Important Dates

January 20              Maker Faire Intermediate (making day)
January 21              Maker Faire viewing for parents 1:30-2:27
January 22                PAC meeting at 6 pm
January 23                Crazy Hat & Sock Day
January 27                Maker Faire Primary (making day)
January 28                Maker Faire Primary (viewing day)
February 3-7               Canadathon Testing Week
February 17                Family Day Holiday
February 19                Canadathon Game Show
February 20                Theme Day
February 21                Pro D
February 26                Pink Shirt Day

Warm Socks and Happy Hearts

Our Grade 7 Leadership Team has decided to do a sock drive for the homeless in Surrey. You might be wondering, why socks?  Well people in a homeless shelter don’t usually have enough warm socks.  In these cold winter months, a person who does not have a warm shelter will very quickly have very cold feet.

Homelessness is a very large problem in Surrey.  In 2017 the Metro Vancouver homeless count identified 602 homeless individual in Surrey.  Of these, 399 were sheltered.  The percentage of homeless people in Surrey rises every year.  Why or how does homelessness happen – for a variety of reasons:

• A single mom who loses a job
• Facing the loss of a rental home to development pressures
• A senior living on a limited pension after the loss of a spouce
• A citizen who suffers a work accident and can no longer work
• Chronic medical issues and disabilities limiting the work an individual can do
• Brain injuries
• Refugees fleeing violence
• Addiction

Click here for more facts.

We will accept only new socks that are adult size.  Grey and white crew socks would be the best type and colour.  Our school goal is to collect 250 pairs of warm socks for the homeless shelter. Let’s pay it forward as we start 2020 – please donate.

Written by Kaelyn Bassi and Ms. Chohan

Maker Faire

One of the most fun and exciting events is our Maker Faire.  Maker Faire features innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft.  All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and share what they have learned. It’s a chance for students to show others an area they are really interested in. It can be anything from making robots, exploding volcanoes to doll dresses. If you can make it with your hands and it’s something original, then it fits in Maker Faire.

Intermediate Maker Faire – TOMORROW JANUARY 20
Monday, January 20:  students will be given the opportunity to create their project. Please ensure your child has the supplies he/she needs to build his/her project.
Tuesday, January 21: students will be displaying their work in the gym. Parent viewing will be from 1:30 – 2:27 pm.  Students will start cleaning up at 2:15 pm.

Primary Maker Faire
Monday, January 27: Students will be creating their projects. Please ensure your child has the supplies he/she needs to build his/her project.
Tuesday, January 28: Parent viewing from 1:30 – 2:27 pm. Please pick up your child from his/her classroom between 1:30 – 2:27 pm (use the outside door) to take him/her to the gym to view projects.

Canadathon:

Every year we have our Canadathon fundraiser in the month of January.  Money raised goes towards classroom supplies such as books and field studies.  Students are given a study sheet that outlines the questions they are to “study” according to the grade the student is in.  Students collect pledges from parents and family members.  Once the Canadathon test is marked, the students collect the pledge money they are owed.  The intermediate students have more pop culture type of questions compared to the primary students.

Our Canadathon game show was a big success last year so we will be doing it again. A very fun addition has been added to the Canadathon – we will be having a game show with top scorers from the intermediate classes.

How do you become a contestant?
The top scorers from each intermediate class will be writing a final quiz (10-15 questions) in the week of February 10th.  There will be 6-8 teams with 4 players on each team – a student from each grade level from grades 4-7 will be on each team.  The game show format used will be Kahoot.  Ms. Chohan and Ms. Barker will work with the teams on how to study for the Canadathon test.

Who is in the audience?
Only intermediate students will be allowed to the watch game show as primary students will quickly become bored with the questions and they will not be able to read the questions on the screen.  The tickets to watch the game show are $2 each.  Students will purchase tickets from their classroom teacher in the week of February 10th.

The plan is that in each grade group one teacher will go to the Canadathon with the students who paid and the other teacher will stay in the classroom with the students who did not pay.

Due to snowfall, all sites in Surrey School District will closed today.  Stay warm and enjoy the snow from the comfort and safety of your home!

Sincerely,

Ms. Chohan
Principal

January 14, 2020

Due to the unpredictable weather conditions and the potential for snow both this evening and tomorrow evening, our Family Math Night that was schedule to be tomorrow evening (January 15th) is being postponed.  We will be rescheduling to a later date and will notify you of the new date early next week.

Sincerely,

Ms. Chohan
Principal

Upcoming Events

January 13                  Kindergarten Registration for 2020/21 School year opens
January 15                  Family Math Night 6 – 7 pm
January 20                  Maker Faire Intermediate (making day)
January 21                  Maker Faire Intermediate (viewing day)
January 22                  PAC meeting at 6 pm
January 23                  Theme Day: Crazy Hat & Sock Day
January 27                  Maker Faire Primary (making day)
January 28                  Maker Faire Primary (viewing day)
February 3-7               Canadathon Testing Week
February 17                  Family Day Holiday
February 20                  Theme Day
February 21                  Pro D
February 26                  Pink Shirt Day

Learning Spotlight

This Learning Spotlight focuses on Ms.Song’s Grade 7 Social Studies. The class is constructing landscapes of Ancient Civilizations, each with unique terrain and dynamic biomes. Students are also required to write about the tools used for survival and to dig deeper to how their civilization succeeded. In this video, Damian and Theo will be interviewed about their project.

Pictured below is Gabe Margallo, Dante Ryan and Nishan Dhaliwal. They have made a landscape of Ancient Persia.

 

Math Night

It is with excitement that we share news about an upcoming MATH NIGHT that will be happening on January 15th from 6-7 pm

All families are invited to participate in an evening engaging in Math games together with your child.  We hope this night will provide you with knowledge about foundational mathematical concepts taught at your child’s grade level, as well as practical ways you can support your child’s math development at home.  Literacy and numeracy are the pillars of our revised curriculum.  Similar to nightly reading at home, there are many interactive ways you can work with your children to help develop mathematical understanding as well as a positive disposition toward the subject.

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten registration opens January 13, 2020.  Children who turn five before January 1st, 2021 are eligible to begin school in September 2020.

PLEASE BRING THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS UPON REGISTRATION AT THE SCHOOL:
In-person registration is required. The following documents are required at the school when registering:

Upcoming Events

December 13             Winter Breakfast  and Pajama Day
December 17              Early Dismissal 1:27 pm
December 18              Winter Concert 12:45 pm (parent audience – even divisions)
December 19              Winter Concert 12:45 pm (parent audience – odd divisions)
December 18              Theme Day: TBA
December 20              Last day of classes before Winter Break
January 6                    First day back after Winter Break
January 15                  Family Math Night 6 – 7 pm
January 20                  Maker Faire Intermediate (making day)
January 21                  Maker Faire Intermediate (viewing day)
January 27                  Maker Faire Primary (making day)
January 28                  Maker Faire Primary (viewing day)

Winter Pancake Breakfast

Our Winter Breakfast is a fun tradition.  Our breakfast is happening this week on Friday, December 13th. We love seeing students attend the breakfast with their families (parents, siblings, grandparents).  We encourage the whole family to wear their pajama’s.  Tomorrow is the final day to purchase tickets in advance for our Winter Pancake Breakfast. Due to fire safety regulations we need to follow, we are selling tickets to the breakfast.  If you do not purchase a ticket than you will not be able to attend the breakfast.

Please remember to purchase your tickets in the hot lunch section of the PAC website by tomorrow. We also have Santa in the building – he is more than happy to take a selfie with you and your family!

Remember that this day is also a theme day.  Students (and staff) are asked to dress comfortably in their cozy winter pajama’s on this day.

Volleyball Season

This year, Pacific Heights has 11 boys who came out to represent their school on the volleyball team. The boys showed dedication and cooperation throughout the season, improving their skills as they progressed with early morning and lunchtime practices. The team showed a competitive edge and strong sense of sportsmanship while playing against other schools in the area, losing only 5 sets the entire season. At the Play Day final tournament, the boys battled brilliantly, finishing near the top of their groups. Our season wrapped up with the two Pacific Heights teams battling each other for a third place finish. Congratulations on a great season boys! It was a pleasure to work with you this season.

Written by Mr. Litt & Ms. Polok

This year, we had 26 dedicated players on the Girls’ Volleyball team. Our girls demonstrated a positive attitude from the very beginning. Whether it was showing up to early morning practices, to leading our warm ups, to setting up and taking down the nets, they did it with a smile on their faces. We are so proud of the many skills they developed throughout the season. They played aggressively against the other schools while maintaining sportsmanship. Our girls were vocal in encouraging one another, often acknowledging each other during practices and games when good plays were made. 8 girls will represent Pacific Heights at their Celebration Play Day on Tuesday, December 10th. No matter what place they come in, we are extremely proud to have coached such an amazing group of girls this year!
Written by: Ms. Song & Ms. Champion

Social Media

It is school policy that students are not allowed to have devices out during non instructional time (recess and lunch). Students have been told they are not to film or take pictures unless it is for a classroom activity, FreshGrade, or a Student Leadership task. Recently we have had to deal with many social media issues at school.  In particular, students being unkind to one another on line.  We are doing our best to have our students understand that their digital footprint follows them.  For example, what you say on a group chat, personal chat, and live conversations can be photographed/screenshot and shared.

We recognize the challenges of parenting when it comes to supporting your child in staying safe on line.  Here is a great resources that details some of the most used social media apps and websites.

Math Night

It is with excitement that we share news about an upcoming MATH NIGHT that will be happening on January 15th from 6-7 pm

All families are invited to participate in an evening engaging in Math games together with your child.  We hope this night will provide you with knowledge about foundational mathematical concepts taught at your child’s grade level, as well as practical ways you can support your child’s math development at home.  Literacy and numeracy are the pillars of our revised curriculum.  Similar to nightly reading at home, there are many interactive ways you can work with your children to help develop mathematical understanding as well as a positive disposition toward the subject.

Keep an eye out for a notice that will be coming home. We would greatly appreciate it, if you could complete the form letting us know if you plan to attend and sending it back to us by Monday, December 16th.

Child Care in B.C. Survey

Child Care in B.C. Survey: Childcare BC invites parents to complete an anonymous survey about child care programs and services offered throughout the province. Please share the survey with the parent community in your schools before January 17.

 

Important Dates

November 21             Crazy Hair and Moustache Day
November 27             Deadline for Christmas Hamper Donations
December 13             Winter Breakfast and Pajama Day
December 17              Early Dismissal 1:27 pm
December 18              Winter Concert 12:45 pm (parent audience – even divisions)
December 19              Winter Concert 12:45 pm (parent audience – odd divisions)
December 18              Theme Day: TBA
December 20              Last day of classes before Winter Break

Learning Spotlight

The students in Ms. Chamberlayne’s class have been busy making games out of cardboard. This activity was inspired by Caine’s Arcade.  There is much learning as students have been busy working – students are required to plan, design, and problem solve as they build. In building their games, the students put many math concepts (measurement, geometry, fractions, etc.) into use.  Please watch the video that Charlie Zhang made of Marilyn and Jacob, from division 9,  describing their project.

Student Leadership

We Scare Hunger

In the month of October our student leaders were busy counting canned goods our community donated to the Surrey Food Bank.  We collected 1200 food items!  Thank you to all the families who dropped off canned goods – what a great way to pay it forward.

Paying it Forward

As we head into the months of November and December we will continue to focus on paying it forward with more Kindness Counts initiatives. One initiative that we have participated in for years is supporting 2-3 families in the Newton area during Christmas.  Every year we have had parents donate money so our leadership students are able to go out and shop for gifts for the families we are supporting.  Once we know how much money has been donated we can determine how many families we can help.  We spend approximately $100 on each child in the family.  We ask the children we are shopping for to provide us with a list of wants (interests, likes, etc.) and needs (shoes, pajamas, socks, etc.).  From these lists our leadership students determine what they will buy.  The leadership students wrap the gifts themselves and we then have a staff member deliver the gifts to the school.  We are asking for parents in our community to donate money so we can continue to pay it forward this holiday season. Deadline for donations is Wednesday, November 27th.  If you would like to donate, please see Ms. Chohan at the school office. 

Book Fair Breaks Records – Student Leaders Step Up!

Scholastic tells us that our Fall Book Fair was the highest grossing Fair in the history of Pacific Heights Elementary!  Library Book circulation continued as usual.  Our Student Leaders stepped up to the challenge.  They attended meetings, returned permission slips, learned about displays, customer service, so much monetary math and working as a team. We had two contests: Guess the Number of Pages and a draw for the Grand Prize.  Cash profits will be used to purchase new books for our collection.  Several piles of current Scholastic bonus titles will also be added.  Great work everyone.

To learn more about the learning happening in our Learning Commons please click here.

Lost And Found

Our lost and found team have collected many items such as jackets, hats, lunch boxes, water bottles, clothing, etc.  As our Lost and Found grows, we encourage students to have their items of clothing tagged with their name for easy returns. Our Lost and Found is cleaned out at the end of every month and anything that is not claimed and will be donated. Please check it for your child’s lost items on a regular basis.

Communicating Student Learning

In the week of December 9th, 2019 students will bring home their CSL “reports”.  Some teachers in our school use FreshGrade, if your child’s teacher is using FreshGrade then you have already been invited into your child’s portfolio and have been able to see the progress.

We have early dismissal on December 17th at 1:27 pm for Parent Teacher Conferences.  Please call the office to set up an appointment with your child’s teacher to discuss your child’s progress.

Winter Concert

Our Winter Concert  this year will be held two days so all parents are able to attend and so we are able to accommodate seating. On Wednesday, December 18th we will have parents of students in even numbered divisions to watch the concert.  On Thursday, December 19th, we will have parents of students in odd numbered divisions to watch the concert.  The concert time will be 12:45 pm start on both days.  It is the same concert on both days.  

If you have children in both odd or even numbered divisions – choose one day to attend. Remember, the reason we are doing this is so we can accommodate parent seating.

The Winter concert will have all of our music classes performing.  Please talk to your child about the performance his/her class is practising for the concert.

Upcoming Events

October 21            Interims go home this week
October 25            Pro D (classes not in session)
October 28            Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.)
October 31            Halloween Parade and Dance
November 1         Photo Re-takes
November 4-7      Scholastic Book Fair
November 7          Remembrance Day Assembly 10:30 am
November 8          Pro D (classes not in session)
November 11        Remembrance Day Holiday
November 13        PAC meeting 6 pm

Learning Spotlight: Student Vote Canada 2019

Young Canadians, including the students in Division 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 at Pacific Heights have spend the past several weeks learning about tomorrow’s national election. They were highly engaged in discussions about the future of our country, researching the party platforms, consuming news, evaluating the leaders, and posing questions to their local candidates.  Even though they are under the voting age, more than one million elementary and secondary students participated in Student Vote Canada 2019. Our Pacific Heights student vote occurred on Friday, October 18th. Each student was given the opportunity to vote for one of the official candidates running in the 2019 federal election in their particular area. Student Vote Canada 2019 is the largest student parallel election held in Canada, and as far as we know, it will be the biggest in the world. More than 9,500 schools registered to participate, representing all 338 ridings. The results of the student vote will be shared with the students on Tuesday. It will be very exciting to see the results of our future voters!

 

Parking Lot Safety

Parking Lot SafetyWith more students attending our school this year – we have noticed an increase in parking lot safety along with safety issues on 26th Avenue as parents are parking to drop of students.

If you are parking on 26th Avenue please be sure to follow bylaws as you find parking.  We have placed cones on the street to indicate the area you cannot park as it obstructs the crosswalk where students cross.  Student safety is our primary concern.  Please do not drop your children off in the street!  Park your car in a legitimate parking spot and then let your child out of the vehicle.

Our  roundabout is very congested during drop off and pick up times –  we all need to work together so students are SAFE.  Here are some simple guidelines to follow:

• the roundabout is for single lane traffic only (there is no parking or idling in the roundabout)
• Please stop and drop off your child on the outside of the roundabout, so your child gets out of the car safely onto the sidewalk (not onto the roundabout road where car
• Pedestrians have the right of way
• If you find the roundabout area stressful, please park your car down the street and walk your child to the school
• drive slowly
• PLEASE DEMONSTRATE KINDNESS

Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.)

“Drop Everything and Read,” a national celebration of reading designed to remind families to make reading a priority activity in their lives.  On Monday, October 28th all the students and staff at Pacific Heights will D.E.A.R. at a designated time.

Your child has been assigned to come home and read for homework since he/she has been in preschool. As a parent you want to do all you can to help your child learn and love to read.  Reading aloud to kids has clear cognitive benefits. For example, brain scans show that hearing stories strengthens the part of the brain associated with visual imagery, story comprehension, and word meaning. One study found that kindergarten children who were read to at least three times a week had a “significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often.”

Click here for an EXCELLENT blog post on some tips to help parents understand how best to use the nightly reading time at home.  Here is a great youtube video explaining how to read with your child.

We Scare Hunger

Hunger + Food Drive = Impact

The Student Leadership Team is collecting non-perishable food items for our local food bank.  Our last day for collection will be Monday, November 4th. Our goal is to collect at least 1500 food items do donate. Our leadership students have been exploring the issue about hunger.  Below is information we learned from the ME to WE website. “Thirteen percent of Canadians are in a state of food insecurity, which means they are unable to access a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Without enough food, many people feel the effects of short-term hunger, like headaches, nausea and the inability to concentrate.

Each month, over 850,000 Canadians require help from food banks—more than one third of these individuals are children and youth. People seeking food assistance come from all walks of life. Employment is no guarantee that someone will never struggle to provide enough food for their family. In fact, nearly one in six households that accessed a food bank in 2016 included someone who was employed.

People who access food banks come from all walks of life. Some people need support over longer periods, but most require help only occasionally or for a short period of time. Hunger leads to long-term health conditions, especially in young children, and is a barrier to academic success.

A food package may make the difference for a family trying to get back on their feet after a crisis. It can mean that a child doesn’t go to bed hungry, or doesn’t get sick and miss school due to an immune system compromised by lack of adequate nutrition.”

 

 

Important Events

October 7-11        Walk & Roll to School Week
October 11           Harvest Day
October 14           Thanksgiving Holiday
October 16           PAC meeting at 6 pm
October 21            Interims go home this week
October 25            Pro D (classes not in session)
October 31            Halloween Parade and Dance
November 1         Photo Re-takes
November 4-7      Scholastic Book Fair
November 7          Remembrance Day Assembly 10:30 am
November 8          Pro D (classes not in session)
November 11        Remembrance Day Holiday

Harvest Day – October 11th

Harvest Day is a school tradition that is unique to our school.  On Harvest Day the students come to school dressed in “Harvest Wear” – plaid shirts, jeans, cowboy hats, boots, etc.  The students are encouraged to bring in their Veggie Creations (vegetables that come from the harvest).  All Veggie Creations are created at home with the help of family members.  On the morning of our Harvest Day celebration (Friday, October 11th) students are asked to bring in their Veggie Creations and place them on the tables in the common area in front of the gym.  Please take a look at the pictures below for inspiration.

Upcoming Events

September 27          Terry Fox Run (afternoon)
September 30           Pro D (classes not in session)
October 1                   Orange Shirt Day
October 2                   Early Dismissal at 1:27 pm
October 11                 Harvest Day
October 11                 Spirit Wear Orders are due
October 14                 Thanksgiving Holiday
October 23                 Interim Reports go home this week
October 25                 Pro D (classes not in session)
October 31                Halloween Parade 9:15 am
October 31                Halloween Dance for primary students 10:45 – 11:30 am

Learning Spotlight

Today the students of Division Five took time to explore the route that Terry Fox Ran. As a class, we examined the map, and asked questions, as well as made inferences about where Terry went. Some students’ comments, included:

• I wonder why he didn’t start in the West since he was from BC.
• I bet he started in St. John’s because it was the farthest east place he could start.
• How did he get across bodies of water?
• Approximately how much distance did he cover in a day?

One student noticed that there were larger round dots on some cities. Using our knowledge from the story we had read yesterday, students determined that these dots marked important parts on Terry’s journey, such as where he started, where he ended, and when he realized his cancer had returned.

Working collaboratively with a partner, each pair of students mapped out Terry’s route on paper and applied coding skills to program small robotic Ozobot’s to replicate Terry’s route.

Since Ozobot’s can be “finicky” at times, students had to demonstrate a great deal of perseverance, collaboration and ability to communicate well. Our success criteria for this project included these important skills.

It was impressive to see the class collaboration that occurred. Many student groups shared with others what they discovered worked and what didn’t. We reflected on how everyone benefits when we learn together.

Terry Fox Run

Our Terry Fox Run is this Friday afternoon.  We will have our Terry Fox assembly at 12:45 pm.  We show students a video and do a quick warm up in the gym, teachers then take their classes outside for the run.

If parents would like join their child(ren) on the run, please check in at the office and meet your child on the field.  Due to the amount of space required with 520 students and close to 45 adults warming up in the gym, we ask that parents not be in the gym for the Terry Fox assembly.

This year we have two routes.  The primary students (kindergarten – grade 3) will be running around our big field.  The intermediate students will be running a different route – teachers will have shared the route with the intermediate students prior to the run.

Please send a donation with your child to support the Terry Fox Foundation.

Click here for a short inspiring video about Terry Fox.

Orange Shirt Day-Every Child Matters

We are recognizing Orange Shirt day on Tuesday, October 1st.  We encourage all of our students to wear orange shirts on this day.

Orange shirt day grew out of Phyllis’ story of having her shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, being taken away on her first day of school at St. Joseph Mission residential school.  This day has also become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually.

Residential Schools had a profound effect on the culture and language of Indigenous people across Canada, and forever changed the lives of thousands of Indigenous children.  As the terrible legacy of these schools has become public, the Canadian Government offered an apology to Indigenous people for the forced cultural assimilation embodied in the residential school system.

Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for Indigenous people, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.