GORDON HAPPENINGS

It is hard to believe that I am writing our June newsletter. We recognize how challenging the year has been for families and we really appreciate how our community has worked together to keep schools open and children learning. Though some of the Provincial Health Orders (PHO’s) have changed, our district and school health and safety protocols will remain in effect. We express our advance appreciation for everyone’s support in continuing to follow our health and safety protocols during our last month of school. Within our safety guidelines, we invite our school community to participate in Walk n’ Drive to Five and Pride Month.

Class placement for September 2020. Thank you to families that submitted comments for consideration while we develop classes for next year. Please be advised that we are no longer accepting forms. Next year, we will have 16 English divisions and two Grade 7 Late French Immersion classes.

Are you moving? We are asking families to reach out to the office if you know you will not be attending Gordon in the Fall. We have begun looking at enrollment for next year. It is very helpful for us to know before September if you are leaving Gordon so we can offer a space for those families on our waitlist.

Grade 7 Farwell. This year we will honour our Grade 7 students and their families with a virtual slide show.

The last day of school for all students is on Tuesday, June 29^th. This is a full day; school will be in session from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. Communicating Student Learning (CSL) Year End written reports will go home on this day as well. If your family will be leaving school early, we will hold their report card to be picked up in September. We are not able to mail report cards or give them to anyone but the legal parent or guardian of the student.

The first day of school in September is Wednesday, September 8, 2021. If students are not planning to return to school on Sept. 8^th, please refer to the Notice of Late Return to School section at the bottom.

Wishing you well as we work together to finish up the last month of the 2020-2021 school year.

This month’s feature image is a collaborative art piece done by Div. 12 (Ms. Carscadden & Ms. Poon) Grade 2/3 class.

We Walk n ’Drive to Five

We would like to celebrate Bike to Work Week with our own mini-initiative. We are encouraging all Gordon families to consider walking to school from June 1^st – June 4^th or if driving is necessary, please park 5 minutes away and walk to school.

Our purpose is to:

promote road safety and good habits for children and adults
promote independence and an active lifestyle

Because of our health and safety protocols we do not have the means to have a large number of students bring their bikes to school; however, if you are a family that bikes to school on a regular basis please continue to do so.

Classroom teachers will be polling students daily to see how many walked or participated in “Drive to 5”. We hope to launch a bigger Walk and Wheel campaign in September that will include safe drop-off and pick-up zones for families.

Safer Schools Together

Thank you to the PAC for providing the opportunity for Safer Schools Together to talk to our Grade 3-7 students about online safety and media awareness.

June 7 – Grades 5-7 @ 2PM

June 8 – Grades 3-4 @ 2PM

Please contact your child’s teacher for more information. There will also be a Parent session on June 7 at 6:30 PM. Please visit the PAC website for more information and to register.

PRIDE Month

Our Social Justice Club (SJC) is facilitating several activities for our school community. More information will be coming soon but to give you an idea, some activities will include:

Pronoun Day (students can wear stickers or buttons to indicate the pronoun they identify with).
Rainbow Day (each grade level will be given a colour in the Pride Flag to represent).
Children’s Literature (SJC created activities based on books about topics like gender identity, acceptance, family and ally ship that teachers can do with their classes).

Notice of Late Return to School

Please use the link below to access the form that must be completed for any student expecting to return to school LATER THAN noon on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, but prior to September 30, 2021. The form can also be accessed from our website under Announcements.

Forms can be emailed to Heidi Leung (OAA) at haleung@vsb.bc.ca or submitted to the office.

Please note: If the school cannot verify your child’s attendance at school by noon on September 10, 2021, your child’s space may be given to another student on the school’s waitlist as we are a FULL school.

Please click on the link: Notice of Late Return to School to access the form.

Youth Online Study

Grade 6/7 Families are welcome to participate in the following survey but it is not required. This survey request has been vetted by the VSB. See below for the VSB approval letter.

What do you and your child think about technology and social media? How do you and your child use technology and social media? You and your child will each receive a $10 Amazon gift card. Your child will also be entered into a draw to win an Apple iPad

To complete the survey, please click on the following links:

PARENT SURVEY: https://www.jitsutech.ca/YOS2021parentSD39

YOUTH SURVEY: https://www.jitsutech.ca/YOS2021youthSD39

If you have any questions or would like more information,

please contact Dr. Zina Lee at Zina.Lee@ufv.ca