Arts Umbrella

Arts Umbrella, a not-for-profit arts education centre for children and youth, will be at Lord again this week working with most classes on a fantastic program. This is a wonderful experience for students to learn and have fun with an expert!

Numerous studies indicate that people who receive arts education early in life reap many tangible, long-term, life-changing benefits. From enhanced critical thinking, improved self-esteem and ability to collaborate, to improved scores in math and science, children gain skills that can help them well into adulthood.

We are very fortunate to have this opportunity for students within the regular classroom schedule. For more information about this program at Lord, please contact the school at 604-713-6420.

Email List

To help reduce our school's use of paper, we are starting an Email List for school notices. If you would like to receive your school notices via email, please return the following details to the School office:

Student’s Name
Division
Grade
Parent/Guardian Name
Email Address

The school will not share your contact information, and you can be removed from this Email List at any time. For more information please contact the school at 604-713-4620.

Alumni Association

Dr. A. R. Lord Alumni Association (DARLAA) is mainly comprised of students from Dr. A. R. Lord that have graduated in past years. They hope to enhance the learning environment for current students, support fellow alumni, and gain support from local communities.

DARLAA will hold many fun and exciting events in the near future for everyone to enjoy! Join them and strike a win at DARLAA's 1st fundraising event SUPER BOWL on March 12th, 4-6pm. Contact lordalumni@gmail.com for more information and tickets!

Senior Badminton

Over the next few months, students in grade 7 will be invited to join the school badminton team. Mrs. Wong has volunteered to coach both the boys and girls and take them to tournaments at other schools. The philosophy is to give any interested students a chance to participate and learn the game of badminton and to have an opportunity to play against students at other schools. Good luck and have fun!

TENNIS

All classes are learning the basic skills for tennis in the gym every day last week! Expert instructors from Tennis XL are at Lord working with all of the classes. Your support with this program is appreciated. Not only are students learning how to play tennis, they are also learning about good sportsmanship as that is embedded in the Tennis XL teachings and philosophy.

Student Council

Our group of student leaders has been very busy this month! First, they planned, organized and hosted a bake sale that coincided with celebrating Valentine’s Day. The bake sale earned $154!! All of the profits are going to support the school’s World Vision Sponsor Child, Aruintuya and his family so that they have access to clean water, food, shelter, health care and education. Way to go everyone!!

Student Council has also taken the lead to coordinate the Pink T-shirt day, Wednesday, February 23. This is a designated day to stand up to bullying and stand up for what is right – treating others with kindness and respect at all times. Wear your pink clothes to show your support!

Vice Principal's Letter

Dear Families,

The month of February has been filled with exciting classroom and school activities. On February 16, all of the classes got together for a whole school assembly during which some of the divisions shared a bit about what they are learning in the classroom. One class, division 2, performed a dance piece they choreographed during music/dance with Ms Young-Eng. We also had some student leaders get the whole group moving for an activity break in the middle of the assembly! This assembly was was a great way to promote student leadership and it was just one of the high lights of the month. There will be more of these community building school assemblies over the months ahead and parents/guardians are always welcome to join us.

Lord school also had another couple of very successful hot lunches - Chinese New Year lunch on Feb. 4 and hot dog day on Feb. 16. A huge thank you is extended to all of the many volunteers who made the extra special Lunar New Year lunch so delicious. Also to celebrate the start of the year of the rabbit, we were fortunate enough to have activities in the library hosted by the REAL parents & grandparents. Gung Hai Fat Choy to all and thank you to our REAL group for all that you do to contribute to our school community!

Many students came in on the evening of Friday, February 18 to watch Toy Story 3, for another well attended Family Movie Night. Many thanks to the PAC parents who hosted this event.

Our school community has been informed by district staff that the out building at Lord may become the new site for 2 alternate education programs, Sunrise East and East Side. While the initial reaction amongst the school community is mixed at this point, I encourage you to ask any and all questions so that you have the information you are wondering about. Questions, feedback and comments are welcome in writing - they can be handed in at the office by Feb. 25 or sent via email to the Board at mcaparas@vsb.bc.ca Also, you are welcome to talk to Sarah Gray in the office. While this conversation is going on let’s remember to stay positive about what is happening right now in our lovely, thriving school. Our students continue to have wonderful learning opportunities each and every day here at Lord.

Sincerely,
Sarah Gray
Vice Principal

PAC Ideas Session

Date: Tuesday, March 1st
Time: 2:45-3:15pm
Location: School Library

Everyone is welcome to attend this informal session.
Child minding will NOT be available.

We encourage all parents/guardians to participate in creating a thriving school community by volunteering in any capacity for school programs, events and fundraisers. This afternoon session is a great opportunity for parents or guardians who are unable to attend next week's PAC meeting. Bring your ideas, thoughts or concerns to the PAC representatives present in the library. The PAC reps will do their best to answer all questions, and/or add items to the agenda for discussion at the subsequent PAC meeting.

For further information please contact the PAC Executive or send a letter through the school's Main Office.

Fresh, New Web Site

The PAC is pleased to announce that Dr. A. R. Lord Elementary School has launched its brand new web site!

http://lord.vsb.bc.ca/

All the information has been updated, refreshed and looks fantastic. Please check out this great site and see all that it has to offer.

Wear Pink!

A reminder that Wednesday, February 23rd is Anti-Bullying Day. Please wear PINK to show your support!

UPDATE
For photos, please view our Photo Gallery.

Spring Break Camp

It’s going to be TWO WEEKS of Spring Break this year! Have you thought about plans to keep your child busy? Why not register them for SPRING BREAK CAMP!

Held at Hastings Elementary School, the camp is open to ALL CHILDREN from all schools! Every day is a new adventure with lots of in-house activities and cool out-trips. Getting to meet new friends from other schools is the biggest bonus!

The program guides will be available on February 23rd at A. R. Lord by the main office. For more information please contact Melissa Tang at 604-713-5898.

Bought to you by the Templeton Community Schools Team.

ICE Cards

In September 2010 the Vancouver Policing Centres presented the ICE (In Case of Emergency) program to the VSB. ICE cards are being distributed to all students through the school.

ICE is an internationally recognized acronym used as a name in a cell phone contact list or on a card carried by a person that Vancouver police, Vancouver fire, and BC Ambulance Service responders have agreed to look for as the contact number for whomever is appropriate to speak to or to reach on the person’s behalf, in the event of an emergency.

For the cards to be effective, parents/guardians should enter the student’s name and one or more phone numbers of people they would want emergency responders to contact in case of an emergency. These can include phone numbers of parents, grandparents, guardians, care givers or family friends.

For more information please download the PDF (includes translation), or look on the bulletin board in the School's main hall, near the office.

Fin's Friends Program

This year Ms. Watson's Division 5 class participated in FIN'S FRIENDS, a terrific program funded by Canucks For Kids.

The Fin's Friends program is designed to teach the basic elements of character education and social responsibility to primary students throughout British Columbia.

Students are taught to respect themselves and others by emphasizing the virtues of strong character, such as compassion, kindness, and perseverance. Specific children's literature is used as a basis to stress these positive character virtues.

Ms. Watson's students had a fantastic experience with the program!

MOVIE NIGHT REMINDER

Tonight the PAC is hosting a fun movie night for families, students, teachers and friends!

"Toy Story 3"

Doors open at 6:15pm. Admission is FREE.

Any questions, please email the PAC Executive.