Vermilion schools update: VES and St. Jerome’s Sept. 28

Vermilion Elementary School

Staff and students are excited that we will be continuing to practice our virtues throughout this school year. Each month at Vermilion Elementary School we focus on a different virtue and try to inspire our students to practice them in their day to day life.

When a student is spotted by a staff member or another student practicing any of the virtues we focus on, they will receive an entry for a monthly draw. At each of our assemblies, starting in October, one virtue practicing student will be drawn to win a prize.

We are very excited to create a culture of character within our school by learning about and practicing virtues such as respect, compassion, perseverance, and responsibility to name a few. Our September virtue is Goal Setting. With all the restrictions, the Learning Commons will also have changes. When books are returned, they must stay untouched for 72 hours. After the three days, the books will be checked in and reshelved.

Our school participates in the Accelerated Reader (AR) program for Grades 2-6. Most of our book collection is labelled according to the reading levels. This will help students choose books to complete quizzes and earn points and prizes and to do fun activities.

If you have a book at home and want to know if it is an AR book, you can go to AR Book Finder and input the book title, or ISBN number, to retrieve the quiz if there is one. All of these websites are located at the VES website.

Quizzes can be taken between the hours of 6:00 am and 9:00 pm. Homeroom teachers will help set personal goals, classroom goals and also an entire school goal.

The BTPS Board of Trustees have passed an Administrative Procedure/Board Policy (301.2AP: Reporting Student Progress to Parents) that will allow for parents to access the progress of their child online. Parents are required to login to Parent Portal, where they will be able to access the progress of their child.

A traditional report card will no longer be issued by the school, but is available for parents to print at any time and as often as they so desire. Regular and open communication between the classroom teacher and the parent is strongly encouraged.

If parents have difficulty accessing their child’s progress online, they are asked to contact either their child’s teacher or the school office. Our goal is to assist where we are able, to ensure parents are able to continue to access this important information about their child.

Are you looking for VES Spirit clothing to wear to show your school pride? Visit the official Vermilion Elementary School shop online at ves.entripyshops.com to place an order.

Choose from a variety of products and brands that you can customize with our VES logo. There are lots of options: t-shirts, hoodies, polos, jackets, shorts, pants, hats, toques, and bags. Orders will be shipped directly to you and 10 per cent of sales will be donated back to our school.

We celebrated the Terry Fox Run this year on September 21. All students watched a video of Terry Fox in their classrooms. Then K-3 students went out right after lunch for a period and Grades 4-6 had their walk/run in period 6. We used the track between VES and St. Jerome’s and had music playing as we lapped the track.

Our Learning Commons hosts two Scholastic Book Fairs each year. Funds raised from these book fairs go directly into the Learning Commons by allowing us to add new books to our collection, as well as to provide author visits and general requirements. Our fall Book Fair is scheduled for October 14-19.

It will be a Virtual Book Fair where staff, students and families will receive a website link to view the selection online and make their purchases online as well. Scholastic is working out the details and will provide schools with the updated version at the beginning of October.

We are happy to announce that Miss Emily Venance will be joining us at VES for her AFX practicum from Oct. 5 – Dec. 11 inclusive. She will be working with Mrs. Tomkins in Grade 3.  We welcome Miss Venance to our school.

Dates to Remember:

• Oct. 9 and 12 – No School
• Oct. 14-19 – Scholastic Virtual Book Fair

St. Jerome’s School

Fall is here! Students have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather by taking their learning outdoors. Grade ones went on an alphabet sound scavenger hunt to see how many objects that started with different letter sounds they could find around the school grounds.

Mrs. Schmit’s grade 2/3 class has enjoyed reading outside in the sunshine. Older students have been playing tennis on the courts, challenging each other and their teachers to some great matches!

 

Students and staff alike, are excited that the lunch room and hot lunch have started up again. Mrs. Dewing is our new cook and she is making magic happen in the kitchen. Our volleyball teams have also started practicing, only once a week for now, but we will take what we can get! 

Next week we will be doing a modified Terry Fox Run, where individual classes will walk or run the route. It is also St. Jerome’s Day on September 30.

A small celebration for the Grade 4 students will be held as they celebrate entering their house teams! Students are asked to wear their school colours that day. We had two successful fire drills, where students and staff exited the school in good time and an orderly manner. Way to stay safe Spartans!

Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, St. Jerome’s will not be holding the annual Fall Supper fundraiser this year. We will be recognizing Orange Shirt Day again this year on Friday, October 2. Wearing an orange shirt and promoting the slogan, Every Child Matters, is an affirmation of our commitment to raise awareness of the residential school experience and to ensure that every child matters as we focus on our hope for a better future in which children are empowered to help each other.

There is no school Friday, October 9 or Monday, October 12. Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend with your family and friends.

Stay up to date

Vermilion schools want to keep parents informed and if you want to see what the students have been up to or find out what’s coming up throughout the year, you can follow along here.

Their staff kindly take the time to submit this information.