Good Things and the Week Ahead

Posted: November 26, 2023

Families of Shortreed,

We hope you had a lovely week and weekend in the beautiful weather that has been around for the past week! It was great to see many of you at the Aldergrove tree-lighting event tonight too!

This is a big week for our students, families, and staff as we start our Student Inclusive Conferences (SIC). A few reminders for the SIC:

Your child needs to come to the SIC (this meeting replaces the report card and the student is at the centre of this conference).
Please bring your Family Reflection Sheet. If you have lost your copy, you can download one here. You can also find a reflection sheet in Vietnamese and Punjabi.
Please be mindful of the time. As there is a tight schedule, please conclude the conference at 20 minutes (teachers will lead this).
Please contact your child’s teacher if you have not booked a conference yet. One conference per child.
Wednesday is SIC Day, so students only attend DURING their booked conference time IF they have a conference scheduled on that day.
Thursday is an early dismissal day at 12:33. Students will not have a “lunch eating time” on this day. The 2-hour early dismissal replaces the 2 1-hour dismissals that used to happen for parent-teacher conferences.

This is another reminder that our Santa Breakfast is happening the morning of Friday, December 8. This is a huge event the Shortreed Staff puts on, and we hope you can attend. A few notes about this year’s event:

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. Please register here by Thursday so we know how much food to buy!
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.
Don’t forget to register here!

Our Scholastic Book Fair happens this week in the gym too! See the PAC section for more info. Stop by Tuesday-Thursday to shop for some books and support our school!

Don’t forget to check out the Shortreed Winter Market this Saturday from 10-3 in our gym! We have 45 amazing local vendors with a wide variety of handcrafted products to get everyone ready for the Christmas season. We are also extremely excited to have The Mad Greek food truck joining us as well as having our Grade 5s selling treats and beverages as part of their year-end celebration fundraiser. Each vendor has generously donated a product to include in our door prize raffle ($1 per ticket). We also have Vancouver Giants and Abbotsford Canucks tickers that will be raffled off as well.

We are featuring the odd-numbered divisions in our Good Things this week. We hope you can take a few minutes to read up on that and some reminders for the week ahead.

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. As I walked around the tree-lighting ceremony tonight, and saw hugs and handshakes between community members and heard the voices of us all singing a few carols together… it made me so thankful to call this land my home. We must remember and acknowledge what this land once was and the sacrifices made by the Màthxwi people so we can all now enjoy it. We honour the Indigenous teachings that the children are at the centre of a community… and this was definitely an example of this tonight.

Good Things to Talk About

Bargains Galore! Our 2023 Winter Dollar Sale was another huge success with our PAC volunteers raising over $2600 for our school! A huge shout out to the volunteers who made this happen and another thank you to all those who donated and purchased items.

Eat Your Greens! Ms. Mossey (one of our ELL teachers), was teaching some students the English words for many different vegetables. To help them understand these words, they made a salad together and tried some vegetables for the first time!

More Little Authors – Mrs. Kirk has been working with some grade 1 writers from Mrs. Anderson’s class on their first-ever book! The students chose a topic they wanted to write about, wrote a book, and then illustrated it. These will be in the library for others to read.

Div 1 – Math Rotations! How do teachers at Shortreed best support their students’ different levels and needs? One way that Mrs. Parsons (and others) do this is through math rotations/centres. Students are placed in groups and then rotate through different learning stations to practice their skills, such as using Mathletics (on iPads), playing math games with a partner, or practicing math facts independently. A key station in the rotation is “math with the teacher,” and this is where the students receive math instruction and feedback at their level in a small group setting. After they get this instruction, they can move through the rotations to practice their learning.

Div 3 – And I Quote… Mostat’s class came up with some creative and festive stories this past week to practice using quotation marks in their writing! They also took time to prepare and practice for their Student Inclusive Conferences this week!

Div 5 – Scaling Up! Ms. Ewald and Ms. Penner’s students have been reflecting on their self-regulation skills (and ways to manage their emotions) in class. They have also learned about self-assessment and success criteria using the BC Proficiency Scales. Combining these 2 important things, they made their own criteria examples that focused on helping them to stay in the green zone.

Div 6 – Heating Up! Mr. D’s class has been learning about various ways that energy can be transferred… specifically heat transfer. Their “weekly wonder” was timely (with the cold weather) as they reflected and learned how to answer the questions: “How does insulation reduce heat transfer? What kind of insulation is used in our homes?”

Div 7 – I will include next week!

Div 9 – Reflecting on Land Acknowledgements – Each morning at Shortreed, we do a Land Acknowledgement over the PA… but why is this important, and what does it mean to us? Mrs. Gandouin’s class took some time to learn about some of the history and the words within our territorial land acknowledgement. They participated in a class community walk to explore and appreciate the land around our school. Reconciliation in action!

Div 11 – Learning About Diwali! Last week (during Diwali), Ms. Cheema’s class learned all about the celebration of light that is Diwali. They also learned about the importance of Diyas in Diwali and then met up with Mostat’s class to design and paint their own Diyas together. Thank you to Ms. Cheema for purchasing close to 200 Diyas for our school so classes could learn about and participate in Diwali in their own small way.

Div 13 – Number Corner – When I popped into Ms. Kaur’s class, the students were actively engaged in their number corner routine. In number corner, students use a calendar and specific number corner resources to review and practice patterns and math facts. They predict, observe, and discuss a variety of patterns on the number corner calendar and then practice their math facts with “number of the day”. For example, if the number of the day is 12, they learn and practice different ways to represent 12 and man different ways to add up to 12. The number corner routine provides a platform and builds upon math skills needed for success at every level.

Div 15 – All About the Brain! Ms. Fournier’s class has been working with Mrs. Kirk about self-regulation and the brain. They practiced different breathing strategies and looked at a model of the brain and how it works to regulate our emotions. Helping our students to understand WHY we can act and react (parts of the brain) can help them understand how to regulate their emotions (self-regulation strategies).

Div 17 – Reading Routines in K! Miss Petersen’s students are getting better each week with their reading! Each morning, the class participates in something called Word Works Daily. In this routine, students practice letter sounds, beginning and ending sounds, syllables, rhyme, and other aspects of the foundations of reading. This past week, they also had some fun searching for the missing Gingerbread Man in the school!

Div 19 – Dear Santa… Ms. Coghill’s students wrote letters to Santa and then walked them to our local post office last week. They also wrote a class letter to the jolly old elf wishing for a classroom elf of their own!

The Week Ahead

Monday, Nov 27 – Student Inclusive Conferences start
Tues-Thurs, Nov 28-30 – Scholastic Book Fair
Wednesday, Nov 29 – Student Inclusive Conference Day (only students who have conferences attend for conference time only – please see email that was sent regarding this day) and evening.
Thursday, Nov 30 – Early Dismissal at 12:33 for Student Inclusive Conferences
Friday, Dec 1 – Sports/Jersey Spirit Day – wear anything sports-related
Saturday, Dec 2 – Shortreed Winter Market (in the gym)

Month at a Glance

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
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 by clicking here.

PAC Info

The Shortreed Scholastic Book Fair is happening this week! We need volunteers, so please sign up here if you are able to help.

Monday is the walk-through for all classes (just to take a look)
Tuesday – book shopping at lunch (plus class shopping time for K students)
Wednesday – book shopping all day 8:30-6:30
Thursday – book shopping from 11:45-4:30

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.