Posted: November 24, 2024

Families of Shortreed,

We hope you had a lovely weekend and have had a chance to sign up for Student Inclusive Conferences (SIC) that start on Monday. A reminder that Wednesday is SIC Day, students only attend the timeslot of their conference (if you have a conference that day); if you booked another day, your child will not attend school. On Thursday, there is an early dismissal at 12:33 for conferences.

It was wonderful to see so many Shortreed families at the Tree-Lighting gathering tonight! Thank you to all the volunteers who made this happen – including some Shortreed families and students! We are so lucky to have something like this for our community, and I can’t wait to see you all at the parade on the 14th! Cooper Rentals has generously donated a trailer for our school to use for the parade so we would love it if your family would participate with our school this year. More info will be coming out soon.

We emailed out our Santa Breakfast information and registration link. Please read the info and sign up for the FREE breakfast on Friday, December 6!

Our grade 5 basketball team practices on Monday again this week (7:45-8:45).

Our Shortreed Winter Market is this Saturday from 10-3. Come on by to check out some amazing vendors and support this fundraiser for our grade 5s! Thank you to Mrs. Parsons and Ms. Coghill for organizing this and thank you, in advance to our Grade 5s for helping out!

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. We acknowledge this to honour the land and the people and share our commitment to learning on our journey for Truth and Reconciliation. One of the main reasons we learn the truth and move forward on our journey is to ensure that we continue to develop relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities and ensure our students have a sense of belonging at school. Earlier this week, we had a student, who was recently given her traditional name, ask us if she could dance in front of our school. She is a proud Powwow Dancer; this is the first time she has asked to do this. For all those years, Indigenous students were forced to hide their culture and identities; to have a student ask to share her culture and her gift with us filled my heart. Moments like these remind us of the importance of this journey and the work we do. 

Our PAC Everything for a Dollar Sale was a huge success on Friday. Thank you to everyone who donated items, shopped, and volunteered their time. Volunteers spent many hours collecting, organizing, and selling thousands of items, breaking their record and raising over $3000 for our school! Congrats to Amy Synesael and our organizers and volunteers for putting on another successful event!

Our Grade 5 Basketball team had their first practice on Monday. Our basketball program has come a long way over the past few years, and it shows. Many of the players have experience playing basketball, so there is a great mix of new and experienced players. The next practice is Monday at 7:45, and the season starts in February.

Our partnership with Jackman Manor continues to grow. Mrs. Southcott’s class headed over there last week to connect and participate in some activities and art projects! We love these intergenerational moments!

Our teaching staff has been working really hard on our Action Plan goal of “writing achievement.” They recently focused on a skill for 6 weeks (called a “teaching sprint”) and had a chance to share some of their students’ successes in the class. We love how dedicated our staff is (in so many ways) and work so hard to continue to grow and develop professionally! For a summary of our Action Plan goals, click here.

The Week Ahead

Monday – Gr. 5 Basketball 7:45; SIC’s begin (before/after school)
Wednesday – SIC Day – students only attend their conference timeslot if they have one scheduled
Thursday – early dismissal at 12:33
Friday – Gr. 2 Basketball 2:45
Saturday – Shortreed Winter Market

Shortreed Calendar: Did you know Shortreed has a digital calendar to view and subscribe to? Click here for more info. Once you subscribe, you will get all our school events right to the calendar on your phone and/or devices at home.

2024 Christmas Concert info:

We will be having 3 concerts again this year – Dec 17th at 12:45, Dec 18th at 12:45 and Dec 18th at 6:20* (see below)

• Tuesday, December 17th – students should come to school dressed in their nicest clothes. Students will be inside all day. There will be a parent performance at 12:45. Doors open at 12:15.
• Wednesday, December 18th – students should come to school dressed in their nicest clothes. Students will be inside all day. There will be a parent performance at 12:45. Doors open at 12:15.
• December 18th Evening performance (please read carefully)
  • Students in divisions 13-20 and their parents/siblings will be let into the school at 5:55 pm. Parents can go to the gym, Div 13-20 students/siblings to classrooms. Divisions 13-20 performance starts at 6:20.
  • *All other students and parents should arrive by 6:30 pm. There will be a very short intermission around 6:50. During the intermission, parents of students in divisions 13-20 will exit gym through the outside doors and pick up kids from outside classroom doors. Parents with kids in both performance groups will stay in the gym and parents of students in divisions 1-12 only will be let into the gym. Division 1-12 performance starts around 7 pm.

Please note: All students in the school are participating in the concert and are expected to be at all performances. If a student can’t make it for a very important reason, please send a note, email or call Mrs. Muller to let her know.  Students should be dressed in their nicest clothes for all performances. They will not be going outside for recess or lunch on performance days.

Month at a Glance

Wednesday, December 4 – PAC hot lunch; Lockdown Drill 2:00
Friday, December 6 – Santa Breakfast 7:30-8:45
Friday, December 13 – PAC Meeting 9:00
Saturday, December 14 – Aldergrove Christmas Parade
Tuesday, December 17 – Christmas Concert #1 12:45
Wednesday, December 18 – Concert #2 12:45; Concert #3 6:20 and 7:00
Friday, December 20 – Shortreed Christmas Sing-along 1:15; PAC Treat Day; SIC Reports sent home

Information and Reminders

• If your child is between age 6 and 9, the Government of British Columbia is pleased to inform you that your child may be able to receive the $1,200 B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant. Learn more here.

• Communicating Student Learning (CSL) – Elementary School

  Learning is a journey for all students that requires the support of teachers, staff, and families. Parent/guardian involvement is always a contributing factor to a student’s success. But how does a parent/guardian know how their child is doing? The District is sharing information about the different ways of Communicating Student Learning (CSL) to help support families. On this webpage you will find information about student inclusive conferences, proficiency scales, and self-reflection on the core competencies. These resources are aimed to help support your child. Read more here.

• Extended Absences: due to enrollment pressures in Langley Schools, if a student is absent for 25 or more consecutive days (and not due to medical reasons), they could possibly lose their space in the class and/or in the school. Once they return, they could be placed on a waitlist. If you are planning on having your child be absent for an extended trip, please contact your child’s teacher at least 3 weeks before you leave. 

• Information About School Status During Inclement Weather

  Snow closures and power outages are an annual occurrence in the 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.

• 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 here 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.
• 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.

PAC Info

The PAC November Calendar is out (click to enlarge) —>

Community Events and Information

Be sure to check out the Langley School District’s community bulletin board.

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