Sept. 10, 2009.
Dear Parents,
A warm ‘Welcome Back’ to all of our Laura Secord families and a special welcome to all the new families that are joining us! I am excited about being able to introduce you to our new staff members. Nancy Bourque is our Grade 7 Early French Immersion teacher, Monique Thibault and Jessica Rowe are co-teaching the Grade 6 Early Immersion class. Monique Hunter formerly our Learning Assistance teacher will be teaching the Grade 3 Early Immersion class. Our new Learning Assistance teacher is Malena Oliveri who comes to us from Jules Quesnel, a French Immersion centre.
In the English track, Roslyn Mustard is teaching the Grade 3/4 class while Mrs. Verhage is on maternity leave. Mrs Wou has recently transferred schools, she will be dearly missed. We welcome Gary Loong who is taking her place until Sept. 25 when a permanent person will be announced. All of the Laura Secord staff are look forward to working with you and your children.
It is important for students to start off the school year by being punctual and ready to learn. Having a good night’s sleep, a good breakfast to begin the day and a healthy lunch are things that we can provide our children in their pursuit of success.
Setting school routines
It is important to set school routines from the beginning of the year. We are working on making sure that our school is a safe and healthy environment. Supervision by staff begins at 8:25 in the morning and ends fifteen minutes after the 3:00 p.m. bell. Please do not leave your children in the playground unsupervised before 8:25 a.m.
Students are to stay outside until the bell rings in the morning. They also have been instructed to stay outside during the recess and lunch. It is important for children to have time to run and play in the fresh air. The Ministry of Education mandates 30 minutes of physical activity per day and these time periods help to meet this goal. We will be having special rainy day activities in various locations in the school to accommodate student needs on days where it is raining heavily.
School Organizations 2009-10
The Vancouver School Board is implementing new deadlines for finalizing school organizations to ensure a smooth start to the 2009-10 school year.
Classes and staffing in Vancouver elementary schools will be set no later than the second working Friday of the school year. For this year, it means classes will not be reorganized after Sept. 18.
The deadline for finalizing staffing and classes at secondary schools will be the third working Friday of the school year. This means classes will generally be set by Sept. 25, but some minor adjustments to student timetables may be necessary after this date.
The changes will eliminate parent concerns about classes being shuffled in late September, after students have settled in.
Should you have any questions, please contact school principal at 604-713-4996.
School Code of Behaviour
You will be receiving a copy of the Laura Secord Code of Behaviour and our three tenets.
I take care of myself
I take care of others
I take care of this place
Teachers will be reviewing the code of behaviour and the specific rules around the school with their students. We are asking that you also take a few minutes to go over the code of behaviour with your child and then return the completed bottom portion of the sheet. Classes that return all of their tear-offs in a timely manner will be receiving a special prize.
A few beginning of the year important reminders:
· Supervision of students by teachers begins at 8:25 in the morning; therefore, students will be unsupervised if they are left on the grounds before 8:25am.
· Students are to stay outside in the morning until the bell rings at which time they may proceed to their classroom.
· Similarly students are to remain outside at recess and at lunch unless the staff have declared it a rainy day. This happens only when it is raining very hard.
· Mme Barros, Mme Simpson and Mme Gelb’s French Immersion classes in the new wing will be having their students line up outside the new wing beside the large gym. This is to help with crowding in the halls of the new wing. At times these halls become very unsafe because of the numbers of parents, younger students, and siblings who are waiting. We ask that you wait outside with your child in the morning and after school your child will be escorted out by the teacher. Parents are always welcome to leave the teacher a note or request a meeting if the need arises. Some of the classes on the second floor of the new wing will also be following the same procedures.
· Fees are $25.00 per student at the grade 1-7 levels as well as full day Kindergarten and $12.50 for half day Kindergarten. There are no family rates. Please make individual cheques for each child addressed to Laura Secord Elementary School.
· Student planners for grades 3 to 7 are $7.00. Please make out a separate cheque addressed to Laura Secord Elementary School.
· Don’t forget, starting this Friday and every Friday students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm.
· Please make sure that you call the school at 604-713-4996 if your child is going to be absent
· Parking is very limited around the school, therefore, please read the parking signs carefully as there will be officers patrolling the area during the first weeks of school.
Vancouver Coastal Health
Our school medical officer, Dr. John Carsley has some tips on how to help prevent the spread of H1N1 of which the 3 most important elements are
• Frequent hand washing with soap and water
• proper etiquette for coughing and sneezing
• keeping students at home when they have flu-like symptoms
The school will be encouraging students to follow these practices.
Meet the Teacher and Multicultural Dinner
Next Wednesday evening, Sept. 16 from 5:30 to 6:30, we will be having our Meet the Teacher evening followed by our multicultural dinner at 6:30.
Each of the teachers will be sending home notices about their specific organization of the meet the teacher segment. A notice from PAC will also be arriving to invite you to the dinner and what you need to do in order to participate.
School Newsletter
Last year we attempted to send out the school newsletter electronically to as many parents as possible who volunteered to share their email address. This significantly reduced the amount of paper that we had to buy and that we used. We would like to continue this work on getting more email addresses from our parents. If you are new in the school or have not yet shared your email, please write it down and send it to your child’s classroom teacher. We will also have someone collecting email addresses on our Meet the Teacher evening next Wednesday evening, Sept. 16.
Please take note that the hard copy of the newsletter will be on blue 81/2 X 14 paper and will be sent home every third Thursday.
Professional Day Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009
Our first professional day will be this coming Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. Students do not attend school that day, teachers will be attending workshops about reading and writing.
French for Fun with your preschooler
Our former French Immersion Kindergarten teacher, Dominique Voisard, will be leading an introduction to the French language through stories, songs and games at the
Roundhouse Community Centre
September 17 to December 3
2-3 yrs. Thursday 9:15 am to 10:00 am
4-5 yrs. Thursday 10:00 am to 10:45 am.
Registration is at www.roundhouse.ca
or for more info call Dominique at
604 762 1929
Seismic update
Our seismic committee has been meeting on a regular basis and the plans are looking very positive. The work for the preparation of the site for the portables will begin next week. We will be sending home a more detailed update next week on Cherry Pink paper and an invitation to an open house on Oct. 7. Please note that all communication about seismic will be the same Cherry Pink paper
Upcoming Dates
Wed., Sept. 16 Meet the Teacher and Multicultural Dinner
Thurs., Sept. 17 Professional Development Day, students do not attend school
Sept. 21 -25 Grade 7 Evans Lake Camp
Wed., Oct 7 Open House for seismic
Wed. and Thurs.,
Oct. 7, 8 2pm dismissal Goal setting conferences
Mon., Oct. 12 Thanksgiving holiday
Fri., Oct. 23 Pro-D day, students do not attend school
Tues., Nov. 10 Pro-D day
Wed., Nov. 11 Remembrance Day
Wed., Nov. 18 School Immunization K’s and Grade 6's