Principal's Message

This Week at Lord Tweedsmuir

 Thursday January 16^th, 2025

Good morning Panthers,

It is a very crisp and clear, beautiful morning at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary! 😊 I hope everyone has had a highly productive and meaningful week of learning and that your final weeks of Semester #1 are going well.  We are now immersed in the semester-end completion assignments/assessments and evaluation activities.  The next week will be key for the success of our students.  Study - stay focussed – ask questions – and appreciate all that our school is able to provide in support of your education.

Last weekend our students were participating in a couple of very special events.  Huge congratulations to Ms. Okrainetz and our Dance Program for your success at this year’s Breakout Dance Competition at the Bell Centre.  We are so proud of your talent, hard work and achievements!  

This year 15 Surrey high schools participated, with 1200 SD36 dancers and 900 audience attendees at The Bell. It was an amazing day for our school! The following awards went to LTSS:

Advanced Class - Platinum, Student Choreography Award: Ahria M. Overall Highest Score, and Overall Student Choreography Award.

Grade 8 Class - Silver

Jazz Team - 1^st Place, Student Choreography Award: Ahria M.

Contemporary Team - 1^st Place

Sr. Hip Hop - 3^rd Place (out of 15 and the competition is fierce!)

Jr. Hip Hop - 5^th place (out of 13)

Bhangra Team - 3^rd place

Amazing!  Way to go Panthers!

 Also on the weekend, our Senior Girls Basketball team competed in the final round of the Surrey Firefighters Goodwill Classic Tournament.  Our team finished in 2^nd place! Congratulations to all players and coaches.  What a great start to the season.

Speaking of Basketball, this week our Boys teams are competing in the RCMP Classic tournament.  Our teams are excited for the opportunity to compete against schools from across the city.  Good luck Panthers!

On Monday afternoon, our Department Heads met to review several important topics for our school.  We discussed our systems of support for our Indigenous students and how our community is supporting the Truth and Reconciliation process.  This is a top priority for our school and district and will continue to inform our systems, structures and educational initiatives.   Thank you to all members of our LTSS community for your leadership and participation in this important work.  

We also started an initial discussion about the Surrey School District’s upcoming pilot project with Hybrid Learning.  Next year, each Secondary school in Surrey will be offering a small number of courses as a Hybrid Learning option.  Some of the classes/assignments will be online, along with the traditional, in-person, face-to-face, in-class support.  Over the next couple of months, we will determine which courses will be part of the pilot and finalize the structures of the instructional model.  More detail will be shared as our planning develops.

This week, our school conducted the Provincial Literacy Assessments for grade 10 and 12 students who had missed the previous session.   Students are again reminded that your completion of this assessment is a required graduation requirement.  Thank you to students and staff for your help in hosting this important session.

It was Black Excellence Day on Wednesday, January 15^th!  Our Student Council hosted a special lunchtime Awareness and Celebration event at lunchtime in our Cafeteria.  It was very rewarding to see our students participating in the event and celebrating Black Excellence.  Great thanks to Ms. Smith, Mr. Rai and all of our Leadership students for your work.  

“January 15^th is a critically important day for racial equity in our schools and provides an opportunity to celebrate Black excellence through our students,” said JB Mahli, Director of Instruction for Racial Equity. “In our ongoing efforts to offer culturally responsive resources, we continue to recognize the triumphs, tribulations, resilience and joy of Black Canadians and raise their voices today and throughout the whole school year.”

Thursday was another very special day for our school and our Dance Program.  We invited all of our Associate schools into Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary in the afternoon to watch our amazing Dance Teams/students perform.  In the evening, we held another recital for parents and friends.  We were inspired by the incredible talent, creativity and dedication of our Panthers.   

It looks like some more Winter weather is around the corner.  Parents/guardians and students are reminded to please review the District’s Weather-related Procedures information Sheet.  

Students and families are reminded that next week is the final week of regularly scheduled classes for Semester #1.   January 27^th and 28^th will be Semester Completion Days.  The school will be open on these days for students to schedule individual appointments with teachers to complete any missing assignments/assessments and/or tutorial support for successful completion of your courses.  Please take advantage of this important learning structure.   Semester #2 will begin on Wednesday, January 29^th.  (Please note:   Students should now have downloaded your 2^nd semester timetable from your MyEdBC portal).

Have an excellent Friday and a happy weekend.  We’ll see you back at school on Monday. 😊

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.  

Please note that this year, 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.  Students must park in their designated stall.  

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.