GORDON HAPPENINGS

It is hard to believe that another month has gone by.  With the cold and wet days we have been having it has really felt like winter.  Spring does seem to be just around the corner though, with the days getting longer.  Thank you for sending your child to school dressed for the weather and with a change of clothes.

I also wanted to thank everyone for following our health & safety protocols.  Please continue to send your child to school with a mask and a waterbottle.  If your child is late, please continue to bring them to the front door where they can enter by themselves and check-in at the office with Ms. Heidi.  If you wish to connect with your child’s teacher, please call the office or send an email to make an appointment.  Unfortunately, our health & safety protocols still require us to limit the personnel in the school to only staff and students.  Thank you for your understanding.

I would also like to recognize those families in our community who are celebrating Lunar New Year and the Year of the Ox.  We recognize that many cultures celebrate the new year with light, food, festivals and family gatherings.  Though these events will not look the same this year, we wish you health and prosperity for 2021!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Each year, the Vancouver School District marks Black History Month through a number of events and school-based activities. This year, teachers and students will be participating in activities that honour and celebrate Canada’s Black History and how all of us can make a conscious effort through our thoughts and actions to make this a community and world where everyone feels accepted and valued.  Our Social Justice Club also has a number of activities and messages they are planning for the school (please see below for more information on our Social Justice Club).  February is also a month that we celebrate kindness (Valentine’s Day) and Pink Shirt Day- a movement to raise awareness about bullying issues and inspire others to take part in the anti-bullying movement.  Stay tuned for more activities and information on these important events as well.

VALENTINES DAY

Everyone loves a special treat for Valentines Day and teachers will be doing some special activities in their classrooms.  Unfortunately, we still need to abide by the boards’ health & safety procedures of students not bringing in outside food (even wrapped) and other personal items like pencils, erasers, toys, etc. from home to share with others.  However, feel free to pack a special treat for your own child!  Cards, because they are paper, are still fine to bring to school and share with classmates.

SOCIAL JUSTICE CLUB

We are the Grade 7 French Immersion Social Justice Club.  We bring awareness to environmental and inequity issues.  With the other French Immersion classes we have done a candy wrapper drive in October and November, a toy drive in December and we currently did Black Shirt Day.  This month is Black History Month and we are planning on making posters, a video about anti-racism and Black history and have weekly announcements about civil rights and important Canadians in history for the whole school.  We hope to continue this for the rest of the year as we have a number of other topics we wish to bring awareness to.  We also hope to include other students in our planing sessions as well.

VSB DOG CODE

This is just a gentle reminder about the VSB Dog Code.  Please make sure your dog is on leash and you are in control at all times.  Children and even some adults can be very fearful of dogs and sometimes a loud noise or sudden movement can be startling for even the most docile animal.