Dear Whiteside Families,

Get ready for a busy and enjoyable December here at Whiteside! This month, we'll be focused on festive fun and learning, with several special events planned for our students.

Highlights include our musical performances, the Winter Wonderland skating adventures (Thank you, PAC!), and heartwarming holiday celebrations. We're looking forward to sharing the joy of the season with the whole Wolfpack!

Have a wonderful weekend!

~ Whiteside Elementary

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.

Wolf Pack Student Corner:

Our Mud Kitchen, by Melody (Div. 11)

At Whiteside, we have a mud kitchen.  There are so many kids, but me, my friends and Kindergarten kids like playing in the mud kitchen.  There are lots of pans and some spoons in the sand box.  At the mud kitchen, the kindergartens throw the pans and we don't like it because we might get muddy.  I like using a bowl, put it on the mud and using our foot and pushing mud on it.  But your shoes will get muddy so I change my shoes.  Me and my friends have fun playing at the mud kitchen!

Coming Events at Whiteside:

December 1 – Pro-D Day (school closed to students)

December 8 – Immunization Day (K, 1, 6, 7)

December 10 – Winter band concert (1:30/6:30 p.m.)

December 11 – Junior Canucks Floor Hockey Program (K-7)

December 12 – Cozy Sweater Day

December 12 – Hot Lunch (White Spot)

December 16 – Winter musical (1:30/6:30 p.m.)

December 18 – Winter Wonderland at Minoru (K-7)

December 18 – Term 1 reports published

December 19 – PJ Day

December 19 – Last day before winter break

January 5 – Whiteside re-opens

January 5 – Confi-DANCE program begins

January 13 – TCO2: Children of the Streets parent presentation (online at 6:00 p.m.)

January 29 – Gr. 7 parent night at McRoberts

January 30 – Grade 7 snowshoeing field trip

WHITESIDE INFORMATION AND EVENTS

Volleyball Season

Congratulations to our WolfPack volleyball team, and their coaches, Mme Jien and Mr. McCuaig! Thank you for a great season.

White Spot Hot Lunch – December 12

Our amazing PAC and Hot Lunch team is offering White Spot on December 12^th. Please visit Munch-a-Lunch to place your order by December 5.

Parent Education Session: Late French Immersion Webinar

The Richmond School District offers the Late French Immersion program beginning in Grade 6 at James Whiteside and John Diefenbaker Elementary Schools. We invite families of current Grade 5 students to join us for a virtual meeting about this program. We will be hosting this Webinar on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025 at 6pm.

This information session will include the following topics:

• Program Overview
• Student Experiences
• Registration Process
• Frequently Asked Questions

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

Click here

Meeting ID: 229 724 015 019 1

Passcode: iH7eH3pd

Keeping Kids Safe Online: Parent Presentation – January 13, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

Save the date! Keeping Kids Safe Online is a 60 minute interactive workshop designed to help parents, caregivers, and service providers understand how to help children stay safe online. This presentation covers three topics: Online Exploitation – overview, App Literacy – learning how to safely navigate today’s most popular apps, and How to Talk About It – how to have difficult conversations with your children.

A meeting link for this presentation will be provided in January.

Universal Hot Lunch Pilot

Utilizing Feeding Futures as well as National School Food Program funding, the Richmond School District will be piloting a universal hot lunch program at selected elementary and secondary schools during the months of December and January. It is anticipated that a lunch will be offered to all students at Whiteside once each month. We will be using the MunchaLunch ordering platform which families use to order other hot lunches from the school. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.

Mini Sun Run 2026!

Last year, Whiteside had a group of students and parents enter the SunRype Youth Team Mini Sun Run 2.5 km Challenge at the Vancouver Sun Run.  It was an exhilarating time for all of us, and we are now looking to our next challenge!  We are hoping to participate in the 2026 Vancouver Sun Run on Sunday, April 19^th in Vancouver.  We invite you to join our Whiteside Wolves Team and do the 2.5 km or 10 km Youth Team Challenge.

Friends and family can also join the fun!

Team Name: Whiteside Wolves

Team Access Code: PRPGFA

Link to JOIN OUR YOUTH TEAM: team member registration.  Enter the “Youth Team Challenge – 10 km or Mini Sun Run 2.5 km”.

On that day, students will need to be accompanied by an adult.  If your child enters the Mini Sun Run, entry includes one adult escort. If your child enters the 10 km Youth Team Challenge, they will need to be running with an adult family member.  Both child and adult will need to register individually.   

Run club will start training for the Sun Run in February 2026, but students do not have to be a part of our Whiteside Run Club to participate in the run.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email slai@sd38.bc.ca.

PAC Updates

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. Please reach out to our PAC at whitesidepac@hotmail.com for more information and an invitation link for our next PAC meeting in October. Our next PAC meeting is online at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, January 20.

Wolf Wear Wednesdays

To show our school spirit, we invite our students, staff and community to wear their favourite Wolf gear every Wednesday

Kindergarten Registration

Richmond School District 38 is excited to welcome kindergarten registration applications for children born in 2021, turning 5 in 2026. These children will begin kindergarten in September 2026. Online registration opened on November 1, 2025. Please visit our website  for more information about our online registration process, required documents, important dates, and FAQs.

http://www.sd38.bc.ca/kindergarten

Families are encouraged to register any time during the Priority 1 registration period (November – January) for the best chance at attending their catchment school. All registration applications received any time during the Priority 1 registration period will receive placement decisions by February 2025.

Instead of in person information evenings this year, we have posted short videos that provide our new parents with information about the registration process, English Language Learner (ELL) assessments, and District Program Options – Early French Immersion and Montessori. These videos are available in English and Mandarin. Please view the videos at http://www.sd38.bc.ca/kindergarten.

Food Security and School Affordability Support

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

Whiteside Fundraising – Return It

Help raise funds for our school by recycling at home! 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

Allergy Alert:

All families should be aware that Whiteside School has many students with severe, life-threatening food allergies. Some classrooms may be designated nut free to protect the health of these students. Please help us limit the nut products entering our school overall, as the impact on a student can happen anywhere in the school. If possible, please do not send food to school containing nuts.

THE MORE YOU KNOW…

Home & School Reminders

• Reduce Lunchtime Waste: We've noticed a large increase in garbage and plastic waste at lunch. Please help us by packing lunches in reusable containers instead of single-use wrappers, plastic bags, and disposable cutlery.
• Embrace Reusable: By choosing reusable lunch items and water bottles, you teach students the importance of environmental responsibility and help keep our school clean and green!
• Leave Valuables at Home: To prevent distraction, loss, or potential conflict, please remind your children to leave precious or expensive items (like Pokémon cards, trading cards, collectible toys, and electronics) at home. The school cannot be responsible for lost or damaged personal items.

~Whiteside Elementary