Biking @Bruce! Always Wear Your Helmet!

Dear Graham Bruce Families,

Mid-October is almost here! It is a joy to visit different classrooms and look at our students' projects and artwork. Please find below information about our upcoming Parent/Student/Teacher's conferences and other events at Bruce!

October 25th and 26th Conferences @Bruce

Parent/Student/Teacher's conferences will take place on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25^th & THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26^th. We will have a 2pm early dismissal on these two days to give enough time to teachers to meet with families. Please make arrangements for early 2pm pickup on these two days, as we are unable to offer extra supervision after the early dismissal. These meetings are an opportunity for parents and teachers to meet each other and discuss student’s work in the classroom and the upcoming goals. Students are expected to attend the conferences with their parents. The communication of student learning is ongoing, and the October conferences offer the first school-wide opportunity to meet with your classroom teachers. The first written progress report (Learning Updates #1) will be sent home in December. In February, students will accompany parents for our second school-wide conferences. We hope to see every child with their parent(s) or guardian(s) at these meetings. Please contact your child’s teacher if you are unable to attend during the scheduled times. A form will be send home for parents to choose a date and time for a conference. Please return the completed form to your child's classroom teacher by the deadline indicated on the form.

Grade 5/6/7 Safe Cycling Program @Bruce

We are very pleased that we were able to offer a 4-unit Safe Cycling program in school to our Grade 5/6/7 students on October 10, 11, 13 and 17, 2023. HUB Cycling, a regional non-profit organization, offered this free program to our students, which was not only an active and enjoyable session, but provided our students with the skills to bike to school and around the neighbourhood safely. The program instructors were Bike Right certified and highly trained to teach fun and safe cycling. Learn more about this program by visiting https://bikehub.ca/education/bike-to-school/ride-the-road. The program included the following lessons: learning about the bicycle, its parts and how to maintain it; proper helmet use; key traffic laws and how to stay safe on a bike; school-ground practice of bike handling and traffic safety; a supported group bike ride around the school’s neighbourhood.

Scholastic Book Fair @Bruce

Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way! Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them on their journey to becoming lifelong readers. AND—as always—every purchase at the Fair benefits our school. Here’s what you need to know about the Fair:

Dates: Wednesday, Oct. 25 and Thursday, Oct. 26

Time:   2:30 to 5:00 pm

Place:  Graham Bruce library

 Come along with your child to browse the books and other fun items for purchase during this special fundraising event! Visit the Scholastic Book Fair website to look through the digital flyers here or watch some book trailers found here. The countdown to more Bookjoy is on! Catch you at the Fair!

In Preparation for Halloween: Tuesday, October 31st @Bruce

Tuesday, October 31^st is our fun Halloween day at Bruce, and many of our students are looking forward to the related activities in their classrooms. Our staff members are working hard to make this day a special one for our students, organizing educational and fun activities. This is also a special time of the year with Halloween followed by Remembrance Day and is a time to pay much attention to our most vulnerable children, and the fact that Halloween may tend to draw out undesirable behavior. Please let us know in advance if we can be of any support and assistance and/or if you notice anything unusual.

 -Student Halloween Costume Expectations: In an effort to enjoy and celebrate Halloween at Bruce appropriately and respectfully, please use the following guidelines when helping your child(ren) selecting a costume:

1. Costumes that are provocative, revealing, sexual in nature, or employ questionable props are not permitted. 
2. Costumes that depict violence, alcohol, or drugs are not permitted. Fake weapons are not allowed. 
3. Costumes that could be offensive or perpetuate a stereotype of someone’s culture, gender, heritage, or religion are not permitted. 
4. Costumes should not hinder student ability to participate in classes, including P.E. Costumes may not disrupt or impede traffic, or present issues of safety in the hallway. No masks in school.

 -Talking points for Parents to assist in this teachable moment:

• Remind your child(ren) of their audience in the building (students, teachers, parents, community members). 
• This is a school—what may be appropriate in pop culture or the media may not be appropriate for a place of learning. 
• We are a community, and we want students to think about how their costume choice may impact others within this community.

 We would like to organize a happy and safe Halloween for our students at Bruce. Thank you for taking the time to review these guidelines with your children.