GORDON HAPPENINGS
WELCOME TO A NEW SCHOOL YEAR!
I sincerely hope that families were able to connect with friends and loved ones over the summer and are refreshed and happy to be back at Gordon. As I’m sure a lot of you did, I spent my summer locally – visiting the Sunshine Coast and enjoying the beautiful scenery, beaches and time with my family. I am excited to begin the year here at Gordon and have enjoyed welcoming students and parents back to school. A great deal of wonderful learning occurs here at Gordon and we all value your involvement and input as members of the community. Working together this year we hope to accomplish many great things.
Though this start to the school year continues to look different, it is our wish that students, teachers, and staff have an enjoyable and fulfilling learning experience in partnership together. We will continue to keep you updated with reliable communication through email and our newsletters (which can all be found on this blog site) and our school website. If you have not visited our school website, please take a minute to do so. More information will be coming home shortly regarding updating your child’s information but if you have recently changed your email address, please contact the office so we can be assured you are getting important information.
As much as we are looking forward to having some more “normalcy” this school year, Covid is still very much at the forefront. The VSB has developed what is now called a Communicable Disease Prevention Plan in response to current Covid conditions. You can view the full document here. Please ensure you conduct the Daily Health Check before arriving to school each day and do not send your children to school if they do not pass the health check. There is now also a handy app at: https://www.k12dailycheck.gov.bc.ca.
We also ask that all students have a mask at school. We strongly encourage our K – Grade 3 students to wear a mask and if they do get sick during the day, they will be required to wear one. All students in grades 4-7 are required to wear a mask while indoors. They will be provided with one washable cloth masks at school. Please ensure that they are clean and laundered daily.
We are in the process of getting our drinking fountains working again but we strongly encourage all students to bring a water bottle from home. Recess snack and lunch will be eaten in the classrooms and we will not have staggered times this year so the whole school is outside during break times.
UPDATED SCHOOL CALENDAR
Please take a moment to download our updated School Calendar. Thursday, September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a new federal statutory holiday. The day recognizes the colonial legacy of residential schools, honour Indigenous survivors, and is vital to the ongoing reconciliation process. There will be no school for students and staff. More information will be communicated to families as to how we will be honouring this day at school.
KINDERGARTEN PARENTS & GUARDIANS
First of all, I would like to thank you for all the hard work you have done in preparing your child over the last five years for this new adventure. The staff and community are grateful to you for trusting us in partnering with you in educating your child. This is a big step and we would like to express our gratitude to you for choosing Gordon as the school for your child.
MOVING TO NEW CLASSES
We know that this can be an anxious time for students as they wait to find out which class they will be in for the coming school year. One of our school goals this year is to build resiliency and change is a good opportunity for developing this life skill. We ask parents to play a crucial role in helping their children transition to their new classes by being calm and empathetic listeners while at the same time modelling positivity towards the benefits of change and especially, unexpected change. The staff here at Gordon carefully considered parental input and spent many hours building classes with the educational, social, and emotional needs of students at the forefront of their decisions. We appreciate your trust in our decisions and your understanding that moving students once classes are set is very unsettling and counter to our goal of building resiliency. Here are a few tips about building resiliency from BC Children’s Hospital – Healthy Bodies & Minds – Boosting Resiliency in Students.
SAFE ARRIVAL
When your child will be late or away for the day, please call the office at (604) 713-5403 and press 1 to reach the voicemail system to leave a message. When leaving your message please speak slowly and clearly as we will be writing all the information down. The details we require are your child’s full name, their teacher’s name and their division and how long they will be absent.
If the school has not received a message from you by 9:15 am then we will begin calling parents or guardians on the child’s emergency contact list. Please ensure that the phone numbers you have provided us will reach a person who will answer the phone. If this information changes at any point in the school year, please contact the office.
As this is a voice mail system please call at any hour as soon as you are aware of the absence or lateness as the system takes calls on a 24 hour basis.
PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF OF STUDENTS
More specific information will be sent home to parents regarding safe routes to school as well as drop-off and pick-up traffic reminders. For now, I would like to strongly encourage you to park 1-2 blocks away from the school and walk in to drop-off or pick-up your child. This lessens congestion around the school and is a healthy way to start and end the day! Please obey the no stopping and parking signs and refrain from backing out of lane-ways and doing u-turns in the middle of the street. We all want to keep our children safe!
Students are never to leave the school property without a permitted adult. Only designated adults that are indicated on your child’s emergency contact form will be allowed to pick up your child. If you need to pick up your child early or take them out of school, please call the office and we will arrange for you to pick up your child. As part of our Health & Safety plan, no adults are allowed in the school.
If you are late arriving at school, come to the doors by the office (north side) and ask your child to sign in at the office.
All students must be picked up at 3:03 PM. Families are asked to leave the school grounds after picking up your child. If you are running late, please call the office and let Ms. Heidi know.
ARRIVE ON TIME, LEAVE ON TIME
Teachers will continue to pick up students outside at designated spots on the school grounds each morning and dismiss them from there. It is very important for students to arrive at school on time and to start the day together as a class.
Warning Bell: 8:55 AM
Welcoming Bell: 9:00 AM
Recess: 10:30 AM – 10:50 AM
Lunch: 12:05 PM – 12:52 PM
Dismissal Bell: 3:03 PM
DRESS FOR THE WEATHER
As the outdoors is the lowest risk environment, we will be encouraging teachers to head outside as much as possible. This will be in all kinds of weather so please ensure your child has rain gear when necessary. Recess and lunch time will also be outdoors. To help with ventilation in the classrooms we will be opening classroom windows more frequently too so please ensure your child brings a sweater or light jacket once the weather gets cooler.
MEDICATION
If your child has a medical condition requiring medication that must be administered at school, a parent will need to fill out a Request for Administration of Medication at School. We also have a form for those requiring a Medical Care Plan such as administration of an EPI PEN. Students are never to self-administer medication at school without supervision and all medication must be stored in the office. This includes “over the counter” medications as well as prescription medications. Please contact Ms. Heidi in the office for these forms if your child has a medical condition that requires medication.
Parents are reminded that medication cannot be administrated by school staff until these forms are completed. Staff are trained by the Community Health Nurse for the administration of medication as well as an EPI PEN in case of an emergency.
SCHOOL CASH ONLINE
The VSB uses School Cash Online as its preferred method of payment for school fees. This secure system helps parents/guardians and community members pay school-related fees safely, quickly, and easily online. You will be receiving detailed instructions that outline how to register and create your profile if you have not used this system before. Please read the documents carefully and let us know if you have any questions. You can also find information on our school website by clicking here.
VSB DOG POLICY
Dogs are not allowed on the school grounds, play fields or in the school at any time between the hours of 8:00 am – 5:00 pm and during other organized school events outside of these hours, unless they are service dogs. Please take some time to review the VSB’s Dog Code, posted on the bright green signs on the fences which includes more detailed information.
Our school grounds and buildings are very active places with many children playing and moving about. Some children are afraid of dogs and/or allergic to them. School age children may put themselves at risk without thinking and get hurt by a dog. Unfortunately, dog feces have been left on our playgrounds, which is a concern for our students’ safety and hygiene when they engage in healthy outdoor play and as you can imagine it creates unpleasant odours.
Allergic reactions, unhygienic situations arising from pet feces, and the possibility of unpredictable aggression contribute to the School District’s decision to prohibit dogs in/on school properties during the school day.
Thank you for your cooperation and for making our school grounds and play fields safe for all our students.