Posted: October 9, 2023

Families of Shortreed,

We hope you have had a wonderful long weekend with family and/or friends. We have much to be grateful about at Shortreed as we live in a strong, caring community and have a school with incredibly dedicated staff and families and some pretty awesome kids!

This week, we shift our focus to learning about and being inspired by the story of Terry Fox. Teachers will be sharing stories and teaching about Terry and we will also be fundraising through the community. We will send out more information tomorrow about fundraising and our Terry Fox Run. Our run is scheduled for Thursday at about 1:30 (we have a short assembly at 1:15). We would LOVE to have parents cheering us on along the route and that info will be sent out as well.

As last week was a very abbreviated week, I was not able to make it into the classrooms as much; the Good Things to Talk About section will continue next week with the odd-numbered divisions.

I did want to share some positives beyond the classrooms that occurred last week:

Our grade 4/5 cross-country team continued their strong showing at Meet #2! We have the highest participation there and we had a number of runners improve on their finish from the week before! So far, we have 3 Eagles who have qualified for next week’s championship (Ryu – 1st, Maddie -8th, Caroline – 8th) and a few who are right in the cusp (Elise – 9th, Bo – 11th, Makinley – 10th)! Thank you to all the families who have made it out to drive and cheer on close to 50 athletes!

For our School Improvement Day on Friday, our staff had a day that was jam-packed with learning, collaboration, and planning:

• We watched Superintendent Mal Gill and District Principal Mike Pue share a virtual presentation from Supt Mal Gill and District Principal Mike Pue about Indigenous teachings and making sure every child belongs.
• We reflected and planned for improved staff wellness through a focus on self-care and systems care.
• We created plans for school-wide problem solving strategies for our students. These will be shared with families this year too.
• Teachers met to develop and implement consistent language and strategies for writing instruction while SEAs met to collaborate about student supporting diverse learners.
• A group of staff learned from North Otter teachers (and Shortreed Parents), Leanne Tocol and Sandi Osborne, about the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) program for our younger readers.

Thursday was World Teachers’ Day and we tried to make sure every staff member at Shortreed knew how much they are valued and appreciated!

We are still “unpublished” on Faceboook. I did chat with a human through email but then he just confirmed what I already knew and closed the file so it appears we are back to square one. In the meantime, please continue to follow us on Instagram.

As always, we do our important work (to have a positive impact on the life of every student) on the unceded ancestral lands of the Matsqui First Nation (and in the district on the lands of Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo First Nations).  During a weekend of gratitude, I can share how grateful I am to live on these lands knowing how it has been taken care of since time immemorial. I do my best to walk gently on these lands and honour the lengthy history of land stewardship of the Matsqui People. 

The Week Ahead

Tuesday – Terry Fox Fundraiser starts; Grade 4/5 XC Meet #3 3:30
Thursday – Terry Fox Assembly 1:15; Terry Fox Run 1:30
Friday – PAC meeting 9am; PAC Hot Lunch

Month at a Glance

Wednesday, Oct 18 – Kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch
Thursday, Oct 19 – Photo Day!
Friday, Oct 20 – Pro-D Day – no school for students
Wednesday, Oct 25 – PAC Treat Day
Wednesday, Nov 8 – National Indigenous Veteran’s Day, PAC Hot Lunch
Thursday, Nov 9 – Remembrance Day Assembly 11:00
Friday, Nov 10 – Design/Assessment Day – no school for students
Monday, Nov 13 – Schools not in session (Remembrance Day stat)
Friday, Nov 17 – Fire Drill 11:00

You can download a list of the important dates in the district for 2023-2024 here. You can also check out the PAC Facebook Group for a NEW monthly calendar!

Information and Reminders 

• Accessibility Committee, Accessibility Plan & Accessibility Survey

  The Langley School District is committed to fostering a learning and working environment that supports all students and staff and provides opportunities for everyone in our school community. Under the province’s new Accessible BC Act, school districts across the province were required to create an accessibility committee, an accessibility plan, and a mechanism to receive public feedback regarding accessibility by September 2023.

  The District has taken the necessary steps to meet these requirements, which are explained in the Accessibility Plan 2023-2026 here. The District, in collaboration with the Accessibility Committee, welcomes feedback from students, staff, and families on the plan as well as any information to help identify barriers in our system. The public is invited to fill-out this Accessibility Survey here. Print versions of this survey are available at the School Board Office. There are other methods of sharing feedback which are outlined on the District webpage here. If you have any questions or concerns, please email: accessibility@sd35.bc.ca

• 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.
• We are excited to have early learning opportunities such as “Strong Start”, “Gifts and Gatherings” and “Come As You Are” available for families and children in the Langley School District. Check out more in the flyer here. 

• Programs of Choice – Deadline to Register is Monday, October 16^th
  Langley School District offers a rich diversity of programs that are designed to meet the specific needs and interests of students. Programs include Fine Arts, French Immersion, Fundamental, Langley Environmental Awareness Program (outdoor education), Montessori, and U-Connect. Registration for Kindergarten entry (for most programs) begins on Monday, October 2^nd at 12noon, and closes on Monday, October 16^th at 12noon. For U-Connect, please contact the school directly. For more information and instructions to register your child, visit our District website here and review our FAQ choice programs resource here. 

• Communicating With Your School
  Schools and families continue to work together to ensure success for students. If you have an issue or concern but don’t know who to speak with, the District encourages you to read these helpful Communicating with your School guidelines for parents/guardians found on our District website here. As an additional reference, review this one-page resource here.

• 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 district received funding for breakfast programs staffing this year. We are still determining staffing so have been unable to get our breakfast program up and running yet. We do have our snack and lunch programs running and if your child is in need of a breakfast/snack when they arrive, please have them let their teacher know.
• 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 the symptoms have improved and they are well enough to attend school. This will help keep our staff and students as healthy as possible.

PAC Info

Shortreed PAC is holding another fundraiser through Global Coffee (same company as last year), the only difference is the packaging is a little smaller, and you pay a little less for it.

A flyer will be sent home soon or you can use this link to place an order online: www.globalcoffeefundraising.ca/shortreed (Please share with family and friends).

Online orders are due by 11:59pm on Monday Oct. 23rd.

You can pay for your orders electronically (with credit card or e-transfer) on the ordering website. But if you prefer to pay by cheque (over $25), please make them out to: “Shortreed PAC”. We also accept cash. Please have your name and number on a note so we know what order goes with the payment.

Please have payment send in by Monday Oct. 23rd at 3pm!

We will be distributing the coffee/hot chocolate orders the week of Oct 30th.

Hot lunch info:

Returning Parents: Please sign in to your Munch-a-Lunch account at https://munchalunch.com/loginand update your child’s grade and teacher.

New Families: Please go to this link: https://munchalunch.com/schools/Shortreed and click on the “Register Here” button and follow the instructions. Once your account has been created you can add your child(ren) to your account; you will need to know their teacher and division #.

Community Events and Information

Check out events and activities around Langley by clicking on the Community Bulletin Board!

B2U Basketball Camps are BACK at Shortreed!

Professional coaches and college players working with interested athletes from Aldergrove every Tuesday for 8 weeks!

Gr. 1-3 – Tuesdays from 3:00-4:00 (Oct 17-Dec 12) – $50
Gr. 4-5 – Tuesday from 4:15-5:45 ((Oct 17-Dec 12) – $90

Click here for more info and a chance to register. Space is limited to 30 players, and the camp sold out in the spring, so register soon! If the fee is out of reach for your family, please let Mr. Wejr know.

Pacific Sport Fraser Valley is back, providing some athletic opportunities for our students for a very reasonable price! Click on the links below to register. (note that the early ones are at Shortreed and the later ones are at Parkside)

XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Shortreed– Coed – Grades K-4 – Wednesdays – 2:45pm – 3:45pm – $20
XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Coed – Grades K – 4 Tickets, Wed, 18 Oct 2023 at 2:45 PM | Eventbrite

XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Shortreed – Coed – Grades 4-7 – Wednesdays – 4:00pm – 5:00pm – $20
XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Coed – Grades 4-7 Tickets, Wed, 18 Oct 2023 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite

XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Parkside – Coed – Grades K-4 – Wednesdays – 5:30pm – 6:30pm – $20
XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Coed – Grades K – 4 Tickets, Wed, 18 Oct 2023 at 5:30 PM | Eventbrite

XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Parkside – Coed – Grades 4-7 – Wednesdays – 2:45pm – 3:45pm – $20
XploreSportZ Aldergrove – Coed – Grades 4 – 7 Tickets, Wed, 18 Oct 2023 at 6:45 PM | Eventbrite