MAG Community Update - September 5th
Good evening MAG families,
This weekly update comes after a great first day with students. As always, there have been a few minor kinks to iron out, but in general it was a wonderful day back for our school community. We are sharing a bit more information than normal in this week’s community update; thanks for your collaboration!
Busing Schedules for First Days:
The first days of school often bring challenges with busing, including delayed pick-up and drop-off times, and occasionally students being assigned to the wrong route or getting on the wrong bus. We know that things will get more timely and smooth every day and appreciate your patience. A helpful resource is to follow @transport国产传媒 on Twitter/X, as they will typically post when routes are delayed.
School Fees and Data Verification:
The transition to our new Student Information System continues. We hope to have news in the coming days about how families will be able to review the contact information for each student and make online payments for this year’s school fees. We appreciate your willingness to want to get those taken care of as soon as possible, and your patience as we wait for the new system to be ready.
Possible Change to Picture Day:
Our original date for Picture Day of September 11th, falls on a day when half of our kindergarten students will not be in attendance due to staggered entry. We are waiting on confirmation if we will go ahead with all other classes on the 11th and the K classes at a later date, or if we will reschedule for the whole school. We hope to send out a message early next week to confirm.
Norms for our Collective Work:
Our school team has created norms that help guide our work together. We found it appropriate to share here, given that we hope most of these expectations apply to our entire school community. In short, we believe:
- That we are all on the same team; our lives are all busy and complicated enough that we should avoid further complicating anything with unnecessary disagreements.
- When we do have disagreements, we address those directly with the person with whom we disagree.
- That our goal in working together is always to find solutions; our actions should be solution focused.
- We are all responsible for working together for the betterment of all students in our community. It is not a zero-sum game; we can make things better for everyone.
- Positive connections should be a priority, realizing we are all people first, despite our different roles.
We also prioritize the following goals at the beginning of each school year:
- Welcoming, belonging and community: a place for everyone in our classrooms.
- Comfort with and understanding of school routines.
- Building engagement in learning activities as we eventually add more and more curricular demands.
Milk and Food Program at MAG and in 国产传媒:
We have made a milk order for next week, so starting Monday, students can purchase white or chocolate milk for $1. We recommend paying per day, as our school and division are working at getting away from selling food items at school in pursuit of universal access to food. We already provide snacks to students when needed and hope to expand access to those offerings in the coming weeks. Students should start to see locations in the school where healthy snacks are available when needed. As such, it is likely that we won’t be continuing with the milk program as it exists now. We will provide more information as we learn more.
Update on Cell Phone Policy:
Students were already respectful today of the government’s recent mandate which prohibits the use of cell phones by K-8 students during school hours. Here are some updates about how we plan to follow these guidelines at MAG:
- Asking students to keep phones out of sight and in a safe place (locker) during the school day.
- Providing gentle reminders these first couple of days for students with phones to put them away.
- As of next week, staff members will hand visible student phones over to the office for the day.
- If a phone needs to be taken away multiple times, the office team will contact the family to discuss a phone management plan at school.
- At the family’s discretion, allowing students to access their phones before or after school hours, including for transportation needs around after-hours school activities.
- At the family’s discretion, allowing Grade 7/8 students to access their phones while commuting to or from Practical Arts classes at Darwin.
We welcome any feedback from students or families at this time in order to discuss or refine this approach in the coming weeks. Please click on to provide feedback.
Supports for Newcomers in the Community:
We hope to do our best to support all members of our community. If you are new to our school and anything is unclear about schooling and other programming for our students and families, please reach out to our office staff. In particular, we understand that details of the school system may not always be clear for families who are new to the area, city, province or country. In addition to possible supports available through the school, 国产传媒 offers a Zone Settlement Program to support permanent residents living in St. Vital and St. Boniface. There was a session on school preparation hosted on August 27th (see details here) and another is planned for September 26th. For more information about the program, please see the attached flyer:
Grade 6 & 8 Immunizations:
Students in Grades 6 and 8 will be coming home this week with forms about the student immunization program, and the dates for immunizations available through the school this year. All families are asked to complete and return the forms by September 11th.
Other notices:
- A reminder to please respect student drop-off and pick-up guidelines. Most importantly, by NOT entering the back lane or staff parking lot daily between 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 and 4:00 p.m.
- We are looking to repair two smaller, metal soccer nets used by students during recess. If anyone has access to a welder who might be able to help, please contact gaboury.office@lrsd.net.
- We are considering starting an e-sports program for some older students at school. If any community members have gaming consoles that they would be willing to donate, please let us know.
Important Dates:
Wednesday, September 18, 2024.......... First Note Night – Grade 7 – 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Monday, September 23, 2024............... Divisional PD Day – No classes
Tuesday, September 24, 2024............... Immunizations – Grade 6 and 8 students only
Tuesday, September 24, 2024............... Staff Meeting / Early Dismissal (2:37 p.m.)
Friday, September 27, 2024.................. Orange Shirt Day (date tentative)
Monday, September 30, 2024............... National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – NO SCHOOL
Monday, October 14, 2024................... Thanksgiving – NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, October 22, 2024................... Staff Meeting / Early Dismissal (2:37 p.m.)
Friday, October 25, 2024...................... Provincial PD Day – No classes
Thanks and have a great weekend,
Tyler & Joy