Greetings, Josette Dandurand Elementary Bears!

Summer has flown by, and we are sure you’ve been watching the school come together with the same excitement as the staff have. Things are looking great inside, and the outside is coming together as well.

We are sending this information earlier than other schools this year to help you plan for the first week of school and beyond.

Tuesday, September 2 (grades 1-5)

For the first day of school, we will be gathering students by grade level to meet with their teachers, and will dismiss them at the same spot. They will have information on where to meet and dismiss for the balance of the week when they come out of school on Tuesday.

Students in grade 1-5 attend from 8:50-10:20am on September 2.

Grade 1 – meet at the stage seating in the playground area

Grade 2 – meet on the large sidewalks adjacent to the parking lot

Grade 3 – meet at the north end of the school

Grade 4 – meet on the green basketball court

Grade 5 – meet on the blue basketball court

Rest of the week (grades 1-5)

Teachers will provide students with information on meeting and dismissal spots for the rest of the week on Tuesday. We may keep the meeting and dismissal spots the same as Tuesday’s to simplify things while everyone learns their way around.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students attend according to the Gradual Entry Schedule sent out in July. If you did not receive the information, please email Ms. Davies.

Permanent classes

We expect that we will have formed permanent classes by Monday, September 8. Students will report one last time to their week-one spots on September 8, and will know where to go for their permanent classes to meet on Tuesday, September 9.

Parking & Traffic

As most of you are coming to us from a nearby school, you know already what a challenge parking and traffic can be at drop-off and pick-up times. Please note the following:

1. The exit onto 201^st Street is right-turn only. This will be huge in keeping traffic flowing.
2. Most of our catchment is walking distance. Please, please, please walk (or bike or scoot or run) to school whenever you can. We do have bike racks for securing your ride. The movement helps learning, and fewer cars is better. Note that we will ask you to walk those wheels on the school grounds, though, to avoid accidents. If you must drive to school, consider parking a block away and walking in.
3. There are parking spots on the north curb and on both curbs on the west side of the school. If you park on the left, please walk up to the crosswalk to cross to the school. There are also numerous street parking spots around the school.
4. The large parking lot is for school- and district staff parking. While we may see some empty spaces this year, we know that our staff will grow, and so we are going to keep it as a staff-only space from the beginning.

Crosswalks

The school property itself has a single crosswalk, directly outside the front doors. We will have someone controlling traffic at that spot. If you are walking to school, please remember that there are crosswalks at the 82^nd/201^st  roundabout. That is the safest spot to cross 201^st Street, not mid-block or at 82B Ave. There is roadwork happening along the front of the school over the next two weeks, so we may see more pedestrian-friendly features yet. In any case, crosswalks are always safer than crossing at unmarked intersections or (gasp!) mid-block. Please take the extra steps (literally) required to stay safe.

Construction Fencing

There may still be some areas of construction fencing over the first few weeks of school. These are intended to keep us safe, so please respect them.

 Initial Attendance

If your child(ren) will not be at the school in the first few days, please advise us as soon as possible. You can email jdeattendance@sd35.bc.ca to let us know.

Before- and After-School Care

The Before- and After-School Care program at our school is currently full, and has an extensive wait list. If you are on the wait list, it is unlikely that we will see much change, and so we advise you to continue to pursue other options. If we can create more spaces in that program, we will do so, and will begin to work our way through the waitlist. Inquiries about the program can go to Mrs. Redekop, the District Principal for Early Learning.

We are so excited to be opening this new school, and we love that your family will be a part of it. Enjoy your last two weeks of summer holidays!

Mr. Oliver, Mrs. Reid & Ms. Davies

and the Bears staff