September 6, 2019

Principal’s Message:

At the end of today, our students had a 25 minutes visit to their enrolling classes.  They have come home with a note indicating their division, teacher and room number.   On Monday it is the real thing!  Please bring your child to their new classroom door for the 2019-2020 school year. If you purchased school supplies through School Start  , these are waiting in your child’s classroom.  If you purchased your own supplies, please bring these to school on Monday.

There are a number of factors that influence the decision-making process for class placements, and, in consultation with the District, we consider:

• The child’s intellectual, social, emotional and behavioural development
• Preferred learning styles of the child
• The child’s physical and social maturity
• The child’s interactions and relationships with other students
• The age of the child
• School-based team recommendations
• Social dynamics in a class setting
• The balance of leaders in a class
• Student friendships
• The number of years a child has been with one teacher
• Classroom enrichment or support needed

Ultimately, we are committed to work in our schools and in the Langley School District to create learning communities with a balance of student strengths, honouring our responsibility to class size and composition.

Combined classes are sometimes a surprise, but are not new or unusual.  They continue to be a fact in our schools and most Langley children will be part of a combined-grade several times in their elementary career. Being in a combined class can be a most beneficial experience and should not be looked upon with worry.  Research from combined classes shows that achievement in is as good as and usually better than achievement in single-aged classrooms.

Combined classes or single-aged, parents can help their children adjust to their new class by staying positive.  We know that students develop confidence and resilience as they rise to new challenges and opportunities.  Framing change as a normal part of life and meeting new friends as a skill and opportunity will increase a student’s positive self-esteem.  Setting up play dates with friends from other classes, along with encouraging students to set meeting places on the playground with their buddies, keeps friendships alive while your child makes new ones.

I am always happy to meet with parents to discuss their child’s success this year.  Monday will be a busy day for me as I will be supporting learners in their classrooms but am happy to connect with you later in the week. Mrs. Young has a sheet on file if you want to leave me note for me to follow up with a phone call.

Looking forward to a great school year,

Beth Cairnie, Principal

Learning from our Week Together:

Parents, this is where I love to share photos of your children in their learning environment and tell you about the learning we are doing!   Media release forms are coming home next week – please complete these as soon as possible.  Students’ photos are never published with their names.  Thanks for getting your forms back to us!

-Mrs. Cairnie

The Week at a Glance:

Upcoming Events:

September 18 – Volunteer Training 9:00 am

September 19 – Meet the Teacher 6:00 pm

September 20 – School Improvement Day – no classes for students

September 26 – Terry Fox Assembly and Run 1:00 pm

September 30 – Orange Shirt Day

2019-2020 Staff

Here’s our great team for the year!

Div. 1              Gr. 4/5              Mrs. Watkins

Div. 2              Gr. 4/5             Mrs. Randa (M T) & Mrs. Claire (W Th F)

Div. 3              Gr. 4/5             Mrs. Kufske

Div. 4              Gr. 4/5             Mr. Richardson

Div. 5              Gr. 4                Mrs. Pham

Div. 6              Gr. 3                Mrs. Osborne

Div. 7              Gr. 3                Mrs. Buyco-Galloway

Div. 8              Gr. 3                Mrs. Wendell

Div. 9              Gr. 2/3             Mrs. Blaak (T W Th) & Mrs. McInnes (M F)

Div. 10            Gr. 2                Mrs. Tulloch

Div. 11            Gr. 2                Mr. Raphael

Div. 12            Gr. 1/2             Mrs. Keeley

Div. 13            Gr 1                 Mrs. Walsh

Div. 14            Gr. 1                Mrs. Towers

Div. 15            Gr. 1                Mrs. Boyce

Div. 16            Gr. K               Mrs. O’Keefe

Div. 17            Gr. K               Mrs. Richardson

Div. 18            Gr. K               Mrs. Roddham

Div. 19            Gr. K               Mrs. McArthur (M T W Th) & Mrs. Gray (F)

Principal                   Mrs. Cairnie

Vice Principal           Mrs. Brenneman

Admin Assistant        Mrs. Young

LA/Resource            Mrs. Jackson

Resource                  To Be Determined

PE                               Mrs. Erickson

Reading Recovery      Mr. Raphael

ELL                             Mrs. Bal

Learning Commons   Mrs. Martins (M. T. Th)

Counsellor                 Mr. Moscarda (W. F.)

Speech and Language Pathologist   Mrs. Blascovich (M, Tu, Th)

YCCW                        Mrs. Duralia

ASW                           Ms. Heyes

SEA                             Mrs. Tailby

SEA                             Mrs. Parsons

SEA                             Mr. Sum

SEA                             Mrs. Ross

SEA                             Mrs. Shoquist-Yee

SEA                             Mrs. Paradon

SEA                             Mrs. Taron

Library Tech               Mrs. Clingan (W)

Strongstart                  Mrs. Nichol

Noon Hour                  Mrs. Lee Nelson

Noon Hour                  Mrs. McLauchlin

Noon Hour                  Mrs. Martin

Custodian                    Mr. Petersen

Custodian                   Mr. Brucal

Open Gym Starts next Monday at 8:10.  A big thank you to the Langley Meadows Community Association for supporting this opportunity.  To help support this event, the suggested drop-in donation is $1.

Breakfast Club:

Starts this week!

Spirit Day on Friday

Wear your summer gear and celebrate the last days of the season!

Volunteer Training:

DATE CHANGE: Our volunteer training has been moved to Wednesday, September 18 at 9:00 in the library.   If you are a regular volunteer in the school, please try to make this presentation.  If you are not available this day, look for a second offering of the presentation in upcoming newsletters.

Parking Lot Safety Issues:

Please remember to leave our staff parking spots for our teachers and support staff.  Parking in the east lot takes these spots away from our staff who are supporting students before the morning bell.  The lot is not designed for dropping off students and this practice presents a safety risk for our children.  Thank you kindly for respecting the designated spots.

Calendar

Here is the 2019-2020 District Calendar.  Check out the LMCS calendar under News and Events on this site.

Elementary Middle 2019_20 – except Parkside Shortreed BGMS

Medical Alerts

Your child’s health and wellness is important to us!  If your child has medical needs that require school attention or a life-threatening medical conditions, we want to know and work with you for your child’s well-being. Please come by the office to complete paperwork, update information and help us put in the proper supports for you child.

For parents of children with anaphylacticallergies, please complete a medical care plan and send the Epi-Pen to school with your child.

If you learn that your child has an infection such as pertussis (whooping cough), measles, chicken pox, hand-foot-and mouth, please let us know right away!  These infections can be very dangerous to other children who have depressed immune systems that result from various medical conditions or treatments. We like to alert the classroom families at times like these.

Aboriginal Program

Each student will be bringing home a yellow self-identification sheet to indicate Aboriginal Ancestry (Frist Nations, Metis or Inuit).  If this applies to your student, please complete this and return for enrolment in our Aboriginal Program, led by Ms. Heyes.

School Cash Online

For security and safety reasons, we do not like to keep cash on our premises.  To make payment easier for parents, our District has moved to School Cash Online.  Please see the links below to be sure you are signed up.  Here is a parent step-by-step for you to get online with this.

Langley – Parent Step by Step Registration Guide 2019-08-20-1

From Our PAC:

Langley Meadows Community Association:

The LMCA is hosting a movie night next Friday, September 13 at 6:30 pm.  Look for more details soon about this great opportunity.

A Welcome Back Letter:

MEd Letter – Back to School 2019

Anxiety?

Being nervous is a typical feeling, but when this grows into an anxiety, parents need more tools in their toolbox.  Here is a great document about separation anxiety.

Separation Anxiety Doc FINAL-2

Student Insurance:

Each year, we receive information about optional student insurance.  If this is of interest to you, please follow the link below!

FARP newsletter copy-Aon BC