June 4, 2021
Action Plan For Learning
School Wide Write
Back in October I explained that we were going to start our literacy journey for the year by conducting a school wide write. We decided on a common theme and agreed on what kind of writing we wanted to use; we decided students would do a personal write on “What I am Thankful For.” The reason behind the common theme and writing style is so that we can more accurately measure the growth. For one class to focus on informational writing and another on personal writing would not allow for us to see growth as a whole school.
Click image for link to audio book.
The month of May was the big reveal. Each teacher gave their students a personal writing assignment. This time the theme was “Yes Day.” This is based on a book where one day the answer to every question is a great big happy YES for a young boy! He asks his mom if he can have pizza for breakfast; he has pizza for breakfast. Would it be at all possible for him to clean his room tomorrow instead of today? Absolutely. Can he be the one to pick out the food at the supermarket? Pile on those cereal boxes. How about a food fight, and a piggyback ride and an ice-cream cone? Yes! Yes! Yes!
With this in mind students had to write about what their Yes Day would look like. Teachers said the students could not have been more engaged. Eager to share what their ideal Yes Day would look like, they were able to demonstrate their improved writing skills. We spent some time during our staff meeting assessing the students’ writing and marvelling over the growth. Teachers were glowing with so much pride and so was I. There is nothing more satisfying than when hard work pays off.
Story walk – Part Two
Mrs. Sutherland, Ms. Patterson and Mrs. Senges went out of their way to organize another story walk for our community. This time they made it even better by having each of their classes write a story (with illustrations) and shared those too! Our early primary kids demonstrate fantastic writing skills that we will continue to expand on next year.
Honouring The 215 Lives Lost
On Thursday, May 27th, 2021 the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announced that they had used ground-penetrating radar to locate the remains of 215 Indigenous children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The finding of these lost children has devastated the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc people, the surrounding Indigenous communities and their allies. It is estimated more than 150,000 children attended residential schools in Canada from the 1830s until the last school closed in 1996, and that about 4,100 of those children died at the residential schools. As a community it was imperative that we stood beside Ms. Deanna, our Aboriginal Support worker, and the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc nation. Taking the time to reflect on the lives lost with a moment of silence, wearing our “All Kids Matter” shirts and tying an orange ribbon on the fence for each child lost was the least we could do. Moving forward it will be important to learn how to become better, more vocal allies to the Indigenous People. 
The following is a post written by Ms. Deanna:
My white allies I need you to listen
When I learned of the tragic news on Thursday night, the only other people that seemed to know were those of my Indigenous friends and family. This news should have been top story. Everyone should have been aware of this Friday morning. It’s not news to us. It’s just another. Another reason to grieve. Another reason to hurt.
My white allies. We need you. We need you to remember how you felt when you heard that 215 children were carelessly buried at a school they were forced to go to, their parents threatened with violence and jail if they refused to let them go. Buried at the hands of people the government put them in.
We need you to speak up in support of us. We need you to keep advocating for us. We need you to teach the facts. If you are concerned about doing the teaching honourably, focus on the facts. There are so many. Learn them, arm yourself with them. So that when you come across a person, via a keyboard or in person, you are ready with those facts and you can silence their “they should get over it”. We can’t get over it when it continues to happen.
We are grieving our children, our parents, our culture, our land, our languages. And, we are reviving, rebuilding and protecting our children, our parents, our culture, our land, our languages. Do you see why we’re tired?
We are tired and hurting and we need your help.
Deanna Miller
ASW, Langley School District
Message From Ms. Peach
Ms. Peach asks that everyone have their library books handed in by June 16th, the 18th at the very latest. Also, no books will be borrowed after June 11th so she can get ready to do the annual inventory.
District News
Transportation Registration
A friendly reminder from the District, Friday June 18th is the last day for transportation registration under our regular phase. If you have not registered your child, please do so as soon as possible. For information on how to register read more on our District webpage here.
Census 2021
You may or may not know that the 2021 Census is underway. It has been a challenging year for families, and the census might seem like another thing on everyone’s busy to-do list. The District is assisting our Stats Canada partner in communicating this information and encouraging families to complete their census. Census data helps governments at all levels plan for schools, transportation, community centres, libraries and recreational activities. Data from the 2021 Census will be even more crucial, because it will help to evaluate the impact of the pandemic and to better plan for the future. You can quickly and easily complete your census questionnaire at www.census.gc.ca using the access code you received in the mail. If you need assistance or would like to have a paper (or alternate format) questionnaire, please call the Census Help Line at 1-855-340-2021. Thank you for doing your part to help plan for a better future for all Canadians.
Summer Session
Here is a document describing information related to summer session and how to register.
Important Dates To Remember
June 15 – Grade Seven Farewell and Kindergarten Graduation
June 21 – National Indigenous Day On-line Assembly @1:30
June 23 – Intermediate Sports Day – Done in cohorts
June 24 – Primary Sports Day – Done in cohorts
June 25 – Talent Show – Done in cohorts
June 28 – Grade 7 Drive Through – By appointment only
June 29 – Year End On-line Assembly @ 9:30
June 29 – Final Day/Report Cards Issued
Dismissal A-L @ 11:31, M-Z @ 11:41