River Runner Weekly Parent/Guardian Update – Jan. 14

Good afternoon River Runner families, and welcome to another Friday here at our precious little school.  I hope this message finds you safe and well.  During these turbulent times it is vital that we remain positive and stay the proverbial course.  Although our collective patience continues to be tested, we will indeed get through this!

We enjoyed quite a lovely past five days here at Saseenos.  We were so happy to welcome the remainder of our little ones back into our building on Monday, thus adding that much appreciated energy to our environment.  Our River Runners returned from the break ready to learn and enjoy our days to the fullest.  Speaking on my own behalf, it was truly wonderful to reconnect with all of our little ones over the past 5 days.

As mentioned previously, we will be displaying our Lost & Found items in the very near future.  At the moment we have quite a collection of items and I’m hoping that we can reconnect these articles with the rightful owners.  Please stay tuned for more direction in this regard.

I thank you for continued flexibility and compliance with our school-related COVID protocols.  I take seriously my responsibility in this regard, and do have a couple of pertinent reminders to pass your way:

* Adults and Masks–We understand and respect your decisions, as adults, regarding mask-wear.  However, please do not enter the school if you are not wearing a mask.  I realize that this may cause an inconvenience for some of our families, but it is our responsibility to remind you of this district-wide protocol.  On that note, reach out to us should you need any assistance and we will always do our best to help!  Please also use your best discretion when outside on the school grounds.  If unmasked, please avoid high traffic areas, such as school doors at the beginning and/or end of the school day.  I realize that this may be an inconvenience for some of our families, but it is my ultimate responsibility to make sure that we are all following appropriate expectations.  I thank you profusely for your adherence to these expectations.

* Phoning Before Entering Building–Please remember to follow the directions as posted on our front doors.  We ask that you phone the office before entering the building, as we are being directed to limit the number of visitors within our school.  We sincerely hope that this expectation is loosened in the near future, as we would love nothing more than to welcome our families back within our building.

I realize that we, as a society, are growing weary of many of these COVID related protocols and mandates.  However, this pandemic will be but a distant memory at some point, so let’s continue to work together to keep Saseenos as safe as possible.  Ultimately it is our restrictions, such as the ones listed above, which allow us to remain open during these very strained times.  Thank you so much for remaining positive and continuing to contribute to our positive culture here in the land of the River Runners.

As is standard to many of my weekly updates, I again polled a selection of our student population with the following query:

“What do you most value about Saseenos?”

Following are the honest responses from a few of our River Runners:

Kali — My friends

Brooklyn S. — All of the people

Eva — Math

Dawson — Playing hockey on the new court

Jordyn — Playing with my friends

Lucy — Having the best teacher ever!

Navaeh — The library

Coral — Getting to be here

Scarlett — The people

Rhys L. — Being in Nature K

Tenley — Being out in nature

Brooklyn H. — The kind people here

As you can deduce, from the above responses, our school continues to offer an environment full of love, laughter, connection and learning.  What a lovely place to call our home away from home.

Please Be Sure to Add the Following Dates to Your Family Calendars:

Friday, Jan 21          Spirit Day–tba

Friday, Jan 28          Cozy Friday!

Friday, Feb 18          Non-Instructional Day–No School for Students

Monday, Feb 21       Family Day

As we head into another weekend, I hope that the next couple of days offer you the opportunity to connect with those closest to you in this world.  Personally, I relish every chance to spend time with my wife and children, as I look forward to some old movies and time outside over the next two days.  I do hope you are able to find a similar level of satisfaction.

Please take care, stay safe, and have a wonderful weekend.

Gord