Happy Diwali! Enjoy the festival of lights.

The fall weather is finally here and we are looking forward to an exciting week leading up to Halloween. Our grade six and seven students will be participating in our Whiteside Leadership Conference next week. This is an opportunity to build teamwork and leadership skills among our oldest students. Our youngest students also have an exciting week as they are heading to the pumpkin patch. We are excited by these opportunities and opportunities that will come to each class as the year moves along.

Please remember that our school will be closed tomorrow for the provincial pro-d day.

We hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend with your families!

FAMILY PHOTO NIGHT

Save the date! Our amazing PAC is organizing family photo nights on November 15 and 16. Please see the attachment for more information.

REPORTING PARENT SESSION

Reporting is changing across the province. Please join District staff for an information session on K-12 reporting and what to expect in Richmond. This session is open to caregivers and staffs and will be recorded for future use. This session is a webinar on zoom and will include an opportunity for questions.

When: Oct 25, 2022 06:00 PM Vancouver

Topic: K-12 Reporting Information for Parents

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://sd38.zoom.us/j/63271614481

Webinar ID: 632 7161 4481

Passcode: 6000

CALLING FOR COSTUME CREATORS

Ms. LB, our talented music and band teacher, is looking for parent volunteers that can help sew and create costumes for our winter musical. If you are interested in helping, please email Ms. LB at nlozovsky-burns@sd38.bc.ca. Thank you!

LEGO & BOARD GAME DONATIONS: 

Lego and board games are excellent, and fun, tools to build social, creative, and critical thinking skills. We are asking for donations of new or slightly used board games and Lego pieces/sets to build our classrooms kits. If you have a donation, please visit Mr. Cameron in the office.

“Trick or Treat” Others with Respect

Halloween can be fun.  However, we need to be aware that celebrating Halloween needs to be fun for ALL and not at the expense of equity seeking groups.  Halloween offers an opportunity to have meaningful conversations about costume choices with colleagues and students and requires consideration.  In doing so, it is important to keep in mind that we need to be sensitive to groups that have been marginalized through mimicry and cultural appropriation during Halloween and other ‘dress up’ events.  A few things to keep in mind: It’s good to keep in mind that the following are NOT Costumes:

RACE (black face/brown face)

CULTURE (Indigenous regalia/dreadlocks)

RELIGIOUS FAITH (religious figures/gods/saints/gurus/hijab)

GENDER (gender switching for humour or to mock)

TRAUMA (hangman’s noose/weapons)

LEARNING CONFERENCES

Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for November 8^th and 9^th. These conferences are a great opportunity to connect with the school and discuss your child's learning. This year our conferences will be completed in person. Alternate arrangements can be made individually with your classroom teacher. Teachers will connect with you to schedule conference times. Please note that these two dates are Early Dismissal Days with 1:45 pm dismissal times to accommodate the conferences.

HOT LUNCH – OCTOBER 28^th

Our second Hot Lunch Day of the 2022-23 school year will be Subway. Our next day will be TCBY on November 9^th (moved from November 10^th). Hot lunch will only be ordered and provided to families that have paid for their order. Please ensure you have completed your order.

PARKING LOT SAFETY

Please help keep our students safe by using the drop off zone for picking up and dropping off students only.  Please do not leave your car unattended in the drop off zone; if you need to come into the school, please park in a designated parking space.  When walking to school, please use the designated paths south and adjacent to the driveway as you enter the school grounds. Please follow arrows to keep our students safe and keep our parking lot accident free.

Please remember the east parking lot is for school and construction staff only. Please do not park or drop off children in this area.

“IN” DAYS AND “OUT” DAYS:

During recess and lunchtime breaks, students are expected to be outside at all times this year.  Students are strongly encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather. You may also send a change of clothes to school just in case your child gets wet. Playing outside will ensure our students get some fresh air and exercise to enliven their day.

SCHOOL VISITORS

In the interest of safety, everyone entering the school must check in at the office. Classrooms are busy learning places and we try not to interrupt them during instructional time.  If you need to see your child, leave them a message, or drop off a lunch, our office staff will happily take care of that for you.  As well, it is difficult at the end or beginning of the school day for our office staff to have in-depth discussions with parents.  Making appointments either by phone or in person is preferable. Thank you for your support!

 

Coming Soon:

Oct. 21            Pro-D Day (school closed)

Oct. 28            Hot Lunch (Subway)

Nov. 8/9          Learning Conferences (1:45 p.m. dismissal)

Nov. 9              TCBY Day

Nov. 10            Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov. 11            Remembrance Day

Nov. 15/16      Family Photo Night

Nov. 21            Pro-D Day (school closed)

Dec. 6              Band concert 1:30/7:00 pm

Dec. 13            Musical performance 1:30/7:00 pm

Dec. 15            Report cards posted online

Dec. 16            Last day before Winter Break

 

Have a great weekend!

~Whiteside Elementary