Happy Long Weekend Whiteside!

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

We hope you have a wonderful long weekend with your friends and family.

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.

Reminder: Whiteside will be closed for Good Friday and Easter Monday. We will be back to learning and teaching on Tuesday, April 7.

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

~ 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:

This year, Whiteside introduced the new social responsibility theme of: Respect to Self, Others, and Place. Through Family Teams (Wolfpacks), we have participated in many different activities to learn how to be respectful around our school. This winter, we created songs about being respectful in the library and the washroom. These are two examples:

Respect in the Library (to the tune of London Bridge)

Respect in the library, library, library! Respect in the library! So read quietly!

Calm body, quiet voice, quiet voice, quiet voice! calm body, Quiet voice, to be respectful!

Respect in the library, library, library! Respect in the library, so read quietly!

Put the books back properly, properly, properly, Properly! Put the books back properly, to keep clean!

 Respect in the library, library, library! respect in the library, so read quietly!

When walking to the library, library, library! when walking to the library, use proper walking feet!

Respect in the Washroom (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)

In the bathroom, there are rules 

Follow them when you're at school.

Walk straight there and walk straight back 

Make sure to clean up your trash 

Close and lock the doors to pee 

Give each other privacy.

Coming Events at Whiteside:

April 6 – Easter Monday (school closed)

April 10 – Track Attack begins

April 15 - McRoberts band concert at Whiteside

April 16 – Heritage Fair

April 16 - SWIS Robotics Club

April 21 – Class Photos and Panorama

April 23 – Term 2 report cards posted online

May 11 – Track Meet at Minoru

May 15 – Pro-D Day (school closed)

May 18 – Victoria Day (school closed)

May 20 – Welcome to Kindergarten

May 21 – Gr. 7 Day at McRoberts

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

June 12 – Sports Day

June 19 – Grade 7 Farewell

June 25 – Final day of school for students

WHITESIDE INFORMATION AND EVENTS

Hot Lunch Day – April 17 

Please place your Yummy Slice orders by April 10 for pizza and pasta day on April 17. Visit Munch-a-Lunch for your orders.

Track Attack Begins on April 9

We are thrilled to kick off our "Track Attack" program for our Grade 4-7 students! As an exciting part of our physical education curriculum, students will rotate through a variety of track and field stations to build their skills, practice good sportsmanship, and try new activities. Our stations include classic events like the High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put, Relays, Sprints, Long Distance, and the Softball Throw. We are also very excited to introduce two brand-new events this year: Frisbee and the Football Throw! Students will be practicing at these stations on Thursday, April 9th, and upcoming Friday afternoons (April 17th, 24th, and May 1st) as we prepare for our school Track Meet on Monday, May 11th. Let's get out there, stay active, and have some fun!

Smile - Class Photo Day

April 21 is class photo day. Our photographers will be on site to take group, class, and school photos in the morning.

Grade 6 Camp Update

Please remember that our grade 6s are camping from May 20-22. Grade 6 Camp final payment is due Wednesday, April 1st.  Please check your SchoolCash Online account.  Thank you to our generous parent fundraisers and donors! Please see the attached WaterSafe flyer for more information for obtaining your WaterSafe certificate prior to camp.

IMPORTANT: Hot Lunch Volunteers Needed

Thank you to our PAC for providing these yummy meals. We need more volunteers to join us on our PAC hot lunch days to organize and distribute the meals to our students. Without the hard work of this team, our hot lunches can’t happen. If you can help, please email our team at jameswhitehotlunch@gmail.com. 

Hatch PreK Program Registration

Registration for the 2026/27 school year for PreK at Hatch Kids Learning Whiteside is now open! Email info@hatchkidslearning.com for more information or to schedule a tour. This program is for children ages 30 months to 5 years old and operates out of the modular building by the basketball courts.

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 and ensure allergies are noted on your child’s profile. Our Universal Hot Lunch Dates are:

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.

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 29 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”.  Last day to register:  April 16^th.

On Sunday, April 19th, 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 training for the Sun Run will be on Tuesday AND Thursday 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, April 21.

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…

Save the Date! Richmond Celebrates Soccer (2026 FIFA World Cup)

The Richmond Olympic Oval would like to invite the SD38 community to join members of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Vancouver Rise FC on Friday, June 12th as we celebrate Team Canada's first game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Grade 4-7 students are invited to cheer on Team Canada as we welcome the world to our country.

Stay tuned for more details.

~Whiteside Elementary