Chief Tomat Elementary Community Connection

April 4, 2025

Important Upcoming Dates at Chief Tomat - see below for more details

Every Wednesday is pizza day - orders need to be in by the Monday of that week by noon
Mon. April 7 - PAC Hot Dog Orders due on Muncha Lunch
Tues. April 15 - ELFF night for Preschool Age children
Friday, April 18-Monday April 21 - Easter Long Weekend
Tues. April 29 - PAC Meeting

Highlights from this Week!

We were excited to welcome back our students after Spring Break - we missed them! Our students have done a marvelous job returning after 2 weeks and settling back into the rhythm, routines and expectations of school. We played hard, learned a lot and enjoyed the spring weather. We have the best students!!

Here are some highlights:

Track and Field started for Intermediate students (Grade 4-5). They are practicing the different events at the end of the day Monday, Tuesday and Friday until the big track meet at the Apple Bowl.
SCREAM, a program for our grade 5 students, put on by Courage For Youth, started in Mrs. Lane's class. Students discovered their strengths, learned about relationships, media, character, and ended the week by celebrating one another. They wrote the positive traits they saw in one another. Miss Neal's and Mr. Maxwell's grade 5s will have SCREAM next week.
We were fortunate to have local author, Wilf Pauls, come to our school to share his writing and love of games with our intermediate classes. The students loved learning from him and really enjoyed the games he brought. It was wonderful seeing them play some classic games!
On Friday, we had a band from Tamanawis Secondary School, from Surrey, BC, come and play for our school. Watching the students enjoy the music, I think that we have some future musicians at CTE!
Some teachers engaged in an oppourtunity to learn nsyilxcən, the Interior Salish language spoken by the Syilx people in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada, and parts of Washington State in the United States. We feel that it is important to learn the language of the people on whose land we live, learn and play on.

Ducks for Adoption

At CTE, we are getting ready to hatch Indian Runner ducklings! A huge thank you to Ms. Robertson for her hard work in caring for the eggs and ducklings. However, they quickly grow too big for school and need a new (permanent) home. If you are interested in adopting the ducks in June, please email Ms. Robertson at noriene.robertson@sd23.bc.ca

The School Calendar Survey is closing next week!

Thank you to all who already shared their thoughts!

We invite families and school communities to share their input on the proposed calendars for next two school years.

Please review the proposed calendars at this link, then take the very brief survey.

Please share your thoughts on the proposal by Friday, April 11, 2025.

The 2025-2026 calendar is already established and available here

PAC Hot Dog Day

Thank you to the PAC for organizing and providing our families with the opportunity to order a hot dog for lunch! The next hot dog day is Friday, April 11. Orders must be place by 8:00pm on the previous Monday. Remember you can pre-order for the whole year!

CTE PAC Meeting - The next PAC meeting is will be in April 29th at 6:00 in the library.

We'd love to see you there!!

All parents and caregivers are welcome to attend!!

The Wellness Path

To read more information about our Wellness Path, please click here. We have been fortunate to have Andrea Locke here, our Health Promoting Schools Coordinator and Teacher, to implement our Wellness Path and to work with teachers to teach about foundational movements and skill.

Enrollment for the 2025-26 School Year

ONLINE APPLICATION for STUDENT ENROLLMENT begins on

Monday, February 3, 2025, at 7:00 am for 2025 - 2026 School Year

(for kindergarten, new students, and Programs of Choice for K – 12)

Please see the school's website or go to: https://enrollment.sd23.bc.ca/

Student Learning Survey 2024/2025

The Provincial Student Learning Survey is unique in its scope, size and usefulness to schools. It gathers information from parents/guardians/caregivers, teachers, and students on topics related to school environment, safety, and achievement. The information is used for planning in individual schools and provides a district and provincial perspective.

Early in 2025 the Student Learning Survey will be administered to students in grade 4, their parents/guardians/caregivers, and all school staff. We encourage parents/guardians/caregivers to participate in this survey, as the results are important in identifying and celebrating current strengths, as well as determining where the school needs to focus improvement. The surveys contain standard questions for the Province – in addition, questions from the school and/or district that focus on local conditions or issues may be included.

The survey can be completed electronically and can be accessed on the Internet at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/student-learning-survey. Any computer or mobile device with an Internet connection can be used, and access to the e-survey is simple and secure. The survey can be accessed through the link and by clicking on Take the Survey. On the login page, click on the Parents icon, and then select the school district and school name where your child attends school. Provincial, District and School Reports for previous years can be viewed at the same site under the Results section.

The e-survey site will be open until May 2, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact the school.

Follow @sd23news on Instagram!

Please take a moment to follow @sd23news on Instagram (and the same on Facebook if you haven't yet!)

Thank you Crossing Guard Volunteers!

Thank you to those parents who have volunteered to keep our children safe crossing the street in the morning! If you have Tuesday or Thursday mornings free from 8:15-8:30 and would like a fluorescent vest, please contact Mrs. Adamson. We'd be thrilled to have the whole week covered!

CTE School Calendar

Preschool Openings at

Chief Tomat Elementary

Practical Strategies for Parenting ADHD

Wish you could just roll with the ADHD in your family? Need practical strategies to deal with the day to day parenting of a child with ADHD? Sign up today for this FREE learning series from BC Children's Hospital.

Drive Slowly ! Working TOGETHER to keep our families safe!

For the safety of our students and school community, please make sure that you are driving slowly. The speed zone near all schools in BC is 30 km/hr.

Please note that the speed limit on school grounds (as shown) is 8 km/hr.

Many families have expressed concerns with the speed of vehicles on East Boundary. If you have a concern, please come to the office to fill out a concern form, with the license plate number.

Afterschool Taekwon-Do at CTE

Central Okanagan Public Schools
Updated Restrictions for Cell Phones and Personal Digital Devices.

For the district's updated restriction for cell phone and personal digital devices, please click here. We ask that students leave their cell phones/electronic devices at home. If they are at school, they are to be kept in their backpack or safely at the office. Please contact Mrs. Adamson at jennifer.adamson@sd23.bc.ca if you have any questions.

The Central Okanagan Public Schools’ Financial Hardship Clause

Within Board Policy Regulation 425R – Student Fees (www.sd23.bc.ca), the Board of Education has indicated “that a student will not be excluded from any educational program due to financial hardship”. This clause in the Regulations provides for the private and confidential consideration of financial circumstances of individual students and families, while preserving the dignity of families which may be unable to pay. Please contact the school Principal if you are facing a financial hardship that may restrict the ability of your child to access a school program.

The Central Okanagan Public Schools’ Appeal Process

Policy 460 – Appeals states that “A student or a parent of a student who is entitled to an educational program in the Central Okanagan Public Schools may appeal a decision of an employee of the Board of Education which significantly affects the education, health, or safety of the student”. For a complete description of the Appeals Policy along with the recommended steps to follow in attempting to solve a problem, please refer to Policy 460 – Appeals that can be accessed from the Policies link under the Board of Education heading on the Central Okanagan Public Schools homepage at www.sd23.bc.ca.

Accident Insurance

Central Okanagan Public Schools does not insure expenses for student injuries that occur on school grounds or during school activities. Parents and guardians can voluntarily purchase private accident insurance. The Kids Plus Accident Insurance Program that was previously offered to our students was discontinued in 2019. The IA Financial Group now offers the Family Accident Reimbursement Plan (FARP) which is a voluntary plan that provides coverage for students and their families against accidental injury, unexpected medical expenses, and critical illness. To apply for the Family Accident Reimbursement Plan or to find out more, click HERE.

Please Be Nut Aware

A reminder to all of our CTE Community that we are an All-Nut Aware School. As we have students and staff with life threatening allergies to nut products, we ask that families are extremely vigilant in ensuring that nuts or food containing nut products are not sent to school. Thank you for being proactive in your decision on what your child can bring to school.

Biking to School

If your child rides to school on a bike, scooter, or skateboard, please have a conversation with them about traffic safety. Thank you for reminding them to walk (not ride) their bikes, scooters, or skateboards on school district property and for walking up and down the hill until they reach the road. While travelling to and from school, students must wear a helmet. Bikes should be secured with a good lock in our bike racks located at front of school. Thank you for your help in keeping our students safe.

Indoor Shoes

Thank you for sending your child to school with a pair of indoor running shoes. By changing into their indoor shoes as they enter their classroom, students can help ensure the cleanliness and safety of our school building. These shoes need to be ones that your child can independently put on and take off.

Volunteers

Parents, caregivers and families are always welcome at CTE. Many have expressed interest in volunteering at our school. All volunteers must have a criminal record check completed through our school district. The process is free and criminal record check forms are available at the school office. A successful criminal record check is valid for four years. Please note that criminal record checks that are offered for a fee on various websites are not accepted by the school district, and neither are criminal record checks done for other organizations. If you have had a previous criminal record check and want to see if it is still valid, or have any questions, you are encouraged to contact the school office.

Parent Advisory Council (PAC) - Get Involved with the CTE Community!

PAC is the acronym for the Parents' Advisory Council. Each parent/caregiver at Chief Tomat Elementary is a member of the CTE PAC. The PAC offers a great way for parents/caregivers to be involved with the school, their children, and the student body. The PAC helps the school with a variety of activities, volunteer opportunities and input.

There are a number of ways to connect with the PAC - including their Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/chieftomatelementarypac/

We encourage everyone to attend monthly meetings to get up to date information on what is happening around the school and give input on how PAC funds are spent. Please check the school website and Weekly Community Connections Newsletters for meeting dates and times.

Chief Tomat Elementary is fundraising with Mabel’s Labels! If you’re not familiar with Mabel’s Labels, they are personalized, durable, waterproof labels. They are great for everything from shoes, clothing tags, water bottles and backpacks. You can
customize them with your name and a design, and they are dishwasher, laundry and microwave safe. Added bonus: 20% of all sales are returned to CTE and go toward activities, events, and gear for your child!

Mabel’s Labels also offers clothing stamps, silicone bands for water bottles and medical alert labels. This is a great way to ensure your items don’t end up in the lost & found or mixed up. To reduce the spread of germs, we highly recommend labelling but they are also useful for everyday life.

To support our school, click here and select Chief Tomat Elementary. You can pick out whatever labels or product you want, and it will ship for free directly to your house!

Savings Tip: If you haven’t already joined, sign up to Mabel’s Labels mailing list and receive 20% off you next order. Unsubscribe at any time!

Thank you for supporting Chief Tomat Elementary!
Chief Tomat Elementary PAC & Students

*Please remember to enter Chief Tomat Elementary as the organization you are supporting so that we can earn money for our students.

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