Happy Friday Everyone!
December 5 is a special day at Bayside with three members of our staff celebrating birthdays today! Mrs. Walker organized a special soup and sandwich club and we enjoyed each other’s company in the staff room before heading into our afternoon meetings. It was an important reminder to take some time to care for ourselves at a busy and often stressful time of year. It truly takes a whole village to raise a child and it also takes a village to look after each other, making sure our adults can show up every day, ready to support our students and families!
UPDATES AND REMINDERS:
Staffing Update: Each year, Calgary Board of Education Schools have a Fall Budget/ Staffing adjustment as our student enrolment is confirmed on September 30. This adjustment usually takes place in October but this year it was completed in November due to the labour action.
We are pleased to welcome Ms. Alyssa Newitt to the Bayside Kindergarten team. Ms. Newitt will be teaching afternoon kindergarten to allow Mrs. Sanderson to take on some new responsibilities providing resource and intervention support for students in Kindergarten to grade 5. We look forward to sharing more information about her role in the new year.
We are also happy to share that we have also been able to add 15 hours of additional time to our Education Assistant team to support students with exceptional needs in our school. This brings our EA team up to five 25 hour EAs and two 30 hour EAs working with students in Kindergarten to grade 5. I feel very grateful to have such an amazing team at Bayside!
Illness and Absences: We have seen an increase in illness for both staff and students over the past week. If your child is ill, please keep them at home and notify the school of their absence. Alberta Health Services recommends students stay home for 48 hours following their last symptoms. Thank you for helping to keep our school healthy!
Upcoming Spirit Days: We have two upcoming spirit days in December. December 16 is “Festive and Fancy Day” and we encourage students to dress in something that makes them feel festive and fancy. Whether that is a Christmas sweater, a fancy dress, or a traditional outfit, remember to make sure your child is able to put on their outdoor clothing over top. December 19th will be Pajama Day so wear your coziest jammies.
Winter Wonderland Family Night: Join us for Bayside's Winter Wonderland Family night on Thursday December 11. This will be a fun evening of festive winter crafts, activities, and learning in classrooms and throughout the school! The evening will be “Open House” style to allow for families to drop in when you have availability. To help us manage the number of people, please plan to attend during the following times, according to first letter of your last name:
A-K 4:00-4:55 PM
L-Z 5:05-6:00 PM
Voices of Winter – a celebration of the winter season through stories, songs, and togetherness. At each assembly, we will be inviting different grade groups together. We will sing some songs, listen to a story, and then we will all sing Christmas songs together!
Tuesday, December 16
- 8:30 am: Grade 2 families are invited to join us! AM kindergarten, grade, 2, and grade 4 students will take part in this assembly.
- 1:45 pm: Grade 3 families are invited to join us! PM kindergarten, grade 1, grade 3, and grade 5 students will take part in this assembly.
Wednesday, December 17
- 8:30 am: Grade 5 Families invited to join us! AM kindergarten, grade, 2, and grade 5 students will take part in this assembly.
- 1:45 pm: PM kindergarten and grade 1 families are invited to join us! PM kindergarten, grade 1, grade 3, and grade 4 students will take part in this assembly.
Thursday, December 18
- 8:30 am: AM kindergarten families are invited to join us! AM kindergarten, grade, 1, grade 2, and grade 3 students will take part in this assembly.
- 1:45 pm: Grade 4 families are invited to join us! PM kindergarten, grade 4 and grade 5 students will take part in this assembly.
SCHOOL COUNCIL & BSFA NEWS:
Next Meeting: There will be no December meeting for Bayside School Council and BSFA. Our next meeting will be in the New Year on January 13, 2026 at 6:00PM.
Healthy Hunger: The next Healthy Hunger is A&W on December 11. Make sure to order your meal by Saturday December 6 so you don’t miss out! Healthyhunger.ca
COMING UP:
December 9: Techsperts after school
December 11: Healthy Hunger (A & W), Winter Wonderland Family Night 4-6 PM
December 12: Lakeshore Basketball team visiting Bayside Grade 5s
December 14: Hanukkah Begins
December 16-18: Songs and Stories (During the School Day)- See above for details
December 16: Festive and Fancy Day!
December 18: Healthy Hunger Snack, Kernels Popcorn
December 19: Last Day of Classes, 12:00 PM dismissal, Pajama Day!
December 20-January 4: Winter Break, No School
January 5: First Day of Classes
Have a beautiful weekend!
Darby