Hello Bayside Families,

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year at Bayside School! We are so excited to begin another year together and we are looking forward to hearing about the summer adventures of our returning students and to learning about all of our new Bayside students!

Each week, on Friday, I will post a News Story here on our Website to highlight the learning in our school and to remind families of important events coming up so check the Website regularly for updates.

As you are aware, Calleigh Harder has accepted a new position as the Principal of Thorncliffe School. I am working with my Area Director and CBE Human Resources to find a new Assistant Principal for Bayside. During this process, and until we have someone in place, I am pleased to welcome Mike McMahon to Bayside School as acting Assistant Principal. He is excited to meet our Bayside community.

We have an amazing year planned with many exciting learning experiences ahead. We look forward to seeing our students on August 29. Please send an email to bayside@cbe.ab.ca if your plans have changed and you will be starting later than August 29 or have moved over the summer.

Back to School: Check out the “Back to School” Webpage on the Bayside Website for general information to help you get ready for the first day of school.

Homeroom Teachers and Class Assignments: Families can expect to get an email by the end of the day Tuesday August 27 from your child’s teacher, welcoming you to their class and sharing more specific information for the first day of school. If you do not receive an email by the morning of August 28, please email us at bayside@cbe.ab.ca to let us know so we can make sure you receive all of our communication.

School Fees, Communication, Lunchroom, Transportation:

Please Check / Create your MyCBE PowerSchool account. All parents must have a CBE PowerSchool account to access and pay fees, book school conferences, see report cards, etc. Please go to the MyCBE using the link below. This link is also available on the CBE website and our home page. When signing up for emails please note that we send weekly updates from classrooms and the school. If you are not registered for commercial email, you will not receive any information that involves financial transactions (fun lunch, fundraising, school events).

• https://sis.cbe.ab.ca/public/
• This is also where you will register for Lunchroom
• Fees will be posted by the beginning of October 2023
• Important Reminder for Mahogany Families: Please use the link https://sis.cbe.ab.ca/public/ to register for Transportation though MyCBE if you have not already done so. Bus registration is ongoing. CBE Transportation continues to accept registrations and students are added to the closest existing stop with available space. Please note: Processing times could be up to six weeks at the beginning of the school year due to volume. Families are responsible for transportation until their registration is confirmed.
• Visit CBE Transportation Webpage for more information.

All households located in Auburn Bay are within the designated walk zone, therefore, there is no bus service for Auburn Bay to Bayside School.

Bayside 2024-25 Calendar:

The 2024-25 Bayside Calendar is now available. It contains an overview of all the key dates for the upcoming school year. It also has our school bell times, lunch times and a breakdown of when alternating Friday Kindergarten groups will be attending school. Information on specific events such as Healthy Hunger, assemblies and field trips will be communicated to families as they are scheduled throughout the year.

Regular Office Hours (Beginning August 29)

7:30 AM-3:00 PM Monday -Thursday

7:30 AM-1:00 PM Friday

School Start & End Times

Grades 1-5

Monday-Thursday

8:00 AM-2:30 PM (Students are welcome to enter the building between 7:50-8:00 AM)

• Recess: Grade 1-5 classes will take a flexible break of 10 minutes
• Lunch: 
• • Grades 1 & 2 11:00 AM-11:40 AM
  •  Grades 3-5 11:50 AM-12:30 PM

Friday

8:00 AM-12:00 PM

·       Recess/ snack: A 10 min flexible recess/ snack break is at the teachers’ discretion

School Supplies: Basic school supplies for all Bayside students will be supplied (pencils, notebooks, scissors, glue, etc.). Student supplies are purchased by the school and provided as part of your school fees. All students will have access to shared supplies in each classroom which are grade appropriate. Classroom teachers may send home lists of optional additional items once school begins in September. Items you will need to send with your child:

·       A backpack large enough to hold a large library book

·       Indoor shoes (these will stay at school)

·       Before and After School Students will require an additional indoor pair

·       Water bottle

·       Lunch bag/snack bag

Please label everything you send to school - First and Last name are important so we can ensure clothing is returned to your child. We also ask that children leave toys, trading cards, and other similar items at home as they can be a distraction to learning.

Cell phones and digital devices should also be left at home. If a student brings a mobile device to school, the expectation is that it remain off and inside the student’s backpack during school hours. Click here to learn more about learning technologies and Digital Citizenship at Bayside School.

First Day Drop-off and Pick-up:

On the morning of August 29, staff will be outside to greet families and to help direct you and your child. If you are unable to find your child’s teacher, please ask a staff member wearing an orange vest and we will help you. Please plan to say goodbye to your child outside the school as parents will not be permitted to accompany children into the school.

With many new families joining us it will be important to keep the 'flow' moving smoothly in our drop-off area which is for drop-off and pick up only. If you plan to walk your child to one of the entrances, please park a short distance from the school and walk with them. There is parking available along the school side of Auburn Crest Way as well as on many of the nearby streets and cul-de-sacs.

Parking is not permitted in the bus zone on Auburn Springs Blvd, or in the Staff Parking Lot. Above all, please prioritize SAFETY over convenience and follow all traffic and pedestrian laws. Thank you all for your help keeping our transportation complexities in mind and helping to minimize traffic around our school and make things as safe as possible for our students. We appreciate you!

Kindergarten Staggered Entry:

On August 29th and 30th we will have a staggered entry for Kindergarten Students ONLY with half of the Kindergarten students attending each day as follows:

**Morning Kindergarten students will attend either

Thursday August 29  8:20 AM-10:00 AM

or

Friday August 30  8:20 AM-10:00 AM

**Afternoon Kindergarten students will attend either:

Thursday August 29  12:50-2:30 PM

or

Friday August 30  10:20 AM-12:00 PM

**An email will be sent on August 28 regarding staggered entry times to Kindergarten families. This will be a reminder for families who registered their children prior to the end of June and new information for families who have recently registered. If you have not received an email regarding your child’s staggered entry by 2 PM on August 28, please email us at bayside@cbe.ab.ca or give our office a call (403-817-3436) to let us know.

Staff:  As we head into the 2024-25 school year, we are excited to welcome back many of our Bayside Staff as well as extend a huge Welcome to some new staff. 

Kindergarten Teachers: Ms. Karla Sanderson, Ms. Meghan Veronese

Grade 1 Teachers: Ms. Christine Gannon, Ms. Sarah Dennis, Ms. Tami Mumford, Ms. Andrea Buist, and *Ms. Megan Barrow

*at this time, Ms. Barrow does not have an assigned class and will be providing additional support to our grade 1 team.

Grade 2 Teachers: Ms. Jody McNabb, Ms. Vicki Fernandez, Ms. Sheri van Runt, Ms. Louise Robinson, and Ms. Catharine MacKenzie

Grade 3 Teachers: Ms. Ioana Gartner, Ms. Lauren Ng, Mr. Cameron MacLellan, Ms. Emily Mask

Grade 4 Teachers: Mr. Jason Do, Ms. Amanda Iafolla, Ms. Melinda Pokolinski, Ms. Emily Curnew

Grade 5 Teachers: Mr. Jesse Corriveau, Ms. Paula Whitelaw, Ms. Jennifer Secord

Music: Ms. Sarah McCune

Phys Ed: Ms. Amy Cassan

Educational Assistants: Sara Biegun, Diana Gross, New (to be hired), Irene Yi (currently on leave) **

** We have not yet hired our full compliment of Educational Assistants. We have arranged for some wonderful people to fill in for the first couple of weeks as we finalize our staffing.

Lunchroom Supervisors: Shweta Singh (lunchroom lead), Sumaira Shaikh, Namita Bhatt, Angie Franceschi, and Anjali Parashar, Jenny Noel, Melissa MacDonald, Farrah Zaidi, Raquel Dias Olivetti Gomes

Principal: Darby McAsey

Assistant Principal: Mike McMahon (Acting)

Administrative Secretary: Carol Binder

Office Assistant/ Secretary: Melinda Shilton

Library Assistant: Kathy Fitzowich

Coming Up:

Thurs. Aug. 29                 First Day of Classes, Grades 1-5: Regular Day (8:00am-2:30pm), Kindergarten Staggered Entry

Friday Aug. 30                 Grades 1-5 Early dismissal (12:00 PM), Kindergarten Staggered Entry    

Monday Sept. 2               Labour Day Holiday, No School

Tuesday Sept. 3               Regular Day, All students K-5 Attend

Friday Sept. 6                  Early dismissal grades 1-5 (12:00PM), AM Kindergarten attends (8 AM-12 PM), No school for PM Kindergarten

Upcoming: Mark your Calendar

September 17 Bayside School Council and Fundraising Association AGM, 6:00 PM

September 26 & 27        Meet the Teacher conferences

September 27                  Non-Instructional Day (no school for students due to Meet the Teacher conferences)

September 30                  National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, no school

October 17                       Fall Photos

See you all soon!

Darby