Family-babysitter match-making service offered

The uncertainty about the ongoing teachers’ strike has had many Lynn Valley families chewing their nails over potential looming childcare challenges.

But we know that it’s not just during a crisis that a good babysitter can be hard to find. To that end, we asked our Facebook followers if they would like LynnValleyLife to consider providing some form of assistance in matching up families with sitters or other caregivers. And you said YES, PLEASE!!

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So we’re happy to help where we can. We obviously aren’t a child-care agency (regardless of how silly Jim and Kelly may be acting in some of our photos!) That being the case, we need you to bring your own sense of due diligence the process. But we are happy to maintain a list of people in the Lynn Valley neighbourhood offering babysitting or other childcare services.

If you are a sitter, please send us your name, year of birth, address and HOME telephone number along with any important info such as first-aid or childminding qualifications.  The list given to potential employers will NOT include your address. We ask for your home telephone number, not your cell, because it is our expectation that if you are a minor, your parents will get looped into the decision as to whether or not you accept any job offers you may receive. Please email [email protected].

If you are a parent looking for a sitter, we ask that you become a member of our LynnValleyLife Network so that we have your name and address on file. Then we’ll be happy to send you our list of babysitters, which will hopefully grow as word spreads.

We hope you find your perfect match!

Childcare options offered for shaky school start

Update September 1, 2014: School will definitely not be in session tomorrow (sigh). Parents wishing to apply for the $40/day subsidy for school-aged children 12 and younger can click here to register. Have your school district (#44 in North Van) and your child’s PEN number, found on their report card, on hand.

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Original Post:

Well, Vince Ready left the bargaining table on Saturday afternoon, with no plans to schedule further talks until the teachers’ union and the government are willing to start moving closer together. So we’ll pass along any day camp or childcare news that comes our way in case there’s no resolution by Tuesday; for even more timely publication we invite companies or babysitters to post directly on our LynnValleyLife Facebook page, where their posts will appear in a column to the left of our main news feed.

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Added September 14/14: All-day art classes at Lynn Valley’s Doodlebug Art Studio, with local resident Jeri Engen, look fantastic. Check them out on her Classes page!

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Does your young person want to use this time to get off the couch and into shape? Athletes and non-athletes alike are invited to day camps at Twist Conditioning. Twist is located near the Winter Club at 12-1225 East Keith Rd, North Van; call  604-904-6556:

Kids & Youth Sport Camps – Grade 3 and Up

Drop off between 8:30-9am & pick up between 3-4pm

$299/week (or $60/day)

Hockey Specific Camps

Includes 4 hours/week of skill development (shooting & puck handling & hockey specific training)

$299/week (or $60/day)

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GameReady

Game Ready will be offering Strike Day Camps in September for 6-12 year olds. Registrations will begin Monday, August 25th. Registrations can be done by contacting Joe Yankanna @ 604.961.1176 or email: [email protected]. A registration form is attached.

Camp costs will be $30/day.  They will run from 8:30am-4:30pm. Game Ready will offer full refunds in the event school starts on time in September. Spaces are limited.

Programs will range from arts and crafts, games, educational, physical activities and many more. Please make sure your child(ren) comes with a lunch and snacks for the day. A full schedule of events will be out on August 29th.                                                                              

Address: Game Ready Centre Unit #108B-245 Fell Avenue, North Vancouver

School strike news & childcare options

Looking for news about the teachers’ strike situation, and how it will impact your family?

For a strike update, including the exam information and new end-of-term procedures for students, read the North Vancouver School Superintendent’s letter, here.

North Van Rec has a number of day camps on offer to get kids up and dancing or out and enjoying the great outdoors. Check them out here.

Adventure camps up Grouse Mountain are on offer, with more being added as strike news develops. Read the Grouse site for more info.

There are bike adventure camps from Escape Adventures, and Pedalheads is planning strike-day programming as well, although at time of writing the information was not yet on their website.

We will add more resources as we learn of them, so please send us any resources you’d like us to share with your neighbours! Email [email protected].

 

 

Parents rally to save Swangard track meet

With only a few days’ notice, people banded together to resurrect the North Vancouver track and field meet at Swangard Stadium, which had been officially cancelled as due to the teachers’ strike on the day of the meet. One of the volunteers, Desiree Kranendijk, tells us how it went:

IMG_3378Hundreds of students from almost all the schools across North Vancouver had the opportunity to compete in the annual Swangard Track Meet yesterday despite the ongoing teachers’ strike. A collection of over 100 parent volunteers mobilized after hearing the track event would be cancelled due to the rotating strike, in order to ensure that the students had the chance to showcase their athleticism and put to use all the training provided by the teachers and supporters in the months leading up to the event.

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“Pedal power” rules at Lynn Valley schools

Did you notice a few extra two-wheelers around Lynn Valley this week? You weren’t imagining things.

IMG_2906Today wraps up Bike to School Week at Lynn Valley Elementary, a week that kicked off with 135 kids cycling to school with or without parents. They’ve been treated to energy snacks from local merchants, bike tune-ups from Lynn Valley Bikes, courses from Cycling BC, a visit from the RCMP Safety Bear and more fun activities, including a family bike ride in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve on Wednesday evening.

For photos and more details about the week and how it went, read the Lynn Valley Elementary School Parent Advisory Council post here.

Ross Road Elementary will be hosting its own Bike to School Week from May 26 to 30, so if you are driving please keep your eyes peeled for novice riders!

 

RNB Dance teaches more than meets the eye

RNB DanceA huge array of gleaming trophies sits on a ledge above the students warming up at the barre in RNB Dance’s Studio #2. But it isn’t the trophies that artistic director Hayley Walker is most proud of when she reflects upon the accomplishments of this dance school, now celebrating its 25-year-anniversary. It’s the family values that the dancers learn alongside their art.

“They don’t just come for the dance,” Hayley says when she’s asked why parents send their kids to the non-profit school. “They know that it takes a community to raise a child, and that we’re part of that community.”

RNB DanceThat means fostering bonds of friendship among the dancers, and creating an atmosphere that builds self-esteem, confidence and good manners, though means as varied as taking the competition team away on trips together or teaching the students how to avoid the misuse of social media. Above all, Hayley and her staff want the dancers to come away with positive memories they’ll keep for life.

She’s also proud of the growth the dance school has experienced since three women founded it a quarter century ago (whose combined surname initials, by the way, were RNB!) After teaching its first students in the YMCA facility on Hendry, RNB Dance and Theatre Arts successfully applied for the lease of their current premises on Mountain Highway, a municipally owned facility they moved into in September 1993.

The main studio is in fact the old Methodist church building that was skidded across the playing field from its original home on Institute Road some decades ago. While longtime Lynn Valley residents will remember taking ballet lessons from Miss Hunter in the studio almost 50 years ago, they may not recognize the bright, renovated facility that now houses 300 students, who take classes in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and hip hop. Some take dance for an hour a week; some committed dancers are training in the studio 25 hours over that same time.

RNB Dance studioHayley assures people that there are many entry points for dance, and that all kids are welcome, whether or not they started dance in early childhood. “Our teen classes have really grown,” she says. “Every year we need to put on a new teen beginner class.” She says there is a strong contingent of boys in the student population, too, which isn’t always the case in every school.

A good way to give dance a try is at the popular summer camps that are offered in July and August. The week-long camps offer a taste of a variety of dance genres, and different programs are available for kids four through 12. For more information on the summer programs, click here.

 UPDATE: Register for 2014 fall programs on the following dates:

Saturday, July 26th- 2-6pm,

Friday, August 1st – 4-8pm

Saturday, August 23rd – 2-6pm

Monday, August 25th – 4-8pm

Wednesday, August 27th – 4-8pm

 

 

 

 

Input on Argyle rebuild invited

A letter from North Vancouver’s Superintendent of Schools….

Dear Parents/Guardians/Residents in the Argyle Family of Schools Community:

On behalf of the Board of Education, I would like to invite you to attend an Argyle Family of Schools meeting on:

Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Doors open 6:30; Presentation 6:45; Discussion, Wrap-up by 9:00 p.m.
Argyle Secondary School Small Gym
1131 Frederick Road
North Vancouver BC

The North Vancouver School District is actively working towards a full replacement school project for Argyle Secondary School. As a parent/guardian of a student(s) attending school in the Argyle catchment area, and/or a resident living in the community, you have a vested interest in this project. The Board wants your support and input.

A new replacement school will be designed to provide a safe and enhanced learning environment for students and may incorporate additional community amenities. The meeting will include:

• Background information on the Argyle capital project
• A status update on the Board’s efforts to receive approval for a full replacement of Argyle
• Funding needed for the project
• Potential enhancements to the site (fields, parking, etc.) and building (area and functions)
• Opportunity to provide input and ask questions
• Next steps to move forward on the Argyle full replacement project.

The Board of Education has successfully completed full replacement projects at Sutherland (2008) and Carson Graham (2012) Secondary Schools. Now it’s Argyle’s turn! Please join us to be a part of the Argyle project.

Yours sincerely,

John Lewis
Superintendent of Schools

Learn about Argyle school redevelopment plan

The Lynn Valley Community Association is hosting an evening information session for local residents wanting to know more about the planned redevelopment of Argyle Secondary School.

The event will be held on Thursday, April 17 at 7 p.m. at the LV rec centre at the corner of Frederick and Mountain Hwy. All are welcome to attend.

In attendance will be provincial MLA Jane Thornthwaite,  Superintendent of Schools John Lewis, school trustees Franci Stratton and Lisa Bayne, DNV Councillor Robin Hicks, and federal MP Andrew Saxton.

Bring your questions and comments!

 

LV Elementary band hits new heights

Congratulations to the Lynn Valley Elementary Concert Band, and Jazz Band on a busy and successful year – it could even be described as “out of this world,” as you’ll read below!

The Concert Band achieved a gold award at the Kiwanis Concert Band Festival in Richmond, and gave a first class performance at the District Band and Strings Festival.

This year Lynn Valley had a large number of students accepted to the North Vancouver Honour Band. They had the incredible opportunity of being invited to play along with Chris Hadfield, Commander of the International Space Station, at Music Monday celebrations at Science World.

The Lynn Valley Jazz Band won the Most Inspiring Jazz Ensemble award at the Kiwanis Jazz Festival at Capilano University. One of the school’s band members also won Most Outstanding Soloist for the second year in a row at that festival.

The Jazz Band has been invited to play at the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival on Saturday June 22nd 1pm at Robson Square.  This is a free venue and open to everyone. Please come down and cheer on this incredible band!

– Submitted by Lynn Valley Elementary School

Cousteau name graces LV French school

Last month, the The French International School of Vancouver (located in Lynn Valley’s former Fromme Elementary building) honoured the legacy of visionary Jacques-Yves Cousteau — the most celebrated French defender of marine ecology— by renaming itself The French International School Cousteau. The school has pledged to make environmental awareness a significant part of its ethos and curriculum.

The French International School Cousteau became the first French International School in the world to be granted official permission by the Cousteau Society to bear its name. An annex school, named Calypso in memory of Cousteau’s infamous ship, will also open its door in September 2013. Located in the South Granville area, this annex will offer a preschool program.

The French International School Cousteau has pledged to honor Cousteau’s passion for, and committment to, marine ecology through a partnership with the world-renowned Cousteau Society and Vancouver Aquarium, that will make marine ecology a major part of the school’s day-to-day curriculum. The French International School Cousteau will teach students the Cousteau philosophy— “To Know, To Love, To Protect.”

The Science and Environment Director of the Cousteau Society,  Tarik Chekchak, was on hand as an honoured guest at the March 14 inauguration at the Lynn Valley School. For more information about the rededication of the school, read their press release. To learn more about the school, visit its website here, or attend the school’s Open House on Tuesday, April 9, from 10 a.m. to noon.

LynnValleyLife would like to congratulate the French International School Cousteau on its rechristening. We’re glad to have you in the neighbourhood!