Posted: April 27, 2025

Families of Shortreed,

You should have received an email from our Superintendent, Mal Gill, regarding the horrific tragedy at the Lapu Lapu Festival on Saturday. To any of our Shortreed Filipino families affected by this, we send our love and sincere condolences. Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you need any support.  

A reminder that Shortreed is a polling station on Monday, so please add a few minutes to your morning drop off, as parking will be a little more challenging.

We have a few field trips this week. Our grade 5s will travel to watch the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the beautiful Orpheum Theatre, and the grade 4s will head to Fort Langley to learn about some local history.

Running practices continue this week with grade 3-5 track and field on Thursday and Friday at noon.

Club Wednesdays are back and start this week!

Talent Show forms are due next Monday.

As always, we want to acknowledge that we do our important work to ensure every child belongs on the unceded ancestral and traditional lands of the Màthxwi (Matsqui) First Nation. We acknowledge this to honour the land and the people and share our commitment to learning on our journey for Truth and Reconciliation. So many hearts are heavy today due to the tragedy in Vancouver. I share this not because it has anything to do with Truth and Reconciliation, but because it is hard for me to write tonight. A time of community and cultural celebration turned to tragedy. This has happened far too many times in our history. Through this, though, I am still reminded of the importance of a circle of community that I have learned from Indigenous communities I have had the pleasure of working with. Placing the children and affected families at the centre and wrapping them in care, with a listening ear and heart, is at the core of what we can do. We sadly cannot change the past, but slowing down and being there for others (meals, financial support, time) helps in healing and grieving. An additional layer of reciprocity is something I have also learned through observing grief and loss in Indigenous communities; when you’re there for others, they will be there for you. I am honoured to be in a community, on these Màthxwi ancestral lands, that continually puts care at the forefront and is there for each other in times of success and times of tragedy. 

Thank you to everyone who donated and came out to support our PAC Spring Everything for a Dollar Sale. Our PAC raised over $3000 through sales and donations!!! A HUGE thank you to Amy Synesael, Jodi Stiglic, Kyla Des Mazes, Laura Wheway, Evan Smart, Jan Iggulden, Cashmere Roder, and all those volunteers who put in many hours to help organize, set up, collect funds, clean up, and load the truck. It is a wonderful event that would not happen without the support of volunteers and this amazing community!

Blake and Mackenzie from Venechuk Farms were here on Thursday to do another session of Agri-Kids! This program offers local produce to all families and teaches our kids about it, while also encouraging them to prepare, cook, and eat with their families. Our kids were excited to learn about potatoes this week… and excited to head home and make some homemade fries! Thank you to Langley Schools for supporting this great program.

Classes have been enjoying time in the forest with all the lovely sights, sounds, and smells. We are so lucky to have this space to walk gently, play, and explore.

Tuesday was Earth Day. Ms. DeBoer (Div 1) and Ms. Suffron (Div 2) teamed up to do a recycled art project through a lens of gratitude for our environmental champion, Mr. D! They wrote him messages an

d created lovely cards to show their appreciation for all he does. Few people see this but Mr. D spends 1-2 hours after school almost EVERY day organizing all our recyclables so hardly anything we use goes in the trash. He takes bags and bags of plastics (soft, crinkly, solid) to the recycling depot every few weeks and keeps all of this out of the landfills. Mr. D – thank you for being such an amazing environmental champion and role model to all our kids and staff!It is no secret that we have the best team of support staff! Our teachers and admin took time to honour our support staff (SEA’s, Aboriginal Support Worker, custodians, Youth Care Worker, Admin assistants, Library Tech) on Friday. We brought them in lunch, provided them with some gifts, and released them from their duties (and covered for them) for 90 minutes. Our grade 5s wrote messages of gratitude and support outside, and Ms. McLeod’s class gave each of them a rose. This pales in comparison to all the work they do, but it was a small way to say THANK YOU and show our immense appreciation for the work they do and who they are!

The Week Ahead

Monday – Federal Election in Shortreed Gym
Tuesday – Gr. 5 trip to Orpheum Theatre
Wednesday – Club Wednesday Day 1
Thursday – Track Practice 12:00
Friday – Track Practice 12:00

Month at a Glance:

Monday, May 5 – Talent Show forms due; National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (stated in calendar so that adults can be aware and learn more)
Wednesday, May 7 – PAC Hot Lunch (McDonald’s); Club Wednesday Day 2
Friday, May 9 – Shortreed Gr. 3-5 Track Meet 9-12; Informal Learning Updates sent home
Tuesday, May 13 – PAC Meeting (AGM) 7:00
Wednesday, May 14 – Kindergarten Welcome Event 12:45-4 (early dismissal for current K’s)
Thursday, May 15 – BGMS Grade 6 Band performs 1:00
Friday, May 16 – Pro-D Day (no school for students)
Monday, May 19 – Victoria Day (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 20 – Quinn Beasley assembly 1:00
Wednesday, May 21 – PAC Treat Day (TCBY); Club Wednesday #3
Thursday, May 22 – Grade 3-5 Regional Track Meet at McLeod Stadium
Friday, May 23 – PAC Fun Fair 3:30-7:30
Wednesday, May 28 – Club Wednesday #4
Thursday, May 29 – Agri-Kids
Friday, May 30 – Shortreed’s Got Talent 12:45

Information and Reminders

• Summer Sessions at Parkside! If you are interested in some free summer sessions for your child this summer, please go to https://www.sd35.bc.ca/schools/summer-session/ to register.

• Strive for FIVE Days (or Less) – Attendance is crucial to your child’s learning as it helps with academics, social-emotional well-being, and peer connections. We understand children get sick, but please send them to school as many days as possible and strive for FIVE or fewer!

• 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 and state the following information:

  • Student First Name and Last Name
  • Grade
  • Division
  • Length of Absence
  • Reason (illness, late, appointment, vacation)
• If your family needs support for breakfast before school, our breakfast program runs from 8:20-8:35 each day. Students must register and come every school day.
• 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.
• 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.

PAC Info

2025 – 2026 PAC Executive Team nominations is open! ​

Community Events and Information

Click here to check out the Langley School District’s community bulletin board.

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For families seeking help to support their teens’ transition into adulthood, especially those with neurodiverse teens.

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Free Swim Lesson Opportunity for Students – Inspired Swim’s Making Waves Program

The Langley School District Foundation is excited to announce a new partnership with Inspired Swim, a leading provider of private swim instruction. This initiative is designed to make water safety education more accessible to families in our district. 

Through Inspired Swim’s Making Waves Program, Inspired Swim will provide free swim lessons to students who may not otherwise have access. 

Parents can apply for free lessons using the form linked here: [Apply Here] 

Thank you for helping make water safety accessible to all children in our community! 

 For more details, visit www.inspiredswim.com or contact zach@inspiredswim.com

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International Student Program Homestay Families

Embark on a rewarding journey of cultural exchange! The District is seeking homestay families to host International Student Program (ISP) students for the 2025-2026 school year and beyond. There are many benefits including learning a new culture, sharing your family traditions, and developing life-long friendships. Homestay families are provided $1200 per month to offset costs. Start your journey here: https://www.studyinlangley.com/student-life/

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