Hello Bert Edwards Families, 
Mrs. Phillips here, your child's Fine Arts teacher at Bert Edwards :)
I wanted to give you an update on our Christmas Concert for 2021. As can be expected in these times, the concert will again be VIRTUAL this year. That being said, the Grade 6's are working hard on their play and the classes are all having a lot of fun putting together their performance pieces.
Please take the time to go to my website to check out the students' performance pieces (Some students will be able to practice at home if there is singing or movement parts) as well as Costume suggestions. I have ALSO added in the Date in which we will be filming, so that you know which day they need to get dressed up.
For Grade 6's, please take the time to check out my page especially for them as it gives costume suggestions for their characters for the play. Please note Grade 6 parents, that students in this grade will need to have their costumes at school for the full week of filming for December 7-10. 
If you have any questions regarding the Christmas Concert, please feel free to email me at: [email protected]
Mrs. Phillips
https://mrsphillipsfinearts.weebly.com/christmas-concert-2021.html 

​It's that time of year again! Canada Post would like to send your child a letter from Santa but they have to write to him first. According to Santa’s CPE (Chief Postal Elf), Holly T. Elf, there are three golden rules in sending a letter to Santa:

1. Make sure you include your return address! While Santa knows where you live, his postal elves need your address to deliver Santa’s letter to your home. After all, not everyone has access to Rudolph!
2. Send your letter soon! Already letters are arriving from across the world and Santa is busy reading them every night with Mrs. Claus. He encourages you to send your letter soon to ensure he’ll have enough time to answer each and every one of them. Letters must be mailed by December 10 to allow enough time for travel to the North Pole and back!
3. Remember Santa’s address: When your letter is ready, drop it in a mailbox anywhere in Canada and the postal elves will make sure it gets to the big man quickly. Santa has a special arrangement with the post office and a stamp is not required. But please remember any other letter or card being sent to Grandma or anyone else needs a stamp. Santa’s address is:

SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
CANADA.
What an awesome opportunity to write for real life, which enables the children to launch out and explore new opportunities for their emerging writing skills. So break out the special paper, the pens, pencils and markers and encourage your child to practice their literacy skills and write a letter to Santa soon! And how exciting to get a personalized letter back!

After the pandemic left him and his reindeer parked at the North Pole, Santa Claus is back in Kamloops this year. The 41st Annual Santa Parade in downtown Kamloops will take place on Sunday, November 28. This year’s theme is the “Luminous Loops" and parade participants are encouraged to get creative with lighting and dazzle spectators as the afternoon light fades. Wake Up Santa starts at 4:10 p.m. and the parade begins at 4:30 p.m. at 2nd Ave & St. Paul Street. It will travel from 2nd Avenue to Victoria Street and along Victoria Street then end at 6th Avenue. The Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association encourages attendees to wear masks, stand with a family group and maintain social distancing. Enjoy!

• Please return the library books in their special bag by next Tuesday at the latest for exchange.
• Our Sharing/ Family Projects are due when they are finished. It is a patterned tree. Let us know if you need another one. Have fun!
• Do you have leftover Halloween candy languishing in the cupboard? Looking to be done with it? We are making a fun Christmas surprise treat on Dec. 17th that requires some smallish candies if you wish to send some you already have around. Thanks!
  
• Scholastic flyers are available online monthly. November's is available here. All Scholastic orders are done online and orders sent directly to your home. Our class code is RC210022.
• Thank you for your donations to our class basket for the PAC Christmas Basket Raffle! The last day to buy tickets is Dec 9th. PAC will choose the winning tickets on Dec 9th. A notice went home today with more info and tickets. Good luck!
• The PAC sponsored a Purdy's Chocolate Fundraiser Nov. 22 - 26th. Pease send in your last minute orders ASAP as we have a few extras!
• Be a Hunger Hero! Donations of food items are being collected by BEST for the Salvation Army between Nov. 29- Dec. 10. Thank you for supporting our community!
• On Thursday, December 2 from 6:30- 8:00pm SD 73 is sponsoring a parent session on parenting an anxious child. See here for more info and to register.
• Friday, Dec. 3 is PAC pizza day if you ordered lunch for your child.
• Friday, Dec. 3 is a possible Fresh Air Friday. We will confirm next week.
• Monday, Dec. 6 is an N.I. day and Team Awesome will stay home.
• The November 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.
• It is  'zipped up' coat and mitten/ glove season. Please practice with them at home.
• Check out what Mrs. Phillips is doing with Team Awesome here.

• The sight words we are learning right now: at, and, do, from, go, he, she, stop.    . Please feel free to practice at home.​

Go forth and Welcome Santa!​ 

​We all have those memories from childhood: jumping into a cool lake on a hot summer day, intently watching ants on the march or spending hours just laying back and looking at clouds. And whether we realized it or not, those moments in the outdoors helped shaped our views on the world around us. But those kinds of memories are fading fast for many young people today. The statistics are alarming: in a typical week, only 6 percent of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own and kids 8 to 18 spend an overwhelming 53 hours a week using entertainment media.
Within the space of what feels like very little time, the way children understand and experience nature has radically changed. Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment, but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading. It is becoming exactly the opposite of what most of us experienced growing up. There is an increasing divide between the young and the natural world. And of course, there are environmental, social, psychological, and spiritual implications because of that divide.
Why Fresh Air Friday? Studies show outdoor time helps children grow lean and strong, enhances imaginations and attention spans, decreases aggression, and boosts classroom performance. Spending time outside raises levels of Vitamin D, helping protect children from future bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues. It also improves distance vision and lowers the chance of nearsightedness. Outside play protects children’s emotional development whereas loss of free time and a hurried lifestyle can contribute to anxiety and depression. Nature makes you nicer, enhancing social interactions, value for community and close relationships. Children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces. In addition, children who spend time in nature regularly are shown to become better stewards of the environment. Need we say more?

In October we have always taken the children to visit a pumpkin patch, which often includes a maze of some sort and leads to some in-class explorations of various kinds. Unfortunately we were unable to make the fieldtrip happen this year but still wanted to do a few of the activities we enjoyed following the trip. So we did a quick lesson on mazes then Team Awesome planned out their own mazes on paper before building them from the materials we set out. Some were more successful than others but everyone had a great time using what was available to create and share their own maze.

 Eeeeeeeee!! The wind is blowing, the temperature is dropping, the inside lights come on before 5:00pm. That can only mean one thing..... holiday baking! I am a distractibaker, procrastibaker​​, just-because baker, comfort baker, rage baker- you name it. But my favourite baking reason of all are the holidays. I collect recipes all year long and add them to my list of potential goodies to make and share. Inevitably the list is too long and has to be pared down, which is a laborious and painful procedure. Then specialty ingredients must be sought and the schedule planned out before the baking fun can begin. And there are sinkfuls of dishes and packaging and freezer organizing before the actual sharing of goodies over the holidays. But my most favourite part of all? Friends and family enjoying something delicious I have created with them in mind. Let the baking begin!

• We are doing an activity next Wednesday that requires a box of some sort for each child but have not managed to collect enough. If you have an empty box of some sort (cereal, cracker, tea, kleenex etc.- nothing huge) would you please send it at the beginning of next week. Thanks for the help!
• Sorry- we did not do zipper bags today due to Fresh Air Friday. We will send them on Monday. 
• Please return the library books in their special bag by next Tuesday at the latest for exchange.
• Our latest Sharing/ Family Projects are due back Friday, Nov. 26 or when they are finished. It is a patterned tree. Let us know if you need another one. Have fun!
• Scholastic flyers are available online monthly. November's is available here. All Scholastic orders are done online and orders sent directly to your home. Our class code is RC210022.
• Once again the PAC will be sponsoring the impressive Christmas Basket Raffle! Our class basket theme is Family Game Night. Donated items are due on Nov 25th and the last day to buy a basket ticket is Dec 9th. PAC will choose the winning tickets on Dec 9th. Thank you for your donations to our class basket. Good luck!
• The PAC will sponsor a Purdy's Chocolate Fundraiser Nov. 22 - 26th. More info is forthcoming.        
• Be a Hunger Hero! Donations of food items are being collected by BEST for the Salvation Army between Nov. 29- Dec. 10. Thank you for supporting our community!
• The November newsletter for BEST can be found here.
• SD 73 will provide a parent workshop about talking to your children about sexuality and reproduction on Nov. 24. More info found here: The Askable Adult - How Do You Talk To Your Kids About Inclusive Sexual Health.
• SD 73's Trades and Transitions is hosting a parent workshop on financial literacy for students on November 25 at 7 PM via Zoom. Find more info here.
• Please have Team Awesome read any little paper books that come home (approximately 1 per week) multiple times for practice/ fluency. Thank you.
• It is  'zipped up' coat and mitten/ glove season. Please practice with them at home.
• Check out what Mrs. Phillips is doing with Team Awesome here.

• The sight words we are learning right now: at, and, do, from, go, he, she, stop.    . Please feel free to practice at home.​

Go forth and Bake!​