• The K+ Program is located inside Morley Elementary School (7355 Morley Street, Burnaby) 
• We are in Classroom #30 
• Our class starts at 9am and student schedules build gradually until they reach a full day (Mon, Tues, Thurs until 2:30pm and 12pm dismissal on Wednesdays)
• Students will continue to attend their home-school on Fridays (after Spring Break this will increase to Thursdays & Fridays)
• Please use the North-East School Door to bring your child inside the school to the door of room #30 for drop off 

We are so happy to welcome your family to our class!  I am looking forward to meeting and supporting you and your child in their learning journey this year.  Some fun things you might like to know about me are: 

1. I work with the most amazing team in K+, including: Ms. Pauline Nguyen & Ms. Julie Puchmayr  
2. I have been working in schools for 15 years (Vancouver & Burnaby).  This is my 6th year teaching in the K+ Program! 
3. I have a son named Phoenix who started grade one this year! 
4. I love animals!  I have two big cats named Meatballs & Pancakes and a kitten named Justin 
5. I share my birthday with the Earth – April 22 
6. My favourite colour is Swimming-Pool Blue 
7. Reading, swimming and relaxing at the beach are my favourite things to do in the summer time 
8. I absolutely LOVE working with children and families in K+! 

ARRIVAL 

Please use the washroom before arriving at school.  Arriving at school on time is very important as it allows your child to be greeted with their classmates and begin morning routines together.  I will greet you at the door to our classroom (room #30) at 9:00am each morning.  Once greeted, each student will come inside quietly, hang up their jacket and backpack, wash their hands and begin their day. 

DISMISSAL 

Our class is dismissed, one at a time, from our classroom.  Each student will be released to their parent/caregiver.  Student safety is a priority.  It is important that you arrive on time to pick up your child.  Students will only be released when you, or other pre-approved adults, are present at pick up.  Please text/email or put a note in your child’s folder if another adult will be picking up your child from school. 

OUTSIDE TIME 

We will spend time learning in outside spaces this year.  Your child will also play outside for recess and lunch.  Please have your child come to school each day prepared and dressed for the weather.  They will need rain boots and appropriate outerwear every day. 

IMPORTANT ESSENTIALS 

Please send a change of clothes with your child in a labelled Ziploc bag to remain at school.  Be sure to include: one pair of pants, t-shirt, socks and underwear. 

Your child will need non-marking sole “inside shoes” that are easy to put on and take off on their own.  Please do not send shoes with laces unless your child can tie them independently. 

Your child will need a pair of rain pants that they can keep at school, if possible.  We always want to be prepared for the weather. 

SNACKS/LUNCH 

Please send your child to school with healthy snacks and lunches.  Practice opening containers and other packaging to promote independence.  Limit excess wrapping and packaging with reusable containers.  Water fountains and filtered water refilling stations are open for student use.  Please send a pre-filled water bottle with a secure lid each day. 

SPECIAL NOTE: 

Please keep all PERSONAL TOYS and STUFFED ANIMALS at home.  Toys can be super distracting and can cause conflicts amongst peers.  Thank you for keeping them at home. 

We are looking forward to keeping in contact and collaborating, to ensure your child has a safe, happy school year full of opportunities to learn, play and grow. 

Warmly, 

Ms. Fortin
K+ Program Teacher
nicky.fortin@burnabyschools.ca
Mobile #604-985-3279 (Please text during school hours) 

The Morley Community misses you! ❤️❤️❤️

We hope you get to spend some time in the sunshine and have a wonderful weekend with loved ones.

Love,

Ms. Fortin, Ms. So, and Ms. T ❤️❤️❤️

“All great changes are preceded by chaos” – Deepak Chopra

I was reading an article this morning, saw this quote and suddenly my day felt just a little bit brighter.  It is absolutely true.

I believe the Universe sets out to help us have the best life possible.  Sometimes, being human, we get in the way of the changes necessary to create our best lives.  We might be scared to take that first course leading to a new career, or keep putting off reading that one book that will help us see what our next step should be. We may hesitate to step into our best life but life doesn’t slow down for us.  When we are getting in the way of progress and growth – life will simply make us so uncomfortable that we have no choice but to change.

Consider that thought for a moment.  Any time you have experienced great discomfort, loss, even hurt or anger – what has followed immediately after?  Change.

This pandemic has forced all of us into an untenable situation.  We are restricted to our homes.  .  We have had to let go of everything we thought mattered (e.g. material things) and brought back to core essentials – health and family.  We have come together as a community, and as a province, to take care of each other and ourselves.  We are refocusing our energy on how we can create a “new normal” that allows us to protect our health and the health of those around us.

I, like all of my K-Plus families, am juggling working from home and caring for a beloved 2-year old and it is difficult.  But it is also pretty fantastic and I’ll tell you why.  I have been rushing to connect with parents and teachers; to learn how to create a blog and hurry to get school work and day plans posted so parents can continue teaching their children without missing a beat.  But I was doing it all wrong.

When else in life would I be able to drop everything and spend the day taking adventure walks with Phoenix (my son), sitting together for breakfast, lunch and dinner, have picnics on our balcony and get to know our neighbor Nettie (who lives alone) so that we can check in on her each day.  Phoenix has seen more of his grandparents on FaceTime since March 13th (the day our family began to self-quarantine) than he had seen them the whole year prior.  We have also attended two virtual birthday parties in the last month and I’m delighted to say that they were fantastic and without presents or blow-up castles!  The best part was seeing Phoenix’s face light up at the sight of his little friends on our iPad.  We are getting back to the core values behind events and activities.  It is the friendships, connections and shared love that are the most important.

I recognize that we are incredibly blessed to not have contracted COVID-19 and my heart breaks for those who have lost loved ones to this pandemic.  But for those of us who have been healthy and home, I encourage you to think of all you have gained during this time.  Just remember, the chaos is simply a sign of great changes to come.

Sending much love and care to all families.

Warmly,

Ms. Fortin

Hope this message finds you all happy and healthy this week and settling in to a bit of a home-school routine.

By now you will have heard from your child’s home-school teacher (Ms. Tazumi, Ms. Baker or Ms. Lafave) and they will have discussed how they will be providing online or distance learning for your child. In addition to the literacy and numeracy activities they will be providing, I would like to offer your family some additional websites and resources to supplement your child’s learning as well as some suggestions to help offset any unexpected behaviours you may be seeing from your child right now.

Depending on your home situation, it may be preferable to have a set schedule or a very flexible plan for your child. I have provided two possibilities under the Shape of the Day link (above) to help you design a Shape of the Day for your child.

Moving forward, our K-Plus Team will stay in contact with all of our K-Plus families. We are available to connect via telephone, email, FaceTime or Zoom. We are also in the process of gathering resources for our blog to help support K-Plus parents with any behavioural challenges they may see at home. In the meantime, please be sure to visit our Burnaby School District website at https://learning.burnabyschools.ca/ for additional resources and updates.

No one is quite sure what school will look like at this point but I assure you that when we are back at school and looking for each of our K-Plus students to begin their new school year, myself and my team will be here to support your child and your family with that transition.

For now, please take care of yourselves and your loved ones and feel free to contact me if I can be of any help and I look forward to speaking with you again soon.

Warmly,

Ms. Fortin