Posted: August 28, 2024

Families of Shortreed,

Welcome to another exciting year at Shortreed Community Elementary! To all those new families, welcome to our community.

We are so excited to continue to serve this community and humbled to be a part of the incredible team we have at Shortreed. We will continue to work with and build on the legacy created by staff over the years to ensure that Shortreed maintains a level of excellence in inclusion, belonging, literacy, self-regulation, and a strengths-based culture. We are also excited to continue working together as a staff to build a solid athletics program to increase our students’ opportunities. As always, please let us know (by phone or email) if you ever have any questions about your child or our school.

We have some new staff joining us this year:

• Ms. Henry – grade 1 teacher
• Mrs. Dornian – grade 2/3 teacher (W-F)
• Ms. Wilson – grade 2/3 teacher (M-T)
• Mrs. Johnstone – grade 4 teacher
• Ms. Gill – grade 4 teacher
• Ms. McLeod – grade 5 teacher
• Ms. Gibbs – SEA
• Ms. Thiessen – SEA
• Ms. Ford – SEA (joining us in a few months)
• Ms. Sekhon – SEA (joining us in 2025)

We also are excited to see some familiar faces returning to our school:

• Ms. Gostelow – K teacher
• Mrs. Southcott – K teacher
• Ms. Anderson – grade 1/2 teacher
• Ms. Fournier – grade 2 teacher
• Ms. Garcha – grade 3 teacher (Th-F)
• Mrs. Rogers – YCW
• Mrs. Prushak – ELL

Of course, the above staff members are in addition to the many wonderful teachers and support staff who have been at our school for a year or more.

As a school district, teachers and support staff work hard to welcome our students and create a positive experience for them in the first week. They also meet a few times to determine and finalize 2024-2025 school year classes. As has been for the past few years, we wait to hear a confirmation from the district as to the number of divisions we have, so students will not be in their permanent classrooms until the Monday after school starts (September 9).

The focus of our first week is CARE and CONNECTION, so we do our best to have students with some familiar faces for part of the time. Please note the following schedule as it is very different than a typical week at Shortreed but one that ensures we promote a positive experience for our students while we finalize class placements.

• Tuesday, September 3
  • Shortened day – School runs 8:45 – 10:30
  • PLEASE read the rolling boards (each and every morning) for the most current information as room assignments, etc. may change last minute each day! These boards are at the side of the school and at the back of the school.
  • Most returning students will go to last year’s classroom as homeroom. Due to changes in staff, some students will go to the same classroom but will have a different teacher, and some will have a new teacher and be in a different classroom. Please read the info below very carefully.
    • Miss Petersen’s students will be in the same class but with Mrs. Southcott.
    • Ms. Cheema’s students will be in the same classroom but with Ms. Henry.
    • Ms. Goundar’s students will be in the same classroom but with Ms. Wilson/Mrs. Dornian.
    • Ms. McCulloch/Penner’s students will be in the same class but with Mrs. Johnstone.
  • New Grade 1-5 students – please meet in the gym. You will be welcomed and then walked to a homeroom that you will be part of for this week.
  • Please remember that the teachers your child has during this week ARE NOT their teachers for the year. As per the last few years, your child will have a homeroom teacher and then grade group teachers that they will be working with this week.
  • We will once again have our “First Day of School” frames up for families to capture a memorable or goofy moment!
  • If you have any questions, a number of us will be outside to help.
  • Note that the kindergarten schedule is different. Please click here for more info.
• Wednesday-Friday September 4-6
  • Students will return to their homeroom (as per above) before moving to the next grade group teachers. Students will be dismissed from their homeroom at the end of the day.
• Monday, September 9
  • Students will begin in homerooms for the final time on this day and will be moved to their new classes (permanent classes for 2024-2025), but they will return to homerooms at the end of the day. Students will have their notices in hand regarding their new class/teacher and where to start the day on Tuesday.
• Tuesday, September 10
  • Students start in their new, permanent classes
• Kindergarten students will have their first day of gradual entry on Friday. Please make sure you have signed up for a parent/caregiver meeting online (this was emailed out).
• Shortreed does not post class lists for confidentiality and legal reasons. Instead of posting lists, we will be handing out pieces of paper with new classes and teachers listed to all students at the end of the day on Monday.

OTHER IMPORTANT STARTUP INFORMATION:

• Our teachers, support staff, resource staff and admin spend a lot of time discussing and creating educationally sound classes for all of our students.
• Teachers and staff put a lot of thought into carefully placing students based on academic, social, and emotional factors. We do not accept requests for teachers.
• Some of our classes are combined grade classes. There can be some questions for parents around this, so I wrote this article a few years ago to clear up any confusion.
• Please do not send new school supplies to school until your child has their assigned classroom/teacher for the year. Some of the supplies have arrived (if you ordered online) and these will be distributed once we have students in their permanent classrooms. If you still need to shop for supplies, click here to view the lists. No supplies are needed for the first week.
• Healthy snacks and lunches are strongly encouraged. Please do not send juice boxes. A reusable water bottle works best. Snacks should be something that your child is able to eat in five minutes or less and is preferably handheld. For the first week, a packaged/portable snack (that can be taken with them to their grade groups) is recommended.
• We are a nut-aware school so please limit these products, if possible, from your child’s snack and lunch.
• As some students struggle with some separation anxiety and worry, Anxiety BC has published this document to help. Please take a few minutes to read.
• Drop-offs can be hard, especially at the start of the year. Here is an article that can help.
• Please check your email each day next week for updates as needed.
• If your contact information has changed, please contact the school or email Mrs. Stoddart to let us know.

Please mark your calendars for our Back to School BBQ (5:00-6:00) and Meet the Teacher night (6:00-7:00) on Thursday, September 19.

Bell Schedule

Have a great first week!

YOU BELONG HERE

Mr. C. Wejr
Proud Principal