Good afternoon Chelsea Families,
The last full week of September has come and gone, and what a busy week it was! There is so much going on at Chelsea Elementary School to appreciate and celebrate, and some important items I wanted to share with you as we lead into the weekend. Please see the details listed below.
NDTR & Orange Shirt Day Monday
There has been a great deal of learning and discussion taking place in classrooms related to the upcoming National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, as well as the Orange Shirt story and it’s meaning as it relates to September 30th of each year (and beyond). Our students and staff have been learning about the history and impact of residential schools on survivors, their families, and their communities. Students have continued their work on visual representations of their learning throughout the school. On Monday, students and staff are encouraged to wear orange in support of Orange Shirt Day and its significant message. Our school will observe a moment of silence and reflection in the morning, as well as a musical interlude and special performance. We would like to continue this learning throughout the course of the year with our staff and students involving outside partners and members of the Indigenous community (see below). As a school, we are committed to listening, learning, and taking action that supports reconciliation.
Reconciliation Through Art Opportunity at La Fab Open to Families
La Fab Chelsea is hosting Cree Metis resident artist Amanda Pierce who would like to extend an invitation to families to explore and learn about the stories behind each piece in honor of Truth and Reconciliation Day. A smudge will be lit throughout the day for moments of reflection and connection, offering a chance to engage in a collaborative journey of understanding and reconciliation through art. You can join Amanda at the gallery (La Fab) on:
- Saturday, September 28 from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday, September 29 from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
During these dates, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the creative process. While not a formal workshop, this informal setting allows you to create alongside Amanda. Try your hand at mark-making, create small bundles, embellish a feather stick in the traditional way and contribute to an abstract feather stick art piece that will be displayed on La Fab’s front doors on September 30.
On Monday, September 30, the gallery will be open from 1:00PM – 5:00 PM. Although Amanda will not be present, visitors are encouraged to reflect quietly and appreciate the art, enhancing the experience of this meaningful day.
Terry Fox Wrap-Up
We were so fortunate to have a beautiful weather day for today’s Terry Fox Run and Activity Day! We got warmed up, then students ran or walked the full perimeter of our school property with parents, friends and volunteers cheering them on. Following the run, students got to visit a rotation of activity stations run by our Grade 6 students and parent volunteers, as well as the rest and relax station with water, orange slices, music, games, slime, sidewalk chalk and more. It was such a fun and important event for our school, and our students did an amazing job running this race in honour of the Marathon of Hope. Thank you to everyone for all your efforts in making this such a successful day for fun for an amazing cause!
Chelsea Gear E-Store is Open!
A reminder that Wednesdays are ‘Chelsea Gear Days’ at our school, where we encourage students and staff to wear their Chelsea gear with pride. To that end, we have many students and families asking about the next opportunity to purchase Chelsea School clothing. We are happy to announce that our fall e-store in partnership with Ricart is now officially open! We have a feature t-shirt (in men’s, women’s and kids) with our school name pulled from the beautiful graffiti mural in our Grand Hall created by Jimmy Baptiste and our students. There are also many other items for purchase that are available through this link: Home | Chelsea Elementary School (inksoft.com) The e-store will remain open until Friday, October 18th and then they go into production to get things shipped to our school. Please place your orders ASAP if you are interested. See the attached flyer for further details and the QR code.
September 30th Declaration
A reminder that Monday, September 30th is our enrolment count day, so it is very important for students to be in attendance that morning to be able to be marked as present in our numbers. For any student who misses this date, an attestation of attendance form will need to be signed by parents/guardians and returned to the school to make it into our official count.
Join the PPO Mailing List
If you are interested in getting updates from or becoming a part of our Parent Participation Organization (P.P.O.), please reach out by e-mail to the following address: chelseaesppo@gmail.com Once on this list, you will be the first to receive updates about volunteer opportunities, chances to get involved in school events and school life, and contribute to the Chelsea School community.
Traffic Pattern Changes Effective Monday
If you have not yet had the opportunity, please carefully read my message to families from Thursday morning with regards to the traffic patterns changes for our staff, parents and school buses. I have attached the aerial map visual of the new traffic patterns that will take effect beginning Monday and through early November. More details to come, but please be ready for Monday’s drop-off as outlined.
Thank you for your cooperation, and I wish everyone a wonderful sunny weekend as we head into October together!
Bill Rosseel