Happy Family Day, Whiteside!

We hope you take this time to disconnect from your routines and reconnect with family. Enjoy the downtime, the adventures, and, hopefully, some fun—we can’t wait to see you back on Tuesday!

Coming up: Pro-D Day tomorrow (school closed), Family Day on Monday (school closed) and Crazy Hair and Hat Day on February 20.

Thank you for your ongoing support of learning at Whiteside!

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:

These are speeches provided by our grade 7 students, Elin, Wish, Vivi, and Joylene at the Reach to Teach banquet on February 11, 2026. Reach to Teach is a community outreach program that connects schools with professional artists to provide students with specialized, high-quality instruction and public showcase opportunities in visual and performing arts. Their final projects are on display at the Steveston post office.

We are here to represent Whiteside’s division 2 and would like to say thank you for inviting us to the Reach 2 Teach visual arts program. We really enjoyed the time with your team. The activities were fun and creative. We learned new skills and had a chance to try things that we don’t usually do in class. Our instructor Ms. Lauren was kind and encouraging, which made us feel comfortable and excited to participate. This program gave us a lots of memories and taught us how to be more creative. We started with an artist study of Henri Matisse. Then we moved on to other activities such as roller painting, creating self portraits, and building 3-dimensional paper sculptures. Overall, this was a great experience and we learned a lot. Thank you once again. We are very grateful to be part of reach 2 teach!

Today, me and Joylene would like to represent our classmates and friends at Whiteside in thanking everyone involved with the Reach 2 Teach program. Reach 2 Teach’s drama lessons with Dr. Martin taught us how to be creative and express our true selves by making up stories to tell our classmates. We also got to meet with students from other schools to interact and do exercises with them; each drama session, we always had delicious food provided through this program. We also did many fun activities, including mirroring each other, doing fun vocal warmups, and writing scripts to present to each other. One of the best parts was learning about the 4 aspects of a dramatic scene. We learned to answer who we are in the scene, who we are talking to, what we want and whether we get it. This made our performances much more engaging for the audience that was watching us. Reach 2 Teach’s drama program taught by Dr. Martin helped all of us build up our confidence and express our actual selves. Thank you Reach 2 Teach!

Coming Events at Whiteside:

February 13 – Pro-D Day (school closed)

February 16 – Family Day (school closed)

February 17 – PAC meeting online at 7:45 p.m.

February 18 – Universal Hot Lunch (Shepherd’s Pie/Veggie Quesadilla)

February 20 - Spirit Day: Crazy hair day (can also be hats and hair accessories)

February 23/24 – Festival Franco at the Richmond Oval (Intermediate EFI and Core French)

February 24-26 – Book Fair in the library

February 25 – Pink Shirt Day

February 25 – Early dismissal at 11:50 a.m. – Learning Conferences (learning update #3)

February 27 – PAC Hot Lunch – Yummy Slice

March 2-6 – Fusion Lacrosse week (Thanks, PAC!)

March 3/4 - McRoberts Basketball Jamboree

March 13 – PAC Hot Lunch

March 13 – Talent Show

March 13 – Last day before spring break

March 30 – First day back after spring break

April 3 – Good Friday (school closed)

April 6 – Easter Monday (school closed)

April 21 – Class Photos and Panorama

April 23 – Term 2 report cards posted online

May 15 – Pro-D Day (school closed)

May 18 – Victoria Day (school closed)

May 20-22 – Gr. 6 Camp at Cheakamus Centre

June 19 – Grade 7 Farewell

June 25 – Final day of school for students

WHITESIDE INFORMATION AND EVENTS

Long Weekend Alert

Whiteside will be closed for our professional development day on February 13 and for Family Day on February 15. 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 13-16).

Scholastic Book Fair – February 24-25 – Parent Volunteers Needed

Dear Parents and Families:

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 in the Whiteside library on Tuesday, February 24^th from 2:45-4:30; and Wednesday, February 25^th from noon to four. 

We need parent volunteers to help make this event run smoothly and successfully! If you can volunteer at the Book Fair- even if only for the first 30 minutes, which is always the busiest, please email us with the times and days you are available at whiteside.library@sd38.bc.ca Of course, your children are welcome to join you while you volunteer. We are excited to celebrate our love of books together at the Book Fair. We look forward to seeing you there!

Happy Reading,

Ms. Tsougrianis and Mrs. Kawas

Universal Hot Lunch Update

Ordering for our winter and spring Universal Hot Lunches are open at: https://munchalunch.com/. Please select the “Feeding Futures” option. Our Universal Hot Lunch Dates are:

March 4 (Chilli Mashed Potato Bowl/Spinach Penne Alfredo)

April 8 (Chicken Penne Alfredo/Honey Garlic Tofu and Rice)

April 22 (Butter Chicken/Spinach Penne Alfredo)

May 6 (Honey Garlic Meatballs and Rice/Cheesy Veggie and Bean Burrito)

May 20 (Chicken Quesadilla/Veggie Chili Mashed Potato Bowl)

June 3 (Chicken and Veggie Chow Mein/Veggie and Edamame Chow Mein)

June 17 (Shepherd’s Pie/Butter Chickpeas and Rice)

Please order the age-appropriate size for your children. All orders must be placed one week prior to the hot lunch.

Learning Conferences

We will have an early dismissal on February 25^th at 11:50 a.m. to accommodate our winter learning conferences. Opportunities to schedule a time to meet with your child’s teacher will come out shortly.

Fusion Lacrosse Coming to Whiteside

From March 2 – 6, Fusion Lacrosse will be running lacrosse clinics for all our P.E. classes. Thank you to our PAC for providing this amazing learning opportunity for our Wolfpack. If you are interested in joining or learning more about lacrosse, please check out: https://www.richmondlacrosse.com/ (registration is open now) or https://fusionwestlacrosse.com/lacrosse-for-schools/. 

Whiteside Basketball

Our Whiteside basketball season is underway. Our coaches this year are Mme Howells, Mr. Lenz, and Mr. Cameron. We encourage our grade 6 and 7 students to come out and join the fun. Game schedule:

February 17: Bridge (boys at Bridge; girls at Whiteside)

February 24: DeBeck (boys at DeBeck)

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 2026 theme for Black History Month is: 30 Years of Black History Month: Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations — From Nation Builders to Tomorrow’s visionaries.

 https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month.html

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 participating in the 2026 Vancouver Sun Run on Sunday, April 19^th in Vancouver.  We invite you to join our 27 member-strong 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 has started training for the Sun Run on Tuesday mornings at 8:10 a.m. Everyone is welcome.  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. Our next PAC meeting is online at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17.

Wolf Wear Wednesdays

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

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.

Student Learning Survey 2025/2026

We invite parents of students in Grades 4 and 7 to participate in the Provincial Student Learning Survey, which gathers valuable feedback on our school environment, safety, and achievement. Your input is essential for identifying our strengths and areas where we can improve. Please complete the survey by visiting https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/student-learning-survey, clicking on the "Parents" icon, and selecting our district and school name. The e-survey site will be open until May 2, 2025.

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…

Black History Month: The Story of Emery Barnes, a former BC Lions football player who became a champion for people in need.

After his football career, Emery Barnes dedicated his life to social work and politics, eventually becoming the first Black person to serve as the Speaker of the Legislature in any Canadian province. He was known for his "gentle giant" personality and his deep commitment to understanding others—in fact, in 1986, he even lived on social assistance for months just to truly understand the struggles of the people he was trying to help. Today, you can visit Emery Barnes Park in downtown Vancouver, which is named in his honor as a reminder of his legacy of kindness and service.

~Whiteside Elementary