Jessie Lee Elementary

September 2024

Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Students, and Families of Jessie Lee Elementary,

Welcome back to another year at Jessie Lee! The past week has been filled with opportunities to catch up with friends and classmates, make new friends, and share summer memories. Our staff have enjoyed reconnecting with students and welcoming students and families new to the Jessie Lee community. We are looking forward to a wonderful 2024/25 year together! We would like to welcome the following new staff this year:

Ms. Arora: Inclusive Education Support Worker

Mr. Baljak: Counsellor

Ms. Gordon: (Job share with Ms. Taggar in LST)

Ms. Charanjeet Grewal: Welcome back! (Grade 6/7)

Ms. Hilts: Welcome back! (Kindergarten)

Ms. Jouhal (Job share with Ms. Hilts in Kindergarten)

Ms. Kaur: Welcome back! (Grade 4/5)

Miss Ling: Grade 5/6

Ms. Okut: Grade 2

Ms. Parhar: Grade 2/3

Mr. Parhar: Grade 4/5

Ms. Peacock: Kindergarten/Grade One

Ms. Sahota: (Job share with Ms. Griffin in Grade 2/3)

Students found out their new teacher on Monday! We are excited for the year ahead!

Warm Regards,

Ms. M. Helland and Ms. K. Beauregard

Principals, Jessie Lee Elementary

ALLERGY AWARENESS

Several of our students have severe allergic reactions to peanuts, nuts, and their by-products. Please do not send any foods containing peanuts, nuts, and their by-products. Other ways you can help: remind your children to wash their hands carefully after eating. Remind children not to share snacks and please do not use these products in any classroom treats you may send in over the year. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we aim to make our school a safe environment for all students.

*Please inform the school office immediately if your child has a severe life- threatening allergy*

Student Absences

If your child will be away please ensure that you are emailing jessielee@surreyschools.ca to inform us. You can also leave a message at 604.531.8833 - Option 1. You can email or call at any time of the day or night. Every child needs to be accounted for and this saves our staff a lot of time in follow up phone calls.

FAMILY SUPPORT

Each month, Family Smart offers "In the Know" virtual events. All of the information to register can be found by clicking on the links below. These events are free to attend. These events are offered multiple times a month, so you can choose the best date and time that works for you. If a time doesn't work for you, feel free to still register, as registrants are emailed a copy of the video and resource sheet after the events. Please continue to read below for upcoming events.

Virtual Event: Beyond Behaviours: When Is It More? What It Looks Like at Ages 4 - 8

Description: Why can it feel so tricky to tell if our kids are on track, going through a phase, as opposed to struggling with something more, or beyond behaviours? Listen to a parent and counsellor talk about the developmental stages of 4 to 8 year old children.

Registration: FamilySmart - Events

September 18th 12pm-1:30pm

September 24th 6:30pm-8pm

Virtual Event: Connecting with Our Kids When Anxiety Leads to Social Isolation

Description: When kids spend a lot of time alone because of their anxiety, it can be frustrating and challenging for parents. In this video, a parent and counsellor talk about the hard stuff and some strategies that can help us connect with our kids when they are socially isolated.

Registration: FamilySmart - Events

September 19th 6:30pm-8pm

September 25th 6:30pm-8pm

Planners / Agendas

If you child is in Grade 1-7, we hope he/she will purchase a school planner. We have personalized pages at the front of the planner. These pages include our School's Code of Conduct, Contact Information, the School Bell Schedule and this year's School Calendar. The beginning pages also include school district information. Planners can be purchased for $5.00 by logging onto your School Cash Online account. Planners will be handed out to students once payment has been made.

PAC CORNER

The partnership between parents and the school is a vital one, and we encourage you to take an active role in supporting your child’s learning. Please remember to check your child’s planner on a daily basis, as this is an important tool for communicating classroom learning and activities, as well as school-wide events. We also encourage you to check our website regularly. Finally, another way of getting involved in your child’s schooling is by reaching out to the PAC. Our Parent Advisory Council has openings in the executive for the coming year and is actively seeking parents interested in filling these roles. Feel free to reach out our PAC Facebook page to find out about PAC meetings or volunteering for hot lunch days and other PAC events.

We are looking forward to our first PAC meeting on September 24th. Our PAC Meetings are during the school day and held on-site.

September PAC Meeting & AGM

Tuesday, September 24th @ 10:30am

Jessie Lee Elementary

BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

We continue to be concerned about incidents of vandalism around our school (eg. broken windows, small fires, broken bottles, drug paraphernalia). When you see suspicious people hanging around the school after hours or on weekends, please call Surrey Police Non-Emergency at 604-599-0502 and tell them the location of the vandals. If you see a crime in progress, and it's an emergency, then please call 911.

Doing this will also show your children one of the three things that we honour and respect at Jessie Lee Elementary - "Taking Care of This Place".

STAFF PARKING LOT

Please note that the parking lot at Jessie Lee Elementary is for staff and for pre-arranged guests. We expect that the bulk of our students walk to school as they live in-catchment at a distance that is relatively short and good for everyone's health to take that extra walk. It enables you to remind your children how you used to walk 5 miles to school, uphill both ways, in knee-high snow. It releases endorphins and combats physical and mental illness.

Please do not pull your vehicle into the staff parking lot unless you are arriving for a scheduled meeting with a teacher or school administrator, or unless you have a handicap decal/card issued by your doctor, in which case we expect you to park in a designated handicap space, as they are reserved for this purpose. DO NOT park in lane ways. If you are not following these expectations, a staff member may speak with you to remind you of our school rules.

If you must drive your child to school, please make use of our Kiss and Drop Lane on the south side of the school near the school sign.

So, once again, DO NOT pull your vehicle into our staff parking lot. Thank you.