To Our Whiteside Families,

I am truly excited to step into this role of Acting Principal at Whiteside and to lead learning alongside such a dedicated and caring school community. I look forward to working collaboratively with the students, staff, and families to build on the strong foundation already in place, while continuing to support engaging, inclusive, and high-quality learning for all students. I am committed to listening, building relationships, and fostering a positive, respectful environment where everyone feels valued and connected. It is a privilege to serve this community, and I am eager to support student success as we move forward over this last term.

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

Ms. Sara Lai, Acting Principal

Introducing Ms. Joanne Rooney, our new Acting Vice Principal:

I am excited to join the Whiteside Wolves staff as a vice principal as Mr. Cameron and Ms. Lai transition into their new roles.  I have worked with the Richmond School District since 2008 in the Vice Principal and Principal roles. I was a teacher in Surrey for 10 years prior to joining Richmond. I taught Grades 5-7 as a classroom teacher, did 1.5 years as a secondary learning resource teacher, and have also worked LRT in elementary as well as doing the prep role/LRT while a VP.

This year I have taken a leave of absence and have done some travelling (Europe, Australia and New Zealand) and one final trip to Japan to experience.  I have also done some teaching and principal on call work this year. It has been a year of new learning experiences, wonderful conversations and a renewed joy for this career. 

I look forward to meeting and learning about the Whiteside community!  

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 Events at Whiteside:

April 20- Respect for Place, Earth Day Assembly and Wolfpack Event – 1:30 to 2:30 

April 21 – Class Photos and Panorama – 9 am

April 21 – PAC Meeting @7:45 pm (on line)

April 22 – Universal Hot Lunch

April 23 – Term 2 report cards posted online

April 24 – Track Attack Div. 1-9 

May 1 – Hot Lunch

May 6 – Universal Hot Lunch

May 11 – Track Meet at Minoru

May 14 – Hot Lunch

May 15 – Pro-D Day (school closed)

May 18 – Victoria Day (school closed)

May 20 – Welcome to Kindergarten

May 20 – Universal Hot Lunch

May 21 – Gr. 7 Day at McRoberts

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

May 29 – Hot Lunch

June 3 – Universal Hot Lunch

June 12 – Sports Day / Hot Lunch

June 17 – Universal Hot Lunch

June 19 – Grade 7 Farewell

June 25 – Final day of school for students

WHITESIDE INFORMATION AND EVENTS

Track Attack 

Our "Track Attack" program for our Grade 4-7 students started last week! 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 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!

Track Meet on May 11th, 2026 – A new format

All schools will be participating in a revised Track and Field meet format this year.  This format will provide opportunities for more students to be involved, and students will be able to participate in all events (not just one or two events as in past years). Students will be organized into grade groups and will rotate through four stations supervised by a staff member: jumping, throwing, running and a rest station. 

CHALLENGE BY CHOICE: 

At each station, students can participate in multiple events and can choose if they want to participate in a competitive or recreational group.  Open competitive is for students wishing to achieve personal bests and/or reach a performance benchmark, whereas open recreational is more focused on fun, skill development and trying an event with low pressure. Consistent with other Elementary activities, the focus is on individual active participation.  Families are encouraged to celebrate their child’s effort and participation, regardless of the result or outcome. 

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 was 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 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!

On Sunday, it will be the Vancouver Sun Run.  Good luck to our 31 member-strong Whiteside Wolves Team who are completing the  2.5 km or 10 km Youth Team Challenge.

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 acting principal, Sara Lai (slai@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.

Important Parent Session:

You may also be interested in the following:  Nihilistic Violent Extremism: Protecting Children & Youth from Evolving Online Threats.

https://blog.gov.bc.ca/ecc-dm-bulletin/article/erase-organized-crime-and-exploitation-prevention-information-series-nihilistic-violent-extremism-protecting-children-youth-from-evolving-online-threats/