GORDON HAPPENINGS

I hope everyone had a restful winter vacation! We are happy to have been able to welcome back our students to Gordon, albeit a late start. I wanted to start by thanking all the families that supported our Food Drive and Covenant House. Your generosity was beyond what we expected. Thank you on behalf of our Student Council!

I realize how stressful these last few weeks have been. It seems that we were just getting to the point where we could start opening things up and now we are back to being really cautious and limiting activities and events. Our restart committee decided to pause activities, field trips and sports activities for the month of January. We have also tightened our health and safety protocols:

• Staggered entry into the building as well as when classes are exiting. This is to reduce congestion in our hallways and stairwells.
• Continued emphasis on mask wearing, even when coming into the building during recess and lunch.
• Classrooms have desks spread apart (not in table groups), to limit movement around the classroom and in the pods.
• Continue to have students eating in the classrooms at their desks – those in the activity room when they have music, with more tables set up so students can spread out.
• Handwashing, Daily Health Checks and students sent home if they develop symptoms while at school will be ongoing. Thank you to parents for your continued diligence regarding sending your child to school with clean masks and doing the Daily Health Check.

I realize there was a lot of confusion this week with the BC CDC guidelines around self-isolation if you, or someone in your household, tests positive for COVID. I have put the flow chart I sent home via email last Friday on our website for easy referral. Click here to go directly to the link. Please note though that this is day and time stamped as these recommendations are subject to change as things progress.

Lastly, I would like to wish everyone who celebrates Lunar New Year a prosperous new year. May this year bring you good health and good fortune!

CSL REPORT CARDS

Report cards go home to families on Wednesday, February 2. These report cards are part of the VSB Communicating Student Learning or (CSL). This means that we honour learning as a continuous journey that focuses on growth and improvement over time. These reports are what we call strength based, and therefore this approach gives information that advances learning, rather than focusing on measuring learning. The approach helps students and parents answer three questions about their learning:

• Where is the student now?
• Where are they going?
• How do they get there?

Please visit our school website (click here) for more information about CSL and how to interpret your child’s report card. I have also uploaded the slides I presented at the PAC meeting Monday night. I would like to acknowledge how hard all our students have worked this term and that these report cards should be a cause for celebration. Families should take the time to review their child’s report card with them and recognize the hard work and accomplishments that they have made in their learning journey, as well as how they can support and encourage their child in their areas of growth.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Priority registration for next years Kindergarten students ends on Monday, January 31st. Families must register online and submit their documents to the school before this deadline. As we are considered a full school, there will be a lottery for entrance into Gordon if our registrations exceed the number of spaces we have. Any family that registers after this deadline will only be considered after our waitlisted students.

GRADE 8 APPLICATIONS

Thank you to those families who have already submitted their child’s grade 8 application. The deadline to submit them to the school office is Monday, February 7. Please see the email sent home with the attached letter for more information. For those parents who did not have the opportunity to attend the Kitsilano Secondary Grade 8 Parent Information Night, please log into your child’s Teams account and you will find the slide deck and recording of the presentation.

UPCOMING EVENTS

February is Black History Month. Each year, the Vancouver School District marks Black History Month through a number of events and school-based activities. This year, teachers and students will be participating in activities that honour and celebrate Canada’s Black History and how all of us can make a conscious effort through our thoughts and actions to make this a community and world where everyone feels accepted and valued. Stay tuned for upcoming events.

 

Student Council is planning another Spirit Day for Wednesday, February 9. Dress Your Best Day! Wear anything that you feel shows your best side – fancy clothes, hair done up that favourite hat! Please make sure clothes are appropriate for school wear though. Student Council is also planning a school wide activity around Valentine’s Day. Please watch out for communication from your child’s classroom teacher regarding activities for Valentine’s Day in individual classes. Classes still intend to have fun while abiding by our health and safety measures.

 

Wednesday, February 23 is Pink Shirt Day. Our SOGI Club is planning some activities around this important day that focuses on Anti-Bullying- accepting everyone for who they want to be and showing empathy toward others. We ask that all staff and students wear something pink to show their school spirit.

PAC NEWS

Make sure you stay up to date on all that is happening with Gordon PAC. Please visit their website- gordonpac.ca for all the news! Monday, January 31 is the first day for Hot Lunch.