November 1, 2024

Dear St'a7mes Families,

We had a fantastic  Halloween at St'a7mes, with students and staff fully embracing the festivities. The creativity and spirit were evident in the wonderful costumes we saw. A special thank you to Matthew and Matthew for leading our school in a fun modification of the Jimmy Jimmy dance during our costume parade!

Looking ahead, we are thrilled to announce that we will be welcoming Kung Jaadee to our school on November 6th. Appreciation to Lisa, our school librarian, for bringing in some of Kung Jaadee's captivating stories to share with our students. You can learn more about Kung Jaadee and her work here.

As a reminder, November 11th is Remembrance Day, and school will not be in session. We will be observing Remembrance Day, along with Indigenous Veterans Day, on November 8th.

As an additional reminder clocks roll back one hour this weekend. Below you can find some considerations around sleep routines which can be impacted as a result of the time change. 

Finally, I would like to honour the following students who exemplified our schools values this week: 

Edward - Edward showed wanáxws by carrying himself in a good way this week. 

Amare - Amare showed chén̓chenstway by being kind and caring toward his classmates and by lifting them up. 

Cyrus - Cyrus showed tímit this week by actively engaging in his learning and trying things that are difficult. 

Embracing and honouring these values is an important part of who we are as a school community. Thank you to all the staff, students and families that hold these values up as important. 

Take care, 

Cory Hartling
Principal, St'a7mes School

Sleep Routines 

Regular evening routines can help your child have a good night’s sleep which leads to positive social behavior, ability to focus on learning, and overall well-being. Parents and caregivers also benefit, in the form of reduced stress or worry, when children sleep well. 

Healthy Families BC provides the following 10 Tips for Good Sleep Habits: 

• Keep regular sleep and wake times - Help maintain your child’s body clock by keeping bedtimes and wake-up times on weekends within two hours of school day routines.  
• Reduce noise and light in your child’s bedroom.  
• Turn off electronics 1 hour before bedtime (i.e. loud music, phones, screens, TV).  
• Eat the right amount at the right time - Feeling hungry or too full before bed can make the body more alert, uncomfortable and unable to fall asleep. 
• Relax before bedtime (i.e. bathe, brush teeth, read, listen to calming music).  
• Ease the morning rush – Wind down the day together (i.e. get clothes ready for the next day, make lunch, pack a school bag).  
• Make sure your child feels safe – Afraid of the dark? Try a night light and avoid scary shows, movies, etc. before bed.  
• Get plenty of natural light in the daytime – Natural light helps the body produce melatonin at the right time in the body’s sleep cycle.  Be active and exercise in the daytime - Physical activity helps children to sleep longer and better, but late night active play and sport increase the body’s temperature and makes it harder to go to sleep.