Chief Tomat Elementary Community Connection

January 30, 2026

Important Upcoming Dates at Chief Tomat - see further down for more details

Please see the CTE website for a calendar of events

Feb. 2 - Registration for Enrollment opens at 7:00 am for NEW STUDENTS. Students already attending CTE do not need to re-register. Grade 5s going to CNB will automatically be rolled over and there is no need to register.
Thurs. Feb. 5 - District Strategic Plan Public Engagement Session - MBSS Foyer 6:00 - 9:00 (see below for more details)
Thurs. Feb. 5 and Fri. Feb. 6 - FAMILY CONFERENCES; early dismissal both days at 12:30. The online conference scheduler is open
Friday,Feb. 6 - PAC Music Trivingo Night 6-8 Free Tickets on MunchaLunch!
Mon. Feb. 9 - Field Studies - MacRae and Onespot to UBCO
Tues. Feb. 10 - MBSS Indigenous Leadership Students Four Food Chief Assembly 12:50, followed by class visits (by sign up)
Wed. Feb. 11 - 100th day in Kindergarten!
Fri. Feb. 13 - Pro-D
Mon. Feb. 16 - Family Day Long weekend
Fri. Feb. 20 - Skating: Lwowski, Lane, Onespot
Mon. Feb. 23 - Robbins class to the Art Gallery
Wed. Feb. 25, March 4, 11 - Grade 3 Swimming Program
Thurs. Feb. 26 - Pink Shirt Day; Assembly
Fri. Feb. 27 - Intermediate Entrepreneur Fair
March 2 - 9:30 Music Video production starts!
Wed. March 4 - 13 - Wheelchair Basketball

Intramural Schedule (Grades 4 and 5) - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Lego Club: Tuesdays & Thursdays

Gaga Ball Schedule: Monday - Gr. 1 Tuesday - Gr. 5 Wednesday - Gr. 4 Thursday - Gr. 3 Friday - Gr. 2

Playground Schedule: Monday - Gr. 2/3 Tuesday - Gr. K/1 Wednesday - Gr. 2/3 Thursday - Gr. 4/5 Friday - Gr. K/1

STEM bins: almost daily (2 students per class) in the upstairs Cub Hub

Highlights from this Week at CTE...

We had so much fun Celebrating Literacy week!! There were some great hats and character costumes!! Thank you to the PAC for making 300 cups of hot chocolate for our Fridays' Comfy Cozy to Read Day.
Reading Bear, a reading program facilitated by nursing students, came to Miss Goodmanson's Kindergarten class.
Four Food Chiefs Story workshop allows students to play and create stories based on local captíkʷɬ and oral stories of the Okanagan syilx peoples. Ms. Robertson's class showed Ms. Oltsher's class how to use the materials in literacy.
Wolverine Family Groups were on Friday. We practiced introducing themselves in nsyilxcen and we learned a lot about salmon! We played the salmon life cycle game and had a ton of fun!
Winter Gathering for Grade 3 Indigenous Students was filled with fun, learning, drumming and dancing!
Students had to Escape the Music Room this week and had so much fun solving and finding clues!

Resources for families, students and teachers can be found here. Please report any incidences of bullying to the school. Bullying is characterized by acts of intentional harm, repeated over time, in a relationship where an imbalance of power exists. Bullying can take many forms: verbal, physical, social, or electronic (cyberbullying).

Strategic Plan: Public Engagement Sessions

Your Voice Matters: Our refreshed Strategic Plan aims to co‑create an irresistible future—anchored in equity and excellence in learning, transformative leadership, authentic family & community engagement, and system wellbeing. Your insights from classrooms, schools, and departments will shape priorities, indicators, and the implementation roadmap the Board will consider by June 2026

Over January and February, staff, leaders, students, families, and partners are invited to help imagine the future for our students. Your participation matters—please attend, encourage colleagues, and invite families.

Thu, January 8, 2026 (6:00–9:00 p.m.) — COPAC-focused session
- Location: LC Meeting Room 355
Thu, January 22, 2026 (6:00–9:00 p.m.) Rutland Senior Secondary School
- Location: RSS Foyer
Mon, January 26, 2026 (6:00–9:00 p.m.) George Elliot Secondary School
- Location: GESS Library

Thu, February 5, 2026 (6:00–9:00 p.m.) Mount Boucherie Secondary School
- Location: MBSS Foyer
Tue, February 10, 2026 (6:00–9:00 p.m.) Kelowna Secondary School
- Location: KSS MPR
Tue, February 17, 2026 (6:00–9:00 p.m.) Okanagan Mission Secondary School
- Location: OKM MPR

Internal alignment sessions with district leaders also continue to ensure we bring coherent, evidence‑informed proposals to the public engagements.

Parents Advisory Council (PAC)

All parents and caregivers are on the PAC and invited to the next PAC meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27 in the library at 6:30. We hope to see you there!

West Coast Seeds Fundraiser

When: January 12-February 2

Where: https://fundraising.westcoastseeds.com/pages/organizations/chief-tomat-elementary-school

We are excited to partner with West Coast Seeds for this opportunity to support our school! Your participation helps us grow and sustain essential programs like providing field trips for all classes, giving additional funds to classrooms for extra resources, help support the clubs at our school as well as PAC events such as dances, movie night and the year end carnival.

Every packet you order will earn 40% for our fundraiser!

Once your order is in, you will be contacted by the CTE PAC with the pick up details. Order pick up will be at the school.

Composting at CTE

CTE Wolverines take care of the land and we are excited to start composting next week, thanks to the PAC! Our Earth Ambassadors are going to be helping their class to take care of the land by composting food waste and paper towels. We will send out more information next week!

Please bring any Lego donations to the bin in the office!

It will go to good use in our Lego Clubs!!

School Fees

School Fees can now be paid on School Cash Online. You can access the link to pay on our website, where you will find other information as well. School fees cover the cost of all school and (most) art supplies. The district can get what your child needs at a much lower cost than if you had to purchase them your selves. This fee actually saves you money.

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 the PAC linktree which has links to current events including fundraisers, volunteer sign up sheets as well as all our social media platforms.

https://linktr.ee/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.

Looking for Crossing Guard Volunteers!

Keeping our students and families safe is our top priority. Every morning, we have many students who could use help safely crossing East Boundary to get to school. If you have some time from 8:15-8:30 to be one of our volunteer crossing guards, please contact Mrs. Adamson at jennifer.adamson@sd23.bc.ca or chat with her outside!

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.

School Speed Zone

A reminder that school zones are in effect from 7:30-5:00 every school day. Keep our families and children safe by ensuring that you are driving 30km/hr or slower along the road. In our driveway leading to the school, the speed limit is 8 km/hr.

Reporting Student Attendance

If your child is sick, will be absent from school, needs to leave early or will be late, please let the school know through SchoolMessenger! There is information here about how to sign up for school messenger so that your can report an absence. There is an App for your phone or you can go online to the Online Parent Portal at go.schoolmessenger.ca Thank you!

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

For the district's restriction for cell phone and personal digital devices, please click here or see the school code of conduct on the website. 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. Student Accident Insurance by StudyInsured 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 Plan or to find out more, click here”

Sanctuary Schools

The Central Okanagan School District's Sanctuary Schools Policy : Board Policy 421 – Sanctuary Schools upholds the Board's commitment to providing educational opportunities for all students who are ordinarily residents in the Central Okanagan, including those with precarious immigration status or no immigration status. Student registrations that pertain to Policy 421 – Sanctuary Schools will be processed through the Welcome Centre.

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.

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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