​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Happy Summer, ESR Families!

What a year! There have been too many highlights to mention, but students have been talking about some of them; genius hour, Spring Celebration, Winter Concert, the Entrepreneur Fair... There is a buzz of excitement in the air that summer is here and students are ready. Bulletin boards are taken down, binders and duotangs fill backpacks and are taken home, and the hallways begin to look a little empty as we ready the school for summer cleaning and maintenance. 

I want to take a moment to thank all of you - students, families, staff, and PAC parents for your support of this amazing, vibrant school community. ESR is an exciting place to work and learn, and it is the combined efforts and support of all involved who contribute to this place of learning. Thank you all!

The end of the school year is always bittersweet. There is always a celebratory feeling of an action-packed year with many highlights, the anticipation of lazy summer days, and a little tug as we say good-bye to students. Some will return in September, some are headed to Middle School, and others are moving to new places in the province or even to other parts of Canada. Whether your summer is spent relaxing in the backyard, on a road trip, or departing for destinations far away, we wish you a wonderful summer!

This year we are saying good-bye to some very special people. As you may be aware, Mrs. Chalke and Mrs. MacDonald are retiring from teaching and we wish them the very best of all good things as they embark on new adventures. We will miss them, but want to congratulate them on their retirement!​

We are also bidding a fond farewell to Ms. Becky, our Indigenous Liaison Worker. Ms. Becky will be working at another school next year and we wish her the best in her new position. We look forward to seeing her at Cultural Days next year. We will be welcoming a new Indigenous Liaison Worker to our team for next year. 

Ms. Carlyle has been with us this year teaching kindergarten, and will be taking a leave to be with her new baby! Congratulations, on your new family member, Ms. Carlyle!

​Our counselling team is also moving to new positions in other schools. Ms. Sandy Faulkner and Ms. Susan Curror. Good luck to both of them in their new schools. We will be joined by Karli Bartlett (Counsellor) and Jivan Rai (Youth Care Worker). 

As you know, our students are placed in one of four house teams here at ESR. We have Beethoven House, Shakespearse House, Pickford House, and Odjig House. We have spirit days about once each month in which students are invited to wear House Team Colours or sport wacky hair, dress as a favourite book character, author, etc. This year our winning team is Shakespeare House with 833 points! We are planning to purchase a trophy which will display the name of the winning House at the end of each year. Congratulations, Shakespeare House; well done!

Our theme next year is "Great Canadian Road Trip - Adventure Awaits!", and we will be working with Canadian Juno Award winner Norman Foote who will be co-writing songs with students and staff in preparation for our Celebration of Learning Through the Arts, to be performed on stage in March.​

Please see the current PAC news here:

​​Pac News June.pdf

​In other PAC news, congratulations to the following parents who will be PAC executive next year:

President: Eleni Inglis​

Vice-President - Jessica Thompson

Secretary - Samantha Robinson

Treasurer - Celine  Dauphney

DPAC Representatives - Alex Strozek and Dezarae Lilley

Members at Large - Jade Carver, Melanie Walters, Stephanie Scott, Emily White, and Jennifer Barnert

We wish them all the best and look forward to another fantastic year working with our amazing parent group!

Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

Feeding Futures Hot Lunch - If your child is away and you want us to hold their hot lunch, please let the office know before 10:30 am. ​ Otherwise, it will be donated. Thank you. ​

Please do not block the fire hydrant on Cherry Ave. during drop off and/or pick up so that it is easily accessed in the event of an emergency. 

​SOGI Myth Busters (1).pdf

Current House Team Points:​

Shakespeare (red)             Beethoven (Black)                     Pickford (yellow)                  Odjig (green)                  

         833                                     831                                              825                                           742        

Facebook - For those families who are new and who have access to Facebook, there is a page for ESR parents that you can join. The group posts relevant information and will update with the Eagle News as well as school district messages and other notices. You can request to join the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/630266870328153

Please remember that there is a $20.00 arts programming fee for each student which will be due by October 1st. This fee helps sustain our integrated arts program by supporting our artists-in-residence, arts training for teachers, and other aspects of our program. The fee will be payable through cash online. 

Staying Safe - ​Please, please, do not send your child to school sick. If they are fevered, headachy, or are having stomach pains, they should stay home. If your little ones have vomited the night before, they must stay home the next day. ​​

​Important note! It is important to remember that students who are sick need to stay home. Stuffy nose, combined with fever and green nasal discharge (yuck!) are signs of infection and can spread at school. We have several students in our building who are immune-compromised who can become seriously ill when exposed to illness. If you child throws up at home, please keep them at home for an additional 24 hours until they are feeling well. ​

Allergies - ​We have children at our school who have serious allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and shellfish. Please note that our school is nut, sesame, and shellfish aware. If your child is in a class with another student who has anaphylactic reactions to a specific allergen, we will let you know and ask you to pack snacks and lunches that will help keep students safe and reduce exposure. 

* Remember that you can subscribe to our school calendar which can help keep you up to date on events and activities. You can find the calendar on the main page of our school website. 

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From the Office

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Edwin S. Richards Arts Based Curriculum School

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 REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL MISSION PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

✓ Children born in 2020 are eligible for Kindergarten in 2025-2026 (Registration will take place for siblings of current ESR Students from December 1-20.  Starting January 13, 2025, if there are any spaces still available we will start calling parents who have children on our Kindergarten Wait List to come and register.

✓ Proof of age is required at time of registration: I.E. Birth Certificate, Passport, Permanent Residence Card, BC Services Card (Photo Version Only), Aboriginal Status Card, Certificate of Citizenship or Immigration Canada document. Please Note: The BC Care Card is not acceptable proof of age.

✓ Proof of Residency in BC:

•  Parent's Care Card (not student's) / Parent's BC Services Card (not student's) /

    Driver's License / Municipal Tax Bill / Rental Agreement or Utility Bill
​

Early Pickup

If you are coming to the school before usual dismissal, please notify your child's teacher as well as the office in advance. Miss Amy will page your son/daughter and have them waiting inside the school at the front doors. Please pull up to the front of the school and we will send your child out to meet you.

School Cash Online

We are not accepting cash/cheques in the office. If you need help signing on to the School Cash online system, please stop by the Office. 

Absences

If your son/daughter will be away, please call and let Miss Amy know 604-826-2834 or email her at amy.masuch@mpsd.ca

Afternoon Pickup

Please arrange play dates and pickup location with your child before school. End of day is a very busy time in the office - it may not be possible to get pickup messages to all students, so please make sure your child knows in advance where to meet you at the end of the day.

Volunteer Forms (1 Page) need to be completed every year & returned to the Office (you can fill them out & print them out from ESR's website or you can get a copy from the Office to fill out & return).

Criminal Record Checks are now done online on the ESR Website:

• Please go to the Parents (Top Tab)
• Volunteer Forms (Side Tab)
• Got to the bottom and click the CRC Link
• Write down the Access Code before you click the actual CRC Form Link to complete your Criminal Record Check (CRC remain effective for 5 years and there is no cost associated with the check).

PAC News

We are very grateful for our dedicated PAC here at ESR for all the hard work they do to benefit students. There are many ways you can become involved. If you are able to assist the PAC in any way - hot lunch, fundraising, etc., please contact them via email at esrichardspac@gmail.com   If you have questions regarding any fundraisers, events, etc. that are sponsored by PAC please email them directly for a quicker response.

Thank you to those parents helping with hot lunch! We couldn't have hot lunches without volunteers, and we appreciate everyone who comes to help. 

You can also check out the  latest PAC news and events at  https://www.facebook.com/groups/630266870328153/  

General Information
Homestay Families Wanted 

Mission Public Schools International Program is accepting applications for nurturing homestay families who want to provide a caring home for our elementary age students. Please clink the link below to apply online or you can email kim.hunter@mpsd.ca if you have any questions. 

http://www.studyinmission.ca/become-a-host-family.