Research has shown that young students may experience a decline in their reading skills if they do not read over the summer. Access to high quality books helps ensure students continue reading. As a collaborative project with Literacy in Kamloops and Boys & Girls Club of Kamloops, the Bright Red Book Bus visits schools and local parks throughout the summer, providing children with free new books and encouraging reading for pleasure. Bert Edwards School of Technology will not be hosting the BRBB but it can be found at a number of other schools and parks in the district throughout the week from July 2 to August 16. Children can keep one free book and have one free snack each time they visit the bus. Children can also participate in story walks, games, activities, and more!
For more information, see the Bright Red Book Bus Facebook page.
Bright Red Book Bus contributing partners:

• LinK – Literacy in Kamloops
• School District No. 73
• BGC Kamloops
• Raise a Reader Kamloops
• CML Properties

​A few years ago Mrs. Farber and I had this brilliant (we thought) idea to take our classes to Centennial Park in Westsyde by city bus for the day. We could cover some of our socials curriculum (transportation, bus driver, community) and give the children an experience many of them had not had previously. It was a great idea in theory. We filled out the paper work to obtain our free bus passes and dutifully lined our little Ks up at the bus stop on 8th St to eagerly await the bus. And wait. And wait. And once the bus did arrive we learned that the bus driver had no knowledge of us and the bus was already partly full, making it difficult to accommodate 40 small children and 2 anxious teachers. We found it necessary to triple up in the seats and our children were seated all over, making it hard to keep an eye on them. But they were thrilled! The return trip was much the same, with the added stressor of having to cross 8th St at the lights with tired, dragging children who were not up to walking at the quick march it takes to get across the road before the light changes. Thankfully drivers were patient.
This year calmer heads have prevailed and on Wednesday, June 19, we will be catching the school bus in front of the school for our trip to Centennial Park in Westsyde at about 9:30(ish). We will look at the animals across the street (unfortunately through the fence), maybe feed them some goodies we can buy from a vending machine ($5 a bag- the goats are very greedy!), participate in an outdoor activity or two, play on the playground, have our lunch under the trees and splash in the water park for the rest of the afternoon before our return to school at the end of the day. If you would like your child to go through the park sprinklers please have their suit on under their clothes or in their pack and send a towel. Hats and sunscreen and a plastic bag to put wet things into, as well as a substantial lunch, are a good idea. We will catch the return school ​bus at about 2:15. Please join us at the park for a day of fun and adventure!

​​In years past we invited our moms for Moms & Muffins to celebrate Mother's Day and our dads for Dads & Donuts to celebrate Father's Day. Of course there were always children who did not have or live with both of their parents, or their special parent was not available to attend, and these days caused the children some distress, although they were welcome to invite any special adult in their life to come. To help alleviate some of the discomfort these celebration days caused for some of our little peeps, we decided to do away with both days and amalgamate them into a Family Day. In celebration, we made our families a gift of a family portrait. While drawing their portraits the children told stories about their families and discussed how they were the same or different. They talked about family meals they enjoyed and special events. They giggled over hugs and kisses and bedtime rituals. It truly was a celebration and they were very excited to make a keepsake gift for you. Enjoy!

​​Our trip to Isobel Lake is on Friday, June 14! So here's the plan- although it is wobbly as out there in the forest we are not restricted to time constraints so things are fairly relaxed other than our departure time at the end of the day.
We will be leaving the school as soon as possible in the morning (9:00ish). Be sure to pack lots of lunch/snacks (they turn into voracious eaters on field trips), a water bottle, a sweater and a hat. The children will be expected to carry their own packs all day so make sure they are manageable. We hope the weather is warm but of course it is unpredictable, so please dress your child appropriately. Apply sunscreen and bug repellent before leaving the house as the children have a tendency to share and over-apply, getting it into eyes/hair etc. The bus will drop us off at the top of the hill and we will either use the bathrooms (outhouses) at the top or the bottom of the hill... or both. Children will be divided up among the adults after we get off the bus and the groups will be encouraged to explore but to stay together. We will eat our snacks after a short walk and take our garbage with us. We will make our way around the lake, stopping and exploring and staying out of the water. It is not inconceivable that someone will 'accidently' fall/ slip into the water (it has happened before) so we will pack a change of clothes just in case. Partway around the lake we will stop to see what we can see in the lake from the shore and the pond kits will be brought out to use and later we might carefully go out onto the docks. Slightly further on we will stop in a large grassy area with covered picnic tables to eat our lunches and then slowly make our way back to the bus so we can leave by 2:00. Sometime during the day we will get a picture of all the Ks together. Sounds like a great day! Hope you can join us.
PS As per our previous fieldtrips this year, parents are welcome to drive their own vehicles or join us on the bus. 

The entire BEST staff would like to express our sincere appreciation to the PAC for all their hard work and tremendous support over the course of the school year. The PAC has worked tirelessly raising funds to support our students through their many events and fundraisers. These funds have been very important to the school, supporting numerous learning programs and purchasing educational resources for our children. To everyone who has given of their time and energy to improve our students' school experience- Thank you!