Principal’s Message
Dear Parents,
Welcome back from Spring Break! We hope everyone is rejuvenated and relaxed. We will need our energy as we make the final push to the end of the school year. On your marks- get set- GO!!!
We have been steadily registering new students for September. While many of these students are young Kindergarten students who will be having their first school experience, many of our registrations are students transferring into Maple Grove and living in our catchment area. While planning is well under way for next school year, we are always working to ensure the students at Maple Grove have an engaging and robust educational experience. To this end, please note that a School Organization will not be provided to you until the staff have had an opportunity to examine it and provide input. You can anticipate learning more about this over the remaining months and I address several emerging issues regarding projections, staffing entitlements, school organization and enrolment.
PAC meetings are a very good venue to receive detailed information about the school, the structure, the organization, projections, and staffing. I can tell you that our school is super popular and that we are bursting at the seams for next year. We will be over 500 to start the school year and anticipate continuing with 20 enrolling divisions. Our next PAC meeting is April 20 at 7:00 pm in the library.
Here’s to a great Term 3.
Mr. Evans
Student Placement
We have started to receive letters from some parents requesting that their child be placed in a particular teacher’s class for September. We do not endorse this type of teacher requesting process.
Instead, if you feel the need to express your concerns about your child’s placement for next year, you should be speaking with this year’s classroom teacher and discussing viable educational options for September. (This year’s classroom teacher plays a significant role in the class casting process for September in conjunction with resource staff ). If, after speaking with the classroom teacher, you still feel a need to write a letter to me regarding the placement of your child, you may do with the the following understandings and criteria:
1. Understandings:
(a) A letter is NOT an opportunity to request a specific teacher! It is an opportunity for you to forward any educational concerns or issues that you think might be helpful for the school to consider and raise with the casting teachers, for consideration, when they start casting classes.
(b) Writing a letter is not a guarantee that your request will be accepted. It is merely an opportunity for you to share your thoughts and opinions about how your child may learn best. While teachers may consider your wishes, they exercise a great deal of thought, time and effort into casting classes, and I lean towards giving that the consideration it deserves.
(c) There are often structural parameters that govern class casting (e.g., class size regulations, combined class options, school organization limits). These factors sometimes limit educational options available for casting teachers.
2. Criteria:
Maple Grove staff consider the following 5 notions when casting classes. All the members of the Maple Grove team meet to discuss each child at length to ensure that all known factors are taken into consideration before a decision about class placement is finalized.
(a) Each child’s academic needs
(b) Each child’s social needs
(c) Class group dynamics
(d) Gender balance
(e) Equitable distribution of students
Again, if you have a specific request about the above information, please talk to your child’s teacher or submit a request in writing by May 31. Requests will NOT be considered after that date. My suggestion would be that if you have concerns regarding your child, that you discuss the matter with their current teacher.
Please know that it is our intention to achieve the following for all students:
(i) To organize classes so that each student is in a positive learning situation
(ii) To ensure that each teacher has a manageable teaching assignment that conforms to ministry criteria + the collective agreement
(iii) To ensure that there is a balance of ability levels
(iv) To ensure that there is a balance of students with a range of work habits
(v) To ensure there is a variety of learning styles
(vi) To ensure that there are positive social groupings
(vii) To ensure that students have a friend in the class; and that we limit peer conflicts
(viii) To give consideration to boy/girl ratios
(ix) To ensure there are some positive leaders in each class
(x) To consider previous class assignment of teachers and classmates
(xi) To give thoughtful consideration to teacher recommendations
(xii) To consider parental input regarding their child
(xiii) To listen to Resource Team input
Thank you to everyone for their passion, interest and involvement in Maple Grove. We look forward to working with you in making this school a wonderful place for student teaching and learning. It is our collective goal to ensure all students are engaged with their learning and receiving an excellent, comprehensive educational experience.
Spring Fair!
ATTENTION ALL MAPLE GROVE FAMILIES!
The preliminary stages of Spring Fair planning have begun! We are all looking forward to our favourite annual Maple Grove event.
Spring Fair is scheduled this year for Friday, May 27th.
But….. we need YOUR help!!! :) In the past, we have scrambled right up to the last moment to have enough volunteers to make this awesome event happen. This year we have decided to try a different approach so that this wonderful community event can truly be an event put on by our community. We are asking for 2 parents per division to represent their classrooms and help organize this event. This does not mean that these people will be leading or planning the whole event but rather being sure that we have enough volunteers to represent all parts of our school.
As always, we need people to sell tickets (admission and food/game), sell food, set up and clean up, bouncy castle supervisors, silent auction and prize coordinators.
Tim Luu, who is our Spring Fair guru is completing his last year as Volunteer Extraordinaire at Maple Grove and has offered his expertise to those of us who are willing to learn. Tim has selflessly and sometimes single handedly put on this event for many years!
We will need these volunteers in place by April 15th or PAC may have to cancel the event this year. It is just too big of a job to do at the last minute with minimal human power. We hope you will help us keep this tradition alive and come together to help out this year!
Many thanks!
Please contact Karrie Bogart at ckbogart@shaw.ca to be a Spring Fair representative!
Do you have a child who needs extra support at school? Wondering how to get your child what they need to survive and thrive in the system? Join us for our first annual Advocacy Conference!
KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Birgitta Von Krosigk
Advocating for the Advocate
by Birgitta von Krosigk
Coach, Facilitator, Mediator, and Researcher at Dialogica, Vancouver, BC
Please click on the link for more details: Advocating for Special Needs in BC Schools
Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP)
Parents, if you haven’t taken a moment to add your input to the LRFP, please take a moment to visit the following link. The survey is available in Chinese; to access the Chinese version just click the button on the top right corner of the first page of the survey.
We appreciate your input. Please note the dates, times and locations of our open house/ public input sessions:
Public Workshop & Open House dates and locations:
April 2nd Renfrew Community Centre – Workshop from 12 noon – 1:30 / Open House from 1:30 – 3 pm
April 7th Vancouver Board Office – Open House from 6 pm – 7 pm / Workshop from 7 pm – 9 pm
April 10th Jewish Community Centre Wosk Auditorium – Workshop from 1:30 pm – 3 pm / Open House 3 pm – 4:30 pm
April 24th River District Centre – Workshop from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm / Open House from 2:30 pm to 4 pm
April 30th SFU (downtown campus) World Art Centre – Workshop 1 pm – 2:30 pm / Open House 2:30 pm – 4 pm
Thank you in advance for your support in sharing this information with your community. Please contact me directly if you have any questions, concerns, or require further information.
Summer School Information
- 2016 Summer School Program information can be found at : https://summer.vsb.bc.ca/Pages/default.aspx
- Registration Opens on May 2nd, 2016
- Course Calendars will be arriving to your schools during the third week of April
- A global message has been posted on all school websites through share point.
Thanks for your on-going support of the summer school program!
Upcoming Events
April 7th – Class Group and Panorama Photographs
April 15 – Curriculum Implementation Day – no school for students
April 18 – Professional Development Day – no school for students
April 20 – PAC Meeting
Maple Grove Elementary School 
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