Newsletter 5
November 2, 2026
Principal’s Message
November brings a welcome opportunity to settle into routines and focus on learning. While December's celebrations are still ahead, our classrooms are busy with engaging work in writing and math. Once a month, in the newsletters, I’ll share a few simple and practical ideas that families can use at home to support writing and math learning in everyday ways.
And thank you for all the generous donations in support of the upcoming Lego Club. We certainly now have enough lego to launch this new Wednesday club. Thank you!
With changing weather and the possibility of our first snowfall, it’s time to dust off the winter jackets, boots, and snow pants. A quick check to make sure everything still fits can save some chilly mornings later on! Please remember to label clothing whenever possible. Our mornings are also getting darker and any reflective additions to their backpacks or outerwear can help to keep children visible on their walk to school in the morning.
Sincerely,
Megan Weir
Principal: AES
Our school goals:
Writing: Writing skills start to develop right from the very beginning of Kindergarten. Writers write about what they can talk about, so building oral language skills is really helpful for building writing skills. One of the things our kids often struggle with is being able to give examples and back up their thinking. The Question Game is something easily done on a car drive or at the dinner table, giving parents the opportunity to model sharing their ideas and reasons and children the opportunity to have some fun doing the same.
The Question Game
Take turns asking each other open-ended questions:
- What would be the best superpower and why?
- If you could visit anywhere, where would you go?
- What makes a good friend?
There are no right answers, but children learn to explain their thinking and support their opinions with reasons.
Numeracy: Real-world math experiences help children see that math is useful and relevant beyond the classroom. Grocery Store Math can happen as often as you’d like and can easily be adjusted depending on your child.
Invite your child to help with everyday math while shopping. Younger children can estimate how many apples are in a bag or compare prices, while older children can round up/down numbers, calculate costs, estimate totals, or determine the best buy.
What did the teachers do on the last pro D day?
October 23 was a provincial pro D day. Most staff focused on Writing/Literacy, some on Social-Emotional learning, Math problem-solving instruction and a few on Indigenous Education/Social Studies.
Writing is an important area of focus for us this year as we look at ways to support students understanding what their next step in writing is.
In support of this, classes are participating in a School-wide Write that teachers will look at to determine areas of strength and challenge for our students.
Parent, Teacher, Student Conferences
Thank you to everyone for coming in for our Parent, Teacher and Student conferences. We had terrific turn-out, but if you have not yet connected with your child’s teacher, please reach out to them. This communication is so important in ensuring your child’s success. I’m hoping that people found the online booking for conferences fairly straight forward. We welcome feedback!
Remembrance Day
On Tuesday, November 10th we will welcome Mr. Shawn Coady from the Legion to our school to lead our School Remembrance Day Assembly. He plans to engage students and staff in a very informative assembly about why we remember, the symbols of remembrance and Canada’s contributions and efforts in both past and present peace keeping initiatives. A reminder that National Indigenous Veterans Day is Sunday, November 8, we will be acknowledging this important day of remembrance at the assembly tomorrow as well.
Please remember that Wednesday, November 11th is Remembrance Day; students are NOT in attendance.
Remembrance Day Legion Contest: Please CLICK HERE to read more about the legion contest for students who wish to submit entries to our office. The deadline for submission is Friday, November 13.
Skating
We have confirmed our skating dates/times for this season. Information will be coming home with your child this week. If you need help finding skates, please contact your child’s classroom teacher well in advance of their scheduled time.
We will need lots of help, especially with the younger students, with getting skates tied. A reminder that ALL volunteers need to have a criminal record check completed even if they are only helping their own child. Here is the information of how to complete the criminal record check process:
If you would like to volunteer in any capacity in the school, you will need to complete a criminal record check online. This is a free process as costs are covered by the school district. Completed criminal record checks are good for five years.
Process:
1) Go to https://justice.gov.bc.ca/criminalrecordcheck
2) Enter the code provided by the school office
3) Follow the instructions for completing the online Criminal Record Check.
Further instructions, showing step by step instructions can be found at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/crime-prevention/criminal-record-check/ecrc_online_service_-_user_guide_2021.pdf
Winter concert
Save the date(s) … December 8th, 9th, and 10th with performances at 12:30 each day.
AES Winter Concert is one month away and I know it can take quite a bit of planning to be able to organize schedules at work and other commitments. We will hold three concerts again this year, with rehearsals in the morning and the live performances in the afternoon starting at 12:30. Each class will perform one day only.
This year, we’re excited to celebrate the holiday season with the theme, “Christmas All Over the World”. The following is the schedule for when classes are performing:
TUESDAY Dec. 8 | WEDNESDAY Dec. 9 | THURSDAY Dec. 10 |
Mrs. Ramsey | Mrs. Dorward/Mrs. Crowie | Mrs. Rempel |
Mrs. Woolard | Mrs. Novakowski/Mrs. Lane | Mrs. Campbell/Mrs. Zappone |
Mrs. Monsigneur | Mrs. Jacques | Mr. Purdon |
Mrs. Neufeld | Mr. Weeks | Mr. Belec |
If your child’s class is asked to wear something special to accompany their song(s), their teacher will share more information with you in the next few weeks.
We look forward to celebrating together with you soon!
*Concerts @ 12:30 p.m. Doors will open at noon.
Thank you so much for your support.
Book Fair during Concert Days: Please save the date for December 8, 9, 10. More information to come. Thank you!
School fees
This is a friendly reminder to please pay your school fees. When we order the supplies in bulk through the school we save quite a bit and have been able to pass along the savings to you. However, we do count on recovering the fees as families pay them in the fall in order to make the system work. If you haven’t yet paid your school fees, we ask that you submit them as soon as possible. We realize that finances can be tough for families. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Megan Weir, Principal, if you require assistance with covering the cost of your child’s school fees.
Soup Days
We continue to really appreciate the soup days that Shuswap Food Action provides and our PAC generously donates their time each week to look after serving soup on Mondays. We really encourage you to send a mug and spoon with your child each Monday. This helps us save on disposable dishes and helps the environment too.
Letter writing day
We will be holding a family letter writing day again this year. Students will have the option of writing a letter to Santa, as well as one more letter to a relative or special person. Parents/guardians are encouraged to join us, if possible, to enjoy the letter writing time with their child. We know not all families will be able to take time in the middle of the day, so we are grateful to those who are able to come and perhaps support another child as well as their own while writing letters. It takes a village😊. Letter writing time will be held Friday, November 27 from 1-2 p.m. Watch for more information coming home soon!
Important Dates – Please see our school calendar for current information, Calendar - Armstrong Elementary
Parent Advisory Council (PAC) News
Our PAC is a dedicated group of parents who work very hard to provide opportunities for our kids in so many different ways. PAC supports things like hot lunches, supporting field trips financially, Kindergarten and Grade 5 June celebrations, providing funds for ‘extras’ in classrooms, and so much more.
This month, our PAC is supporting the Willing2Ninja PE workshops that classes will get to do on either November 6th or November 13th. Our PAC is also helping sponsor the Letter Writing Day by providing funds to support the purchase of stamps for the student letters.
Please feel welcome to join a PAC meeting or to be in touch with a PAC executive member to ask about how to help with a current project or fundraiser.
AES Spirit Wear is available for purchase. It is on the Armstrong Elementary School website https://aes.sd83.bc.ca but CLICK HERE to go directly to the information page.
AES: the School Where Everyone Belongs