Hello Families,

Just a few reminders for you of upcoming events:

Fri Nov 25 – No School

Mon Nov 28 at 6:30 pm – Trade Program Presentation for families of students interested in entering trade related careers and what it can look like while attending PCS

Wed Dec 14 at 6:00 pm – Christmas program for all our families to attend, presented by PCS students

Fri Dec 16 – Early Dismissal – School is over at noon.

We appreciated connecting with our parents during parent-teacher conferences. Thank you for supporting your child’s education!

Warm regards,

Mrs. Atherton

Hello Parents,

Our sincere apologies. Times for parent teacher interviews were sent out with the incorrect dates attached. If your message said the 18th, your appointment is on Wednesday the 16th. If your message said the 19th, your appointment is on Thursday the 17th. All times remain the same.

Thank you to those of you who let us know of this error. If you have a separate request (zoom, later time, etc), we will do our best to accommodate and will get back to you individually on Monday.

Once again, our apologies for this error. We realize your time is valuable and are looking forward to meeting with you!

Mrs. Atherton

Hello Parents,

PCS has received an allocation of grant funding from the BC Independent Schools Affordability Fund. This is a temporary funding measure for this school year. As noted by FISA (the Federation of Independent Schools Association which we are part of): "The purpose of this grant is to make life more affordable for BC families who are temporarily facing financial challenges and short-term assistance with the current costs of school supplies, education-related fees, and dealing with food insecurity that impact children’s learning. Government recognizes that British Columbians may be struggling with rising food costs, and costs for a range of goods and services."

We will be using this funding to support our families in a variety of ways throughout this school year. Please note that some of our permission slips and forms will include a checkbox for you to tick if your family would benefit from having the costs covered by this grant. Hot lunch forms went home today and are eligible for this funding so please let a staff member know if you would appreciate the use of this fund for this first hot lunch period. And in the future, if your family needs assistance with food, clothing, extracurricular activities or transportation costs, please speak with Mrs. Siller or myself.

We appreciate FISA advocating to the BC government on behalf of independent school families to also have access to this funding initiative. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Warmth to you this weekend!
Mrs. Atherton

Can you believe it’s November already? The weather is certainly starting to let us know. Here’s an outline of our November happenings:

Fri Nov 11 – No School for Remembrance Day
Mon Nov 14 – Picture Retake Day – Our original day pictures should be here soon.
Wed/Thu Nov 16/17 – Early Dismissal (1:30 pm) and parent-teacher conferences. More info to come on this later this week.
Fri Nov 25 – No School for a Non-Instructional Day
Mon Nov 28 – Trades program presentation. Time yet to be determined.

Looking ahead to December, we will be having our Christmas program for students and families to attend the evening of Wed Dec 14 at 6:30 pm. Fri Dec 16 will have noon dismissal as it is the last day of school before Christmas break.

As always, you are welcome to check our calendar online for major events. Our ski days, non-instructional days and early dismissal dates for the next few months are scheduled there.

Other news to note is that we have two teachers joining us these next couple of weeks. Miss Villegas is starting next week teaching Math and PE. We are excited to have her moving to Chetwynd, though we will be sad to say goodbye to Mr. York. We are grateful for him spending the last two months with us away from his home, and appreciate his passion and dedication to helping our students learn.

Mrs. Balane will be starting the following week teaching primarily our Science classes. We are grateful for her and her husband choosing to move to Chetwynd and bring her expertise to our school. Thankfully Pastor Josh will still be spending some time with us at PCS as we appreciate the positive addition his good ideas and creativity add to our program. We hope to keep him around 😀

As we enter the season of darker and colder weather, may we remember that there is light and warmth in God’s love for us!

~Mrs. Atherton

Hello Families,

We have two resources to help you on your path to being healthy individuals and a healthy family. Please check out these resources.

1. Healthy families newsletter from Northern Health. Includes:
 great health topics
 up to date resources
 ways to connect for more information

2. Open Parachute
The Open Parachute Mental Health Program is being delivered to most of our students. This program addresses issues of stigma surrounding mental health in young people, encourages help-seeking, and creates a culture of mutual support and respect for any struggles that students may face.

This program was developed by Dr Hayley Watson, an adolescent clinical psychologist who has been developing programs globally for the past 15 years.

There are audio and video-based resources to provide you, as a parent, with practical tools for supporting the well-being of your child at all stages of their life. We will be sending you links to access these resources as your child progresses through the program.

Here is a message from the founder of Open Parachute, Dr Watson:
I am so pleased that your child is taking part in this program. I developed this resource because I want every child to learn practical mental health skills, so they can live life to their fullest potential.

This program aims to build a strong foundation of resilience so that your child can learn to trust in their own abilities, relate to their own feelings in a healthy way, and change any unhelpful patterns that may hold them back at any point in their lives.

It is normal for your children to have feelings stirred up throughout the course of this program, because we are intentionally providing a space where they can address challenging issues in a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment. These conversations can also continue at home if you and your child would like to explore these topics further – the video-based resources for parents can help guide these discussions.

We look forward to working with you to support the wellbeing of your child!

The subject says it all! Looking forward to seeing all the bright smiles tomorrow (Friday) 😊–

Hello Families,

A big thank you to the families who came out to help on day 1 of our playground installation. It was tiring but productive. Day 2 is tomorrow and we are still looking for at least one more person to help, particularly in the later morning/afternoon when the concrete will be put around the posts and a couple of volunteers will need to be going to work. Help on Tuesday for final touches and to assist equipment spreading gravel around the structures will also be appreciated 🙂

And it’s October! A few items to note are:
Wed Oct 5 – 1pm: Gr 11/12 Post-Secondary Institutions info field trip

Fri Oct 7 – Picture Day – If there is a parent who would like to volunteer to help with pictures, Lifetouch offers a coupon towards the purchase of your child’s portrait package.
Mon Oct 10 – No School – Thanksgiving
Thu Oct 13 – Sun Oct 16 – Gr 5-10 Flag Football Tournament
Mon Oct 24 – No School – Non-Instructional Day
Tue Oct 25 – No SD59 busses (we will have a shuttle bus). Gr 4-7 students will have a field trip to the Rec Centre to learn how to curl. Watch for a permission slip coming home this week.

We praise God for beautiful fall weather, particularly during the work on our playground. We hope you were able to enjoy the fall colours this weekend!

Blessings on your week,
Kristin Atherton

Hello Families,

We have been loving the beautiful fall weather and spending a little extra time outside learning. A few items for this week and next:

Wednesday (tomorrow) – We are acknowledging Orange Shirt Day. We request as many students as possible wear an orange shirt to recognize the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation and that every child matters.

We will also be taking a field trip in the afternoon with our elementary students (and a few others). Please return the permission form so your child can participate.

Friday, Sep 30 – No School

Sunday, Oct 2 – Tuesday, Oct 4 – Our new playground equipment is being installed by you! We are actively looking for more people to join in helping so please let us know if you’re able to spend even a few hours assisting.

Friday, Oct 7 – Picture Day

Enjoy the colours while they’re here 🙂

On Monday, September 19, there will not be school as we will be observing the national day of mourning to commemorate the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. This follows the federal and provincial holidays on this day.

Hello Families,

It’s the second week of school and we are settling in well. Last week, house teams were chosen and each student is on the black, green, white or grey house team. We will be having one Friday a month to wear team colours so we hope to see as many students as possible wear their team colour. And if students have their team colour in PCS attire, an extra bonus! We hope to have a PCS t-shirt/hoodie order happen in the early part of the year.

This Friday afternoon, our students will be participating in a Terry Fox Run in the Dokkie Subdivision (assuming improved air quality). A poster advertising the event is attached. If you are able, we would love to have your family join in.

The air is extra smoky today. Our hearts go out to all who are evacuated and fighting the fires in our area and across BC. We kept all our students inside today and will continue to do so until the air quality improves. If your child has a specific health concern, please ensure we are aware so we can do our best to keep them safe at school.

Our new playground structures are arriving soon! We are looking for three volunteers for Oct 2 – 4 (or a part of that time) to help with the installation (alongside a licensed supervisor). We also likely need some help with the removal of the old structures the week prior. Please let us know if you are able to lend a hand during this time. We are looking forward to our playground being renewed for the years to come.

Our students are digging into their learning and stretching their capabilities. We are already seeing some growth which is fun. We appreciate family feedback so let us know what’s working (or not) for you.

Kind regards,
Mrs. Atherton

Terry Fox Run 2022 PCS.pdf