Friday Blast
Maple Ridge Elementary
Friday, Dec. 6th, 2024
THIS WEEK
The hallways were full of the sound of children’s voices as classes rehearsed their performances for our Winter Concert. This year, the students invite you to take a journey around the world experiencing festive music from many countries and cultures. This has been a wonderful learning opportunity for our students and they are excited to share their songs with you! Please see below for concert details.
NEXT WEEK
Monday, Dec. 9th
Winter Concert Dress Rehearsal
Tuesday, Dec. 10th
9:00 am: Winter Concert – First Performance
1:00 pm: Winter Concert – Second Performance
*Families must line up outside until doors are opened.
Wednesday, Dec. 11th
Recycling Workshop – Div. 9
Thursday, Dec. 12th
PAC Lug-a-Mug
*Please send your child to school with their own mug to receive yummy hot chocolate courtesy of the MRE PAC*
Friday, Dec. 13th
SANTA MALL
Dear MRE Family,
The holiday season is a time for giving, and we’re excited to share our MRE tradition of Santa Mall with your little ones.
On either December 18th or 19th, your child’s class will visit Santa Mall where they’ll have the chance to choose one or two gifts from a wide selection of items on display. These gifts can be for younger siblings, older siblings, parents, loved ones, or even for the whole family to share! The gifts students select will be wrapped by our Santa Mall volunteer elves and sent home that day.
Donations of $1 – $5 per child will be collected by your child’s teacher on December 18th & 19th to help support the costs of this event. You can also contribute by signing up to help volunteer for an hour or two with our PAC Santa Mall Volunteer Sign Up.
May your child experience the joy of giving this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Derrien Kilsby (Nana Claus)
CBC MUSIC CLASS CHALLENGE
Our talented MRE choir led by Mme Alliette is participating in this year’s CBC Music Class Challenge. Check out the video of their performance and lend your support, the more views we get the better chance we have of winning!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0_xYY3XFdo
Inclement Weather Procedures: Snow
As the weather cools, please review the school district’s inclement weather procedures as they relate to snowfall and possible school closures.
The decision to close schools due to accumulating snowfall is ultimately the responsibility of the superintendent, who must balance the safety of students, staff and parents with the need to provide learning. The decision is not taken lightly and is the result of a carefully thought-out process that is reviewed after each experience and refined if necessary.
Except in rare circumstances, no announcement will be made if schools are open.
The decision to close schools is made by 6:30 a.m. Details are:
- posted on the SD42 Website (www.sd42.ca).
- posted on the SD42 Facebook feed (SD42Facebook);
- posted on the SD42 Twitter feed (@sd42news);
- shared with News 1130, CKNW, and CBC 690 radio stations.
Please note: The district supports individual and family decisions regarding safety. Parents/guardians have primary responsibility for their children’s safe travel to school. If, for any reason, there are personal concerns about the ability to travel safely to school, other arrangements should be made.
Education Assistant Program at Ridge Meadows College
If you or someone you know may be interested in a career working with children and youth with diverse abilities, Ridge Meadows College (operated by SD42) still has seats available for the January 2025 cohort of its Education Assistant (EA) program. The demand for this job is high as the province faces a shortage of EAs and virtually all graduates of the program move on to work in school districts across B.C., including Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District No. 42. If you’d like to learn more about the program, you can visit the website at https://rmcollege.sd42.ca/program/education-assistant/. In addition to the EA program, RMC also has programs in administration, early childhood education, community support and others.
Water Testing Strategy for District Facilities
The school district is updating its water testing program by adjusting the number of drinking water sources in its facilities. This new water testing strategy, which has already been implemented in a number of neighbouring districts, will ensure a more streamlined testing schedule, limiting annual testing only to water sources that are being used. Each facility will also have at least one designated water dispensing station, with the goal of increasing this number over time.
Water sources designated for drinking are marked with a Drinking Water sticker, while those not included in the testing program are marked with a Not for Drinking sticker. A limited number of drinking water sources in the district require a 2-minute morning flush to ensure water quality; these are marked with a 2-Minute Morning Flush sticker. This morning flush is completed by staff as the facilities department prioritizes upgrades as a long-term solution.
Adjustments to designated drinking water locations may be made to meet any emerging needs and ensure easy access to safe drinking water across all our schools.
Staff will review this new labeling system with students at the beginning of each school year to ensure that all students, particularly younger ones, understand which water sources they can use for drinking.
For more information about the water testing program, visit the district website at https://bit.ly/40Uvcqy or the Ministry of Education and Child Care website at https://bit.ly/466CPuI.
PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Hot Lunch Friday Dec 6th
Day of sales based on availability.
Lug-a-Mug Dec 12th
Remember to bring a mug to school so PAC can fill it with hot chocolate!
There is no PAC meeting in December but if you have questions please reach out at pac.mre@gmail.com anytime!
| Foundry News |
The Foundry provides mental health care, substance use services, physical and sexual health care, youth, and family peer supports, and social services to youth aged 12-24 years of age. It provides drop-in counselling as well as various social events that your child can attend. This is a terrific way to build positive connections with others within the Maple Ridge community.