A Plan for Success

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I hope that you and your families have settled into Term 2, and have adjusted to hectic schedules, playdates, activities and learning. We are looking forward to welcoming you into the school today and tomorrow for Parent Teacher Conferences. This is an opportunity for you to connect with your child’s teacher, ask about successes and growth and to address any concerns that either of you may have. If you are having any difficulty booking an appointment, please call the school office and we would be happy to assist you.

I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information about our School Plan for the 2023-2024 school year. Our focus this year is Literacy, and as a staff, we are working on promoting a love of reading at Bondar. We have been doing a school-wide read aloud on Tuesdays with a focus on the Seven Sacred Teachings, which are indigenous teachings that we highlight each month. We have also started a second school-wide read aloud on Thursdays, with a focus on social emotional learning and supporting children with their feelings. This past week we had our Bondar Special Guest Reader, Constable Neil Cole, come and share two of his favourite stories with our students and then talk a little bit about his role in the community; moving forward we will be having a special guest reader each month to share their love of reading with Bondar students and, as community members, to make connections with children in their neighborhoods. We have regular prize draws at Bondar for Spirit Days and for students selected at our Seven Sacred Teachings assemblies, and we have been giving book prizes, which students seem excited about. Our teachers are also engaging in professional learning on a literacy strand, investigating new programs to support students in early literacy learning. In the month of April, we will also be having a Literacy Week at Bondar, where the community will participate in fun daily activities to continue to promote their love of reading.

I would encourage you to take a look at our School Plan for the 2023-2024 school year which is posted up on our website. As we begin to look forward to and plan for the 2024-2025 school year, I would love to get some feedback from families about what you would like to see included in our plans moving forward. Please take some time to complete the Family Feedback Form to share your thoughts and ideas with us.

Our Sacred Teaching for the Month of February is Love. I hope that you are able to enjoy this month’s events with your children, whether Lunar New Year is being celebrated, or chocolates and cards exchanged for Valentine’s Day, if you have plans to spend time together on Family Day, or if you are learning more about Black History Month. Connection and love within our families and amongst the members in our community are at our core at Bondar.

Enjoy the sunshine!