Hi Whiteside families!

It was another amazing Sports Day! Thank you to the teachers, staff, and students for organizing such a fun day. Thank you to our PAC for a delicious hot lunch.

We also hosted a beautiful spring band concert. Thank you, Ms. LB for your dedication to your music program. Thank you to all those that attended!

We look forward to an exciting final two weeks at Whiteside. We hope you can join us for some of our wonderful events or field trips.

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:

June 18             PAC AGM

June 21             Grade 7 farewell celebration

June 25             Year end assembly

June 27             Last day of school for students

 

WHITESIDE INFORMATION AND EVENTS

Library Reminders

Next week is the last week of library book exchanges for all divisions. All library books are due back to the library on Monday, June 17^th. Thank you.

 

PAC Meetings

Our PAC will hold their AGM next week. We encourage all parents to attend this meeting and ponder joining our PAC executive. Our PAC is a great group of parents that care for our school and students. 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 our AGM on Tuesday, June 18^th at 6:30 p.m.!  We hope to see parents out to join our PAC next year. Please reach out to our PAC at whitesidepac@hotmail.com for more information.

 

Grade Seven Farewell

We are excited to celebrate our grade sevens on Friday, June 21. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. Siblings will have a special spot up front. Please remember to limit your guests to a maximum of 4 per family. We appreciate all the hard work our grade seven parent committee has given to make this a special day for our grade sevens.

 

Year End Events and Activities

June is a busy time of year. There is much to do and a lot of fun to have. Please continue to check in with your children and teachers for current information and expectations.

• Remember to check our last and found.
• PAC AGM – June 18
• Gr. 7 assembly – June 21
• Year-end assembly - June 25

 

Last Day of School and Report Cards

Your child’s final report card for the school year will be posted on MyEdBC on the last day of school, June 27^th. Additional information will be sent from the district about accessing reports on MyEdBC. School will be dismissed at our regular time of 2:45 p.m.

 

Lost and Found

Please remember to check our lost and found before the end of the school year. There are still many water bottles, jackets, shirts, and much, much more remaining.

 

Whiteside Fundraising

To help support new learning 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.

 

DISTRICT INFORMATION AND UPDATES

Student And Family Affordability Fund

The provincial government recently announced a renewal of one-time funds for the Student and Family Affordability Fund. This fund is designed to assist families who require financial assistance with school-related costs in the following areas:

• school and course fees.
• school supplies and course materials.
• field trips.
• school-related extracurricular opportunities. 
• clothing and footwear required for sports and school activities. 

Please reach out to our principal, Brett Cameron, (whiteside@sd38.bc.ca) if you need assistance.  As always, all requests will be treated with dignity and your privacy will be respected. We want to work with our families to ensure that our students, your children, have everything they need to be successful at school. Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can help.

 

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.

 

Cybersafe from Exploitation – Video Link and Parent Resource Package

Thank you to Grade 6 and 7 parents as well as caregivers who were able to join the Cybersafe from Exploitation virtual talk on May 23. This session provided key tips to parents in keeping their children safe and respectful to others, while raising the profile and normalizing conversations around cyber-safety.

 For parents and caregivers who may have missed the presentation or would like to review the content, you can access a recording through this link (link) (password is #cybersafe24). The link will be available until June 29, 2024.

In addition, the Exploitation Education Institute has provided a parent resource package which is attached to this email and https://www.thepreventionproject.ca (link) is the direct link for free resource videos.

 

THE MORE YOU KNOW…

National Indigenous History Month

In June, Canadians recognize and celebrate National Indigenous History Month to honor the history, heritage, and diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Please visit: the NIPD site or the NIHM national site for more information.

 

COMMUNITY INFORMATION AND EVENTS:

City of Burnaby – National Indigenous Peoples Day 2024

The City of Burnaby is organizing a family friendly, community celebration to honour and recognize National Indigenous Peoples Day. This year, the event will be held on Friday, June 21 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Civic Square, 6100 Willingdon Ave., Burnaby.

 

Integrated Child and Youth Teams (ICY) – Art in the Park

Facilitated by ICY youth peer support workers, this non-clinical, drop-in group will run on Fridays from July 12 to August 23 (1-3 p.m.) at King George/Cambie Community Park. No registration or commitment is required. Please see attached flyer.

 

Wildfire Mental Health Supports

Climate events can impact not only our physical environments and health but also our mental health. Virtual wildfire recovery resources (link) and mental health supports (link) are available for children, youth and families affected by wildfires. Additional mental health resources for those affected by wildfires and climate-related events can be found on the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions' Help Starts Here website (link) and at Kids Help Phone (link). The erase Mental Health and Well-Being web page (link) provides mental health resources for students, families and educators.

 

South Arm Community Center Block Party

SACC is hosting our annual South Arm Neighbourhood Block Party from 5:30 – 7:30pm on Thursday, June 20. This event is completely free to the public. They will be able to enjoy an Inflatable obstacle course, air brush tattoos, light refreshments, live music, pop up fitness classes, games, arts, crafts and more. 

 

Fire & Flower Empowerment Camp

This camp is for girls and non-binary youth aged 10-12 during the week of August 19-23 at Terra Nova Rural Park. Please see the flyer attached to our weekly newsletter for more information.

 

City of Richmond - $29 Summer Active Pass

The $29 Summer Active Pass (richmond.ca/SummerPass (link)) is now available for purchase. This low cost, unlimited pass is for 5 to 18 year olds to participate in select drop-in activities including:

• Swimming, fitness centre access and select drop-in group fitness classes at Minoru Centre for Active Living and Watermania
• Swimming at South Arm and Steveston Outdoor Pools
• Skating* at Richmond Ice Centre (public skating only)
• Golf** at West Richmond Pitch & Putt (Monday to Thursday, 12-4 p.m., excluding holidays)
• Fitness centre access and select drop-in group fitness classes at Cambie, City Centre, Hamilton, South Arm, Steveston, Thompson and West Richmond Community Centres
• Select drop-in activities at community centres

 *Skate rentals extra. **Golf rentals extra; children under 12 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

Have a great weekend!

 ~Whiteside Elementary