Principal's Message February 16-20th
Hello Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary,
It is a cold, wintery morning at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary, and our students and staff are busy, engaged in learning, and enjoying all that our school offers. This week, I have been very impressed with the leadership skills demonstrated across several student groups as they have helped to organize and celebrate numerous special occasions. Thank you Panthers for helping to create our positive and welcoming school spirit!
This week we recognized and celebrated Lunar New Year and Ramadan. Our students and staff have appreciated the decorations in the school and the special morning announcements to educate and celebrate. We are so grateful for the diversity of our school and the safe and inclusive school culture that we create together. Thank you Panthers!
We returned to school on Tuesday after the Family Day long weekend to a very busy, shortened week of learning and special activities. On Tuesday, our Staff Committee met to discuss various systems across our school community and debrief our start-up for 2nd semester. Thank you to all staff for your feedback.
This week our Bhangra Club has been selling samosas to raise funds for their club. Our school community has been enjoying this special treat!
Basketball has been front and centre this week as we have hosted the South Fraser Championships. The top ranked teams in our Fraser Valley zone have been welcomed to Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary’s gymnasium to compete and vie for a spot in the upcoming Provincial playoffs. The basketball has been exciting and the tournament has gone very smoothly thanks to the guidance of our Athletics Department and Leadership students. Thank you for all of your hard work in making this event possible for hundreds of students and families across the zone. Well done Panthers.
On Wednesday, I was able to observe our Cafeteria students in action as they prepared for lunch and then served hundreds of students and staff. This daily endeavour is a huge and complicated task and requires the hard work and expertise of many students and staff. I was so impressed with the work ethic, leadership and teamwork of our Panthers. Lunch was delicious, and it was wonderful to see the smiles and sense of accomplishment of our Culinary Arts students at the end of lunch. Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary offers so many amazing learning opportunities for our students.
We welcomed the parents of our incoming Panthers to the school on Wednesday evening. It was the Grade 7 Parents Information Evening. The event was well attended, with a special performance by our LTSS Jazz Band, and an overview of the amazing talents of our students and the opportunities ahead for our newest Panthers. I always enjoy this evening and the chance to highlight the incredible success stories of our school! Next year’s Grade 8 Panthers are very fortunate! Great thanks to Mr. De La Pena and our Jazz Band students.
This year, students in our Humanities 8 class have been studying “Identity”. They are discovering that: 1) Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story, and 2) Learning requires exploration of one’s identity. Our students recognized personal, social and cultural contexts, values and perspectives in text. Our students also constructed meaningful personal connections between self, text and the world. Great thanks to our Humanities 8 teachers for your leadership in creating these powerful learning opportunities for our students.
Here is Ms. Aikema’s class quilt… and students’ personalized representations of their identities. Beautiful work!
This evening, in addition to hosting several more Basketball games, we will be holding our February Parent Advisory Council meeting. All LTSS parents/guardians are invited to join us on Zoom at 6pm to learn more about the school and help support our students. We hope to see you there. Here is the Zoom link: Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81937538356?pwd=dHGYtaM8xcHabjltw9AfpUV5a6w2Zf.1
Students and families are reminded that tomorrow, Friday, February 20th is a District-wide Professional Development Day. Classes will not be in session. I wish all staff a day of valuable learning and collaboration.
We will see all students and staff back at school on Monday morning. Enjoy your weekend!
Ken
Traffic and Student Parking
All Panthers are reminded that traffic around the school and parking on school property will be very busy with our increased enrollment and Extended Day schedule. All student drivers are reminded that it is very important to drive with care and attention while on or near school property. Safety is our first priority. Please drive safely and responsibly, be aware of pedestrians, and follow all traffic regulations.
If possible, all families are asked to consider alternative transportation options. Please walk or bike to school if possible. It would also be helpful if students are dropped off a couple of blocks away from the school and vehicles do not enter our school’s parking lot.
Note: For the safety and privacy of our students, please avoid using the Elements Casino entrance as a designated drop-off/pick-up location.
Students are only permitted to park in the Student Lot on the right side of our parking lot near our Portable classrooms. Students are not permitted to park in the Staff Lot.
All students wishing to park on school property must apply for a Parking pass. Application forms may be picked up at the office.
Parking passes must be displayed on your car’s windshield at all times while on school property. Parking privileges will be revoked for any students not following our parking regulations or for unsafe driving.
Thank you for your help and cooperation in responding to our increased traffic challenges and protecting the safety of our community members.
