Principal Report March and April:

Pow Wow Dancer: 

Our school hosted a Secwepemc jingle and fancy dancer to come to our school (and others) to share their knowledge. Janelle is a proud Secwépemc (Shuswap) woman from T’exelc (Williams Lake Indian Band). Her father is former chief Willie Alphonse Jr, and her mother is Cree from Horse Lake. She has been dancing fancy shawl and jingle dress since she was 2 years old and was named the First Nations Role Model for School District #27. Janelle also sings on the hand drum, teaches basic pow wow dancing, does indigenous crafts, and Shuswap storytelling. She follows the pow wow trail across all of BC and down into the USA in the summer and visits family for traditional ways of life in the fall. “Being able to share culture and dance has always been very important to me, especially to our younger generation.” It was a delight to have her come to our school first thing to set the tone for a great day ahead. The students had endless questions and were incredibly engaged. It was a joy to share that with our school community. 

Congratulations to the PAC and collective efforts of the team for the successful DOT application. Rene our custodian shared this great news with me last week. This will be very beneficial to our school and team – thank you! 

• Main initiatives for the school are the library space and increasing an overall joy in literacy; as well as, updating some rather tattered sporting equipment. These are long term investments that will serve the kids of SES for years to come. 

So many changes!

We’ve been renovating land here at Salmo Elementary. In the last while, we have had three new floors installed (sensory room, teacher prep space, and library). This has led to two spaces being re-imagined. One for movement breaks, and the other as a relaxation zone, to calm and ready body and brain. The library is a space which is ready for some refresh painting in the next week or so and a group effort to address books that we have and books that we want to bring in to increase overall student engagement and joy of reading. Further to this we have a new dishwasher sanitizer in our school kitchen (normally these are only sanitizers so having double capacity is a major bonus). Budget surprise was having our staff fridge expire. We upgraded for larger capacity which can also assist when large orders arrive from our expanded fruits and vegetables program. 

Staffing:

Our IST has moved on to explore another passion area in outdoor education and getting him back to a classroom setting in which he was missing. Paul’s replacement is Michelle Villemaire, a literacy specialist. Two of our current E.A.’s are also in flux due to unforeseen family circumstances. Postings are out.

Supervision:

To ready all for the Spring Forward overall supervision has been increased. In the morning, we have two teachers and me, as well as two E.A.’s greeting all and getting a visit in before the start of the day. At recess, we have six adults, and at lunch we have 7 adults. After school, we have three teachers to assist with busing and another staff member to supervise the playground and field area. All have yellow vests and a walk talkie with whistle. 

Literacy Grant:

We have a literacy grant that was approved in November to support the two Salmo Family of Schools banding together to increase reading joy and fluency. This grant also has an Indigenous component where the importance of generational connections is paramount.

Hot Lunch:

We are working on continued tweaks to make this workable for all. Most try what is prepared which is great and some others come back for several portions (meal dependent). Right after spring break was not overly smooth, but since we are getting back to systems that work better for all. Locking device installed onto PAC fridge as requested was completed. Payments to PAC are coming this week after reviewing past payments. 

Kids lunches:

Teachers are please requesting that as much as possible students have lunches that are not requiring to be microwaved. Currently, microwave lines are long and resulting in not getting time to eat before needing to go outside. If at all this could be curbed, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Items brought forward to discuss:

Upcoming audit:

I will share the school budget with PAC at the next meeting. Currently, focus is on upcoming audit readiness and teacher classroom accounts.

First Aid:

We are governed by work safe. We have two level one First Aid attendants and a Health and Safety committee that meets monthly. 

Lost and Found:

On a regular basis we have items highlighted going down the hallways or out for family events for parents to peruse. When items are not picked up they are taken to the local Salmo thrift store. 

Community Cupboard and SES Hardship funds coordinate:

Another space that is getting some care and attention is our current laundry room. We are working on this not being a recycling dumping station, but a workable space to hold items to assist kids at the school. We have a number of items that we as a school are purchasing and are thankful for the work of the people assisting with this as well.