The moment has finally arrived to release the video Rik Leaf was able to create with our school population. We were excited to have Rik at ARYES to help bring our students together and build community. Although we were not able to bring the whole school together, we were still able to do some pretty special things within our learning groups following PHO’s guidelines, celebrating our new community. Rik was very impressed with how involved everyone was and how much energy was in the building. Here is the finished product for your enjoyment. At ARYES “We ROCK”!
ARYES Cross Country Running 2020
Today we had our first cross country race at ARYES. As there will be no competition between schools we will be hosting our own two runs with just our students. Our athletes were amazing today and gave everything they had. Way to go Rockies. They even got to try on our new jerseys. Our second run will be next week and we will pick the date based on the weather (TBD).
ARYES Jersey Unveiling
Our Rockies are ready to rock into action. Congrats to Jill Barnett and Patrick Smook who won our jersey draw in June and to Abigail and Morgan for showing them off.
GO ROCKIES
ARYES Update – Oct 5th 2020
Here are a few updates from last week and the week ahead.
Grand Opening – On Monday September 28th we had our official Grand Opening. The ceremony itself was a small gathering, but we were able to broadcast it to all of our classrooms. We also had a nice video included from our students and staff that Mrs. DeGroot was able to put together that really helped with the presence of our community in the ceremony. In correction to our last post, Russell Eggleston is putting together a video of the event that we are hoping to share out in the next couple of weeks.
Orange Shirt Day – Wednesday, September 30th was Orange Shirt Day. Although we were not able to have a school wide event, many worked to make this an impactful day in classrooms. There were a lot of powerful activities that were completed to stress the meaning of Orange Shirt Day and that “Every Child Matters”. It was a day where we payed tribute to all those who have been affected by the wrongs of the residential school system and honour the survivors. Classes spoke about the word “reconciliation” which means to make things better. There is no way that we can undo the pain caused through our history, but reconciliation is a step towards hope and healing.
Fire Drills – We have now completed two planned fire drills where we prepared our students for the procedures and used feedback to improve. We are required to have three fire drills in the Fall to ensure everyone knows what to do in case of an emergency. Our final fire drill will be unannounced to students, and will occur at some point in the next couple of weeks.
Fees and permission slip functions on ActivityRight – These now appear to be working and we have a number of outstanding fees. If you can make payment as soon as possible if you have not already done so, it would be appreciated. You can pay through Activity Right using a credit card, or you can send in a payment with cash or a cheque. Cheques can be made out to Anne Roberts Young Elementary.
Thank You to Vertical Slam Ultimate Challenge Society – We have received an amazing donation of $950 in food gift cards from Vertical Slam Ultimate Challenge Society. We will use this to help get our breakfast program up and running at ARYES. Your kindness and generosity is very much appreciated.
Picture Day – Picture day will be October 7th, 2020. Here’s a few important things to remember as you get ready:
– There’s no pre-order forms. All student images will be available online to view and purchase soon after photo day is complete. Watch for an email to let you know when.
– Find an outfit you like. Photos include a headshot as well as a 3/4 length shot. This means your pants will show too.
– When picking an outfit, try to stay away from large logos or prints. We want your face to be the main focus, not your shirt.
– We use green screen technology to give you a choice of digital background when you order your photos. So try to find an outfit that isn’t green.
– Don’t over-practice your smile. Smiles are always better fresh!
– If you miss School Picture Day, don’t worry! Photography by Hart will be back for a make up day on October 28th.
Rik Leaf – We are excited to have Rik Leaf here this week to work with our classes as one of our cultural activities this year. He is an interactive performer who can write songs and poetry with our classes. The goal will be to create a video of the week he is here, and all classes will be assigned times each day to work with him. Rik will be following our District safety procedures as he works with groups, making sure he is socially distancing when working on activities, as well as wearing a mask when needed.
Thanksgiving – Monday Oct.12th 2020 – No School
ARYES PAC Meeting (Parent Advisory Council) On Thursday, October 15th, 2020 at 6:30pm we will be hosting a PAC organizational meeting via zoom. At the organizational meeting we will look to get some people willing to take on the traditional executive roles such as President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Once these roles are filled, one of the first jobs of our PAC executive would be to establish a constitution. The District PAC has supports for doing this so don’t let this hold you back from volunteering. The following is the zoom link for our first PAC meeting, you can also check out information below from the BCCPAC website.
Zoom Link:
October Dates
5th-9th – Rik Leaf
7th – Picture Day
12th – Thanksgiving – No School
23rd – NID – Pro-D
ARYES – Grand Opening & More
Good Afternoon ARYES
As we head into October we wanted to send you a few updates as we all settle into our new routines. We are excited at what the next couple weeks hold for our ARYES community.
Grand Opening – September 28th 2020 – 1:30-2:30pm – It is finally here. The Grand Opening of our wonderful building. There will be a ceremony in the gym and it will be broadcasted to our classrooms. The ceremony will be small and within gathering restrictions with special guests, including the families of Heather Hannaford and Anne Roberts Young. The District has also booked Eagle Vision to create a video of the event that will be shared with the community at a later date. We encourage our students to come dressed in school colours tomorrow to show off their Rockie pride.
Anne Roberts Young Display – The Fort St. John North Peace Museum has lent us Anne Roberts Young’s nursing bag display. This is in the cabinet beside the canteen in the learning commons. Tomorrow will be the first chance our students have had to have a look at this wonderful display.
Orange Shirt Day – Wednesday September 30th 2020 will be our Orange Shirt Day. It is a day where we pay tribute to all those who have been affected by the wrongs of the residential school system and honour the survivors. Classes will learn about the word “reconciliation” which means to make things better. There is no way that we can undo the pain caused through our history, but reconciliation is a step towards hope and healing.
The main idea behind this day, is that “EVERY CHILD MATTERS”
Picture Day – Picture day will be October 7th, 2020. We will call classes down throughout the day to have individual student pictures taken. We will be sending out a reminder form on October 6th. Families will receive proofs after picture day, and will be able to place orders for photos.
Terry Fox Run – We had our very first Terry Fox run on Thursday, Sept 24th, 2020. Even though we had some interesting weather, everyone came with a positive attitude and made it a great experience. As a school we raised just over $1600 for the Terry Fox foundation which is pretty cool. Thanks again for all your efforts towards this cause.
Rik Leaf – Oct. 5th – 9th 2020 – We are excited to announce that Rik Leaf will be coming to work with our classes from October 5th-9th. He is an interactive performer who can write songs and poetry with our classes. The goal will be to create a video of the week he is here, and all classes will be assigned times each day to work with him. Rik will be following our District safety procedures as he works with groups, making sure he is socially distancing when working on activities, as well as wearing a mask when needed.
September Dates
28th – Grand Opening – 1:30-2:30pm
30th – Orange Shirt Day
October Dates
5th-9th – Rik Leaf
7th – Picture Day
12th – Thanksgiving – No School
23rd – NID – Pro-D
ARYES First Full Week 2020
Our first full week has passed and we wanted to share some of the things that happened at ARYES. We started the week with the initial stages of building an acronym at the school. We got each class to create a list of words that describe what an ARY community member should strive to be. We will now use these words to continue the process of building a school wide acronym. Classes also participated in a scavenger hunt as we get to know our building. At scheduled times classes moved around the building taking pictures of all items on their list. On Wednesday, we welcomed 40 new students as we had our first full day of Kindergarten. We had to break out our new tents for the orientation days as the weather did not fully cooperate outside but our new families still came with smiling faces and positive energy. We also had two other activities built into our week described as the “I am important” activity and “shapes tell a lot” activity where the students described their uniqueness as well as how they are feeling. Our community is truly amazing with so much talent and creativity. Thursday we had our first school wide zoom assembly as we kicked off our Terry Fox fundraiser. We looked at who Terry Fox was and what we do the “Marathon of Hope” for. We will be collecting “Toonies for Terry” until Thursday September 24th when we will have our run day. Class times will be staggered for the run on the event day.
On the building side of things we were able to get our basketball hoops fully installed and our library shelving has finally arrived. Things are starting to take shape at ARYES.
Daily Health Check – Revised
Hello ARYES families!
SD 60 has released a revised Daily Health Check form. Please continue to review the attached form before sending your child to school each day.
Thank you!
First Day @ ARYES Reflection and New SWAG Order
Good Evening Everyone
Thanks for a wonderful first day. It was so nice to meet so many of you and it was successful day for all staff and students at ARYES. As we reflect on our day we would like to make a few suggestions in regards to drop off and pick up that we hope will help both with the speed of transitions and the health and safety of all.
– We continue to encourage walking if you can as it seemed to reduce some of the traffic flow.
– As we will be starting in the playing field tomorrow for all grades, we would like to remind parents/guardians of the importance of not hanging around the playing areas / front parking lot after drop off to help reduce traffic, and to avoid large gatherings. We will have supervision in place to greet and monitor students. Please realize we would love to include everyone as we build this community, but at the present time, reducing the number of people in the area is our top priority. As we are following our District/School safety plans staff may remind you of these policies. It is solely in the best interest of our school communities health and safety.
– After school pick up will be similar tomorrow with a couple adaptations made. Some classes have decided to alter their exits for better flow but will continue to meet in the same marked areas designated in the front by traffic cones. Please feel free to meet your child away from the front of the school if they are walking as this will also help reduce traffic. We will also stress the importance to all students of using the crosswalk when exiting to keep everyone safe. It was great to see so many today respecting the social distancing procedures. Thank you for helping in these unique times.
Thank you so much for your help as we work to improve our procedures. We realize the first day is always the busiest and most exciting and that as we get into a routine this will improve and be more efficient. We look forward to a time when all will be able to be welcomed freely into the building as we continue this journey as a school community.
Finally, we are excited to announce that our SWAG orders are now once again open. Please check out the following link as there are a couple of new items added on. Orders are due Sunday September 20th 2020. Orders should then arrive by mid October.
https://annerobertsyoungschool.itemorder.com/sale
September 9th Update – See you tomorrow
Hello Everyone
Here is a last check for tomorrow morning. Sorry it is late as getting footage took us longer then expected. Thank you to Mrs. DeGroot for editing such a great video. Please check out the following pictures as well. The screens with numbers will be set up at the meeting points for each grade. We will also be at the front to meet our students as they arrive and get them where they need to go. At the end of the day we will be putting out pylons with Grade numbers on them along our front pick up zone. If you have made arrangements for pick up or your student is walking then disregard it. This will just be another layer put in place if needed. Have a great sleep and we can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow.
Here is the link to the video tour
4 More Days !!!!
We are on the final countdown. Hard to believe we are only four days away and then the real journey begins!
