PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Families,

I hope this finds you doing well and warm as we continue with much lower-than-normal temperatures in Victoria.  We are still heading outside for recess and lunch to enjoy the sunshine so please ensure your students are coming dressed with all they need to be warm outside.

A few updates as we move through February.

Transfer Week

·         It is transfer week.

·         If you are hoping your child will attend a school other than George Jay in September or if your student is going into Grade 6 this September and you would like them to attend a different middle school than the one you received a letter for, this is your week.

·         Please come to the office and complete a transfer form.  All forms must be in by 3:00 pm on Thursday, February 13th.

·         More info can be found here.

Red and Pink Spirit Day

·         We are having a spirit day on Thursday.  Come dressed in red and pink to celebrate friendship and Valentine’s Day.

No School

·         There is no school on Friday, February 14th for a Pro. D Day and no school on Monday, February 17th due to Family Day.

Nature Playground

·         Huge shout to PAC for funding and supporting a refresh of our deteriorating nature playground. Our facilities team is underway in getting it ready for student use again.

Sincerely,

Sarah Winkler

Principal, George Jay Elementary

The Greater Victoria School District is seeking initial feedback through an online survey focused on the 2025-2026 Annual Budget. Your comments will help inform initial budget allocation suggestions which will be presented to the Board of Education for consideration as a part of the overall budget development process. Further along in the process, there will be additional, hands-on opportunities to provide richer feedback.

Thank you for your input and for your continued engagement with our school district.

Parent Connect – Action item for all parents

It is time to do your annual review of all consent forms for your child.  Our district uses Parent Connect, an online service developed by the Greater Victoria School District to expedite consent requests. The service reduces the amount of paper forms and allows parents and school staff to review a student’s consent information on-demand. The service also includes Google Translate to support parents who prefer to communicate in languages other than English.

Please Sign into Parent Connect at: https://parentconnect.sd61.bc.ca/ and read and sign all the indicated forms.

For more information about setting up an account please follow this link.   Please note even if you did it last year there may be new programs that this year’s teacher will be using so we ask every parent to review yearly.

Cold and Flu season

In order to stay safe and healthy this season,

Please remind your child of the following important habits:

  • Make sure to wash hands frequently.
  • Avoid touching face, mouth, or eyes.
  • Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing by leaning into your elbow or using a disposable tissue. Quickly throw away any used tissues and wash or sanitize your hands after.
  • Respect the personal space bubbles of other students.
  • Stay home when sick!

Please monitor your children daily for any cold or flu-like symptoms. In accordance with the Public Health Guidelines, students and staff are asked to stay home when sick or displaying any symptoms of sickness. If students develop symptoms throughout the day while they are at school, they will be reminded to use tissues or lean into their elbow to cover their coughs and sneezes. If required, an office staff member will contact you to arrange a pickup of your sick child. These protocols are in place to lower the risk of transmission of communicable disease and to keep our students and staff safe and healthy. For more information on the health and safety protocols implemented in our schools go to: Provincial Communicable Disease Guidelines for K-12 Settings

Parking Lot

  • The parking lot is for staff vehicles only.
  • To help ensure everyone stays safe we ask that students and families do not walk through the parking lot and use the paths around the school instead.

Waiting off property

We would appreciate it if all parents who can please wait on the sidewalks.  This will help us safely gather and dismiss all of our students at arrival and dismissal times.  Thank you for helping keep our students safe.

Facebook Page

  • Did you know the school has a Facebook page and it is a great way to keep in the loop.
  • You can find it here.

Food Programs at George Jay

  • We have a number of foods programs here at George Jay.  Some programs are available for all of our families and some are more focused on those that need them.
  • Check out this page for more info.

Supervision and Drop off

  • Students are to be dropped off and picked up from their line-up spot.
  • We have supervision only from 8:30 to 8:45 and 2:37 to 2:50 pm.  Please ensure a responsible adult is on-site before and after these times.

Attendance