Posted: May 22, 2023
Families of Shortreed,
We hope you had a wonderful long weekend with family and/or friends.
As we head into the last full week of May… this means PAC Fun Fair!!! Be sure to check out the info below and we hope to see you at our annual Fun Fair!
Our 2023 Shortreed Track and Field Team is set! Over 50 students in grades 3-5 were notified last week that they had made the regional finals and will run, jump, and/or throw against students from 6 other schools in the LSS and ACSS families of schools. The Regional Meet takes place next Tuesday, May 30.
Don’t forget that this Friday is “Anything But a Backpack” day so students are encouraged to get creative on how they will bring their stuff to school that day!
As always, we are honoured to work, learn, and play on the unceded ancestral lands of the Matsqui First Nation; in Langley, we do so on the unceded ancestral lands of the Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo First Nations.
I was able to get a few highlights from the classrooms but will save them for next week. We hope you enjoy some of the Good Things that have happened more school-wide this past week!
Good Things to Talk About
A Warm Welcome – It was a beautiful (and warm) day for our 2023 Kindergarten Welcome last week as we greeted our latest group of future Shortreed Eagles! Students starting kindergarten in the fall, along with their families, had a chance to meet many members of our Shortreed team and see the classrooms and library while participating in some fun learning activities and getting a swag bag and popcorn. We can’t wait to have these little Eagles join us in September! A huge thank you to our Kindergarten Welcome team for all their work in preparing for the event.
A Tour to Learn – Shortreed staff boarded a bus at 7:30am on Friday and travelled to Chilliwack, Hope, Yale, and Agassiz as part of Sonny McHalsie’s Bad Rock Tour. We learned about over 100 different place names and why these locations are important to Sto:lo culture and history. We also learned stories with lessons, as well as teachings of local peoples that have been shared through many generations. The highlight of the tour was a stop at the incredible Xéylxelamós (Lady Franklin Rock – just past Yale) to hear about the techniques that local Indigenous families use (and have used) to fish and prepare/dry the fish to be eaten at a later date. Sonny is a wealth of knowledge and if you ever get a chance to hear him speak… do it!
Learning to Fly – Many of our kindergarten students had a chance to watch their butterflies take to the sky as they released the beautiful insects that had grown in their classrooms. Students have had a chance to learn up close what metamorphosis can look like!
Teacher-Librarian for the Day! Miss W, our teacher-librarian for the day, did a great job last week supporting students, reading to classes, checking in/out books, and taking care of the library with Mrs. Kirk!
Primary Field Trip to the Aquarium! It was an AWESOME day for our grade 1-3 students as they all boarded 4 buses and headed into Stanley Park to visit the Vancouver Aquarium. Students had many stories to share about the different aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates… especially that octopus that likes to hide! What was your child’s favourite part???
VP for the Day – Our VP for the day, Mr. T, had the chance to teach some PE, supervise, support classes, and go for lunch with Mrs. Tarasoff last week. Thanks for your help, Mr. T, and we hope you enjoyed the day!
The Week Ahead
Tuesday – Gr. 4/5 Soccer 2:45
Wednesday – PAC Popcorn Day; Final Club Wednesday
Friday – Spirit Day – Anything But a Backpack; BGMS Gr. 6 Band Concert – 1:15; PAC Fun Fair – 3:30
Month at a Glance
Monday-Friday, May 29-June 2 – Bike/Roll to School Week; Gr. 5 Swim Program
Monday, May 29 – Gr. 4/5 Intrasquad Game 2:45; PAC Meeting AGM 6:30
Tuesday, May 30 – Grade 3-5 Regional Track Meet
Wednesday, June 7 – Gr 5s visit BGMS; Frozen Yogurt day
Friday, June 9 – Shortreed’s Got Talent 12:45
Monday, June 12 – ACSS Grad Walk
Wednesday, June 14 – PAC Meeting 9:30
Friday, June 16 – Wheels Parade and Sports Day! Hot lunch (pizza)
Tuesday, June 20 – Grade 5s at Co-Op Outdoor Experience
Wednesday, June 21 – National Indigenous Peoples Day
Friday, June 23 – Diversity Day – “Proud to Be ME!”; PAC Ice Cream Day
PAC News
Attention Shortreed Community!!!
Our Fun Fair is THIS FRIDAY, May 26th from 3:30 to 7:30pm!!!
Notices and order forms have gone home. This year the PAC has decided not to offer a discounted pre-sale rate. Instead, we didn’t raise prices and we have a Climbing Wall coming!
For more information take a look at our event page on Facebook ” Shortreed School Fun Fair or email Shortreedpac@gmail.com
Please take a look at the volunteer sign-up linked here. Please volunteer if you can. Without all our parents, teenagers from the high school and the staff’s support, we would not be able to throw great events for our kids. Most volunteer jobs will have a PAC Executive member at the station to help and show you what to do.
Thank you, Shortreed Community.
Important Updates and Reminders
- The 2023-24 District Calendar has been approved and can be found here. We will be adding these dates to our online calendar and will automatically be updated if you subscribe to our calendars.
New Ministry Reporting Order Support Materials for Parents and Caregivers
The Ministry of Education has released an excellent resource package designed to help parents and caregivers understand recent changes to assessment practices and the upcoming changes to the K-12 Student Reporting Policy. We would highly recommend that all schools send the Communication Student Learning: Information for Parents and Caregivers document home to all families now and again in September. Below you will find a link to the resource package as well as a one-page introduction to the resource package which helps parents as they navigate the document. The resource package is also available in 8 different languages on the K-12 Student Reporting Policy Information for Families web page.
how-to-use-the-k-12-student-reporting-information-for-parents-and-caregivers-package.pdf
english-communicating-student-learning-information-for-parents-and-caregivers-package.pdf
Summer Session 2023 – Elementary/Middle/Secondary
Are you looking for skill-building or new learning opportunities for your child to keep them engaged during the summer? The District offers a variety of courses as part of Summer Session. Online registration begins on April 20th at 9:00am for Langley School District students. For dates, times, and courses available to grade 1-12 students, please visit our webpage here.
- Before/After School Care at Shortreed – now confirmed for 2023-2024 as well!
- If your family needs some support for breakfast before school, our breakfast program runs at 8:20 each day. Students must come every day and be on time. Please register here.
- Please have your child come prepared for the weather (coats, hood, gloves, boots) as most days are outside days at Shortreed. If you are in need of coats or shoes/boots, come and check out our selection in our Coat/Shoe/Boot exchange!
- If your child is sick, please keep them home until the symptoms have improved.
- 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.
Community Events and Information
Check out all the community events and opportunities on the Langley School District Community Bulletin Board by clicking here.
Southridge Soccer Camp 2023
Where: James Hill Park
When: July 10-13th from 9 am-12 pm each day
Cost: $50 per child, which includes (a T-shirt, snacks, soccer ball, and Thursday BBQ Lunch)- Financial Assistance is available upon request. https://southridgefellowship.ca/soccer-camp/
