February School and PAC activities

Kindergarten Dental Screening with Vancouver Coastal Health

Ronda Gould, Certified Dental Assistant with the Vancouver Public Health Dental Program came into the A.R. Lord Kindergarten classrooms on Jan 25th to perform public health dental screening.   Vancouver Coastal Health dental staff provide this screening as part of a province-wide survey that takes place every 3 years.  

The screening is done to compare trends and evaluate programs. Tongue depressors and flashlights are used to look for obvious dental problems which can interfere with health and learning.  They are interested in seeing all children whether they have or have not seen a dentist recently.  This check does not replace an examination by a dentist. All children received a fun sticker after their exam.
Contact info:  Vancouver Public Health Dental Program

Robert and Lily Lee Family Community Health Centre 1669 E. Broadway, 2nd floor Vancouver, BC  V5N 1V9

For more information: http://www.vch.ca/dental-health---children-and-youth/

The Salmon Eggs Have Arrived!

It is the time of year when tiny coho salmon eggs arrive at Ms. Young's K-1 Classroom at Dr. A.R. Lord Elementary.   This is part of an educational program that is managed with support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and from a grant for specialized aquarium equipment donated by the Environmental Manager's Association of BC in 2014.  It is an opportunity to teach understanding, respect and protection of freshwater,  estuarine and marine ecosystems.  Children will study the incubation and hatching of the eggs and then release of the fry.  For more information:  www.salmonidsintheclassroom.ca

Vancouver School Board’s New Strategic Plan Process Underway

From: Paul Godfrey
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2016 8:23 AM
Subject: Vancouver School Board’s New Strategic Plan Process Underway

The Vancouver School Board is pleased to announce VSB2021, a highly collaborative process to develop a new Strategic Plan for the school district. The updated plan will provide a clear framework for action over the next 5 years, and we need your input to get it right!

 

The VSB2021 project focuses on the District’s core goals of teaching and learning to support student achievement and well-being. It differs from the Long-Range Facilities Plan, which will be a framework for district facilities over the next 15 years.

 

School district staff will lead the VSB2021 project with support from Modus Planning, Design & Engagement Inc., a local firm specializing in engagement-rich planning.  The project team will work closely with teachers, support staff, administrators, students, parents and community members to create a bold new vision and action-oriented plan. A Stakeholder Advisory Group with representatives from a broad range of stakeholders including all employee groups, parents and students has also been formed to guide the process and ensure broad participation.

 

Over the next six months, the VSB2021 process will offer many opportunities for people to learn more, attend events, and provide meaningful input. Diverse voices and perspectives will be gathered to ensure the plan represents a wide range of interests.

Initial activities to ensure broad participation include:

·         A high-profile webpage with project information and newsletter sign-up - www.vsb.bc.ca/VSB2021

·         A 2 minute animated video to explain the project and some of the questions to be addressed

·         A fun and interactive Ideas Fair, taking place at Prince of Wales Secondary School on February 18^th from 4 – 7pm (Please note: drop-in format).

·         An online questionnaire available on the project webpage until February 21^st - fluidsurveys.com/s/VSB2021/

Remember, the best way to get involved is to sign up to the VSB2021 project mailing list at www.vsb.bc.ca/VSB2021.  You can always visit this website to learn more about the project, find out about upcoming engagement activities, and review input summaries.

 

For more information, please contact:

Paul Godfrey, Project Manager

(604) 713-5097

Paul Godfrey
Education Coordinator, Office of the Superintendent
Vancouver School Board
1580 West Broadwaye: pgodfrey@vsb.bc.ca | p: 604-713-5097 | f: 604-713-5412

Fire Safety for Kids

A.R. Lord recently visited by Vancouver City Fire Fighters.  They brought the mobile Fire and Life Safety House on site and taught students about how to be safe around fire. This portable classroom gives them the opportunity to develop safety plans, identify hazards,  and evacuate in the case of an emergency.  The Fire and Life Safety House educates more than 5000 children in Vancouver each year.    http://vancouver.ca/fire-safety.aspx

Library Makeover

New cozy inviting reading areas have been setup and books and shelves have recently been reorganized. Thank you to all the helpers who are helping with this refreshing library makeover!

A.R. Lord Students You Tube Video

https://youtu.be/opMiBRGffVM

Check out this great Youtube Video of A.R. Lord Students in the multi school "Everybody Wants to be Free"

Movie Night

We are also still seeking volunteers to assist:  Bakers (for bakesale) and Concession:  email arlordpac@gmail.com or sign up at: http://vols.pt/2SJ4Fr

Lantern Making and Light, Water, Drums Festival

Primary students at A.R. Lord have been busy making decorated lanterns out of recycled materials such as jars and bottles. 

The Hastings North Community Partners Group, Hastings Community Centre/Templeton Pool and Hastings Community Association will be hosting the Light, Water, Drums Festival on Saturday January 23rd. It is a celebration of the dark, wet Vancouver winter in the beautiful natural setting at Hastings Park.  Join in on this free family fun activity and the light procession starting at 5:30pm at the NE Corner of Hastings and Renfrew. For more information: http://www.lightwaterdrums.ca

Division 4 Field Trip: HR McMillan Space Centre

 A.R. Lord Grade 3 & 4 students made a recent trip to the HR McMillan Space Centre.  The morning started off with a bus ride from the school over to the museum located in Kitsilano. They had a chance to walk through the exhibits and try on the space suit as well as watch the Star Theatre show on the solar system.  They learned about the Milky Way, the stars, the plants and the moon. 




They participated in the interactive "A Day in Space" presentation where they demonstrated how astronauts eat and have meals in a zero gravity environment.  

Funding for this field trip was paid in part by monies donated by the Parent Advisory Council through fundraising activities.  Additional classroom funds have been provided to each division to offset costs for extra educational materials, field trips and activities. 

Calling all Volunteers for Upcoming Family Movie Night

We need a few volunteers: for Jan 29th Movie Night:  bakers for a bake sale, and some crew to help set up and sell food/run cash for the upcoming movie night. If you can help out, please signup on our online volunteer form:  Here's how it works in 3 easy steps: 

1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/2SJ4Fr
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!
(f you prefer not to use your email address, please email the PAC and we can sign you up manually - arlordpac@gmail.com

Talent Show - Feburary 12th - Save the Date!

Can you sing? Dance? Play an instrument? Do magic? The 2016 Student Talent Show is coming up on Friday the 12th of February. Sign up is now complete and Mrs Burke and Mrs O'Neill have started having meetings with students at lunch to approve and monitor the acts.
There will be a full dress rehearsal on Wednesday Feb 10^th, between 10-12 in the gym.
Please make sure that your child has all their props/costumes/music etc with them that day. This is the first day back at school after Family Day and Pro D Day on the 8^th and 9^th.
The talent show will be on Friday the 12^th (time to be announced). It will be before and after recess to give the audience an intermission break.
In the spirit of Valentine's Day the student council is asking everyone to bring a donation of food or cash for the Food Bank if they can.
If you have any questions you can call us at  school 713-4620 or reach us by email
poneill@vsb.bc.ca  or  aburke@vsb.bc.ca
Thank you  Mrs O”Neill and Mrs Burke

Spartans and Kiwis!

The BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutrition Program is starting up again now that school is back in session.  A.R. Lord participates in this food nutrition program that brings fresh fruit and vegetables right to the school. Upcoming foods to be featured include Spartan Apples and BC Kiwi Fruit.  These will be offered to students during lunch hour over the next few weeks along with cow's milk or a fortified soy beverage as part of the +Milk program.

See link for details on the program:  http://www.sfvnp.ca/bc-sfvnp.html

Red Cross Babysitting Course Registration

A babysitting course offered by the Red Cross will be held at A.R. Lord on Tuesday February 9th (school is not in session).  This excellent course provides training geared to grade 6 and 7 students to build skills in not only caring for themselves when home alone, but also to care for siblings, babies, toddlers, and other school age children.  It also covers first aid, creating a safe environment, and handling emergencies. This training is provided by excellent instructors such as paramedics, police officers, lifeguards and other qualified professionals.  It also includes the topic of building and offering services as a babysitter as a business to earn money.

Information forms were sent home last week. Register early as priority has been given to A.R. Lord students and an additional discount of $5 is available by registering online under Dr.  A.R. Lord:  http://firstaidhero.com/babysitting.html

Location:  A.R. Lord Elementary

Date: Tuesday, February 9th     Time:  8:30-3:30

For more info contact Maria at 778-322-7442

Library Makeover - Message from Librarian

"Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a restful break, and received many books as presents ;)

As you likely already know, our library is undergoing a makeover. Please stop in as often as you'd like to view the latest updates (currently some great new furniture, as well as spiffy new books)! 

Part of this makeover is making the library run more efficiently. One of the issues with our current book storage is the variety of spine labels, particularly in our "Easy/Everyone" fiction section. Re-labeling this is not difficult, but it definitely is time-consuming. I am very hopeful that I can have a little bit of parent volunteer time. Ideally, I'd love to have someone in for 30min+ stretches of time, and more than once. I am not picky about when, or how many, or how long you come for, or even if you cancel! This does need to get done over the next few months, however. I would love to "train" a few 'regulars' on how to use the labelmaker, and then let them go independently from there.  If you've got some extra time and would like to be involved in a peaceful, easy way to help out at our lovely school, please contact me at kmaccandless@vsb.bc.ca or pop in and see me!

Many thanks!"

Kasey McCandless (Teacher-Librarian)

Inspection of Schools after Recent Earthquake

Students Practice Emergency Drills

After the recent 4.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred on Dec 29th, 2015 - the Vancouver School District conducted visual inspections of the interior and exterior of school buildings and structures. For more information, see their recent announcement:  http://www.vsb.bc.ca/earthquake
Seismic stability of many of the aging schools continues to be a concern for parents. A comprehensive assessment was carried out in 2012.  Details of the assessment and status of project can be found at: http://www.vsb.bc.ca/seismic-information

Reminder Report Cards

Report Cards were sent home during the last week before winter break. Did you know that Report Cards are considered legal documents written by your child's teacher? They provide parents with information about the academic progress of the child and a statement about the child's behaviour, work habits and effort.

Link to VSB Report Cards Information

Please remember to sign and return report card envelope to your child's teacher this week.  Return the envelope only - you keep the report card.