Our next PAC GM is coming up on February 27th at 7pm in the School Library

NEW: This month our meeting will begin with a guest speaker.  Coming to start the meeting off we have Jocelyn Hewson from North Shore Emergency Management. She will be presenting on Emergency Preparedness and You.

This presentation will be followed by a short PAC business meeting.

Child care will be available upon request: email rossroadpac@gmail.com for your spot.

Reminder: Munch a Lunch orders close February 14^th.

Ordering for Ross Road’s hot lunch program for the Spring session is now open! These lunch dates run from February 22nd-June 21st.

What’s lunch munch?  Lunch Munch is a PAC fundraiser where you can order from an assortment of different menus, lunch for your students which is delivered on most Fridays throughout the school year.

Please go to www.munchalunch.com/schools/rossroad to order and pay.  Note that if your order is not paid for, it will not be placed. Orders for this session will close on February 14th. 

If you have any questions, please contact Jackie:   jackie_hicks@hotmail.com
If you would would like to volunteer with lunch distribution on Fridays, please contact Kim: bergs@telus.net

Thank you everyone,
Jackie and Kim

To order:

Go to the Munch website: www.munchalunch.com/schools/rossroad/

1. As a first time user, click the “Register Here” button.
2. Follow the easy steps to “Create my Account” and proceed to “Order Lunch!”
3. As a returning user, click on “Login Here” using the same email and password and proceed to “Order Lunch!”
4. Return anytime by going to: munchalunch.com/schools/rossroad/.

If you require assistance please contact your lunch administrator, Jackie at jackie_hicks@hotmail.com

Payment Details:

All payments must be received by the deadline indicated or your ORDER WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY CANCELLED. No late payments will be accepted. If possible please pay at time of ordering.

• If you don’t receive a reminder email the day before each food day confirming your child’s lunch please contact us as your order may not have been processed.
• Please double-check your order and review it with your child so he/she knows exactly what you’ve ordered for them each food day. Often children come to us confused thinking they were meant to receive food, but in fact their parents just didn’t order for them.  We do not have any extra food to give out.

If your child is ill:

If your child is ill on a lunch date, you are welcome to come to their class at 12:10 and pick up their lunch but we cannot keep the food for them.   Consistent with previous years, there are NO REFUNDS as this is a PAC fundraiser.

The Ross Road Parent Social is on March 2nd at 7pm

The parent social planners are hard at work organizing a great event! Purchase your tickets online here: https://squareup.com/store/Ross-road-Pac

We have a new Well Fed PAC fundraiser this February 

Well Fed offers families frozen ready to cook meals that make dinners a snap. Free from preservatives, antibiotics and hormones, Well Fed meals are dinner made easy – no prepping, no chopping.

For each meal purchased, Well Fed will donate a portion back to the Ross Road PAC.

Visit this special link to order:

https://www.wellfedstudio.com/product/ross-road-school-fundraiser-february-2019/

Deadline to place an order with dietary restrictions is Friday Feb 15th.

All other orders from on-hand stock will be accepted up until the day before delivery.

Meals will be delivered to the school and must be picked up on FRIDAY FEB 22nd at 2:30pm. If unable to pick up from the school, arrangements can be made for meals to be picked up at the Well Fed studio or they can be delivered to your home on their weekly delivery day of Thursdays.

1. CPF’s BC Family French Camp Registration is Opening Soon.

Did you ever try French camp? French camp is offered in 3 locations in BC throughout the summer. Shuswap, Gwillim and Vancouver Island.

There are many families from Ross Road who participate in this program.

Registration for new families opens next weekend so check out www.bcffc.com to find out what it’s all about and how to register.

Returning families should have already had the opportunity to register.

2. CPF French Film Festival

Many of our French Immersion classes will be attending the French Film Festival in February. Here’s some information on the films being shown this year:

Mark your calendars! The Ross Road Spring Carnival is happening on May 31st.

Thank you to all the Grade 7 parents who worked hard to make this year’s Quebec trip happen, particularly Bettina Harris and Janice Sardari for all their coordination work of this event.

Our PAC Executive met last week and we have a number of updates to share with you.

Linda Gelley is Retiring

Ross Road Administrative Assistant Linda Gelley is retiring on January 31. Linda, a highly treasured member of the Ross Road admin team, will be dearly missed by parents, students and staff. The school is holding a short assembly at 1:45pm this Friday, January 25, to recognize Linda for her years of service to the school. Parents are welcome to attend the assembly at the back of the gym or drop by the school on her last day to say farewell to Linda. The PAC will present a gift to Linda at the assembly. Parents can also drop a card for Linda in the PAC mailbox under the stairs and it will be delivered by the PAC on her last day at Ross Road.

Valet Helpers Needed Now

Valet needs you! Our valet program makes us the envy of other schools in North Van, but we need parent support to maintain our student safety program. Please help!

Commitment: one morning per week or be an occasional helper

Hours: 8:15am-8:50am

Task: Direct traffic at crosswalk or along Bushnell Drive, set out/take down traffic cones in front of the school, and direct student helpers

It’s all done by 9:00am leaving time to get to work or other tasks for the day.

Contact Valet Coordinator Ed Lathioor at e.lathioor@gmail.com.

After School Programs

How are the new after school programs at Ross Road? This term the PAC started offering multiple after school programs at the school to offer enriching opportunities for students and help to meet after school care needs expressed by some parents. The PAC is beginning to coordinate the after school program options for post-spring break. Contact the PAC if you have ideas to share: rossroadpac@gmail.com.

Ross Road Parents Social – March 2

This annual event has become the talk of the playground. Plan to book a babysitter and join us for the Ross Road Parents Social 7:00pm on March 2 at Toby’s Pub & Grill. Advance ticket sales coming soon.

Spring Carnival – May 31st

Save the date! Ross Road’s annual spring carnival takes place May 31. This event is organized annually by the Grade 2 and 3 parents. This is the school’s biggest fundraising event. Watch for more news soon about the ways for you to get involved and support the school. Contact Melissa Fotsch to get involved: Melissa.fotsch@gmail.com

Upcoming Events

January 28                   Pro D Day Fun Build It! – North Vancouver District Public Library invites kids and their caregivers to drop into the library January 28 for an afternoon of building fun. Drop in 2:00-4:00pm, no registration required.

February 23                Argyle Ground Breaker Parent Party – Argyle Secondary School PAC invites all parents from the Argyle family of schools to their fundraiser and parent party. Tickets go on sale February 1.

February 27                PAC Meeting at Ross Road – all parents invited to attend

March 2                      Ross Road Parents Social – tickets and information coming soon

May 29                        Ross Road PAC AGM

May 31                        Ross Road Spring Carnival

The next CPF North Vancouver Chapter Meeting is Thursday, Feb 7^th at 7PM, Argyle Secondary in the library.

Here are some upcoming CPF events:

1/ Vive les voyageurs French-Canadian Festival

January 19-20, 2019, Fort Langley National Historic Site
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/bc/langley/activ/activ21

Tap your feet to the beat of French-Canadian music at Fort Langley National Historic Site’s annual Vive les Voyageurs Festival. Enliven your senses with the traditional foods, music and culture of the 19th century French-Canadian and Métis fur traders.

End date: January 20, 2019
Cost: Regular admission applies.

2/ British Columbia Family French Camp:

http://bcffc.com/

Pre-registration (for returning BCFFC families): January 27, 2019
General Registration Opens February 3, 2019

Current CPF North Van Membership Required:

https://cpf.ca/en/membership/online-membership-management/

3/ CPF North Vancouver Film Festival: 

Wednesday, Feb 13^th at The Centennial Theatre. Parents will be receiving field trip info from their children’s teachers soon.

4/ French Immersion Celebration: 

Monday March 4th, 2019

NVSD and CPF North Van present: A Celebration of the French Immersion program’s 40th anniversary in the North Vancouver School District!
French Immersion students from across the District will be showcasing their French language skills at this special event open to the public. (Teachers will be leading this)

On the main floor, in the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, Grade 9 Culture et communication students will be sharing their audio guide projects created in partnership with French Music Producer Loig Morin. On the 5th floor, over 40 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 will be performing in a French variety show!
WHEN: Monday, March 4th
WHERE: 2121 Lonsdale – Gallery and 5th floor
TIME: 6 pm to 8 pm

5/ School & District Concours d’art oratoire competition

Concours d’art oratoire is Canadian Parents for French’s pan-Canadian French public speaking competition—an estimated 85,000 students participate annually across Canada.

Participants in Grades 6-12 prepare and present a 3-5 minute speech on a subject of their choosing, all en français! The competition progresses through the following stages:

1) Students participate in their local classroom

2) Top students move on to the school district competition

3) Top students move on to the provincial competition

4) Top students in grade 12 move on to the national competition.

Different categories are set out for students in French Immersion, Core French, and Francophone students. The speeches are judged by French-speaking volunteers: from university and college professors, to teachers and native Francophones, and even French immersion graduates, many of whom have themselves competed in Concours.

District Concours d’art oratoire (featuring top students from classroom participation):
Tues, April 2nd, 2019 at the Education Services Centre on Lonsdale

Jointly presented by NVSD and CPF North Van

Argyle Ground Breaker Parent Party

As an Argyle Family School, we at Ross Road have been invited to attend the first of many parent socials planned to raise funds for the new Argyle school…The Ground Breaker Parent Party!

The school is currently scheduled for completion in Fall 2020, which means current Argyle grade eight, nine and ten students — as well as students from our feeder schools — will all enjoy this brand new facility. While the Argyle school community has received incredible funding for the building of this new school, there are not enough funds to cover much-needed items for the interior. Such as, new furniture for the common/collaborative areas which are important additions that help create inviting learning spaces for your kids.

As an Argyle family school, Ross Road is included in this very important initiative in order to help build a strong community spirit.

Volunteer Kudos

We want to thank parent Dana Samis for her initiative in setting up and coordinating the new after school programs this term. Thanks to Dana we have new activities for students at Ross Road.

What does the PAC do?

The Ross Road School Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is your parent community at our school. The PAC does fundraising to support the students and staff of Ecole Ross Road School, and organizes activities to nurture a sense of community and inclusion at Ecole Ross Road School.

Why does the PAC Fundraise?

PAC fundraising is an investment in our school to enhance the programs and student services beyond what is funded by the school district and the province. The PAC 2018-2019 funding priority is a new cart of laptop computers for students to use at school. Learn more

Welcome back Ross Road families and Happy New Year from your PAC!

School begins on January 7th and we would like to remind you that our new PAC organized after school classes begin soon also.

There are still spaces available! Information and registration links are listed below.

Winter 2019 After School Programs at Ross Road

MONDAYS

Brainstem: Little Brains – Chemical Engineering Grades K-1

January 7 – March 13 (8 weeks; no class Jan 28th or Feb 18th)

3:00-4:00pm at Ross Road School Music Room

(Kindergarten students with parents’ permission are picked up from their classrooms by our lead instructor and escorted to the Music room, Gr. 1. Students make their way to music room on their own (ask if you would like the Kindergarten pick-up arrangements to be made for your gr. 1 students).

$180.00

Program Description: Chemical engineering uses science to process raw materials and chemicals into useful forms. They can lead to the discovery of important new materials and processes. These discoveries may be useful for other engineering disciplines or just to make our live easier.

The little brains will learn about solutions, chemical reaction, mixtures, solids, liquids, absorption, and more concepts while using his or her creativity and curiosity the STEM methodology.

Maximum 12 participants.

To Register:  https://brainstemlearningcanada.perfectmind.com/23901/Classes/BookMe4LandingPages/CoursesLandingPage?courseId=0e70a2a4-91b8-4554-b6d0-fd53cbe28a58

TUESDAYS

Bricks4Kidz – Gizmos & Gadgets – Grades 1-5

January 8 – March 12 (10 weeks)

3:00-4:15pm at Ross Road School Music Room

$150.00

Program Description: Gadgets and Gizmos is all about making fun from the STEM-based LEGO creations we build! From spinning tops to a spin art models, kids will love playing with their creations! But don’t worry, we sneak in lots of learning, too – understanding probability in the “3-in-a-row” game model and learning about friction and symmetry with the spinning top lesson. Don’t miss out! Learn more at https://www.bricks4kidz.com/

Maximum 20 participants.

To Register: https://my.bricks4kidz.com/index.php?action=classdetail&record=211558

WEDNESDAYS

Girls with Grit – Girls; Grades 3-5

January 9 – March 13 (10 weeks)

3:00-4:30pm at Ross Road School Music Room

$280

Program Description: Let’s raise a generation of girls who are mentally happy and healthy, who know it’s okay to be strong and soft at the same time, who know how to deal with adversity, and who are totally in-tune with their unique awesome-ness.

At Girls with Grit, we use yoga to show how strong our bodies are, mindful meditation (aka #braintrain) to show how strong our spirits are, and awesome crafts to show how strong our creative sparks are. We also talk about real topics like friendships, stress, pressure, anxiety + mental health, gender stereotypes, technology, compassion, empathy and what being an awesome girl is really all about. Oh yeah – we also laugh alot!  And we’d love you to join us.

For more info check out www.girlswithgritvancouver.com. We also offer scholarships donated by past Grit parents – please ask if you need!

Maximum participants: 20 girls

To Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/girls-with-grit-at-ross-road-elementary-grades-3-5-wednesdays-jan-9-mar-27-300-430pm-tickets-52226138787

THURSDAYS

Brainstem: Specialists/Managers: Aerospace Astronautical Engineering – Grades 2-7

January 10 – March 14 (10 weeks)

3:00-4:30pm at Ross Road School Music Room

$333.30

Program Description: Aerospace engineering involves the design and construction of planes and space shuttles. Aeronautical engineering covers crafts that stay inside the Earth’s atmosphere (such as commercial planes) while astronautical engineering covers craft that leave the Earth’s atmosphere (theory and practice of navigation beyond Earth’s atmosphere, such as space shuttles).

In this program the specialist and managers will learn about the fundamentals of astronautical industry discovering about aerodynamics; gravity; velocity; acceleration; forces to lift, drag and thrust objects; aerodynamics like Bernoulli principle; and space environment characteristics. They will use math to improve their results; will discover about the importance of the materials in this engineering branch; and use his or her creativity and curiosity to design, build and test their own prototypes at the same time they have fun.

To Register: https://brainstemlearningcanada.perfectmind.com/23901/Classes/BookMe4LandingPages/CoursesLandingPage?courseId=9b3b4621-c85b-48e7-9ef1-7180f2a453b1

FRIDAYS

First Nations Art with Gordon Dick – Grades 1-5

January 11 – February 1

3:00-4:00pm at Ross Road School Music Room

$70

Program Description: Join Gordon Dick from the Tsleil-Wauwuth Nation to learn basic Coast Salish shapes, find out about spirit animals and create your own indigenous animal.

To Register: Please fill out this form, print it and return to Ross Road School Office with a cheque for $70 payable to Gordon Dick.  Registration Form

Saleema Noon Body Science Presentations

Ross Road is fortunate to be able to welcome back sexual health educator Saleema Noon who will be presenting her Body Science workshops to our students through the school day on January 16th & 17th.

Mark your Calendars! There will also be a presentation for parents by Saleema Noon on Tuesday January 15th from 6:30-8 pm in the school library.

Have an idea for our school? 

We invite you to attend our PAC meetings. Every parent is encouraged to attend to have your say on PAC matters and help make decisions to what the Ross Road PAC does with the money it raises. Any involvement from our parent community is always appreciated.

Upcoming dates: Our next PAC Executive meeting is January 16th and the next General Meeting is February 27th in the school library.

Comments or suggestions? Email us at rossroadpac@gmail.com