Welcome Back!

Hi Families, 

Welcome back! 

I hope you all found some time to relax and reset over March break. Fortunately, we had some beautiful weather, and I found myself taking long walks in Fish Creek Park, enjoying the daily changes this time of year brings. Thank you for all the lovely messages, photos and videos of your children. They kept my spirits high during uncertain times. 

Today marked our first day of a brand-new experience together! You would have received a phone call, voicemail or email from me asking about your needs as a family moving into eLearning. We want these next steps to be accessible and successful for all, so if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. I may not have the answers, but will do my best to find them for you. 

Finally, messages were sent recently about eLearning from both the CBE and the school. If you did not receive…

“Ongoing Learning Updates for K-9 Students” from the CBE on Friday, March 27^th and

“LBS Welcome Back to School” from Lake Bonavista School on Monday, March 30^th

…please consider contacting the main office at Lake Bonavista School at (403)-888-6871 or follow this link http://calgary.schoolmessenger.com/cbe_subscribe, in order to be connected to SchoolMessenger, as this is the standard platform for group communications at the system, board and school levels.

I have such gratitude for the words of encouragement you have all expressed during these times. I look forward to being in contact again soon with more information regarding next steps. 

Ms. Thomas

Music Blog

Mrs. Kawchuk has a message for you on her blog.  Please go take a look.  Go all the way to the bottom of the blog list on the school website, or find the link here:

https://d2l.cbe.ab.ca/d2l/lms/blog/view_user.d2l?ou=6605&ownerId=22024

CBE Mental Health Information and Resources

Hi Families, 

Important COVID-19 and mental health information is now posted on the CBE website:

https://www.cbe.ab.ca/about-us/school-culture-and-environment/health-and-wellness-in-school/Pages/Positive-Mental-Health.aspx

Ms. Thomas

Learning at Home

Hi Families,

Yesterday, a system-wide email was sent through SchoolMessenger (see below) providing familiar with interim K-6 resources and activities to engage in for the time PRIOR to the scheduled spring break:

Suggestions for Learning from Home | K-9

Class cancellations are unusual and challenging events.  During this short period before spring break, we encourage families to maintain a balanced and consistent routine for children; including regular sleeping and eating times, breaks for activity and outdoor time, and healthy boundaries on screen time.    After spring break, additional learning resources and activities will be shared to support students in learning.     Children are naturally curious learners and there are opportunities at home to engage their learning. We have created a webpage that offers a variety of educational ideas to support literacy, numeracy and wellness at home for this week. The resources are meant as suggestions only. You may choose to use the links and activities as needed over the next few days as more long-term educational programming is considered.

Also, this web page: http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/lakebonavista/teaching-learning/learning-commons-library/resource-list/pages/default.aspx will be updated regularly and is a good resource for commonly used web-based resources.

If you are not registered to receive SchoolMessenger, you may want to consider visiting the CBE website and enrolling, as this is a key point of communication for system and school based messages: https://www.cbe.ab.ca/privacy-statement/Pages/sms-text-message-terms-and-conditions.aspx

Last, I will be emailing all families with student login information for websites that are commonly accessed in the classroom, and may be needed for POST Spring break access to resources.

Hope you are all staying safe and healthy! You are missed!

Ms. Thomas

LBS March Update

This message was sent to all families connected to Lake Bonavista School through SchoolMessenger.

LBS March Update

Hello LBS Families, Please know that we are missing you and hoping you are doing well. The CBE is working with Alberta Education and school authorities across the province to develop consistent provincial programming. This information will be communicated to you, as soon as it is available. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate this new situation.  If belongings in the school are needed before your scheduled time, please call the school: 403-777-6871 ex 0  Pick up schedule for personal belongings and return library books: Tuesday March 17 and Wednesday March 18​​  8:00 am - 2:45 pm  Student Last names: A - L Wednesday March 18 and Thursday March 19​​   ​ 8:00 am - 2:45 pm  Student Last Names M – Z Please do not come to school if you are ill with respiratory illness symptoms (fever, cough, fatigue, and/or muscle aches). Alternate times to pick up student personal belongings will be made at a later time if you are currently ill or self-isolating. Continue to check the CBE main site and our school website for updates. AHS and 811 continue to be our best resources for health information and questions. The best next steps are to remember to be kind, compassionate and patient with ourselves and others.​ In kindness and gratitude,  Carole Jones Principal, Lake Bonavista School Calgary Board of Education |school.cbe.ab.ca/school/LakeBonavista  t | 403-777-6871   f |403-777-6872

LBS March Update #2

This message was sent to all families connected to Lake Bonavista School through SchoolMessenger.

LBS March Update #2

Dear Families,  Further to this morning’s message, the following information is being added. Personal belongings can be picked up at school, according to the schedule.  We ask parents to come to the front door, during the time slots allotted. This opportunity is only in place if items are needed. If you do not feel the need to come into the school, please do not.  Personal belongings include indoor shoes, water bottles, or items brought from home. Student supplies and materials such as workbooks, folders, pencils, scissors, etc. will remain at the school.  During this scheduled time, we would also like parents to return any library books. A drop-off bin has been set up to do so.  Tuesday March 17 and Wednesday March 18   8:00 am - 2:45 pm  Student Last names: A - L Wednesday March 18 and Thursday March 19   8:00 am - 2:45 pm  Student Last Names M – Z As per World Health and Alberta Health recommendation, we need to mitigate contact between one another as much as possible.  For that reason, staff will not be available to meet with families for any reason. We understand how disconcerting this is for many families. Although unfortunate, it is not advisable or possible, at this time.  If you are exhibiting symptoms of respiratory illness (I.e. fever, cough, fatigue and/or muscle aches) please do not come to the school. Also, please limit the number of family members coming into the building. Where possible, our teachers have already gathered and labeled your child’s belongings for easy pick-up.  Thank you for all the kind messages of support. Our teachers are overwhelmed with messages of gratitude. We are thinking of all our families and will be in touch with further details as they become available.  Continue to monitor your email.  In kindness and gratitude, Carole Jones Principal, Lake Bonavista School Calgary Board of Education |school.cbe.ab.ca/school/LakeBonavista  t | 403-777-6871   f |403-777-6872

School Cancellations - Updates as Available

Hi Families,

Teachers and staff are at school, taking each day at a time, planning next steps as information becomes available. 

Your patience and understanding as we also negotiate these unfamiliar circumstances is appreciated. The Alberta Government website, Calgary Board of Education website and Lake Bonavista School website are the best places to access information regarding the current situation.

Alberta Government: https://www.alberta.ca/index.aspx
Calgary Board of Education: https://www.cbe.ab.ca/Pages/default.aspx

Lake Bonavista School website: http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/LakeBonavista/Pages/default.aspx

My thoughts are with each one of you, as I know this is an unsettling time for everyone, for different reasons. 

Ms. Thomas

Lake Bonavista School Conferences

LBS School Conferences

Dear Families, Based on the changing provincial and local response to COVID-19, the CBE has given us direction to postpone our Student Led Conferences on March 19 and 20, 2020. All CBE schools have been given direction to postpone or cancel events that include populations from other schools and/or parents or other community members, such as Parent-Teacher Interviews, celebrations of learning, drama/musical performances, dances, athletic competitions, etc. This decision is effective from Mar. 12 until the end of March break. This decision will be revisited during March break to determine whether events should be rescheduled. Events outside of school hours that include the regular student and staff population of the school (school clubs, practices, etc) and scheduled field trips may continue at this time.   I know this may be disappointing news. Students and staff have spent a significant amount of time preparing for this event, but the health of our community is our priority. For the most up to date information about the CBE’s approach to COVID-19 and the actions we are taking, please visit our website. Answers to frequently asked questions will continue to be posted as information becomes available. Thank you. Take care, Carole Jones​​​​​​​ Principal, Lake Bonavista School

Math Shirts - Friday

March 9^th-13^th is Math Week at Lake Bonavista School. Students will be celebrating Math in our World by experiencing a variety of in school activities throughout the week. Math Games, Math Literacy, Math Artwork to name a few.  Additionally, on Friday, March 13^th students are invited to wear a math shirt, suggestions include numbers, shapes, patterns, arrays.

ArtFelt Studios - Volunteers

Hi Families,

We are still in need of a couple of volunteers for our ArtFelt Studios in-class felting activity on Monday, March 16th. If you are able to join us, and have a valid security clearance, please let me know.

Thank you!
Ms. Thomas

Friday, March 6th, 2020

Hi Families,

A reminder that this Sunday, March 8th is Daylight Savings. Don't forget to change your clocks! 

Thank you to the families that were able to join us for the One World Drumming sharing celebration today. We loved having your friendly faces in the audience supporting us! If you were unable to make it today, students will have the opportunity to share their learning with djembes at Student-Led Conferences on March 18th and 19th. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Ms. Thomas

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

Hi Families,

Today we had another exciting opportunity to work with Ms. Durnford, who came to our class to talk about computational thinking, coding and debugging.

First, Ms. Durnford brought ingredients to make a sandwich, and asked the students to "code" her, giving step by step instructions to make the sandwich. The students quickly learned how detailed and explicit they needed to be, enjoying a few laughs along the way as the sandwich ended up inside-out, with a plastic wrapped cheese slice in the middle, and mustard everywhere!

You can try this at home by taking an everyday task, like putting cutlery on the table, or making a bowl of cereal, and having different family members "code" each other. Be warned, I hear the "code" for getting a child to clean their room, is very, VERY complicated ;)

Next, Ms. Durnford used Scratch Jr. to "code" the students, getting them to perform a sequence of 4-5 steps. After some practice, students worked in small groups to "code" each other, using the different movement blocks to create instructions.

Finally, when students showed success with task expectations, they were allowed time to explore the other features of Scratch Jr. Through collaborative exploration, they were able to discover and teach how to:

- change Sprites and backgrounds
- delete preselected Sprites
- rename Sprites
- adjust start points to have their Scratch story make sense
- add Sprites
- layer different programs for different Sprites
- create text/speech bubbles
- record voices or sounds
- edit characteristics of Sprites by changing colour and size
- loop code so action repeats
- group Sprites together so they all move together

At the end, students reflected on what they learned today, celebrating personal growth and success:

"I got better at debugging, and learned a little more about coding...like grouping Sprites, from other peoples presentations..."

"You need to use more detail in your steps when giving instructions for it to work, and people can follow the instructions in the right way..."

Thank you to Ms. Durnford for your expertise!

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

Ms. Thomas

One World Drumming Sharing

A reminder that there will be a sharing celebration for all students who have been participating in One World Drumming this week on Friday March 6 at 10:30 am:

• AM Kindergarten
• Rooms 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13 and 17

Parents and Guardians are welcome to attend. There will be limited seating available.  Each class' performance will be approximately 5 minutes long.

Thank you to the Lake Bonavista School Council for making this possible.