• Mask wearing for all staff and adult visitors when indoors.
• Parents/caregivers completing the Daily Health Check before attending with their child. Please refer to the K-5 list.
• Daily attendance record keeping for students, staff, and visitors.
• Enhanced cleaning.
• Proper hand hygiene.
• Upgraded ventilation to MERV 13 filters in all District sites including portables to meet provincial standards.

*Physical distancing of 2 m will not continue. Adults and children to the best of their ability are asked to please consider and respect the personal space of others. Personal space is the distance from which a person feels comfortable being next to another person.

1. Families will line up and wait for the StrongStart facilitator to greet and guide them to the StrongStart centre.
2. StrongStart facilitators will greet with an attendance clipboard to collect names and contact information of the attending families. Visitors will indicate on the form that they have completed the Daily Health Check, and reference the K-5 list.
3. Facilitators will outline instructions for registration. Parents/guardians will be required to complete a registration form and other documents to fill out as well as be required to provide a birth certificate for their child.
4. Strollers/buggies will be parked on the designated spots outside or in the marked area of the classroom depending on the centre, providing there is space available.
5. With StrongStart centres with no direct exterior door, facilitators will lead the participants to the StrongStart room following the direction of the arrows. Masks are required for all adults in all areas of the school.
6. There will be a handwashing/sanitizing station either in the hallway or entrance to the classroom. With most centres having a sink, families can walk directly to the sink to wash hands.
7. Once hands are washed, StrongStart facilitators will direct participants to a play area. Children will be allowed to move between play areas, with the caregiver accompanying the child.
8. A change table area will be provided with a closed garbage that can be open and closed with the patron’s foot.
9. During circle time, please respect the personal space of others at all times.
10. Pre-packages of snacks, and/or cut fruit or vegetables will be offered to families as they leave the facility. There will be no snack time within the session time.

As the numbers are still reduced to 20 in each centre, please limit your attendance as appropriate. Thank you for your consideration and thoughtfulness to your fellow StrongStart attendees as we work to create a plan that will be accessible to all and allow participation in sessions by all children and caregivers. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Families may attend more than one centre in the District. Please continue to reference our website for updated schedules and addresses.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a StrongStart centre by calling the school site or e-mail the District: feedback@sd35.bc.ca.

For additional information on health and safety guidelines, please find the K-12 Education Recovery Plan here, and the BCCDC’s Public Health Communicable Disease Guidance for K-12 Schools here.

We look forward to welcoming families to our Langley School District StrongStart centres. Our goal is to create a safe, welcoming opportunity for all early learners and their caregivers.

The goal of StrongStart centres is to provide parents/caregivers and their preschool children with the opportunity to play, learn and grow together. The centres are operated in school settings so you and your child can become an important part of the school community before your child enters Kindergarten. Together, with a qualified Early Childhood Educator, you help your child to develop important oral language and early literacy skills, and physical, intellectual and social skills, preparing them to successfully transition into Kindergarten learning.

See information below to learn more about our StrongStart locations. Stay connected to the school community by following their Facebook pages (see links). This is where you can read site-specific information and additional activities you can engage in with your child(ren).

• Langley Meadows (AM) (604-530-4101) — Langley Meadows StrongStart Facebook
• Nicomekl(AM) (604-533-1468) — Nicomekl StrongStart Facebook
• Parkside Centennial(AM/PM) (604-856-7775) — Parkside StrongStart Facebook
• Simonds(AM) (604-530-2361) — Simonds StrongStart Facebook
• West Langley(AM) (604-888-6444) — West Langley StrongStart Facebook
• Douglas Park(AM) (604-533-4491) — Douglas Park StrongStart Facebook
• Willoughby(PM) (604-888-6033) — Willoughby StrongStart Facebook
• Donna Gabriel Robins(AM) (778-726-5555) – Donna Gabriel Robins StrongStart Facebook

Advanced registration is not necessary. On the first day of attending StrongStart, the facilitator will provide you with a registration form and other documents to fill out. Parents/guardians will be required to provide a birth certificate for their child. Please follow any further instructions outlined by the facilitator at the centre.

No. Nutritious snacks, use of toys and materials at learning centres are provided free of charge. StrongStart Centres are funded by the Ministry of Education and are open to all parents in the entire community.

StrongStart Centres are places full of fun, with many play/learning centres, materials and stimulating activities for children ages 0 – 5.

Note: There are baby change tables in the closest washrooms. Every child must be accompanied to the washroom by their parent/caregiver, and wear a mask in the centre, hallways, and washrooms.

With regular StrongStart attendance, young children will develop good social skills and form trusting play relationships with other children. Over time, children become prepared to successfully learn in a Kindergarten setting as they gradually learn to communicate their wishes, listen to others, share toys, and sit and focus at circle or story-reading time. They are involved in a safe and happy environment where they develop self-confidence. Together with their parent/guardian, children can play with other adults and with other children. Both parents/guardian and children engage in the following:

• use costumes to play dress-up
• play with puppets, clay, puzzles
• pretend play with trucks, tractors, trains, cars, dolls, little people, animals
• hear and participate in story-telling and story reading
• play at sand and water tables
• sing songs, do rhymes, finger plays
• work with a variety of art media
• play with natural and real materials
• develop large and small motor skills and coordination

Health and Safety:

• Do not bring your child to the centre if you have not reviewed your child’s health using the health check.
• Upon arrival, line-up, wait, and sign-in as directed by the StrongStart facilitator.
• Take full responsibility for the supervision of your child(ren) at all times.
• Snacks will be provided upon your departure from the centre. Please supervise your child eating.
• Please do not smoke on the school grounds.

Behaviour Expectations:

• Your children look to you and learn by example, so they’ll need your support at the centre.
• For the older children, you can help your 4 and 5 year-olds to prepare to enter the school environment by reminding them to use indoor voices, walk in the hallway, play gently, clean up toys and materials.
• Set simple and clear expectations for your child, be consistent.
• State limits in a positive way, focus your child on what to do, instead of what NOT to do.
• Acknowledge your child’s feelings, listen to them, respond to them.
• Give your child alternatives, choices that are appropriate, and do this in a non-threatening way.
• Redirect your child at times when situations may cause inappropriate behaviour to occur (refusing to share, etc.)
• Give your child cues and directions prior to changing from one activity to another.

There are plenty of opportunities for you to connect with other adults, pick up pamphlet resources for adult-to-adult discussion, offer a kind word or two, and create new adult to adult friendships. Thank you, parents/caregivers, for actively participating in your child’s play, for working together to help the Early Childhood Educator to establish and maintain routines such as Circle Time, Story Time, etc. with the children. Thank you for cooperating with other parents and caregivers in gently guiding the play and learning of the children in the Centre.

We believe that:

• Parents and caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers.
• Everyone is special and unique and has a lot of knowledge to share with others.
• The experiences of the first five years in a child’s life set the stage for success in life.
• Children learn through discovery, exploration, and play.