Estimadas familias,

On behalf of all our teachers and support staff, I would like to warmly welcome you back to Escuela Eugene Coste School for the 2023-24 school year!

It is my sincere hope that your family enjoyed a restful (and fun!) summer and that you were able to find time to connect with those you care about. I spent most of my time close to home. I enjoyed hiking, biking, gardening, visiting with great friends and spending quality time with my family. We were fortunate this year to also spend some time on the West Coast, and deeply enjoyed exploring Ucluelet and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. I will certainly draw on memories of those amazing trees when -30C temperatures inevitably come our way this winter.

Who is Teaching What?

Teaching assignments may change from year to year for a variety of reasons and this year is no exception. Changes in enrollment (population changes at a grade level) and teacher desire for professional growth are the primary drivers for change at Escuela Eugene Coste this year. Our school experienced some end of year professional change which we are happy to share with you today. We are excited to welcome experienced CBE teacher Sra. Holly Gray to Eugene Coste who spent several years away from the profession to be with her growing family. Holly has extensive experience within the Spanish Bilingual program and CBE as a teacher and leader. We are also pleased to welcome Sra. Yaislen Perera Perez to the CBE. Yaislen is an experienced teacher within the Spanish Bilingual program, coming to us from the Calgary Catholic School Division (CCSD). We are also happy to welcome Sra. Tamara Schurch back to Escuela Eugene Coste. She spent several years teaching in middle school within the Spanish Bilingual program at A.E. Cross School and is excited to return “home” to Eugene Coste. Finally, we are pleased to welcome both Sra. Lais Rumel and Sra. Jodi Schmidt back to Eugene Coste after their respective maternity leaves. This does mean that we had to bid adiós to our colleagues Srta. Paisley Newburn (move to Senator Patrick Burns), Prof. Kendra Dalke (move to Glenmeadows), Sra. Sabrina Sessarego (professional improvement fellowship leave) and Sra. Eneida Fernandez (move to CCSD).

·         Kinder:        Sra. Elena Castro (full days) and Sra. Holly Gray (M/W)

·         Grado 1:     Sra. Magda Salamanca, Sr. Andrew Traxel, Srta. Kelsie London and

                    Sra. Julia Wolf

·         Grado 2:   Sr. Andy Gossen, Srta. Cecilia Calderon, Sra. Yaislen Perera Perez

·         Grado 3:   Sr. Boris Reyes, Sra. Lais Rumel and Sra. Jodi Schmidt

·         Grado 4:  Srta. Monica Zarco and Srta. Micah Plomp

·         Grado 5: Srta. Jordan Van Eerden (Learning Leader) and Sra. Tamara Schurch

·         Música/ Learning Support:  Srta. Jenn Kelsey (Learning Leader)

·         Admin:      Sra. Andrea Riquelme (P) and Sra. Jackie Michaud (AP)

 Who is My Child’s Teacher?  

All families will receive the following communication before the first day of school: 

-       August 29: An e-mail message introducing your child’s teacher along with instructions about specific meeting spots, designated entry/exit doors and other reminders for the first day of school.

-       August 29 or 30: A brief phone call home to say a quick “hola” to each student!

Please keep in mind that teachers will need to reach out to all families and that this requires time to accomplish. The purpose of the phone call is to provide a personal greeting to your child. If you are not available to receive the phone call, a message will be left. We are unable to accommodate alternate times for calls in the evening if you are unavailable.

We also hope that this newsletter will provide you with answers to many of the questions that you may have at this time.

Meeting Spots- First Day and Designated Entry/Exit Doors

Teachers will be outside ready to greet students starting at 8:50am. We will then gradually enter the school at our designated doors. To smooth the transition for students and minimize emotional good-byes, we ask that families do not accompany students inside to the classrooms. We ask that families confirm with teachers at the meeting spot if students will be picked up at dismissal (3:40pm) or if they will be taking the bus.

August 31- First day all gr.1-5, Tues/Thu Kindergarten (9:05am – 3:40pm)

Sept. 1 – First day Mon/Wed kindergarten; all gr.1-5 attend (9:05am – 1:25pm – Friday early dismissal)

What to Bring on the First Day

Please ensure that your child comes prepared to school with the following items:

-       indoor running shoes that can be “tied” independently

-       backpack

-       water bottle

-       lunch kit

-       enough food for lunch and snacks that your child can access without support

-       change of clothes/socks and plastic bag (for our youngest learners)

-       Please consider labeling all personal items to minimize the exponential growth of our Lost & Found!

The school provides supplies for learning; items such as pencils and notebooks do not need to be purchased in advance. We kindly ask that students refrain from bringing personal items to school as these are often lost, misplaced or create disruption. If an item is a supportive tool (i.e. fidget) please discuss this beforehand with your child’s teacher. We also have a supply of fidget items that can be given to a child along with coaching about appropriate use.

First Day August 31- Informal Coffee and Conversation (9:15am – 9:30am)

For those parents/guardians who are able, please join Sra. Riquelme along with some members of our School Council and Enrichment Society for a quick visit to say “hello” and meet other parents. Bring your own mug of coffee or tea and celebrate the start of a new school year!

We will meet in the lower field to the west of the playpark. This ensures that all students have a chance to settle and independently transition to their classrooms alongside their teachers and classmates.

As this is an informal social event, please call our office to book an appointment for a meeting or phone call if you have significant questions or concerns.

Everactive Schools – Residency

Eugene Coste is undertaking several initiatives this year to enhance learning, including a special residency with Everactive Schools. This residency will engage our entire school community in thinking about how we safely and actively transport ourselves to the school. To get started, the Everactive team would like to send out an initial Baseline Family Travel Survey to our school community as this feedback is important in student action planning.  More will be shared once things get rolling and your intial feedback is a key data source to initiate learning/planning in the classroom.

Here is your survey link:

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/eugenecoste

We have also attached the School Travel Planning Introduction for Parents information page that helps to inform everyone of the project and consider ways to support it.

School Council and Enrichment Society – Save the date September 21!

A Welcome Back to School event will happen simultaneously with evening conferences on September 21 and feature food and family friendly crafts and activities. More details coming soon! 

My Child Takes the Bus

If you will be dropping your child off on the first day of school, please be sure to let your child’s teacher know if they will be riding the bus home that day and what bus they are riding. Now is also a good time to remind your child of expected bus behaviour to support a safe ride home (stay in your assigned seat, stay seated at all times, appropriate volume of voice, be kind).

As we have done in previous years, if your child normally takes the bus home but you will be picking them up, please meet us at the bus zone so that we can check in with you to confirm attendance. If you are picking up early or if there is a regular pick-up schedule at the bus, please call our office before 2:30pm so that we can add that information to our bus lists and avoid after school confusion.

Parking!Parking!Parking!

Our community is very busy as we share limited parking and roadways with neighbours and another school. Respectful driving and parking behaviour is appreciated by all. Please remember the following:

 What if I still have questions?

The start-up of a school year is a very busy and dynamic time.  We will do our best to respond to your questions as quickly as possible and thank you for your patience and understanding as we focus on readying our classrooms for your children.

Again, I am thrilled that we are embarking on a new year of learning together and cannot wait to see what we can accomplish as team.

Sincerely,

Sra. Andrea Riquelme

Principal, Escuela Eugene Coste

International Spanish Academy