Bruce Peninsula District School and St Edmunds Public School News
Submitted by Annabelle Galasso
Before I jump into this month’s activities, I wanted to take a minute and introduce myself. My name is Annabelle Galasso, and I am a grade 12 Co-operative Education student who has taken on writing our school’s article for the Peninsula Press this semester. My Co-op placement this year has provided me opportunities to learn about journalism, advocate for my fellow students, and provide services for my school and staff, as well as prepare me for many real-life work experiences in my near future.
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the Bruce Peninsula District School (BPDS) author for this article and note I will be featuring one secondary Co-op student in each of my subsequent articles throughout the year. We have many Co-op students working at various businesses throughout the community.
October was such a beautifully warm month! Many of our students were able to take advantage of the warm weather and be outside – something we love to do!
The grade 6 and 7’s spent three days and two nights at the Outdoor Education Centre (OEC). Students had smores for breakfast, played the survival game, and loved learning about and being in nature. Thank you, Ms. McIver and Mrs. Peacock for organizing. The grade 8’s went back in September. Thank you, Ms. Rosenberg for organizing that trip.
Secondary Specialist High Skills Major students also spent three days outdoors, hiking along the Bruce Trail for the annual Fall Hike. Students perfected their knot tying skills and learned how to cook food over the campfire. For some, it was their first outback camping experience. Thank you, Mr. Clark and Mr. Stryker, as well as to Muffy and Jamie for being our community volunteers.
Both Elementary Soccer teams participated in regional tournaments on Friday October 18. The boys and girls’ elementary soccer teams traveled to Amabel Sauble School and played their hardest all day. Both teams placed 4th with some hard-fought battles, with the grass stains on their jerseys to prove it. The girls’ games were very close.
Also, the Elementary Cross-Country runners ran at the OEC and again at Saugeen Conservation Area. In fact, we spent so much time outside and running, we hardly knew October had flown by! Keep checking the School’s Facebook and Instagram pages for results, updates and pictures of these fun times in the sun!
Despite the warm days and beautiful sunshine, our Europe Trippers continued to be showered! The Old School House Seniors invited 2 participants from the BPDS Europe trip to attend a Beef dinner on September 24, 2024 and showered participants with a donation. Kayleigh and Ava attended the dinner and accepted a donation of $200 on behalf of the students. The Ladies Auxiliary also donated $2,000, and Sources of Knowledge another $1,000. We are very grateful for continued community support of the Europe trip.
On Wednesday October 30, forty secondary students travelled to Toronto to see an exciting theatrical performance titled ‘Come from Away’, which portrays real-life experiences during the 09/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and Canada’s connection to the event. The students gained a plethora of knowledge about this tragedy, but also learned about the strength of the human spirit. They all enjoyed the trip greatly and are thankful for being given the chance to participate.
The Secondary Student council hosted a Monster Mash dance for students on October 24th, 2024, where the OSAID team (Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving) provided mocktails to participants, and members of the upcoming Europe trip provided Halloween-themed baked goods to raise money for the group. Similar to the school’s first dance of the year, this one was a hit, with more participants than ever before and many smiling faces beneath their spooky costumes.
We are looking forward to more exciting events throughout November.
Report from the Principal’s Office
Submitted by Brenda Brewer, Principal, and Breanna Heels, Vice-Principal
We hope everyone has enjoyed the lovely October weather – we certainly have at BPDS and St Eds (St Edmunds Public School/SED)! Over the past few weeks, Grade 6’s and 7’s spent a few days at the Bluewater Outdoor Education Centre, Elementary and Secondary students have been competing in Cross-Country runs (big shout out to James Wheeler who placed 5th at CWOSSA), Outers did their Fall Hike (Thanks to Muffy Davies, Mr. Clark, Mr. Stryker and Jamie Crowley for leading the trip), Elementary Soccer Teams played in the tournament at Sauble, and Take Me Outside Day was on October 23rd.
The weather might be getting cooler, but things are just heating up and we still have a lot going on!
October UN Global Goal: Goal 2 – Zero Hunger
Our BIG idea for the year is inspired by The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.” Throughout the year, this will guide our learning and empower students to care a whole awful lot! We speak for the trees – especially the ones located on the Bruce Peninsula.
As part of October’s focus on the UN Global Goal: Zero Hunger, BPDS students learned about food to population ratios around the world. In groups representing different continents, they were given an amount of food available to them, and they quickly learned that a higher population doesn’t equate to more food, and likewise, sometimes countries with smaller populations may have access to more food than those with higher densities. The objective was to demonstrate how the world’s food is divided globally and how this inequality impacts on peoples’ rights.
At BPDS, we then brought all of the students together for the Harvest Festival where students learned about the importance of eating local, in-season foods and the costs of eating foods that are imported from around the world. Did you know: It is estimated that the transportation of food accounts for nearly one fifth of the total carbon emissions in the global food system.
Every class prepared a food using local vegetables and students went around to sample the local goodness – kale chips, cinnamon apples, carrot pancakes, zucchini bread, pumpkin dip, candied sweet potatoes, slinky apples. butternut squash and salsa!
Thank you to Garden in Thyme Country Market for donating vegetables!
Upcoming Important Dates:
-November 7th 4:30-6:30pm – Science Night and Book Fair at SED
-November 7th 6pm – BPD School Council Meeting
-November 15th – Elementary Report Cards sent home
-November 20th – Secondary Midterm Reports sent home
-November 21st 3:30-7pm and November 22nd 9-11:30 – Elementary Parent Teacher Interviews
-November 21st 6:30-8:30pm – Winter Planter Workshop at SED
-November 22nd – PA Day
If you don’t already follow our Facebook page, you can follow us at Bruce Peninsula DS or St Edmunds Public School Community 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.
