Community Update - March 4

Posted On Sunday March 05, 2023

Good afternoon, Bellwood Community, the home of the Bobcats where we Belong, Believe and Succeed!!

Our Walk to School Day was a huge success!!  We would like to thank all families that participated and supported our walk to school initiative.  Our Kiss and Ride was bare!! It was so much fun to see parents who normally drive walk to school on purpose to support the school!  We will be definitely having more of these days!! Stay tuned!!  A big, “Shout Out” to Mr.  Ruddock who organized this event and to the student leaders that helped out!!

During the month of March or Character Trait of the Month that we will be focusing on is Respect.  We will be reminding students daily to; Remember that respect looks like keeping our hands to ourselves and not touching other people’s belongings, Respect feels good when we are kind and respectful towards others, Respect sounds like speaking with good purpose about yourself and others and always using your manners and appropriate language.

Friday March 10, 2023 will be the start of our March Break.  Please remember that there will be no school on Friday March 10, 2023.  We will be asking you to remind your child, children to check the lost and found for items that may belong to them.  We will be cleaning up the lost and found, any left-over items will be donated.

Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead!

Please see below for our weekly updates;

Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes ETC.

Just a reminder to parent’s food delivery services at lunch should not be happening at Bellwood.  We have noticed that some of our intermediate students are ordering lunches online with Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes etc.  Please note due to students with allergies we would prefer that this not be happening at Bellwood. 

Parking and traffic on and around Bellwood Drive before and afterschool

Durham Student Transportation Services has received a Safety Concern from the school bus operators regarding parents parking on both sides of the street. This makes it difficult for the buses to get through and turn into the loading zone as well as to come back out onto the street. The problem seems to be in the afternoon more so than in the morning. 

Please be reminded not to park between Woodlawn Crt. and Lowder Pl. Unfortunately, if this problem is not resolved the Transportation company will be reaching out to the DRPS and the By-law office.

We know that working together we can resolve this problem.  Please consider if you live close by to walk your children to school.

DDSB Parent Involvement Committee  Dr Pam Palmater Parent Engagement Series.pdf 

Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends,

I am pleased to inform you that Dr. Pam Palmater will be the first guest speaker* this year for the Parent Engagement Speaker Series of the Parent Involvement Committee.  Dr. Pamela Palmater is a Mi’kmaw lawyer, professor, author, and social justice activist from Ugpi-ganjig (Eel River Bar First Nation) in New Brunswick.  She holds four university degrees, including a BA from St. Thomas in Native Studies; an LLB from the University of New Brunswick; and her Master and Doctor of Laws from Dalhousie University, specializing in Indigenous law.  Dr. Pam Palmater will be talking to the topic:

Myths vs Facts about Indigenous Rights

Dr. Palmater’s session will conclude with a Q and A session. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, 8 March from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

You can register for the presentation by clicking on this link:

http://bit.ly/3Zejtit

As you know, our board is committed to centering Indigenous rights and Dr. Palmater’s presentation is designed to guide us as we increase our knowledge and understanding around Indigenous rights.

Dr. Palmater is a well-known public speaker and media commentator – considered one of Canada’s Top 25 Influential Movers and Shakers by the Financial Post and the Top 5 Most Influential Lawyer in Human Rights by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. 

We would like to encourage everyone to attend. Looking forward to a rich evening of learning with Dr. Pam Palmater

Reminder: Chromebook Support for In-Person Students

Students learning in-person should report any Chromebook or other device damage to their teacher. From there, schools will troubleshoot or submit an IT Incident as per the standard process.

Ignite Durham Learning Foundation

Dear DDSB Families,  

 

We would like to introduce you to the Ignite Durham Learning Foundation that operates at arm's length from the Durham District School Board (DDSB).  

 

The Ignite Durham Learning Foundation is a charitable organization that serves to remove financial barriers to create equitable opportunities that empower Durham District School Board students to achieve academic and personal success.

 

The Foundation provides funding for students under five pillars: 

  • Starfish Fund: Assisting schools in addressing student needs 
  • Make a Difference Fund: Offering financial subsidies to students experiencing poverty 
  • Think Outside the Bell Fund: Supporting student participation in specialized programs 
  • Future Fund: Assisting students with building post-secondary pathways
  • S.N.A.C.K. Fund:  Student Nutrition fund provides food Access to Classrooms and Kids

 

Our Vision is ‘Make Tomorrow’s Brighter’ for DDSB children and youth in our DDSB Family.

 

We are reaching out today to invite you to join us by participating in our Second Annual Silent Auction.  The Make Tomorrow Brighter auction will open for bids on Saturday March 4th at noon and close on March 11th at 4:00 p.m. Last year we raised over $19,000, all of which went directly back into our DDSB school communities to support our students.  This year, we are asking for your support to help us raise over $20,000 by bidding on your choice of over 200 items; some of which include NBA Tickets, NHL tickets, video game consoles and a Thermea SpaExperience!
 

There are several ways you can support: 

  1. Share this information with your family, friends and colleagues.

    2. Participate in the auction by bidding on some of the fantastic items that we have.

 

Find out more about the Second Annual Silent Auction here, visit idlf.ca for information about the Foundation, and please reach out to us at ignite.foundation@ddsb.ca with any questions, comments, or ideas. 

 

Thank you for your support. Together, schools, families, friends and the IDLF will make tomorrow brighter for DDSB students. Let’s remove barriers, have some fun and raise some funds.  

 

Thank you, 

 

Stacey Lepine-Fisher 

Executive Director 

Ignite Durham Learning Foundation 

Ontario Tech University – 2023 Virtual Spring Break Camps

Ontario Tech’s Office of Continuous Learning, in partnership with the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, is pleased to offer virtual spring break camps March 13 to 17.  Our spring camps cover educational subjects, including STEM, coding, and gaming! 

For more information about our camp offerings, please visit our camps website: https://ontariotechu.ca/camps

March School Spirit Days

  • Monday March 6 – Hat Day
  • Tuesday March 7 - Twin Day
  • Wednesday March 8 – Pajamas Day
  • Thursday March 9 - Beach Wear/Tourist Day

Kiss and Ride

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for making our Kiss and Ride a safe drop off zone for our students.  There are just a few reminders.

  • Drop off and pick up should only be done in the Kiss and Ride unless you have parked and are walking your students to their line ups
  • Please do not cross in between the cars in the Kiss and Ride.  This is a safety hazard and we want to keep everyone safe especially our students, your children.
  • Please do not park in front of the kindergarten enclosure at the front of the school or in front of the garbage hut, we will be asking you to go back through the Kiss and Ride
  • The parking lot in front of the school is for parents 
  • The parking lot at the east end of the school is for staff only.  Please do not park in the staff parking lot as this causes issues especially for our supply staff.

Save the Date

  • Monday March 6 School Spirit Week starts
  • Friday March 10 NO School beginning of March Break
  • Friday March 10 – Friday March 17  March Break
  • Monday March 20  Welcome Back to School

Community Iftar  Green Elegant Ramadhan Iftar Party Invitation (4).pdf 

We would like to invite our school community to an Iftar meal at Bellwood Public School to celebrate Ramadan.  An Iftar describes the evening meal eaten by Muslims after the sun has gone down during Ramadan.

Bellwood plans to host an Iftar on Thursday, April 6th, 2023. Doors will open at 6:30 pm and the event will end at 8:30 pm.  Please join us for this event. 

The evening will go as follows;

  • There will be stations set up in classrooms for families to attend (Henna, colouring, Ramadan story, craft)  between 6:30 to 7:20 pm.  
  • There will be special guest speakers in the Gym from 7:20-7:49.  
  • At 7:49pm, there will be time for prayer in the library and eating in the Gym.  

We look forward to seeing Bellwood families there!

Please complete this survey before March 21st in order to help determine number in attendance and to ensure enough food. Please click on the link to access the Google Form https://forms.gle/3cRpEC19xMq8UZUMA

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Dates of Significance 

Purim (Judaism) March 6-7, 2023

Purim is known as the Feast of Lots, which celebrates the deliverance of Jews in Persia from the machinations of Haman. Jews dress in costume and give gifts of food to each other.

Int. Women's Day March 8, 2023

According to one source, a women's march in New York in 1857 provided the inspiration for the day. Others claim that it began as a commemoration of a strike by women needle trades workers in New York City in 1908. International Women's Day was revived in the 1960s and in 1975 the U.N. began sponsoring this day.

Holi (Hinduism, Sikhism) March 8, 2023

This festival of colour celebrates Spring, where people play with liquid and powdered colours, light bonfires and blow horns to celebrate the destruction of Holika.

Your Admin Team,
 

Sharon Knights and Gavin Ruddock