Happy Family Day,

 

Happy Family Day to all our wonderful Whiteside families! Today, we celebrate the heart of our school community: YOU! Thank you for trusting us with your child's learning and for being such amazing partners in their journey. Your love, support, and involvement make all the difference. We wish you a weekend filled with laughter, joy, and fun. Here's to the beautiful tapestry of families that make our school family complete!

 

Thank you again for being a part of the vibrant Whiteside community. You make our school a truly special place.

 

The Richmond Board of Education acknowledges and thanks the First Peoples of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language group on whose traditional and unceded territories we teach, learn and live.

 

Coming Soon:

 

Feb. 19             Family Day

Feb. 20             PAC meeting

Feb. 23             Hot Lunch - Pizza

Feb. 28             Pink Shirt Day

Feb. 28/29        Early dismissal for conferences

Mar. 14            Last day before Spring Break

April 2              Whiteside re-opens

May 1-3            Grade 6 Outdoor Education trip

May 17             Pro-D day

May 20             Victoria Day

May 21             Gr. 7 Day at McRoberts

May 22             Welcome to K event

June 4              Gr. 7 rafting trip

June 27             Last day of school for students

 

FAMILY DAY

Whiteside will be closed on Monday, February 19^th for BC’s Family Day. Enjoy the extra time with your family! The city is offering 60+ low-cost and free family-friendly events and activities over the Family Day weekend (Feb 16-19).

 

HOT LUNCH – YUMMY PIZZA – FEBRUARY 23

Our next hot lunch day this month will be pizza from Yummy Slice Pizza.

 

WHITESIDE BOOK FAIR

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair. This event is an opportunity for students of all ages to build their home libraries and further their love of reading. As always, all purchases benefit our school.

 

The Book Fair will take place Tuesday, February 27^th from 2:45-4:30; Wednesday, February 28^th from 1:45-4:30; and Thursday, February 29^th from 1:45-3:00.

 

PAC MEETINGS

PAC are amazing resources for our entire school community. A strong PAC bonds our school community with our families. PAC is an excellent way for our families to connect directly with the action at our school as well as develop relationships within the parent community. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, February 20^th at 6:30 p.m.! Please reach out to our PAC at whitesidepac@hotmail.com for more information.

 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Every February, people in Canada are invited to participate in Black History Month festivities and events that honour the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities. The 2024 theme for Black History Month is: Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month.html

 

WHITESIDE BASKETBALL

Our Whiteside basketball season is about to start. Our coaches this year are Mme Howells, Mr. Lenz, Mr. McCuaig, and Mr. Pelletier. We encourage our grade 6 and 7 students to come out and join the fun. A permission form with more information was sent home this week. Please see the schedule below for our girls’ and grade 7 boys’ teams. Our grade 6 boys’ schedule is now available.

 

WOLFPACK BASKETBALL SCHEDULE - GIRLS		Home	Away
Thursday 01/25/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside (L)	Bridge
Thursday 02/01/2024	3:15 PM	Anderson	Whiteside (L)
Thursday 02/08/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside	Lee
Tuesday 02/13/2024	3:15 PM	Bridge	Whiteside
Wednesday 02/21/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside	Anderson
Tuesday 02/27/2024	3:15 PM	Lee	Whiteside

 

WOLFPACK BASKETBALL SCHEDULE – GR.7 BOYS		Home	Away
Wednesday 01/24/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside (40) - W	Bridge (32)
Wednesday 01/31/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside (40) - W	Anderson (9)
Wednesday 02/07/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside	Lee
Monday 02/12/2024	3:15 PM	Bridge	Whiteside
Wednesday 02/21/2024	3:15 PM	Anderson	Whiteside
Monday 02/26/2024	3:15 PM	Lee	Whiteside
WOLFPACK BASKETBALL SCHEDULE – GR.6 BOYS		Home	Away
Tuesday 02/06/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside	Maple Lane
Thursday 02/08/2024	3:15 PM	Maple Lane	Whiteside
Monday 02/12/2024	3:15 PM	McKinney	Whiteside
Wednesday 02/21/2024	3:15 PM	Errington	Whiteside
Tuesday 03/05/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside	Errington
Thursday 03/07/2024	3:15 PM	Whiteside	McKinney

 

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION Gr. 4/7 PARENT SURVEY

Each year the Ministry of Education asks parents of grade 4&7 students, and school staff to complete a learning survey. If you have a child in grade 4or 7, please take a little time to visit http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/sat_survey/access.htm to share your thoughts and ideas. Your opinions will help guide the future of education in BC. 

 

HEALTHY EATING HABITS

Involve your kids and get their feedback

Follow the healthy eating recommendation to involve your kids in packing lunches.

Involve your kids in planning and packing their own lunches for school. This can help:

• improve their food skills
• get your kids to try new foods
• make your kids feel part of the process
• decrease the amount of food that comes home uneaten

Organize your kitchen so that lunch making supplies are all in one place. This includes items such as reusable:

• bags
• cutlery
• napkins
• lunch boxes
• food containers

Kids should know which containers are theirs and where they belong. This will help them pack and unpack their lunch boxes.

Learn more at:

https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/tips-for-healthy-eating/parents-and-children/

 

WHITESIDE READING INFORMATION OF THE WEEK

Every Child, Every Day:  Six Elements of Effective Reading Instruction by Richard Allington

This simple approach to literacy learning benefits all students, kindergarten to grade 12. These are six elements of reading every child should experience every day.

1.  Every child, everyday reads something they have chosen themselves.

2.  Every child reads accurately.  Research shows that reading at 98% or higher accuracy is essential for reading acceleration.

3.  Every child reads something he or she understands.  This takes a lot of reading and rereading of text that students find engaging.

4.  Every child writes about something personally meaningful.  When they write about something they care about, they use conventions of spelling and grammar because it matters that their ideas are communicated.

5.  Every child talks with their peers about reading and writing.  Research has demonstrated that conversation with peers improves comprehension and engagement with text.

6.  Every child listens to a fluent adult reader read aloud.  This increases students’ fluency and comprehension skills, expands vocabulary, background knowledge, awareness of genre and text structure.

PARKING LOT SAFETY

During our darker winter months, it is important to remind both drivers and pedestrians to keep traffic safety in mind and remain alert during their commutes. Our east parking lot is closed to parent drivers. Please use the South Arm lot or our drop off lane. Students and families use the crosswalks in front of the school all day. Please be mindful of pedestrians and other cars when driving in front of our school. When using the drop off lane, please continue to pull forward to allow more space behind you, but do not block or park on the zebra crosswalks. Blocking crosswalks creates danger for pedestrians trying to cross to our school. Please drive slowly through the drop-off area.

 

REAP – RICHMOND EDUCATION ASSISTANT PROGRAM

We are happy to announce that this year we are running a REAP part time program which started January 6, 2024, and will run until February 2025.

Do you enjoy supporting children and youth with disabilities and diverse abilities? Are you compassionate? Are you a life-long learner? Are you a team player? Are you passionate about inclusive learning communities?  Richmond Education Assistant Program (REAP) is rigorous, intense, and rewarding. It is designed by the Richmond School District to prepare adults who have the passion to work with children and youth with diverse abilities and disabilities as an Education Assistant.
 

Full Time REAP 2024 will start in July 2024 and end in November 2024.  For more information, please register by clicking on the registration link below.

Information Session #1 February 10, 2024 – 9:30-11 am

https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/rmdcontinuingeducation/activity/search/detail/14364?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

Information Session #2 February 13, 2024 – 6:30-8pm

https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/rmdcontinuingeducation/activity/search/detail/14363?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

Visit www.RichmondCE.ca or phone 604.668.6123 for more information.

 

FAMILYSMART IN-PERSON EVENTS (FEBRUARY AND MARCH)

In addition to free, online events accessible to parents/caregivers, FamilySmart is running in-person events at district ICY hub locations (Grauer and McNeely). The February session will focus on ‘A Conversation for Families about Digital Well Being and Mental Health’, while the March session will focus on ‘Beyond Behaviours: When is it More? What it Looks Like Ages 9-12’.

 

EARLY LEARNING FOR FAMILIES (ELFF) EVENTS

Formerly known as Ready Set Learn, this year’s Early Learning for Families (ELFF) events will be held on April 8 and 9, in four different schools. ELFF is open to all families with children ages 3-5. See attached flyer for more information.

 

SUMMER LEARNING

Visit https://whiteside.sd38.bc.ca/news/2024/01/summer-learning-2024-general-info for more information about Richmond’s summer learning programs.

 

OUTDOOR EDUCATION FUNDRAISING

To help lower the cost of our annual intermediate outdoor education experiences, Whiteside has partnered with Return-It Depot to fundraise.  Return your cans and bottles to our local Return It depot (Unit 110 - 11020 Horseshoe Way), go to the Express area, type in our number 604-668-6419, affix the label to your bag, drop, and go.

 

SNOW DAYS 

When it snows in our community, our school will remain open if possible. No direct announcement will be made saying that schools will be open. Closures, due to snow, will be announced via the SD38 Twitter account, school, and district websites, and on the radio at CKNW AM 980, News AM 1130, CBC AM 690, Fairchild AM 1470, CHQM FM 103.5. Closures will be announced as early as possible prior to the start of the regular school day. 

 

SCHOOL PEDESTRIAN SAFETY

The City of Richmond Community Bylaws have noted their officers have observed an increase in drivers stopping their vehicles on marked crosswalks during pick-up and drop-off times. Vehicles stopped on marked crosswalks create challenges for pedestrians to cross safely, cause sightline obstructions, and make it difficult for drivers of oncoming vehicles to see them, posing a significant safety risk — especially during this time of year with less daylight. Bylaw enforcement officers may be issuing tickets for vehicles stopping on marked crosswalks.

 

FEEDING FUTURES

Recently, the provincial government announced a new Feeding Futures School Program Fund, designed to assist schools in the development and enhancement of school meal programs and other nutritional supports for students. If you would like to request support for your child at school, please reach out to our principal, Brett Cameron (bcameron@sd38.bc.ca). We currently provide breakfast and lunch options for students daily. All requests will be treated with dignity and your privacy will be respected. We want to work with families to ensure that your children have everything they need to be successful at school. Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can help.

 

CHECK IN AND CHECK OUT

If your child is arriving late to school, please check in at the office through the front entrance.

If your child needs to leave school early, please sign your child out at the office and wait at the front entrance for them.

 

WEST COAST RECESS

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!

  

 

Have a great weekend!

 ~Whiteside Elementary