Monday, January 19
7:30am – 8:35am: Notarizing Appointments for LEST documents in Mr. Shutsa’s office
7:30 – 8:15am – Girls Basketball Practice at Elementary School
Grade 7 and 8 Morning Drop Off at the Elementary School
3:00 – 4:00pm Homework Club
Tuesday, January 20
Grade 6A Morning Drop Off at the Elementary School
3:15 – 4:30pm – Girls’ Grade 6-8 Basketball Practice in the Elementary School
Wednesday, January 21
Grade 7 and 8 Morning Drop Off at the Elementary School
3:15 – 4:30pm – Boys Basketball Practice at Elementary School
Thursday, January 22
Cozy Reading Day (details below)
3:00 – 4:15pm – Robotics Club
3:15 – 4:30pm – Boys Basketball Practice at Elementary School
6:30 – 8:00pm – Open House at Elementary School
Friday, January 23
Pro D Day – NO SCHOOL IN SESSION
Looking Ahead…
Monday, January 26
7:30 – 8:15am – Girls Basketball Practice at Elementary School
Grade 7 and 8 Morning Drop Off at the Elementary School
3:00 – 4:00pm Homework Club
Tuesday, January 27
Dress Down Day $2 to participate (Theme: Olympics; come dressed in a country colours/jersey)
Grade 6A Morning Drop Off at the Elementary School
3:15 – 4:30pm – Girls’ Grade 6-8 Basketball Practice in the Elementary School
Wednesday, January 28
Grade 7 and 8 Morning Drop Off at the Elementary School
3:15 – 4:30pm – Boys Basketball Practice at Elementary School
Thursday, January 29
3:00 – 4:15 pm – Robotics Club
3:15 – 4:30pm – Boys Basketball Practice at Elementary School
Friday, January 30
2026-2027 Re-enrolment Period Opens
Morning Drop off at Elementary School for Chapel
Hot Lunch
Volunteer Opportunities – 2025/2026 School Year
Open House – January 22
Our school open house will be on January 22nd.
Parent volunteers and food donation will be needed for this event. They will count toward your participation hours.
Please THIS LINK to sign up
Special Person’s Day – Coffee and Treat Service
Link: Special Person’s Day Coffee Volunteers
Looking for 3 parents to help set up a coffee station at Special Persons Day
Monday, Feb 2nd at Elementary School 8:00am to 10:00am (2PPH)
Please contact for any questions
Easy Take-Home Project
Numerous cut-out paper hearts are needed for our Kindness Challenge. Please contact Lisa Klym if this is something you’d like to do from home. A template and paper will be provided. Hearts need to be completed and returned to the school office by Thursday, January 29th.
Bursary Gala Assistance Needed
Library Volunteers
Volunteer opportunities are available at the elementary school library for anyone who is comfortable using computers. Please contact Ms. Francescini, or drop by the library so she can explain the jobs.
Fruit Program
Thanks to a Feeding Futures grant from the BC government, we are able to offer a daily selection of Fruits and Vegetables for Grab and Go at each of the campus offices. Kids are delighting in stopping on a regular basis to pick up an apple, banana or maybe even a strawberry!
We could use some adult volunteers to help manage this program. Duties would involve washing and portioning fruit for service, approximately 15-30 mins each day. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Emily Reilly, at . Many hands will make light work!
Cone Set Up Needed at Elementary Campus
We are looking for an individual or a few to help with setting up cones in the morning before 8:30 am. This typically takes 15 minutes and would be ideal for those parents who need volunteer hours and need to drop off at before school care. Any parent(s) are welcome to help with this task and it would be greatly appreciated. There will be a training set up to know where to place cones and signs. Please contact Jennifer Watson if you are interested.
Lunch Supervision Volunteer Sign up Link!
Parent Participation Hours Deadline for Term 1
Term 1 Parent Participation Hours must be recorded by January 31, 2026. Please note that record sheets will close on this date, and we are unable to accept late submissions.
Term 2 tracking starts February 1. Your Class Liaison will send out new sheets early in the month.
Reminder: Families with multiple students should log all hours under their youngest child’s record sheet.
Cozy Reading Day
We are excited to announce a special school-wide “Cozy Reading Day” on Thursday, January 22. To celebrate our love of literacy, classrooms will feature virtual fireplaces and a relaxed atmosphere.
Drop Everything and Read: Three random times through the day, students and staff will stop to enjoy their books of choice for a few minutes.
The Mystery Reader Contest: Additionally, recordings of three different staff members reading from famous books will be played in each classroom. Classes will guess who the reader is.
Wizard of Oz
- Auditions are completed, actors and actresses selected, and contracts have been returned (or should have been by now). All actors are expected to meet after school on Monday at the elementary campus for a quick meeting to go over expectations, pick up scripts, and get a practice schedule.
- Wednesday after school, actors in scenes 1 & 13 will be practicing.
- Practice schedule will be given to the actors on Monday, January 19th.
Fraser Health Resources
Child and Youth Mental Health
Mental health is essential for children’s growth, relationships, and success in school.
Here’s how you can support them:
- Listen and talk about their feelings
- Build walks or other physical activities into family time
- Celebrate positive choices and efforts
- Encourage learning from positive and negative experiences
- Give your time, your words, and your presence
Find mental health resources and services for children and youth on Fraser Health’s website: Child and youth mental health – Fraser Health Authority
Below is a list of dental resources, from Fraser Health, for the 2025/2026 school year.
Even if you are a family that does not have private dental insurance, you may be eligible to apply for the following programs.
- Healthy Kids Program – children under the age of 19 years may be eligible for basic dental services.
- Canadian Dental Care Plan – children under the age of 18 years who do not have access to a private dental insurance plan.
- UBC Dentistry – offers a free dental program for children 12 years and younger. Please see the attached application form.
- Affordable dentistry options for children – Fraser Health Authority
Fraser Health Vaccination Information
On Monday, May 4, our Grade 6 students will receive their routine vaccination.
Parents of Grade 6, 7, and 8 students can go to this website immunizationconsent.gov.bc.ca to complete the online permission forms. If your child in Grade 7 or 8 is missing any vaccines, Fraser Health can provide catch-up doses on this day if you wish.
A Fraser Health representative will be at the school on Thursday, April 23, 2026, from 2:30 to 3:30 pm to answer vaccine-related questions on a drop-in basis in Mr. Shutsa’s office.
An information sheet with the QR code for permission has been sent home with your child.
Families who do not complete the online form by early April (3–4 weeks before May 4) will receive a paper copy directly from Fraser Health.
Thank you!
Candy Grams Order Forms
Our Grade 5 classes are launching their annual Valentine’s Candygrams Fundraiser! All proceeds support their year-end Grade 5 Celebration as they prepare for the transition to middle school.
How it works: Families/students can purchase candygrams, to be hand-delivered by our Grade 5 students, to friends, teachers, and classmates.
Delivery will be:
- Tuesday, February 10 (before the LEST trip) for the middle school campus
- Friday, February 13th for elementary campus
Order forms went home last week and are due back on Monday, January 26th. If you need extra tags, you can come by the office for more. Thank you for supporting our Grade 5 students!
PI Academy – Badminton
This past Fall season went exceptionally well, with many new and returning players developing and strengthening their core badminton skills. This Winter session will focus primarily on racket skills.
Classes will be held:
- Mondays for Grades 1–4
- Fridays for Grades 5–8
You can find the sign-up link below. As always, please reach out to Coach Ken if you have any questions.
A special reminder for our middle school students: CESS, organized by Mr. Lok and Mr. Shutsa, is expected to take place this Spring. This season will be pivotal, with tryouts anticipated in late March or early April. We encourage all middle school athletes to continue training diligently and to proudly represent Hope, as we aim to defend our title as Champions for the third consecutive year!
Payment is preferred via e-transfer to . If you prefer to pay in cash, please place the payment in an envelope with your child’s name on it and see Coach Ken before or after class.
Thank you, and we look forward to a great Winter season ahead!
PTL/Community Relations News
Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 PTL Zoom meeting
Attending PTL meetings is a great way to connect with the rest of the school community and stay in the loop of important School/PTL events. Nov 20, 2025 PTL meeting Minutes are available for your review here.
Open House
We’ve learned from our admissions interviews that an overwhelming majority of our applicants come to our school because of word-of-mouth recommendations from our school community. We are thankful that you are our best advertisers.
Do you know of a family ready to explore education options for their child? Do you have friends or family looking for a school that offers more than just an academic education, one that you can call home?
Please forward this digital flyer and encourage them to check out The Hope Difference at our Open House on Thursday, January 22nd from 6-8:30pm.
Community Relations
Intentional Acts of Kindness Challenge
The smallest act of kindness can change someone’s entire day! It can come from anyone at any time. And, it’s the little things that can mean so much. Kindness is a gift that everyone can afford.
From February 2-13 we are having a 12-day Kindness Challenge. Each day, everyone is encouraged to intentionally perform an act of kindness. It could be something as simple as holding the door open for the person walking behind you or taking time to thank someone who offered you help or support. There is no lower limit to kindness. Inspire others – let us know! Share your inspiring stories and ideas for kindness at .
LEST students, think of ways you can take your acts of kindness across the border and show kindness to your bus driver, restaurant staff and hotel staff. Thank people by name for the service they have given you. Most service people wear name tags – surprise them by using their name. It will brighten their day and your light will shine as you represent our school.
SAVE THE DATE!
Our annual Bursary Gala fundraiser is happening Saturday, March 7th. We are currently seeking artistically and musically talented individuals both within our school community (including students AND parents) and those beyond our school community to be a part of our entertainment. If you, or someone you know, would like to share your talent, please contact John Lok at .
Tickets for our Gala will go on sale soon so mark your calendars and prepare to join us for this incredible evening in support of our Margaret Towriss Bursary Fund.
Opportunities for parent participation are available. Please choose your area of interest:
Bursary Ticket Sales at Student-led Conference, Thurs, Feb 26th
Newsletter Submissions
We are collecting submissions for the February newsletter. Do you have a story to share or a special achievement we can celebrate? What about your ideas for kindness? Send your submissions to Lisa at .
Church News
The Chosen Ministry at Hope Lutheran Church launches this month.
Hope Church is facilitating two community groups based on The Chosen series with each group gathering twice per month from January-May to watch the videos and have discussion.
Group #1 will gather every second Wednesday evening from 7:00-9:30pm at a home in Port Coquitlam; the start date is Wednesday, January 14th, 2026. Contact for details.
Group #2 will gather every second Saturday morning from 8:30-10:30am in the church, starting Saturday, January 17th, 2026.
School parents and church members are encouraged to join; the content is suitable for anyone over the age of 13. Registration is not required, just show up to the time slot that works for you.
For more information, contact John Diack (604-512-1440 or ).
