Dear Banff Trail School Families,
With the recent updates to the Kindergarten to Grade 6 curricula comes the insertion of some new financial literacy content into the Physical Education and Wellness curriculum. The content that teachers cover is of course founded in the provincial curriculum, and sometimes class projects are tailored to enhance learning about money. For example, when studying addition and subtraction in grade three and four, I have seen in the past some classes turning this into a project where students are tasked with spending within a budget to plan a trip or party; I have also heard that our grade 5 students are planning an authentic event that involves financial transactions as well.
Though I am encouraged that some foundational financial literacy components have made their way into the curriculum, I eagerly await to see what content will be rolled out with future enhancements in financial literacy education for grades 7-12 (which has yet to be released). In the meantime, I would suggest that families begin some initial conversations with their children of any age around finances, and financial planning. These can often be found in our daily interactions with finances. For example, when your child is near you as you pay some bills, invite them over to see what bills you need to pay, how you pay the bills, what a bill looks like (and how to view it with a discerning eye), and perhaps begin a conversation about family needs vs. family wants (and accompanying spending examples). Or, look at a grocery store flyer together to review the idea of pricing, and compare pricing at one store with another (as you begin to examine ‘value’). You could also discuss concepts such as taxes, including how some things are taxed (like income, gasoline, goods and services) and others are not (such as some resale items, certain foods, etc.). The intention is not to burden our children with financial worries, but rather to further their learning journey in creating healthy relationships with money. We are all bombarded with advertisements, looking to attract our spending, and this is an important time for our children to become more critically aware of the financial environment in which we live!
For your consideration:
Theme Day: Thank you to all students, staff and parents who came dressed for the occasion on Halloween; it is always great to see such spirit in and around the building! Our next theme day will be on Wednesday, November 27th—Sports Team/Club Day! Share your love for your sport by donning your attire from your sports team or club, or from a sports team that you love…
Family Well-Being Resources: Below is information about CBE’s Child and Youth Well Being, Family & Caregiver Fall Series resources. There are both live sessions that parents/guardians can sign up for and recorded sessions for you to access when convenient.
Student valuables at school: Please remind your child(ren) that their treasures should remain at home. We have had some upset students about lost and/or damaged items that they care about, such as Pokémon cards, stuffed animals, and other toys.
Arriving late: A reminder that students should come to the main entrance doors when arriving late to school, especially as the weather turns. For example, if they come to the compound doors and no one is there to let them in, please remind them that they should go to the main entrance doors by the office. We understand that sometimes students must be late, and we appreciate limiting these occasions to rare instances, so that their academics and integration into class routines are not impacted.
Remembrance Day and Assemblies: We will be hosting a solemn ceremony on November 7th in recognition of Remembrance Day. We have a few students whose parents are currently serving in our Armed Forces, one of whom will be assisting in our ceremony; thank you very much for serving in defence of our country and freedoms. Please note that due to gym capacity limitations, we will only be able to invite the families of the grade-level who will be hosting any given assembly to that event. In this case, that would be the grade-5 team (whereas October’s assembly was hosted by our grade 3 team). You will receive a message from your grade-level teachers to invite you to their assembly, when that month arrives. We wish we could accommodate all families, but it is simply not possible!
Upcoming Dates:
Thursday, November 7: Last day of classes before fall break
Friday, November 8: CBE-wide Professional Development day, no school for students
November 11,12,13: Fall Break, including on Remembrance Day--School Closed.
Thursday, November 14: Classes Resume
Wednesday, November 20: School Council, 6:30pm
November 28, 29: Learning Conferences
Have a warm, wonderful weekend,
Ryan Turner
Principal, Banff Trail School