Open Monday To Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm

Phone: 604-599-9930

$5 gets your first dibs from 9-10 and $3 admission is open from 10-1.

Organized by Susan & Friends, call 604-513-8880 or email kidswapmeets@hotmail.com for more info or to rent a table.

The Biggest Little Preschool & Childcare Centre has been serving the Sullivan/Panorama area for over 11 years.  Nestled in the heart of a thriving community we are pleased to offer a variety of children’s program to suit every families needs. We are thankful to have been able to provide your children with the best care and look forward to many years to come.

Programs include:

• Pre-Kindergarten (4 year olds)
• 3 year old Preschool Program
• Before/After School Care (Pick up to/from Cambridge Elementary)
• Preschool Summer Camps

Coming Soon: Reading Made Fun (Intensive 4 year old program on Tues and Thurs mornings)

Sheri Wipf opened The Biggest Little Preschool in 2000 with big hopes and dreams that she could create a place where children would thrive and bring families together. With 5 children of her own, Sheri knows the importance of early learning in order for every child to grow to their full potential.  As the community grew, so did a need for Before and After School Care and so The Biggest Little Preschool & Childcare was born in 2006.

Please join us for an Open House and registration for our preschool and Before/After School programs on Monday, Feb 20 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. We look forward to meeting you!  As our centre continues to grow we look forward to providing new growth and opportunities for your children. For more information please visit our website at www.biggestlittlepreschool.com or call 604-572-3563.

I invited City of Surrey Councillor Barinder Rasode (pictured above with her run clinic) to share her perspective on running:

Finding a lost passion

Growing up I was not an athlete at all. In fact, I shot at my own net during a basketball game which earned me the nickname, “Wrong Way” for my entire elementary school days.

As life got busier and at times complicated, I decided that I needed to exercise and that I also needed something that had a start and finish. All of us carry the heavy load of on-going projects to finish and commitments to fulfill, but running is not one of those things. With running, you put on your shoes, you start to run and then you finish. You meditate and consider your life without interruption – it’s me time at its best!

I started running in my 30′s, first joining my first Sun Run and from there built up to running a Half Marathon. I ran four times a week no matter what: on business trips, vacations or during bad weather, it didn’t matter. I learned that running makes me a happier person, mom, friend, and daughter.

Then suddenly, one day, I could not run. After months of experiencing sever back pain, a MRI showed that I had “cauda equina” syndrome. This condition required immediate surgery and a year of healing which limited all my activity.

Fully recovered, I am now training again for the Vancouver Sun Run. I joined the Sun Run Clinic at Guildford Recreation Centre and I have completed 5 weeks of training with a fabulous group of people. Once I complete the Sun Run I will start training for Surrey’s first Marathon event (SurreyMarathon.com).

I will do the half-marathon on Sept 30, 2012 and keep you posted on my progress!

Thanks to Councillor Rasode for sharing!  If you’d like to contribute to a future post please let me know.

First up, team up with a co-captain.  Ask your neighbours, friends, and if all else fails put up a poster on your community mailbox or townhouse bulletin board.  You could also ask your strata if they could put it on the agenda for your strata meetings.You will find someone, I promise!

Once you’ve secured a buddy, contact our district 3 Crime Prevention Coordinator, Leeanne Kelly.  She’s super helpful.  Call her at (604) 502-6560.

You’ll be sent some forms to fill in for your security clearance and once you’ve received the A-OK, you can choose when you are able to attend your security training.  The training is painless and a whole lot of common sense.  To be honest, the most valuable thing I got at my training was speaking with other motivated concerned residents.  I took my training in Cloverdale and I heard some of the neighbourhoods in really terrible shape, ongoing violence issues and really scary stuff.  I was motivated to keep ours even safer for the future.

You’ll get a big pile of Blockwatch brochures.  They’re adorably outdated but the information is accurate.  We typed up our own little spiel to go along with the generic information and provided an easy-to-fill-in form, advising they could also send the info in by e-mail.  I’m a keener so I created a group e-mail that we could both access on gmail.

My co-captain and I geared up one snowy evening and went door-to-door knocking, meeting most of our neighbours and leaving a package (the brochure, our form and the information) behind.  Leaving the information is nice because people can review it and then complete the form – but it is good to follow up as forms get lost and people forget (as those of us with school aged kids can attest to!)

We also tacked up a note on the community mailbox with pull-off strips with the e-mail address for information.  While some returned their forms immediately, it took a bit longer for others, as is expected.  We posted a second notice on the mailbox later in the spring and a few more trickled in.  We’ll post another one as the sun starts to come out and our neighbourhood is now fully constructed.

Once we felt we had our list (only 15 families out of 60+ houses – but we’re working on it), we created our map using the City of Surrey’s Cosmos program and provided the list to the RCMP.  (You can also just hand draw your map & list.)  We’re official!  A month later our Block Watch road signs went up.

Now my job is simply to forward by e-mail any newsletters or alerts we may get.  If a neighbour mentions something “odd” to me, I sometimes e-mail the info to the Crime Prevention Coordinator if they haven’t reported it to non-emergency.  It really doesn’t take much effort and just about everyone has e-mail which makes this process of communicating so simple.

In District 3 (Newton) – that’s Sullivan/Panorama – Contact Leeanne Kelly at (604) 502-6560 to get started or with any questions.   In another area?  Find your coordinator here.

Here are our templates for download if you would like to make use of them.  They are in a *.docx formt.

Block Watch Info Sheet

BW form

We had a great turnout at the Neighbourhood Safety Forum.  A big thank you to Staff Sergeant Paul Poloz and RCMP Crime Prevention Officer Leeanne Kelly for spending some time with us; and to Sonya for providing the meeting place (and coffee that I forgot to tell you all about!).

Leeanne started off by explaining the role of Blockwatch in crime prevention and the many benefits.  In my opinion, just getting out there and interacting already makes your neighbourhood a safer and frankly just  better place to be.  Please contact Leeanne if you have any questions or are ready to get involved in Blockwatch.  Watch the Blockwatch section of the website for ongoing progress reports and tips.  In Cloverdale, contact Carrie Chattell at 604-502-6265, and in South Surrey your contact is Pat LeBlanc 604-599-7862.

Concerns raised were around residential and automobile Break & Enters, graffiti, petty theft, abandoned homes and grow-ops.  It was repeatedly stressed that calling non-emergency for anything suspicious is our strongest tool right now.   If there is a crime in progress, you should definitely call 9-1-1 immediately.  Because of the several different agencies involved in tackling the different kinds of issues, a neighbourhood association would also be a real asset to our community.  Find out more about getting involved in the Panorama Neighbourhood Association!

We’re in Week 5 of our training at the Sun Run Clinic training.  As the weather turned nasty this week I almost had to hit the treadmill.  There’s a lot of love for running outdoors and it seems that most of us save the treadmill for those nasty days.

Have no fear, runners – and everyone else – Spring is on its way!  The Surrey Spring Leisure guide will be online starting on February 21, so don’t forget to check it out and pick out your favourite classes for spring.  Registration starts March 5.

With Spring comes Spring Break!  Those of us with kids in the Surrey School District have 2 weeks of Spring Break to look forward to.  NQSS will be sharing things to do over the break and we’d love to hear your ideas.  If your business offers spring break camps or activities, please contact me to find out how we can help you spread the word.

NQSS has advertising options opening up in March, please contact me if you’d like more information!  I’m happy to work with local businesses in all kinds of ways.

Blockwatch isn’t about nosy neighbours or taking shifts walking patrol.  The only requirement is there be at least two households: a Captain and co-Captain.  Your Blockwatch can be 2, 5, or 60 houses, whatever seems manageable for your area.  (Our neighbourhood is dense with many close backyards, so our Blockwatch covers two streets over one and a half blocks.)

Blockwatch can also be fun and bring community to your neighbourhood as we heard at our local safety meeting.

The Captain and Co-captain must complete a security clearance check (fill in a form) and attend a two-hour training session.  They are held in different districts at several different times of day and night, so it’s not difficult to make it work.  Once the training session is complete you must build your network of participants and produce a map that shows participants to our Crime Prevention Coordinator.  The only information required from participants is name, address and phone number, and this information is only available to the Captain/Co-Captain.

Once the RCMP receives your map, they will issue you an official Blockwatch number and you’re set.  From there most correspondence is done by e-mail and your Captain/Co-Captains have a direct link with the RCMP.

If you’re ready to jump right in, or need help finding someone in your area, call Leeanne Kelly, RCMP Crime Prevention Coordinator, at (604) 502-6560.

Remember if you see a situation that doesn’t feel right, it’s suspicious. Write down the description of any suspicious persons. Get the model, color and license numbers of strange vehicles. Call the police immediately. Don’t assume someone else has called. If criminal activity has occurred let your Blockwatch Captain and neighbours know but CALL THE POLICE FIRST!  9-1-1 or Surrey RCMP Non-Emergency 604-599-0502

Click to enlarge

Update: You can follow Lindsey’s heartbreaking yet inspiring story online here.  Please scroll down to find out how to help.

Lindsey Lourenco has had to fight harder battles in her 17 years than many of us will ever face.  The Enver Creek student was diagnosed with leukemia at just twelve years old and endured several rounds of chemotherapy, only to have the cancer return just over a year later.

In 2010, Lindsey received what her family deemed a miracle when she was matched with a donor for a bone marrow transplant.  Though it was a difficult recovery, things improved for Lindsey and her family as they gradually returned to a “normal” life.  However, in January of this year, Lindsey was diagnosed with bone cancer and was back in the Intensive Care Unit at BC Children’s Hospital.

Heartbroken, several concerned friends of the family have put together a fundraiser at the Big Ridge for Wednesday, February 22nd, at 5:30.   There will also be a silent auction so if you or your business are able to donate an item, please contact one of the organizers listed on the flyer.

Please join with your community in supporting this family during this difficult time.

***

If you would like to contribute directly to the family, you can do so through VanCity Credit Union to:

Lindsey Lourenco In Trust
Account No. 163493
Semiahmoo Community Branch 25
104 – 1790 152 Street
Surrey, BC V4A 7Z7

Anyone can deposit funds to this account. Even $1 helps to lighten their worry. If you have a Vancity account you can directly transfer funds to this account. You can e-mail funds, write a cheque and mail it or drop it off at any branch or make a cash deposit at any branch. If you have any questions about how you can make a deposit just walk into any branch or call the Member Service Line 604-877-7000 or toll-free 1-888-826-2489 and one of the agents will help you out.

We all feel at a loss when it comes to trying to figure out what more we could do to help Lindsey and her family. Helping to relieve their financial burden would take one worry off their plate.