Dear DG Families,

We hope you had a wonderful Family Day!

Black History Month provides us with the opportunity to celebrate and learn about the many achievements and contributions of Black individuals and communities, despite having endured historical and continuing inequality and oppression.  BC has a rich Black history dating back to Canada’s colonial origins. In 1858, nearly 800 free Black people left the oppressive racial conditions of San Francisco for a new life on Vancouver Island. These pioneers enriched the socio-economic life in their community, overcoming intense discrimination and adversity. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Vancouver’s Black Community clustered in the East End, with its nucleus at a site known as Hogan’s Alley, and became a thriving Black community and cultural hub.

In 1967, the decision to expand the highway system through Vancouver resulted in the expropriation of land and buildings in this area to make way for the construction of the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts, resulting in the loss of homes and businesses. The Black Community was uprooted from this area and an identifiable Black neighbourhood has not re-emerged in Vancouver.

Black History Month was recognized by the Government of Canada in the House of Commons in 1995. The motion was introduced by the Honourable Jean Augustine, the first Black Canadian woman elected to parliament. Vancouver City Council passed a motion in 2011, designating Black History Month one of its official celebrations. Every February, we celebrate the history, contributions, and culture of Black Canadians.

Do you know the story of John Sullivan Deas (as in “Deas Island”)?  A tinsmith by trade, John Sullivan Deas became the leading canner on the Fraser River in the 1870’s. Deas Island, where the cannery was located, bears his name.  Check out this video to learn more!

Many of our intermediate classes are participating in our school Science Fair, this Friday morning, and parents are welcome to attend between 9:15 and 10:45 or from 11:15 to 12noon.  Please enter through the outside gym doors.

A reminder to all drivers that the upper parking lot is for school district staff and emergency vehicles only. The lower parking lot is for student pick-up and drop-offs at all times, even when classes are in session and/or it’s raining or snowing. 

The school recognizes that the parking situation at DG is less than ideal, particularly for parents needing to park and walk with their child/ren to drop off and pick up at line up areas. When picking up and dropping off in the parent parking lot, please be respectful and mindful of others.

Thank you for parking only in parking stalls. Double parking and blocking in other vehicles who are parked in stalls creates frustration and is disrespectful. We have seen an increase in double parking and blocking in other vehicles. This can result in conflicts that could be avoided by parking only in appropriate areas.

In the past few weeks we have also seen an increase in people stopping just as they enter the parking lot, on the ramp, to let their children out of the vehicle, even when no one is in front of them and there is plenty of room to drive down to the parking area. This has resulted in some close calls as other vehicles begin to enter the lot, not expecting people to stop on the ramp. Please drive down the ramp into the parking lot to drop off your child/ren.

Ensuring Students come Dressed for the Weather

This week looks to be less rainy but our fields are still quite muddy. We are also expecting cooler temperatures towards the end of the week. Please expect that kids will go out for recess and lunch, unless there is extreme weather. Ensuring students come dressed for the weather isn’t just important for playing outside.  It’s also important in case of an emergency requiring evacuation of the building. 

In addition to ensuring your children come dressed for the weather, we ask that ALL students have a change of clothes at school (yes, even grade 7s). The field can be quite slippery and muddy.  In order to avoid us having to call you (possibly at work), to bring your child a change of clothes, please ensure that your child has spare clothes at school that they can change into, just in case. Your child’s spare clothing should be labelled with their name, in a ziplock bag, and left either in the classroom or in your child’s backpack.

Allergy Reminder

Due to very serious allergies, we ask that NO seafood/fish, onions or nuts be brought to school.   Please also keep this in mind whether it be a lunch prepared at home as well as if you are dropping off a commercially prepared lunch (eg. fast food) for your child.

Reminder – Popcorn Sale on Wed!

The PAC will be selling popcorn at recess on Wednesday.  Bags are $1.00 each

 

PAC Fundraisers ongoing throughout the year:

 

 

 

 

 

Purchases made at M&M using the account# 55037790 will provide the PAC with 15% cashback of the total. Only flyer pricing will be honoured on this account, personalized offers, coupons and vouchers are not permitted.

 

 

 

 

 

Kinder Books

Introducing the Kinder Books Loyalty Program for schools! This year-long fundraising program is designed to help schools earn credit towards purchasing books for their school library.

Here’s how it works: for every net book purchase made at Kinder Books, the school will earn 10% of the purchase amount towards a credit at our store. At the end of the fundraiser, we will notify the school of their credit amount. The school can then decide to use the credit at the beginning of the new school year or at the end of the calendar year.

The best part? This program applies to all book purchases at our store, including special orders for kids and books for adults. Plus, orders can be placed online at www.kinderbooks.ca, making it easy for grandparents or other family members who live out of town to participate. Simply mention your school’s name at checkout, and we’ll credit your school accordingly.

Online orders can be picked up at the store during business hours or shipped through Canada Post

 

Return-it Express

PAC has created a school fundraising account. To participate, simply bring your containers to the depot in sealed, clear bags, and enter the registered phone number, 604-581-6185, into the Express kiosk. You will be prompted to select the number of bags you’re dropping off, the kiosk will automatically print the same number of sticker tags displaying our PACs unique Express account code. Tag each of your bags with a sticker tag and drop the bags off in the designated Express drop-off area to be counted. For a list of Return-it Express location visit https://www.return-it.ca/locations/express/

Cobs Bread Dough Raiser Program

This program enables us to raise money for our school throughout the year! Be sure to mention Devon Gardens Elementary (or code 7806) each time you make a purchase at COBS Bread Scott 72 Centre; they will donate 10% of your purchase back to our school.

Level Ground Trading

Level Ground is a BC business that works with fair trade coffee, tea, dried fruit and spice producers.

Supporters enter the code devongardens in the ‘discount code’ field at the checkout.
All products on our web store qualify for the fundraiser. Orders must be $40 or more. These orders also qualify for free shipping to most addresses in Canada (there is a shipping fee on all orders shipped to NU/NT/YK). All orders are paid for through our web site and shipped directly to your supporters. No need to collect orders or distribute products to households.
Your fundraising amount is 20% of total sales.  So on a $100 order your school will receive $20.

Online Stay Safe & Babysitting Courses

Offered through First Aid Hero. When registering use promo/coupon code “DevGardens24” and our PAC will earn $5.00 from each registration. For details, available course dates and online registration, please follow the link: www.FirstAidHero.com

Questions? Send an email to pacdevongardens@gmail.com

Family Summer French Camps