Parent Update February 9 – February 11 – Connect Charter School

Connect Charter Family Weekly Update

February 9 - February 12

Important Updates


💬 Education Plan Feedback – Thank You

  • Thank you to the parents who attended our Education Plan Feedback Session.

  • Your input is invaluable as we continue to gather stakeholder feedback and plan for the future.


🚫 No School – PD Days

  • PD Day (No School) – Thursday, February 12

  • PD Day (No School) – Friday, February 13


💻 Grade 8 Tech Buddies Community Service

  • Volunteer Grade 8 students recently participated in the Tech Buddies Program, supporting seniors (55+) with their technology questions.

  • The event was a big success, and we look forward to offering it again later in February.

  • Location: Lakeview Community Centre

  • If you know someone who may be interested in attending a future session, please email info@mpcfdn.

  • This initiative was supported by MPC Foundation, a partner organization dedicated to providing programming for seniors.


📚 Read-A-Thon

  • Read-A-Thon runs from February 9–20.

  • We look forward to celebrating students’ love of reading during this school-wide event.


🗣️ Outdoor Education – Parent Information Session

  • OE Parent Information Session (Class 8.2) – Monday, February 9 (6:30–7:00 p.m.)

  • The meeting link will be shared with families through School Messenger.


🏕️ Winter Thrive at Camp Connect

  • Winter Thrive (Classes 6.1 & 6.2) – Tuesday, February 10

  • Winter Thrive (Classes 6.3 & 6.4) – Wednesday, February 11


🌭 Peaks for Progress – Hot Dog & Snapple Lunch

  • Support Peaks for Progress by ordering a Hot Dog & Snapple Lunch.

  • Cash orders will be accepted during lunch on Wednesday, February 11.

  • Families may also order online using the Hot Dog Order Form.

  • Lunch delivery: Food will be delivered directly to classrooms on Wednesday, February 18 at noon.

🥪 Fun Lunch

  • Subway – Tuesday, February 10


Our grade 7 students enjoyed winter camp this week! What amazing weather to enjoy winter fun.

What Do Reading Minutes Have to Do with a Playground?

👉 Find out how our upcoming Readathon turns reading at home into play at school — with everything you need linked below.

📅 Coming Up: Readathon runs February 9–20
👉 Click here for everything you need for the Readathon

  SILENT AUCTION PLAYGROUND FUNDRAISER: DONATIONS WANTED

Building on our successful playground fundraising to date, we are planning a silent auction in March to continue the momentum towards our goal. We are asking the school community to share any items that they would be willing to donate for this auction. Anything is welcome and a wide variety of donations will reflect the diversity of our school. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking! 

  • Do you offer a professional service like personal accounting, renovations, trash removal, or pet sitting? Would you be willing to donate some of your time as an auction item? 

  • Could you offer a curated and unique experience to someone in our school community? Examples might include a cooking class, a guided hike/walking tour, or special access/tour of an interesting building. Experience-based auction items are sometimes the most popular ones!

  • Are you an artist or do you produce handmade objects?

  • Does your place of work offer donations to charity auctions? 

  • Do you have an unused gift card that you are willing to donate? 

Get in touch here and tell us about what you would be willing to donate. A school volunteer will be in touch with you soon.    S

 

School Council Communications for  Weekly Principal Update

 

Save the Date: The topic of our parent learning session during the March 12 Movie Night follows:  

Presenter: Samantha Woods, Founder, Kaizen Education Services

TitleFrom Chaos to Clarity: Empowering Our Children With Executive Functioning Skills

 

We all rely on our executive functions in our daily lives, from planning out our day, remembering to pack our lunch, or mapping out our next road trip. Unfortunately, adults often take these learned skills for granted, assuming that our children will “naturally learn” how to organize, stay on task, focus, and attend to a boring task while effectively preparing for the week ahead. 

 

Weaker executive skills can be the root cause of stress, anxiety, shame, and frustration both at home and at school. Youngsters with weak executive skills often exhibit disorganization, forgetfulness, difficulty initiating tasks, challenges with emotional regulation, and a tendency to be easily distracted. For a child with ADHD, the development of these skills is significantly delayed, creating a noticeable gap in social, academic and emotional maturity compared to their peers.  The promising news is that these skills are both teachable and learnable! With patience, practice, persistence, and most importantly, positivity, adults can foster the development of these executive functioning skills in their children and students.

Join Samantha Woods, a former teacher, seasoned executive brain functioning coach, and founder of Kaizen Education Services, as well as a parent to two young men, to learn more about the brain’s self-management system and how parents can help their children practice and develop these essential skills for learning and life.

 

You will learn:

 

  • What skills are included in executive functioning?
  • Some key insights from neuroscience include where executive functions reside in the brain and how they develop.
  • Why do all children, but especially students diagnosed with ADHD, need an abundance of support in developing these skills?
  • Learn simple, practical parent-coaching tips that can support the development of executive functioning in children (and adults!) of all ages. No diagnosis required!

 

Fun Lunch Reminders

As the new school year starts, so do all the field trips and overnights.  Please remember to cancel your students lunch five days in advance of these events (including Thrive days) as we are unable to hold class orders in our fridge.  We also do not hold uncollected lunches over long weekends.

 

Volunteers Wanted!!

Do you want to get involved with the school? Have just a little bit of time to share or A LOT of time to share? Interested in only one or two things or EVERYTHING?  No matter what your jam is, our school council is excited to have you come out and be a part of our volunteer community! 

 

Get started by completing our volunteer form and we will be in touch as volunteers are required for specific roles, committees and tasks!  It’s a great time to get involved! CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED! 

 

Bottles to Recycle?

Did you know that you can donate your bottle recycling to Connect Charter School through Skip the Depot and they will even pick them up!!  You can find out more on the Skip the Depot website.

When they pick up don’t forget to label your bag with our Connect School Code:  XZ8L

 

Click HERE or use the QR code to get started!

 

As always, if you have any questions please contact our school council at [email protected].

 

Have a great week!