February & March 2026
We know that students often go home and share pieces of their day, and we always encourage families to assume good intentions as we work together to support your child. Our staff genuinely care for every student, and having a strong partnership between home and school helps us understand situations fully and respond thoughtfully. If concerns ever arise, we kindly ask that you start by connecting directly with your child’s classroom teacher—this ensures they can begin problem‑solving with you and support your child right away. We’re here to help, we care deeply, and we appreciate working together as a team.
Our staff provide basic first aid during the school day, including band-aids, ice packs, and care for simple bumps and bruises. We do not have a school nurse, and we are unable to assess or treat injuries that occur outside of school, those situations will result in a call home. Please note that any head bump or head‑related concern we are made aware of will always result in a phone call to parents/guardians, and families ultimately decide on next steps based on the information provided.
For students enrolled on the lunch program, a monthly “pay-what-you-can” fee has been added to your student’s School Cash Online to make it easier to contribute, where you can select an option between $0 and the recommended amount. The fee is due February 28th for March. We rely on parent contributions to continue offering the program into the future. If you intended to contribute for previous months, you can also pay for previous months on School Cash (January – March) or do so here.
If you are interested in joining the waitlist, please reach out to the school office. Further questions can be emailed to [email protected]
Calendar Input
Please see link HERE to the proposed calendars for the next three years for ESQE. The calendars include holidays, days in school is in session, professional development days, early dismissals, parent-teacher conferences, etc. Although elementary schools follow similar schedules, there are some dates/events specific to our school. Some changes to note starting NEXT school year:
- Our Bell times will change to a start time of 8:50am (currently 8:53am) & an end time of 3:00pm (currently 3:03pm).
- We have reduced the number of collaboration afternoons from four to two (childcare will still be available for those families that are stuck on those two afternoons).
- There will no longer be a one-hour day for students in June. The last full day will depend when the dates fall on the calendar based on the number of required instructional minutes.
Celebrating SQE
This week we had our Pink Shirt Day Assembly. Pink Shirt Day is an annual event that promotes kindness and raises awareness about preventing bullying by encouraging people to wear pink as a symbol of support. Check out some highlights below:
Our Student Choir -singing Beautiful Things by Benson Boone & Mme Hryhirchuk & Mme. Goldman performing!
Bullying means behaviour that is intentional, repeated, and involves a power imbalance. Children also experience everyday conflicts or one‑time unkind moments, which still need guidance—but they are different from bullying. Using the right language helps us understand what’s really happening and support kids in learning to solve problems and build healthy relationships.
Featured artist of the month: Cadel W.
Grades 4-6 students of Ms. Duncan have been exploring the element line since the new year and completed a continuous line exercise as a fun challenge. Most students worked on theirs for 1-2 classes. Cadel went above and beyond and worked diligently on his continuous line for several weeks and the results are incredible. Way to persevere and succeed at this goal, Cadel!
Several of our primary classes celebrated 100 days of being at school!
PAC News We will be seeking community members to step into the following PAC Executive roles for next year:
- PAC Chair
- Vice Chair
- Secretary
- Treasurer
We need a PAC team to help connect our community so please consider a role to support our students and staff! You can also email both the PAC at [email protected] and Ms. Hain (Principal) at [email protected] to share your interest or ask questions. The elections for the new positions will be later this school year. More info to come!
It is a great book. One that I recommend to all parents, counsellors, and educators. This book was recommended to me a couple years ago when I was questioning my abilities as a parent. I decided I wanted to be the best parent! I believe we all have that desire. Parenting is hard. I believe it is the hardest best thing I will ever do. As parents we are constantly being pushed to our limits as boundaries and behaviours challenge our very core. Reading this book was a game changer for me.
The premise: All children will attach and need to attach, as it is a psychological and biological need for the human species. Ideally, your children attach to you, the guardians, instead of their friends. Adults have a higher capacity to provide unconditional love to their children versus someone the same age. The authors found that when children are peer oriented (their primary attachment is to their friends), it stunts their emotional development. This is because children do not have the capacity to support other children’s emotional needs and once a child is rejected from their peers repeatedly they will become emotionally numb to prevent feeling hurt. This will impact relationships in the future. Below are practical ways to maintain orientation to the guardian. Through these practices children develop healthy attachment and emotional development.
- In the morning spend 10 minutes with your child. Cuddling, chatting, and connecting.
- Teach them how to do something. This could be a sport, a skill, or a chore at home.
- “Collecting”. Before scolding your child, look your child in the eye and tell them something kind, “I love you so much and the behaviour I just saw does not affect how I feel about you and this is what was not okay…” or simply look them in the eyes and smile. Doing this will keep the energy calm for both you and your child.
- Eat as a family. Make it an expectation to all have dinner together with no devices. Talk to each other. Do not talk about negative things or unwanted behaviour. Keep this experience purely positive.
I know we are all busy people and reading a book right now might not to possible. So above are a few suggestions that I have integrated into my life that I have found effective.