August 26, 2024 

Dear Escuela Canyon Meadows Families, 

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year at Escuela Canyon Meadows! We are happy to welcome staff and students back for the new school year. We cannot wait to see our students this week, on Thursday, August 29!  Below are details regarding our start-up process. 

Grade Configuration for 2024-2025 

Due to increased enrollment in Division 1, we have made changes to our grade configuration. 

At this time, and after much consideration, we confirm that we will begin the school year having the following grade configurations: 

Kindergarten - 4 classes (2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon) 

Grade 1  - 4 classes 

Grade 2  - 4 classes 

Grade 3  - 3 classes 

Grade 4  - 2 classes 

Grade 5  - 3 classes 

Kindergarten: Due to the grade configuration change to 4 Kindergarten classes, all Kindergarten parents/guardians will receive confirmation regarding AM or PM placement tomorrow, Tuesday, August 27 via email. Please note there will be no change for students already assigned to the PM class.  

Please note that class configuration may still vary depending on student enrolment throughout the month of September. We appreciate your understanding and support. 

First Day of School Procedures 

The first month of school is an important time for our students as they adjust to routines, expectations and our unique bilingual learning experience. 

On Tuesday, August 27, teachers will send a Welcome Letter to their students. Assigned entry/exit door and Room number will be included in the teacher Welcome Letter. 

Kindergarten AM and PM classes will be created for Tuesday, September 3. Parents/guardians will be informed of your child's teacher name via email on Friday, August 30.  

On Tuesday, August 27, teachers will contact (via phone call) parents/guardians of students that will benefit from a transition meeting. Parents/guardians will book a 10 min. meeting for these students to meet their teacher on Wednesday, August 28 in the afternoon. 

We are beginning our school year by welcoming all our Kindergarten to Grade 5 students since Thursday, August 29 following ECM regular school schedule: 

Kindergarten students will use the Playpark doors for school entry and dismissal. 

Thursday, August 29 - To ease the transition of students into the school please follow the process below: 

Please note the soft entry start time is 7:55 am. 

Thursday, August 29 - 7:55 to 8:00 – Kindergarten: Students follow a soft entry protocol to enter the school directly to their classroom through the Play Park Doors. 

Thursday, August 29 - 7:55 to 8:00 - Grade 1 to Grade 5: Look for sign with Homeroom Teacher name and room number on the compound (concrete area around the school) to join the teacher and class, then enter the school. 

From Friday, August 30 - 7:55 to 8:00 - Kindergarten to Grade 5: Students follow a soft entry protocol to enter the school directly to their classroom through their designated entry door. Teachers will meet students in their classrooms. 

We encourage your family to review our school website together to be familiar with the guidelines for building a healthy school community at Escuela Canyon Meadows. A few important housekeeping items to be aware of: 

1. Each child needs to have a pair of indoor and outdoor shoes, labelled with their name. Please ensure the indoor shoes can be used for daily physical education and always remain at the school. Students are required to change their footwear when they enter and exit the building. Please also ensure your child has a large sized backpack. 

2. Students are not permitted to enter the school via the front doors. The exception to this is if the student is late. Otherwise, all students enter and exit from their grade specific doors. Kindergarten doors face our playground structure. 

3. We are a “nut aware” school. We have students with severe allergies that are life threatening. Please avoid sending nut products to school. Each Kindergarten student needs a healthy snack to have at school and Grade 1 to Grade 5 students benefit from two snacks and a lunch. 

4. Parents/guardians will drop off and pick up their child(ren) near their designated doors. This is extremely important to ensure the safety of our students. The school does not provide after school supervision; please ensure you are on time. 

5. Please ensure all after school arrangements are made at home (i.e., play dates). This allows the school to ensure safety of our students. If your child takes the bus, please ensure you are on-time as Southland Transportation will have another route following. Calling Southland Transportation directly is the best course of action if you need to get a message to the driver. Kindergarten students are only released to a parent or an approved designate. Students regularly picked up by an adult are to remain on the bus when no one is at the bus stop to meet them. If there is no one at your child's bus stop the bus driver will wait a few minutes and then proceed with finishing the route. If there is no contact with the parent, the bus driver will bring your child back to the school. 

6. Parents new to CBE, please sign up for MyCBE/PowerSchool as this is where you will pay your fees online and book your parent-teacher conferences. 

7. Our final reminder includes ensuring immediate, clear and open communication. We work together and follow a three-step protocol to ensure your voice is heard. Our goal is to collaborate to effectively solve problems at a school level. 

i. If you have a question or a concern, your first step is to contact your child's teacher. 

ii. If you feel your question or concern has not been adequately addressed, then please contact Sra. Rau (Administrative Secretary) to make an appointment with Sra. Gutiérrez (Assistant Principal). 

iii. If you feel your question or concern has not been adequately addressed by our AP, please make an appointment with Sra. Perera Pérez (Principal) through Sra. Rau. 

At ECM, we continue to be committed to student well-being and safety, excellence in teaching and learning, and to working collaboratively with staff, parents and students to ensure a robust bilingual education for our children. 

We are looking forward to seeing you on Thursday, August 29! ¡Estamos deseosos de verlos pronto esta semana! 

Saludos cordiales, 

Sra. Perera Pérez, Principal 

Sra. Gutiérrez, Assistant Principal​