Connect Charter Family Weekly Update

November 27 - December 1

This Week's Highlights

Parents as Partners: Thank you to those who attended the recent school council meeting and/or the High School Information Session. We invite families to the school on November 30th for the parenting session and movie night. Details to sign up are found below in the school council update.
Parents as Partners: Today we had 50 non-bus riders sign in late and 35 early pick ups. A reminder that student learning is disrupted when students are away from school consistently or arriving late or leaving early. We support our students by encouraging consistency of attendance and arriving on time to have continuity in their learning.
Staffing Update: Mr. David Cloutier has accepted a position with another school jurisdiction. We wish him the very best with his career pursuits and thank him for 7

years of inspired dedication to Connect Charter School. His last day will be January 12. We will be looking for someone to fill the position in the weeks to come.
The elective catalogue and form have been sent out via email. The deadline is December 1. The first day of term 2 electives is December 11th.
Student-Led Conferences will take place during the evening of Thursday, December 7th and the morning of Friday, December 8th. Bookings open on Monday, December 4th at 4:00 p.m. More details can be found below.
A reminder to our grade 9 families that conferences will look different this term, providing you opportunity to meet with teachers to discuss plans for high school transition. Booking for these meetings open on Monday, December 4th at 4:00 p.m. More details can be found below.
Two important dates coming up from School Council. The plant fundraiser pick up is scheduled for Tuesday, November 28th and A reminder that the ticket deadline for the Movie Night and Parent Program is today.

School Council and Parent Society Update

TUESDAY NOV. 28: HOLIDAY PLANT SALE PICK-UP

Plant orders may be picked up from the school Gym – enter via Gr. 4 doors – from 3:30pm-5pm.

A few helping hands are needed – please sign up HERE.

THURSDAY NOV. 30: MOVIE NIGHT & PARENT PROGRAM: Dinner & Snack orders close TOMORROW NOV. 24!

RSVP: this event is FREE for Connect families
Volunteer: consider a short shift to help make this event a success
Pre-Order Your Food: Boston Pizza (and pasta) plus drinks and snacks make for an easy, family friendly meal.

Some quantities of Drinks, Popcorn and Treats will be available to purchase – CASH ONLY – at the event. These affordable snacks are also a School Council fundraising offer. Remember you can also BYO dinner, drinks, water bottle and snacks.

Lyle Lyle Crocodile: voted Students’ Choice

Who doesn’t love a fun NYC movie with singing, car chases and emotional connections? The movie will be screened in the gym and supervised by Connect staff. Bring pillows and anything kids need to get cozy while watching the movie. An intermission will coincide with a parent program break and the snack station will be open for more sales.

“Parenting Through the Messiness of Family Life”

Connect with other parents through this engaging discussion lead by Parenting Mentor, Julie Freedman Smith.

With everything going on at home, it's easy to get stuck doing all the day-to-day minutiae without making time for the really important parts of parenting:

Connecting with our kids (when they sometimes won't even talk to us)

Teaching great habits to support their learning, both at school and at home

```
Supporting their emotional strength
```
```
Building independence
```

This session will provide an opportunity for group discussions, open Q&A, and tips for you to get clear on how to help your child through the messy emotional times while they gradually build courage and strength to take on new challenges.

We look forward to seeing you there!

LOOKING AHEAD: Scholastic Book Fair is coming Dec. 6-8

Once again, we need a few volunteers to pull off this benefit for our school. Sign up HERE.

The Learning Commons will become a bookstore during Student-Led Conferences next month. This pop-up sale raises funds for our library and also gives you the opportunity to buy books for your child’s classroom.

Thanks to everyone who joined us on Tuesday for our regular meeting. There’s room for everyone to get involved in some area! It really helps build a strong, “Connected” community.

Information for Student-Led Conferences and Grade 9 High School Transition Meetings

PARENT MESSAGE:

Grades 4-8 Term 1 Student-Led Conferences, December 2023

Thursday December 7, 2023, 4:00pm – 8:00pm

Friday December 8, 2023, 8:00am – 1:00pm

Families will sign up for an in-person 30-minute block with your teaching team, with a maximum of 4 families per block.

Grade 9, High School Discussion Meetings, December 2023

Thursday December 7, 2023 1:00pm – 8:00pm VIRTUAL

Friday December 8, 2023 8:00am – 11:00am VIRTUAL

Friday December 8, 2023 11:00am – 1:00pm in-person

Families will sign up for a 15-minute meeting (virtual or in-person) with your teaching team for a high school discussion specific to your student (virtual times are identified).

How To Book:

Conference Manager is accessed through your PowerSchool parent account.

A booking link is not required.

The steps to log in and book a parent-teacher conference at Connect Charter School are:

Log into PowerSchool at the following URL: https://connectcharter.powerschool.com/
Select the Application Launch icon (arrow in a box) near the top right of the screen
Select the Conference Manager in the menu list that appears.

Conference Manager will open for bookings Monday December 4, 2023 at 4:00pm.

The site closes for bookings on Thursday December 7, 2023 at 12:00pm.

Teachers will send out the meeting links for virtual sessions prior to the conferences.

Have a wonderful week, Connect!

Shannon Bennett
Principal

Shashi Shergill
Assistant Principal

Andrea Friesen
Assistant Principal