GORDON HAPPENINGS

It has been wonderful to come back to sunny weather, clear skies and longer days. We hope that your family was able to spend some time together and enjoy the break. The last three months will go by fast so do not forget to take some time to enjoy it!

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce a few new staff member to Gordon, Ellie Price and Keith Graham who are joining our wonderful SSW team. Welcome to Gordon and we are really happy to have both of you as part of our learning community!

Monday, April 22 is our last Professional Development Day. School is not in session for students.

SCHOOL STREETS PROGRAM

We are excited to announce that Gordon Elementary will be participating in the School Streets Program for four weeks starting May 6, 2024.

What is a School Street?

• A School Street is a car-free block next to a school, open for walking, biking, and rolling during drop-off and pick-up times. The program is a partnership between the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver School Board.
• School Streets have been shown to create a safer environment for children, increase active travel, improve air quality, and reduce vehicle congestion. For more information about the program, please visit ca/School-Streets.

Gordon School Street Program Details:

• Dates: May 6, 2024 to May 31, 2024, on all school days (4 weeks)
• Location: Bayswater Street between W 6th and W 7th avenues (see Figure 1 in attachment)
• Times: 8:40 – 9:10 am and 2:45 – 3:30 pm
• Extended Hours: Wednesdays, 2:45 – 4:00 pm, for Play Street activities.

Play Street Wednesdays

Join the Society for Children and Youth of BC (SCY) every Wednesday afternoon from 2:45 to 4:00 pm for Play Street fun! Enjoy activities like badminton, crafts, and a scooter course with ramps.

Need to drive?

While we promote active travel, we recognize that some parents may need to drive. Please consider drop-off locations a short walk away for older children, freeing up space nearer to the school for parents with younger students or those with accessibility needs. Kindly adhere to parking signage and utilize designated areas.

Accessibility

W 6th and W 7th Avenue will remain accessible by motor vehicle as needed. Additional parking spaces may be provided for families with accessibility needs. Please contact Sharlene Steele, Principal, directly if you have accessibility needs and require more information.

 Volunteers Needed!

Gordon needs your help to make our School Street program a success! We are looking for volunteers to sign up for 45-to 60-minute shifts to help set up, monitor, and take down barriers. Training will be provided. Visit volunteersignup.org/8FB8B for details or email goldmaya@gmail.com for questions. As a token of appreciation for your time, for each shift you volunteer, you will receive a $5 gift card to a local coffee shop.

Questions and Feedback

For inquiries about the School Street program, email SchoolStreets@vancouver.ca or visit vancouver.ca/School-Streets.

Parents will receive a survey at the end of the program for feedback. Residents will also be informed via the attached letter and encouraged to reach out to the City with questions or feedback.

Thank you for supporting Gordon’s new initiative!

HUGE shout out to our Volunteer Coordinators for all their hard work making this happen. Maya Goldstein, Negar Amini, and Stacy Buckland. Please join us at our PAC meeitng on Tuesday, April 9 at 6:30 pm to find out more!

GARDEN BEDS

A number of classes are beginning to plan for outdoor learning opportunities. We are excited to be using our outdoor classroom more as the weather improves. Classes will also start preparing our garden beds so students can learn about plants that are native to BC as well as those that were important to our local First Nations People. Students learn where our food comes from and what we need to do to care for it. We are also able to connect this learning to our Fruit and Veggie program. We ask that everyone in our Gordon community respect the plants that are growing and not pick or destroy them. Teachers and students think of these outdoor spaces as an extension of their classrooms and therefore are asking that everyone respects them. If you see someone in our garden beds, please kindly ask them to look and not touch. We really appreciate your help and understanding!

CLASS & GROUP PHOTOS

We are excited to have Artona returning on Friday, April 12 (date change) to take class photos as well as sports teams, school clubs and the Grade 7 photos. Students will be getting a class photo and the other photos will be in our school yearbook that everyone will get at the end of the year.

RBC RACE FOR THE KIDS

A message from Ms. Sinclair:

It’s that time of the year again! I’ve signed Gordon up as a team for this year’s RBC Race for the Kids, which works towards raising funds for childhood cancer programs and research, as well as mental health initiatives. In the past, Gordon Elementary has been placed among the top earning teams in terms of fundraising. Our first year, we raised over $3,000 as a community, followed by last year’s total of almost $6,000 and last over 10,000. I have set our goal as $3000.

The race will be held this year on Sunday, June 9, with a meeting point right beside Nat Bailey Stadium. Below, I’ll included the link to register for our team. If you pledge to raise at least $50.00, the sign-up fee is only $5.00. It is always great to see Gordon Families out running!

The following link will take you to the sign-up page for our team. Should you need any help, please don’t hesitate to ask. Select whether you’d like to walk or run the 2K or 5K.

https://fundraise.bcchf.ca/join/gordonelementary

IMMUNIZATION CLINIC

Our regular childhood immunization clinic will take place on Friday, April 26. If your child is required to receive their immunization, you will receive a letter from our community health nurse, Majid ShahnaziJahromi.  You can also contact him directly at majid.shahnazijahromi@vch.ca  if you have any questions.

MESSAGE FROM OUR LIBRARIAN, Ms. Zdriluk.

This community really is amazing! The Rotary Club of Arbutus was truly blown away by not only the amount of books donated but the quality as well. You have enriched so many families by providing books to these children.

The final count was 283 board books for babies and 314 books for children for a total of  597 books. They all went to the  Early Learning Centres in Vancouver.