Langley School District Foundation

  Choose Kindness or Be Kind: Either One Works By Susan Cairns    If what you do makes a difference, then you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.  Jane Goodall was speaking, and I was riveted. Her gentle wisdom, laser focus and unabashed confidence had me mesmerized for more than two hours. But that wasn’t enough. I needed more. Nursing my red and applause-damaged hands, I mustered up a rare truckload of courage, as I elbowed my way through a crowd of adoring fans. Suddenly I was staring into a set of pale blue eyes that burned into my brain. Before I could stop myself, I asked if she remembered me. Her gaze turned from boredom, to annoyance, and just as I was about to flee, I saw a glint of curiosity.    “I’ve known you for more than 20 years,” I said. She managed a sly Mona Lisa smile and nodded. After she extracted herself from the throng, we met in the hotel lounge.    Now Jane Goodall is not only brilliant, compas...

THE NEXT GARDEN OF EDEN! There are only a few times in your life when you can truly say - without one scintilla of hyperbole - that THE FUTURE IS HERE. One of those times is NOW! Thanks to our sponsors and supporters, the Langley School District Foundation is now able to introduce to our schools miraculous gardens. Imagine, if you can, a simple growing machine that reaps bushels of organic produce every six weeks. It requires no soil, no land, very little water, and virtually no maintenance. Forget weeding, insecticides or contaminates. Don’t worry about drought, extreme cold or any kind of climatic conditions. How does your garden grow? It just grows and grows and grows right into the future. Thanks to our community partners, with a huge commitment from Vancity Foundation, we are able to start the program. We have purchased 12 vertical gardens and we will be installing them in seven schools. Beginning in September the gardens will be producing vast quantities of lettuce...

FIRST ANNUAL I.D.E.A SUMMIT INNOVATION•DESIGN•ENTREPRENEURSHIP•ALTRUISM THE LANGLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT invites you to witness their young entrepreneurs in action at the first annual IDEA SUMMIT on May 8 at the Langley Events Centre.  Students from kindergarten to grade 12, from schools across the district, will be participating and  competing throughout the day. Be there for the MARKET AND SOCIALPRENEURSHIP SHOWCASES where students exhibit their innovative products for sale or explain their plans to change the world.  Watch the DESIGN CHALLENGES as students who are provided with an open-ended problem,  thrust themselves out of conventional thinking and into a mind-set where original ideas and  dynamic thoughts come fast and furious. Then watch the PITCH CHALLENGE when the top 20 pitch their product or service in front of a panel of esteemed judges who will choose the top four presentations. And that’s not all. DR. SARAH LUBIK , Simon F...

 Hole New Ball Game 12th Annual Foundation Golf Tournament Okay it’s like this. You are standing on the first tee box. It’s just 420 yards to the green. Your aim is to hit a very small ball into a seemingly even smaller hole with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose. Okey doke you say with confidence. You swing and follow through with authority. You hear the satisfying whack and look yonder. But alas – your ball sits just inches away smiling up at you with its sassy dimples. “Next,” you say as you creep off the tee box, and thank goodness there is a next. This is the Langley School District Foundation 12 th Annual Golf Tournament and everyone knows that you are welcome, whether you score eagles, birdies, par, bogies or even snowmen. Here’s how it works. You arrive at Redwoods Golf Course at 10 am on the day of the tournament. You are quickly met by a couple of friendly giants. Armed with clip boards, they are facilitating your progres...

Riding High at 12 th Annual Grand Prix Gala With the world-famous Thunderbird Show park as our gala site and an international equestrian jumping competition going on inches away from the sun-drenched patio, 300 guests oohed, aahed and gasped their way through a luxurious Sunday afternoon. The Grand Prix Gala is like no other fundraising event. At times upon entering the venue, I catch myself wondering if there can be such a thing as too much magnificence in a single place. First there is the stunning backdrop – acres of emerald green tract, punctuated with a series of obstacles. White fences, dazzling in the sunlight, troughs of shimmering, crystal clear water and redolent and colourful flowers blowing in the breeze. Then there are the horses. Stallions and mares of stunning stature and defined musculature prancing, galloping, leaping and crunching full force onto the grassy sod. You can hear the grunts and groans of exertion. Lithe and splendidly attired riders peer fr...

A DREAM YOU DREAM ALONE IS ONLY A DREAM. A DREAM YOU DREAM TOGETHER IS REALITY With a mission to make learning UNFORGETTABLE for every Langley student, the Foundation’s dream is to ensure that all Langley students receive the maximum benefit of the education to which they are entitled. KEEPING KIDS IN SCHOOL There are kids who go through their educational careers without a hitch. The programs seem to be designed to cater to their brains, lifestyle and outside support. But there are also kids who for a variety of reasons do not benefit from their education. Their brains may be wired a little differently from the norm; they may be gifted or challenged, they may have skills and abilities that run contrary to standard educational programs; they may come to school hungry, tired or abused. Thanks to the support from all sectors, including our community partners, volunteers, sponsors, donors, school district staff, parents and board of directors, the Foundation has b...