Lord Strathcona Elementary School

592 East Pender Street

Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1V5
Tel: 604-713-4630 Fax: 604-713-4633
NEWSLETTER#5 - JANUARY 2016
Director of Instruction: Ms. Ellen Roberts
Principal: Ms. Harjinder Sandhu
Liaison Trustee: Mr. Christopher Richardson
Vice Principal: Mr. Jesse Brown
PAC Chairpersons: Ms. Francesca Benedetti and Mr. David Chen

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2016! We hope you had a restful, relaxing Winter Break with
family and friends. The students are eager to be back and get into their classroom routines.
Teachers are planning, collaborating and implementing a variety of learning activities for their classes. The start of the new calendar year is also a busy time for us in the office as we already start
thinking about the next school year. Our grade seven students and families are in the process of
making decisions about high school. Registration for choice programs begin and we start looking
at school organization for the next year.
This term, classrooms are buzzing with learning, goal setting and integrating calendar events that
contribute to classroom learning, such as: Lunar New Year, Valentines Day, 100 Day and Pink
Day. Strathcona is a busy place with so many great things happening that each month we try to
highlight the learning we see all around us. Please remember to check out the many bulletin
boards around the school, the school website www.strathcona.vsb.bc.ca and classroom communication and blogs to keep up to date. If you cant find the information you are looking for please call
us in the office and we will be happy to help. We really think its important you get to see and know
about all the wonderful experiences that are occurring in our school inside and outside of the classrooms!

September 2016
Kindergarten Registration
For those children that are born in 2011, it is
time to register for Kindergarten! Please
come to the office to register your child. It
is important that you bring along with you,
your childs Birth Certificate (original),
Immunization Record, Care card & Proof of
Residency. The child must be 5 years of age
prior to December 31, 2016
Please be advised that Cross Boundary
Applications will be accepted from February
1st to February 29th, 2016. Applications/
registration forms are available in the school
office. Check out the VSB website: http://
www.vsb.bc.ca/kindergarten for more
information.

French Immersion
Kindergarten Registration
For French Immersion applications, parents
must register at their neighbourhood English
catchment school before applying for Choice
Program(s). As of January 11th, you can apply for up to three choice programs through our
online application process. The application
period closes February 4th, 2016.
Parents wishing to register their child for French
Immersion can also refer to the VSB links below
for more information:

http://www.vsb.bc.ca/programs/earlyfrench-immersion
https://kchoice.vsb.bc.ca/
An information session for parents interested in the
French Immersion Program at Strathcona will be held on
Tuesday, January 12th at 7:00 pm in our library.

Hopefully all families have discussed the first term report card with their children and about
continuing to put forth a great effort to achieve their best in school. Thank you again for
continuing to support your childs learning by monitoring studies at home (home reading,
spelling/dictee, writing programs and projects). When the school and home can work
together our children benefit.

January 27th and 28th students will be dismissed at 2:00pm so that families can once again
spend some time meeting with their childs teachers to review progress, adjust goals or set
new ones. Teachers value the home school partnership as working together can only benefit
student learning. Children learn best when the significant adults in their lives -- parents,
teachers, and other family and community members -- work together
to encourage and support them. Schools alone cannot address all of a
child's developmental needs: The meaningful involvement of parents
and support from the community are essential. Conference request
forms are sent home the second week of January.

In the event that schools are closed due to the weather conditions, the Vancouver School
Board will post information on their website at www.vsb.bc.ca Also the VSB will
contact the following radio & television stations by 6 AM to make an announcement:
CKNW (980 AM )
CKWX (NEWS 1130AM)
FAIRCHILD RADIO (CJVB AM 1470/CKHG FM 96.1)
CBC RADIO (690 AM, 105.7 FM)
BCTV/GLOBAL (CABLE CHANNEL 11)
CITY TV (CABLE CHANNEL 13)

Safe Arrival
Our safe arrival program continues to run with the help of volunteers and our staff/neighborhood assistants. We are requesting that parents/guardians please ensure the following:
That your contact information is up to date.
That you call the safe arrival line 604-713-4637 if your child is going to be late or absent.
Thank you for your support.

Im Going to UBC
UBC Athletics and Recreation, in partnership with the Centre for Community Engaged Learning, provides a
unique program that brings students from Vancouver elementary schools to the UBC Campus. Varsity student
athletes and coaches have an opportunity to take the lead in hosting these elementary school kids and showing
them what is possible at University.

A Day in the Life of Our Student Athletes:

The Im Going to UBC program includes a

mini campus tour, where athletes can show the kids around the campus pointing out highlights from their own
university experience and interesting facts. This is followed by a skills clinic run by UBC varsity basketball
and volleyball coaches to teach the kids in new skills for sport. The night then finishes off by going on and
cheering for our fellow thunderbird athletes at War Memorial Gym at a Basketball or Volleyball game.
Strathcona will be participating on Friday, January 15th. Please see Ms. Sandhu or Steve Valente for more
information.

PARENT VISITORS
There are some days where parents are on site throughout the school day and take time to
visit with the children during recess and lunch. We are requesting that when you do so, that
you check in at the office to get a visitors badge. There are times where supervising staff do
not recognize parents on the school grounds and have to approach them for safety reasons.
Also please remember that if you need to speak to the teacher it is important that you do so
before or after school. Ideally it would be best if you could set up an appointment. Once the
bell has rung and class is in session teachers are not available, especially for confidential
conversations. Thank you for your understanding and commitment to your childs learning.

LOST AND FOUND

Please stop by the Lost and Found in the Primary Building to look through
the clothing articles that may belong to you. There are many
unclaimed items. We also request that if possible you label
your childs belongs: such as coats, lunch boxes and backpacks,
so if found we can return them to their owner! Thank you.

HEALTH UPDATE
The Cold and Flu season continues to be upon us so thank you in advance for keeping your children home
if they show signs of illness. Continue to reinforce hand washing along with covering coughs and
sneezes with the inside of our elbows. Also make sure students are dressed appropriately
for playing outside in the cold weather.
You may be aware that many areas of our province have had increased incidences of head lice
during the past few years. Although no one is sure why, they are now a common problem in many
communities, including our own. The best way to control the spread of head lice is to get rid of them
immediately. Parents therefore are the most important persons in the control plan.
We urge you to check your childs hair for lice often, especially at this time. If you find nits (eggs),
immediately inform the school and begin the treatment with head lice shampoo by purchasing the
specialty treatment at the drugstore. Check other family members at the same time and treat only if
nits or lice are found. As you can appreciate, halting this nuisance is of primary importance. We
thank you for your prompt attention to this concern and rely on your support.

One of our school goals is to improve the reading level or all our students. We want all of our students to be
able to read at grade level. You can support your child with this goal, you can support your childs reading!
Reading is all around us. We see print in books, on flyers, in magazines, in stores and on
Billboards. A childs first discovery about reading is that it makes sense!
Parents can support their childrens reading in the following ways:

By reading aloud with them

By talking to them about books

By listening to them read

Basketball season is now underway. Schedules and permission slips are being sent home.
Practices are at 7:45am and games run from 3:30-5:00 pm. Listed below are game days. It is wonderful to see so many students come out to join our school teams. Remember if your child is showing a keen interest in basketball, the community centre runs an outstanding program that draws students from all over the city.
Junior Boys - Mondays
Junior Girls - Tuesdays
Senior Boys - Wednesday
Senior Girls - Thursday

2016 READY SET LEARN - FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS

TUESDAYS @ 1 PM TO 2:30 PM - PARENT & TOT PROGRAM
WEDNESDAYS @ 10 AM TO 11:00 AM - BABY TIME
If you are looking to support childrens readiness for school and developing literacy
skills, we are proud to offer two Family Literacy programs. Both programs are designed for the
caregiver and child to participate together. This is an opportunity for care givers to work one-to-one
with their child within a group setting and under the guidance of school staff. Both programs take
place in the Parents Room (New Building Room E307). Unfortunately we do not have child minding
available during this time.
The Parent and Tot Program is for children from 3 to 4 years old and their caregivers are invited to
join in an atmosphere of creativity and play. Activities include crafts, story time, games, songs,
group play and more!
The Baby Time Program invites children 2 years old and under, with their caregivers to join in an
atmosphere of creativity and play. The time together includes storytelling, music and play. For
inquires or attendance, please contact Tracy Kong or Denise Aasen at 604-713-5518.

Dogs on School Property

The city of Vancouver Animal Control officers have been coming out to
Vancouver Schools to educate families on Animal Control By-Laws, specifically
licensing and leaving dogs unaccompanied while tied up in a public space.
Although its wonderful to walk together to the school with your children and pets,
dogs must not be left tied up to the school fence while owners or caregivers come
into the school to drop off children. Since dogs cannot be brought into the
school, unless of course they are service dogs or part of a classroom program, one suggestion is to
drop off children outside of the school and to have a meeting spot at one of the school doors or on
the playground when picking them up. As well, do not forget to license your pet. Thank you for
your cooperation.

January 12th - French Immersion Information Night @ 7:00pm

January 14th - PAC Evening Meeting @ 6:00pm
January 15th - Evening Event for select students at UBC-Im Going to UBC (2:30-8:00)
January 18th to 29th - Project Chef for Divisions 7, 9, 21 and 10
January 23rd - Deadline for Grade 8 Special Programs Applications
January 27th and 28th - Goal Setting Conferences and Early Dismissal @ 2:00pm
February 8th - Family Day - School Closed
February 8th - Lunar New Year - Gung Hay Fat Choy - The Year of the Monkey
February 9th - Pro-D DayNo school for students
February 10th - PAC Evening Meeting @ 6:00 pm