Dear Parents,
Welcome back! We hope everyone had a restful summer and is ready for a great school year! We wish to thank the staff, and our amazingly talented Parent Volunteers for all their work over the summer preparing the school and grounds for another exciting year! We pray for all our families and students to have a healthy and happy new school year!
SPIRITUAL THEME: “Living, Celebrating & Proclaiming Our Faith”
Our theme for the next three years is ‘Living, Celebrating, and Proclaiming our Faith.’ This year’s focus is ‘Living our Faith’ and we will begin with an opening assembly for all students, teachers, and Father Rosemond, who will start the school year with a welcoming prayer!
AFTER SCHOOL CLUB NEWS!
We are pleased to announce that our After School Club will now be a Vancouver Coastal Health, licensed OLS “School – Age Care”. We will be accepting up to 20 children from K-2 and 20 Children from grades 3 to 7.
The After School Club will run from 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday to Thursday starting Monday, September 11th.
The cost will be $320 per month for the first month. We will be applying for the parent fee reduction once we are approved by the BC Childcare Ministry, and they advise us of our amounts (roughly $30-$40 per month if the fee reduction is approved). The new process will consist of the fees being collected upfront for the entire month.
We will no longer be accepting same day attendance requests. All students must register for at least one regular day and, if needed, can then drop in on other days (M-Th). Spots are first come first serve as we only have a maximum of 20 spots for each group. The daily rate is prorated to $90 per month or $320 for the full week (M-Th) and will be billed on the 1st of each month. December and March will be prorated as half-months. Please email the office (office@myolosschool.com) if you are interested in using this service. Individual family questions can be directed to the office email.
After School Club for Kindergarten – Gr. 2 will be in the Preschool Room. After School Club for Grades 3 – 7 will be in the Music Room. Children are to be picked up from the Preschool grass area on the south side of the school. Once you arrive, please wait at the door and we will bring your child to you.
***More inform will follow once we receive your emails of interest.
IMPORTANT SEPTEMBER DATES!
SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 – FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL – 12:00 P.M. DISMISSAL – NO AFTER SCHOOL CLUB
The first day of school will be Tuesday, September 5th at 8:45 a.m. Students will be dismissed at 12:00 p.m.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 – GRADE 6 MASS
On Wednesday, September 13th, the Grade 6 class will be leading the opening school Mass to honour the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the patroness of our school. Please join us for this beautiful liturgy.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 – OUR LADY OF SORROWS SCHOOL ROSARY AND MASS
Our school has been invited to the Feast Mass which will be held on Thursday, September 14th, at 6:30p.m. This will replace the usual Procession. OLS students will be leading this Rosary and with the Mass to follow. Information will go out first week of school. Please visit www.olos.ca for more information about our special Our Lady of Sorrows Feast Triduum!
SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 – BOOK FAIR AND READ-A-THON ASSEMBLY
Our Read-a-Thon and Book Fair assembly will take place on Thursday, September 21st. Students will receive their record and pledge sheets at the assembly. We will also be sending home our Parent Volunteer Signup Form. Please check your child’s bags for this information and please help to make our Book Fair and Read-A-Thon another great success!!
SEPTEMBER 24, 2023 – COMMISSIONING SUNDAY MASS
On Sunday, September 24th at 11:30 a.m., there will be a Commissioning Mass for all Staff Members of Our Lady of Sorrows School. This will be our first Choir Mass as well. All families are encouraged to attend our regular Sunday Family Masses as their regular obligations to our Catholic School Community. Thank you!
SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 – INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS
Students will have their Individual Photos taken by Artona on Monday, September 25th. Please ensure your child comes to school in full uniform on this day. They must also have their gym strip under their uniform if there is gym that day.
SEPTEMBER 25 – 29, 2023 – SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
The annual OLS Book Fair will begin on Monday, September 25th and will end on Friday, September 29th. Further information will be sent home with students shortly.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 – MEET THE TEACHERS NIGHT
The first Mandatory Parents’ Meeting will be held in person on Wednesday, September 27th. We will begin with a Welcome Back BBQ and Social at 6:00 p.m. The actual meeting will begin at 6:45 p.m. followed by one 15 minute session in the classroom. Please mark your calendars. This will be the first Mandatory Meeting as indicated in the Policy Manual and Registration Guide! Do not forget to visit the Book Fair in the Library that evening.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 – ORANGE SHIRT DAY
Orange Shirt Day will be held on Friday, September 29th. This day is to honour Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools in Canada. Orange Shirt Day challenges us to witness and honour the stories of Survivors and their families, and to commit to meaningful discussion and the ongoing process of reconciliation.
OCTOBER 2, 2023 – NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH & RECONCILIATION – STAT HOLIDAY
There will be no school on Monday, October 2nd, in lieu of the statutory holiday on Saturday, September 30th. This day is to honour Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools in Canada.
Reminders!!
CLASSROOM TEACHERS FOR 2023-2024
Kindergarten: Mrs. Corrado
Grade 1: Mrs. McKenna
Grade 2: Mrs. De Amaral
Grade 3: Mrs. Matterson
Grade 4: Ms. Guzzo
Grade 5: Ms. Rossi
Grade 6: Mr. Basso
Grade 7: Mrs. Crescenzo
PE: Mr. McCloskey
Learning Resource (Primary): Mrs. Bortignon
Learning resource (Intermediate): Mrs. Woodman
ADST: Mr. Stocker
Music: Mr. Kanabe
OFFICE HOURS
Please note that our office hours for the 2023-2024 school year will be as follows: 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
OFFICE EMAIL
For all absentees and inquiries, please email office@myolosschool.com.
RECESS AND LUNCH BREAKS
Primary and Intermediate grades will have the same recess breaks. Lunch breaks will continue to be staggered.
All Grades
Morning recess 10:15 – 10:30 a.m.
Grades 1, 2, 3, 4
Lunch recess 11:55 – 12:20 p.m.
Grades K, 5, 6, 7
Lunch recess 12:25 – 12:50 p.m.
**Please ensure all students are to be prepared with proper jackets and footwear daily.
**No sharing of snacks or lunches. Please ensure you are packing all necessary items in their school bags. Please include a water bottle daily.
STUDENT SAFETY
Student safety is very important! Please arrive early and drop off prior to 8:45 a.m. The playground area is supervised from 8:30 – 8:45 a.m. and 2:50 – 3:05 p.m. Please follow drop-off zone rules! Please do not block the driveways as we have regular deliveries and drop offs in the morning as well! Also, please refrain from gatherings and bringing dogs into the playground areas or school as it contravenes the Health By-laws. They are fine to wait outside the playground, however we do not wish students on the front grass areas as it is unsafe. Thank you for your understanding!
PLEASE FOLLOW THE DROP-OFF CONES AND SIGNS!
Pre-school families will drop off at the Slocan entrance gate next to the Preschool. See Pre-school letter.
ABSENTEES & LATE NOTICES
If your child is going to be absent or late, our two preferred methods of notification are as follows:
- visit our website (https://ourladyofsorrows.ca/lates-absences/) and fill in all the requested information. Please note the new top tap ‘LATES & ABSENCES;’ or
- email us at office@myolosschool.com.
If you do not complete one of the options above, upon your child’s return to school, you must send a note to the classroom teacher explaining the reason for the absence. Please ensure you include all dates absent. If you have more than one child, we require a separate note for each one. This information is required for our annual Attendance Audit which determines our government funding for the year.
UNIFORMS
Please read the Policy Manual, which is included in the students’ Agendas. See page 7, item #7. Teachers will be starting uniform checks by next week. Please ensure all uniform items comply with the Uniform Policy. As of October 3rd, your child is required to come school in regular (not summer) uniform.
Please Note: Sweaters or vests are mandatory for all school functions such as Masses, School Assemblies, Para-liturgies, and Fieldtrips when representing the school.
SCHOOL FRONT DOOR USE
PLEASE NOTE: All students are to enter the school in the morning through the back door, NOT the front door. The back door remains open until 8:55 a.m. If your child is late (arriving after 9:00 a.m.), only then should they enter through the front door to check in with the office.
Preschool parents are to ONLY USE the preschool door (Turner side) for drop off and pick up.
MONTHLY AND WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS
This year, we will continue with the weekly newsletter and monthly calendar. In order to keep you up to date on issues and remind you of special dates, there will be a weekly bulletin sent home via email as well as posted on our website: (www.ourladyofsorrows.ca). This will usually be sent every Wednesday, so please ensure you check your emails regularly. If there is a change in your email address, please contact the school and provide us with the new one as soon as possible. The monthly newsletter will be sent home with the oldest child as a hardcopy.
VISITORS
For the safety of our students and staff, all visitors and parents are required to report to the school office where a “Visitor” tag will be issued if needed. We ask that all parents/visitors only use the Main School entrance on Slocan Street to enter the school. During instructional time, parents are not to go to their child’s classroom. Any supplies or lunches (labelled with child’s name and grade) are to be left at the office. It is your child’s responsibility (not the office staff) to retrieve their lunch or supplies from the school office. We also wish to restrict calls home for supplies and lunches, so please have your child review daily routines and help them to prepare for their day prior to bedtime. We encourage your children to bring all necessary items to school daily.
NEIGHBOURHOOD PARKING
Please be kind and respect all local parking and road speed signs for the safety of the children! Out of respect for our neighbours, DO NOT park in front of their houses or block driveways.
Especially, do not backup or drive the wrong way in drop-off zones. Please leave enough distance between cars!
PLEASE NOTE:
The gates for afterschool pick up will not be open until after 2:30 p.m. Please do not line up prior to 2:30 p.m. as the neighbours will be impacted.
Thank You