Dear Parents and Guardians,
In Re-Storying Education, author Carolyn Roberts, discusses the importance of our roots. Where do we come from? Who are our ancestors? At Bowcroft, we would like to share our roots with each other – the roots of each student as well as each staff member. Some students and staff may only have one root. For myself, this would be German. Others may have multiple roots because of the different backgrounds of their parents. Ms. Corey, for example, has German, Ukrainian and Métis roots! Please discuss your roots with your children over dinner. The Grade 1 teachers will send the little ‘slip’ home to be filled out with your help, seeing as they cannot write well – yet. We have hung up a big world map in our main hallway. Each student will be asked to put pins into the map to show their roots. As a school, we will then be able to celebrate all our roots. On Wednesday, I put the map up. That afternoon, I saw students stop, point and say: “This is where I am from!” To which the peer said: “Wow, that’s far away! What is it like there?” A wonderful way to build belonging, share knowledge, talk about our roots, our heritage. When you join us on September 25 for Meet the Teacher, please stop at the map and take a look.
Frau Vanessa Auerbach arrived from Germany this weekend to start her 6 week practicum with Frau Hauck’s Grade 6 class. This is her first time travelling this far (beyond Europe). At the end of her time here, her parents and boyfriend will arrive to explore the Rockies and Vancouver together. What a special time in her life!
Frau Neumann, German kindergarten teacher, spent a week in a German school early in July this year, participating in an ATA Teacher Exchange. Now, it’s almost time for the German teacher to spend a week here at Bowcroft. Frau Mareike Kranl will be joining us at Bowcroft September 29 - October 3, 2025. The German kindergarten students will meet her on October 1.
We would like to say a big THANK YOU to Ms. Heather for manning the front office for the past 3 weeks. We couldn’t have done it without her!
Our big green sign outside received a sanding of the rusty spots and a new layer of paint. It looks brand-new!
Terry Fox Run winners are ….
Div 1 (smaller laps): Room 9 with 469 laps and
Div 2 (bigger laps): Room 4 with 300 laps
If you have a student in the community Grade 1 class, then you have heard the good news: In the afternoons, starting at 11:45am, Ms. Bonham will be teaching 11 of the students, reducing the class size of 28 to 17 for Ms. Jenna.
Warm Regards,
Meike Thomsen, principal/Schulleiterin
Dates to Remember
September 25: Orange Shirt Day; Meet the Teacher 4:30 to 6:30pm
September 26: Clothing “Winter Shopping”, everything is free
September 29: No School; Non-Instruction Day, IPP meetings with parents
September 30: No School, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
October 7: BPAC, 6:30pm
October 6, 8, 15, 17: Learning on the Land: Inuit games with Danica Taylor
October 15: Frau Hauck, Ms. Erickson-Flegg and Ms. Kristalovich going on a field trip to Kananaskis
October 23: Frau Hauck and Frau Faszer’s class: Jack Singer Concert for “Oscar” performance
October 23: Family Literacy Night, 6:00-7:00pm
November 4: BPAC, 6:30pm
November 10-12: Fall Break
November 13: Classes Resume
November 26-28: Book Fair
November 27: Parent-Teacher Conferences, 4:15 to 8:00pm
November 28: No School, Parent-Teacher Conferences, 8:00 to 1:00pm
Dec 9 (Tuesday) is the day of the Community Winter Performance, 6:00 to 7:30pm
Dec 10 (Wednesday) is the German Winter Performance, 6:00 to 7:30pm
Spring Concert during the school day:
May 21: German program in AM and Community program in the PM