Dear Allenby Families,
Although it may have been a hectic week so far, we hope that the first few days back at school have been filled with excitement and smiles. We apologize for the confusion that may have occurred during entry and dismissal as we work with students to learn routines. With the Ministry focus on school safety, there is a new emphasis on minimizing adult presence in the school yard, other than school board staff and itinerant support personnel. Please help us implement the new requirements as we move towards having a locked and secure site throughout the school day. Everyone is reminded to use the buzzer at the front door and come immediately to the office to sign in and acquire a Visitor or Volunteer Badge.
A yellow form should have arrived at home this week outlining the school policy for food products coming into the school. There is also an outline of the new Allenby Birthday Recognition programme. Please do not send food items to school to celebrate a birthday. Student birthdays are acknowledged over the announcements and a “birthday surprise” is given to students at the office. A form letter will go home each month inviting families to donate funds for the purchase of a book for the school library or classroom to commemorate the special birthday, and a birthday bulletin board is going to be used for photos of students holding the donated books. In keeping with our ECO schools programme, we are strongly encouraging families to purchase reusable containers for lunches and school snacks. A private lunch programme that only serves food on reusable containers is being considered to replace the service that was sampled last year. We continue to teach our students that REDUCING waste is the primary goal in a waste management system, with REUSING being the second choice and RECYCLING is the third tier.
Our goal at Allenby is to challenge our students to learn how to think and reason in order to effectively solve problems and develop social skills, within the classroom, the school yard and the community. One role of the school system is to create an environment that will nurture future global citizens, and with this goal in mind, Allenby continues to promote the ECO School initiatives set out by the province and the school board. Students are encouraged to think GREEN throughout their day and to understand that our choices have an impact, locally and globally. All students who remain at school for lunch are expected to bring food items in reusable containers. Any food packaging will return home. We are working towards having a composting procedure in place for fruit and vegetable waste to complement our current BOOMERANG Lunch programme. Students living in the Allenby catchment area are expected to walk to/from school to promote physical activity for personal health and energy conservation for the health of the planet. Together, we can set an example for other schools to follow.
Cate Spidle
Principal
Ecole Public Allenby Public SchoolS