Posted: February 18, 2019

Information

• It’s Family Day! Have a great one together.
• We are so lucky to have hills that are close to the school, and wide enough to allow many kids to participate. If your kids bring sleds to school, please remind them that we expect them to ride sitting down, not standing up. Please also remind them that we now have designated ‘up zones’ and ‘down zones’ to avoid collisions. While we want everyone to be able to have fun, we want them to be able to do so safely, not like these people here.
• Jump Rope for Heart fundraising is ongoing, but it’s not so much going on. To date we have only 13 Lions registered for online fundraising, and a total of $785 raised. Let’s get going, Lions. You can register for the online fundraising here.

• Body Science Boot Camp for Parents – UPDATE

  With the snow requiring us to cancel the parent Body Science Boot Camp last Monday, we have a condensed version ready to go for parents on Tuesday morning first thing in the library.

Parenthood never arrives with a rulebook, and when it comes to explaining the world of sexual health to your child, it can be hard not to end up a bright shade of red. Using humor and straight talk in an open, interactive environment, Saleema Noon Sexual Health Educators will show you how easy it is to convey healthy, positive messages about sexual health to kids.

In this workshop parents will learn:

• Why we need to talk to children about sexual health at a young age

• How to reduce risk of child sexual abuse

• What children should know at each stage of development, with specific examples of how to explain concepts and processes

• How to become their kids’ preferred source of sexual health information

• How to normalize open, honest sexual health conversations in their family

• How to effectively answer even the toughest questions kids ask

• What will be covered in Body Science workshops for students

• What are you doing on the evening of March 1? You should be coming to the Vancouver Giants game in support of our grade 7s going to Camp Jubilee. If we can sell 100 tickets, Mr. Masigan and Mr. Oliver will apparently get the honour of participating in a (slightly intimidating and probably-silly) race on the ice during an intermission. Tickets are School Cash Online. $22 per person, for a fun family evening and in support of a great experience for West Langley students. 

PAC Information

Wednesday – Snack Day

Items will be delivered to classrooms at lunchtime. There will be a limited amount of extras available for cash purchase in the PAC room

Volunteer opportunities:

We are shifting how we organize and ask for volunteer help to an online platform. Stay tuned for a link to be shared. This will make it easier for the PAC to communicate what help we need and for you to see where you can make an impact, even with a small amount of your time. 😊

Upcoming:

Wednesday, Feb 27^th – Pizza Day (you can still place orders through Munchalunch until feb 20^th)

Hot Lunch Planning Meeting @ 1:30

Monday, March 4^th – RESCHEDULED PAC MEETING @ 9:15

Accounts Owing

There is currently $400+ owing to the PAC from Munchalunch orders. If your account shows a payment is due, please pay as soon as possible, or contact us to make arrangements. If your account shows a balance owing, and you feel this an error, please reach out as well. We are trying to get the books balanced asap 😊. Thank you!

Quote of the Week

Interesting Reading & Viewing

• Someone shared this book announcement with me. I hope that some of my own parenting allows my kids to feel self-driven, but I’m not so sure. The Key To Raising a Happy Child also includes some claims about the lack of value of homework and this quote: ‘…if a kid is deeply involved in something that he loves to do, he’s going to create a brain-state that combines high focus, high energy, high effort and low stress.’
• You’ve maybe seen this viral time lapse of a single cell becoming an alpine newt. It’s pretty cool. I showed it to my own kids to help them understand a bit of biology, and more to have them awestruck (it even impressed my ‘very cool’ 17 year old).
• I suppose this is almost old news now, but here’s a blog post about snow days from the Superintendent next door in Abbotsford. Six Myths About Calling Snow Days.

Calendar of Events

Monday February 18

• Family Day Holiday – No School

Tuesday February 19

• Girls’ Basketball Practice – 7:30
• Body Science presentations for grades 5-7, parents
• Grade 6 Boys’ Basketball Game @home vs. James Kennedy

Wednesday February 20

• Snack Day – Popcorn
• Grade 7 Boys’ Basketball Game @ Alex Hope
• Grade 67 Girls’ Basketball Game @ home vs Alex Hope

Thursday February 21

• Boys’ Basketball Practice – 7:30
• WGSS Counsellors visit for course planning (grade 7s)
• Lockdown Drill – 1:00
• Band plays @WGSS 7:00 pm (musicians arrive @6:30)

Friday February 22

• Body Science presentations for grades K-4

Beyond

• February 25 – Half Day for Report Card Preparation – Students dismissed at 11:26