Families of Shortreed, 

Welcome to the 2nd-to-last school week of 2025! We hope you had a lovely first weekend of December. 

Thank you to everyone who came out to our 2025 Santa Breakfast! We served close to 1000 plates again this year, and the morning flowed really smoothly, thanks to people coming a bit earlier to avoid the lines and having two lines for Santa. See below for more info on the event. 

On Thursday of this week, we have our annual "Find the Shortreed Elves" activity before school. Some of our staff members don their elf gear and "hide" around the outside of the school, challenging the students to find them! Watch for an email in a day or 2 for more info. 

We have our final PAC meeting of 2025 on Thursday at 6:30 in the library. All parents/caregivers are welcome. 

A reminder of the Christmas Concert information that was sent home and emailed a few weeks ago. Here are some important reminders:

• We ask that family members choose one concert to attend.
• All students should do their best to be at all three concerts. 
• We have afternoon concerts on Tuesday, December 16 and Wednesday, December 17 at 12:45 (doors open at 12:15). We encourage people to attend one of the afternoon concerts. 
• We have an evening concert on Wednesday, December 17. We are hoping the evening concert will be attended only by those who work during the day and are unable to attend the afternoon concerts. For the evening concert, as we have so many people who attend, we are once again dividing the show as follows:
  • Grade K-2 students will perform at 6:20-7:00. Students can be dropped off at their classrooms at 6:00 and family members of K-2 students can head into the gym. After the K-2 performance, those family members of the K-2 students will be encouraged to head out through the exterior doors to make room for the families of Grade 3-5 students. They can pick up their child(ren) at their classroom exterior doors. 
  • Grade 3-5 students will perform from approximately 7:10-8:00 and should arrive at their classrooms at 6:40. Families of grade 3-5 students can line up inside the school and will enter the gym at about 7:00pm. Families can pick up their child at their classroom after the end of the concert. 
• Please stay for the entire afternoon concert or the entire half of the evening concert (do not leave right after your child performs). This ensures that our last groups have a full audience too! 

With the cold, wet weather here, this is an important reminder to make sure your child comes to school with boots and a coat each day. Our students spend at least 45 minutes outside each day, even if it is raining. Also, please have a change of clothes in their backpacks, just in case they slip and fall in the mud/water. 

A reminder of our "Gift of Words" Project:

• In the library, Mrs. Kirk has started the season off with a book by Peter Reynolds called "The Gift of Words." All students will be adding a joyful, positive word to trees around the school, and families are invited to add to this! PAC has organized gift tags to be available in the foyer so that you can add your own hopeful words to the tree in the office entrance - let's fill Shortreed with the gift of words this season! Here is the story if you would like to listen to it at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYhTqxVl2CM  We hope you can add your words to this wonderful Shortreed project! 

At Shortreed, we are honoured to work, learn, and play on the unceded ancestral and traditional lands of the Máthxwi First Nation. We share this not only to acknowledge the lands but also to express our dedication to learning on our journey of truth and reconciliation. Later in December, Indigenous Peoples honour the Winter Solstice (December 21), which is the shortest day and longest night of the year. During Winter Solstice, some of the practices that have been shared with me by some dear friends are to reflect on the past year, connect with families and friends with a meal, and show gratitude for all that we have. This is a reminder to all of us to practice these throughout December. Reflect, connect, appreciate. 

Good Things to Talk About

It was another wonderful Shortreed Santa Breakfast full of magical moments and memories for our kids and families!!! Thank you to everyone who came and enjoyed some pancakes and sausages. We loved the buzz of so many people in our community in our gym on Friday morning. We cannot thank the Shortreed staff enough for coming in before 6am to cook and serve for close to 1000 people on this special day. This event is almost 100% run by staff, from ordering to preparing, setting up, cooking, and serving. It’s a gift from all our staff to the amazing Shortreed Community each year.  This year, we also needed some parent helpers for cleanup and serving after the bell… thank you!

Following breakfast, every class had a chance to take a photo with Santa in the library, and our K-3 students learned about his magic key and listened to his version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". We are so thankful that Santa visits us each year!

In the library this week, Mrs. Kirk read the beautiful story, The Gift of Words, by Peter H. Reynolds. This inspired her to encourage students in classes to share their powerful and positive word this month. Be sure to check out all the wonderful words on display on boards and doors throughout our school! Also, leave your own word on our bulletin board at the front. Thank you to Mrs. Kirk for leading this, Jodi S. for the help with all the tags, and to the staff for supporting this powerful project. 

Earlier in the week, our kindergarten classes had a special Grinch Day with literacy and art activities with a Grinch theme! We loved seeing all the Grinch gear and Cindy Lou Who hairdos!

What would December be without the arrival of some special elves to Shortreed??? The kindergarten students told me all about how they heard noises on the roof and then saw a special red sack drop down with a very exciting present for them... their elf! A few other classes have noticed these crazy elves moving around at night to a new display each morning. They have even inspired our students to write about them in their journals each day!

Grade 3 and 5 Basketball practices continued this past week and will go for one more week in 2025. Additionally, our grade 4-5 students had the opportunity to learn from some passionate and dedicated ACSS ballers after school on Wednesday and Friday. Thank you to Japvir and Kuvan for leading this and to Ms. Eby for facilitating. 

The Week Ahead

• Monday, December 8 - Gr. 3 basketball 2:45
• Tuesday, December 9 - Gr. 5 Basketball 7:45
• Thursday, December 11 - Find the Elves 8:25-8:45; PAC Meeting 6:30
• Saturday, December 13 - Aldergrove Christmas Parade 6:00 - join us in the parade! 

Upcoming Dates and Events:

• Tuesday, December 16 - Christmas Concert #1 12:45
• Wednesday, December 17 - Christmas Concert #2 12:45; Concert #3 in the evening (info coming soon)
• Thursday, December 18 - Pyjama Day, PAC School-wide activity
• Friday, December 19 - last day of school before break; Shortreed Sing Along 1:15
• Monday, January 5 - Schools Reopen

You can see our digital calendar here. We encourage you to add our school calendar to your phone/device by clicking here. 

Information and Reminders:

• Information About School Status During Inclement Weather

  Snow closures and power outages are an annual occurrence in Langley School District. So, where do you go to get information about the status of schools during periods of inclement weather? If you are able to access the internet via computer or smartphone, current information about Langley schools can be accessed on all school websites or www.sd35.bc.ca. Updates are also posted to X (formerly Twitter) @LangleySchools and Facebook at www.facebook.com/langleyschooldistrict. If you don't have internet connectivity but your phone is working, call a relative or friend in an area that has not been affected by the storm and ask them to check the district website for you. Local radio stations are also informed of school status in Langley. Tune in to CKWX 1130AM, CKNW 980AM, Country Radio 107.1FM, Pulse 107.7 or CBC 690AM or 88.1FM for updates.

   

  Please note that Langley District schools are all considered 'open' until a decision to close is required. Decisions on school closures are usually made by 6:30am. As always, it is a parent's decision whether to send their child to school based on safety and individual circumstances. If you feel it is unsafe for you or your child to travel to or attend an open school for any reason, please keep your child home and report an absence to the school.

• Our Shortreed Breakfast Program runs each school day from 8:20-8:35. This is free for any students registered, and they must come each day they are in school. To register, click here. 
• We know that illnesses occur and absences can happen. If your child is going to be absent, arriving late, away or leaving early due to an appointment, please notify the school of your child’s absence by doing either of the following:
  • E-mail SCEAttendance@sd35.bc.ca or call 604-856-4167 and follow the prompts for the attendance line, and leave a message with information including:
    • Student First Name and Last Name
    • Grade
    • Division
    • Length of Absence
    • Reason (illness, late, appointment, vacation)

  • Please be aware that if your child is often late, they will miss significant lessons, as much of the literacy and math instruction takes place at the beginning of the day. If your child is ill (flu-like symptoms), please keep them home until they are no longer contagious and can participate in regular school activities. Homework will be provided upon request. Please avoid long absences due to holidays, as this can seriously jeopardize your child’s academic achievement. Homework may not be provided as assignments based on lessons your child missed, as it can be more confusing than helpful. If you will be away for an extended period, please notify the school, as this may impact enrollment. 

  • We STRIVE for FIVE absences or less at Shortreed. We know that children will get sick, but it's important to minimize absences.

• There is no parking or pickup/drop-offs in our school parking lot. Please park along 28th Ave or 273rd Street. The Catholic Church allows us to park there for pickup and drop-off. Do not block the driveways of any residences. 

PAC News

We have an ONLINE Silent Auction to help raise funds for our Outdoor Shelter. 

Bidding is open now and will end December 12 at 9:00pm. Please note that, because this is a free auction site, there are ads, and you will need to scroll down to see the description of the items.

I would like to give a huge thank you to all the people and local businesses who have donated to our auction, and for their generosity. The following parents donated:

• Nikki MacLeod - Vancouver Giants Box Tickets
• Tonya Wejr - Kick It Up A Notch Academy of Dance
• Leila Roberts - Silver Icing
• Krista Keam - Moen Faucets

View the auction at www.32auctions.com/shortreed2025

Thank you again for your continued support,

Your PAC Executive Team

Happy Bidding!!!

Hot Lunch Orders can be made now. Go to www.munchalunch.com/schools/shortreed/ to order. 

Have any questions? Email us at shortreedpac@gmail.com. 

Join our Shortreed PAC Facebook Group too!

Community Events

To read about some fantastic family opportunities across Langley, check out the Community Bulletin Board.

Pacific Sport Fraser Valley Winter Break Camps! 

Are you looking for something to do during Winter Break?! Look no further!
NEW - daily registration option! If you are not needing a program all week, you do not need to miss out!

Where: Shortreed Community School
When: Dec 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31
Time: 9am - 3pm *(Dec 24 is 9am - 1pm)
Cost: $40 per day *(Dec 24 is $25)

Registration opens November 24 at 9am. Spaces are limited! pacificsportfraservalley.com/events

Week 1:

MediaSmarts has launched a new, free, self-guided workshop to help families develop healthier technology and screen-time habits. Building Better Tech Habits provides practical, research-informed strategies for managing family screen use and addressing common digital challenges at all ages. The workshop can be accessed 24/7 via the link here and completed any time, making it easy to fit into busy schedules.

FamilySmart will be offering several online event sessions from our ‘InTheKnow’ series this December. You can register at the link below:

https://familysmart.ca/online-events/

Understanding, Supporting and Connecting with Teens with Depression

“When our teens are struggling with depression, we can feel lost about how to best support them. Learn from Karen Peters, Registered Clinical Counsellor, and Victoria Keddis, a parent with lived experience, as they talk about how depression shows up in teens and ways of journeying with them through it.”

Just a few clicks on your phone and you'll be entered to win thousands of dollars in The Lucky Langley 50/50 & Raffle Fundraiser! ⁠ Purchase your tickets today and build brighter futures for the students of Langley! And enter for your chance to win the cash jackpot or 2 Air Canada tickets to anywhere they fly in North America, just in time for Christmas! ⁠

⁠Buy your tickets today by clicking here! 
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