February 27

Hello Brackendale families,

I hope you all enjoyed your week. It was another busy week here at Brackendale Elementary. We participated as a full-school on Monday in our “Coldest Night of the Year” walk, showing our support for those in our community who are vulnerable. We have four different classes head up to Whistler Olympic Park for some lovely days of cross-country skiing, and our basketball team had another fun game afterschool on Thursday. Our hallways are filled with the sounds of students learning “Riptide” on the ukulele and composing their own lyrics, and students engaged with art projects, reading, writing and numeracy. While the students, and staff, are looking to our upcoming March Break, they are all still engaged in their learning.

Looking ahead to next week, we are excited to have our final basketball tournament of the season at Don Ross Middle School, on Thursday, March 5^th, from 3:30-5:30pm. Parents are welcome to come and cheer on our Brackendale Bears!

A couple of general pieces of information:

LOST AND FOUND

• I have laid out the lost and found in the common area. It will all be donated before March Break so please come and have a look.

PARKING LOT / BUS LANE

• While we have seen some improvements in our parking lot during drop-off/pick-up, it continues to be challenging. Several parents asked me about the “little green men” that we have been putting out in the bus lane. For those parents that weren’t aware, we do have two school buses that drop-off and pick-up students at Brackendale. Additionally, often multiple days a week, we have field trips heading out first thing in the morning. We also have emergency vehicles which might be coming to school for a drill, or a presentation. We are obligated to keep the bus lanes clear of vehicles. In order to do so, we are trying as much as possible to put the “little green men” out to prevent parents from parking in those spots.

• I will be asking our facilities team to do some repainting of the parking lot to make it more clear where we do and do not want parents parking, but at its most simple, we would like everyone to drive PAST the crosswalk in front of the school and find a spot alongside the sidewalk to park BEYOND the crosswalk. As there are now well over a hundred vehicles moving through out parking lot every morning, we ask that you be efficient as possible, to allow for the next parent to drop off their child. The sightlines on the crosswalk are greatly reduced when parents are parking in front of it.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Antony Blaikie – Principal

Brackendale Elementary School

Sea to Sky School District, SD48

I am honoured to be living, working, and learning on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sḵwxwú7mesh Nation.