This Week at WMES
Week of December 5 - 9

Dear WMES families:
Our December Calendar can now be found on our webpage.  

Some important info for you this week:

• Food Drive:  We are participating in Local Food drives to support our community this holiday season.  If you can help out please send in donations by  December 9th.  Thank you.
   
• A sneak peak into one of our PD sessions last week:
  The link below is to a powerful video explaining why we say the ‘Land Acknowledgement’ below every morning on the Announcements right after we play ‘O Canada’:
  “We would like to acknowledge that we are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaw people. The Treaties of Peace and Friendship cover this territory.”
  
  We are all Treaty People!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TePIVr2bgCY

• School Clothing orders: 
  If you ordered School Clothing last month, it has arrived and will be sent home tomorrow - Wednesday, December 7th.  If you would like to pick yours up instead of it coming home with your child, please let us know and we will hold onto it for you in the office.  Thanks.
  
   
• Winter is Coming: Guidelines for Inclement Weather
  
  Making the decision to alter the regular operations of school and/or school buses due to inclement weather is never an easy task. To learn more about how the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) makes this call, visit www.hrce.ca/weather.
  
  When is the decision made?  
  HRCE’s goal is to make the decision as close to 6 a.m. as possible. 
  
  A 6 a.m. announcement could be:
  All schools are delayed in opening by two hours and all bus pickups are delayed by two hours; or
  All schools are open, but some or all buses are not operating for the day; or
  Some schools (either individually or by family) are closed for the day; or
  All schools are closed for the day.
  
  If the weather deteriorates through the school day, the HRCE can decide to dismiss early. In the event of an early dismissal, the decision will be communicated as close to 11 a.m. as possible.
  
  An 11 a.m. dismissal means:
  Bused students will be picked up two hours earlier than their regular dismissal time; and
  Walking students will be dismissed at their regularly-scheduled lunch hour.  
  
  Please Note: students in Grades Primary to 6 will not be released from school until parents/guardians or designates have been notified by the school. 
  
  How will families be notified? 
  Families will receive an email and text message (opt-in is required: text Y to 978338)*
  Check our website at www.hrce.ca
  Follow us on Twitter at @HRCE_NS
  Call the HRCE information line at 902-464-INFO (4636)
  
  Click here for a printable PDF of our guidelines. 
  
  *If you know someone who is NOT a parent/guardian who would like to receive an email and/or text message, let them know they can sign up here: www.hrce.ca/notifications
   

• BusPlanner Text Messaging
  Does your child ride the bus? We are excited to introduce text messaging through BusPlanner!
  To ensure compliance with Canadian Anti-Spam laws, you must opt-in to receive information by text message. You can opt-in by logging into BusPlanner Parent Portal. 
  By opting in, you will receive texts from BusPlanner, including late notifications, general notices, and bus cancellations due to inclement weather.
  Click here for directions on how to opt-in. 
  Don’t have a BusPlanner Parent Portal account? Need help logging in? Please contact the HRCE Student Transportation Team at transportation@hrce.ca or call 902-431-4723.
  
   

• Our “Celebrate the Arts” Open House will take place on December 12th between 5and 8pm. 
  We are very excited to share this special evening with everyone and we hope that it will be a great kick-off to your Holiday season.
  The schedule of performances is posted on our webpage.  Please aim to have your child to the Music room 5 minutes before their scheduled time on the Main Stage. 
  
   
• If you are in need of COVID testing kits or masks please let us know.  We can send some home - or you can drop in to pick them up.
  
   

Upcoming Dates for your calendar:

December 12th - “Celebrating the Arts” Night at WMES   5-8pm
December 13th -  Storm Date for the "Celebrate the Arts" night
December 20th - Last day of school for the Christmas Break
January 3rd - First day back to school

Have a great week everyone.
Mrs. Wolfe and Mrs. van der Weegen