​Charli Fortier, Language Manager for Simpcw and Shuswap Nations Tribal Council teaches two community classes on Secwepemctsin that are open to everyone. Use the links to access the Zoom meeting at the appointed time. There is no need to pre-register. They are:
a. Secwepemctsin Class Tuesday 5:00-6:00pm (sponsored by Shuswap Nation Tribal Council)
b. Secwepemctsin Class Wednesday 6:45-8:00pm (sponsored by Simpcw).

I know that many people believe that ​primary students often do nothing but play all day. Especially in Kindergarten. And while it is true that we have some time set aside every day to have unstructured play time- where the children decide which activities they will engage in and how that will look- sometimes we have to actively fight to keep that time unstructured as the demands and expectations of what we should be doing instead increases. On top of that, the time allotted to courses like art, music, and physical education is being whittled away to make more room for reading, math, and traditionally 'heavier' courses, so kids in general are spending less time moving, less time being creative, and more time preparing for tests. Play has been gradually taken away from children and replaced with structured activities, academic work, and digital experiences to the point where they hardly ever “play” at all. As this trend has continued, there has been a rise in childhood anxiety, childhood suicide, and a growing number of kids who simply don’t know how to play.
Three California educators—Eric Saibel, Scott Bedley, and Tim Bedley— along with a group of other educators, launched Global School Play Day, a full day in February set aside to just let students play. All day long. No screens, no structure, no adult interference. Now in its eighth year, Global School Play Day has spread across the world. Although one day out of the year isn’t nearly enough, they are hoping that the day will inspire schools to build more time for unstructured play into every school day. And so some of the BEST classes will be participating for some part, if not all, of the play day on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Our students need play and all the rich learning that comes from play in their lives, even if for just one day. ​

​All the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk.
                                                                              -Lemony Snicket

• Please return library books by next Tuesday so we can choose new ones.
• ​Please return the completed Unplug & Play sheets on Monday.
  
• Our February Sharing Project is due back when it is finished or by Feb. 3. It is a collection of 100 items in celebration of 100th Day.
• Wednesday, Feb. 2 is both Groundhog Day and Global Schools Play Day. See previous post for an explanation of Play Day.
• Friday, Feb. 4 is an N.I. day so Team Awesome will enjoy the day at home.
• Friday, Feb. 11 is a probable Fresh Air Friday.
• PAC pizza orders are due back by Friday, Feb. 11 with pizza lunch on Friday, Feb. 18.
• Please remember to complete the daily health check before your child comes to school and send them with a mask as per provincial health and safety guidelines. As always, if your child is sick, please keep them home.
• At this time our skating fieldtrips scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 16 are on hold due to increased safety measures. We will notify you if that changes. 
• The January newsletter for BEST can be found here.
• Please have Team Awesome read any little paper books that come home (approximately 1 per week) multiple times for practice/ fluency. Thank you.
• Check out what Mrs. Phillips is doing with Team Awesome here.
• Scholastic flyers are available online monthly. January's is available here. Our class code is RC210022.
• The sight words we are learning right now: be, big, can, it, little, me, on, us, with, we. Please feel free to practice at home.​

Go forth and Read!​ 

Before lunch on Wednesday last week we took a walk outside to look for signs of winter. We used our senses to see, hear, smell and feel signs of winter and then compared them to the signs of fall we had seen. Although the children were willing to eat some snow/ ice to taste winter Mrs. Farber and I assured them it wasn't necessary (but most of them couldn't help themselves). I consider myself lucky to be reminded by the children on a daily basis how much joy there is in little things. They were all so thrilled to look at snow and describe how it sparkled, to stomp on the ice and think about whether it was soft or hard, to run their hands over the ice and snow and to stand still for a minute to listen to what winter sounds like. They were enthusiastic to be outside and breathing the cool air into their lungs and looking to see if it made clouds as we breathed it out. And spotting a single leaf high above us on a naked tree branch caused them to yell with excitement and clamor to the tree for a closer look. The next time you're outside, just for a second, appreciate some signs of winter and capture a bit of the pleasure we felt just being outdoors last week.

I love a good impromptu sing along. Don't you?
​​

• Please return library books by next Tuesday so we can choose new ones.​
• Sunday, Jan. 23 through to Friday, Jan. 28 is Literacy Week in Kamloops. Look for Unplug and Play community activities/ events online. BEST will participate in the Unplug And Play Challenge. The brochure came home this week. Please fill in and return for the chance to win a prize.
• ​BEST will celebrate Literacy Week with a number of activities Jan. 24-28. Please see previous post for a schedule.
• Our February Sharing Projects came home this week and are due back when they are finished or by Feb. 3. It is a collection of 100 items in celebration of 100th Day.
• Schools of choice K registration for 2022 is the week of January 24. Register any time during the week as it is NOT first come, first served but a lottery (if necessary).
• Hot lunch orders for February are due to the office by Wednesday, Jan. 26.
• PAC pizza orders are due back by Friday, Feb. 11 with pizza lunch on Friday, Feb. 18.
• Please remember to complete the daily health check before your child comes to school and send them with a mask as per provincial health and safety guidelines. As always, if your child is sick, please keep them home.
• At this time our skating fieldtrips scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 16 are on hold due to increased safety measures. We will notify you if that changes. 
• The January newsletter for BEST can be found here.
• Please have Team Awesome read any little paper books that come home (approximately 1 per week) multiple times for practice/ fluency. Thank you.
• Check out what Mrs. Phillips is doing with Team Awesome here.
• Scholastic flyers are available online monthly. January's is available here. Our class code is RC210022.
• The sight words we are learning right now: be, big, can, it, little, me, on, us, with, we. Please feel free to practice at home.​

Go forth and Unplug!​