November 9, 2019
Principal’s Message
There are many elements to building school success and school attendance is one of the most important ways a parent can support their child in school. The School Act places a strong responsibility on students to attend school and be on time. While there are always extenuating circumstances like illnesses and family emergencies, some absences can and should be avoided. The present day dynamics of the classroom involving increased collaborative, differentiated programming, and a move away from textbooks and worksheets, means that missed school is not easily replaced by homework. Holiday packages cannot be prepared for extended vacations because classroom learning has evolved to be a dynamic interplay.
Please view some of the advantages from research of regular attendance below:
- Your children can suffer academically if they miss 10 percent of school days or about 18 days a year. That can be just one day every two weeks, and that can happen before you know it.
- Attendance matters as early as kindergarten. Studies show many children who miss too many days in kindergarten and first grade can struggle academically in later years. They often have trouble mastering reading by the end of third grade.
- By middle and high school, chronic absence is a leading warning sign that a student will drop out.
- Attendance is a community challenge. Too many absent students can affect the whole classroom, creating churn and slowing down instruction.
- Above all, set an example for your child. Show him or her that attendance matters to you and that you will not allow an absence unless someone is truly sick. Don’t ask older students to help with daycare during school hours or keep all the children home when only one is ill.
Ultimately our message to our students is that school is their most important job. You can ask the office to calculate accumulated absences. This allows you to see the impact of partial days and late arrivals, not just full days away from school. At school students are practicing the skills needed for a successful adulthood. If your child is avoiding school due to anxiety, academics or other struggles, you can turn to the school for help. Speak to the classroom teacher, principal or vice principal for support with school attendance. We want to help!
Sincerely,
Beth Cairnie, Principal
Week At A Glance
| Date | Events |
|---|---|
| Monday | Crosswalk students - meeting at lunchtime in the gym Division 16 - Christmas at Lochiel |
| Tuesday | Staff Luncheon - Thank you Parents!!! Division 19 - Christmas at Lochiel |
| Wednesday | Santa Sale and Raffle Lunch time student monitoring meeting in gym Division 18 Christmas at Lochiel |
| Thursday | Division 17 Christmas as Lochiel |
| Friday | PJ Day Popcorn Movie Fest |
Learning This Week
A heart-felt thank you to Mrs. Brenneman for her leadership in the Remembrance Day assembly. Decorations from classes, lovely wreathes and meaningful sharing created a wonderful morning of honouring our veterans. The choir performed for their first time. Warrant Office Sarah Branje joined us and shared a story of peace and hope. Special thanks to Mrs. Buyco-Galloway, Mrs. O’Keefe, Mrs. Osborne, Mrs. Tulloch and Mrs. Watkins and their students for their contributions, along with readers from division 1 through 4.
The Langley Meadows Garden and Environmental Club were busy after school preparing the gardens for winter. Thank you to staff, students and parents for embracing these learning opportunities together.
Trestle Tree
For the next two weeks, our gym is equipped with borrowed equipment from the School District for gymnastics. As it remains set up for the two weeks, there is no open gym from November 12 – November 22.
Spirit Day
Don’t forget to wear your moustaches on Friday for our spirit day and earn some house team points!
Vaccinations
With much in the news lately regarding vaccinations, here is information from public health.
Parent Guardian Letter for VSRR[1]
Spirit Wear
A thank you to Sabrina Murray for her time and efforts to organize student spirit wear this year. Samples will be available for sizing in the foyer this week and online ordering information will be going home this week. This is a great Christmas gift and goods will be arriving before the holidays.
Fun Lunch and Fun Snacks: Email: langleymeadowsfunlunch@shaw.ca
Friday November 15thPizza Day!(Closes Friday November 1)
Friday December 6th Subway Day! (Closes Friday November 22)
Neufeld’s Farms Ordering:
November PAC Meeting: Friday November 15th 9am in the PAC Portable.
Cobbs Dough Raiser Program:
Langley Meadows is part of the Dough Raiser Program at Clayton Cobbs Bread. Mention Langley Meadows School when you purchase your items and 5% of your sale will come back to the school as a donation at the end of the year.
Join us on Facebook for reminders and updates and a place to connect with Langley Meadows School Families: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LangleyMeadowsPAC/ **Make sure you go to the notifications tab and choose “All Posts” to be sure you see what we are posting.
Langley District Foundation
The Langley District Foundation supports our schools with monies for programs like Breakfast Clubs and exciting opportunities, like our outdoor playground. Here is an upcoming fundraiser you may wish to support.
Free Counselling Opportunity for Parents and Caregivers
Community Counselling Poster (003) (002)