September Recap 2023 - 2024
September marked a brand new school year with an increase of over 100 students joining our school totaling our school student population to over 800+.
Along with the increase, our school Prinicpal was also away and an Acting Prinicpal came to start the school year with us. We have been incredibly lucky to have Jacki McLaren with us with such short notice and also postponing her supposed retirement. Sandeep Sidhu, the Vice Principal, has stepped up to ensure the transition back into Brentwood School from last year's closure would run smoothly despite many obstacles still in place.
The Executive Board of Brentwood School Parent Council start off the year with goals in mind to bring forth change after careful observation from last year. The current members consists of 4 ladies who all joined at different points of last year and were voted back into new respective positions at the June 2023 AGM to continue on next year. All members are hardworking mothers with careers of their own and yet, have decided to take on the responsibility of being the parent's voice and dedicate time somehow around their schedules to help volunteer and be a part of the school community.
Before the official school start date, we were luckily present by chance for the informal Kindergarten Orientation. Teachers had just arrived back into the school and were still reorganizing all of their belongings and setting up their classrooms. However, this was still a prime opportunity for parents to have a glimpse at where their children would be attending and also get to meet the teachers. Saima (Chair) and Chanel (Treasurer) stayed to help answer questions and aided the Kindergarten teachers for this event.
The first 2 days of school, the Parent Council hosted Kindergarten Tea. It was a nostalgic experience since Chanel (Treasurer) and Allison (Co-Secretary) had their kids in Kindergarten last year and remembered this event. Refreshments and cookies were set up early in the morning by the ladies for parents to enjoy. We got to meet many new parents and this was when we started to really started to build a community. The Council created a WhatsApp group for Events/Fundraising and as of today, we are at over 70 members which has been record breaking in comparison to previous years. Parents who want to be in the know, parents who want to share their voice and ideas, parents who are wanting to help out. If you are looking to join and be a part of this WhatsApp group, please send us your phone number to brentwoodschoolcouncilinfo@gmail.com.
The school also participated in its yearly Terry Fox Run. Students were allowed to wear casual/athletic wear as long as they brought in a minimum $2 donation. Donations could have been made in person with cash or online. Details were lined out on our Event Calendar of how to make your online donation. Students also got to participate in sharing awareness for the National Truth of Reconciliation by wearing orange shirts at school.
Our main event for September that the Council heavily participated in was for the Parent Teacher Conferences. Students and parents got to sit down and meet with the teachers and explore the school with their children. The Council had an amazing number of parent volunteers who donated their time and a delicious homecooked meal for the staff and teachers to enjoy for dinner. We had lot's of leftovers for the next day for the staff and teachers to enjoy again. Ms. Sidhu and Ms. McLaren came to help with setup in the morning. Saima (Chair) took the day off to cook multiple dishes and also host the entire event and clean up. Chanel (Treasurer) came before work to help setup, made ingredient listings, food cards with labels to know what items were dairy-free, gluten-free, and/or vegan. Indira (pictured in setup) came to help setup and also aided Saima in hosting the event. Annette (not pictured) was also present to help setup the final touches and host the event as well. We couldn't be more happy with how successful this event turned out with staff and teachers saying lot's of high praise of the execution of this event for them. Thank you to all parents who partake in this event, we couldn't have done it without you.
One month down, what will October bring us next?
Make sure to join our mailing list to receive communication emails from Parent Council before the school sends them out on the Council's behalf!
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