoy this year is a fully renovated hallway. The wallpaper finish that was showing signs of age and wear has been replaced by the same high-end finishing that was done in the primary hallway last year.
Our gym floor has been refinished! As I write this the lines are being painted and I am very hopeful we can use the gym for our assembly on the first day of school.
We have new Chromebooks in most of the intermediate classes for our students to enjoy. Our old Chromebooks, which are still quite useable in an individual home situation, will be made available for sale soon. Stay tuned for updates.
New Staff and Staff
We have several new staff to welcome this year. Filling in for Ms. Sara Wynne in Grade 5 until Christmas is first-year teacher Mr. John Luyten. Another first year teacher, Mrs. Lorraine Rivera, is our new Kindergarten teacher. We have three new educational assistants Mrs. Goldberg, Mrs. Hall, and Miss Nootebos. We are so happy to welcome these new educators to our school community.
We are also very happy to welcome two new priests to our parish. Fr. Augustine and Fr. Mark started here in July. We are pleased to welcome them and have them lead us in our spiritual journey this year.
Drop Off and Pick Up
Before I leave you and get ready to enjoy my long weekend, I have just a few short reminders.
On the first day of school we will begin at our usual time of 8:55am. It’s a good idea to be here by 8:50am just to make sure you are on time. Dismissal on the first day of school is at 10:30am. You are welcome to bring your children to the playground after school, but please be on time for pick up. On usual days of school, students should arrive at 8:50am for our 8:55am start time, and be picked up at 3pm. Wednesday, of course is our early dismissal day with a 2:30pm dismissal time. Despite this being the case for many years, it is always amusing to see which long-time families forget to pick their children up on the first Wednesday of the school year. Try your best to remember!
We will continue our emphasis on responsibility and punctuality this year. Students who arrive after their class has been brought in in the morning will have to wait outside the office to be brought in all together, usually around 9:10am. These poor, late students also must endure my corny jokes and puns about being late, which is punishment in an of itself. Don’t be late!
There will be more announcements to come in our first email newsletter on Thursday, September 8th. For now I hope that you enjoy a safe and relaxing long weekend with your families. And kids remember, God made you special and he loves you very much.