Chief Tomat Elementary Community Connection

May 16, 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. May 19 - No School; Victoria Day - Enjoy your long weekend
Thurs. May 29 - Parent/Caregiver Appreciation Drive Thru Breakfast - 8:00 am in the bus loop
Wed. June 4th - Track and Field District at the Apple Bowl for selected students
Mon. June 16 - Fri. June 20 - Grade 5 Week of Fun! (Grade 5 letter sent to families)
Tues. June 17 - Play Day (K-Grade 4)
Thurs, June 19 - PAC Year End Carnival
Tues. June 24 - Grade 5 Leaving Celebration 12:30-1:30

Highlights from this Week!

Here are some highlights from our week at CTE:

We had our Jump Rope for Heart event and wrap up assembly where many prizes were handed out to students. Because students raised more than twice the goal for a grand total of $3085.65, both Mrs. Adamson and Mrs. Adams got pie in the face. The morning was a great thanks to all the hard work of our staff, under the leadership of Mrs. Stafford. Our students had so much fun strengthening their heart, exercising, jumping, hanging out with their little/big buddies and cheering on the pie throwing.
Mrs. Knox's grade 1/2 class and Mr. Maxwell's grade 4/5 class had an Indigenous Cultural Presenter in their classes this week. Mr. Maxwell's students made traditional personal pouches and Mrs. Knox's class talked about the traditional uses and gathering of plants, making a beaded flower. limlemt to Christina Verhagen from Indigenous Education who came to teach and guide the learning.
We had class and the whole school photo. We ended off with our new school song and had a lovely response from our neighbour - we have the best kids and they love singing our song. You can search "Chief Tomat" on Spotify!

Earworm Warning - this song sticks in your head!!!!

Our school song has been added to Spotify. You simply need to search "Chief Tomat" to hear it! Be warned - it will come with some enthusiastic singing and it's catchy!

A Message from the PAC

📣 PAC Bylaw Update – Now Open for Parent Review! 📣

The CTE PAC Executive has drafted updated bylaws to reflect new legislation, align with PAC best practices, and fix a few admin glitches. 🛠️

🗓️ Goal: Adoption at the May 27th PAC Meeting
📌 The draft bylaws were presented at our April PAC meeting and will be posted on our CTE PAC Facebook Group for review this weekend.

💬 Not on Facebook? No problem! Email us at chieftomatelementaryPAC@gmail.com and we’ll send you a copy.

✏️ Written comments can be submitted until May 25th so our PAC Bylaw Subcommittee has time to review feedback and make any changes before the vote.

Thanks for helping us make our PAC even stronger!

All Indigenous families are invited to the Indigenous Family Gathering at Springvalley Elementary School - It will be a lot of fun!!!

A great parenting tip based on the book Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

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, May 16. 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 May 27th 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/

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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