October 22, 2020
Hope you’ve all had a good week! Please remember that tomorrow, Friday, October 23, is Pro-D Day and that there is no school for students. Your donations of $341.55 were sent to the Terry Fox Foundation this week. Congratulations Blacklock!
We heard your concerns in regards to your child’s school photos. We spoke with Lifetouch and they were more than willing to work with us to address your concerns. We are hoping that the photo retakes that happened on Tuesday will meet your expectations and that you will have a lasting memory of your child’s school year.
Don’t forget that next week there will be parent/teacher interviews on October 27 & 28; therefore, students will be dismissed at 1:32pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.
We have made arrangements for Aldor Acres to come to Blacklock Fine Arts on Monday, October 26, to provide an on-site field trip opportunity for our students. If you would like your child to participate in this ‘pumpkin patch/petting zoo’ event, please sign up on School Cash Online. If you have financial difficulties in paying for this or other school events, please contact Ms. Eppich at 778-241-1550.
Divisions 2 and 3 are very excited to present their first performance this year: Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.” Over the past few weeks, students studied the unique words and phrases in the poem and worked at memorizing it. Then, under the direction of Mrs. Schmuland and Mrs. Hillier, they brought it to life with their bodies, voices, and the use of videography. The Jabberwock Video has been posted to our YouTube Channel. You can access it by going there or by clicking here.
Over the past few weeks, students in Mrs. Schmuland’s class have been hard at work preparing to vote in the BC Provincial Election through Student Vote. Kids learned about various systems of government, debated current political and social issues, watched the all candidates debate with the provincial party leaders, held their own all candidates debate, and then today they all voted. It’s so exciting to see young people so eager to participate in politics!
This year, due to COVID-19, there is an opportunity for you to purchase your poppy through School Cash Online. You should have received an e-mail regarding this. All students will be receiving a poppy, regardless of whether or not a donation is made. We look forward to sharing with you how Blacklock Fine Arts will honour our veterans on November 11.
As we won’t be able to run the Christmas Store this year, a need has arisen to find alternative ways to raise money for our Christmas Hamper program. One of these initiatives is the sale of Purdy’s Fundraising bars for $2.00 each. A staff member will be coming around to each classroom every Tuesday and Thursday to offer these bars for sale to the students. If you would like your child to be able to purchase one of these, please send some money to school with them so that they can take part. We will be offering these for sale until we run out of the chocolate bars.
Here are the current House standings:
Mome Raths – 733; White Rabbits – 826; Cheshire Cats – 861; and Deck of Cards – 994.
Have a great weekend!
Susanna Eppich, Principal
MESSAGES FROM THE PAC
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be able to go ahead with the Craft Fair this year. Hopefully, we can bring back this great fundraiser in 2021! The Blacklock PAC would like to thank Nancy Wingham and Maggy Hencheroff for donating back their Craft Fair Table Fee refund.
Also, due to the pandemic, we will not be able to offer a Hot Lunch Program for the students this year. We will be revisiting this decision in 2021 and hope that restrictions are lifted soon.
Here are our current and upcoming fundraisers:
Purdy’s – Open now – Order deadline is Nov 13; Pickup is Dec 2
Darvonda Poinsettias – Order forms go home on Nov 2; Order deadline is Nov 13; Pickup is on Nov 27
Neufeld Farms – Forms go on MunchaLunch on Oct 26; Order deadline is Nov 12; Pickup is on Nov 25
Year Round Passive Fundraisers –
Mabels Labels is a longtime favourite of parents and offers 20% back on all purchases made. You just need to click on the “support a fundraiser” link on the website and choose Blacklock Fine Arts Elementary from the dropdown menu before placing your order.
Natures Fare (Langley location only) offers us 3% back on all pre tax purchases made. You save your receipts and drop them off in the box on the front counter by the Office. We only submit these a couple times a year, so no need to drop them off weekly. We just tallied our latest batch and it totaled $5100 which means the school will be receiving a cheque for $150 for doing absolutely nothing except making purchases we would already be making!
FlipGive is a website that has partnered with many retailers that parents are already shopping at. Our specific school code is KKK6L3. They offer a variety of ways to shop and earn percentages back. The percent the school earns varies based on retailer; for example, Old Navy gives 4%, Ardene 10%, Amazon 2%, Wayfair 3%, Sephora 2%, Home Depot 1%, Indigo 6%, The Gap 6%, Childrens Place 3%, etc. There are many more retailers than what I have listed but I would imagine that I named at least one that you regularly spend your hard earned dollars at.
All you need to do is make an account with FlipGive and start at their website when you are about to do some online shopping. Once you have registered and input our specific school code you can take their link to your preferred place to shop and earn the school money on the purchases you were already making. You also have the option of linking one of your payment cards to their app so that when you shop IN store at one of those retailers you will also earn the school cash back on those purchases. A card needs to be linked as that’s how the retailer gets the notification that you are enrolled in the program. The other option they offer is purchasing gift cards through them to either use yourself for purchases or to gift and the school also earns cash back that way.
The PAC executive really appreciate your support, especially this year when fundraising has become more difficult due to COVID and we are not able to utilize the traditional ways of fundraising like hot lunches, treat days, pub nights, craft fairs etc.
Here are the Minutes from the last PAC meeting –> PAC Meeting Minutes – SEP 29, 2020
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.
DAILY HEALTH CHECK
Health and Safety continues to be our top priority. Thank you for completing daily health checks with your child and doing your part to ensure our school community is healthy and safe.
Health Check Form – Revised 2020Sep
Please read the Daily Health Check Form (by clicking on the above link) and use it as a reference when completing the daily health check with your child.
AGENDAS
Agendas are provided to you at a reduced cost of $5.00 and we ask that you submit payment through School Cash Online by October 31. Please note that to register for the first time, you will need your child’s legal name, Student ID#, and date of birth. If you need help with signing up/logging into School Cash Online, please contact the Office.
CALENDAR
Here are the upcoming calendar updates:
October 23 – Professional Development Day – No School for Students
October 26 – On-site Pumpkin Patch Field Trip
October 27 & 28 – Parent/Teacher Interviews via Microsoft Teams – One Hour Early Dismissal @ 1:32pm
November 11 – Remembrance Day Statutory Holiday
November 23 – Report Card Preparation and Design & Assessment Day – No Students
December 11 – First Term Report Cards Published
December 18 – Last Day prior to Christmas Break
January 5 – School reopens
For access to our District Community Bulletin Board, please click here: Community Bulletin Board. There are always new flyers that may be of interest to you.