As we approach the close of another calendar year, it is a great time to reflect on the journey we have shared with your children since September. We have had an active and busy fall and look forward to seeing you all again in the new year! As the last week of school begins, we would like to let you know how we will be getting ready for the closure of the school building for the winter break. Although we have rentals, we expect the school to be unoccupied most of the break. We would like to ask students to consider bringing in a bag to assist with taking home any belongings that they might need over the holidays. Students will be cleaning out their lockers to ensure that there are no food items left to rot in their locker over the break. Students are reminded to take home any clothing or footwear that they may require, as the school will not be accessible to students after 3:00 pm on Friday, December 20. Students are encouraged to also take home any materials they might need if they wish to take some time to work on or review their learning tasks that have been assigned this term. Report cards will be available online on or after January 27, and if your child has outstanding assignments it would be best if they were completed and submitted as soon as possible.
Here are a few more reminders:
Our School Parking lot is off limits for drop-off and pick-up. Please do not enter, stop, or park in the parking lot during the school day unless you have a permit.
Given that there are no parking stalls available for public use, and dropping off students in the parking lot is prohibited (and extremely unsafe), there is no reason for any parent/guests to be driving in the school parking lot, before, during and after school unless you have a VC PICK-UP & DROP-OFF PERMIT in the front window of your vehicle. Bus zones, Accessible Parking zones and the school parking lot should not be used at any time for dropping off or picking up students unless your child has special needs and you have spoken to your child's teacher to obtain a permit. This is in accordance with CBE policy to ensure the safety of all students.
If you are parking on the other side of the street, please insist that your children use the crosswalks, and not jay walk. Parents and students jaywalking between cars or buses is extremely problematic, and we ask that parents/students obey the law and not jaywalk. Pedestrians should cross the street at corners and crosswalks only. Our crosswalk leads right into our parking lot, so if your child is not walking on the sidewalk to the front door of the school, they must be extra careful to cross the parking lot safely as school buses may not see children close to the bus if the pedestrians cannot see the driver.
We would also like to remind parents and students that smoking & vaping is not permitted on CBE property. Parents and family members may not smoke anywhere outside of the school. This includes sidewalks. Your cooperation is both appreciated and expected.
Learning is our central purpose here at Valley Creek and we are so grateful for our community and the support they give us. We have an amazing group of dedicated parents/guardians who take time out of their busy schedules to volunteer on our School Council. Our council chair Shelley Wiart & our Valley Creek School Cooperating Society was awarded $6000 for our Creative Pathways for Reconciliation Education grant to help engage our parents and students in Indigenous cultural teachings through art, storytelling, and hands-on activities led by Indigenous artists. The project promotes resilience, emotional regulation, and healing through artmaking and storytelling. We look forward to strengthening our community as we all work together for the benefit of our students.
We welcome Ms. Hunt back and look forward to the Spirit day and rally on Friday hosted by the PE team. Students are encouraged to wear their Chargers gear to show support and cheer on our sports teams, band and other amazing clubs and activities that make our school so special!
Speaking of school spirit, we get lots of compliments on our school facility as visiting teams often share how nicely the school is laid out and well taken care of. We know that we have been having some trouble with vandalism, but we expect our school sign to be replaced on or after December 17. CBE will also be blocking obvious access points to the school roof, to deter this type of vandalism, but should you see people up on the roof please call the school and let us know so we can follow up as replacing our sign is very costly for the CBE. We take great pride in keeping a tidy school; both inside and out. We ask all our students to be good citizens by putting garbage and recycling where it belongs and helping to keep our classrooms and playground clean. As the Valley Creek Cooperating Society has helped us to purchase new waste sorting bins, we know that teachers have been working with students to ensure that we are not sending discarded items to the landfill if we can compost, recycle or return them. Every little bit counts!
We have already seen tremendous growth in our students, much of which was shared at our recent conferences. Academically, they’ve built on their foundations, exploring new ideas and gaining confidence in their abilities. Socially and emotionally, they’ve deepened connections with their peers and developed a greater sense of empathy and belonging. These moments of learning and personal development remind us of the importance of walking alongside one another, offering support, encouragement, and guidance. We have been made aware of some inappropriate behaviours in the hallways during unstructured times and will be working as a team to ensure a welcoming, safe and caring work and learning environment for everyone at Valley Creek. Our teachers will be actively supervising students as they enter the school building at 7:45 am and encouraging students to head directly into their classrooms after they drop their coat and backpack off in their locker. If students are having difficulty arriving on time for instructional time, teachers will be providing time for students to catch-up on the work they missed during lunch period starting in January. Please make sure that your child understands the importance of being on time for learning, as we will be in touch with parents to let them know if their child is not making use of the catch-up time. If you know your child will be late for an appointment or other unavoidable reason, please contact the office each time, so that we will not expect to see them during this time. This new approach is intended to target chronic lates, and highlight how much instructional time a student is missing if they are not arriving in class on time. We appreciate your support in advance.
As we prepare to step into a new year, I invite you to celebrate the milestones your child has accomplished and continue this journey with us. Together, we will keep walking forward, nurturing the potential in every child and working toward a bright and inclusive future.
Thank you for your unwavering support and for being essential partners in this journey. Together, we truly are stronger. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!
Warm regards,
Anne Markovich