The School Street Pilot will be in effect on Franklin Street between Penticton and Slocan from 8:40am-9:10am and 2:40pm-3:10pm, Monday to Friday (on school days), April 12th, 2021 until May 7, 2021 (4 weeks).
All of Franklin Street in front of the school will be car free during pick up and drop off for the next month! We encourage kids and parents to skip, bike, scoot or skate to school and enjoy the use of the street before and after school. There will be prizes throughout the month!
Volunteers Still Needed
To make this pilot possible, more volunteer ‘School Street Coaches’ are still needed! As a School Street Coach you will be responsible for setting up, taking down and monitoring the School Street barriers during drop-off and pick-up (Shift will be approximately 40 minutes total). The School Street Coaches will receive instruction prior to their shifts and there will be a volunteer training session. There will also be prizes for volunteers who commit to the full month (2 shifts weekly).
To sign up for a volunteer shift please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn’t work) to go to the signup sheet:
We hope that everyone’s spring break and Easter long weekend were relaxing – that you had the opportunity to spend (more
) time together. Perhaps you had time to do some reading and have a title or two to suggest for the book drive?
We’ve had lots of great titles and topics come in so far – keep them coming! We want to hear from everyone in the Hastings school community – what do you want to read? As a reminder, there are a variety of ways to give us your suggestions: 1. The suggestion box in the library – for students and teachers / staff. 2. The online poll in the Teams general channel – for students, teachers/staff and parents. 3. The online poll – for parents and students.
Here are a few of the fantastic suggestions we’ve received so far:
When Aidan Became a Brother – Kyle Lukoff
When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. His parents gave him a pretty name, his room looked like a girl’s room and he wore clothes that other girls liked wearing. After he realized he was a boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of his life that didn’t fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life. Then Mom and Dad announced they’re going to have another baby and Aidan wants to do everything he can to make things right for his new sibling from the beginning. But what does “making things right” actually mean?
Trailblazers: The Black Pioneers Who Have Shaped Canada – Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore
Trailblazers is a disruptive children’s book that introduces readers to Canada’s Black history through the under-told stories of over forty incredible Black change makers. With each short story carefully written in poetic form and accompanied by beautiful illustrations, this tribute brings complex topics and historical facts to life.
Can You See Me – Libby Scott & Rebecca Westcott
Tally is eleven years old and she’s just like her friends. Well, sometimes she is. If she tries really hard to be. Because there’s something that makes Tally not the same as her friends. Something she can’t cover up, no matter how hard she tries: Tally is autistic. People think that because Tally’s autistic, she doesn’t realise what they’re thinking, but Tally sees and hears – and notices – all of it. And, honestly? That’s not the easiest thing to live with.
In Real Life – Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang
Anda loves CoarseGold Online, the massively-multiplayer role playing game that she spends most of her free time on. It’s a place where she can be a leader, a fighter, a hero. It’s a place where she can meet people from all over the world, and make friends. Gaming is, for Anda, entirely a good thing. But things become a lot more complicated when Anda befriends a gold farmer – a poor Chinese kid whose avatar in the game illegally collects valuable objects and then sells them to players from developed countries with money to burn. This behaviour is strictly against the rules in CoarseGold but Anda soon comes to realize that questions of right and wrong are a lot less straightforward when a real person’s real livelihood is at stake.
We’ll keep taking suggestions all through April and send out a weekly update email. A reminder that we are also gathering donations to help get these books in to our library. Again, there are a few ways to donate: 1. Visit Iron Dog Books on Hastings St and purchase one of the books already selected by our librarian. 2. Contribute to the Hastings Book Drive account at Iron Dog Books. 3. Contribute using the School Cash Online donation form (select Hastings PAC as the fund destination and note that it is for the book drive in the message section).
The next Hastings Anti-racism Committee (HARC) meeting will be held on Monday, April 12th from 7-8pm on Zoom. All Hastings parents and guardians are welcome to attend every meeting. Thoughtful discussion around equity, justice and human rights, with a mission to ensure that our school community upholds and embodies these values.
Hastings Elementary, in partnership with the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver School Board is piloting a School Street to better understand if it can improve safety, encourage active travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A School Street encourages and enables active travel, by opening a car-free block beside a school to walking, biking, and rolling during pick-up/drop-off. No motor vehicles will be permitted to enter or exit, but vehicles may remain parked while the School Street is in effect.
To make this pilot possible, volunteer ‘School Street Coaches’ are needed! As a School Street Coach you will be responsible for setting up, taking down and monitoring the School Street barriers during drop-off and pick-up. The School Street Coaches will receive instruction prior to their shifts and there will be a volunteer training session. There will also be prizes for volunteers who commit to the full month (2 shifts weekly).
To sign up for a volunteer shift please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn’t work) to go to the signup sheet:
Once you have signed up, a volunteer instruction booklet will be provided. A volunteer training session will also be held on April 6th (6:30-7:30pm) by the City of Vancouver and School Volunteer Coordinator
For any questions about the volunteer role, please reach out to the School Street Coach Coordinator: Thea Wilson, thea.wilson@mottmac.com
