WILLIAM BRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ÉCOLE ÉLÉMENTAIRE WILLIAM BRIDGE

10400 Leonard Road, Richmond, B.C. V7A 2N5 TEL: (604) 668-6236 FAX: (604) 668-6483 WEBSITE: bridge.sd38.bc.ca

PRINCIPAL: MR. LARRY HURST � VICE-PRINCIPAL: MRS. KAREN LIN

YEAR END NEWSLETTER JUNE 30, 2020

CONGRATULATIONS ON AN INCREDIBLE AND UNPRECEDENTED YEAR OF LEARNING,

AND LIFE AT BRIDGE AND AT HOME

The 2019 -2020 school year has been, to say the least, a year of unprecedented challenge and terrible uncertainty. The level of adversity and stress we as a community experienced due to the global pandemic of Covid-19 was often overwhelming and we all asked ourselves, “How can we keep our children safe?” and “How are we possibly going to make learning happen under these conditions?”

Whether it was in trying to figure out how to provide at-home learning when schools were closed in March or a safe return to school for some of our students in June, the answer was to do what the students, staff and families at Bridge have been doing for years…

The response from the entire community was to stay positive, to look deeply within ourselves, to believe in new possibilities moving forward, to think outside of the box for solutions, and to look to one another for support.

We needed to re-imagine teaching and learning, and re-invent an education system on the fly – and we did – with creativity, collaboration and compassion.

Never have we asked more of our students, but they answered us with a commitment to learning and an amazing sense of hope and optimism that was impressive and inspiring.

Never has our team of educators faced such profound adversity, but they stared down the challenges, took enormous risks and worked harder than ever before to bring lessons and learning activities and to stay connected to our students.

Never have Bridge families faced the demands placed upon them in trying to keep their families safe, provide for them in tragic circumstances and support their child’s learning in the home – and they too, answered with a commitment to their children and our school that was above and beyond what we could have imagined.

Life Lessons for our Children - and All of Us

The ability to innovate and solve the most complex of problems: to keep each other safe; to explore new pathways of learning; to find alternative ways to stay connected with friends and family are just some of the important lessons our children have learned through their experiences this year… and from your modelling and willingness to try new things yourself.

The importance and appreciation of family, of our health and safety, our need for human connection, the power of perseverance and determination, and the impact we have upon one another has never been more explicitly taught and experienced – and our children will benefit from the things they have seen, heard, felt, imagined and learned this year.

Our children have watched and learned from all of us - and from you in this pandemic - and they will continue to do so in the coming months and years. Your contribution as parent, role model and teacher has never been more valued and appreciated.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of everything we have gone through this year, and the strongest lesson for our children, may be the way our community stayed together in the toughest times. We stayed safe, we kept calm and we were kind to one another. As a result, we got through this – and the bond between students, staff and families at Bridge has never been stronger.

You do not know how much every kind word of appreciation and support from our parents meant to us as we were attempting to take on and fight through such a daunting task. It sustained us and strengthened our resolve to keep pushing – and to continue to do everything in our power to help our students to be successful learners and to support our families as much as possible in this tragic situation.

Thank you to all of you for supporting our children, our staff and our school community – and for your incredible contributions to make this crazy and chaotic year a success.

THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PAC

Special thanks to the people who dedicate their time behind the scenes to help make life and learning at Bridge more enjoyable for all.

Thanks to the following PAC Executive and Special Event Committee Members:

• Andrew Scallion – PAC Co-Chair • Shuai Gu – PAC Co-Chair • Eric Yue - Treasurer • Theresa MacDonald – Secretary • Kim Nowitsky – Halloween Howl

Coordinator and Member-At-Large • Sara May – Breakfast With Santa

Coordinator and Member-At-Large • Vera Menzies – Breakfast With Santa

Coordinator and Member-At-Large • Crystal Soviskov – Spring Carnival

Coordinator • Sharline Gosal - Pizza / Food Day

Coordinator • Trish Gomes Carvalho – Halloween Howl

Coordinator • The Campbell Family – Haunted Hallway

and Breakfast With Santa • Lynn Wong - Fruit and Veggie Coordinator

In addition to the Executive members, so many Bridge parents volunteered their time to help out with Pizza Days, Snack Sales, Fundraising, Fruit and Veggie Days, numerous Field Trips, and other special events. Thank you all for the effort, time, selfless leadership and support you have given to our community and our students this year.

Farewells to PAC Executive Members Leaving Bridge

Andrew Scallion

Andrew has served in an outstanding capacity as PAC Chair and other PAC Leadership roles for several years at Bridge. His youngest daughter, Frankie, is off to high school next year - and so we must say farewell to a wonderful person and exceptional leader who gave so much of himself to our community. Thank you so much and all the best and thank you Andrew!

Christel Soviskov

Christel has coordinated our Spring Carnival and been a leader on PAC for many years. Crystal and her daughter Lucy are beginning a new chapter

in their lives and are moving to Kamloops. We thank her for her outstanding work and wish her all the best in the future.

Farewell to Families Leaving Bridge

Sadly, in addition to the grade 7s who are leaving us, some Bridge families are moving to different cities and different schools next year. To those students and their families, we will miss you greatly but wish you all the best at your new school. We hope you will remember to stay in touch and know that Bridge will always be your home.

Farewell To The Following Bridge Staff:

Mme Kyla Miller

With mixed emotions, we announce that Mme Miller has accepted a job share position with a close friend at Anderson school, in order to work part-time while her children are young. Mme Miller has just finished a very rewarding year on Maternity leave with the birth of her second child. We are so happy for her and her family that she has found a part-time position with a colleague. However, we are certainly going to miss the warmth, creativity and intellect she brought to the classroom each day as well as the tremendous commitment she brought to our whole school and our profession since arriving here 12 years ago.

We will miss her sense of humour, and the leadership she provided during her time at Bridge, including the many outstanding Holiday Musical Theatre productions she created with Ms. Funston. Congrats and all the best to Mme Miller from all of us at Bridge.

Ms. Judy Yuen

We are sad to announce the departure of Ms. Judy Yuen, who has taken a position at Brighouse school. We can’t thank her enough for the amazing support she has provided the English Language Learners (ELL) at Bridge over the years – and for her dedication and diligence to the students, staff and families in our school community. Her calm and caring nature, and her desire to make a difference in the lives of her students will be greatly missed here, but will no doubt serve her well at Brighouse. All the best to our beloved teacher, colleague and friend, Ms. Yuen!

WILLIAM BRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ÉCOLE ÉLÉMENTAIRE WILLIAM BRIDGE 10400 Leonard Road, Richmond, B.C. V7A 2N5 TEL: (604) 668-6236 FAX: (604) 668-6483 WEBSITE: bridge.sd38.bc.ca

PRINCIPAL: MR. LARRY HURST VICE-PRINCIPAL: MRS. KAREN LIN

YEAR END NEWSLETTER JUNE 29, 2020

Ms. Monica Lee

Ms. Lee has been a burst of sunlight since arriving at Bridge two years ago. She quickly became an integral member of our teaching staff and beloved by our students and families. We thank her for her energy and enthusiasm, her passion for teaching, and her child-centered approach to teaching in our Grade 1/2 classrooms. She is an outstanding young teacher with qualities that we know will endear her to the students, staff and families of her next school in Richmond. We thank her for doing such an amazing job for us at Bridge – and we hope our paths will cross again in the near future!

Mr. Charles Leung

Mr. Leung has been with us for one year – hired to teach our grade 5/6 students in Division 5. His hard work, and devotion to his students and our school were exceptional and he made a positive impression on the whole school community. His hard work, flexibility and creativity were especially commendable when we shifted to at-home learning – and it is clear he has a bright future in education.

Special thanks to Mr. Leung for coaching our Gr 6/7 boys basketball team – and congrats on a tournament championship for the team.

Ms. Tracy Lou

Ms. Lou joined us in the Fall, at first as a part-time Support Teacher supporting learners in many of our French Immersion classrooms, and then the position developed into a full-time job. As a Support Teacher throughout the year in a variety of classrooms, she provided our students and teachers with excellent support. She coached basketball and helped throughout the school - and, most recently, she teamed up with a Teacher-On-Call, Mr. Lee Hunter, to provide in-person and at-home learning in Division 18. She really stepped up and can’t thank her enough for all she did to ensure our Grade 6/7 students had a positive and successful end to their school year. Ms. Lou is a young teacher who will make a difference in the lives of others in the communities who are lucky enough to hire her in the future. Best wishes and good luck Ms. Lou!

Mr. Paul Petersen

Mr. Petersen taught many years at Bridge some time ago – and despite retiring three years ago

from full-time teaching, we have been lucky enough to bring him back on a part-time basis the past two years as an ELL teacher in our Intermediate classrooms. We thank him for his positive and easy-going attitude and the calm and caring way he supports our students. Mr. Petersen’s commitment to Bridge and his passion for basketball were evident as he and Mr. Reed did a great job of coaching the Girls 6/7 team to a championship at McRoberts.

Mrs. Brenda Greczmeil

Mrs. Greczmeil has been brightening the lives of others and inspiring the students, staff and families of Richmond to view life and learning with curiousity and enthusiastic wonder. Like Mr. Petersen, we were fortunate that she chose to come out of retirement to join for two days a week at Bridge. She brought an unbridled passion of a brand-new teacher to our school each day - bringing an inspirational level of youthful energy and enthusiasm to the job of supporting learners in our early primary classrooms.

The students, staff and families of Bridge past and present thank her for caring so deeply about the students in her care. We hope she unretires again and we get to work with her one more time.

Mr. James McLeod

Mr. McLeod joined us last fall as a PE and Computer Teacher for two days a week – and brought an awesome sense of fun and creativity to our Primary classes. His positive energy and dedication to our kids were on display with the cool physical activity videos he created for our students for at home learning. We thank Mr. McLeod for a great year and congratulate him for landing his first long-term and full-time teaching position at Dixon Elementary next year.

Mrs. Elisa Chanco

Mrs. Chanco joined us this year as an Administrative Assistant for two days a week. Her friendly smile and warm and caring personality brightened our days and we were grateful to have her on the team. She has decided to return to a full-time position at the Call Board for the Richmond School District. We are sad to say good-bye but pleased for her in this next chapter of her career. We wish her all the best and hope to stay in touch in the future.

Welcome Back To Ms. Kyla Aasen

We are very excited to announce that Ms. Aasen is returning to Bridge School after taking a maternity leave with the arrival of her beautiful boy and girl twins. We look forward to getting to know her growing family and to having Ms. Aasen back teaching in the primary grades next year.

Welcome to the following new staff members:

Ms. Vesna Ranisavljevic

We are pleased to introduce our new ELL Teacher, Ms. Vesna Ranisavljevic to Bridge school. She joins the Bulldog team after years of teaching Science at Steveston London Secondary. This year, she will support ELL students and Learning Assistance to our intermediate learners.

Ms. Pamela Gibson

We are happy to welcome a new part-time Administrative Assistant, Ms. Pam Gibson, to the staff at Bridge. Ms. Gibson is known as a positive, caring and thoughtful staff member and has been an AA at many schools, most recently part-time at Westwind, Currie and McNeely. She will be working at Bridge on Wednesdays and Thursdays and we are looking forward to getting to know her.

Neighbourhood Gardens a Tasty and Healthy Gift to Bridge Families this

Summer from the Ward family.

Former student, Tamryn Ward, and her brother, Landon have been tending to our “community gardens” this week at Bridge.

Earlier this Spring, Tamryn presented us with an incredibly thoughtful idea to create a neighbourhood or community vegetable and

herb garden for families to enjoy. She and her siblings, Brenna and Landon, have been working for many weeks now, ensuring that the gardens are watered and weeded on a daily basis and now the vegetables are looking ready for our Bridge families to bring them home to their lunch and dinner tables.

Vegetables and Herbs in our Neighbourhood Garden include:

• Lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and kale • Carrots, parsnips, beets and radicchio • Cucumbers, peppers, green beans and peas • Basil and dill

You are welcome to take as much as you need for your lunch or dinner for a day or two, but we ask you to kindly leave enough for others families to also enjoy as well during the summer.

Thanks again to the Ward family for the time and effort to keep this garden up and running for all of us at Bridge!

New Playground Construction is Underway

We have exciting news! Our old primary playground is currently being dismantled and the new sites for the new primary and intermediate playgrounds are being prepared. We received word that the expected completion date of the new playground installation is mid-July. Yahoo!

Our Return to School in September

We are all encouraged by the lessening numbers of Covid-19 cases across the province and in the Lower Mainland, thus we are hopeful for a return to more typical school experiences next year. However, we will continue to seek guidance from Doctor Bonnie Henry and the Ministry of Education regarding specific plans for the upcoming school year. We do not expect to receive new information prior to the middle or latter part of August.

We will be sure to update you as soon as possible once we have heard from our Provincial leaders and District Administration regarding the nature of learning for our students and guidelines for a safe return to in-person learning at Bridge.

On behalf of the staff at Bridge, we would like to wish all of you an awesome summer full of fun and lasting memories. Be safe, stay healthy and we hope to see you all in September.