Happy Friday Bayside Parents,

We had a wonderful evening at our Winter Wonderland Open House yesterday. Our teachers prepared fun and engaging activities throughout the school and it was great to be able to have visitors of all ages, from babies to grandparents, and everyone in between! A special thanks to our parent volunteers who set up the snack shack. Overall, it was a very special evening and such a fun way to have our community come together.

I would also like to thank the parents who treated our staff to an amazing cookie exchange this week! We are so appreciative of the care and recognition our parent community shows us and we are honoured to support our students and families. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Reminders/ Updates:

Caroling and Sing-along: We are happy to continue the community spirit and fun into the last week of school with caroling and performances next week. Parents are invited to join us for the day and time when your child’s grade will be featured. On their day, in addition to everyone singing holiday favourites together, each grade will perform a song or two. Come prepared to be entertained and to participate in the fun. Caroling will take place at 8:15-8:45 AM for AM Kindergarten-grade 2 and at 1:45-2:15 PM for PM Kindergarten and grades 3-5. You can find the schedule for when each grade is featured on our Winter Celebrations page.

Kindergarten Registration: Registering your child for school is an exciting milestone for many families! Starting Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, kindergarten registration will be open for the 2024-25 school year. For children to be eligible to register and attend kindergarten next school year, they must turn five years old on or before Dec. 31, 2024.

See the CBE message “Getting Ready for Kindergarten Registration”  and the “Kindergarten Registration Guide” for more information.

Bayside school offers a half day Kindergarten program Monday-Thursday (AM & PM) and alternating Fridays. During the registration process, families will have an opportunity to request AM or PM Kindergarten preference. We do our best to accommodate families’ preferences but in the event we are not able to do so, we will hold a draw to determine student enrolment in AM or PM Kindergarten. Families who wish to be considered in the draw will need to register on or before February 13. We will share more information about AM/ PM Kindergarten enrolment, and whether a draw will be necessary, in mid-February, when we have the necessary information.

Magic of Christmas: Thank you to the families who have already generously donated to the Magic of Christmas! If you have not already done so, please send in your Magic of Christmas donations by Tuesday December 19 for December 20 pick-up. More information can be found on our Winter Celebrations page.

Copper Wire Donations: The deadline is also approaching for copper wire donations! All donations must be brought to the school by December 20 for pick up on the morning of December 21. See our News story for more information.

Lakeshore Updates: Please see the notice posted to our Website on Thursday December 14 for information regarding changes to enrolment at Lakeshore school. (This notice contains the same information that was shared with Lakeshore families last week).

Coming Up/ Dates to Remember:

December 18-21                     Bayside Caroling and Sing-Along (times and dates for each grade have been added to "Dates to Remember" on our Website or you can visit our Winter Celebrations page).

December 20                          Fancy and Festive Day, Winter Solstice

December 21                          Healthy Hunger- Edo of Japan

December 22                            Last day of classes (12:00 dismissal)

January 8                                Classes resume

January 15                              Non-Instruction Day (No School for Students)

Have an amazing weekend!

Darby