Nellie in the Know Jan. 19 |

Happy New Year Friends and Family of Nellie,

What a week at Nellie!  We decided to start the new year off with a bang didn’t we.  Burst pipes created a situation where we had to pivot fast and figure out how we would do schooling with our students.  The Nellie staff were asked to connect with students on-line and use Google Classroom to provide instruction, assignments and to stay in contact with their students.  I am so proud of how quickly students, families and staff were able to move to the on-line environment and maintain learning opportunities.  Thank you all so much for being so flexible and resilient.

Tuesday morning 70% of our school was 4 inches underwater and starting Monday we are going to be resuming in-person learning at Nellie.  This is possible because of the massive efforts put forth by CBE Service Units and the clean-up crews that sprang into action.  These crews will be working throughout the weekend so when we return on Monday the school will be operational.  Although school will be open on Monday crews will still be in the school during off hours to continue the recovery process.  Walls have been opened up, bathrooms destroyed and ceilings removed.  There will be a small section of the school cordoned off until it can be repaired but we are so thankful to all of the men and women who worked so hard to reopen our school.

In the Nellie Weekly Pics you will be able to see pictures of students working on-line and/or playing together.  You will also be able to see the damage to the school and the gradual reclamation process.

I want to thank you all for your patience, your care and your commitment to learning.  The outpouring of support this week from families was truly touching.  Thank you for all of your inspiration throughout this week. 

If you borrowed a computer this week please return it Monday morning so we can have full access to technology next week.

Sincerely,

 Darren Dyck, Principal

Some Teacher Highlights of the Week

Jaclyn Schmitz - One highlight for me is that Science Fair still met online and we were able to see some of the work on the trifolds at home. The Science Fair crew showed their dedication to their club giving up one of their lunch hours to meet and catch up. They were relieved to hear that no matter what, the Science Fair will still occur.

Kathleen Milliken-Morrow - My highlight this week was seeing almost every single student show up for online class and be so involved with our meetings. We have the BEST students and families! We also had a "bring your pet/stuffy to school" afternoon and it was so cute! 

Laura Gifford - During our first Google Meet, we spent a ½ hour excitedly  teaching each other how to change our backgrounds, send cute emojis and type comments in the chat! Then one child said, "Hey everyone- let's all meet on here for Google Recess so that we can hang out together!"

Angela Henin - My highlight of the week was certainly the kids' pure joy at seeing one another online for the very first time and connecting. Best kid quote "It doesn't really matter where we go, as long as we get to be together again." These kiddos were cheerful and excited throughout our time online. Always so much joy and happy to greet one another. You can tell they have really bonded into a tight classroom community. 

Alecia Luu - My highlight of the week was the Google Meet we just had. We did our “Spill the Tea” where we answered Would you Rather questions and then ended the meeting by all showing our pets 😊

Cynthia Smith - A highlight for my kindergarten class was doing a snow experiment. We filled jars with snow and added different things to the jars from our pantry (salt, sprinkles, sugar, paprika, food colouring,  dish soap) to see what would make the snow melt the fastest. Salt won! I loved receiving photos from the families and listening to the students share their experiment results with the class.

Arden Turnbull - The highlight in room 10 was listening to all the students say hello to each other during our Google Meets. They really missed one another and they were so excited to see everyone's faces! It goes to show how important human connection really is. Our kids are happier and healthier and truly make the world a better place when they are together!

Julia Acott - My highlight of the week is all of the kids being so excited to say hi to each other through their screens. They have all demonstrated so much resilience and it is amazing to see how strong the Nellie community is through challenging times.

Jan Siemieniuk - My highlight was definitely seeing the resiliency of each of our grade two students and parents coming on last minute and laughing all the way through it. Could not be more proud of each and every single one of them!

Colleen Delaney Taylor - I highlight would be all of the messages posted from students who said how much they miss their friends and Nellie.  We have a strong community and it shows in how connected they to each other.  I'll share a photo of what Roy wrote...it's so sweet!

PAC News

Thank you for all of your support.  Our bottle drive has been postponed until next Friday January 26.  Please bring all your bottles to the school to support our kids.

PAC Meeting Scheduled for this coming Thursday has been cancelled.  Our next meeting will be at Nellie on Thursday February 22nd.

Fun Lunch was cancelled this week.  You should have receive a refund on Wednesday.  If you did not receive a refund please contact Healthy Hunger directly.

News Stories

Please see the website for all of the latest stories. Our stories are filled with pictures from the week, adventures and experiences the students are participating in and all of the important happenings in and around the school. Stay informed and be a Nellie Citizen In The Know.

Social Media

Follow Nellie on Instagram
Be friends with our PAC on Facebook

Classroom Pages

Please have a look at all of the grade team pages and share them with your children. Students and staff regularly update teacher blogs with new information. You can also see updates, pictures and assigned school work in your child’s Google Classroom.  Please ask your child what the login credentials are.