Welcome Back Whiteside!

 

We hope you enjoyed a wonderful spring break, Easter, and Ramadan. It has been an amazing week at Whiteside. The classes are filled with great learning, fun conversations, and lots of smiles.

 

Spring is always an exciting time, and we are happy to share these events and experiences with our Wolfpack and community. Please remember to check our website and newsletter for updates.

 

Thank you for all your care and support. You make Whiteside a special community to learn, teach, and play.

 

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:

 

April 2              Whiteside re-opens

April 16            Concours/French Festival at McRoberts

April 17            Class photos

April 19             Hot Lunch (Yummy Slice)

April 25            Term 2 reports published

May 1-3            Grade 6 Outdoor Education trip

May 13             Speed Control concert

May 17             Pro-D day

May 20             Victoria day

May 22             Welcome to K event

May 24             Hot Lunch (Chipotle)

May 27             Track Meet

May 24             Ian Maskin concert

June 4              Gr. 7 rafting trip

June 14             Sports Day

June 21             Grade 7 farewell celebration

June 27             Last day of school for students

 

AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH

April marks Autism Awareness Month, a time dedicated to celebrating the unique perspectives and talents of individuals on the autism spectrum. It's an opportunity for our community to foster understanding, acceptance, and inclusion. Let's embrace diversity and spread awareness to create a world where every individual is valued for their strengths and contributions. For more information, please visit https://www.autismspeaks.ca/.

 

GRADE 6 CAMP UPDATE

Please join us on Wednesday, April 10th at 6:00 for a short family meeting for Grade 6 students heading to Camp Elphinstone.  This meeting will be held on Teams and can be accessed using the link attached to our weekly newsletter email.

 

SMILE - CLASS PHOTO DAY

April 17 is class photo day. Our photographers will be on site to take group, class, and school photos in the morning.

 

HOT LUNCH – APRIL 19

Our next hot lunch is Pizza Day on April 14. Please remember to send a recess snack and water bottles. Thank you, PAC!

 

WOLFWEAR UPDATE

For those of you who missed the sale in February, Wolf Wear has been set up as an online boutique store: https://urstore.ca/group/whiteside-wolves_531344

Please note, this is a per order store and your item(s) will be made when you place the order and will be delivered to your address.  This is reflected in the higher pricing. 

 

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, April 16^th at 6:30 p.m.! Please reach out to our PAC at whitesidepac@hotmail.com for more information.

 

CONCOURS – FRENCH FESTIVAL

This year the Richmond School district is hosting the second annual Festival Culturel Francophone at McRoberts on April 16 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. This event is open to everyone, regardless of age, background, or language proficiency. We welcome you to come and celebrate with us, meet new people, and learn about French culture. Admission is free, so bring your friends and family.

 

MORNING ROUTINES AT WHITESIDE

Our Wolfpack are expected to enter school from their outside doors until 8:45 a.m. Please ensure that your children make their way to the back of the school to meet their teachers. This ensures that all children are met by their teacher or supervising adult and can begin the day with their class.

Play n’ Eat is on Friday mornings only. Only students in our breakfast program may enter the gym early during the week.

 

DONATIONS FOR DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE WOMEN’S EMERGENCY SHELTER

Whiteside is helping support a donation campaign (April 8 – 12) for the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. If you are able, we are accepting donations (grey bin at the office) of:

• New toothbrushes/toothpaste
• New bandages/first aid items
• New soap/shampoo/conditioner
• Towels/facecloths
• New makeup
• Women’s pants/leggings
• Hoodies
• New socks
• Women’s shirts

Thank you for your generosity and support.

 

PARENT SESSIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AWARENESS

In partnership with the Ministry of Education and Childcare, Safer Schools Together is offering parent sessions on social media awareness. These sessions all take place in the evenings from 6:30 – 7:30pm and all parents/caregivers and their children (aged 10 and up) may attend. The dates are Tuesday, March 26 / Wednesday, April 10 / Tuesday, April 16. Trainings can be found at this link: erase Family Sessions (saferschoolstogether.com) (link) 

 

SAFER SCHOOLS TOGETHER - NEW DATES FOR ERASE FAMILY SESSIONS

Safer Schools Together has new dates for erase Family Sessions. These online sessions focus on social media awareness and online safety and take place in the evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 pm on April 10, and April 16. All parents, caregivers, and students (ages 10 and up) are welcome to attend. Please share this information with your school communities through appropriate channels. Trainings can be found at erase Family Sessions (link). 

 

HEALTHY EATING HABITS

Information Regarding Use of Screen Time During Eating Time

Did you know that mealtime screentime is increasing? Screen time is often associated with unhealthy eating habits. For instance:

• if your child is distracted by a television show or video game while they eat, they may not be able to recognize when they are full. It is also easy for your child to associate screen time with enjoying a favourite food.
• less formal eating arrangements, (like a classroom) discourage the use of utensils and encourage snack style meals that are simple to pack and prepare. This can lead to distracted children eating more high calorie snack food at school when watching screens.
• children consume fewer available fruits and vegetables prepared by their family when they are viewing screens, and more sugary beverages.
• distraction with screens while eating reduces a child’s ability to assess normal cues that regulate healthy food intake and reduces a child’s capacity to remember what they have just eaten (a phenomenon referred to as consumption amnesia).

 

WHITESIDE READING INFORMATION OF THE WEEK

Model reading fluently by practicing reading aloud with your child.

Having children read aloud daily, both with and without feedback, helps them develop the skills of reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.The boxes below show several approaches to use when reading aloud together.

When reading aloud with children:

• Model and provide feedback on proper tone, pausing, and which words to emphasize.
• Set a slow, steady pace, slowing down for words that are challenging. Gradually increase the pace, moving on to more difficult books. Remind the child that reading fluently does not necessarily mean reading quickly.
• Use familiar books. Make sure that the book is appropriate to the child’s reading ability/ Of the book is too difficult, children can develop poor reading habits.

 

PARKING LOT SAFETY

Although the mornings are getting brighter, it is important to mindful in our parking lot. 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.

 

EVIDENCE-INFORMED MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

HealthyMindsBC provides evidence-informed prevention and early intervention tools and resources, including online learning opportunities. This site is for parents, caregivers, families, educators, and other professionals to help them support the everyday mental health of children and youth. A series of courses that focus on Everyday Anxiety Strategies for Educators (EASE K-7 and 8-12) and Early Years are available. The newest course, Walking Alongside Youth with Anxiety (WAY), is designed to build capacity and support the foster care providers and out-of-care/kinship care providers who are caring for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth with mild to moderate anxiety.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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