Wednesday - Dec. 18, 2024 - Langley's new school triggers student swaps

🌧 High 10C | Rainfall warning (with snow potential)

Good morning!

First of all, our website has a new button! This is important (for us) because that little button allows you to buy an FVC membership as a gift for any special person in your life who values journalism—and deserves a year’s worth of our weekend newsletter. All you do is go onto this page and click the little “gift” button above the membership options. Thanks for considering us!

There are few romantic comedies from the 1990s that feel more quintessentially from the ‘90s than You’ve Got Mail. Admittedly, I’ve never even seen the movie all the way through. But I do recall that the fundamental premise revolves around email—that new form of communication that seemed so new and groundbreaking at the time. Perhaps that’s why I was so surprised to hear from Grace Giesbrecht that the movie was actually based around a much older play called Parfumerie. The matter came up because Grace went to see Gallery 7 Theatre’s performance of the play last weekend. (Between Taylor Swift tickets and comedic plays, G-Giesbrecht seems to be getting out far more than other-Grace or myself these days.) She said the play, which has more performances through the rest of this week, was superb. There’s a ton to do and see at this time of year, and with all the streaming services it can be easy to forget the theatre. But laughing with other people is something we probably don’t do enough of these days.

– Tyler

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope (We have had to temporarily change our forecast links to the Weather Network due to a technical error.)

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

Surf’s up in Harrison?

Harrison Hot Springs is probably not going to become a surfer’s paradise.

Despite the resort town’s conspicuous lack of surfers, surfboards, and palm trees (not to mention coastline) Harrison council briefly considered the possibility of such a project six months ago.

In June, then-Mayor Ed Wood spoke with a representative from Surf Lake, a company that specializes in turning lakes into surf spots, after a former Fraser Valley resident recommended the idea of surfing in Harrison Lagoon in a letter to council. But village staff don’t seem to think Harrison will be catching this particular wave.

• Today, Grace Giesbrecht writes about Harrison’s possible future as a surf town.

Related

Need to Know

👏 BC’s oldest active teacher is still going strong in Chilliwack [Vancouver Sun]

🎥 Police shot a driver with a beanbag gun after they said he rammed cop cars in a parking lot [Abbotsford News]

🗳 The Liberals’ heavy defeat in the Cloverdale-Langley City byelection wasn’t unexpected but is still a fresh wound, a political scientist says [Vancouver Sun] / Tamara Jansen refused to be interviewed by the Langley Advance Times after her victory [Langley Advance Times]

.👉 An Abbotsford restaurant will provide free hot turkey lunches to people on Christmas Day [Abbotsford News]

🏫 Former Chilliwack MLA Laurie Throness says he plans to run in the upcoming Chilliwack School Board byelection [Fraser Valley Today]

⛷ Chilliwack ski-cross racer Reece Howden won gold at a World Cup event in Switzerland [CBC] / In 2022, Grace talked to Reece’s mother for a story about his upbringing ahead of his Olympic debut [FVC]

🎭 A romantic comedy set in Vancouver is touring Lower Mainland stages and will come to Mission in February [Georgia Straight]

🚔 One person was arrested after yesterday’s lockdown on Sq'éwqel First Nation [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🔥 Mission fire crews snuffed out a tent blaze Tuesday morning [Mission Record]

🎤 Country singer Parker McCollum will play the Abbotsford Centre next summer [Georgia Straight]

🎥 Dream of working in animation? Merge imagination with reality in KPU’s Entertainment Arts programs. Learn VFX, Game Development, and more from experienced industry experts.*

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The Agenda

New Langley school will force student reshuffling

The construction of a new Langley elementary school will trigger a wave of student relocations over the next year.

The opening of Josette Dandurand Elementary School in Latimer next year has forced the school board to create a new set of catchment boundaries that determine which students go where.

The school was built just west of 200 Street to address significant growth in the Willoughby area and will accept hundreds of students from the surrounding areas. Most potential future students currently attend Willoughby Elementary, Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary, or Langley Meadows Elementary. During a months-long consultation process, parents frequently raised questions and concerns about their children being forced to leave their existing schools, and many parents asked for the school district to allow students to remain at their current school.

One parent noted that their children will face their third school move over just a few years if forced to move to the new building. Others expressed concern about their ability to access childcare if their children had to attend the new school.

At a school board meeting last week, district assistant superintendent Marcello Moino suggested some students will be allowed to remain where they are, but the availability of space will determine whether others may have to attend the new school whether they want to or not. With many Langley schools full, some students are currently attending out-of-catchment schools—specifically Langley Meadows and Lynn Fripps Elementary. Moino said those students will be allowed to remain in those schools if they choose, or can return to their local catchment school once the new school frees up more spaces. The families of other students can apply to remain in their current schools, but decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis depending on the availability of space, according to district staff.

The board was also told the district is trying to create before and after-school childcare at the new school and to expand childcare at Langley Meadows Elementary school.

You can watch Moino’s presentation to the board here.

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🗓 Things to do

Christmas at Bez: Langley's Bez Arts Club hosts Christmas Tales, a performance of music, story, and laughs on Friday and Saturday. Details and tickets online.

Chilliwack nutcracker: Ballet Victoria is in Chilliwack with its performance of The Nutcracker on Saturday starting at 7:30pm. Details and tickets online.

Winter activities: The City of Abbotsford hosts daily swims, skates, swim drop-ins, and camps during its Winter Fest from Monday, Dec. 23 to Friday, Jan. 3. Details online.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

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