Chief Tomat Elementary Community Connection 

October 13, 2023

Earth Rangers

This week, the Earth Rangers came and brought some friends, Nacho and Blue, to teach us about some amazing animals. Students are invited to become Earth Rangers and help to save animals and learn more about some amazing creatures and their habitats.

This Week in Ms. Robertson's Kindergarten class students had fun practicing their letters and spelling words in shaving cream. They also made beautiful paintings of Wolverines. At Chief Tomat, wolverines "take care of themselves, others and the land".

On Friday, October 6th, the Chief Tomat Staff learned with and from one another during Implementation Day. We dug deeper into how we can take care of ourselves, each other and the land, and how we can help our students do the same. We deepened our connection to the land in the afternoon at Kalamoir Park for more learning and reflection.

PAC Fall Market - in the CTE Gym Thursday Oct. 19 5:00-8:30

Please join us for our next PAC Meeting - Wednesday Oct. 18 from 5:30 - 7:00 - in the school library.

Scholastic Book Fair

Monday October 23 - Thursday October 26 in the library from 2:30-3:30 for families to shop. Students will have class time to browse and shop.

Old Batteries??

Please send them to school. We will be collecting them through the week of Oct. 2 - Oct. 12.  They can be dropped off at the office.

PAC Fundraiser - Family Photos

Please note that we don't have cutlery or microwaves for students to use. Please send your child with cutlery if needed. Thanks

Please see the flyer for an upcoming meeting for Partners for Inclusive Education on October 10th at 6:00pm via ZOOM 


Preschool at CTE

The Boys and Girls Club runs a preschool out of Chieft Tomat and they have space for 3 and 4 year olds on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Preschool is a great way to prepare your younger children for Kindergarten. If you are interested, please contact Christine Crumb at 250-862-6165 or ccrumb@bgco.ca

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. 

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.

 


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.

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.

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.

Upcoming Dates