{"id":464,"date":"2022-06-03T14:44:43","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T21:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vsb.bc.ca\/gordon\/?p=464"},"modified":"2022-06-14T08:29:47","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T15:29:47","slug":"june-newsletter-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vsb.bc.ca\/gordon\/2022\/06\/03\/june-newsletter-2\/","title":{"rendered":"June Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"

GORDON HAPPENINGS<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

Even though it does not feel like June, we only have four weeks left of school. It has been a challenging year but the Gordon Community has persevered and I cannot thank everyone enough for your kindness, compassion and support. It was amazing to have two in person performances this past month for the whole school as well as getting the community together for Walk & Wheels. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with us for Sports Day but we will try again on June 17. We are also excited for the PAC “Spring Fling” which will be held on June 23. We look forward to many more events next year as well! Our last Spirit Day will be Beach day on June 14<\/strong>. Huge thank you to our Student Council who has done an amazing job this year bringing spirit to our school community! Thank you to Ms. Ubeda and Ms. Parr for sponsoring this club!<\/p>\n

Class placement for September 2022<\/strong>.\u00a0 Thank you to families that submitted comments for consideration while we develop classes for next year. Please be advised that we are no longer accepting forms. Next year, we will have 17 English divisions.<\/p>\n

Are you moving?<\/strong> We are asking families to reach out to the office if you know you will not be attending Gordon in the Fall. It is very helpful for us to know before September if you are leaving Gordon so we can offer a space for those families on our waitlist.<\/p>\n

Grade 7 Farewell. <\/strong>Grade 7 Farewell will be held on Wednesday, June 22 <\/strong>at 1:30 pm<\/strong>. Grade 7 families will be receiving additional information with more details shortly. We are also asking if there are any Grade 6 parents who would be willing to help volunteer on the day of the ceremony to set up refreshments before the ceremony and help serve afterwards. We need 4 to 6 volunteers. Please contact Ms. Steele if you are available during the day.<\/p>\n

The last day of school for all students is on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.<\/strong>\u00a0 This is a full day; school will be in session from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. Communicating Student Learning (CSL) Year End written reports will go home on this day as well.\u00a0 If your family will be leaving school early, we will hold their report card to be picked up in September.\u00a0 We are not able to mail report cards or give them to anyone but the legal parent or guardian of the student.<\/p>\n

The first day of school in September is Tuesday, September 6, 2022. <\/strong>If students are not planning to return to school on Sept. 6, please fill out the Notice of Late Return Form<\/a><\/strong> that can be found on our school website.<\/p>\n

Good-Byes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our school Counsellor, Ms. Helen Ritchie will be retiring. Though we are very happy for her and this new chapter in her life, we will very much miss her. She has been with Gordon for over 5 years and her wealth of knowledge has been very much appreciated and valued. Ms. Ritchie has a special message for our Gordon families:<\/p>\n

Dear General Gordon Families,<\/em><\/p>\n

Happy Spring and last month of the school year!<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m Helen Ritchie and I\u2019ve been the Area Counsellor at General Gordon for 5 years. I\u2019m writing to let you know that as of the end June 2022, I will be leaving the Vancouver School Board and moving into full time private practice: play therapy\/counselling and supervising therapists.<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been my honour to work with you and many of your children through very challenging times, most recently navigating all the stress of the pandemic. Thank you for your support.<\/em><\/p>\n

I will miss this wonderful community of families, children, and staff.<\/em><\/p>\n

Warmly,<\/em><\/p>\n

Helen Ritchie<\/em><\/p>\n

Area Counsellor<\/em><\/p>\n

We are saying good-bye to our student teachers as well. We have really enjoyed their energy and enthusiasm. Not only did they embrace the learning in their classrooms but did a number of volunteer activities around the school. We wish them all the best in their future endeavour. We will miss Ms. Juric, our school librarian. She has kept our library up and running and continued to update it with the newest and most loved books. Thnak you for everything you have done for Gordon! Our wonderful SSA Amanda will also be leaving us. We have really appreciated and valued her expertise, compassion, and support of not only our special needs students but all our students here at Gordon.<\/p>\n

It is with a heavy heart that we are saying good-bye to our French Immersion program and the wonderful teachers that have been a part of Gordon for so many years. Mlle Robinet, who has been filling in for Mme Stewart as been a real asset to our Gordon family and we wish her all the best at her new school. Mme. Wardrop has been at Gordon for a number of years and the school will not be the same without her. She has accepted a position at SFU as a Faculty Advisor. As a teacher who has not only embraced learning for her students, she has also dedicated countless hours mentoring and supporting student teachers. With her wealth of knowledge of educational practices and fierce dedication of educating the whole child through the lens of equity and social justice, our future teachers will be in good hands! We wish you all the best!<\/p>\n

Walk & Wheels<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

We would like to thank our parents who volunteered to park bikes and scooters during our Walk and Wheels event. We had an amazing response of families choosing active transport to get to and from school. We would also like to thank HUB through their Bike to Work Week<\/a> initiative for a number of great prices and resources. A huge thank you to our Community Policing Team who did a bike safety program with two of our primary classes. We encourage families to continue to use active transport to and from school and to follow the rules of the road and parking signs to keep your children safe and to be good community members.<\/p>\n

P<\/span>R<\/span>I<\/span>DE<\/span> Month & National Indigenous History Month<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Congratulations to our SOGI Club for facilitating several activities for our school community.\u00a0 They raised over $1000 for Rainbow Refugee. Stay tuned for some photos of Mr. Carter, Mr. Nylund and Ms. Steele being ice bucketed! This month is PRIDE month and there will be some activities happening around the school. Special thank you to Mr. Nylund and Ms. Poon for all their leadership and dedication.<\/p>\n