GORDON HAPPENINGS

It was certainly a surprise to wake up yesterday morning to the city covered in a blanket of snow. But then again with the way these last two years have gone, we are learning to expect the unexpected! Thank you to families for continuing to support our health and safety guidelines and keeping your children at home when sick. I have posted an updated Daily Health Check and What to Do When Sick document on our school website. Please click HERE for a direct link. Even though things are beginning to open up in our community, we are continuing to follow the VSB Health & Safety Guidelines. Thank you for your continued support.

The Ministry is providing every child with a box of Rapid Antigen Test Kits – five (5) kits total per child to take home. I will be communicating with families next week when we will be sending these home. Please let your child’s classroom teacher know if your family does not want a box of test kits. Information on how to use these tests can be found here: Guidance for parents on how to use the tests.

It is hard to believe that Spring Break is just around the corner. Spring Break this year is Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 25. First day back for students is Monday, March 28. If your child will be leaving for holidays before these dates or returning to school later, please contact Ms. Heidi in the office to let her know (haleung@vsb.bc.ca). Thank you.

STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES

Our student-led conferences are this Wednesday, March 2 and Thursday, March 3. Both these days are early dismissal days so students will be dismissed at 2:00 PM. You should have received an email from your child’s classroom teacher with a link to Microsoft Bookings to sign-up for an appointment. Our conferences are online through your child’s Microsoft Teams account. Please visit our school website under the top tab Guidance & Support > Technology for information on how to access and log into Teams through your child’s account.

NOTICE OF RETURN FOR THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR

In order to organize our school for next year, it is important that we know which students will be returning to Gordon for the 2022-2023 school year. If you have a child in Kindergarten to Grade 6 this year, please click on the link below for EACH child attending Gordon and submit it by MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this. Should your situation change before the end of the school year, please contact the office as soon as possible with any new information. No child will be transferred out of Gordon until a formal request is made from the new school.

Please click HERE to fill out the online form.

February 28 – March 11, 2022

Ms. Juric, our school librarian, is excited to announce our Virtual Book Fair! By clicking on the link below you will be able to shop for amazing books and resources all from the comfort of your own home! Partial proceeds are donated back to Gordon to be used to purchase more books for our school library. Purchases will be delivered directly to the school and handed out to students once the fair is over. Thank you for supporting our school library!

https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5173049

TECHNOLOGY AT SCHOOL

This is a reminder for all students, but especially our intermediate students, that use of cell phones, iwatches or other digital devices are not to be used at school unless specifically required by the classroom teacher during class time for a project or activity. All devices are to remain in backpacks and turned off during school time. The school has laptops and iPads for student use as well as a phone in the office if a student needs to call home. If a student is using their device outside of class specific actives then it will be held by the classroom teacher or in the office. If a student misuses their device at school then a parent could be called to come pick it up. Classroom teachers will be reviewing with their classes the VSB Acceptable Use of Technology Policy which can be found by clicking HERE. Please discuss with your child the appropriate use of their device and how to safely navigate the internet and social media accounts. Safer Schools Together has a number of great resources for parents around internet safety.

KINDNESS MONTH, PINK SHIRT DAY & BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Classes have been busy this month with a number of projects and activities. Below are just a few examples of the wonderful learning students have done.

KINDNESS MONTH

Gordon students created a Kindness Chain with individual links stating how they would show kindness towards others. These links were then joined together and strung up in our front hallway. Now as students walk under them, they are reminded of all the kindness they have for others and how others can show kindness towards them.

 

 

Our K classes also participated in a Kindness Card Exchange with other K classes in the VSB.

 

 

PINK SHIRT DAY

Our SOGI Club held a “photo booth” where they decorated a bulletin board and students had their pictures taken in front of it. The SOGI Club then created a slideshow that was shown to all the classes for Pink Shirt Day.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The students of Div. 10 enjoyed creating a piece of artwork that captures vibrant colours, shapes and designs in honour of Black Canadians. The colours represent freedom, joy and accomplishments. The shapes and designs depict the narrow, long and sometimes harsh routes that individuals endured towards a life of opportunity. The pennies serve as a reminder that lives were once bought and sold. This artwork is currently on display at the Vancouver Board of Education.

 

This Black History Month, students of Div. 2 have been brainstorming burning questions and reflecting on the significance of celebrating Black History not just in February, but throughout the whole year. Every day this month, students have learned and investigated successful and important Black Canadian figures throughout history. Students chose many different icons to feature on our bulletin board from around the world, as well as inspiring quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. Students enjoyed learning more about interesting and exceptional Black figures, including those they had not heard of previously. During the last week of this month, students presented to their classmates the life, successes, challenges, and legacy of a Black Canadian of their choice. Some highlights include Desmond Cole and Carrie Best.

Our K students also learned about prominent Black Canadian Women as well as Vancouver’s once Black neighbourhood, Hogan’s Alley.