2500 Lakewood Dr.

Vancouver, BC V5N 4V1

Phone: 604-713-4996
Fax: 604-713-4998
secord@vsb.bc.ca
http://secord.vsb.bc.ca

Volume 1
12 September 2015

Principal
Richard Zerbe
Vice-Principal
Teresa Wells (Acting)
Director of Instruction
Rob Schindel
Liaison School Trustee
Mike Lombardi
PAC Chair
Mona Lu
District Parent
Representative
Stacy Yeats McCririck

of the many advantages to multi-grade classes.

You are encouraged to read the VSB document
entitled Information about split classes available
on our school website in the home page under
Publications
or
at
http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/secord/Publications/C
ombined%20Classes%202010.pdf.

Staffing Updates
A warm welcome back to
all of our Laura Secord
families and a special
welcome to all the new
families that are joining us!
I know all the staff are very
excited to be back and to be
with your children helping
them learnafter all, that
is what drives us all here at
Laura Secord School.

Students New Divisions

We are pleased to have been able to move students to
their new division on Friday afternoon. The move to
students new division is an exciting time. Parents can
help make this part of their childs Back to School
experience a positive one!
When children move to their new division, some
students may react emotionally (and in-keeping
with a childs maturity level) and express
dissatisfaction to parents about their placement.
Children often look to their parents for their
reaction as well, learning from them. Parents can
help by encouraging their child to be open and
accepting and by highlighting the positive aspects
of the new class, like new friends, new teacher, etc.
Your child will be looking for your reaction; be
positive and optimistic. S/he may not have all the
same friends as last year, so talk about the
opportunities to make new friends or be reconnected with old ones. Later moves among
divisions often create a domino-effect of new
issues and requests to change divisions are not
always possible.
Your child may be in a combined class (often
referred to as split).
There are often
misunderstandings and misconceptions about
multi-grade classes, and parents may not be aware

New school years often bring new people and exciting

opportunities to the school, but also mean saying good
bye to others. Join us in saying thank you/merci and
all the best to:
Mr. Fred Bilodeau who was promoted over the
summer and is leaving Secord School and the VSB
to be Vice Principal at cole Anne Hbert in the
Francophone school district. Congratulations!
Astrid Godin, Mr Bilodeaus teaching partner,
who is moving to another school.
Ms Deb Hay, who leaves us on maternity leave.
(And congratulations to her and her family as well
on the birth of a healthy baby boy!)
A big Secord welcome to:
Mme Carolyn Garneau to our Late French
Immersion grade 6 class.
Mme Marisol Letourneau to our Early French
Immersion grade 6/7 class.
Ms Heather Heard to our English kindergarten
team.
Mme Chelsea Fidgett to our French Resource
team.
Sonia Hsu to our Supervision Aide team.
Carmen Helin, our new Aboriginal Education
Enhancement Worker.
Welcome back to Mme Angela Bonilla who will
be working with our youngest students on
Thursdays.
In addition to new people, several assignments and
room locations have changed. Our complete staff list
is available on the school website.

Meet the Teacher/School & Welcome

Back Family Potluck
Our Meet the Teacher event will be this coming
Thursday evening, September 17 starting at 4:00 pm
and ending at 5:30 pm. Students will take their
families to the class and introduce them to their
teacher. Some teachers will use more of a drop-in

format of visiting the class and teacher. Other teachers

will do brief, more formal presentations.
This year, we are adding a Meet the School
component to the annual event. In addition to meeting
your childs teacher, you are encouraged to follow
your child on a self-guided tour of the school, visiting
the common areas of the school, such as the gyms and
library, where the children can get a passport stamped.
Passports will be issued in your childs classroom.
Administration and other school staff members will be
on hand for you to meet as well. Its a great way to see
the whole school.
Again this year Meet the Teacher will be followed by
a Welcome Back Family Potluck from 5:30-7:30pm
(outside or in the big gym depending on weather)
organized by the PAC.

Terry Fox Run

Friday, September 18 is the Terry Fox Run in the
morning. Please help support cancer research by
allowing your child to bring a coin donation. There
will be containers in the classrooms for donations.

Grade 7 Camp
Secord School staff are proud to offer programs and
activities that promote a healthy and active lifestyle.
As part of this focus, grade 7 students from all our
programs are invited to attend a week-long outdoor
education program at Evans Lake, September 21-25.
What a great way to start their special last elementary
school year and build the Class of 2016 bonds.

Reminder

NO SCHOOL FOR
STUDENTS ON
MONDAY, SEPT. 28.
Professional Development Day
School Routines
We are looking forward to working with you and your
children. It is important for students to start off the
school year by being punctual and ready to learn. We
are also working on making sure that our school is a
safe and healthy environment.
Outside supervision by staff begins at 8:45 in the
morning and ends fifteen minutes after the 3:00
p.m. bell. Please do not leave your children in the
playground unsupervised before 8:45 a.m. and
after 3:15 p.m. There is a bell at 3:15 that reminds

students that they need to come to the office if they

havent been picked up.
Please make sure that you call the school at 604713-4996 if your child is going to be absent. We
ask parents to sign their child in/out at the office if
their child arrives late or has to leave early.
Students will be lining up outside as has been past
practice. Teachers have shown their students
where to line up. The younger students will be
lining up under the covered areas. Please see the
map in this newsletter for your childs line up area.
We are encouraging families to continue to travel
clockwise around the school and to park on 10th
Avenue. When designing the school yard we have
purposefully made the entrance off 10th attractive
with brickwork and seating for families to
congregate in order to create an inviting space and
to alleviate the congestion on Lakewood in order
to avoid safety issues with the lane across from the
front entrance of the school.
Please respect the 3 minutes-only stopping zone
and No Stopping zone on Lakewood Dr. in front
of the school. Please also remember that there is
no parking in the alley off of Lakewood Drive.
Parking is very limited around the school,
therefore, please read the parking signs carefully
as there will be officers patrolling the area during
the first weeks of school.
Riding bikes and scooters on school grounds
before and after school (while pedestrians are on
the grounds) is NOT permitted for safety reasons
since there are so many children and adults on the
school grounds at those times. We appreciate
parents reinforcing this rule with their children.
We promote good nutrition in the school and
encourage students to bring good nutritious snacks
and lunches.
All students are required to adhere to the schools
Code of Conduct. It is printed in students agenda,
is available on the school website, and is
frequently reviewed with students at school. A
brochure of it will also be sent home in the opening
student package. Parents are encouraged to review
it with their children.
Mobile devices: Many students bring personal
mobile devices (ie cell phones, smartphones,
iPods, etc) to school (although students are
welcome to use the phone in the office to call home
for emergency or other purposes). While these
items are not prohibited at school, devices that
interfere with the primary purposes of school
(learning and socializing safely and respectfully)
will be removed and given back to the student at
day's end or to the parent.
Parents are encouraged to review the School Policies
and Procedures section within the About Us tab of
the school website.

School-Home Communication
There will be many forms and other pieces of
correspondence being sent home in the next few days
and weeks as well as throughout the year. To make
sure you are getting school information:
Please ask your child each day if there were any
newsletters or forms.
Check your childs backpack or agenda if need be
Check our school website (http://secord.vsb.bc.ca)
regularly. We are trying to limit sending home
paper copies of all announcements and events (for
cost and environmental reasons).
Monthly newsletters usually come out at the
beginning of the month. They are posted on the
school website and will eventually be emailed to
families for whom we have an email address.
Paper copies are available in the office for families
who would prefer one.
The TV monitor in the main hallway shows school
events for each day of that week.
This week, you can expect your child to bring home
several school start-up forms and packages with
instructions and due dates.

Contacting us
Our 2015-16 staff list is posted on-line on our school
website. Should you need to contact or speak with a
teacher or member of the staff, please contact the
school directly via telephone and we will pass on your
message for the staff member to call you back. As you
can understand, staff are not always immediately
available to take your call right away (as they are busy
teaching your children!) so they will call you back as
soon as they can. Some teachers use email and will
readily give out their email address, but, like doctors
or other professionals, many teachers receive their
calls via the main office, and scheduling meetings in
advance is also encouraged. Thank you.

teaching children how to organize and plan for school.

While students are not required to have an
agenda/planner it is designed to assist students with the
skills of organization and time management and is a
very useful communication tool often used between
teachers and families.
Instructions on paying the fees will be sent home in the
coming days.
As a reminder, the Vancouver School Board will not
deny a child access to the school supplies required for
his or her educational program because of financial
hardship. Nor will any child be excluded from
activities where a fee is charged. If at any time there
is a financial challenge, please contact the school
Principal, Richard Zerbe. All requests will be treated
confidentially.
UPCOMING DATES
(bolded dates indicate change in regular school times)

SEPTEMBER
Mon 14-Fri 18
Wed 16
Thurs 17
Fri 18
Sun 20
Mon 21-Fri 25
Thurs 24
Mon. 28
Wed 30

Terry Fox donation collection

First full day of Kindergarten
Meet the Teacher/School, 4-5:30pm
Family Potluck, 5:30-7:30pm
Terry Fox Run in the AM
Hot lunch orders due
Ernest and Celestine at the Rio
-in French at 11am; in English at 1pm
Grade 7 Camp at Evans Lake
PAC Hot Lunch
Pro-D Day NO SCHOOL FOR
STUDENTS
PAC Meeting, Library, 6:30 pm
OCTOBER

Thur 1

Student Photo Day

PLEASE VISIT OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE FOR

REGULARLY UPDATED CALENDAR
http://secord.vsb.bc.ca

School Fees and Agendas

School Fees are $25.00 per student for K to Grade 7.
This fee covers basic consumable school supplies used
for students personal use such as paper, writing tools,
glue sticks, erasers, exercise books and art supplies.
Supplies are provided for the full year. The advantages
of the Board providing families with supplies include
convenience, cost savings through a one-time fee, and
the standardization of supplies used in the classroom.
Students may be invited to purchase their own items
for personal use such as binders, pencil sharpeners, etc;
their teachers will let them know what they may wish
to get.
Agendas are for students in grades 2 to 7 and are $8.00
each. School agendas/planners are a valuable tool for

Food allergies
Everyone is reminded that Secord is an allergy
aware school. We have several students with
allergies to seeds (sesame, etc), nuts and nut products
(e.g. peanut butter). In support of them, we encourage
children to avoid bringing lunches and snacks with
these ingredients, and where they must bring them, that
students are aware that such ingredients can be
dangerous to others. Please encourage your children
not to share their food or snacks, and to wash their
hands frequently. Give extra thought to baked goods
or treats you make for special events or bake sales, and
include a printed list of ingredients. Educating all
childrenboth those with allergies and those

withoutis our best preventive action when we cannot

guarantee a nut-free environment.
For more information, Vancouver Coastal Health has
prepared a brochure entitled Allergy Aware School
and Childcare Settings: Tips for Parents:
http://vch.eduhealth.ca/PDFs/FF/FF.405.A55.pdf

executive for the current school year. An agenda of the

meeting will be available by September 23 on our
school website, under the "Parents" tab in the "PAC
minutes" section. The meeting will be held at the
Secord library from 6:30-8:00 pm and free
childminding will be provided.
Please email
secordpac@gmail.com for any PAC related questions.

Scents Sense

Secord PAC Email List -

Along a similar line, we ask all families (adults and

children) to be aware that others in the school (staff
and students) may have sensitivities to strong scents
and aromas which can cause them serious reactions.
Please be conscious of perfumes, colognes, or
aromatherapy products that you or your child may
wear while in the school.

~ PAC News ~
What is Secord PAC?
PAC stands for PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Every parent with a child at Laura Secord Elementary
is a member of the Secord PAC.
The Secord Parent Advisory Council aims to:
Promote/facilitate
communication
between
parents, the school (teachers/administration) and
the District.
Actively and positively support Secord school
spirit, and social responsibility.
Support the enrichment of the elementary school
experience for our children through volunteering
at the school, coordinating events or programs, and
through fundraising.

Welcome Back Family Potluck

We are looking forward to the 3rd annual Welcome
Back Secord Family Potluck, which will be held on
Sept. 17th from 5:30 - 7:30pm, immediately following
the Meet the Teacher event. This is a great opportunity
to relax and enjoy a meal with other Secord families.
Please bring a dish (10-12 servings suggested) to
share, as well as your own plates, cups and cutlery to
make this a low-waste event! We will set up in the
courtyard if the weather is good, or in the big gym if
not. Email secordpac@gmail.com if you have
questions or can help with preparations for the potluck.

First PAC Meeting Wednesday,

September 30th - We encourage all families to
attend PAC meetings to find out about plans for events,
fundraising and other happenings at the school. The
first meeting also involves the nominations of the PAC

For those new

parents/guardians who do not have a child in Late
French Immersion or in kindergarten, you are invited
to join our Secord PAC email list. The PAC uses this
list to look for volunteers, disseminate information
about upcoming PAC events, and generally keeping
parents/guardians in the loop about what's happening
at school. Please email the following information to
secordpac@gmail.com if you would like to be
included: Your child's name, grade, division number,
teacher and the parent/guardian's name, email, and
phone number.

PAC Fundraisers
Hot Lunches are back!
The first Hot Lunch service will be September 24th
and order forms for this term will be going home with
our children this week. Please read through the
instructions and form carefully and fill-in all requested
information. The due date for this terms Hot Lunches
is September 18, Friday. Late orders will be returned
to the students.
Thank you for your continued support!
Amy Chuang/ Hot Lunch Coordinator

Kids Culture Film Series at the Rio

One of our first PAC Fundraisers for the year is Kids
Culture Film Series screening of ERNEST &
CELESTINE at the Rio Theatre SUNDAY, SEPT.
20th. The first one is in French with English subtitles
at 11:00AM, the second at 1:00PM in English.
Rated G. Ages 6+ (a few chase scenes, may be scary
for younger kids)
English Trailer: https://youtu.be/uqBIOumXwAM
French Trailer: https://youtu.be/eqCBxkVrWnE
Tickets go on sale Monday Sept. 14th morning and
afternoon at the front of the school. Look for your
PAC volunteers by the rolling chalkboard!
Advance Tickets: $8 adults / $5 kids or
riotheatretickets.ca or at the door $9/$6.
Advance ticket sales go directly to the PAC (thanks to
VANCITY) and a portion of door sales go to Laura
Secord School based on how many presales we do, so
buy your tickets in advance! Cash & cheques accepted
(written to Laura Secord PAC).

Bell Schedule
8:55 am
9:00
10:40
11:00
12:10 pm
12:25
12:57
3:00

Warning bell
Instruction starts
Recess starts
Recess ends
Lunch starts
Students go outside
Instruction starts
School day ends

Line up areas
(for drop-off and pick-up of students)
Teacher (div, grade)

Locations are approximate