SCHOOL NEWS

S. Bruce Smith is full in planned classes in Grades 7 to 9 in the Regular Program, Pre Advanced Placement, Strategies and Opportunity Programs.  We will now only accept resident students in Grades 7 to 9 who newly move into the school's attendance area for the regular program.  A resident student of Edmonton Public Schools has at least one parent or legal guardian living in Edmonton who is not Roman Catholic.  Non-resident students can enrol in another Division school with space in planned classes.

If you are new to Edmonton Public Schools, you must register online.

Check us out on Twitter and Instagram:  @SBSSchoolEPSB

WELCOME BACK!

As you join us this school year, I would like you to know of two fundamental commitments we have in an effort to ensure our students succeed. The first is our commitment to the question, “What’s best for students?” It is this question that guides our work and our decision-making to support student success and well-being. Secondly, please know students are entering a school that values kindness and is committed to nurturing students so they grow not only as learners, but as confident, caring, capable individuals who embrace and value responsibility, diversity and kindness in a way that not only affords them individual success, but allows students the opportunities to learn in a safe environment so they can become the leaders and mentors of tomorrow. 

With respect to our Division’s 2021-2022 Back to School Plan, we would like to share some need to knows to support your preparation for the 2021-2022 school year:

1. First, please review our 2021-2022 Back to School Plan as it is a significant marker on our compass moving forward, particularly in terms of the decisions we make to support student safety and well-being, and guide our organization/scheduling for this school year and throughout the year.
2. Remember that you have until 4:00 p.m. August 19, 2021, to notify us of your choice of learning for the upcoming school year, whether it be in-person or online. It is our sincere  hope that we will be able to return to complete in-person instruction come February 2022. If you require support, contact the school office.
3. That being said, how we ended the last school year will be  for the most part how we begin this school year. The rationale behind this is first and foremost student and staff safety. We want to ensure we are doing everything we can to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 and its variants in our school community, and at the same time provide a wonderful learning environment for our students. More information will be provided to students upon their return to school. Here are some highlights to take note of:
1. We will continue to cohort students according to grade level. Thus, we will begin our school year as we did last year, that is, with a staggered entry for our in-person students. The schedule will be as follows:

• Thursday, September 2, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon, Grade Seven Orientation. (Grade 7 students will enter the school from the East Pod Doors - those doors by the bike racks facing 57 Avenue, beginning no sooner than 8:45 a.m.)
• Friday, September 3, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Grade Eight Orientation including Grade 7-8-9 Strategies students. (Students will enter through the front doors beginning no sooner than 8:45 a.m.)
• Friday, September 3, 2021, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., Grade Nine Orientation including Grade 7-8-9 Opportunity students. (Students will enter through the West Pod Doors - those doors by the bike racks facing 184 Street, beginning no sooner than 11:45 a.m.)

1. We will begin our school year without the use of lockers. Because of this, students will be responsible for their materials. 
2. To support our students' learning and their safety, S. Bruce Smith will continue to be a closed campus over the lunch period. This means that students will be expected to bring their lunches to school and store them with their personal belongings. Should a student forget their lunch, we ask that parents to contact the school office to work out a solution. All students must wash/disinfect their hands before eating and eat only their own food. 
3. Options will be offered at S. Bruce Smith School, however, this means that students will continue to take options with their teachers within their grade level cohorts. Our hope is that what is offered in the first half of the school year will expand for the second half to include traditional options such as Art, Construction, Band and Foods.
4. Finally, if you haven’t already done so, you can access  our school supply list on our school’s website under “Parent Information.”

We appreciate  your patience, understanding and support as we begin this school year still challenged by this unprecedented pandemic. However, how we begin may not be how we end if we continue our commitment to the protocols in place to support our students’ safety and well-being, as well as those of our families and staff. 

Our office opens on August 23, 2021. As we are unable to facilitate drop-in visits, we encourage you to call the school at 780-444-4946 or email us at sbsmith@epsb.ca.  Should you require an appointment, please call to schedule it. As well, please remember to regularly check SchoolZone for updates as we use SchoolZone as one of our primary modes of communication. 

Although we enter this school year after months of challenge, uncertainty and change, we do so together. And it is together that we will make each day the best it can be, celebrating our successes and lifting one another up because no one is alone at S. Bruce Smith. We are on this learning journey together. Through its 30 years of serving students, S. Bruce Smith has asked students and staff to Strive to be their best each and every day. Some days this may seem a tall order, but there is no doubt that together we can continue to help each other reach this goal, be resilient and know that one another is cared for and capable each and every day.

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Students:

As S. Bruce Smith celebrates 30 years of nurturing student success, I am excited and grateful to join the S. Bruce Smith team working alongside students, staff and parents in an endeavor to continue to build upon what is already an amazing legacy of learning. 

As you join us this school year, I would like you to know of two fundamental commitments we have in an effort to ensure our students succeed. The first is our commitment to the question, “What’s best for students?” It is this question that guides our work and our decision-making to support student success and well-being. Secondly, please know you are entering a school that values kindness and is committed to nurturing students so they grow not only as learners, but as confident, caring, capable individuals who embrace and value responsibility, diversity and kindness in a way that not only affords them individual success, but allows students the opportunities to learn in a safe environment so they can become the leaders and mentors of tomorrow.

Although we enter this school year after months of challenge, uncertainty and change, we do so together. And it is together that we will make each day the best it can be, celebrating our successes and lifting one another up because no one is alone at S. Bruce Smith. We are on this learning journey together. Through its 30 years of serving students, S. Bruce Smith has asked students and staff to Strive to be their best each and every day. Some days this may seem a tall order, but there is no doubt that together we can continue to help each other reach this goal, be resilient and know that one another is cared for and capable each and every day.

I look forward to the 2021-2022 school year, and I am excited and honoured to support the S. Bruce Smith community, its students and families.

Sincerely,

Mr. Glen Wilcox