Posted: December 10, 2023

Families of Shortreed,

Welcome to our 2nd last newsletter of 2023! We hope you had a great weekend and maybe even some fun in the snow!

Seeing so many families at our Santa Breakfast on Friday was wonderful! There is something so special about this event; we have “community” in our school name, and this event embraces the Shortreed Community. I was once again humbled by the efforts of staff to come in early and cook and serve breakfast for over 800 people this year. We also raised over $500 plus many boxes of food for Sources Food Bank. This is a very special Shortreed event, and I am so thankful to the Shortreed staff and everyone who could attend.

Another event that brings our entire Aldergrove community together is the Aldergrove Christmas Parade. Shortreed will once again be participating, and your family is invited! Please fill out this form by Wednesday if you would like to join us as we walk/ride and celebrate Shortreed and our community in the local parade!

As always, we want to acknowledge that we do our important work to ensure every child belongs on the unceded ancestral territories of the Màthxwi (Matsqui) First Nation. This acknowledgement is a commitment to learning… and through listening to Indigenous Peoples over the past 15+ years, the importance of community has become very clear. Children are at the centre of the community; when I looked around the gym on Friday and saw so many children and families smiling, eating, and laughing, it filled my heart. It was a reminder that we are continuing to honour the importance of children and community on these Màthxwi lands. 

This week, we are featuring even-numbered divisions in our Good Things section. We hope you can spend a few minutes reading up on these good things plus some reminders for the events happening over the next couple of weeks. Don’t forget that Friday is Red/White/Green Spirit Day so bring out those festive colours!

Good Things to Talk About

2023 Santa Breakfast – We served more pancakes than ever before, which meant that we brought more smiles to the community! One change we are proud of this year is that EVERY child who wanted a breakfast could get one. In the past, those students who were not able to come with their families prior to the bell did not have a chance to enjoy the breakfast; this year, we offered breakfast in the gym for ALL students and families… some before the bell with their families and some after the bell with their classmates. Thank you again to the Shortreed staff for putting this on for the community!

A Moment with the Big Man – Another change we made this year was that after our Santa Breakfast, we wanted to ensure every child had a few minutes with Santa (with their class). Throughout the day, each class had about 10 minutes to ask Santa questions and pose for a class photo. They even learned a fun dance that names all the reindeer – ask your child to show you!

PAC Christmas Craft! A big thank you to our Shortreed PAC volunteers who came out to help every student at school on Wednesday make their own special hot chocolate mix to share with their families over the break. Our PAC always does a craft to create moments and memories for our students and we are so thankful for this tradition!

Down Through the Chimney? This week in the library with Mrs. Kirk, students were asked to use their imaginations to give their ideas for how Santa goes down the chimney … or gets into houses without a chimney! There are no right or wrong answers because only Santa knows! Check out a few of the answers and the display in the library and on our social media.

We Are Getting Close! The sound of children singing is filling our hearts and hallways as we get into the final class practices for the Christmas Concerts! Mrs. Muller, classroom teachers, and support staff have been getting the smaller details in place for the big events coming up on Dec 19th and 20th!

Div 2 – Jump! Jump! The students in Ms. Cho’s class were recently practicing their mental math strategies.  The traditional method of adding 2-digit numbers often relied on pen and paper as we learned to write everything out (carrying the one, etc). Division 2 was learning 2-digit addition using the jump method, which is jumping by 10s and then adding the ones (for example, 59 + 23 can be done by jumping 10s with 59… 69… 79… and then counting 3 more to get to 82).  This mental math strategy is something helpful that some adults learned to do on their own but wasn’t really taught “back in the day”.

Div 4 – Up or Down? Ms. Loverock’s students spent some time reviewing how to round numbers in math (below 4, round down; 5 and up round up). They then practiced a new skill of rounding decimals to the nearest tenth and hundredth. They watched a video, listened to the teachings from Ms. Locerock, and then practiced the skill on their whiteboards.

Div 6 – Snowmen at Night! Mr. D’s students embraced the cool winter colours and created some beautiful night scenes featuring a snowman and background scenery. Students used pastels on black paper to create these colourful pieces. Check them out on display in the classroom.

Div 7 – UndeFEETed Artwork – Ms. Johnson’s class put their feet to work with their penguin artwork last week! Students traced their feet and then used this as the outline for their own penguins! They also did a directed draw of Rudolph. Check out both these fun pieces of winter artwork on display outside their classroom.

Div 8 – The Shape of Santa – Mrs. Thompson’s students had the challenge of creating a fun craft of Santa while using specific shapes on individual paper cuttings. Be sure to check them out on our social media (or on the board outside their classroom).

Div 10 – C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S Poetry – Mrs. North’s students brainstormed fun Christmas activities and memories for each letter of the word and then created their own acrostic poems for the word “Christmas”.  Check them out on display outside the classroom.

Div 12 – Learning That’s DINO-myte! Until this past week, it’s been Dino-mania in Mrs. Datema’s class. Students recently wrote about what they would do if they had a pet dinosaur! We love hearing their creative ideas about what they would do with their very large pets – like ride it to school, train it to juggle, and feed it lots of meat! The class also wrote some lovely letters to Santa that are now displayed in the hallway.

Div 14 – Double Time! Ms. Anderson’s students have been practicing their doubles in math. This skill provides a key foundation for mental math addition strategies for years to come as once students have their doubles in their long-term memories, they can use this to add numbers close to this (ie. 7+ 8 is the same as 7+7 and one more).

Div 16 – What Makes Me ME? Ms. Gostelow’s students have been exploring all the amazing things that make them… THEM! They took some time to reflect on their strengths and talents and the story of them. They also shared what they do to help out and fill others’ buckets in the class.

Div 18 – Squirrel! Ms. Bowers’ class was getting a little bit squirrely with their learning as they read books featuring squirrels and did a KWL (know-wonder-learn) activity all about squirrels. They also got active in the community by heading to the local skating rink for some fun time on the ice with their friends from Miss Peterson’s class.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday – PAC Meeting 9:00, PAC Hot Lunch
Thursday – Lockdown Drill, 9:30
Friday – Red/White/Green Spirit Day, Concert Rehearsal
Saturday – Aldergrove Christmas Parade (Shortreed will be in it again this year)

Month at a Glance

Tuesday, Dec 19 – Afternoon Concert #1 – 1:00
Wednesday, Dec 20 – Afternoon Concert #2 – 1:00; Evening Concert 6:20/7:00
Thursday, Dec 21 – pyjama day, PAC free treat day; Shortreed carolling; last day of school before Winter Break; Term 1 SIC Document sent home
Friday, Dec 22 – No School
Monday, Jan 8 – Schools re-open

You can download a list of the important dates in the district for 2023-2024 here.  

PAC Info

We hope you can join us at the PAC meeting on Wednesday at 9:00am.

Information and Reminders 

• Christmas Concert Info:
  • Due to our growth over the past few years, we have had to make some changes to ensure that there are more seats for parents and families to watch. This year, we will be having THREE performances.
    • Tuesday, December 19th at 1:00 pm
    • Wednesday, December 20th at 1:00 pm
    • Wednesday, December 20th at 6:20 pm.
  • All students are expected to be at all concerts. If they cannot make it for a very important reason, the school must be notified by a note, email, or phone call beforehand.
  • Students should wear “nicer than everyday” clothes for the concert.
  • For the evening concert on December 20th:
    • K/1 students and their siblings must arrive at the school at 6:00 pm and go to their classroom. Parents of K/1 students will be seated first, and then if there is any extra room in the gym, other parents will be seated.
    • Grade 2-5 students who do not have siblings in K/1 need to arrive at the school at 6:45 and go to their classrooms. Around 6:50, there will be a 15-minute intermission, when all K/1 parents will exit the gym, pick up their kids and go home. The grade 2-5 parents will then be seated in the gym to watch their concert portion. Parents with children in both groups will remain in the gym for the entire performance.
  • Please consider coming to one of the afternoon performances (if possible) and leaving room at the evening performance for parents who can only make that showtime. Parents who are not attending the evening show to watch still need to drop their children off at the school from 6:00-8:00 pm so all students are in attendance for the evening performance. Students will be supervised by their teachers for this entire time.
• Our breakfast program is up and running! Please register here.
• Friday Dance Sessions!  Does your grade 2-5 child love to move? Come to the gym at 7:45 on the last and first Fridays of the month to learn Bhangra, line dance, and other forms of dance!
  ” I dance to bring meaning, to bring possibility, and to bring inspiration to others. I dance because it makes me whole, so would you like to try some dance moves with me on Friday mornings!”

• Information About School Status During Inclement Weather

  Snow closures and power outages are an annual occurrence in Langley School District. So, where do you go to get information about the status of schools during periods of inclement weather? If you are able to access the internet via computer or smartphone, current information about Langley schools can be accessed on all school websites or the Langley Schools Website. Updates are also posted to X (formerly Twitter) @LangleySchools and Facebook. If you don’t have internet connectivity but your phone is working, call a relative or friend in an area that has not been affected by the storm and ask them to check the district website for you. Local radio stations are also informed of school status in Langley. Tune in to CKWX 1130AM, CKNW 980AM, Country Radio 107.1FM, Pulse 107.7 or CBC 690AM or 88.1FM for updates.

  Please note that Langley District schools are all considered ‘open’ until a decision to close is required. Decisions on school closures are usually made by 6:30am. As always, it is a parent’s decision whether to send their child to school based on safety and individual circumstances. If you feel it is unsafe for you or your child to travel to or attend an open school for any reason, please keep your child home and report an absence to the school.

• As the weather cools, if you are in need of boots and/or a coat, please check out our free Boot and Coat exchange near the office and gym.

• Attendance/Absence – If your child is going to be absent, arriving late, away or leaving early due to an appointment, please notify the school of your child’s absence by emailing SCEAttendance@sd35.bc.ca or calling 604-856-4167.

• Our school parking lot is closed between 8:15-9:00 and 2:00-2:45 (other than daycare, buses, and vehicles for people with a disability). The church across the street graciously allows us to use their parking lot for pick-up and drop-off so please park there or along 28th Ave. Do not park in the “no parking” (coned) areas along the yellow curbs. No u-turns.
• West Coast Recess – As we have done over the past few years, every day is an outside day at Shortreed. Unless there is a severe rainstorm (or snowstorm), we will be heading outside. Please make sure your child has a coat to wear outside. We have a good selection of coats in our FREE Coat Exchange near the office, so come by and check them out.
• Please bring inside shoes for your child. This helps to keep our school clean and dry. If you need some help with shoes, check out our FREE Shoe and Boot Exchange at the office.
• Not Feeling Well? If your child has cold or flu-like symptoms, please keep them home until they have improved and they are well enough to attend school. This will help keep our staff and students as healthy as possible.

Community Events and Information

Check out events and activities around Langley by clicking on the Community Bulletin Board.

Aldergrove Minor Baseball registration is now open for the 2024 season.

Langley Thunder Box Lacrosse registration is now open for the 2024 season. More info at https://www.langleythunder.ca/.

Langley Children’s Choir is looking for singers!

Openings are now available for singers in grades 3 to 8.  What are we looking for?

• School choir members (if your school has one)
• Good attitude and enthusiasm!
• Advanced vocal skills, and the ability to focus
• A firm commitment to the group

• Make new friends who like to sing, too
• Learn about how to sing better and learn lots of music
• Perform at other schools (a day off!)
• Have fun on a choir tour or camp in the spring

Xplore SportZ Winter Break Program at Shortreed – Register here. (limited to 24 spots and only a few left!)

The Lucky Langley 50/50 Raffle – Supporting the Langley School District Foundation. Buy tickets here.