Good afternoon École St. Germain families,

Please note our weekly reminders for the week of September 30 – October 4^th:

No school

There’s no school on Monday, September 30^th.

 Snacks and Class Celebrations

We appreciate your ongoing support in creating a safe and inclusive learning environment for all our students.  While we value the tradition of celebrating birthdays and special occasions within the classroom, we would like to share important information regarding our school's snack policy during class parties and other events.  Due to allergies, dietary restrictions and ultimately an equity perspective, we kindly request that no outside snacks be brought in for birthday parties or any other occasions held within the school. If class parties or events are organized, they will be communicated by teachers. Given the different realities in our different classrooms and grade levels, this may look a bit different from class to class but overall, teachers will organize these class events. 

 October 1^st – School assembly and Michael Redhead Champagne

We are excited to announce that our first school assembly of the year will take place on October 1st, featuring special guest Michael Redhead Champagne. Michael will share his book We Need Everyone, which highlights the importance of community and celebrates the diversity of cultures, perspectives, and abilities. We look forward to coming together as a school to embrace this powerful message of inclusivity and belonging!

 Cell Phones and Electronic Devices at ESG

Although we do not see very many cell phones, Apple Watches, or similar devices at ESG, we want to remind families that we do not allow these devices at school. This is in line with the Province of Manitoba's ministerial guidelines for cell phones in schools.  If you have not already done so, we would encourage you to read the spotlight story, Building a More Connected and Supportive Learning Environment Together. 

 Attached photo - Our stories – Nos histoires

Last week, we forgot to share the picture of our theme of "Our Stories" to unite our school community in all that we do. To kick off the year, we created a special bulletin board in front of the office featuring the names of every student on our "Partageons nos histoires – Let’s share our stories” bookshelf.  You may have seen the empty bookshelf during parent conferences, but now, with the help of our students, the full bookshelf is ready! Please see the attached photo to view this celebration of each student's unique place in our school.

ESG Apparel Wear

Our École St. Germain apparel online store closes on Tuesday, October 1^st. Please click on the following link to see all of the options, sizing guides and payment options.   https://tuquerouge.ca/collections/esg

 Hot Lunch Orders – Kindergarten to Grade 5 

The ÉSG PAC hot lunch ordering is now available online for Kindergarten to Grade 5 students. The first hot lunch date will be Tuesday, October 15th and the cut-off date for ordering will be Tuesday, October 8th. Please see the attached letter for more information about registering for the Munchalunch  program. 

Parents wishing to volunteer can click on the volunteer tab in the program. If you have any questions about ordering then please contact Kim at esg.hotlunch@gmail.com.

 PAC News

Our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) has some exciting upcoming events that we don't want you to miss. Make sure to mark your calendars for the movie night (October 3rd) with our Rainbow Auction fundraiser! We are also looking forward to our first hot lunch on October 15th which will be from Domino's Pizza. Be sure to join us at our next PAC Meeting in the school library on October 9th at 7pm. We'd love to welcome new members so that you can stay up to date with all the things planned for this school year!

 Nut/Peanut safe

École St. Germain is a Nut/Peanut Safe school. We appreciate everyone doing their part in making our school safer for all its members. Please read all food labels to ensure the product contains no nuts/peanuts or traces of nuts/peanuts.

 Picture day

Monday, October 7^th is picture day.  Group class pictures will be taken in the Spring.

 Extra set of clothes 

We ask parents to please pack an extra set of clothes (or two) in your child’s backpack, along with rubber boots.  With the wet weather, many children are in need of dry clothes throughout the day.  Packing an extra set of clothes will minimize the interruptions for parents and teachers.