Newsletter: June 14, 2022
What a busy and exciting time of year we are in! Students and staff are enjoying a variety of different experiences, offering wonderful opportunities for students to wrap a successful year of learning. Many classes are heading out on field trips, including Grade 5 Swim Program, trips to Fort Langley and the zoo, community walks, and trips to the Aldergrove WaterPark. These trips offer students a chance to celebrate the year while making final memories with classmates and their teacher before heading into summer.
The school has enjoyed many different school-wide events. Just recently, we had our first official in-person assembly honouring Track and Field athletes. The students were so excited to enjoy an assembly again and it was great to honour the hard work of so many JKE athletes. Thank you to Mr. Knox, Mme Riznek, Mme Soo and Mrs. Sales for their work to put this together. We also celebrated and welcomed our incoming 2022-23 Kindergartens at our recent Kindergarten Welcome event on June 2! Special thanks to Mme Foulds, Mme Tremblay, Mrs. Dewit and Mrs. O’Shea for their work to make this event so special for our newest JKE learners.
Last Friday was our first Sports Day since 2019! We lucked out with the weather and students had a fun time enjoying the morning parade and rotating through the various stations. Many thanks to Mme Zwiers, Mme 
Missel, Mme Kang, Ms. Mazza for their many hours of hard work planning and preparing this event! Thank you, also, to the many parent volunteers and to our PAC for setting up and running the concession. It was a fun day for all!
Just today, Mme Soo’s grade sevens featured homemade artifacts for Ancient Civilizations. The class created a museum, Le Musée Soo des Civilisations Anciennes, and other classes toured the ‘museum’ to learn about the artifacts. The grade sevens did a fabulous job speaking about their learning.
The final 11 days of school are sure to be busy AND fun. We look forward to making more memories as students and staff join together to conclude this 2021-22 school year.
Reading Link Challenge:
Congratulations to all of our Reading Link Challenge Participants! 
From November to March, Mrs. O’Shea and Mme Gammel had the pleasure of working with a group of dedicated grade four and five students. They read up to six books each and spent endless lunch hours quizzing each other. After five long months of practice, all of our teams participated in a schoolwide competition. The results were so close, but in the end, the Chapter Champions, consisting of Alliah, Eloise, Iris, Jiwon, Melanie and Olivia were the winners.
The Chapter Champions then went on to represent James Kennedy at our district’s challenge, where they won first place! Finally, they represented Langley at the Fraser Valley Regional Library Challenge where they competed fiercely.
A big congratulations to all of this year’s amazing participants for all of their effort and dedication!
June 21: National Indigenous Peoples Day
Next week, on June 21, James Kennedy Elementary students and staff will be celebrating the heritage, culture and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day. We are planning various experiences for students, including a Story Walk (created by Division 11 students) along our Forest path. This Story Walk features the stories of various locations around BC that are of important significance to Indigenous People in our surrounding communities. Additionally, staff and students are contributing to a display in the foyer which will showcase artwork and artifacts which highlight Indigenous culture. As a school, we are also excited for each class to engage in Pow-Wow Dance workshops on June 15, 22 & 23.
We look forward to sharing photos from these celebrations in a future newsletter!
Summer Reading Club:
Be sure to check out the FVRL Summer Reading Club for your children! More information in the PDF:
FVRL_SD35-Student-Success_LangleyLibraries (1)
District Updates:
Summer PHE Program
We have an exciting new opportunity for a summer PHE program. The program is focused on PHE: Fundamental Movement Skill development, with a specific focus on basketball. The program will run July 4th – 15th from 9:00am-1:00pm at Walnut Grove Secondary. This opportunity is open to all Langley students in grades 4-7.
The goals of the program are to:
· increase the level of confidence and competence of students in their fundamental movement skills
· use physical activity to support student mental well-being
· identify basketball skills that students can improve upon
· learn new skills
· have fun
Please register at https://www.sd35.bc.ca/schools/summer-session/
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, June 29. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to June 29 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
Important Dates to Remember:
Friday, June 17: Hot lunch
Tuesday, June 21: National Indigenous Peoples Day; PAC meeting 7:00 pm in library
Tuesday, June 28: Grade 7 Farewell
Wednesday, June 29: report cards posted in MyEd; Dismissal at 12:00 pm
Newsletter: May 31, 2022
Thank you, James Kennedy Families, for the amazing donations for the Fire Fighter’s Kids Helping Kids Clothing Drive last week! It was incredible to see all the donations from JKE families. Thank you to the PAC and parent volunteers for helping to label all the bags of clothing!
Last Friday was the Track Meet at WGSS and students and staff made JKE proud! It was a strange day for weather, but that didn’t deter our JKE athletes from doing their best. We are so proud of all students who took part in representing JKE so well! Thank you to all staff who helped coordinate and plan this event!
James Kennedy students also wrapped up a successful Cross Country season with a recent community run! It was great to see the shared enthusiasm of the students who participated! Well done!
This week is Bike/Wheel to School Week! Each day students and families are encour
aged to ride to school on bikes, scooters, or whatever ‘green’ method you can. Don’t forget to stop by the table by the primary playground to place your sticker on the main board! Students- please remember to WALK your wheels once you arrive on school property.
Finally, Division 7 is part of a great project at JKE. They have put up a Bee Hotel in a tree near the front of the school. You can see the student signs near the Bee Hotel. We hope it attract some flying friends to stay as residents, and it inspires wonder and curiosity from those passing by. Thank you for respecting this project and keeping it safe for the students and the bees!
Langley Children’s Choir:
The Langley Children’s Choir is looking for singers! If your child is interested, please view this poster for more information:
Kindergarten Welcome: June 2
This Thursday is our chance to welcome incoming 2022-23 Kindergartens to James Kennedy! We are excited to meet and celebrate our newest learners!
A reminder to current kindergarten families that Thursday, June 2 is early dismissal at 12:00 noon, to allow for this event.
Sports Day: June 10
We are so excited to plan for Sports Day to return to JKE! This year, Sports Day will occur on Friday, June 10 (weather permitting). We remind students to dress for active play, wear proper footwear, dress for the weather and ensure you bring a refillable water bottle. We look forward to lots of fun and games on this day!
Looking Ahead: National Indigenous Peoples Day is June 21
As we look ahead to June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day: a day to celebrate the history, heritage and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, & Métis peoples in Canada, we hope to put together a display showcasing the Indigenous contributions & creations of JKE students and staff. Contributions could be artwork, writing, sharing a story, family artifacts, celebrations, photos, etc. that highlight how any student or staff is celebrating Indigenous culture, language, and beyond!
If your child or family has a piece you would like to share for this June display, please contact your classroom teacher. We love to also learn the story behind the piece! (Please note: this display will be in the JKE foyer for the entire month of June as we lead up to June 21).
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, June 29. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to June 29 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
Important Dates to Remember:
Thursday, June 2: Kindergarten Welcome for incoming kindergarten students; current Kindergartens are dismissed at noon
Friday, June 10: Sports Day (weather permitting)
Friday, June 17: Hot lunch
Tuesday, June 21: National Indigenous Peoples Day
Tuesday, June 28: Grade 7 Farewell
Wednesday, June 29: last day before summer vacation; report cards issued; students dismissed at 12:00 pm
Newsletter: May 13, 2022
Spring is bustling at JKE! There are so many student activities in the works. Recently, intermediate students hosted an Entrepreneur Fair and it was a huge hit! 
Track and Field has been a lot of fun for students as we prepare for the Walnut Grove Track Meet on May 27 at WGSS! Cross country has also been taking place after school for interested students, despite the wet and rainy weather this May. Yesterday, grade sevens were able to enjoy a fun-filled day at Camp Jubilee… the first in-person camp experience since the Covid Pandemic began. We are so grateful that students were able to share this fun memory as they conclude their final y
ear at James Kennedy Elementary.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the many staff who are actively involved in leading so many of the Spring events at JKE! All of these extra activities, field trips, experiences, concerts and athletics are planned and lead beyond the school day. We truly appreciate the many hours staff commit to offer these special experiences for JKE kids!
You may have also noticed that the District generously installed two new Gaga pits at James Kennedy! The kids have had a lot of fun learning this game at recess and lunch! Gaga ball is a terrific game for many students to engage in and provides a great, enthusiastic game for viewing as well! If you live nearby and wish to come and use the Gaga Pits on the weekends (please note the pits are closed 15 minutes before and after school), this handy link may be helpful for your family to learn the rules: GAGA BALL.
Finally, just a reminder to families that masks are now optional for parents entering the school. We are so pleased to welcome all families back into the school!
Transportation Registration 2022-2023
Transportation registration for 2022-23 is now open. Please note the instructions to register are different for each category of rider. To help in our planning and creation of bus routes, registrations must be submitted by May 16 (eligible riders) and June 6 (courtesy riders). The District cannot guarantee approval after the deadline. New and existing riders can find more information on our Transportation Registration webpage here https://www.sd35.bc.ca/schools/transportation/transportation-registration/.
Grade Seven Families: Gator Shades
If you have a child currently in grade seven who is heading to WGSS, you may wish to know more about the Gator Shades program they offer in the summer. You can learn more about this program here: Gator Shades-Flyer 2022 (1)
Looking Ahead: National Indigenous Peoples Day is June 21
As we look ahead to June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day: a day to celebrate the history, heritage and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, & Métis peoples in Canada, we hope to put together a display showcasing the Indigenous contributions & creations of JKE students and staff. Contributions could be artwork, writing, sharing a story, family artifacts, celebrations, photos, etc. that highlight how any student or staff is celebrating Indigenous culture, language, and beyond!
If your child or family has a piece you would like to share for this June display, please contact your classroom teacher. We love to also learn the story behind the piece! (Please note: this display will be in the JKE foyer for the entire month of June as we lead up to June 21).
JKE: Show us your TALENT!
The James Kennedy Elementary Talent Show is back for 2022! We love seeing the many talents of JKE students. If your child is interested, you can read this PDF to learn more: Talent Show 2022.
Thank you to Ms. Hu and Ms. Tsang for offering this opportunity for JKE students!
Reminder to Current Kindergarten Students:
Just a friendly reminder to all current Kindergarten families: June 2 is our Kindergarten Welcome event for our incoming 2022-23 students!
All current Kindergartens will be dismissed on June 2 at 12:00 noon.
Thank you for your cooperation with this early dismissal.
Bell Schedule for 2022-23:
Please note the very minor adjustment for the start time in next year’s JKE bell schedule:
8:45 Welcome Bell
8:50 Classes start
10:30-10:45 Recess
12:00-12:33 Lunch playtime
2:33 Dismissal
Correct Family Information:
Are you moving or leaving the District? The District is reminding families to ensure they have accurate and updated information in the MyEDBC parent portal. Information such as parent/guardian contact details and home address are examples of data required by staff to plan enrolment, transportation services and other programs. Please contact your school office if you have questions about updating student information. The District appreciates your cooperation as this helps plan the next school year.
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, June 29. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to June 29 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
Important Dates to Note:
Friday, May 20: Pro-D Day- students do not attend
Friday, May 27: Hot lunch; Track Meet at WGSS
Thursday, June 2: Kindergarten Welcome Event; Current Kindergartens dismissed at 12:00
Tuesday, June 7: PAC Meeting in Library 7:00 pm
Friday, June 10: JKE Sports Day (weather permitting)
Friday, June 17: Hot lunch
Monday- Friday, June 20-24: Grade 5 Swim Program
Friday, June 24: Grades 4, 6, & 7 visit Aldergrove Waterpark
Tuesday, June 28: Grade 7 Farewell
Wednesday, June 29: Last day of school; Dismissal at 12:00; Final report cards issued on MyEd
Newsletter: April 18, 2022
We hope you are all enjoying this long weekend. The past several weeks have included a variety of celebrations for many JKE families. To families who are currently observing Ramadan (until May 1), families who recently celebrated Vaisakhi (on April 14th), families who are currently celebrating Passover (until April 23) and those celebrating Easter this past weekend, we hope you have been able to connect and enjoy time with loved ones. With all the twists and turns over the past two years, we are grateful for the opportunity to gather in person for celebrations and holidays this year!
As we enter the busy final term of the year, we have many important events being planned. Please ensure you are up-to-date with the information you will need between now and year’s end. We appreciate your commitment to staying informed by regularly reading the newsletters and email communications from the school.
Jump Rope for Heart!
We are excited to participate in Jump Rope for Heart again this Spring, with our event taking place this Friday, April 22. This year we are hoping to fundraise $4000 as a school. Did you know that since starting our Jump Rope for Heart events at JKE, we have collectively raised over $100,000 in the past 10 years??!! In 2019 we had a record $14,700 in donations!
All donations can be done online. Parents will need to help students set this up. For more information on how you can fundraise with your child, please read: Jump Digital Parent Letter
Summer Session Information:
If you are interested in enrolling your child(ren) in Langley School District’s Summer Sessions, you can find more information using this link: www.sd35summersession.ca.
Class Placements:
James Kennedy staff work hard each Spring to plan Fall class placements. This process is a lengthy, collaborative effort, ensuring that the academic, social and emotional needs of each student are supported so each child can rise to their full potential.
If you have academic considerations (requests regarding split classes will not be considered) for your child that you wish to share for these class placement conversations, please feel free to email Mrs. Simonetto prior to May 13. While we do respectfully take parent input into consideration, we cannot guarantee that requests will be granted.
Emails can be sent directly to Mrs. Simonetto through ksimonetto@sd35.bc.ca.
Next Year:
If you know that your K-6 child will not be not be attending James Kennedy in the 2022-23 school year, please ensure that the office is informed of this change. You can email Mrs. Sollows at ssollows@sd35.bc.ca or call the office at 604-888-5257 to update us of your plans. Thank you!
Early Dismissal for Current Kindergartens:
As you likely recall, the gradual entry in September for our current 2021-22 kindergarten students is designed to allow for 2 hours in the Spring to host a Kindergarten Welcome afternoon for our incoming 2022-23 kindergarten students.
On Thursday, June 2, all current kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm to allow our teachers to host an afternoon Kindergarten Welcome event for our incoming 2022-23 Kindergartens.
We ask that all current Kindergarten families to please note this date and early dismissal in your calendars and arrange for early pickup for your child.
Important Dates to Note:
Tuesday, April 19: PAC meeting in the library, 7:00 pm
Friday, April 22: Jump Rope for Heart; Hot lunch
Monday, April 25: Class Photos
Monday, May 2: Jersey/ Spirit Wear Day
Thursday, May 12: Grade 7 Day Camp
Friday, May 13: Pajama Day
Friday, May 20: Pro-D Day: Student do not attend
Monday, May 23: Victoria Day- Schools closed
Friday, May 27: Hot Lunch
Monday, May 30-June 3: Bike to School Week at JKE
Newsletter: April 3, 2022
I hope all JKE families had an enjoyable Spring Break. I would like to thank all families for taking part in our Parent-Teacher Conferences prior to the break. It is always such a valuable opportunity to connect home and school to ensure each learner’s success. Thank you all for your continued support for your child’s learning at home as well!
We are excited to return to school for the final term of learning! We look forward to drier and warmer weather which allows for greater opportunities for exploring and learning outdoors.
Finally, many thanks to the parent volunteers who helped ensure our first Hot Lunch (since December) was a success! The students were SO excited to have Hot Lunch return today. Thanks to the PAC for all your work behind the scenes to offer this for students.
Daily Health Check and What to Do When Sick
A friendly reminder to our students and visitors to complete a daily health check prior to boarding a bus or entering a school or District site such as the School Board Office. To help support families in doing their part to keep everyone safe, please review the Daily Health Check and What to Do When Sick guide here. This contains a list of COVID-19 symptoms and guidance on what to do if you become ill. As always, the District is encouraging everyone to continue practice proper handwashing and staying home when sick.
Class Placements:
James Kennedy staff work hard each Spring to plan Fall class placements. This process is a lengthy, collaborative effort, ensuring that the academic, social and emotional needs of each student are supported so each child can rise to their full potential.
If you have academic considerations (requests regarding split classes will not be considered) for your child that you wish to share for these class placement conversations, please feel free to email Mrs. Simonetto prior to May 13. While we do respectfully take parent input into consideration, we cannot guarantee that requests will be granted.
Emails can be sent directly to Mrs. Simonetto through ksimonetto@sd35.bc.ca.
Next Year:
If you know that your K-6 child will not be not be attending James Kennedy in the 2022-23 school year, please ensure that the office is informed of this change. You can email Mrs. Sollows at ssollows@sd35.bc.ca or call the office at 604-888-5257 to update us of your plans. Thank you!
Early Dismissal for Current Kindergartens:
As you likely recall, the gradual entry in September for our current 2021-22 kindergarten students is designed to allow for 2 hours in the Spring to host a Kindergarten Welcome afternoon for our incoming 2022-23 kindergarten students.
On Thursday, June 2, all current kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm to allow our teachers to host an afternoon Kindergarten Welcome event for our incoming 2022-23 Kindergartens.
We ask that all current Kindergarten families to please note this date and early dismissal in your calendars and arrange for early pickup for your child.
Student Lunches:
If you are needing to bring a lunch for your child, you can now bring it into the office and Mrs. Sollows will ensure your child receives it.
Character Strong Focus for April/May: Be Brave
This month and next month, we will be continuing our Character Strong Focus that aligns with our JKE Common Language to Be Brave, Be Respectful, Be Kind, & Be Safe.
In April and May, staff, students and families will focus on Being Brave. We encourage students to be brave everyday! Doing something that might be scary like making a speech, standing up for what students know is right even when it is hard, trying something new or even inviting another student to come play are all ways students can show bravery at school. Chat with your child about ways we can show bravery each day!
Learn hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓:
The district provides some great tutorials and videos that help interested families in learning hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ is spoken by the Down River people’s of the Fraser Valley, including the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, Kwikwetlem, Tsawwassen, Katzie, and Kwantlen Nations.
Learn more by visiting this site: https://www.sd35.bc.ca/programs-initiatives/aboriginal-program/learn-henqeminem/
Washrooms Afterschool:
If your family is enjoying the playground after 3:00 pm on a school day, we kindly ask that if you require the washroom, please use the outdoor restrooms on the North side of the East Wing, rather than entering the school. Thank you for your cooperation.
District Updates:
Budget Consultation 2022-2023 (also shared on all district social media and district website)
Want to have your say on the District’s budget for 2022-2023? The Langley School District is inviting students, staff, parents/guardians, and all members of the public to take part in its Budget Consultation 2022-2023 by completing this 5 minute survey here or providing feedback by email to budgetconsultation@sd35.bc.ca. All survey and email submissions will be accepted from March 7, 2022 – April 5, 2022.
The data gathered will help provide our District Leadership staff and Board of Education with information needed to make decisions impacting education. The District is sharing videos and an infographic located on a webpage which may be helpful to you. For more information and translated versions of the survey, visit our District webpage here.
Lessons Learned from COVID-19: Survey
The province has launched an independent review and public consultation on the government’s operational response to the COVID-19 pandemic to improve future preparations and responses to emergencies. The goal is to learn about how government agencies worked together to address the effects of COVID-19 that affected everyone and changed rapidly. To provide feedback, you are encouraged to complete an online survey here which is available in multiple languages versions. This survey will remain open until April 20, 2022 at 4:00pm. You can find more information here.
Newsletter: February 28, 2022
We are delighted in the learning that took place in all classrooms during Diversity and Respect week, February 21-25. Staff offered various ways for students to share their own unique talents, traditions, heritage and values. Many classes engaged in Identity Day, where students showcased pieces of their identity they are truly proud of. Some children shared about a beloved furry best friend, some shared about their family travels back to their homeland, while others shared about the place they proudly call home. It was truly a week celebrating the uniqueness of every child and the amazing diversity of our school community!
New Guidelines:
We are excited to return to the guidelines that were in place in December! Some of the updates include:
- Hot lunches will be able to resume
- Parent and student spectators are permitted for sports events and other presentations
- JKE is no longer a closed campus and parent volunteers can return!
Please note that the school continues to follow the K-12 Covid-19 Safety Guidelines. Masks are still required for all students and staff.
Student Covid-19 Rapid Tests:
As you are already aware from District communication last Friday, the Ministry has provided a box containing 5-rapid tests for each student.
The District shared an NEW update to families today about the distribution of these tests to families. We are required to provide the box of tests directly to a parent/guardian. We are not permitted to send the tests home with elementary or middle-school aged students.
In the next couple of days, your classroom teacher will connect with you with further information on how to pick up the box of tests for each child. Teachers will track which families have picked up their tests.
Please continue to keep your child home if he/she is feeling unwell.
Land Acknowledgements on Mondays:
As part of our ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, every Monday we share the Land Acknowledgement over the PA system, recognizing that we, in the Langley School District, work, learn and play on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katsie and Semiahmoo First Nations. This week, we had our first student to do the Land Acknowledgement over the PA system! Congrats Jana on doing such a wonderful job!
Parent -Teacher Conferences: March 9 & 10
Just a reminder that we have early dismissal at 1:33 pm on Wednesday, March 9 and Thursday, March 10 to allow or our Term 2 Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Sign-up for meetings will commence on Tuesday, March 1. Please watch for the email that came from Mrs. Sollows today indicating how to book your appointments online.
We remind all families:
- to wear a mask for in-person meetings and hand-sanitize upon entering the school
- to enter through the exterior classroom doors.
- that you have the option of an in-person meeting or virtual meeting. Some teachers are also engaging in student-led conferences.
- please remain in their classrooms and do not enter the halls.
- Please connect with your classroom teacher if you have specific questions about conferences.
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, March 4. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to March 4 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
District Updates:
If you are interested in being a Homestay Family, please see the information bulletin here:
Important Dates to Remember:
Friday, March 4: Term 2 Report cards published in MyEd
Wednesday, March 9 & Thursday, March 10: Early dismissal both days at 1:33 pm; Parent-teacher conferences
Friday, March 11: Last day of school before Spring Break
Monday, March 28: School resumes
Newsletter: February 14, 2022
We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend in the sunshine! Today is Valentine’s Day, and there is no shortage of excitement among the children as they pass along their notes and cards to classmates and staff. Thank you to all families for your flexibility as we prepared for this special day.
As we continue with our Term 2 learning, we acknowledge that this term’s instruction has had various disruptions for students and teachers. School return in January was unexpectedly delayed and the presence of the Omicron variant had an impact on student and staff attendance. With these unexpected disruptions in mind, we are continuing our ongoing focus on the Whole Child while leaning into the core academics for Term 2, specifically Language Arts, Numeracy and Social-Emotional Learning. We want families to rest in the knowledge that we meet each child where they are at with unique learning progress and we will continue to support each child on the continuum of learning, despite any absences this term.
February is Black History Month!
We are excited to engage in deep school-wide learning this February as we embark in celebrating Black History Month. As part of this celebration, each class has learned about an influential Black Canadian who impacted history. From A-Z, classes created bulletin boards reflecting their learning. Classes can now take a walking tour throughout the school to learn about all of these influential Black Canadians and continue their rich conversations back in the classroom.
We realize that families are not able to visit the school at this time, but we wanted to ensure you are able to feel connected and share in the experience of the walking tour so you can engage in powerful conversations at home with your child. Here is a link that showcases the JKE bulletin board display celebrating Black History Month:
JKE is celebrating Black History Month this February with a Schoolwide display honoring influential Black Canadians, from A-Z. Classes will conduct walking tours to learn more about how each person made history! @LangleySchools #mysd35community #BHM pic.twitter.com/2JkcuaQzck
— JKE School (@JKEschool) February 10, 2022
Reminder: JKE is a closed campus
Just a friendly reminder to all families that we continue to be a closed campus and we are not permitting family members or visitors to enter the school at this time. If you are needing to speak with Mrs. Sollows in the office, please call 604-888-5257 and wait outside the main front doors. Please do not enter the school. If your child is being dropped off late, you can simply bring your child to the front main doors and Mrs. Sollows will check your child in and ensure he/she safely gets to the classroom. There are signs posted outside the main doors to assist you in calling the office.
We ask that families please share this information with any other family members who care for/drop off/pick up your child. Thank you for your support in keeping all JKE students and staff safe!
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, March 4. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to March 4 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
Diversity and Respect Week:
February 21-25 is Diversity and Respect week in the Langley School District. The annual initiative of Diversity and Respect week was established by the Board of Education in 2017 as a means “to coincide with Pink Shirt Day in February to promote awareness, acceptance, Reconciliation, and inclusion for all members of the school community.”
Throughout this week at JKE, we will be engaging in various learning experiences in our classrooms with a specific lens on Anti-Racism. During Diversity and Respect Week we celebrate, in the spirit of inclusion, the uniqueness of each person and the diverse gifts they bring. Diverse learners, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour… everyone in our community is valued. We all belong at James Kennedy Elementary!
Stay tuned for photos in an upcoming newsletter!
Family Literacy Week: Pets Caught Reading
Thanks to all families who participated in our challenge to submit photos of pets or stuffed animals caught reading! Special thanks to Mme Gammel for her hard work to launch this great home-school connection that supports our literacy goals!
Talking to your Child about Residential Schools:
A helpful video is available for families who may wish to learn more about supporting conversations with children about Residential Schools. You can access a video here: Talking to Kids about Residential Schools
District Updates:
Resource for Families with Pre-K learners
The District continue to improve early learning transitions for pre-K children. The District’s early learning community partner, the BC Children’s Kelty Centre runs a podcast called Where You Are. The latest podcast episode focuses on Social and Emotional Development in the Early Years which parents and caregivers may find helpful. The District is sharing this resource with families with pre-K learners. See episode description and link below.
Benefits for Life: Social and Emotional Development in the Early Years
Between ages 0-6, a child’s social and emotional health is every bit as important as their physical health. It affects how they express emotions, deal with stress, develop friendships, and more. Join podcast hosts Bryn and Michelle as they take a closer look at social and emotional development (SED) in the early years, including what it is, how you can support your child’s SED, and how these skills will benefit them for life. In this episode you’ll hear from Joelle, a busy mom to a five-year-old, and Dr. Angela Low, a researcher and educator whose work focuses on social and emotional competence in children. You’ll even hear from some little ones who share their experiences too. Listen to the 26-minute episode here. For all episodes here.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Friday, February 18: Design & Assessment Day/Report Card Prep; Students do not attend
Monday, February 21: Family Day Stat. Holiday; School not in session
Week of February 21-25: Diversity and Respect Week
Friday, March 4: Report cards issued in MyEd
Friday, March 11: Last day of school before Spring Break
Newsletter January 28, 2022
Our first month of 2022 has started off differently, but we are diving full-force into our Term 2 learning! This past week was Family Literacy Week, and JKE hosted a Favourite Book Character Day this past Thursday. So many students and staff participated and brought hundreds of storybook characters to life in our classrooms. We enjoyed an outdoor parade in the morning, as well, to cheer on our primaries and celebrate joyful literacy as a whole school. Literacy is a key goal within our J
KE Action Plan for Learning, which you can learn more about HERE.
Several of our classes have been enjoying learning experiences outside of the school as they engage in various class field trips. We are so grateful for the chance to learn from our greater community again this year!
Just a friendly reminder that we do remain a closed campus at this time and ask that parents wishing to visit the school please call 604-888-5257 before entering the main school doors. Thank you for your attention to this!
Daily Health Check and What to Do When Sick:
As the province continues to update its online K-12 Health Checker, the Ministry of Education is sharing a new document with the school community to help guide families and keep everyone healthy and safe. Please review the Daily Health Check and What to Do When Sick guide as needed here. You will notice an update on symptoms and protocols to help manage illness. Families are encouraged to continue using the Thrive BC COVID-19 Assessment Tool only to check symptoms and determine if you need a Covid-19 test.
Thank you for continuing to keep your children home when they are sick.
Parking Lot Safety:
Please ensure you model safe driving and behaviour when moving through our parking lot while showing kindness and respect to our support staff who are working hard to ensure all our families and students are safe.
Some friendly reminders:
- Please drive slowly! The speed limit is 5km/hr. When in doubt… please SLOW DOWN!
- Drivers must remain in the vehicle when in the drop-off/pick-up lane (inner lane closest to the school). This is not a lane for parking and exiting your vehicle. Please pull forward if there is space in front of you in this lane.
- Please do not double park. It blocks other drivers and prevents them from leaving.
- Ensure you only park in designated parking spots.
- Walking across the parking lot should only occur in a designated cross walk.
- Cars in the drive-thru lane should not stop and allow children to exit or enter the vehicle. Please pull into the Drop-off lane to allow your child to exit or enter your car.
Thank you for your attention to keep all our students and families safe!
Valentine’s Day: (Updated)
This year, we are permitting students to exchange Valentine’s Day cards with classmates.
- Valentine’s Day Cards are acceptable to distribute in class;
- Non-edible items (e.g., pencils, erasers, stickers) are acceptable to distribute in class;
- Food items (unwrapped and/or pre-packaged) are NOT acceptable to distribute in class. This includes chocolate, candy, and cookies.
Please reach out directly to your classroom teacher with any questions.
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, March 4. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to March 4 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
First Peoples Principles:
You may have heard about the First Peoples Principles which help to guide our instruction and learning within the BC curriculum. The First Peoples Principles are meant to be embedded in all we do as educators. As parents, you may be interested in learning more and you can find out more about the First Peoples Principles HERE.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Friday, February 11: Pro-D Day; Students do not attend
Friday, February 18: Design & Assessment Day/Report Card Prep; Students do not attend
Monday, February 21: Family Day; School not in session
Friday, March 4: Report card posted in MyEd
District Updates:
Kindergarten Registration:
Kindergarten registration across the Langley School District runs January 17, 2022 – March 31, 2022. If your child will be five years old by December 31, 2022, you will be able to register through your catchment school. Registration will take place online via email to the school. Our school will have site-specific instructions posted on our website once registration opens. Please understand there is no advantage in rushing to register your child in the first few weeks of the registration period. Families have until the end of March to secure a space for their child.
For information on what documents you need and instructions on how to register, please visit the District webpage here: https://www.sd35.bc.ca/students-parents/registration-2/registration/
February Family Gathering
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the protocols around gatherings this year, we have had to cancel the Heart Healthy Family Gathering that was planned for the evening of February 25th.
Langley Family Scavenger Hunt:
- Langley families play together! – Celebrate Family Literacy Day, Valentine’s Day and Family Day together. Complete as many activities as you can and bring the booklet to any Langley Fraser Valley Regional Library before Saturday, February 26, 2022. The first 500 children to come in with their booklet will receive a free book!
- 2 activity sheets available, either one is acceptable. Participants can download the activity sheet (either the scavenger hunt from LLN (see attachment) or the activity sheet from ABC Literacy (See below or click link)) Note: the activities do not all need to be completed.
- Langley Families Play Together! | Facebook Please encourage your community to like and share our event link on Facebook and #LangleyScavengerHunt with photos of them being out in the community. Langley Families Play Together! | Facebook
Supporting the Foundry Langley:
The District continues to prioritize student safety, wellness and diversity. We have made efforts to support youth mental health initiatives in the District and through our local community partners. In show of support, we are sharing the following information regarding the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation, Encompass, and Foundry’s campaign to raise funds to open the Foundry Langley, which is a centre providing youth mental health support.
Did you know that 70 per cent of mental health problems begin during childhood or adolescence? While one in five young people aged 15 to 24 report experiencing mental illness or substance use problems, fewer than 25 per cent of those in need receive appropriate services! Behind these statistics is a vulnerable young person with a future of potential and promise. Let’s show them they are not alone!
Join Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation in fundraising to build Foundry Langley, a centre dedicated to providing young people aged 12-24 access to mental health and substance use support, primary care, peer support and social services.
Together, we can raise the $2.1 million needed to provide Langley’s youth the much-needed support. To make a donation to Foundry Langley in support of youth wellness, visit FoundryLangley.ca.
Newsletter: January 12, 2022
We are so pleased to welcome all students and families back to school this week! While our newsletters usually come out every two weeks, with all the updates we have been experiencing lately, we felt it would be helpful to share with you a bit earlier than normal. Staff and students are settling in nicely with in-person learning and are starting to really dive into Term 2 instruction.
Thank you, JKE!
We wanted to thank all the families who donated to the JKE Red Cross Donations and Food Drive in December. We were able to donate over 2 vans full of food to the Langley Food Bank prior to Winter Break! Many thanks to Mrs. Jankowiak for organizing this outreach to our community.
Prepare for the Weather:
As we have already seen in 2022 thus far, our winter weather can be ruthless. Please remember to dress your child for the weather each day so they can be warm and dry outside. We like to have children head outside, even in light rain, so please ensure your child has proper waterproof footwear, winter coat, and necessary toque/gloves so your child stay warm and dry even in these winter months.
Also, an extra set of clothes is INVALUABLE in these wet and dreary days. Sending an extra pair of socks and pants in your child’s backpack really saves the day so your child can continue to learn in comfort.
Black Excellence Day: Friday, January 14
Commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., Black Excellence Day is both a day of education and remembrance, and an invitation to a necessary conversation about racial justice.
Please join us on Friday, January 14th to recognize the great contributions of Black Canadians and in recognition of their struggle for civil rights.
Friendly Reminders:
It is helpful if you ensure your child knows where to go at the end of the day to prevent a line up of students needing the phone at dismissal.
Also, if you are needing to pick up your child early during the school day, please inform the classroom teacher in advance (when possible) so the teacher can have the child ready for pick up. Just a reminder that our school is currently a closed campus to visitors and therefore we do ask that parents call the office at 604-888-5257 when you arrive to pick up your child, rather than entering the school building.
Thank you for your consideration to these helpful measures.
Enhanced Safety Measures:
As mentioned in the email sent to families Friday, JKE has established enhanced safety measures in response to full return to in-person learning. This document is posted on the front entrance and is shared here for your convenience: COVID-19 H&S Addendum Prevention Plan – Jan 2022 for James Kennedy Elementary
Below are site-specific enhancements that we have at JKE:
Daily Health Check:
We continue to require every family to conduct a daily health check for each child attending school. Please ensure you conduct this health check PRIOR to sending your child to school each day. You can find the link to the updated Daily Health Check HERE.
Please remember: Do NOT send your child to school if your child is ill.
Limiting Visitors in Schools:
We will be restricting access into the school by visitors. We ask parents needing to connect with the school to please call the front office at 604-888-5257 before entering the building. Signs are posted on the main doors as reminders. We will also be canceling hot lunch for the time-being until guidelines change, as the program distribution requires several volunteer helpers.
Masks:
All K-12 students and staff are required to continue wearing masks inside schools, except when eating or drinking or an exemption that has been communicated directly to Mrs. Simonetto. All staff will remind students regularly to don their mask indoors. Please ensure your child has a clean mask daily.
Reducing Congestion:
Students have a “flow of traffic” to follow when transitioning to common spaces, including gym, music and library learning commons. We are fortunate to have exterior doors in all our classrooms and common spaces which allows for us to reduce hallway congestion.
Teachers have also made efforts to space students out in their seating arrangement within the classroom, whenever possible.
Bathrooms:
This school year, we actually kept the same bathroom procedures in place as we did in the 2020-21 school year. Bathrooms continue to be used with one student at a time and specific classes are assigned to certain bathrooms.
Schedule:
We will be maintaining our current start, recess, lunch and dismissal schedule. As mentioned earlier, our students are able to exit their classrooms safely through exterior classroom doors. We do ask that families take measures to reduce congestion when on school property by spacing out. We also strongly encourage all family members to wear a mask when on school property.
Exposure Notifications and Self-Management:
The Omicron variant spreads rapidly and, as such, contact tracing is a less effective measure in the timely management of COVID-19. Public Health is no longer able to contact everyone who tests positive.
As shared by the District and Provincial Government, there is now a shift in the notification process in schools. As Public Health is not contacting every person who tests positive, school exposures will not be issued by Public Health for individual cases. In the event of a declared outbreak, Public Health will issue a public notification. The school will monitor attendance records and work with the district and Fraser Health in the case a “Health Closure” is necessary for a class, grade or school-wide.
We do encourage families to notify the school if your family member tests positive for Covid 19, however we are not able to share that information with others.
Covid Measures for Managing Illness:
To help students, staff, and families in the weeks ahead, the District is sharing a document outlining information and public health guidance regarding COVID Procedures for Managing Illness. Please see here: COVID-19 Procedures for Managing Illness 2022Jan11
Kindergarten Registration:
Kindergarten registration across the Langley School District runs January 17, 2022 – March 31, 2022. If your child will be five years old by December 31, 2022, you will be able to register through your catchment school. Registration will take place online via email to the school. Our school will have site-specific instructions posted on our website once registration opens. Please understand there is no advantage in rushing to register your child in the first few weeks of the registration period. Families have until the end of March to secure a space for their child.
For information on what documents you need and instructions on how to register, please visit the District webpage here: https://www.sd35.bc.ca/students-parents/registration-2/registration/
Terry Fox Run Totals:
We are pleased to announce that James Kennedy Elementary raised $3,738.20 during out Terry Fox Run in September! Well done, JKE Families, on raising these funds for such a meaningful cause!
Connection to the Land: Understanding Land Acknowledgments
As part of our ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, we will be including a Land Acknowledgement by students and staff every Monday morning over the PA.
To learn more about the significance of Land Acknowledgments, you can view a short clip here, from Chief Seattle: Connection to the Land
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuJzMu6u-pg
District Updates:
SchoolMessenger Text Message Alerts
The District and schools use SchoolMessenger to communicate with families. It is a notification service for parental outreach, emergency broadcasts, school information, student attendance alerts, secure file delivery, and other communications for education. If your family’s contact information is up to date in MyEDBC you will automatically receive emails. If you want to take advantage of the text message notification service (optional), please follow the instructions here. An infographic about the tool is here.
If you have any questions, please contact your school administrator.
Newsletter: December 5, 2021
Our students have been enjoying various learning experiences in recent weeks and are getting excited for the final two weeks of school prior to Winter Break. Many classes have learned about Hanukkah,
which started on November 28th, and some students even created their own dreidels and learned how to play with the game. Our school, as a whole, is putting a greater focus on diversifying our celebrations and traditions within our classrooms and schoolwide to ensure all students feel they belong at James Kennedy Elementary. Happy Hanukkah to all our JKE families who celebrate!
Our JKE student leadership team has been thinking up great ways to spread kindness and cheer throughout the school. On Friday, they treated staff to coffee and tea, including free delivery! Their kindness and thoughtfulness are contributing to lots of smiling faces around the school. Thank you, JKE Student Leadership Team!
Finally, I would like to thank t
he PAC for bringing the Karate Club to our school during the week of November 22-26. We have a lot of interest in this lunchtime program and the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. Many of our own JKE students even helped in the sessions! Thank you for this opportunity!
Supporting your Child with Peer Conflicts:
James Kennedy has created its own Common Language: Be Brave, Be Safe, Be Kind and Be Respectful. At times, students engage in peer interactions that cause children to become frustrated or angry (“yellow” or “red zone” in the Zones of Regulation). Sharing the strategies we promote across the school may be helpful for parents, so you too can use this language with your child(ren) at home.
At James Kennedy, we encourage students to:
Use kind words
Walk away
Tell an adult.
Our goal is to equip students with tools and strategies so they are prepared to navigate social situations that may not go as planned. Using kind words to problem solve is the first step when facing a conflict. If that does not work, we encourage students to walk away, or make space, to ensure safety is maintained and to allow all involved to have space and time to calm down and get back to the “green zone” (calm and ready to learn). Finally, if the first two strategies do not work, students are encouraged to seek help from an adult.
Families are encouraged to also use this language when speaking to your child at home, as it helps to build consistency between home and school to support each child’s success.
Be Safe!
December is the start of our Character Strong focus on being Safe and Responsible! Our entire school will be focusing on the various ways we can be Safe at school, at home, in the community and online.
Don’t forget, Character Strong Literacy kits are available for your family or child to sign out of the Library Learning Commons. They are wonderful kits that infuse literacy into our Social Emotional learning goals as a school!
Student Safety Around Schools
With the days growing shorter and the heavy rain, fog, and frost, we are sharing a reminder to all our students to take extra precaution when walking to and from school. Please be aware of your surroundings, walk with someone whenever possible, and avoid wearing headphones. We also ask drivers in our school community to be vigilant on our roads. We encourage families to speak with their children about what they can do to stay healthy and safe. Student safety is our priority. Thank you for your cooperation and support.
Canada History Week: Indigenous History
This year, Canada History Week will focus on Indigenous History. Here is a wonderful resource for schools and families to explore to deepen our understanding of Indigenous History and Truth and Reconciliation: LINK HERE
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, December 10. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to December 10 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
District Update:
Fuel and Travel Restrictions Update – Effective Monday, December 6, 2021
The District is sharing an update with the community regarding the announcement made on November 22, 2021 outlining measures to support the province’s fuel and travel restrictions. The Ministry of Education has provided new guidance to school districts regarding sports and extracurricular activities. Schools are now permitted to participate in these types of events such as field trips, sports tournaments, and related learning opportunities that require transportation. To help our school staff and volunteers plan for the transition, this change will be in effect Monday, December 6, 2021 and will continue to winter break or until further notice.
The District recognizes these activities are valuable to student development, learning, and community building. The District will continue with other measures to support the province’s effort in conserving fuel and reducing travel. In alignment with the province, the District is encouraging our students, staff, and families to walk, ride a bike, carpool, use transit or alternate modes of transportation. We appreciate your support during these challenging times.
BCCDC Vaccination for Children Aged 5-11
The COVID-19 vaccination is now authorized by Health Canada for children five and older. Getting young people vaccinated helps protect them and the people around them. The Langley Schools District is supporting the efforts of public health and is sharing this resource from the BC Centre for Disease Control COVID-19 Vaccination for children 5-11 years old here. You can also review an Immunize BC FAQ resource here.
Parents can register their child in the Get Vaccinated System to be notified of when their child can get vaccinated. The vaccines are free and children do not need BC Care Cards to receive them. If you have any questions about your child’s health, please contact public health or your medical provider.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, December 7: PAC meeting in Library Learning Commons at 7:00 pm
Friday, December 10: Report cards available through MyEd Parent Portal; Hot Lunch: McDonald’s
Wednesday, December 15: Virtual Christmas Concert is launched
Thursday, December 16: Festive Fashion Spirit Day
Friday, December 17: Last day prior to Winter Break
Newsletter: November 22, 2021
On behalf of our entire staff, we would like to acknowledge the terrible events that have affected our surrounding communities throughout British Columbia this past week. Our hearts go out to all families impacted. Please know the school is here to support any families in need. If you are directly impacted, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Simonetto at ksimonetto@sd35.bc.ca. Our staff are currently working on plans to organize supports from our JKE community to community relief organizations. Please look for communication on this coming very soon.
Our students and staff engaged in a Remembrance Day Walking Tour to honour all Canadian Veterans
on November 12. The day was deeply reflective and connected our students to local Langley Soldiers and their stories. At 11:00 on that day, we also conducted a school-wide moment of silence. We are
proud of how respectful all students were on this day. You can see more about the JKE Remembrance Day Experience here: https://twitter.com/LangleySchools/status/1458600389994024962
You may have seen JKE students featured in the Aldergrove Star recently! A WGSS student launched a very successful after-school coding club in recent weeks. Many JKE students participated and enjoyed the learning opportunity. It was a wonderful way to connect James Kennedy Elementary with our feeder secondary school and students! You can read more here: https://twitter.com/LangleySchools/status/1462511324643344384
Truth and Reconciliation:
As part of our shared commitment towards Truth and Reconciliation, we will feature Indigenous resources with parents in each newsletter to help families engage in and deepen our understanding of this important work.
Here is a read-aloud, suitable for young children, of the book When We Were Alone, read aloud by children’s author David Robertson. You can listen HERE.
Report Cards in MyEd:
All report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, December 10. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that all parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to December 10 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
French Kindergarten 2022
If you have not already signed your child up for French Kindergarten for September 2022, please reach out to Mrs. Sollows as soon as possible via email at ssollows@sd35.bc.ca.
District Updates:
Drone Camp for Grade 7 Students: January 29-30, 2022
Do you have a child, aged 12+ that is interested in Drones? Then this camp may be for you!
Learn more about this exciting opportunity here:
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Friday, November 26: Hot lunch (McDonald’s)
Friday, December 3: Hot lunch (Boston Pizza)
Tuesday, December 7: PAC meeting 7:00 pm in Library Learning Commons
Friday, December 10: Report cards posted in MyEd
Friday, December 17: Last day of school before Winter Break
Newsletter: November 8, 2021
It is a beautiful, sunny Monday to mark another week of learning. This week will be one of deep reflection. Today, November 8, marks Indigenous Veteran’s Day. Thousands of Indigenous soldiers have served in the Canadian Armed Forces, from the War of 1812 to the two World Wars, to the Korean War and the recent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Today we remember them. If you wish to learn more about Indigenous Veterans as part of our ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, you can visit this site: HERE
On Wednesday, November 10, our entire school will pay tribute to Indigenous Peoples who served as well as all Canadians who served in the Armed Forces to protect our rights and freedoms. We are grateful for their courage and sacrifice so that we may enjoy the freedoms we have today. This Wednesday, our classes will engage in a Remembrance Day Walking Tour experience in the gym, where students and staff will watch video footage to deepen their understanding, walk and learn through viewing a photography display about Langley Soldiers who fought in the First World War (many of whom are commemorated in the naming of streets in Fort Langley), and learn more about the thousands of soldiers from various cultural backgrounds who served and sacrificed for Canada. We will also engage in a whole-school moment of silence at 11:00 on that day. We hope this is a meaningful and powerful experience that will encourage students to remember, pay tribute and learn. Lest We Forget.
JKE Action Plan for Learning:
Our newly updated École James Kennedy Elementary Action Plan for Learning has now been shared on our school website. Within it, you can learn more about our literacy and social-emotional learning goals for all our students, and the actions we intend to take to ensure all students are inspired to reach their full potential and create a positive legacy for the future.
To learn more about our JKE Action Plan for Learning, please visit: https://jke.sd35.bc.ca/our-school/school-plan/
Thank You, PAC:
We would like to make a heartfelt thank you to our PAC for the incredible Halloween DJ Dance Party 
they put in place for our students on October 29. The students had SO much fun dancing outside and we were grateful for the beautiful sunshine that keep everyone dry! Also, this day was our first JKE hot lunch in the past year-and-a-half! It was the first hot lunch for our grade ones and kindergartens as well! The children were thrilled to get their hot lunches and enjoy such a fun-filled day, including a costume parade. Thank you to all parents who made this special day happen for our students!
Lockdown Drill scheduled for Tuesday, November 9
Please note that tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9, we will be having one of our scheduled Lockdown Drills at 1:30 pm. These drills are to be conducted up to two times per school year as part of our Emergency Response Plan.
District Updates:
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 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
TD Book Giveaway: Malaika’s Costume
Your child has received the TD Grade One Book Giveaway book, Malaika’s Costume by Nadia L. Hohn. This book is given out for free to all Grade One students across Canada on behalf of the TD Reads program. The book beautifully celebrates diversity, family, community, and celebration as Malaika prepares herself for Carnival. While we celebrate community and diversity, we also recognize that there are many varieties of English, each reflecting a specific cultural, social, or professional context. Malaika’s Costume is written in Caribbean patois, which reflects the community in which the story takes place. This book is a great example of how we can teach our children about dialect, culture and what language means to a community. If you would like to learn more about the book, the author and the TD Reads program, please visit this website:
Langley Education Heroes – Langley Advance Times
The Langley Advance Times is highlighting the efforts of seven local educators who go “Above and Beyond” in an upcoming special publication. The paper is looking for anyone involved in education in Langley – Teachers, Administrators, Education Assistants, Aboriginal Support Workers, Coaches, Club Leaders, Custodial Staff, Bus Drivers – who have made a big difference for Langley students in the last year or over the course of a long career. Each person selected will be the subject of a feature article and photo in an upcoming publication.
To nominate someone, email contests@langleyadvancetimes.com and submit up to 250 words explaining why the person you are nominating deserves to be featured. Please include your contact information so staff at the paper can follow up with you and reach out to your nominee. A small committee at the Langley Advance Times will be making decisions, so there is a November 10th (4 pm) deadline for nominations.
Welcome Centre at Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary
The District is opening a new Welcome Centre at Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary. The Welcome Centre will provide interactive, informative sessions for families and their young children aged from birth to four years and will support families in celebrating their child’s development. It is a safe and welcoming space that is reflective of Indigenous culture and values, highlighting the First Nations principle that every child is a gift. Programs, which are at no cost, include Story Time and Toddler Time. For more info, visit our webpage here.
Derek Doubleday “A Month to Remember”
A Walk to Remember
Spearheaded by two Langley youth and their organization, Langley Youth for the Fallen: A Walk to Remember, the Walk commemorates Canadian Forces personnel who lost their lives while serving in the Canadian mission in Afghanistan (2002-2011). A total of 162 trees were planted at the Arboretum in honour of the 162 Canadians who lost their lives (including four civilians) through the nine years of the Afghan mission. The central commemorative feature is symbolic of a tree whose life has been cut short. Wrapped around the trunk, a steel ribbon ascends towards the sky, carrying the names of the fallen Canadians. Please see the attached overview of the initiative as well as a press release and please share out with your school communities in your next newsletter. Not only is this a great initiative to promote with Remembrance Day around the corner but it also serves as a fundraiser for the ABSL.
Important Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, November 9: Neufeld Order deadline for orders
Thursday, November 11: Remembrance Day Stat. Holiday
Friday, November 12: Design and Assessment Day: students do not attend
Friday, November 19: Hot lunch- Cobs/Booster Juice
Newsletter: October 25, 2021
Our students have had many fun learning experiences over the past two weeks. Our grade ones went on their first field trip EVER! It was wonderful for them to have the chance to finally ride a bus and visit the pumpkin patch. The students had a fun time and returned to carv
e their pumpkins with their big buddies.
Our intermediate students are thriving in their leadership roles in the school. Student leaders are able to be Playground Pals helping primary students navigate outside playtime on the primary playground, helping th
em line up safely and doing classroom activities as intermediate buddies. It is inspiring to see our student leaders helping others throughout the school. We truly missed this last year and are so pleased to have these opportunities for positive connections return.
We thank all our families for your part in our Parent-Teacher interviews this year. It is only by working together, in a partnership between home and school, that we can fully support each child’s learning and growth. Thank you for your time and commitment to your child’s learning! Many thanks to our staff for their extra time meeting with families to ensure each child is able to reach their full potential.
Halloween Reminders:
We are excited to celebrate Halloween fun on Friday, October 29. Our amazing PAC has generously planned the Halloween DJ party again… this year we will host the 20-min class dance parties outside (weather permitting).
We encourage students to dress up on October 29 as we will be hosting our outdoor costume parade in the morning. This was a favourite activity last year that we plan to continue.
Please remember to leave costume weapons, scary masks and gore for your October 31 celebrations. We ask that these parts of the costume are left at home for our school celebrations so all our students, including our youngest learners, can have a fun-filled day.
Dress for the Weather!
As we enter these rainy and cooler months, please ensure your child is prepared for outside play. We will strive to head outdoors for recess and lunch daily, unless there is extreme weather. Sending your child to school with proper footwear, a warm/waterproof coat, and even an extra pair of pants/socks (especially for primary) helps students stay comfortable all day when they return inside for learning. Thank you for your attention to this.
Neufeld Food Orders:
Just a friendly reminder that Neufeld Food Orders are due November 9th. Don’t miss out on this delicious opportunity!
JKE Virtual Book Fair is Coming!
Our Virtual Book Fair is returning to JKE November 15-29th. You can visit the link here https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5166394
JKE Common Language & Character Strong Book Kits
As you are already aware, October launched our two-month focus on being kind at James Kennedy Elementary. Kindness is part of our JKE common language and also partners with our learning through the ‘Character Strong’ program. 
To help families engage in this work at home, we have created eight kits which are available for families to check out from the Library Learning Commons. These kits support our school’s ‘Action Plan for our Learning’ literacy goal.
We have created four kits for students in kindergarten to grade two, and four kits for students in grades three to five. Each kit contains two picture books as well as suggestions for at-home activities from the ‘Character Strong’ website. Please visit the Library Learning Commons before or after school to sign out a kit.
As well, the following kits will be available as the year progresses:
- December & January—Safety
- February & March—Respect
- April & May—Bravery
District Updates:
The district is currently looking for Langley Homestay hosts for International Students. Please see the flyer: Langley Homestay Ad 2021 (1)
Newsletter: October 11, 2021
I hope you are all enjoying a lovely long weekend! We have had two great weeks of learning together as our kindergarten students have also settled very nicely into full day schooling. Our bulletin boards are now full of student work as students dive deeper into this year’s learning. When you walk into our classrooms there are so many amazing experiences for our students. You may see virtual author visits through the public library, students collaborating to create together using tec
hnology, or students showcasing their family’s identity and heritage to share what makes them uniquely special. Students had a chance to participate in and use Let’s Play wheelchairs during gym periods this past week, allowing them to experience the challenges and benefits of sport wheelchairs and the impressive skills of our Canadian Wheelchair Athletes.
On Friday, students participated in our annual Terry Fox Run. We hosted a primary run followed by an intermediate run. Students cheered one another on to “Run Like Terry!” We are grateful for the opportunity to honour this Canadian hero!
Finally, we celebrated all our staff on World Teachers’ Day on October 5th. We are so thankful to our entire staff for the dedication they show kids every single day. I am so proud to work alongside educators who care so much for kids and work tirelessly to inspire each child reach their full potential.
October/November Focus: Be Kind!
October launches our 2-month focus on being KIND. Kindness is part of our JKE Common Language and also partners with our learning through the Character Strong program. Students and staff will be engaged in various learning activities, book explorations and performing acts of kindness. We encourage families to engage in this work at home too! Think of ways you can spread JKE kindness throughout your community, help a stranger or care for our surrounding neighbourhood.The possibilities for kindness are ENDLESS!
Parent-Teacher Interviews:
We will be hosting virtual/in-person parent-teacher interviews on October 20 (until 7:30 pm) and October 21 (until 4:30 pm). Both of these days will have an early dismissal at 1:33 pm. Parents/Guardians have the choice to participate in the 15-minute session either virtually or in-person.
The online sign-up will open from October 13 at 8:00 am until October 19 at 11:00 pm.
You can access online sign-up page here where you will need to create a new login: https://jke.schoolappointments.com
A few notes for parents/guardians who opt for an in-person meeting:
- All attendees will be required to wear a mask.
- We ask that children (including siblings) remain at home.
- You will be asked to enter/exit the exterior classroom door. Unfortunately, hallways and bathrooms will not be open.
- Attendees will hand-sanitize and sign-in upon entering the classroom.
Thank you for your attention to these safety measures. We look forward to meeting and working alongside you as we continue to support your child’s learning and development. Please contact the office at 604-888-5257 with any inquiries.
District Updates:
Programs of Choice – Deadline to register is Monday, October 18th
Langley School District offers a rich diversity of programs that are designed to meet the specific needs and interests of students. Programs include Fine Arts, French Immersion, Fundamental, Langley Environmental Awareness Program (outdoor education), Montessori, U-Connect, and Career Education Programs (secondary). The registration deadline is October 18, 2021. For more information and instructions to register your child, visit our District website here and review our FAQ choice programs resource here.
Contact Tracing Information
Schools in the District are continuing to assist the Fraser Health Authority in contact tracing and case management. We appreciate the ongoing cooperation from parents/guardians in this process. To help support our families, we are sharing resources from the BC Centre for Disease Control which outline the contact tracing process in schools. You can view the Contact Tracing Infographic here and Contact Tracing in Schools resource here.
Updated Daily Health Check
Our District’s procedure is for all students to complete a daily health check at home prior to entering school and/or boarding a District bus. The Ministry of Education’s Daily Health Check poster has been updated to reflect new federal regulations regarding international travel. The symptoms listed remain the same. You can find the updated print version here. The updated version is being translated into multiple languages, which will be posted to the Ministry’s COVID-19 Safe Schools website here. Families can also continue to use the Ministry’s mobile app or online version here.
Looking for Homestay Families:
The district is looking for Homestay Families for Langley Students. To learn more, please see the following PDF: Langley Homestay Ad 2021 (1)
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Wednesday, October 20 & Thursday, October 21: Early Dismissal at 1:33 pm for Parent/teacher interviews
Friday, October 22: Pro-D Day; Students do not attend
Monday, October 25: Photo Retakes
Tuesday, November 2: PAC Meeting in Library at 7:00 pm
Thursday, November 11: Remembrance Day; no school
Friday, November 12: Design & Assessment Day; students do not attend
Newsletter: September 26, 2021
We have had a great start to this year of learning. Students and staff are forging connections and building caring classroom communities. Teachers have been working hard to establish routines, expectations and structures in their classes. Staff are pleased to teach our school-wide common language of Be Brave, Be Safe, Be Kind & Be Respectful, established by students and staff last spring, to help all of our JKE community align in our shared expectations.
We thank all families that were able to attend our Meet the Teacher Night! It was wonderful to have families back in our classrooms to see student work and the caring environment your child experiences while at school. Our staff were delighted to welcome you all back into the school. James Kennedy Elementary thrives when students, staff and parents/guardians work together to ensure each child’s success!
September 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
As you all know, September 30 is now a federal holiday to take time to solemnly reflect on and acknowledge the impact of Residential Schools on survivors and the grief for the families of the children who never came home. Our school is committed to this ongoing work towards Truth and Reconciliation. As part of this journey, we will also hold space to listen and learn on September 29 with various school-wide activities. Your child is encouraged to wear an orange shirt on September 29 to acknowledge that Every Child Matters.
If you are wishing to engage in community events on September 30, please consider the following:
Day for Truth & Reconciliation: Organized by the Ballantyne Project, runs from 4:00pm – 8:30pm at the Riverside Community Church in Port Coquitlam. Admission by donation, with all money going to the Orange Shirt Society.
Skookum Surrey – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: At Holland Park near the fountain from 2:00 – 4:00pm; Invited to an afternoon of stories, tea, bannock and drumming
Tk’emlups Drum for The Children: Join virtually on September 30 at 2:15pm
Truth and Reconciliation Week: Organized by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, there will be virtual events from September 27 – October 1. Registration in advance; Free of charge
Parking Lot Reminders:
We appreciate everyone’s efforts to ensure that our parking lot flows smoothly with safety as our top priority. Families are encouraged to share the information below with anyone who picks up/drops off your child.
Please ensure you are aware of the following:
- Drop-off Lane: The inner drop off lane is intended for students to quickly exit the vehicle. Drivers must remain in the vehicle and pull forward as cars in front of you move forward and it is safe to do so. Parking is not permitted in the Drop-Off Lane.
- Drive-thru Lane: There is absolutely no parking in the drive-thru lane. Students should not enter or exit the vehicle while in the drive-thru lane.
- No Double Parking: Please refrain from double parking in our parking lots, even for a moment. Parking behind other cars blocks people in and prevents them from exiting the parking lot.
- Speed Limit: Please remember that our school parking lot has a speed limit of 5km/hr to ensure the safety of all our students. When in doubt… please slow down!
- Students may arrive to school after 8:30 am, when supervision commences.
- If you require more time to get your child out of or into the vehicle, please consider arriving closer to 8:30 or 8:35 to acquire a parking stall in our parking lot.
Communicating with your School:
Schools and families continue to work together to ensure success for students. If you have an issue or concern but don’t know who to speak with, the District encourages you to read these helpful Communicating with your School guidelines for parents/guardians found on our District website here. As an additional reference, review this one page resource here.
Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) Grades 4 & 7:
Parents/Guardians of Grade 4 and 7 students are asked to review the following letter regarding upcoming Provincial Foundation Skills Assessments. Please ensure you read this letter FSA Parent Letter 2021Sep
District Updates:
Ventilation System Improvements
Schools continue to follow COVID-19 guidelines as set out by the Ministry of Education and Provincial Health Office. In an effort to communicate health and safety measures to students, staff, and families, the District is sharing an infographic about ventilation system improvements which have been implemented over the last two years. View infographic here. The District will be making further upgrades this fall. If you have any questions, please email the District: feedback@sd35.bc.ca.
BC Vaccination Status Reporting Regulation for Students
Fraser Health is sharing information with families regarding the BC Vaccination Status Reporting Regulation for Students. Vaccine reporting, which is a regulation that has been in effect since 2019, supports the gathering of immunization data and to offer immunizations in school settings. Examples of routine immunizations offered to grade 6/7 and 9/10 students may include Chickenpox (varicella) vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, and Meningococcal Quadrivalent vaccine. These in-school immunizations do not include the COVID-19 vaccine. The District will continue to assist Fraser Health in this process including distributing and collecting information and accommodating public health staff on school sites. As always, our schools will continue to follow all COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Please read this letter from Fraser Health here.
Ukulele Learning Group Lessons:
If your child, ages 8-12, is interested in weekly after-school ukulele instruction, please refer to the following flyer: 2021-22 Learning Group Poster
TransLink Services:
Starting Wednesday, September 1, children 12 and under will be able to ride TransLink services free of charge as part of a new provincial program. The program will make transit more affordable for families and help to encourage children to become lifelong transit riders.
Here’s what you need to know about children 12 and under riding our different services:
Riding the bus
Children 12 and under will be able to ride buses free of charge without requiring a transit pass, identification or an accompanying fare paying customer.
Riding SkyTrain, SeaBus, and West Coast Express
Children 12 and under will be able to ride on SkyTrain, SeaBus, and West Coast Express free of charge only if accompanied by a fare paying customer. A fare paying customer can accompany up to a maximum of four children through the fare gates.
Children 12 and under will continue to be able to access the gated system by themselves with the purchase of a fare to tap through fare gates.
Riding HandyDART
Children 12 and under who are registered HandyDART customers or children who are accompanying a registered HandyDART customer will be able to travel for free on HandyDART without requiring a fare product or identification.
While travel for children 12 and under will be free, parents and guardians are responsible for educating and making decisions about the safety and care of their children whenever travelling on transit. This includes when children are travelling unaccompanied where permitted and determining if their children can or should take transit independently.
Please visit translink.ca/kidsridefree for more information about the program. For resources and youth travel initiatives, please visit the TravelSmart page under the “TravelSmart for Schools” section.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Wednesday, September 29: School recognition of Day for Truth and Reconciliation; students encouraged to wear orange
Thursday, September 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation- schools are closed
Tuesday, October 5: PAC meeting 6:30 pm
Friday, October 8: Terry Fox Run
Monday, October 11: Thanksgiving- schools are closed
Welcome Back: September 10, 2021
Welcome back to all our JKE families! It has been really wonderful to have our entire school com
munity back together again. Our first day of school hosted a JKE Welcome Back Celebration! To see more about how excited our Staff is to see our JKE kids, watch this great video:
https://twitter.com/LangleySchools/status/1435372311989919746
Students are settling into the routines of school. It is so nice to have students free to play where and 
with whom they want this year! The children were overjoyed to safely be together outside at recess and lunch playtime this week. We are sure your children are pretty tired after these early mornings and first days of connection and learning.
We would like to extend a warm JKE welcome to the following new staff members:
Ms. Tsang: English Grade 5/6
Ms. Friesen: English Grade 6
Mme Cripps: French Grade 5
Mme LaForce: French Grade 3 sharing with Mme. Keyhoe
Ms. Mazza: English Grade 3
Mrs. DeVries: English Grade 2
Ms. Doran: Library Tech
Ms. Rowley: PE Teacher, Tuesdays
Student absences:
If your child is going to be away, please call and leave a message at our office 604-888-5257 before 9:15 am.
Student Placements:
This afternoon, you will receive an email from your child’s permanent classroom teacher for the 2021-22 school year. I would like to thank our teams of staff that spent countless hours preparing and building classes, considering the academic and social-emotional needs of every child. We do our very best to ensure each child is placed in the best possible environment for individual success.
These classes are now final. This allows for the community of each class to truly flourish as connections and relationships are taking root. We look forward to building positive relationships and creating caring communities within each classroom.
K-7 Masks:
Just a reminder that masks are to be worn indoors by all Grade 4-7 students when not eating or drinking. For K-3 students, mask wearing is a personal choice.
Daily Health Check:
This year, we ask that all parents perform a daily health check with your child before sending them to school. No paperwork is required to do so. Simply visit this site to assess any symptoms: https://www.k12dailycheck.gov.bc.ca/healthcheck?execution=e1s3
Parent Visitors:
Parents are welcome to return to JKE! We are beyond thrilled to have our parent community back with us in the school. If you are visiting the office or volunteering, please ensure the following when you enter:
- Wear a mask
- Ensure you perform a Daily Health Check
- See Mrs. Sollows in the office. All visitors must sign in.
Thank you for your attention to these measures.
Parent Forms:
This year, we schools will be collecting parent consents through an online form rather than on paper. At the beginning of the school year, an email will be sent to the primary guardian of each child as indicated in MyEdBC. Instructions will be included in that email.
Cross Country:
At this time, the District Cross Country program will be paused until the Spring.
District Updates:
September 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
As you likely already know, this year the government introduced a new statutory holiday on September 30 for National Truth and Reconciliation. Please note that schools will not be in session on this day.
To learn more visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021FIN0048-001531
COVID-19 Notification Process
The Ministry of Education has informed the District of the COVID-19 Notification Process. The District will continue to follow the protocols as set out by Fraser Health to help keep our students and staff healthy and safe.
Here is what we can share with you now:
Public health will continue to prioritize schools for contact tracing. Public health will directly follow up with anyone identified as a COVID-19 case and determine if other students or staff were close contacts.
· Close contacts are followed up with directly because they may be at greater risk of infection. They will be directly informed by public health if they need to take action, like self-monitoring or self-isolating.
· People at school who are not close contacts are not at increased risk, so don’t need to take any additional actions beyond continuing to follow general public health recommendations.
· In line with practices for other community settings and workplaces, school notifications to the broader school community, such as letters or exposure notices on regional health authority websites, will be used when public health deems them necessary to support contact tracing or outbreak management.
· Public health continues to monitor transmission of COVID-19 across the province, with the latest data on COVID19 available from BCCDC.
Family Accident Reimbursement Plan Voluntary Insurance:
If you are interested in learning more about this voluntary family insurance program, please visit: https://www.solutionsinsurance.com/aonbc
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
September 16: Student Photo Day
September 21: Tentative date for Meet the Teacher Night. Confirmation and information coming soon.
September 24: Design and Assessment Day- students do not attend
September 29: Orange Shirt Day and school acknowledgement of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation- school not in session
Newsletter June 4, 2021
We continue to enjoy so many wonderful events and rich learning experiences at JKE! On Thursday, we celebrated our Kindergarten Welcome Drive-thru event! It was a wonderful way to welcome our newest JKE students in a safe way. Families showed great creativity, preparing signs and decorating their vehicles. Thank you to Mme Foulds, Mme Tremblay, Mrs. O’Shea and Mrs. 
Dewit for their hard work in preparing and planning this event!
This past week we also hosted Bike to School week at JKE! What a wonderful turn out with the number of families that rolled their way to school each day! Thank you to Ms. Jordan and Mrs. King for all their hard work to organize this event for our families.
We also acknowledge that this past week was a very emotional and challenging one as we honoured the survivors and remembered the children of Residential schools who did not come home. Students and staff made space to engage in meaningful conversations in their classrooms, many books were read about Residential Schools to deepen our understanding, students and staff wore Orange Shirts throughout the week, and we took a moment of silence at 2:15 on Wednesday to mourn the loss of so many children. We continue our commitment towards Truth and Reconciliation and acknowledge there is still so much work to do. Our hearts are with our Indigenous families, children and staff during this very difficult time.
Warmer Weather:
As we head into our final month of school, we remind families to please ensure your child is ready for the warmer weather. Hats and sunscreen are encouraged and please ensure your child has a reusable water bottle each day to help them stay hydrated as the temperatures rise.
MyEdBC Parent Portal:
Report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Tuesday, June 29. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to June 29 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
Rise Together Donations:
Families are welcome to donate new or gently used school supplies to Rise Together, a club at WGSS. All donations will be sent to children in Rwanda. For more information, please see: Rise Together pamphlet.
JKE will have a donation bin outside the front of the school.
District News:
Farewell Ceremonies for Elementary Students:
Questions have arisen due to the guidelines published by the Public Health Office regarding changes to restrictions around Graduation Ceremonies. These guidelines only impact Grade 12 graduation as this is a unique milestone that the PHO felt they had to address. The protocols have not changed for any other school events including Grade 5 or 7 leaving ceremonies. Unfortunately, parents are still unable to gather at elementary and middle school events this year.
Transportation for 2021-22 School Year: REPOST
Transportation Registration for the 2021-22 school year opens on May 3. All riders who are currently in the system and expected to continue riding next year will receive a letter with instructions to register. Please note the instructions to register are different for each category of rider. To help in our planning and creation of bus routes, registrations must be submitted by June 18, 2021. The District cannot guarantee approval after the deadline. New and existing riders can find more information on our Transportation Registration webpage here.
Homestay Families needed:
Homestay families are needed to support our International Students!
Learn more here: Langley Homestay Ad 2021
YOUTH ONLINE STUDY
Parents and Students in Grades 6 to 12:
What do you and your child think about technology and social media?
How do you and your child use technology and social media?
To complete the survey, please click on the following links:
PARENT SURVEY: https://www.jitsutech.ca/YOS2021parentSD35 YOUTH SURVEY: https://www.jitsutech.ca/YOS2021youthSD35
Please do not forward the survey links or post to social media.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Dr. Zina Lee at Zina.Lee@ufv.ca
Census 2021
You may or may not know that the 2021 Census is underway. It has been a challenging year for families, and the census might seem like another thing on everyone’s busy to-do list. The District is assisting our Stats Canada partner in communicating this information and encouraging families to complete their census. Census data helps governments at all levels plan for schools, transportation, community centres, libraries and recreational activities. Data from the 2021 Census will be even more crucial, because it will help to evaluate the impact of the pandemic and to better plan for the future. You can quickly and easily complete your census questionnaire at www.census.gc.ca using the access code you received in the mail. If you need assistance or would like to have a paper (or alternate format) questionnaire, please call the Census Help Line at 1-855-340-2021. Thank you for doing your part to help plan for a better future for all Canadians.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Monday, June 28: Grade seven farewell 5:00-8:00 pm
Tuesday, June 29: Last day of school for students; Dismissal at 12:00; Report cards issued
Newsletter: May 17, 2021
You may recall the PAWS Shared Language from years past. PAWS stood for: Polite, Accountable, Willing and Safe. Recently, staff and students have been reflecting about our shared language at JKE over the past several months. We wanted to ensure the words we strive f
or truly embody what we believe all JKE students and staff can be, and reflect our school community’s values. After many conversations with staff and a schoolwide student vote, we have finalized the JKE Common Language!
We believe all students at James Kennedy Elementary are: Brave, Safe, Kind & Respectful.
Spring into Reading for the Month of May:
Has your family had a chance to engage in the Spring into Reading adventures? Check out the fun, engaging family literacy activities created by our clever JKE staff:
JKE Spirit Wear:
If you haven’t had a chance to order your JKE Spirit Wear, it’s not too late! The online store is open until tomorrow, Tuesday, May 18th. All orders will be delivered to the school by May 28, our JKE Spirit Wear/Colours Day!
You can find the link to order here: https://jameskennedy.itemorder.com/sale
2021-22 Bell Schedule:
We are in the process of finalizing our bell schedule for the 2021-22 school year. While there are still many details to sort out, including many unknowns with Covid-19 guidelines for schools, we did want to share the start and end times for next year, for which families can take note.
Welcome Bell: 8:45 am
School Starts: 8:50 am
Dismissal: 2:33 pm
Dropping off in Morning:
As mentioned in a recent email to families, we ask that students are not dropped off at the school more than 5 minutes prior to their designated arrival time (either 8:45 or 8:55 am) as we are a closed campus 15 minutes before and after school. Thank you for your cooperation.
Litter on the Grounds:
We have noticed a significant increase in the amount of litter on our grounds in recent weeks. We ask that families using the grounds or parks, please ensure you take any garbage with you or use the Township recycling/trash bins located on the property.
District News:
Active Beyond the Bell
Active Beyond the Bell, an after-school program previously offered at JKE, is on pause for September due to Covid-19. We should know more by the end of June if this program will be permitted to return. You can find updates on the ABTB website: https://www.tol.ca/recreation-culture/active-beyond-the-bell/
WGSS Gate Installation:
Please see the letter from Walnut Grove Secondary School regarding a gate installation: GateinstallationMay2021
Dates to Remember:
Friday, May 21: Pro-D Day; Students do not attend
Monday, May 24: Victoria Day; no school
Friday, May 28: JKE Spirit & Colours Day (Burgundy & Grey)
Thursday, June 3: current Kindergarten students are dismissed at 12:00; New Kindergarten Welcome Drive-Thru event begins at 12:45 (see email from Mrs. Sollows)
Tuesday, June 29: Last day of school for students; report cards issued
Newsletter: May 3, 2021
Grade 6 & 7 students engage in Literature Circles outside.
We are enjoying lots of engaging creative, learning experiences at JKE. Teachers continue to take advantage of our beautiful Spring weather! Mrs. Gammel, in the Learning Commons, is excited to launch Story Walks along the fence of our school where students can read, experience and engage in a story as they walk from page to page. Ms. Barichello recently celebrated a fun “Everybody’s Birthday” where all students in her class had the chance to celebrate TOGETHER on the same day after a year of “Covid Birthdays”. Lots of fun was had by all!
We are excited to launch our Spring into Reading event for the month of May! As part of our Action Plan for Learning goal around literacy, we hope to create joyful literacy experiences for our students and families while offering ways to connect school and home. We hope that many families will choose to participate in this family-time event. Within it, your family can also experience a similar Story Walk as our students do in class! To find out more, be sure to check out our beautiful info-graphic! Spring Into Reading Final 2
Finally, we wish to thank all of our staff as we embark on Teacher Appreciation Day. All of our JKE staff have worked so hard this year to create a community of care while ensuring all students reach their full learning potential. It has been a year like no other and our staff has worked tirelessly to always put kids’ wellness and learning first! Thank you, JKE STAFF!!!
Kindergarten Welcome:
If you have a child registered to attend Kindergarten in the fall, be sure to keep an eye out for an email from Mrs. Sollows about our upcoming Kindergarten Welcome Drive-thru event on June 3! Please call or email the office if you did not receive this email so you can learn the specific time for your family to attend.
Lost and Found:
Items are starting to overflow in our JKE Lost and Found. We will put items out on Friday, May 7 by lunch time to provide families a chance to find any of your clothing or housewares that have been lost.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Friday, May 21: Pro-D Day; students do not attend
Monday, May 24: Victoria Day stat holiday; no school
Friday, May 28: Spirit wear or JKE colours day
Tuesday, June 1: PAC Meeting via Zoom
Thursday, June 3: Current Kindergartens dismiss at 12:00; Kindergarten Welcome Drive-thru event in afternoon (please see email from Mrs. Sollows for specific information for your incoming K).
District Updates:
Free EVENT: Conversations About Mental Health: What it Sounds Like at Different Ages
Join us on May 7th at 12pm (PST) for a conversation about how to connect with our kids between the ages of 0 to 18 years. Led by Karen Peters, RCC ThriveLife Counselling & Wellness & Victoria Keddis, Manager, FamilySmart. To Register: www.familysmart.ca/events
Transportation for 2021-22 School Year:
Transportation Registration for the 2021-22 school year opens on May 3. All riders who are currently in the system and expected to continue riding next year will receive a letter with instructions to register. Please note the instructions to register are different for each category of rider. To help in our planning and creation of bus routes, registrations must be submitted by June 18, 2021. The District cannot guarantee approval after the deadline. New and existing riders can find more information on our Transportation Registration webpage here.
BCCDC Survey – BC COVID-19 SPEAK
The BC Centre for Disease Control is inviting families to take part in a survey to examine how British Columbians have been affected and how their experiences may inform recovery and re-opening. The survey closes May 9. Please see details here.
Family Tech Time – New Interactive Tool from Langley Literacy Network
Want your next talk about screen time, social media, and video games to be more positive with your child or teen? The Langley Literacy Network is launching Family Tech Time, which is a new interactive tool https://langleyliteracynetwork.com/family-tech-time/ to support conversations in our families and our community around how to use technology to build healthy relationships rather than disrupt them. This tool includes a resource https://spinwheel.langleyliteracynetwork.com/Family_TechTime.pdf containing questions to help foster positive dialogue on topics including expectations around usage, privacy, consent, and how to enjoy activities on and off screen. You can access the Langley Literacy Network tool and resource on this website here https://langleyliteracynetwork.com/family-tech-time/. As part of the launch, you will notice #LangleyTechTime weekly social media campaign posts to highlight talking points that will help empower families over the next ten weeks.
Newsletter: April 19, 2021
We have been enjoying the wonderful sunshine over the past week at JKE! You can find classes working, playing and learning outside at any point in the day.
As mentioned in our last newsletter, the Brilliant Bookworms won the JKE Reading Link Challenge. They went on to compete in the District Challenge and came in FIRST PLACE! We are so proud of the hard work this team of dedicated readers has put forth to represent JKE so well! They now move on the Regional Competition. Good 
luck!
We are proud of the compassionate and kind students we have at James Kennedy. Huge thanks to Mme Keyhoe’s class for the lovely messages of gratitude they recently shared with Frontline Workers at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
“I aorta tell you how thankful…” Ms. Keyhoe’s French Immersion class at James Kennedy showed their gratitude for frontline workers by sending inspiring art and messages of hope. Check out the cards they made on display at Surrey Memorial Hospital.#MySD35Community pic.twitter.com/c24HnM7xqR
— Langley Schools (@LangleySchools) April 17, 2021
Our staff have been collaborating to define the core expectations we have for all JKE staff and students. Our staff have narrowed this language down to six key words and our JKE students are now in the process of voting for their preferred three words to describe who we all believe James Kennedy students strive to be. Stay tuned for more updates as we finalize this common school-wide language!
Finally, thank you for your continued efforts to keep students, families and staff safe when on the school property. Please remember: All adults walking on school property are strongly encouraged to wear masks at drop-off and pick-up times. Please continue to ensure that you remain 2 metres apart from other families while on school property.
Don’t forget to conduct the Daily Health Check each morning. If your child is not feeling well, please keep your child home.
Class Placements:
James Kennedy staff work hard each spring to plan Fall class placements. This process is a lengthy, collaborative effort, ensuring that the academic, social and emotional needs of each student are supported so each child can rise to their full potential.
If you have academic considerations (requests regarding split classes will not be considered) for your child that you wish to share for these class placement conversations, please feel free to email Mrs. Simonetto prior to May 14. While we do respectfully take parent input into consideration, we cannot guarantee that requests will be granted.
Please note: We are still unclear as to what September 2021 will look like for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
District News:
Art Show
The Langley School District Foundation has many community partners and one of its most treasured is the West Fine Art Show Society. Since 2017, the group has worked with the Foundation to host an Annual Art Show. Featuring the most talented and renowned artists in Western Canada, the show has emerged as a highly favoured fundraiser for the Foundation. Here, artists agree to donate 25% of all artwork sales to the Langley School District Foundation to support Food for Thought Programs, especially important during the coronavirus crisis.
When COVID-19 restrictions determined that a planned live show at the Glass House Winery in Langley was a no go, Plan B kicked in. From April 9th to April 30th, all art will be available to view and purchase online at both westart.ca and langleyschooldistrictfoundation.com. Raffle tickets for The Captains by Richard Brodeur, Theatre Row – 1965 by Brian Croft, Fly Me to the Moon by Rosemary Wallace and Artists for Conservation (a coffee table book) will also be available for purchase online. Tickets are just $10.
Understanding Our Children’s Digital World – Parent Information Evening
The digital world brings with it potential for many positive experiences but can also have negative impacts. Join us on Tuesday, April 27th for Understanding Our Children’s Digital World – A Parent Information Evening. This session will help parents understand the considerations of various digital tools and proactive strategies to help your child and your family use these tools. Presenter and District Teacher, Sandra Averill is a parent, educator, and has been supporting students and parents with internet safety and digital citizenship for the past 14 years. This presentation is suitable for parents with children of all ages. To watch online click on LINK to Understanding Our Children’s Digital World Session For more info: https://bit.ly/3mJ1sqx
Monday, May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
Now is the time to start planning – and parents can be involved in your celebrations as well! One school community in Vanderhoof is working with the public library to create a display for students and parents. Another community group has offered to supply some new SOGI-inclusive books and they are drawing from two PFLAG books lists as recommended reading for parents: this one on coming out and this one on trans identities. For example, Transgender Children and Youth: Cultivating Pride and Joy with Families in Transition is a great resource for parents with trans children. Find posters to use and share here!
Newsletter: April 5, 2021
We hope everyone is enjoying a lovely long Easter weekend! It is so nice to have the sunshine so we may safely enjoy our beautiful outdoor surroundings.
After sending the kids off to Spring Break with our first school-wide virtual dance party, our first four days back to school were also filled with smiles and laughter. The students and staff were pleased to be reunited after the 2-week Spring Break and there was a buzz of energy in the building. The Spring weather offers many outdoor learning opportunities for our students and we look forward to lots of fun, exploratory learning experiences in the final term.
Before the break, the annual Reading Link Challenge was held. Congratulations to the winning team, the Brilliant Bookworms, for your successful victory after a nail-biting competition. Special thanks to Mrs. Gammel and Mrs. O’Shea for their hard work to safely offer this much-loved literacy tradition for our students!
Don’t forget that tomorrow, Tuesday, April 6, is JERSEY DAY at JKE!
Updated Mask Guidelines:
As you are already aware, the Ministry has updated the K-12 COVID-19 School Guidelines, including an update for masks in grades 4-12.
We advise all families to ensure you are aware of these changes to school mask requirements, as outlined in the letter from Superintendent, Gord Stewart (also shared via email on March 31):
Mask Guidelines Update 2021Mar31
All adults walking on school property are strongly encouraged to wear masks at drop-off and pick-up times. Please continue to ensure that you remain 2 metres apart from other families while on school property.
Thank you for your continued efforts to keep all our students, families and staff safe!
Wheels:
As the nicer weather is upon us, please remember that all students and visitors should WALK their scooters, bikes, or skateboards while on school property. Please do not ride your wheels while at the school on school days. Thank you for your cooperation.
Class Placements:
James Kennedy staff work hard each spring to plan Fall class placements. This process is a lengthy, collaborative effort, ensuring that the academic, social and emotional needs of each student are supported so each child can rise to their full potential.
If you have academic considerations (requests regarding split classes will not be considered) for your child that you wish to share for these class placement conversations, please feel free to email Mrs. Simonetto prior to May 14. While we do respectfully take parent input into consideration, we cannot guarantee that requests will be granted.
Please note: We are still unclear as to what September 2021 will look like for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Student Learning Survey: Parent Participation
The Provincial Student Learning Survey is unique in its scope, size and usefulness to schools. It gathers information from parents/guardians/caregivers, teachers and students on topics related to school environment, safety, and achievement. The information is used for planning in individual schools and provides a district and provincial perspective. Early in 2021 the Student Learning Survey will be administered to students in grades 4 and 7, their parents/guardians/caregivers, and all school staff.
We encourage parents/guardians/caregivers to participate in this survey, as the results are important in identifying and celebrating current strengths, as well as determining where the school needs to focus improvement. The surveys contain standard questions for the Province – in addition, questions from the school and/or district that focus on local conditions or issues may be included. The survey can be completed electronically and can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/sat_survey.
Any computer with an Internet connection can be used, and access to the e-survey is simple and secure. The survey can be accessed through the link with or without an anonymous logon code by selecting the school district and school name where your child attends school. Provincial, District and School Reports for previous years can be viewed at the same site under the Results section. The e-survey site will be open until April 30th. If you have any questions, please contact the school office.
Reminder: Kindergarten Students: Early Dismissal June 3
As you likely recall, the gradual entry in September for our current 2020-21 kindergarten students is designed to allow for 2 hours in the Spring to host a Kindergarten Welcome afternoon for our incoming 2021-22 kindergarten students.
On Thursday, June 3, all current kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:00 to allow our teachers to host an afternoon Covid-19 safe Kindergarten Welcome event for our incoming Kindergartens.
We ask that all current Kindergarten families to please note this date and early dismissal in your calendars.
District Reminders:
Homeschooling:
Our District and school administrators regularly respond to questions from parents/guardians about homeschooling. We do our best to share information related to alternatives outside of public education. The District has a dedicated page with basic information about homeschooling for families here. This page includes a link to the Ministry of Education’s homeschooling page as well as the province’s new consultation draft document Homeschooling Procedures and Guidelines Manual. The purpose of the manual is to provide clear information to home educators, homeschoolers, education sector administrators and others who work with homeschoolers.
The Ministry is inviting families to provide feedback on this consultation draft found here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/support/classroom-alternatives/homeschooling-manual.pdf
Please send your questions, comments or suggestions by April 2, 2021 to EDUC.Homeschooling.Guidelines@gov.bc.ca
Child Mental Health Survey:
Please see the attachment to learn more about providing input for your child’s mental health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: MyHEARTSMAP-Pandemic_poster July 28 with QR code
Newsletter: March 7, 2021
Our last few weeks of learning leading up to Spring Break have been engaging and impactful! Our Diversity and Respect Week was a wonderful week of learning, connecting and building understanding through meaningful conversations with one another. We celebrated the end of the week with a virtual assembly. I want to thank the amazing team of staff that planned and organized the deeply meaningful learning themes for each day of this week. It was wonderful to learn so much about each of our students and the wonderful gifts, talents, history and dreams they bring with them to school each day.
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- Student were excited to showcase their Identity Day Projects to peers and staff.
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- Our hallways are adorned with inspiring, uplifting bulletin board displays celebrating the unique qualities that make each child special.
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- Staff and students celebrated an inspiring Diversity and Respect week at JKE!
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- More passions and interests shared on Identity Day!
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- Students learn during Black History Month and create beautiful poetry pieces reflecting on the poem “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman
We look forward to Spring Break when all our students, families and staff can enjoy some relaxation and rest.
Parent-Teacher Interviews:
Reminder to all families that Wednesday and Thursday, March 10-11 have early dismissal at 1:22 for A-L families and 1:32 for M-Z families.
We look forward to engaging in meaningful conversations about student progress next week at our Parent-teacher interviews on Wednesday, March 10 and Thursday, March 11! You can prepare for these conferences with this helpful parent guide: Student Conferences – Parent-Guardian Guide 2021Mar
For those of you who selected in-person meetings, we remind you of the following safety protocols while on site.
If you opt for an In-Person Interview, please note the following safety protocols:
- While on school property, please ensure you physically distance from other families.
- All families are asked to head to the exterior CLASSROOM door for the interview. Please do not enter through the front school doors.
- Please wait outside the door until the teacher invites you inside.
- Seats will be set up to allow for physical distancing.
- Masks are required for all family members.
- We ask that all families arrive to the exterior classroom door just before their interview time and leave promptly afterwards to prevent crowding.
- We apologize for the inconvenience, but the school hallways and other rooms/common areas will be closed during interviews.
- All families that attend are asked to ensure they acknowledge the Daily Health Check questions on the Home Page of the School Appointments online sign up. If you are sick on the day of your appointment, please call the school to inform us and please stay home.
New Daily Health Check Form
The Ministry has made changes to the Daily Health Check for K-12 students. Please include the following message with your community in your newsletter or next communication with families. We encourage this message to be forwarded to staff to keep them informed of the new changes. See attached English version and for all translated versions, they can be found on the District website here<https://www.sd35.bc.ca/news-events/district-board-news/ministry-updates-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/back-to-school-2020/
A mobile phone app version can also be downloaded, called K to 12 Health Checker.
Print versions are available in multiple languages on our District website here.
Reminder: Kindergarten Students: Early Dismissal June 3
As you likely recall, the gradual entry in September for our current 2020-21 kindergarten students is designed to allow for 2 hours in the Spring to host a Kindergarten Welcome afternoon for our incoming 2021-22 kindergarten students.
On Thursday, June 3, all current kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:00 to allow our teachers to host an afternoon Covid-19 safe Kindergarten Welcome event for our incoming Kindergartens.
We ask that all current Kindergarten families to please note this date and early dismissal in your calendars.
District Updates:
Rainbow Crosswalk:
The Langley Board of Education is pleased to announce it has successfully reached its fundraising goal to support the installation of a rainbow crosswalk in our community. The rainbow crosswalk will link the School Board Office to the Langley RCMP detachment. The Board believes the rainbow crosswalk is a symbol of diversity and inclusion which will ensure everyone in our community feels safe, seen, represented, and that they belong. Thank you to all of our donors and supporters who have supported this initiative. You can learn more about the project on our District website here.
Newsletter: February 21, 2021
Our last few weeks of learning have been full of learning, celebration and connection. Students enjoyed a fun day giving cards and spreading messages of kindness and friendship to others for Valentine’s Day. Students celebrated Lunar New Year on February 12th, celebrating the year of the Ox, complete with some students even doing a hallway parade to celebrate. It was also lovely to see the many Family Day gifts made by students and we hope all our JKE families enjoyed their time together on February 15th. This past Friday, we enjoyed Funny Friday, a day to do wacky hair, dress in wild clothing and enjoy being, well … FUNNY!
Our students are engaging in important learning during Black History Month. Our school looks forward to celebrating the differences that make us all unique during Diversity and Respect week February 22-26. At JKE, we are committed to creating an inclusive school community where EVERY child can feel a sense of care and belonging every single day.
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- Students study “The Hill We Climb” poem by Amanda Gorman
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- Wild hair on Funny Friday
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- Kids loved wearing their fun clothes on Funny Friday
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- Learning about Influential Black Canadians in our history.
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- Family Day gifts made by students.
Diversity and Respect Week starts Tuesday!
This year, for Diversity and Respect week, James Kennedy students and staff will be engaging in activities around the theme of “Meaningful connections through conversation”.
During the week of February 22-26, each day will have a different theme.
Tuesday: Celebrate Me! Possible discussion topics are The Story of my Name or My Family Tree
Wednesday: Celebrate You! Cohort walks with someone new. Be an ally (kind, respectful, caring)
Thursday: Celebrate Us! Classes will come up with one word that speaks to them.
Friday: Peace. Class discussions around what Peace means
Identity Day will be held in some classes this year. If your child’s class is participating in Identity Day, you will receive more information from the classroom teacher.
We will be having a virtual in-school assembly on Friday, February 26 to celebrate our learning from the week.
Parent-Teacher Interviews:
Reminder: Parent-Teacher Interviews will be happening soon!
When: Wednesday, March 10 – 2:00-4:30 pm & Thursday, March 11 – 2:00-7:30 pm
Online sign-up for the parent-teacher interviews will open on Monday, March 1 at 8:00 am and close on March 8 at 11:00 pm.
Where: Teachers will indicate their preference for virtual and/or in-person meetings in the online school appointments sign up. Please note: a parent may choose to request an in-person meeting if a teacher has chosen to exclusively offer virtual meetings. Please contact the teacher directly in these circumstances.
How: To sign up for either a meeting, please use this link starting Monday, March 1 at 8:00 am: https://jke.schoolappointments.com
If you opt for an In-Person Interview, please note the following safety protocols:
- While on school property, please ensure you physically distance from other families.
- All families are asked to head to the exterior CLASSROOM door for the interview. Please do not enter through the front school doors.
- Please wait outside the door until the teacher invites you inside.
- Seats will be set up to allow for physical distancing.
- Masks are required for all family members.
- We ask that all families arrive to the exterior classroom door just before their interview time and leave promptly afterwards to prevent crowding.
- We apologize for the inconvenience, but the school hallways and other rooms/common areas will be closed during interviews.
- All families that attend are asked to ensure they acknowledge the Daily Health Check questions on the Home Page of the School Appointments online sign up. If you are sick on the day of your appointment, please call the school to inform us and please stay home.
Virtual Conference: If you choose to have a virtual video conference with the teacher, please sign up using the School Appointments link above. Afterwards, your classroom teacher will email you directly with online video conference details.
Thank you for your continued efforts to bring home and school together to support your child! Please call or email the school office with any questions. 604-888-5257
Families booking appointments: please don’t forget to indicate your preference (virtual or in-person) when booking your appointment (if the teacher is offering both).
SchoolMessenger:
The Langley School District is implementing a new communication tool between schools and families. On Friday, February 19, SchoolMessenger went live after we tested the various components of the system. This system will communicate with families regarding unknown student absences, school updates and emergency information. Families can receive these communications via email, text (if you opt in) and/or phone message. Please see the information PDF here: Parent Info Pkg – SchoolMessenger 2021Jan26 (1)
Families can call the school office for more information or assistance.
Daily Health Check Reminder:
Just a reminder to all families of the importance of conducting a daily health check with your child before arriving to the school. You can find the daily health checklist HERE
Please keep your children at home if they show any of the symptoms indicated on the Daily Health Check form.
MyEdBC Parent Portal:
Report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, March 5. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to March 5 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
Kindergarten Students: Early Dismissal June 3
As you likely recall, the gradual entry in September for our current 2020-21 kindergarten students is designed to allow for 2 hours in the Spring to host a Kindergarten Welcome afternoon for our incoming 2021-22 kindergarten students.
On Thursday, June 3, all current kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:00 to allow our teachers to host an afternoon Covid-19 safe Kindergarten Welcome event for our incoming Kindergartens.
We ask that all current Kindergarten families to please note this date and early dismissal in your calendars.
Newsletter: February 6, 2021
Last week we all had a lot of fun with Family Literacy week and our Book Character Day! Students dressed as a variety of characters from their favourite books. We hosted an outside character parade as well to
continue our focus on connection and community.
Congrats to all the families who participated in the Family Reading at home as well!
This week many of our primary classes engaged in exciting learning for Groundhog Day! Our students were busy measuring, predicting, and creating crafts in anticipation of the Groundhog’s discovery. According to the Canadian weather-predicting groundhogs, it looks like this year we can look forward to an early Spring! This would be a welcome change for all of us, I am sure.
Our intermediate learners are engaging in various exciting learning experiences, including wood working, creating incredible literacy projects, and even using design thinking to create leprechaun traps!
We are certainly having lots of fun while learning at JKE!
Enhanced Safety Measures for K-12 Schools: A message from the School District
The District appreciates all the hard work from students, staff, and families in helping keep our community safe. We continue to work closely with the Ministry of Education and Provincial Health Office. This week the province announced changes to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines for schools. Mask requirements for middle and secondary school students and K-12 staff have been amended. Guidelines have also been strengthened for physical education and music classes.
It is important to note, our schools will need some time to implement these new changes; all changes will be in effect as of February 26, 2021. Your continued patience and support are appreciated. If you have any questions, please contact the school.
Please read below and full details found in the province’s news release located on the District website here.
Reminders for James Kennedy Elementary School Protocols:
With the update Health and Safety Guidelines for schools, we felt this would be a good time to remind all families of the ongoing safety measures we have in place for our James Kennedy Community:
- We remind all families of our staggered start and end times (A-L families arrive at 8:45, and dismiss at 2:22; M-Z families arrive at 8:55 and dismiss at 2:32). We are noticing that families are arriving more than 5 minutes early and allowing children to play while waiting for the first bell. To ensure the integrity of our classroom cohorts, we ask families arrive no more than 5 minutes before your assigned time and, upon arriving at the school, please ensure students go directly to their exterior classroom door line-up rather than playing. Thank you, parents, in helping us ensure that students remain safely within their class/cohort while on school grounds.
- We are pleased to see many families are wearing masks on school property at pick-up and drop-off. Masks are encouraged for all parents/guardians while on the property.
- Please remember to ensure physical distancing while on the property to prevent crowding.
Repost: Valentine’s Day
As we approach February, students are starting to get excited for Valentine’s Day, which is always a joyful day of kindness in our school.
This year, we are asking that students who are wishing to celebrate Valentine’s Day note the following:
- JKE will only be permitting the sharing of paper cards between classmates. Students are welcome to bring handmade or purchased paper cards to be distributed to their classmates in class.
- Unfortunately, due to precautions around COVID-19) our school will not be permitting any shared food items (pre-packaged or otherwise) or non-edible items (pencils, erasers, etc.) between students.
We know that this will cause Valentine’s Day to look different this year. We hope that students enjoy the exchange of paper cards with positive messages of kindness and friendship. We look forward to a future time when other items can once again be shared during these celebrations. Thank you for your understanding.
Diversity and Respect Week: Week of February 22
This year, for Diversity and Respect week, James Kennedy students and staff will be engaging in activities around the theme of “Meaningful connections through conversation”.
During the week of February 22-26, each day will have a different theme.
Tuesday: Celebrate Me! Possible discussion topics are The Story of my Name or My Family Tree
Wednesday: Celebrate You! Cohort walks with someone new. Be an ally (kind, respectful, caring)
Thursday: Celebrate Us! Classes will come up with one word that speaks to them.
Friday: Peace. Class discussions around what Peace means
Identity Day will be held in some classes this year. If your child’s class is participating in Identity Day, you will receive more information from the classroom teacher.
We will be having a virtual in-school assembly on Friday, February 26 to celebrate our learning from the week.
Parent-Teacher Interviews:
On Wednesday, March 10 and Thursday, March 11, James Kennedy will dismiss 1 hour early (1:22 and 1:32) so teachers can host our Term 2 Parent-teacher interviews. Teachers may offer to host these interviews via virtual calls or in-person or a combination of both. More information on how to sign-up for your parent-teacher interview and in-person safety protocols for meetings will be shared the week of February 22. Online sign-up will open on March 1st. Stay tuned for more info!
District News:
The Artistry of Philanthropy – April 9, 10 & 11 at the Glass House Winery
Attend our 4th Annual West Fine Art Show and enter into a magical Glass House filled to the rafters with the wonderfully felt works of 18 professional artists. Be reminded of the sheer joy of getting out and mingling (with masks and social distancing – don’t worry, we have it covered). And as you meander through a COVID-friendly gallery, relax in the pleasure of staring at an explosive array of creativity and visual poetry.
While the Art Show is happening in real time, the Foundation would like to feature the art works of Langley School District students online. We will be accepting works in all genres and will be adjudicating to choose First, Second and Third to provide cash prizes of $500, $300 and $200. The theme is COVID-19 – what it wrought? Good or Bad, Crazy or Sane, Monumental or Benign. What’s Next – Past, Present, Future? Produce original, intelligent and on-target art works. Send entries to scairns@sd35.bc.ca.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Friday, February 12: Pro-D Day; Students do not attend
Monday, February 15: Family Day- school not in session
Monday, February 22: Design and Assessment Day- students do not attend
Monday, March 1: Online sign-up opens for Parent-teacher interviews
Wednesday and Thursday, March 10 & 11: 1-hour early dismissal at 1:22 and 1:32 each day (Parent Teacher interviews)
Friday, March 12: Last day of school before Spring Break
Newsletter: January 25, 2021
Our first few weeks of learning in 2021 have been off to a great start! Students are working hard on our Action Plan goals for literacy (you can learn more about our Action Plan for Learning here: https://jke.sd35.bc.ca/our-school/school-plan/). We have worked hard with our Schoolwide Support Team to reconfigure the Term 2 literacy supports across the entire school so we can provide the necessary interventions and supports for all our readers to succeed!
A group of hard-working staff worked together to revamp and organize our English Book Room. We are so pleased with the results and the ease of access this provides for literacy resources for our teachers. This space makes it easier to get the right books into the hands of our kids! Thank you to the staff that made this possible through many hours of extra work!
Our grades sevens had an exciting week when the long-awaited Grad Hoodies arrived! It is so great to see all the grade 7’s proudly wear their JKE Class of 2021 swag around the school.
This week is Family Literacy week and we look forward to seeing your family images of joyful literacy “around the world” while inside your homes! Don’t forget that this Wednesday is Dress Like a Book Character Day…. we look forward to seeing many book characters ‘come to life’ that day!
Indoor Shoes:
With the wet and muddy fields we have in the winter, it is very helpful for students to have a pair of indoor shoes in their classrooms. If possible, please send along a pair of indoor shoes for your child to wear in class. This makes a significant difference in helping to keep our classroom and hallway floors clean! Thank you!
Valentine’s Day:
As we approach February, students are starting to get excited for Valentine’s Day, which is always a joyful day of kindness in our school.
This year, we are asking that students who are wishing to celebrate Valentine’s Day note the following:
- JKE will only be permitting the sharing of paper cards between classmates. Students are welcome to bring handmade or purchased paper cards to be distributed to their classmates in class.
- Unfortunately, due to precautions around COVID-19) our school will not be permitting any shared food items (pre-packaged or otherwise) or non-edible items (pencils, erasers, etc.) between students.
We know that this will cause Valentine’s Day to look different this year. We hope that students enjoy the exchange of paper cards with positive messages of kindness and friendship. We look forward to a future time when other items can once again be shared during these celebrations. Thank you for your understanding.
JKE Neighbourhood:
As mentioned in an email recently, we wish to send a friendly reminder to all JKE drivers to please be respectful of our surrounding community. Please ensure that you do not drive over lawns, or park in front of driveways or fire hydrants. We want to respect the community, homes and properties around our school.
FSA’s:
Skills Assessment (FSA) – Change of Administration Dates
The BC Ministry of Education has adjusted the administration dates for this year’s Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA). All Langley students in grades 4 and 7 will now complete the FSA in the new administration window between February 15 and March 12, 2021. Information on the exact dates students will write their FSA’s will be provided by your child’s classroom teacher in the coming weeks. Parents of students in grade 4 and 7 would have received a letter in September from Gord Stewart, Superintendent of Langley Schools, regarding the annual Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) for the 2020/2021 school year. The letter indicated that this year’s FSA would be administered between October 5 and November 13, 2020. The remainder of the information outlined in the letter still applies and if parents have any questions regarding the FSA, they should contact their school’s Principal.
MDI:
Our school district is participating in the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) project in February in partnership with the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at UBC. The MDI is designed to help us to understand more about children’s thoughts, feelings and experiences inside and outside of school. We have done the MDI in previous years with grades 4 and 7 but will be moving to grades 5, 6 and 8 this year.
The questionnaire is completed online through the e-MDI and takes one to two class periods to administer. The MDI questions align with the BC Ministry of Education’s K-12 curriculum which includes a focus on promoting children’s personal and social competencies (see link).
The MDI will be administered between February 16th and March 5th, 2021.
An email was sent from the school to grade 5 & 6 families on January 18th with more detailed information.
Dates to Remember:
Wednesday, January 27: Dress like a book character day
Friday, February 12: Pro-D day, students do not attend
Monday, February 15: Family Day Stat. Holiday; school not in session
Monday, February 22: Design and Assessment Day; Students do not attend
Enjoy your week!
Mrs. Simonetto
Newsletter: January 11
th, 2021
Happy New Year! We hope that everyone had a restful and healthy Winter Break. It was amazing to have the staff and students reunite on Tuesday… it was clear that the students missed their friends and were happy to be back. The staff were so thrilled to see the children again!
We just have a few brief reminders as we return to school:
Masks:
We wish to remind families that each child attending JKE should have a mask available each day while at school. All students have the choice to wear a mask when working within their cohort. Intermediate students (grades 4-7) are encouraged and reminded by classroom teachers to wear a mask before entering common areas, such as hallways. Thank you for your support in ensuring your child has a mask in their backpack each day.
JKE families are also reminded that, while on school property, wearing masks helps in keeping all our students and staff safe. All families are asked to ensure 2 meter physical distancing from other families while on the grounds. Thank you for your cooperation, care and support.
Dress for the Weather!
The rainy season is certainly upon us! As we head outside during these winter months, please ensure your child is well-equipped for the rain and colder temperatures. All classes do spend time in their cohort zone on the field each week, so ensuring your child has an extra change of socks, pants and even a shirt in the backpack is very handy… kids can (and do) get muddy on the fields and this saves a phone call home for extra clothes.
Kindergarten Registration:
Just a reminder that registration for 2021 English Kindergarten opens on January 18th, 2021. This year you can choose to register online or safely in person. Detailed information can be found on our website page: HERE
Canadian Parents for French: Course offering
A parent French course – beginner 1 is being offered to Langley residents. CPF has offered to subsidize the cost of the course for any current CPF members. The course will run from Jan 25 – Apr 5, 2021
Here is the link for your information: https://educacentre.com/formation-linguistique/french-for-parents/
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 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.
Health and safety continues to be our top priority. As we start this new year, we want to remind students and families to complete the Daily Health Check. Thank you for your ongoing cooperation and doing your part to ensure our school community is healthy and safe. The form is available in multiple languages on the District website here: https://bit.ly/2Mw0jo5
Foundry Survey: Middle and Secondary
Plans are in the works to bring a Foundry Centre to Langley to support youth wellness and your help is needed. Youth 12-24 and their caregivers are encouraged to complete a survey to provide their input on the design of the centre and supports that are needed. Send in your response and you can enter a chance to win a $50 gift card (see attached flyers) or complete the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Foundry_Langley_Youth
Our community partner, Encompass Support Services Society, is also looking for youth advisory committee members to contribute to this project. For more info email: support@encompass-support.com
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, January 12: PAC meeting via Zoom at 6:30 pm
Wednesday, January 27: Dress as your Favourite Book Character Day
Friday, February 12: Pro-D Day- students do not attend
Monday, February 15: Family Day Holiday- no school
Have a lovely week,
Mrs. Simonetto
Newsletter: December 18, 2020
As I reflect on my brief time at James Kennedy Elementary, and we conclude this unforgettable year of 2020 with you all, I would like to use this final newsletter to express my sincere gratitude.
Grinch Day in Grade 1!
As a school community, we have risen above seemingly insurmountable odds during this Global Pandemic. School, as we have always known it, had to be redesigned for September. New protocols, guidelines, schedules, routines and practices had to be put in place to ensure the safety of all of our students and staff as we returned to in-person instruction. Our staff did this important and significant work together. I would like to thank ALL of our teachers, for their tireless efforts to ensure that children are experiencing rich, engaging learning opportunities on a daily basis, amidst repeated hand-washing & staggered start/end times. I wish to thank our support staff, including our SEA’s, our Youth Care Worker, our Aboriginal Support Worker, our Speech and Language Pathologist, our English Language Learner teacher, our Library Tech and our Counsellor, for their work to ensure that students receive the necessary supports to achieve success. Thank you to Mrs. Sollows for always taking care of our entire school community each day! I would also like to express huge appreciation to our custodial staff who have worked so hard to keep our school clean and safe. And thank you to Mrs. King, our Vice Principal, for your endless hours of hard work for our students and staff. Despite our current reality and so many changes, our staff have never lost sight of what is most important throughout this entire experience: supporting ALL our KIDS!
I would also like to express my thanks to our JKE families. I acknowledge that this year has been difficult for you as well. During this pandemic, our schools across the district are closed campuses, and this poses an unusual reality for our parents and guardians. In a typical year, we love having our community gather for special events, such as our Christmas Concert or Spooktacular. We enjoy having parent volunteers in classes and having our PAC working within the school to offer fun opportunities for our students. Sadly, this year has forced us to pause on these pieces. As a parent myself, I know that feeling connected to your child’s school and staff is important. I wish to thank you, parents and guardians, for the grace you have shown these past four months. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding of all the things that are different in order to keep our staff and students safe. Our staff are so grateful for your gestures of kindness and support this year! It truly means so much.
Finally, I would like to show my deep gratitude to the students. The Virtual Christmas Concert was proof, once again, of how resilient our students are. The joy that the children bring to school each day is a gift to all of us lucky enough to work with them. Students, thank you for your positivity, your kindness, your hard work and your care. So many parts of your daily school experience look and feel different right now, and each of you has adjusted and adapted to this new reality with patience and understanding. Students, you bring us hope each day. We are so grateful for each and every one of you!
I hope that all of our JKE staff, students and families take the time over the Winter Break to relax, laugh and safely experience plenty of joy with family. It is such a gift to be part of this school community.
Happy Holidays and I look forward to a very healthy and happy 2021!
Mrs. Simonetto
Virtual Christmas Concert: WOW!
Creating a virtual Christmas Concert was not something that any of our staff ever imagined doing. Staff creatively thought of safe ways to honour each class and all students in our Christmas Concert video this year. We hope that families enjoyed viewing the show from the comfort of your own home! Thank you to our amazing PAC for organizing the Pizza night so families could enjoy Dinner and a Show. Our hope is that while we were physically apart for this concert, families and staff still managed to have a shared experience as a school community.
If you would like to access the video over the Winter Break, you can use this link to view the show https://youtu.be/m4uM0RtZQ8o
Special thanks for Mr. Rogers for his original songs and video taping/editing, Ms. Hu for her music instruction to students and all staff for your work to create such a lovely gift of joy for our James Kennedy Community.
Food Donations: Thank you JKE!
We wanted to express our thanks to all the families who generously donated to our Food Drive to support the Food Bank. We were able to donate over 850 food items on behalf of James Kennedy Elementary!
Kindergarten Registration for English Kindergarten:
Kindergarten registration across the Langley School District runs January 18 – March 31, 2021. If your child will be five years old by December 31, 2021, you will be able to register through your neighbourhood school. Due to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, the process for registration and collecting documents may be different this time. For information on what documents you need and instructions on how to register, please visit the District webpage here: https://bit.ly/3ajqfNF
Good Digital Citizenship:
As students access technology and online platforms with chat accessibility more regularly, we encourage families to discuss good Digital Citizenship with your children. Please see the PDF here: Developing Digital Citizens – Microsoft TEAMS Chat Use Guidelines 2020Dec2
Student Success Magazine:
You can access the latest edition of Student Success HERE
Langley School District Foundation: Rainbow Crosswalks
You can learn more on ways to donate and support this foundation here: Crosswalkletter[2]
Newsletter: November 30
We hope all our JKE families had an enjoyable weekend. At school, our students continue to amaze us with their efforts and commitment towards learning. Students are diving into literacy in their classrooms in a variety of ways. Many of our primary students engage in story or writer’s workshop, where they use loose parts to inspire story writing. In our primary classrooms you can walk in any day and see small group literacy instruction, literacy centres with word work, read-to-self sessions, technology -supported learning and a variety of teacher read-alouds. Our teachers are working hard to develop our students into motivated, engaged, successful literacy learners! You can learn more about how we support our literacy goals at James Kennedy by reading our school’s Action Plan for Learning here.
Our intermediate students are also engaging in many amazing learning activities. We commend the creative product designs from Mr. Chan’s grade 5/6 class and their involvement with the Young Entrepreneurs program. The students in the school are buzzing with excitement to purchase items created by our JKE entrepreneurs! Our middle school classes are engaging in STEM activity challenges to foster a sense of community and connection between our grade 6/7 classes while fostering collaboration to develop the core competencies of communication, creative and critical thinking.
Cross Country students proudly showcase their ribbons!
PJ Window Parade!
Our staff continue to offer safe ways to bring our students together to have fun and seek connection between all our JKE community. Many thanks to the staff that supported our modified Cross Country experience this year! They found safe ways to offer this experience to our student athletes in a different way… in our back field! We also had a fun Spirit day when we hosted our second outside/window parade of the year… on PJ Day! It was so fun to dance and wave as students passed by one another.
Finally, we thank our teachers for their hard work to conduct term 1 assessments and prepare report cards so we can effectively communicate student learning to all our families!
Report Cards: December 11
Report cards for all students will be available to view online Friday, December 11th. We encourage parents to make every effort to access them online prior to that date using the following link https://www.myeducation.gov.bc.ca/aspen/logon.do .
If you cannot access them, you will need to go through the Med helpline, at the following link https://www.sd35.bc.ca/students-parents/parentinvolvement/myedbc-request-for-assistance-form/ They are anticipating a high volume of parent help calls and emails and thank you in advance for your patience during this busy time. Please note that all emails and calls will be processed in the order they are received.
JKE Virtual Christmas Concert:
This year, we are having to think differently about how we offer some of our favourite James Kennedy traditions. We know how much our families love the annual Christmas Concert, so staff wanted to offer a new way of enjoying this show safely… at home.
Mr. Rogers and a team of staff have been working hard to create a 2020-inspired Christmas virtual concert for a families to view at a later date! This pre-recorded video will include student artwork, music, and student messages of care and connection. We look forward to releasing a link for this online video to our James Kennedy families for home-viewing on December 17th. Stay tuned for more information in the near future!
Please note: All students in the video have online permissions (granted by parents using the district media-release permission forms sent home at the beginning of the year). If you wish to inquire about or alter your child’s permissions for the Christmas Virtual Assembly, please connect with your classroom teacher.
Connection and Community at JKE!
JKE PAC are holding two events for you and your family to enjoy some Christmas fun at home and around your neighbourhood!
- Option One – 1 large cheese, pepperoni, hawaiian, vegetarian (green pepper, mushrooms, red onions, tomato) or meat (pepperoni, ham, sausage) pizza for $15
- Option Two – 2 medium pizzas (same choice as above) plus 2 litres pop and 10 piece plain wings for $27
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Friday, December 11th: Term 1 Report Cards Published
Thursday, December 17th: Movie & Christmas Concert viewing night
Friday, December 18th: Festive Fashion Day; Last day prior to Winter Break
Newsletter: November 15
This past week, o
n Tuesday, November 10th, we honoured our veterans and all the brave men and women who served in the Armed Forces to protect our rights and freedoms. Our students and staff engaged in a virtual assembly at 11:00 on Tuesday, November 10th. Our James Kennedy staff members shared photographs and stories of loved ones who served or vetera
ns they met in their travels. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect and learn through the power of story. While we may have to do things differently this year, we can continue to focus on the safe ways to continue the events, traditions and ceremonies that are important to our school community.
James Kennedy Action Plan for Learning:
Our Action Plan for Learning page on our school website showcases our goals for student learning. We will continue to focus on Literacy and Social Emotional Learning this year. You can find out more about how we plan to do this important work for our students HERE
MyEdBC Parent Portal:
Report cards will be available for parent access in the Parent Portal on Friday, December 11. We remind parents to please take time to become familiar with the district’s reporting shift in communicating student learning. You can find more information regarding this shift on the district website HERE
We also ask that parents login to the MyEdBC Parent Portal prior to December 11 to eliminate any technical issues. You can find information to assist you in accessing the online parent portal HERE
Chilly/Rainy Weather:
We have definitely noticed a change in the weather over the past two weeks. We are experiencing much more rain and a significant drop in temperatures. We remind all families that at JKE we see the value of outside play time for all children. This means that, whenever possible, we aim to have students play outside at recess and lunch. This includes days that have light rain.
Please ensure that your child is equipped with warm clothes, gloves and proper footwear for the chilly/rainy weather. It is also very handy to have an additional set of clothing (shirt, pants, socks) in your child’s backpack in case your child gets muddy or wet while playing outside.
Thank you for your assistance!
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Friday, November 20: PJ Day
Monday, November 23: Design and Assessment Day: students do not attend
Friday, December 11: Report cards issued through MyEdBC
Friday, December 18: Festive Fashion Day and Last Day of School prior to Christmas Break
Newsletter: November 1
What a fun week of learning and connection! Thank you to our teachers and parents/guardians for making the time to connect with one another during Parent-Teacher Interviews. We appreciate how families took extra caution to be safe during in-person interviews. Our virtual meetings also went very well! It was a wonderful chance to foster the connection between home and school in supporting each of our learners.
Last week, many of our classes participated in the Student Vote, an important part of understanding government and learning about the voting process in British Columbia and Canada. Students learned about the candidates and the various party platforms and then engaged in their own Student Vote. Thanks to our teachers for providing this important, experiential learning opportunity for our students!
Halloween festivities also made for a fun week for all our students and staff. Since pumpkin patch field trips are not possible right now, our grade one French classes had a JKE pumpkin patch experience in the back field! Thanks to Mme Quon and Mme Kang for creating this neat experience for our students. Special thank you to the parent volunteers who helped make it a success!
October 30th was full of Halloween fun at JKE! In past years, JKE loves to host a Spooktacular school-wide event. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible this year. Our staff and PA
C are committed to finding creative ways to make shared memories and continue as many community events as we can… just in different ways. Our incredible PAC hired a DJ to host safe cohort dance parties all day in our gym! The kids had so much fun dancing away in the spooky gymnasium.
We also had a terrific costume parade outside. Our primary classes showed off their incredible costumes as our intermediate classes cheered them on from a safe distance! The smiles, waves and laughter filled all our hearts with joy. It was such a wonderful day connecting with all students and staff.
You can see some District footage of our JKE festivities HERE.
Arrival Times and Safety Reminders:
We have noticed that more families are arriving at the 8:45 am start time. We remind everyone that we continue to have our daily staggered start and end times. This structure is in place as part of our school-wide safety guidelines to reduce crowding and allow for physical distancing while on the property.
Families with last name A-L start at 8:45 and M-Z families start at 8:55. We ask all families to refrain from arriving to the property more than 5 minutes before your designated start time.
Teachers will allow students to enter their classes at their assigned time only. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation to ensure that the staggered arrival times are honoured so we can keep students, staff and families safe.
Just a reminder that masks are encouraged on the property when you cannot physical distance from others.
Finally, our inner drop-off lane is not for parking. Drivers must remain in the vehicle in the drop-off lane so that you can pull forward if vehicles in front of you move ahead. This helps prevent overflow into the street at the parking lot entrance.
We appreciate it when everyone does their part to follow these measures. We know mornings are busy times for each and every family, but when we all work together, we can keep our parking lot safe and efficient for all!
Term 1 Instruction and Assessment:
Hopefully the Parent-teacher interviews provided some insights into your child’s current progress since the beginning of September. October interim feedback from teachers tends to focus on work habits and social-emotional progress for each child. Teachers are working hard to assess students’ current abilities in reading and writing and numeracy, particularly following the suspension of in-person instruction in Spring 2020. While our teachers will be reporting on all subjects this year, our current school focus is on Numeracy, Literacy and Social-Emotional Learning in the first term and therefore you may see some curricular areas reported on in Term 2 or 3.
As mentioned in previous communication, the District is moving towards proficiency scales for assessment and you will see some.changes in how we communicate student learning in our report card this year. You can learn more about this important shift in assessment here: https://vimeo.com/472692640/c3961b7f43
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, November 3: PAC virtual meeting 6:30 pm
Wednesday, November 11: Remembrance Day – no school
Monday, November 23: Design and Assessment Day- students do not attend
Communicating Student Learning: October 25, 2020
As shared in the email from Mrs. Simonetto today, parents who are interested in learning more about our move towards proficiency scales and communicating student learning can view this video from the District’s recent Family Information Session. You can access this video here:
https://vimeo.com/469176380/5ec484e6c1
Newsletter: October 18, 2020
The learning is underway at JKE! Classes are busy digging into collaborative activities, showcasing their creativity and imagination. Students have been busy writing stories, journals a
nd creating graphic-novel-style writing pieces. Our youngest learners have been sharing their stories through loose parts, creating a visual story and orally sharing it with others. Our classes are buzzing with excitement for learning!
Some of our older learners in Mr. Rogers’ class have showcased their incredible macro photography skills. After heading outside, they captured some amazing nature shots!
On Thursday, we participated in the Provincial Great Shake-Out Earthquake drill. Students took care to safely Drop, Cover and Hold in their classrooms. We were so impressed with the quiet, safe and calm way cohorts exited the building during the drill. Students and staff did a tremendous job of staying safe!
School Property Reminders:
Thank you to all families for your cooperation with our closed campus and our staggered arrival and dismissal procedures. When families are on the property, we remind everyone to practice physical distancing from other families. When 2 meter distancing is not possible, masks are encouraged. Please remember to exit the property promptly after dropping off or picking up your child.
We have also really appreciated everyone’s work to make the parking lot as safe as possible. Thank you for pulling forward and remaining in your vehicle in the drop-off lane. Please remember to drive slowly at 5 km/hr in the parking lot.
Parent-Teacher Interviews:
Reminder: Parent Teacher Interviews will be happening soon!
When: Tuesday, October 27 – 2:00-7:30 pm & Wednesday, October 28 – 2:00-4:30 pm
Online sign-up for the parent-teacher interviews will open on Monday, October 19 at 8:00 am and close on October 26 at 11:00 pm.
Where: Parents can choose to meet with the teacher in-person in the classroom (with physical distancing in place) OR virtually via online video conference.
How: To sign up for either a Virtual OR In-Person meeting, please use this link starting Monday, October 19th at 8:00 am: https://jke.schoolappointments.com
Safety for In-Person Interviews:
- While on school property, please ensure you physically distance from other families.
- All families are asked to head to the exterior CLASSROOM door for the interview.
- Please wait outside the door until the teacher invites you inside.
- Seats will be set up to allow for physical distancing.
- Masks are encouraged.
- We ask that all families arrive to the exterior classroom door just before their interview time and leave promptly afterwards to prevent crowding.
- We apologize for the inconvenience, but the school hallways and other rooms/common areas will be closed during interviews.
- All families that attend are asked to ensure they acknowledge the Daily Health Check questions on the Home Page of the School Appointments online sign up. If you are sick on the day of your appointment, please call the school to inform us and please stay home.
Virtual Conference: If you choose to have a virtual video conference with the teacher, please sign up using the School Appointments link above. Afterwards, your classroom teacher will email you directly with online video conference details.
Thank you for your continued efforts to bring home and school together to support your child! Please call or email the school office with any questions. 604-888-5257
** When booking your appointment, don’t forget to choose which option – either In-Person or Virtual.
Halloween Festivities:
We are looking forward to Halloween excitement in the upcoming weeks! In past years, JKE has hosted a much-loved Spooktacular Event. We acknowledge that, for safety reasons, this event is not possible this year.
We know that this year poses extraordinary challenges. The JKE staff and PAC are working hard to offer fun activities for our school community, albeit in new and creative ways. While we cannot offer our traditional Spooktacular this year, we are planning some fun Halloween-themed events. On Friday, October 30th, the PAC has generously hired a Halloween DJ during the school day! Cohorts will be able to go into the gym for a safe, mini Halloween-themed dance party!
We hope to find more creative ways to bring our school community together throughout the year!
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Thursday, October 22: Photo Retakes
Friday, October 23: Pro-D Day- students do not attend
October 27 & 28: 1 hour early dismissal (1:22 and 1:32 dismissal times); Parent-teacher Conferences
October 30: Halloween Dance Party in gym (during school day) for cohorts
District Updates:
On Saturday October 24, many of our school gyms across the District will be used as provincial election polling stations from 8am – 8pm. As guided by Section 81 of the Election Act “accommodation in a school that is the property of a board of school trustees under the School Act must be made available by the board for use as a voting place.” As always, the health and safety of our students, staff and school community is a priority. With COVID-19, we understand this may raise some questions and concerns about the use of District property.
In an effort to be transparent with our families, we want you to know the following:
- 32 school sites will be used. Please see full list here https://www.sd35.bc.ca/news-events/district-board-news/view/election-day-use-of-school-sites/
· Gymnasiums will be used. No public access to other parts of the school.
· Set-up will occur the day before. No students will be onsite due to Pro-D day.
· Elections BC staff will follow their own cleaning protocols on election day.
· District custodial staff will be cleaning sites prior to school opening on Monday.
· Please take note of extra traffic in the area of these sites on election day.
Election Day – Request for Volunteers
An additional note, if you have been contacted by an Elections BC representative seeking volunteers to help on election day, do not provide any contact information of our families or staff as this is in violation of FOIPPA. However, it is acceptable to share the contact of an Elections BC staff member with the PAC or choose to share it in a newsletter. Please see example message below.
Elections BC is seeking local volunteers in our community to help. If you are interested, please contact [insert name, title, contact number or email address]. Please understand, the school or District is not responsible for this activity.
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 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.
Newsletter: Friday, October 2, 2020
It has been a wonderful few weeks of school with the students back in the building! Teachers and staff have been working hard to dive into learning. As I visit classes, I am seeing engaging activities to foster a love for literacy, staff and students are quickly creating caring, respectful communities within their classes, and student artwork is starting to brighten up our classrooms and hallways. It has been wonderful having our whole JKE community back together.
As a school, we are working on creative ways to offer activities and events for our students. 
Community connection is so important to our staff, students and families. We hope to find new ways to offer many of the opportunities our students have had in the past, but in new ways. An example of this is the Terry Fox Run, which took place on Monday,
September 28. While is was different from past years, cohorts of students were able to safely run or walk outside around our back field. It was a great day as students honoured a Canadian Hero and did their part as global citizens in the fight against cancer.
This past Wednesday, September 30, our school participated in Orange Shirt Day. This important day is part of our school’s journey towards Truth and Reconciliation, as we continue to learn about the impact of Residential Schools on First Nation’s communities. Students participated in a virtual school-wide video assembly and created Hearts of Hope. Cohorts planted these hearts out front of our school. On this, and every day, we are committed to acknowledging that Every Child Matters.
Closed Campus:
Just a friendly reminder that the school is a closed campus. If you are approaching the front entrance, please stop before entering the building. You will notice a sign at the front door asking to call the front office. Mrs. Sollows will be able to assist you over the phone. Thank you for your cooperation!
Outdoor Recess and Lunch:
After careful consideration as a staff, we are choosing to modify where we host our staggered recesses and lunches. The times shall remain the same as the current schedule for classes, however children will head outside during recess and lunch times. To help in understanding this change, we have some handy FAQ:
How does this affect my child’s daily schedule?
There is no change to the current daily schedule for your child. The times for your child’s current recess and lunch will remain the same. The only new change will be that each class will head outside during their recess (15 minutes) and lunch (30 minutes).
How will my child be kept safe outside?
To preserve the integrity of each cohort, classes/cohorts will be assigned an outside play zone each week with specific boundaries. This play zone will rotate on a weekly basis to provide students with opportunities to enjoy field areas and play structures within our property. Teachers will work with students to teach them the boundaries of each zone. Staff supervisors will be outside to supervise these zones during each recess and lunch period to ensure students are safely within their zones. As always, students are to wash their hands before and after playing outside.
When will my child eat snack/lunch?
Your child will eat snack or lunch in their classroom supervised by their classroom teacher, either before or after playtime outside (which classroom teachers will determine). We will continue to request that you pack a litter-less lunch and full water bottle for your child each day.
Does this affect the staggered drop-off or dismissal time?
No. The only change is that children will be outside during their current scheduled recess and lunch time.
What do I need to do to prepare my child for this change?
Please ensure that your child is dressed for the weather. We head outside most days, including rainy weather. Some zones will be on the grassy field and all students will need good shoes for rain or muddy grounds. Sending a second pair of shoes- for “inside use”- AND clothes (shirt, socks, pants) in your child’s backpack is a very good idea to keep your child comfortable throughout the school day.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Monday, October 12: Thanksgiving (no school)
Thursday, October 22 – Photo Re-takes
Friday, October 23: Pro-D Day (students do not attend)
Tuesday, October 27 – Early Dismissal at 1:22 pm (A-L families) & 1:32 pm (M-Z families)
Wednesday, October 28 – Early Dismissal at 1:22 pm (A-L families) & 1:32 pm (M-Z families)
District Information:
Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) – Change of Administration Dates
Parents of students in grade 4 and 7 will have recently received a letter from Gord Stewart, Superintendent of Schools, regarding the annual Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) for the 2020/2021 school year. The letter indicated that this year’s FSA would be administered between October 5 and November 13, 2020. Since the letter was distributed to families, the Ministry of Education has decided to postpone the FSA to later in the school year to allow schools and students more time to adjust to the new school circumstances as a result of COVID-19.
All Langley students in grades 4 and 7 will now complete the FSA in the new administration window between January 18 and February 26, 2021. More information on the exact dates that students will write their FSA will be made available to parents later in the year. The remainder of the information outlined in the letter still applies. If parents have any questions regarding the FSA, they should contact Mrs. Simonetto.
Langley Environmental Awareness Program (LEAP) – Fort Langley Elementary
Information Session for Future Kindergarten Students
Imagine your child’s classroom in the open air! Join us on Monday, October 5th, 5:00 pm at Fort Langley Elementary for our Langley Environmental Awareness Program (LEAP) Info Session. This meeting is for families with children interested in entering the program in Kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year. Due to limited capacity, registration to attend the meeting is required.
To learn more and register: https://bit.ly/2HxBANJ
To get a sense of the culture and program, you can watch this video here: https://bit.ly/33bF0OH
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. K. Simonetto
Newsletter: Monday, September 21, 2020
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, September 22 (tomorrow): Individual Photo day
Friday, September 25: School Improvement Day. Students do not attend (full day).
Monday, September 28: Terry Fox Run at school within class cohorts (please send child with running shoes)
Wednesday, September 30: Orange Shirt Day
Terry Fox Run:
James Kennedy Elementary is proud to take part in this year’s 40th Anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. This year we will be running on Monday, September 28 with our cohort groups. The run wlll be around our school track at scheduled times. As we are not collecting cash money this year, so please consider an online donation. Please help show your support by donating: LINK HERE. Students can even get involved too by creating their own fundraising page under their school name: https://terryfox.org/schoolrun/students/
Thank you for your supporting our school in the fight against cancer and continuing Terry’s legacy! #terryfoxschoolrun @terryfoxfoundation
Meet the Teacher:
Due to restrictions for our closed campus, we will not be able to host our traditional Meet the Teacher night. Please keep an eye out for communication from your classroom teacher about how he/she intends to remotely connect with families before October 2nd.
Hot Lunch:
This year, we will unfortunately not be running hot lunch programs. Thank you for understanding our efforts to ensure the health and safety of all our students, families and staff.
Food for Friends:
We are not able to permit the sharing of food items (cupcakes, cookies, etc.) from classmates for birthday celebrations this year. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Friday, September 11, 2020
Welcome back, James Kennedy Families! It was so lovely to see all the smiling faces return to school over the past two days. Our staff have worked so hard to create a welcoming and safe classroom and school experience for all our students. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to our custodial staff. They have been working so hard to prepare the school over the summer and each day/evening so it is clean and safe for kids and staff! On behalf of all our staff, we would like to thank all of YOU for your patience, cooperation and understanding as we developed new systems and structures to ensure all students and staff are safe as we restart school.
We wanted to ensure all families are aware of a few important items:
Permanent 2020-21 Classes:
Your family will receive an email from a classroom teacher today indicating the class placement for your child(ren) this year. Please keep an eye out for this email. Please note: several email providers are sending our emails to SPAM or JUNK folders, so please check these. If you have not received an email from a classroom teacher by Sunday morning, please contact the office via email.
We want to ensure that all families understand the extensive care and thought that all our staff put forth in creating class lists. This year, in particular, poses an additional challenge with learning cohorts due to COVID-19. We are excited to welcome all students into their permanent 2020-21 classes on Monday!
Arrival & Dismissal: 2020-21 procedures
We were pleased to see how families worked hard to arrive as close as possible to their designated arrival and dismissal time. Thank you for your attention to this! The purpose of the staggered start and end times is to reduce the population of people arriving to the school by 50%, so we have plenty of space for safe parking, drop-off and physical distancing while on the property. When cars and families arrived at their start and end times, there was enough room in the parking lot for everyone. Arriving early or late causes an overlap between the first and second waves of families. Thank you for your attention to this important detail.
A couple friendly reminders for all families for our full-day return starting Monday:
- A-L families’ schedule: 8:45 am -2:22 pm daily
- M-Z families’ schedule: 8:55 am- 2:32 pm daily
- Please arrive as close to your arrival and dismissal time as possible. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate families that arrive early or wish to stay late on the property.
- The lane closest to the school is a drop-off lane only. The driver must remain in the vehicle at all times. This lane is not a parking lane.
- The school building is a controlled environment. Unfortunately, we are not able to allow parents to enter classrooms with their children.
- The playgrounds and fields are closed before and after school.
Daily Health Check Forms:
If you have not already done so, please complete and bring or email the Daily Health Check Form for each of your children. You only need to complete this form once at the beginning of the year acknowledging that you will keep your child home if they have any of the symptoms or circumstances listed on the form.
You can find the form here: Health Check Form – Revised 2020Sep
Illness at School:
Just a reminder that if your child shows new symptoms while at school, we will need prompt pick-up from a family member or an emergency contact. We ask families to respond quickly to any missed call from the school. As mentioned in prior communication, if your child is sick, please keep your child home! Thank you for your cooperation.
Family accident reimbursement plan:
The Langley School District offers the Kids Plus Voluntary Insurance Plan. For more information, please visit this link: https://www.solutionsinsurance.com/aonbc
Thank you for a wonderful first two days! We look forward to having ALL our JKE students together on Monday!
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. Kendra Simonetto, Principal
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Important Information for Student Orientation:
Today, a staff member sent an email to you indicating the classroom door you will head to when you arrive at the school either Thursday or Friday. Apparently, there is a glitch in the system that we use to communicate these emails and some families have not yet received this information. We ask that all families check their Junk or Spam inbox as well. We apologize for this glitch.
For now, we will share the general school information with you. When you arrive, there will be staff outside that will be able to assist you in finding the correct exterior door for your child.
Please review the following information for all families returning to face-to-face instruction.
When will my child attend?
As mentioned in prior school communication, families will attend ONE half-day in this first week based on the last name of the youngest sibling that attends our school.
Last name A-L: attend Thursday, September 10th, 8:45 am -12:00 noon
Last name M-Z: attend Friday, September 11th, 8:55– 12:00 noon
Please note: Playgrounds, fields and school grounds are closed before and after school. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. Please arrive as close to your assigned arrival and dismissal time as possible.
Where do we go?
When your child arrives, please find a staff member if you do not have the specific room information for your child. Staff will be wearing high-visibility vests.
What does my child need?
On the first day, please bring:
· A recess snack
· A pencil box with some labeled pencils, pencil crayons, scissors and glue
· A labeled water bottle
(You do not need to bring all your school supplies until Monday, September 14th).
I look forward to seeing you and your child and welcoming your family back to school! Please ensure you physically distance from other families while on school property.
Your permanent classroom teacher and second week information will be emailed to you on Friday afternoon.
Kind regards,
Mrs. Simonetto
September 2019 Newsletter September 2019
October 2019 Newsletter October 2019
November 2019 Newsletter November 2019
January/February 2020 Newsletter January-February 2020
March 2020 Newsletter March 2020
Vaping Information for Families Vaping – Information for Families
School Restart Information for Families JKE Community Restart Plan Final
Student Health Check Form (to be completed for each child in September) Health Check Form 2020Aug – Fillable PDF
Dear Parents,
On behalf of the staff at James Kennedy Elementary, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your support and partnership as we work together with the same goal in mind – to help all learners reach their full potential. We are grateful for our school community!! We hope you all enjoy our ‘note’ of appreciation.
With appreciation,
Mrs. L. Lainchbury, Principal
Principal’s Message – May 2019
It has been such a wonderful month of learning, community and celebration. This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to share the journey of James Kennedy Elementary’s year of literacy learning at the Langley School Board of Education meeting. It was an honour to speak so highly of the connection between teaching, learning, and our Action Plan. JKE continues to be a community that strives to put students and their learning at the centre of our decisions, to ensure that every child reaches their full potential. We look forward to continuing our journey together as a community that values every member; staff, students, and of course our families. As we near the end of another year and reflect on our learning, I thank all of you for your time, conversations, and support of your children. Here’s to another month!
With appreciation,
Mrs. L. Lainchbury, Principal
Principal’s Message – March 2019
Dear families,
Here we are already heading into Spring Break 2019. There is so much to celebrate as we continue to grow as a learning community! We are proud to be James Kennedy Jaguars, and are doubly proud to announce that our new logo is finally ready!!!!
Local designer, Brad Karsgaard has worked with us to create a logo that reflects our K-7 community. He has also designed the logo for Yorskon Middle School and Alice Brown Elementary School. If you would like to learn more about his work you can view his website at https://www.bradkdesign.com. We will be sending information home about Spirit Wear purchase options after the break.
Again, I wish all of our families a restful and rejuvenating Spring Break.
Principal’s Message – February 2019
Dear families of JKE,
Another month has flown by, and our JKE community continues to flourish. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our parent community for their continued support. We know that student success is a result of a shared commitment between dedicated teachers and supportive parents. Together at James Kennedy we continue to strive to build that relationship, and we are grateful for our parent community.
Parents, thank you for celebrating our staff throughout Staff Appreciation Week, for volunteering on field trips, providing hot lunch days and the fruit and vegetable program, supporting your children in their school work, and for all you do to contribute to the positive relationship with our school. Please know that you are appreciated!
Mrs. Lisa Lainchbury
Principal, James Kennedy Elementary
Principal’s Message – January 2019
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Here we are at the end of January, another busy and vibrant month at JKE. There have been so many special events, and much learning happening this month. Lots to celebrate and share with the community! A reminder that you can follow us on Twitter @jkeschool for celebrations and announcements of learning, and also get information at JKEPAC on Facebook or additionally on Twitter at our new account @JkePac.
There’s so much to celebrate this month!
- Our first Ready-Set-Learn event welcomed over twenty future Kindergarten students to JKE!
- Teachers continue their focussed work on formative reading assessments and explicit reading instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 7.
- PAC Book Sale raised over $1700 thanks to your contribution and participation.
- Our Ski and Snowboard group wraps up a successful and positive season at Seymour!
- Many classes are participating in field trips including Vive les Voyageurs, skating, Flip City, Save-on-Foods, Fire Station, WGSS textiles, WG Library, and Hakam’s Grocery.
- Many committees are meeting to plan ahead for our upcoming Respect and Diversity Week, our POPS (Parents of Primary Students) Literacy/Numeracy parent evening, and our schoolwide PAWS framework.
- Our student leadership team is up and running! Watch for them serving our JKE community in the coming months.
- The Grade three classes learned about powwow dancing from Full Circle.
- A variety of literacy events took place including our visit from the Langley Rivermen.
- Basketball teams are out in full force, and games are underway.
- K’s welcomed LEPS for an in-house field trip.
- Many in-class Aboriginal workshops took place.
- Safire from ArtStarts shared an acrobatic performance.
- Grade 7’s are invited to an Open House at WGSS January 30 at 6:30!
- And more!!!
Thank you for the continued support and passion to come together as a school community. James Kennedy is a special place for staff, students and parents.
With appreciation,
Mrs. Lisa Lainchbury
Principal, James Kennedy Elementary
Principal’s Message – December 2018
To our JKE families,
December has been such a wonderful month of opportunities to come together as a school community. Thank you to all our PAC and other parent volunteers for contributing your time to support our school events, field trips, hot lunches, safe crosswalk and much more. Together as a parent and staff community our students are thriving and benefitting from our partnership. There is so much to be grateful for at James Kennedy as we work together towards “Success for all through learning and caring”.
From JKE staff, we would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones. Enjoy the break from regular routine, and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you!
Mrs. Lisa Lainchbury
Principal, James Kennedy Elementary
Principal’s Message – November 2018
And here we are in November! What a long list of accomplishments and memories we have created over the last two months. Looking forward we will continue to focus on Literacy and Social Responsibility as guides for our JKE Action Plan. Today, we had grade group assemblies to review our school expectations (P.A.W.S. – Polite, Accountable, Willing, Safe) in a more targeted age-appropriate way. Thank you for continuing to review these with your children and reinforce positive behaviour at home.
At our staff meeting this week, teachers gathered in grade groups to discuss reading assessments in order to continue to make the right decisions and implement best strategies in classrooms for our students. We have so much wealth of knowledge at JKE, and I know we will continue to make gains in our work together. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to continue to work together as partners in our children’s learning.
Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.
Mrs. Lisa Lainchbury
Principal, James Kennedy Elementary