Bruce Peninsula District School & St Edmunds Public School News
Submitted by Emily Cameron
There is an old weather saying about March I used to hear when I was a kid: “In like a lion, out like a lamb; in like a lamb, out like a lion.” But I wonder if the people who created that saying ever applied it to January, because it felt like a lot of lions were roaring that month … and maybe tigers and bears too! We are used to Panthers around here, but lions and tigers, and bears were a whole other zoo!
With howling winds, snow drifts, and impassable roads, January came to an end, as did school buses for two entire weeks! We want to thank our families for their ongoing patience as every day brought changes to school schedules. We want to thank our students for being flexible! Our secondary students moved back to online learning for much of the exam period, and we know this was not easy. We assure families, secondary teachers continued to work with students to ensure success in courses. Elementary teachers welcomed students on days the school was open and continued to provide instruction to those kiddos. We know it is not easy to make last minute changes, and we remind everyone to check emails, and the school’s Facebook page, for messages and updates about bus cancellations and possible school closures. Families can also sign up for messages from the bus consortium.
Although we want to forge ahead towards nicer weather, we need to mention a few activities which happened back in January.
BPDS Sports Update
On January 10, Ms. Rosenburg and Ms. Sweatman took the grade 8s and 9s to the Owen Sound YMCA for a day of fitness and aquatics. In the morning, students participated in four fitness classes: yoga & stretch, a weight-lifting class with dumbbells, a Tabata class (exercise stations), and a spin class on stationary bicycles. In the afternoon, students hopped in the pool and completed swim tests and a ‘Swim to Survive’ lesson. Then, they got free time in the leisure pool and got to use the diving boards where they had a cannonball contest. It was a splash! Everyone had a great day!
In skiing news, Grade 7 student Avery S. and Grade 12 James W. traveled to Sawmill Trails in Hepworth on January 21 to compete in the Great Wolf Invitational Nordic ski race. It was a beautiful and very snowy day for skiing! Avery and James both placed 2nd in their own divisions (BAA) with James also placing 3rd overall (GWI). Congratulations to our Panthers on a great day!
Now that January is back in the cage … so to speak … we are back in action! Second semester has started for our Secondary students which means new classes and new activities. In fact, some activities relish the snow and cold.
Many will be excited to learn that Bruce Peninsula District School (BPDS) is running a secondary co-ed hockey team this winter! The team is heading to Toronto in March for a tournament. The team has held multiple fundraisers to help support the trip, including the Deli Dudes which sell various meats like pepperettes and summer sausages. On Wednesday February 12, they got together with the grade 8’s to hold a Road Hockey Tournament. Hot Dogs were sold at lunch in order to raise money for the team’s tournament costs! There were six teams which played in a round robin style play-down. The ultimate championship was played by Lane, Lena and James vs Adelaide, Lily and Dexter! For once, the sun was shining! It was a great way to celebrate athletics at BPDS.
In more skiing news, the Elementary ski team is enjoying the snow. On February 4, Panthers took to the trails at Sawmill for a ski training day. Thanks to Ms. Preston and all of the parent volunteers for helping. It’s great to see so many Panthers out skiing!
Then, on February 10, James travelled to Duntroon to compete in the CWOSSA ski races. James placed 4th in the high school division and 5th for secondary boys overall! He is headed to OFSAA! Way to go James!
Our Jr Girl’s volleyball team also participated in a CWOSSA event. After placing first in BAA North, the girls travelled to Walkerton on February 10 and took on the Riverhawks to try and secure the single A spot at CWOSSA. The girls played hard, and the games were close, but they came up just a few points shy of qualifying. Special thanks to coaches Stryker and Clark for all their hours of coaching.
Elementary basketball teams were finally able to hold their first try outs! Stay tuned for more information about tournament dates.
Secondary Badminton has also started, which is always one of our hottest sports! Hopefully, they can attack the cold and bring-on spring! The First practice brought out blank kids!
Panthers Arts Update
In Arts news, the BPDS choir sang O’ Canada at the Owen Sound Attack game February 1, and they did amazing! Thank you to Mrs. Collins for organizing this opportunity for the choir and thank you to Mrs. McLay and Mrs. Radbourne for helping, as well. We are so proud of the BPDS choir members who represented our school so well, even if they were nervous because singing in front of that many people can be scary! It was great to see so many BPDS families there to support as well! Go Panthers!
Academic Update
In academic news, Outers is running this semester, and we are gearing up for Winter camp. Stay tuned for more announcements and pictures from our wonderful Outers program.
On February 5, the Secondary Leadership Crew organized a ‘Welcome to High School’ luncheon for grade 8’s. They played games, answered questions about the high school experience, served subs for lunch, and gave out BPDS swag! Thank you to Hellyer’s Foodland for preparing lunch. If you missed the grade 8 information session (which happened that evening), please reach out to Guidance: emily_cameron@bwdsb.on.ca.
The Secondary Student Council also organized a spirit week February 10-14. They thought a little spirit might help clear up the winter blues. Students were encouraged to show school spirit by dressing up in PJ’s, BPDS wear and a hockey jersey on the road hockey tournament day!
We want to take a second and thank Annabelle for writing many of the articles in the first semester. She was our BPDS Secondary Co-op student and spent many days taking pictures, gathering information, and writing sections of the article to help keep our Peninsula Family of Schools families informed! We will have a new Co-op student in semester two and have a lot planned for the remainder of the year for her to write about … stay tuned!
Report from the Principal’s Office
Submitted by Brenda Brewer, Principal, and Breanna Heels, Vice-Principal
Well, it certainly has been a winter to remember, and one that none of us, including Wiarton Willy, predicted! Living on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula means that we have to embrace its beauty (and snowy and windy weather) whatever the season! As I write this, the Outers will be preparing for their practice Winter Camp, and as you read this, they will be on their Winter Camp trip! Some years, there hasn’t been enough snow for quinzhees, so Mother Nature heard us and made sure they had enough snow to build enough quinzhees for everyone living on the Northern Bruce Peninsula!
As a reminder for instruction on Inclement Weather days –
Secondary Learning:
When buses are cancelled, secondary classes will shift to synchronous (real time) online learning during their regularly scheduled time. Teachers will cover concepts already taught, but go deeper, such as providing extra help, and extend learning. On these days, students who require the use of the internet can work at the school, in a group setting, to access their online classes. Students should only travel to the school if they can do so safely.
Access to special education class placements will continue to be available for students in-person on inclement weather days if they can get there safely.
Elementary Learning:
As always, all efforts will continue to be made to keep elementary schools open on inclement weather days for those students who are able to get there safely, regardless of bus cancellations. Teachers will offer enrichment and extended learning opportunities connected to previously taught concepts and expectations from the curriculum.
Parents/guardians of students who are unable to attend school on inclement weather days are invited to utilize, at their discretion, the learning resources on the Bluewater District School Board’s Snow Day Elementary Resources web page. These resources are curriculum-based and meant to supplement any classroom learning activities being provided at school on inclement weather days.
We want nothing more than to be in our classrooms with our students, and if our doors can be open, they will be, but the safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance. We are so lucky to live on the Bruce Peninsula, despite all of the snow I am currently looking at!
February UN Global Goal: Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities
As a LSF (Learning for a Sustainable Future) Sustainable Future School, we focus on the UN Global Goals. Each month, we focus on a different goal, and February’s focus is Reduced Inequalities. This is one of my favourite Global Goals because it encompasses kindness and focusing on it in February means it coincides with Valentine’s Day, Black History Month and Pink Shirt Day (which is an anti-bullying campaign).
A few things we are doing to focus and learn about Reduced Inequalities this month:
• Wearing pink every Friday to show our focus on kindness and love
• Pink Shirt Day on February 26th as part of our focus on anti-bullying (if you want to know more about Pink Shirt Day and what it is all about, go to pinkshirtday.ca)
• The UNESCO club is challenging classes to be kind! Every class is challenged to do random acts of kindness throughout the month because the world can always use a little more love and kindness
• The UNESCO Club also created a Kindness Wall where students can take or leave a message of kindness.
• UNESCO club also read books to teach about Black History Month to Primary and Junior classes
New to the BPDS walls are these prints with quotes by inspirational women. This was a project initiated by Payton Chabot last year when she was in Grade 8 as part of her action project to work towards the UN Global Goals. These are up just in time as we focus on Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities this month and in March, will be focusing on Goal 5: Gender Equality.
You have likely noticed the UN Global Goal wall in the BPDS lobby, and now the Global Goals are also up at St. Edmunds Public School (St. Eds). Check it out next time you are in the halls at St. Eds!
Upcoming Important Dates:
-February 26 – Pink Shirt Day
-February 26-28 – Outers Winter Camp
-March 5 – Legion Speaking Contest
-March 10-14 – March Break
-March 21- Secondary Interim Reports go home
-April 10 – Celebration of the Arts
-April 11 – PA Day
-April 18 – Good Friday
-April 21 – Easter Monday
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.
