Dear Mamquam families,
I hope your summer has gone well and you are looking forward to the beginning of a new school year. I would like to officially welcome your family back for the 2023-24 school year and to provide a little information about school start-up next week.
Our staff met yesterday for a day of professional learning. We talked about social emotional learning, assessment practices and did some learning and planning around our Raven Values and how we can reinforce these values with our students. We have some exciting learning opportunities coming your way this year, and I am excited about our team!
You may have noticed some changes around the school grounds over the summer; a fresh coat of paint, the leveling of our foundation on the south end of the building, and some new gagaball pits (thanks to our former student Henry M and his Dad). We also had some work done on the inside of the building with a new heating/air system. I want to extend a massive thank you to our facilities team and our custodial staff for their work over the summer to get this school looking fantastic for our students! You also may have noticed that one of our playgrounds is currently fenced off. The accessible flooring material comes from a warehouse in Kelowna, and thus was delayed. We are hoping to have this installed next week and the playground re-open for students on Sept 11th.
School Start-Up details
First day of school:
This year, our first day of school is on Tuesday, September 5th , 2023. All grades 1-6 students will attend from 8:50am to 10am. Our new Kindergarteners do not come on that day.
(More details about Kindergarten start-up has been sent to Kindergarten families in a separate email if you have not received your group specific email please call Jenny at the front office).
On the first day of school, students are to go to the same teacher that they were with last year. All new students will go to the Library, where a staff member will greet them and take them to an assigned classroom to connect with their same age/grade peers.
First Week of School:
From Wednesday to Friday during the first week students Grade 1-6 students will continue to go to their same teacher they had last year. Staff have planned a variety of community building and learning activities where students will get to re-connect and learn with their classmates from last year. This promises to be a fun and engaging welcome to the school year!
Staff will be working outside the school day during the first few days to plan the class configuration and class lists. We plan to have students in their new homeroom classes for 2023- 2024 by the end of the first week (likely end of the day on Friday). This is a structured process and takes considerable time and energy to ensure we have built classrooms that are balanced and will work in a cohesive manner.
I am really looking forward to our work together this coming year. I want all of our MQE families to know that I am committed to work with you to ensure our students get the most out of their experience at school. It is my goal that ALL members of our community feel valued and feel a connection to this place. If something at school isn’t working for you or your child please reach out to us so we can work with you to resolve the issue. When things are hard at home, please reach out, and we can look for ways to provide more support for you and your child. We are a community, and we are here to work together. The research is very clear that one of the most important factors for a child’s success in school is the triangular relationship between the child, the parent and the teacher, and I see this as some of our most important work.
Huy Chexw (thank you) Wa Chexw Yuu (take care)
Kukw`stumc`kalap (Thank you all)
Jeff Maynard / Ts̓qáxa7 Sp̓áq̓em
Principal / Mamquam Elementary School
School District No. 48 (Sea to Sky) | www.sd48seatosky.org
[email protected] | Cell: (604) 698-8003