Good afternoon Chelsea Families,

It has been a beautiful start to the month of April, and there are so many exciting things going on in our school community with our staff and students. Please see some updates below for your information as we lead into the long weekend.

Celebrating Neurodiversity Month

April is Neurodiversity Month, and at C.E.S., we are proud to recognize the many ways our students think, learn, play, and experience the world. Neurodiversity recognizes that brain differences are natural and valuable parts of human diversity to be highlighted and celebrated. There was a beautiful presentation from Ms. Emma and our Center team at the last Spirit Assembly, sharing more information about neurodiversity and thanking the Chelsea community being such an inclusive and supportive place to learn and grow. Throughout the month, students will engage in age-appropriate activities and conversations that promote understanding, empathy, and appreciation for minds of all kinds. Together, we are working to continue to build a school community where every learner feels seen, supported, and celebrated.

WQSB Volleyball Tournament

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to host the WQSB volleyball tournament at Chelsea School last week, inviting teams from other schools to join us for a day of competition and fun. Chelsea’s combined scores from our two teams had them receive first place overall, but more importantly they were excellent hosts and made our school extremely proud. Way to go Chelsea!

Grade 5 Woodworking Project

The WQSB Outdoor Education Coordinator, Graham Fong, came to Chelsea this week to undertake a spring woodworking project with all our Grade 5 students. The students had the opportunity to work collaboratively in small teams to prepare the materials for, build and decorate bird houses for the spring. They are proudly on display in our Grand Hall to showcase their learning and beautiful work. Thank you to Mr. Fong and the Grade 5 team for organizing this opportunity for our students!

Student Vote Canada

Our Cycle 3 team has registered our school to participate in the Student Vote initiative: https://studentvote.ca/canada/resources/. They will be preparing the MPR on the morning of April 25^th to host a very official-looking student vote process for Cycle 3 students to participate in. The results will then be sent to Civix Canada and included in a national data pool of participating schools. We will then be able to compare our students’ results with the actual election results on April 28^th. You can visit the following link to learn more about this project promoting civic literacy and participation in the democratic process for students across Canada:

Fire Station Open House Event May 4^th

This year, the Municipality of Chelsea is celebrating its 150th anniversary! As a part of this celebration, the Chelsea Fire Department is organizing an open house with several activities, including a bike rally, a BBQ, demonstrations, booths, the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, and more. Sunday, May 4^th is International Firefighters’ Day and the first day of Emergency Preparedness Week in Quebec. Please see the attached flyer with more information about this fun and free family event in our community!

Jump Rope for Heart

Our school will be participating in Jump Rope for Heart this year, and the kick-off has begun! Our event date is planned for Friday, April 25^th and the preparations are already underway. Please find a letter regarding this fundraiser attached, as well as a link to our school’s fundraising page here: https://jumpropeforheart.crowdchange.ca/82357. Below are some useful resources Ms. Bea has shared with teachers and wanted to circulate to families: 

1. The online Registration Guide gives families an opportunity to fundraise online if they wish!  
2. The organization has created a Jump Spotify Playlist. for families to enjoy.
3. You can encourage students to track their EASY Healthy Habits at home using these resources (Take Home – Digital / Take Home – Printable). 
4. For additional resources: Home | Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

We are excited for Kick-Off Jump Rope for Heart! If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Bea at kbutler@wqsb.qc.ca    

Holiday Long Weekend

A reminder that tomorrow (Friday, April 18^th) and Monday, April 21^st are holidays on our school calendar, and the school will be closed. We look forward to welcoming students back into the building on Tuesday, April 22^nd.

Wishing all our families a wonderful long weekend together. All the best from the Chelsea team,

Principal Rosseel

Good evening Chelsea Families,

I hope you and your children were able to enjoy the snowy afternoon after the challenging process of closing the school mid-morning. I want to thank our whole community for mobilizing quickly and efficiently to get students home safely today. We truly appreciate the responsiveness of our families when situations arise that require our immediate action, and the closure today was the right decision.

The school was ventilated throughout the day and while the smell is no longer present, as a precaution, the WQSB senior directors are arranging for an external assessment to be conducted. As a result, the school will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, December 5^th.  Please note that daycare services must be cancelled as well. Please see the attached letter from our Director General, Mr. Singfield, with further details. While they realize this may cause inconvenience, this precautionary measure is being taken to ensure the safety of our staff and students.

As always, I am confident that the safety of our staff and students is paramount in the WQSB making these decisions for our school. As I learn any new information, I will absolutely share that with our community. You will receive another update from me tomorrow in this regard.

Once again, thank you for your help and support today, and wishing everyone a good evening.

Bill Rosseel

Featuring Prize Winning DJ ‘Ross the Boss’

Chelsea Wear E-Store is Now Open! – Order before October, 18, 2024!

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. The e-store will remain open until Friday, October 18^th 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.

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 30^th 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 18^th 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 30^th Declaration

A reminder that Monday, September 30^th 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

Meet the Teacher Picnic & Annual General Assembly Thursday, September 12^th

Please find attached an information letter regarding the upcoming AGA/Governing Board elections for our school, as well as our Meet the Teacher Evening. This event will look slightly different than in previous years:

• 5:30 – 6:45 PM: Meet the Teacher Picnic (see flyer attached)
  • All students & families are invited to this picnic event on our front lawn – a perfect opportunity to meet our staff and other members of the school community!
  • There will be a PPO (Parent’s Organization) table to promote opportunities for families to get involved in school life & activities
  • Treats will be on sale at the concession stand
• 7:00 PM: AGA and Governing Board elections in the MPR

We hope to see everyone at this important welcome back event and meeting to elect our Governing Board representatives.

Happy Monday to our Families,

As we begin the week, I wanted to share a few more details regarding the upcoming dance fundraiser as there is a lot of interest and a few questions, which is fantastic! Please see the important notes below regarding Friday evening’s event (same rules and outline as the Halloween event):

• You are welcome to wear semi-formal attire for fun, but it is absolutely not required to attend.

• Admission is $3.00 per child; students must be accompanied by an adult responsible (parent/designate) who will sign-in with their contact information for each minor/student they are accompanying. Students will not be allowed to leave the school premises without their adult responsible. If a student leaves the dance, that means they leave for the evening; there are no in and out privileges.
  
  Winter Wonderland Poster
  
• Only students who attend Chelsea Elementary School are permitted to attend this dance, however, this is a Chelsea Elementary family event and siblings of Grade 6 age and below are welcome to attend!

• Tickets will be available for purchase for drinks, candy, chips and non-candy treats (glow sticks, toys, etc.); we will be accepting cash, debit and credit at this event.
• If you are interested in volunteering to support this event by taking a shift during the evening, please consider visiting this link to sign up: C.E.S Winter Carnival and Winter Wonderland Dance Sign-up UPDATE.xlsx (sharepoint.com)

• At the beginning of the dance, chaperones will be identified. They include members of the Parent Participation Organization (PPO) and other volunteers; chaperones’ instructions are to be respected by everyone.
• Parents and students are to be respectful to Parent Participation Organization (PPO) Members, Staff and Volunteers; respect for all, by all.
• Doors will be monitored by a Parent Participation Organization (PPO) and Volunteers.
• School access is limited to the MPR (dance area), Grand Hall & washrooms in the main foyer (no classroom access).
• No smoking or alcoholic beverages permitted at the dance or on school grounds.
• Safety/emergency measures in place for the dance are working in conjunction with the school’s Emergency Preparedness Plan.
• All proceeds raised go towards our MPR Beautification Plan

NOTE: If any families are willing to lend/donate winter-themed decorations to help us beautify the MPR, it would be greatly appreciated. Please reach out to the office if you are willing to do so.

Looking forward to a fun family event and we will be spinning those tunes for you, so get your moves ready!

DJ Ross the Boss