Posted: May 27, 2018

Information

• The White Hatter presentation for parents is this Tuesday at 6:30 at Gordon Greenwood Elementary. Content will be heavily skewed towards parents of K-5 students, though I know it will still be interesting & valuable if your kids are grade 6-7. GGE are asking for 1 parent per household, as we are sharing the event with 3 other schools, and gym capacity is 550 only.
• Monday is our regional track meet. Good luck to the 70 or so students representing West Langley. Don’t forget: if you are in 1500 m, grade 6 Boys’ Long Jump, or Grade 6 Girls’ High Jump, you have an early departure from the school if you need transportation. You leave with Mr. Oliver at 7:45. If you are travelling with your parents, events START at 8:20 so be earlier than that. Student in later events are either being dropped off by parents or are walking up with school staff at 8:25. Don’t be late. Finally, don’t forget your water (lots) and sunscreen (also lots), as well as a hat. If students forgot their permission forms (only about 5 did that), please send Mr. Oliver an email with a statement giving your child permission to walk up, and including a daytime emergency phone number. For those who need it, the full meet schedule is here.
• It is Bike to School Week this week, and the weather is going to be amazing! Ride your bike (or scooter) and register your ride at the front of the school. Thanks to the generous support of our PAC, we will be drawing for a number of prizes at the end of the week from registered riders, including a nice, new tennis racquet. Registration might be with Mr. Oliver, and might be with a parent from the PAC, so watch for the crowd. And don’t forget your helmets (parents, too!)
• The school calendar for next year has been approved by the Board of Education. Download it here. The WLE website calendar will be updated over the summer to include these dates.
• Don’t forget that the White Hatter presentation for parents is at Gordon Greenwood Elementary this Tuesday 29th May at 6:30 pm. Click here for details and an idea of what to expect. Because space will be quite limited, the organizing school is asking that one adult per family only attend. Thanks. Some of our parents attended his presentation at the high school earlier this year, and reported that it is excellent!
• The Langley Children’s Chorus are recruiting! Details are here.
• For parents of grade 7s in particular (but maybe of interest to parents of 5s or 6s: 

Dear Incoming Grade 8 Parents of Walnut Grove Secondary,

On behalf of TogetherNOW we would like to extend a warm welcome to you all as your children enter our powerful and amazing school. TogetherNOW is a parent-initiated group that started two years ago as a proactive group to discuss and address issues of substance use within our school community.  Our mission is as follows: Community coming together to prevent and minimize the damage from substance use and addiction.  We have received some questions from parents of incoming Grade 8 students about substance use within our community and we want to provide you with the best information possible.   

On Monday, June 4, 2018, TogetherNOW is hosting a mini workshop for parents and caregivers of students entering Grade 8 in the WGSS Library from 7-8 PM. There will be presentations from WGSS staff about what programs and resources are being offered to students and families to address substance use.  We will get a chance to hear from other parents about what to expect as your teen transitions from elementary school to WGSS.  Finally, you will have a chance to meet other adults whose children are entering WGSS this September. 

Please RSVP for this workshop by visiting togethernow.ca and registering.

We look forward to seeing you there!

• Kids in the Grove – Daycare has a New Summer Program at our Topham Location! Daycare and Preschool for ages 2-5 years!! School Age Summer Program 5-12 Yrs operating out of West Langley Location! www.kidsinthegrove.com

 PAC Happenings

PAC AGM Postponed

We did not have a quorum at our PAC meeting last week, and so elections have had to be delayed until our June meeting. It is critical that we get enough parents participating to have a quorum, and to form an executive. The Provincial Gaming Grant (to the tune of $5000 a year) is only available if we do. Please join up; many hands make light work. Email westlangleypac@outlook.com if you have any questions or want to be nominated for the executive.

Thanks for coming, cooking, playing, cleaning!

Thanks to all our incredible helpers for your hard work on the Spring Carnival. We had uber-organizers, burger-cookers, raffle-basket builders (great job, by the way), station-runners, talent-bookers, kid-bringers, fire fighters (no fires, thankfully), dunk tank swimmers, cleaner-uppers, and they all did fantastic jobs. Thanks, too to our long list of sponsors: the Garry Reimer Group Real Estate who provided the Dunk Tank, the Langley Gymnastics Foundation who provided the bouncy castles, the Firefighters who brought a truck and let us play with the real-life fire hoses, Freybe meats, Cobs Bread, Safeway, Costco, Big Box outlet, Beach Basket Giftware, Tim Hortons, Save On Foods, IGA, Treasure Landing, Into Chocolate Candy and Confections, Montana’s, Atmosphere, Little Donkey, Muncho Burrito, Kids in the Grove, Stylebionic Event Services, White Spot, Clearview Garden Shop, The Outer Rim Garrison, and “DJ Steve.” 

Quote of the Week

Interesting Reading & Viewing

• It wouldn’t be Bike to School week without an article about the benefits of bike riding.
• Don’t tell me you’re bad at math. Everyone has at least one of these!
• This piece offers reassurance for parents and caregivers who worry that their kids might become ‘jerks.’ How to Raise a Child Who Cares. It includes Dan Siegel’s TEDx talk on integration of emotion and biology. It’s much more interesting than I just made it sound, I promise!

Calendar of Events

Monday

• Bike to School Week
• Track Meet – all day at WGSS

Tuesday

• Bike to School Week
• Grade 6/7 White Hatter presentation at Gordon Greenwood Elementary

Wednesday

• Bike to School Week
• Parent Appreciation Tea –

Thursday

• Bike to School Week
• Welcome to Kindergarten event – 1:00 pm

Friday

• Bike to School Week
• Choir trip

Sunday

• Grade 7s leave for camp! Have a great time!

Beyond

• June 6 – Grade 7s return
• June 7 – Fire Safety House – reduced parking