Good Things and the Week Ahead

Posted: December 3, 2023

Families of Shortreed,

We hope you had a great first weekend of December!

Thank you so much to everyone who has been able to make to the Student Inclusive Conferences so far. I know the students and staff have appreciated the chance to share their learning with you!

Thank you to everyone who supported the Book Fair this past week! A big thank you to Jodi and all the volunteers for all their help with this. Thanks to everyone’s support, our school raised over $2000 for books and school initiatives!

A reminder about our 2023 Santa Breakfast coming up this Friday! (there is no need to register if you missed the deadline – that was for us to know how much food to buy… and it looks like it should be

another well-attended event!). As was shared last week, here are the details:

Santa will be in the gym for photos at 7:15. Breakfast starts at 7:30.
Families (students and their parents/caregivers and siblings) are invited to come between 7:30-8:35 am.
Due to the high number of students, unfortunately, we cannot offer drop-off after breakfast this year. We will have supervision outside starting at 8:15 (we cannot offer supervision prior to 8:15). If you need to leave before this, please organize supervision with another parent/caregiver.
The breakfast is FREE but we are collecting donations (non-perishable food items and cash) for Sources Food Bank.
Families are encouraged to wear ugly Christmas sweaters or festive attire.
For students in daycare or whose families cannot attend, we will invite them down to a breakfast with Santa after the bell (new this year!). By doing this, EVERY child at Shortreed will receive a pancake breakfast (if they would like one).
Each class will also get some time with Santa in our courtyard for a story and a photo.

The ladies at the Catholic Women’s League of Sts. Joachim and Ann Catholic church did a coat and boot drive and brought in over 70 coats and boots and then donated these to our school. They were set out, and our families could take what they needed to support their children. Thank you to the ladies at the Catholic Church and all who helped them.

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 I have been thinking about how the knowledge keepers and elders in Indigenous communities are honoured and respected for their teachings and wisdom (since time immemorial). As we move into some winter celebrations, we often connect with grandparents and aunties/uncles and it is a reminder to slow down, listen, and learn from their stories, experiences and teachings. It is also a reminder for us, as a school community, to honour the elders, presenters, and knowledge-keepers who share with us at Shortreed.

Due to staff shortages and Student-Inclusive Conferences, I was not able to get around to as many classes as I wanted to, so we will be focusing on general “good things” this week. I hope you take a few minutes to read up on these and some reminders for the last month of 2023!

Good Things to Talk About

Up On the Rooftop – Our kindergarten classes heard some very interesting sounds from the roof on Friday… and then saw a special red sack drop from the rooftop. The sack contained a cold box with an exciting gift… their own classroom Elf! Each class took time to name their elf and take in that special December magic.

Showing Their Stuff – Many of our students have been beaming with pride this past week as they have had parents/caregivers in to observe the highlights of their learning this year. Students and teachers shared evidence of learning, and the families, students, and teachers came up with some goals for term 2.

Cornering the Winter Market – We had our first Shortreed Winter Market on Saturday, and it was a smashing success! With over 40 vendors in the gym, our grade 5 students and teachers hosted a constant flow of people looking to buy some creative products. Thank you to Mrs. Parsons and Ms. Coghill for organizing this, Ms. Cho for being there to help and support, and our grade 5 leadership students for all their hard work. Thanks to everyone, the grade 5s raised over $3000 to help make their final year at Shortreed that much more memorable! We also appreciate and are so grateful to everyone who came out to support this event.

Good Sports! – We had another Shortreed Spirit Day on Friday as we encouraged our students to wear anything sports-related. We loved seeing all the jerseys, dance and cheer outfits, shirts, and martial arts attire. Thank you to everyone who was able to wear something sporty and have a little fun.

The Elf PAC is Back! On Friday morning, students and staff arrived to a very festive foyer in the school! Our PAC elves were hard at work on Thursday night to make our school more merry and bright this December. Thank you to our dedicated elves!

Winter Celebrations! Mrs. Kirk has been promoting books about many different winter celebrations. Embracing our diversity, it is so important that our students understand the many different celebrations that occur at this time of year.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, Dec 6 – PAC Christmas Craft event
Thursday, Dec 7 – last day for Student Inclusive Conferences; pick up plant orders
Friday, Dec 8 – Santa Breakfast

Shortreed Calendar: Did you know Shortreed has a digital calendar to view and subscribe to? Once you subscribe, you will get all our school events right to the calendar on your phone and/or devices at home. Click here for more info. You can also connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and join the PAC Facebook Group.

Month at a Glance

Wednesday, Dec 13 – PAC Meeting 9am; PAC Hot Lunch
Thursday, Dec 14 – Lockdown Drill
Friday, Dec 15 – Red/White/Green Spirit Day
Saturday, Dec 16 – Aldergrove Christmas Parade (Shortreed will be in it again this year)
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
Friday, Dec 22 – No School

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

PAC Info

No new updates this week. Thank you for supporting the Book Fair!

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 www.sd35.bc.ca. Updates are also posted to X (formerly Twitter) @LangleySchools and Facebook at www.facebook.com/langleyschooldistrict. 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 here!

Social Media Awareness Family Session – Virtual Presentation on December 5^th @6:30pm

In partnership with the Ministry of Education and Childcare’s erase strategy, due to high demand, an additional “Social Media Awareness” Family Session will be offered on December 5^th at 6:30pm. This 60-minute session will be held virtually via Zoom.
To register for this session please click on the link below:
Family Session: Establishing Safe, Caring, & Respectful Digital Communities Tickets, Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 6:30 PM | Eventbrite

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