GORDON HAPPENINGS

It is hard to believe that it is already December. What an amazing and action-packed few months we have had here at Gordon. Students have settled into a routine and are engaged and enthusiastic about their learning. Special thank you to Mr. Patrick, Ms. Hargrave and Ms. Kassam for a very successful volleyball season. Our players played with heart, dedication and team spirit.

With a new year fast approaching, also comes changes and we will be welcoming some staff members to Gordon as well as saying good-bye to others. I would like to first acknowledge Ms. Jan Dyson and her dedication to the students, parents and staff here at Gordon. We truly appreciate her calm and positive presence. We are happy to be welcoming back Ms. Katie Moore-Ostry who will be taking over from Ms. Dyson. She is excited to be coming back to Gordon and working with our grade 6/7 students.

It is also with a heavy heart that our VP, Ms. Deb Routledge (or as the students call her “Ms. R”.) will also be leaving us. Ms. R has been at Gordon for over 2 years and has become an integral part of the community here at Gordon. Our loss is Elsie Roy Elementary’s gain! We wish Ms. R all the best in her new school. 

It is my great pleasure to be welcoming Ms. Kamala Coughlan as our new Vice-Principal who will be joining us from Renfrew Elementary. I am sure that our Gordon Community will welcome her and she is very much looking forward to getting to know the students, parents, caregivers and staff here at Gordon.

These last few months have also given us pause as we live through the current health crisis with COVID-19 as well as our changing climate with heat waves, forest fires and most recently the devastating floods in our Province. I would like to take this opportunity to reach out to our families and offer our support. Please contact me if we can help in anyway. All requests will be kept strictly confidential. Also, please visit the Gordon PAC website if you are interested in donating to families in need.

Please continue to dress your child for the weather. We will only have an inside day at recess and lunch if the weather is unusually poor or there is an extreme weather warning.

COMMUNICATING STUDENT LEARNING

In January your child will receive their first written report. CSL (Communicating Student Learning) is in conjunction with BC’s redesigned curriculum which has given us the opportunity to report to parents in more flexible ways. The VSB’s goal is to create a reporting process that is tangible and more responsive with increased student ownership and parent involvement while providing clear, understandable information to parents. For more information please click on the link below or talk to your child’s classroom teacher.

Communicating Student Learning

TRAVELLING OVER THE HOLIDAYS

Please contact Ms. Heidi (haleung@vsb.bc.ca) in the office before December 17 if your child will be travelling over the holidays and will be returning to school AFTER Tuesday, January 4th. This is also a reminder to families that it is their responsibility to be well versed in the Federal Travel Requirements as they pertain to travelling outside of Canada. These requirements could change in light of the recent approval for children aged 5-11 years to be vaccinated but as of now, students, staff and other adults who are not fully vaccinated and have travelled outside of Canada CANNOT attend school for 14 days after arrival. Please also note that the school does not provide school work for students whose family choose to travel over the holidays and are required to self-isolate upon their return to Canada.

LOST & FOUND

We have many lost items of clothing and containers including a number of coats and sweaters.  We will be putting our lost & found items outside during drop-off and pick-up on Wednesday, December 8th and Thursday, December 9th.  Please have a look and claim any items that might belong to your child. Any left-over items will be donated to charity. It is also a good reminder to label your child’s clothing so it is easier for us to return any items. Thank you!

WHEN SHOULD I KEEP MY CHILD HOME IF SICK?

We are all very well versed in doing our Daily Heath Check and staying home if we have any COVID-19 symptoms but with the cold weather comes cold and flu season as well.  Even though your child is enthusiastic about school and wants to be here with their friends, when they are sick, they need to stay home. This is also a reminder that a negative COVID-19 test does not override your child need to stay home if they have any symptoms of illness.

Vancouver Coastal Health has some important reminders to consider if you are wondering if your child should stay home:

1. The protection of your child. Without proper rest a child may have a hard time fighting an illness or be open to other illnesses.
2. The ability of your child to actively take part and learn at school.
3. The school staff cannot care for a sick child and give them the support they may need.
4. The protection of the other children.

Please keep your child home if they:

• Do not pass the Daily Health Check.
• Are too sick to take part in all normal school activities.
• Have a suspected or known communicable disease (i.e., strep throat, chicken pox, measles or any other undiagnosed rash). Please keep your child home until they cannot infect others or as told by a health care provider.
• Are vomiting or have diarrhea. It is recommended that students be symptom free at least 24 hours before returning to school.

Please remember to call Safe Arrival if your child is sick and will not be attending school.

STUDENT COUNCIL

Our student council held their first Spirit Day with Fun Hair and Hat Day.  We defiantly saw some whimsical hair styles and head wear!  Student Council would like to announce a few activities that they will be doing in December.

1. Food Drive from Dec. 6-15 – Please send items to school with your child for our food drive in support of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. They are especially looking for items like: low sodium canned salmon, pasta and diapers (sizes 4-6). 
2. Donations for Covenant House – Please click on the donation link below if you would like to make a donation to Covenant House from December 6 – 17 in support of youth in our community.  For the month of December, all donations will be triple matched to make three times the impact on youth.  Please click on this link to make a donation.
3. Spirit Day – Friday, December 17 will be Pajama Day.  Staff and students are encouraged to wear their cosy PJs or comfy clothing to school for the last day before the Winter break.

Our Student Council greatly appreciates your support!