École Laura Secord Elementary Newsletter

Tuesday, October 8th Performance

Tuesday, October 8th X-Country Mini Meet

Monday, October 14th Thanksgiving – Students do not

attend school this day

Thursday, October 17th Pizza Lunch

Thursday, October 17th X-Country District Meet

Monday, October 21st Federal Election Votes Here

Friday, October 25th Pro D Day – Students do not

attend school this day

Monday, October 28th Picture Day

Tuesday, October 29th Pumpkin Patch Set Up

Thursday, October 31st Halloween

Dates to Remember in October

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Walking is good for your

health, and the environment

too. But before you head out

there are some safety tips to

remember. See page 4 …

Safety Corner 1

Dates to Remember 1

Mini School Registration 1

Student Conferences Soon 1

Picture Day Coming 1

No School 1

Terry Fox Run 2

Grade 7 Camp 2

Emergency Preparedness 2

Traffic & Parking Safety 3

Get to Know Us 3

Federal Election 3

Safety Awareness Corner 4

Allergies 4

Love our Trees Please 4

Walk & Roll 4

We Wore Orange 4

Are you a Newcomer Parent 5

Reporting Student Absences 5

Reminder: No Plastic Cutlery 5

Secord House Teams 5

Student Sign Out Policy 5

VSB Dog Code 6

Safety Protocol 6

Our 1st Performance 7

Hot Lunch 7

PAC Meeting 7

Hallowe’en Safety 7

PAC Social 8

Pumpkin Patch 8

Helpful Links 8

Principal: Janis Myers

Acting Vice Principal: Joanne Dale

Volume II, October 2019

Reminder….

NO SCHOOL FOR

STUDENTS ON:

Monday, October 14th

(Thanksgiving) &

Friday, October 25th

(Provincial Pro D Day)

S A F E T Y C O R N E R

Grade 7s, are you looking for something different? High school next year and all of

a sudden you have options, options, options! If you’re interested in any of the Mini

School options, please click here for everything you’ll need to know, including the

Information Night schedule.

Good luck all!

Mini School Registration

On Monday, October 28th, we will be having our individual photos taken by Mountain

West.

Don’t forget to rock your best smile, and get your picture duds on!

Picture Day is Coming!

Parents are reminded of our upcoming

student conferences on Wednesday,

November 6th and Thursday, November 7th.

Please note, students are dismissed early

on these days at 2 pm. You will be receiving

more information in the coming weeks from

your child’s teacher about the conferences.

If you do not, feel free to contact your child’s

teacher at the school.

Student Conferences

NOVEMBER 6TH & 7TH

Secord News Page 2

Emergency Preparedness

On October 17 at 10:17 a.m.,

millions of people worldwide

(including us here at Laura Secord)

will practice how to “Drop, Cover and

Hold On” during Great ShakeOut

Earthquake Drills.

Over the course of the school year we will hold several fire drills and emergency

evacuation practices. In our drills, students and staff practice “drop and cover”

procedures (taking cover under tables, etc. and holding for 1 full minute), safely

evacuating the building and gathering on the grass field. The goal during an

earthquake evacuation is to evacuate the building safely and quietly, not

necessarily quickly. In an emergency, various specially-trained staff emergency

response teams, including district radio communication, execute their own

procedures. We have adequate materials and supplies to properly care for

students until they can be safely released to their families.

In case of a real emergency, we can anticipate that children and parents both will

be worried about their family members’ health and safety. The school has specific

student release procedures in place to ensure that families are re-united as quickly

and safely as possible, and to ensure accountability and tracking of each student’s

safe release.

To this end, we must ask for parents’ cooperation during a real emergency:

• Students and parents will likely be quite excited and anxious to be together.

Parents MUST follow the directions of school staff.

• Parents arriving to pick up their child(ren) should report to the station, set up

on 10th Avenue. Please DO NOT simply take your child with you without

reporting to the teacher first. Please explain to your child that, even if they see

you, they are not to run to you—you’ll be reunited soon enough.

• Please ensure you keep your “emergency contact” information current. This

includes people who have your permission to take your child in the case of an

emergency as we cannot release children to adults for whom we do not have

prior consent. Also, please keep your eyes open for yellow reunification forms

coming home shortly.

Should there ever be a need for an off-site evacuation, we will meet at Trout

Lake.

Well, another year is here, and another grade 7 class got the opportunity to spend

a week at Evans Lake for their camp. If you have a grade 7 child, I’m sure you’ve

heard all about the fabulous things they did!

If your child is not yet in grade 7, wait for it: this is something special that the

kids talk about for weeks afterward. Thanks to all the staff and parents who

Grade 7 Camp

F

Terry Fox Run On Friday September 20th, during our Fitness Friday time, we had our annual

Terry Fox run and we had record-breaking fund raising of over $1,200!! We

did it a little different this year, each day children brought in a different coin

denomination. What a great week! The students loved it, and the Terry Fox

Foundation will too. Thanks everyone 😊

chaperoned, organized and just generally made this

whole week happen. It’s a lot of work, but you’ve

only to look at the students’ faces to see how worth

it this all is.

Thanks to you all!

Page 3 Secord News

Without a doubt students and

parents know our staff at Laura

Secord. But do you know us as

well as you think you do?

Each month we’ll tell you a new

tidbit about a staff member.

You may be surprised ☺

This month we’re profiling Mrs

Christina Tehennepe who is

currently off on maternity leave.

On June 3rd at 4:45pm Dorothy

Anne Tehennepe was born a

health 8.5 lbs! Both mom and

daughter are healthy and

happy.

Glad to hear that Mrs

Tehennepe! What a beautiful

baby

VSB/VPD Traffic & Parking Safety

Federal Election Voting at Secord, Oct 21st

As discussed in last month’s newsletter, there a many, many pedestrians, cars,

cyclists, scooters etc making their way to and from Secord. Please familiarize yourself

with the parking/traffic signs around our community and the corresponding bylaws and

rules. Let’s keep our children safe.

For more safety tips and information, please see our Safety Awareness Corner on

the next page and the city of Vancouver’s website re School Active Travel Planning.

The 2019 Canadian federal election is scheduled to take place on October 21st,

2019, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 43rd Canadian Parliament.

If you notice more foot traffic than normal around the school, voting booths will be

here in the Big Gym.

Page 4 Secord News

École Laura Secord Elementary is allergy-aware! Please note that parents are

asked to avoid sending foods containing nut or peanut products to school with

their children due to severe allergies to these particular foods. This includes all

types of nuts including pistachios, cashews, walnuts etc.

As peanut/nut butter tends to stick to surfaces, please wash your child’s hands if

you give them these foods for breakfast before school.

We are also a scent-free school as we have a number of people in the building

who are severely allergic or have respiratory illnesses. Please refrain from using

strongly scented colognes, hand creams or soaps.

If there are questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Myers for further

information. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Walking, cycling, driving….there

are a lot of people on the roads

and now that the darker weather

is coming, take note of these

safety tips.

• Leave word. Tell somebody

or leave a note at home

about where you plan to go

and how long you plan to be

out.

• Identify yourself. Walk with

proper ID.

• Use the sidewalk. If a

sidewalk is available, walk

on the sidewalk.

• Face traffic. It's easier to

see, and react to oncoming

cars. And cars will see you

more clearly too.

• Be seen. Wear high-

visibility, brightly colored

clothing. When out near or

after sunset, reflective

materials are a must.

• Watch the hills. When they

crest hills, drivers' vision can

suddenly be impaired by

factors like sun glare or

backdrops.

Allergies

Awareness without action is worthless.

Walk & Roll? Nope, Just Walk WALK, DON'T ROLL

For safety reasons, please note that no wheels are allowed on school

grounds from 8:40 am – 3:20 pm. What does that mean? Before reaching

school grounds, you must stop using your bike, scooter, skateboard, unicycle,

heelies – ANYTHING THAT HAS WHEELS, and safely walk your mode of

transportation onto school grounds. If a skateboard or scooter is your child’s

transportation to school, it must be carried to the

classroom. There it will remain, until carried off school grounds at the end of the

day.

We have lost six trees on our school

grounds recently so we need to keep our

remaining ones as healthy as possible. We

have noticed students swinging from the

lower branches and breaking off branches of

some of the healthy trees on our grounds.

Please admire our trees but don't hurt them!

We Wore Orange on October 1st

September 30th has been declared Orange Shirt Day annually, in recognition of the

harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and

wellbeing, and as an affirmation of our commitment to ensure that everyone around

us matters. The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children

were taken from their homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity

to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year.

It also gives teachers time to plan events that will include children, as we want to

ensure that we are passing the story and learning on to the next generations.

Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people,

local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of

reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.

Since September 30th was our Pro-D day, Secord acknowledged Orange Shirt Day

on October 1st, and what a beautifully orange day it was! Thank you to all staff and

students who shone in their orange shirts.

Love our Trees Please

Page 5

Secord News

Are you a Newcomer Parent?

Are you new to VSB, Vancouver, or even Canada? Vancouver School Board has a

department you may be interested in: The Newcomer Welcome Centre. You may not

be aware of how many resources are available to you. For example our SWIS team

(Settlement Workers in Schools) and Multicultural Liaison Workers are presenting free

workshops! Take a look and even wander the website. We think you’ll be pleasantly

surprised 😉

To Report Your Child’s

Absence – Please Call (604)

713-5159 ext 74 prior to 9 am

on the first day of the absence.

As you probably know, we here at Secord have House Teams and everyone has

a colour and mascot. Not only that, but we have House Events in which we can

earn points for our teams!

Stay tuned to find out which team your child is on. Everyone will know by

October 29th which is, coincidentally, our House Team Colour Day!

Secord House Teams

Did you know that in 2016 Secord

Students used over 2,400 disposable forks

from the lunchroom? That’s 2,400 pieces

of plastic in the landfill!

This is a reminder that to improve our

environmental record, extra cutlery is no

longer available at school. Please make

sure your child brings all the reusable

cutlery they need. Thank you!

No More Plastic Cutlery Reminder

Student Sign Out Policy

Once the children arrive at school, they remain under the care of the school staff until

the end of the day. Please be advised that students need to be signed out by an adult

at the office if they need to leave the school during the school day.

Secord News

Page 6

VSB Dog Code As adorable as this picture is dogs can be very intimidating to children and adults

alike, as well as triggering allergies.

Do not bring your dog onto school grounds during school hours and if you’re

walking them, ensure they are leashed at all times. Thanks for your attention.

Safety Protocol

All visitors are to report to

the school office.

We are always very

concerned about our

students' safety. You may

be approached on the

playground to identify

yourself by one of our staff

members if they do not

recognize you. This is

standard safety protocol at

all schools to ensure

unauthorized people are

not on the school grounds.

Thank you for your

understanding.

Page 7

Secord News

New Canadian Kid: Our 1st Performance

Pizza Lunch

Thursday, October 17th

Please email

secordPAC@gmail.com if

you’d like to volunteer.

AGM PAC

Meeting

Tuesday, October 16th @

6:30pm - We will be

presenting the Budget and

voting for our PAC

executive positions for the

year. Email if you are

interested in becoming an

Exec Member.

As always babysitting will

be available from 6:25-

7:45pm in the Small Gym.

BUT maybe get a sitter so

you can go to the PAC

Social Night right after!

On October 8th we will have our first performance of the year: New Canadian Kid by

the Green Thumb Theatre.

Meet Nick. Nick has just arrived in Canada from the imaginary country of Homeland.

In Canada, Nick has to learn a new language, new customs, and how to navigate

fitting in at a new school and new country, while remaining true to who he is.

This critically acclaimed, multi-award winning piece explores the challenges faced by

young people in the midst of making Canada their new home. The play employs an

innovating theatrical device to invite English speaking children into the world of

English Language Learners. Nick and his mother speak English in the play, and the

Canadian characters Mog and Mencha speak a made-up gibberish language.

As Canada sees its highest refugee claim rate in over 30 years, and global migration

continues to increase, it is more important than ever for young people to learn to

celebrate each other’s differences, and welcome students who have come to

Canada from other countries and cultures.

Curriculum Connections: multiculturalism, discrimination, bullying, friendship.

Did you know that the Vancouver Board of Education spends over $500,000 a year

repairing damage done to schools by vandalism? With your help the dollars saved go

towards providing a better educational environment for our children.

So, what can you do this Hallowe’en?

CALL 911

If you see persons acting suspiciously around your school, for example:

• on the roof of a school

• throwing objects at windows or doors

• shooting weapons of any kind

• partying

• destroying shrubbery or playground equipment

• lighting fires

• painting or marking school buildings with graffiti

• committing any other suspicious acts

When you call 911 you need not give your name. Give the name of the school,

location, and tell them what is happening. School officials will assist police in

prosecuting and seeking restitution. Help us make better use of your education

dollars.

And this is what the Vancouver Board of Education does:

• encourages residents living near schools to report to police any vandalism or

suspicious activities at schools

• provides exterior security lighting and permanent electronic devices to monitor

intrusion and fires in schools

• identifies graffiti and provides photographs and evidence to police

• provides information leading to conviction of vandals

• cooperates with the police, courts, and other agencies for security patrols and

court actions

• seeks restitution for the costs of vandalism

Hallowe’en Safety

FUEL Catering

weekly hot lunch

service

Separate from the pizza

fundraiser lunch PAC also

offers a weekly hot lunch

service which is not a

fundraiser but a convenience

for all parents.

Fuel lunches are delivered

Tuesday, Wednesday and

Thursdays.

If you have any questions

please contact Carolin at

secordweeklylunch@gmail.com

These combined efforts have

significantly reduced school

vandalism; however, more

progress may be made with

your help.

Page 8

Laura Secord Elementary 2500 Lakewood Dr Vancouver, BC V5N 4V1

Phone 604-713-4996

We’re on the Web!

http://secord.vsb.bc.ca

Editor: Susan Pazdzior

Director of

Instruction:

Julie Pearce (acting)

Liaison School

Trustee:

Fraser Ballantyne

PAC Chairs:

Jennifer Wilshire,

Jennifer Korba-Gill &

Shahira Sakiyama

Secord News

PAC is on Twitter!

@SecordPAC

PAC Social Night!

After the AGM meeting is over on the 16th, come celebrate and meet some of

your peers! Stay tuned for more info from your PAC directly.

PAC

School Calendar

Vancouver School

Board

Pumpkin Patch – Volunteers Needed

Tuesday, October 29 - All morning

Volunteers Needed

Sign up here

Come out and join in the fun on Tuesday, October 29 where we will transform our

field into a pumpkin patch. Once transformed every classroom goes out and each

child gets to pick their own pumpkin to take home for free. We also need plastic

bags for carrying the pumpkins home (some kids forget to bring their own) - if

you are looking to get rid of any, now is your chance!

And Stay Tuned….

For those of you who have been around a while, you will know these popular PAC

events all scheduled for November. So stay tuned for more information!

• Scholastic English Book Fair

• Secord Spirit Wear Clothing Sales

• Purdy’s Chocolate Fundraiser

• The “Winter Warmer”