Submitted by Brenda Brewer, Principal and Breanna Heels, Vice-Principal
We are falling into Fall as September has quickly become October! Extracurriculars and sports are in full swing – elementary soccer teams have been practicing and have a tournament at the end of October; secondary basketball and tennis have been practicing; secondary basketball just had their first game; and running club has started up again too. It’s exciting to be able to offer extracurriculars for students again after a year without them! Of course, we couldn’t do it without the teachers and the volunteer coaches who go above and beyond to provide these opportunities for students.
Truth and Reconciliation – Beyond One Week
During Truth and Reconciliation Week, students and staff took time to learn and reflect on their learning journeys as we work towards reconciliation. It goes way beyond a week, and we know this is years of learning (and unlearning), but every class took time to learn and reflect. As our schools are located on the Saugeen Peninsula, it is a priority in our schools to educate our students about Canada’s real history, as well as learn about and celebrate the Indigenous culture in our communities. As a school, every student added their fingerprints to the numbers ‘6509’ to make 6509 fingerprints to represent the number of children’s bodies discovered at residential schools (so far); on Orange Shirt Day, there was a sea of orange among students and staff; students on the Killarney trip reflected on the importance of water to all of us and how we are all water protectors; every day, secondary students attended webinars offered by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation; Grade 11/12 ERM students learned about the impacts of overfishing on the Saugeen Ojibway fisheries, and so much more. We have such a long way to go, but we will continue to learn, and once we know better, we will do better.
Featured Staff
We would like to take an opportunity in each issue to highlight the amazing staff at BPDS and St. Edmund’s. In this issue, we would like to introduce you to the Head Custodian and our Office Managers at BPDS!
Mark Kinch is the Head Custodian and does a great job of keeping our school clean and safe. He always approaches the job with a smile (and whatever the job, just does it without a single complaint), and is always a friendly face in the hallways.
Our Office Managers are Nancy Cunningham and Jen Cowan. Nancy is in the office every day, and Jen is at BPDS two days a week. Between the two of them, they know everything, and keep Brenda and myself in line and in order – we could not do our jobs without them. When you phone, email or buzz the front door, you will be greeted by Nancy and Jen, so please greet them with a smile! They really do keep our school running smoothly and are the main cogs in the machine!
Staffing Updates
• Penny Phillips has started her maternity leave, and Sanda Rimay is now in the SK/1 classroom teacher full-time.
• Colleen Martindale has accepted a permanent position in Owen Sound, so we will be hiring for her positions at BPDS and St. Edmund’s.
• Tajalli Broadfoot has accepted a position as the Secondary System Lead Teacher for Bluewater District School Board. Tajalli was teaching secondary Art and Phys. Ed, so we will be hiring for her position.
• Zane Davies has resigned from his position as the Geography and Co-op teacher to focus on some other projects, and we will be hiring for this position as well.
Staffing shortages and changes are happening all throughout the board (and Ontario), but we hope to have these positions filled as soon as possible.
If you don’t already follow our Facebook page, you can follow us at Bruce Peninsula DS to see all of the amazing things happening at the school.
If you ever have questions or concerns, give us a call at (519) 793-3211 or by email: Brenda_Brewer@bwdsb.on.ca and Breanna_Heels@bwdsb.on.ca
