This Week at Lord Tweedsmuir Thursday January 11^th, 2024

Good Morning and Happy New Year Panthers!

It is January 2024 with just over three weeks remaining in Semester #1.  Welcome back to Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary.  

I hope your Winter Break was a wonderful combination of rest, time with family and friends, and new adventures!  We are now in the final push of the semester.  Students and staff will be working diligently over the next 3 weeks to complete their curricula and demonstrate understanding of Curricular and Core Competencies through summative assessment.  It is a very important time for our school community with much to accomplish. I strongly encourage all students to work hard and focus your time and energy on completing your course work and preparing for final assessments.  All Panthers are reminded of the importance of completing all assignments, preparing for exams, asking questions in class, seeking extra tutorial help as necessary, and remaining committed to your academic goals until the very end of the semester.  I know that through commitment to hard work, diligence with study habits and high levels of engagement, our students will succeed.   All the best Panthers, make us proud!

With our return to our school community this week, our Basketball teams enter a very exciting time of year.  This week, we are hosting the Surrey Firefighters’ Goodwill Basketball Tournament for our Jr and Sr Girls teams.  Many excellent, highly competitive games have been played in our gymnasium throughout the week, with the final rounds scheduled for Saturday afternoon and evening.  We are proud to be able to host the tournament and are very grateful to the Surrey Firefighters for all their support and service to our school and community.  Let’s go Panthers!

Next week, our Jr and Sr Boys Basketball teams will be participating in the RCMP Classic Tournament.  This promises to be a celebration of excellence in Surrey basketball and is such an important tradition for our school and district.   Good luck boys!  

On Wednesday at lunch our Student Council leaders were hard at work planning for several special upcoming school events, including the LTSS Talent Show!  It was wonderful to see so many student leaders working together in support of their fellow students and our school community. 😊   Thank you Panthers! 

Throughout the week, our students and staff have been readjusting to school-life and the regular routines of the day.  A touch of snow early in the week, and the sub-zero, very cold temperatures at the end of the week, have made for an "interesting" start to our year.  Everyone is reminded to please be safe as you navigate through the Winter weather.  Dress appropriately for the extreme cold and be especially cautious as you walk across icy, wet and slippery conditions.  

Please see the following link  https://www.surreyschools.ca/tweeds/_ci/p/163739  for a review of the Surrey School District’s: Weather-related procedures: What to know before it snows.  Go slow, stay warm, take care!

I’m looking forward to joining our newly formed Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary staff book club.  We are currently reading “Is everyone really equal?” by Ozlem Sensoy and Robin Di Angelo.  It is a review of the current sociocultural and political climate of teaching and learning in contemporary schools.  Our first discussion will be on Friday.  Great thanks to Ms. Perez-Dingler for your leadership in organizing our group.  I know that our conversation will help inform our thinking and practice in supporting equity, diversity and inclusion across our school community.

Hope your Friday is great.   Stay warm this weekend, it is going to be a cold one!

Ken

Traffic Safety

Traffic safety around Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary is a critical priority for our community.  With increased enrollment, the number of vehicles navigating around and within our school grounds also increases.  It is essential that all drivers are very cautious while driving near the school and are aware of the many student pedestrians who are nearby.

All students and parents/guardians are requested to consider the following:

• If possible, students - please walk and/or bike to school.  Fewer vehicles attempting to drop off and/or pick up students will be very helpful.
• Consider dropping off/picking up 2-3 blocks away from the school and avoid the traffic congestion around the school.
• Consider drop-off/pick up earlier and/or later in the morning/afternoons to avoid peak traffic times.

Thank you for your help in protecting the safety of our students.