Welcome Back – Message from the Principal
Tuesday, August 30th, 2021
Dear Falkland School Families;
I wish to take this opportunity to welcome you back to school and to the 2021-2022 school year. This summer contained so much uncertainty with the ongoing threat of nearby wildfires. My thoughts have been with you all and I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are safe and sound. The constant state of being on guard and on high alert for another potential evacuation order is unsettling to say the least. Rest assured that our school will have a plan in place for your children if our community receives an evacuation order while school is in session. I will communicate this plan to parents once it is complete. In the meantime, please contact the office ASAP if you have a change of address, phone, or emergency contact as this will be an important part of the plan (250-379-2320). I am hopeful that conditions continue to improve as the weather cools and precipitation increases with fall approaching. I hope that will help affected staff and families find some calm and much needed recuperation. As always, if your family needs support during this time, please contact me as there may be ways the school can help.
I have been busy reviewing information on the Back to School Plan for BC Schools. District and school staffs are working on finalizing what those plans will look like specifically in our SD83 buildings. In short you can expect no cohorts, no 2 metre physical distancing requirement (emphasis will be on respecting personal space, preventing crowding, and using the space available for indoor activities) and mandatory masks for all school staff, visitors and students grades 4 and up while inside. Masks for students in grades K-3 are strongly encouraged but remains a personal and family/caregiver choice. Please CLICK HERE to access information that I posted on our website on August 24th. Stay tuned for more specifics regarding our school site in the days to come. Our school based Occupational Health & Safety Team will be meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) to finalize our site-based plans.
Our first day of school for students in grades 1-8 will be on Tuesday, September 7th with dismissal at 11:16 AM, 3 hours early. Busses will make their usual stops, just 3 hours early. The first day of school for our new kindergarten students will be on Wednesday, September 8th. CLICK HERE to access our Kindergarten Gradual Entry Schedule. CLICK HERE to access the 2021-2022 School Calendar with Bell Schedule. This document contains all the PRO D days, holidays, reporting dates, etc. Start time for students is at 8:12 AM (students in Division 1 start at 8:07 AM). End time starting Wednesday, September 8th is 2:16 PM (students in Division 1 end at 2:22 PM). Students can arrive any time after supervision starts at 8:00 AM. Students are directed home immediately after school ends. Students are required to check in at home and are welcome to return to school after 2:30 PM under the supervision of their parents.
If you require transportation on our school bus, you need to register your child with the SD83 Transportation department. You should have received a post card confirming your registration, bus stop and times. If you didn’t, please contact SD83 Transportation at 250-546-1922.
Due to uncertainty in our enrollment, students will be returning to their last year’s classroom with their last year’s teacher on Tuesday, September 7th. Students are asked to line up in their last year’s outside line up before school starts. This practice allows for school staff to reconnect with previous students and students to reconnect with their previous teacher. Additionally, any unexpected changes (including students moving away or new students into our area) can be taken into careful consideration as we determine grade configuration and finalizing student placement.
School Fees are due on Friday, September 24th and include school supplies for your children.
CLICK HERE
for a revised School Fee Notice for the 2021-2022 school year.
For more information about our process for student placement, 2021-2022 bell schedule, first PAC meeting date (Wednesday, Sept. 15), etc., please re-read our JUNE 2021 NEWSLETTER.
As mentioned above, more information about our Evacuation Plan in the event our current alert status is upgraded to an ORDER as well as our site specific plans outlining our measures for prevention and exposure control of COVID-19 (and other communicable diseases) will be forthcoming.
The usual September start-up Newsletter will be emailed early next week, hopefully Tuesday, September 7th.
Enjoy the rest of your summer break and I am looking very forward to the year ahead. As always, I encourage you to reach out if you have questions, concerns or suggestions. Your input and thoughts are valued.
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Shelly Cull
Principal – Falkland School
(she / her / hers)
School District No. 83 (North Okanagan – Shuswap)
5732 Tuktakamin Rd
Falkland, B.C. V0E 1W0
I acknowledge that my place of work is within the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Secwepemc people and Okanagan people