École Elgin Market Public School – September, 2014 Newsletter Marga Wilson, Principal
Transcription
École Elgin Market Public School – September, 2014 Newsletter Marga Wilson, Principal
École Elgin Market Public School Newsletter – September, 2014 Tele: 519-396-8115 Marga Wilson, Principal Fax: 519-370-2919 Ruth Johnston, Office Manager Nous tous apprenons ~ la main dans la main Dear Parents and Guardians, Welcome back to another school year. It’s hard to believe that we are only one year away from being a K to 8 school. It is wonderful seeing all of the returning students and how quickly the older students are helping the younger ones become familiar with their new surroundings. We would also like to welcome our new students and their families. We look forward to seeing everyone together at our school Barbecue on September 25 which is put on by our Home & School association. A special thank you goes out to all of the Home & School volunteers who put benches together this summer and did a major clean-up of the playground. The staff and students loved coming back to such a welcoming sight. Your hard work and support is truly appreciated. Our custodial staff, Mr. McCallum and Ms. Lanting, have worked hard over the summer to make our school a clean place to learn. Our dedicated Office Manager, Mrs. Johnston, has been busy this August, finalizing all of the important details that help Elgin Market run so smoothly. Our incredible teaching staff have put in many hours over the summer painting and creating welcoming classrooms and programs for our learners. I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the entire Elgin Market team for all of their work. We consider you, the parents and guardians of students at Elgin Market, as partners in an educational journey. The key to building and maintaining a positive and effective relationship is open and direct communication. This can eliminate many unnecessary concerns and help develop a meaningful, healthy learning environment for our children. Please feel free to contact the classroom teacher, either by phone, voice mail or in the planner, if you have any concerns. In addition, Elgin Market’s School Council and Home & School Association are always looking for parental input. In addition, some of you may want to come into the school or help during field trips. Volunteers are an integral part of the Elgin Market community. For safety reasons, we require that each person volunteering complete a Police Check. If you had this completed last year, you will need to sign an Offence Declaration this year. Upon having completed either a Police Check or Offence Declaration, you will be given a booklet entitled Accessible Ontario. We ask that you read this booklet and bring any questions or concerns to me. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Ruth Johnston or myself. There is a great deal of information in this first newsletter. We hope you find it helpful in organizing you and your child’s school year. We look forward to a rewarding and fun-filled year! Marga Wilson, Principal When To Send Notes To The Teacher: Please send a signed, dated note to your child’s teacher for any changes - another adult is picking up your child, has or will be absent, not travelling on the bus at the end of the day, change of address, telephone numbers, health problems, medical appointments during the day etc. PLEASE DO NOT PARK OR STOP AT THE FRONT OF THE SCHOOL: Please use Princes Street to drop off and pick up your children. If another adult is picking up / dropping off your children, please inform them that they must use Princes Street. This is for the safety of ALL students. SAFE ARRIVAL • Call EMP at 396-8115 before 8:15 a.m. if your child is going to be absent or late that morning. A message can be left at extension 100 anytime after 4:00 pm the previous day. • On the message, state your child’s name, teacher’s name, walker or bus no. and reason for absence. • If your child’s absence extends beyond one day then you need to call the school each day (unless we have been previously notified). • If you take your child home during the day and a note has not been previously sent, please leave a note in the office. SAFE RETURN All BUS students must have a signed, dated note if they are NOT travelling on the bus at the end of each day. Welcome to New Staff! We are very excited to welcome our new staff members to Elgin Market this year. Here is a list of our current staff: JK/SK Lisa Johnston-Kaminski Kimberley Hall (ECE) Sue Thompson Cheryl Diffin (ECE) 1 Paula Lebrasceur 1 Michelle McKitterick 2 Laura Macpherson 2/3 Diane Tremblay 3/4 Jaime Janes 4/5 Joanne Wilson 5/6/7 Christine Cooper Prep Kelsey Burrows Gillian Dent Carolyn Hart Learning Resource Teacher EA Visitors to the School Visitors are always welcome at Elgin Market School. So that we may serve both our students and guests well, all visitors are requested to check in with the office staff, sign our guest register and wear an identification badge upon entering the school. A visitor to a school is anyone entering the building who is not a student or staff member. If you are calling the school to pick up someone during class time, please report to the office, sign your child out and wait at the front of the school. This will assist in reducing disruptions to the teaching and learning time. EMP School Council Tiffany Rutledge Elaine Minty Supervision: Supervising teachers are on the playground 15 minutes before classes start in the morning and during the two outdoor play periods. In the interest of safety, it is suggested that students’ arrival time in the morning coincide as closely as possible to the supervision schedule. In the case of rain or severe weather, children will be admitted to the school upon arrival. Welcome back to a new school year! It is hard to believe that the summer is over. As we settle in for the new school year, it’s time to start marking our calendars for School Council meetings. The first meeting this year is taking place on Monday, September 8 at 7 pm in the school library. Council meetings generally last about an hour. At the top of the agenda for this month is completing the Parent Volunteer Handbook. We always welcome seeing new parent and community members. If there are any questions throughout the year, please do not hesitate to contact me at alice.paisleyellis@yahoo.com. We look forward to seeing both old and new faces out at our first meeting of the 2014-2015 school year. Sincerely, Alice Paisley-Ellis (School Council Chair) 8:25 8:40 11:00-11:20 11:20-11:40 1:00-1:20 1:20-1:40 3:00 Balanced Day Schedule Playground Supervision Begins Students enter building Outdoor Play Lunch Outdoor Play Snack Dismissal Early Dismissal Days at 1:00 p.m. Students in all elementary and secondary Bluewater schools will be dismissed at 1:00 p.m. on the following four Wednesdays in order to schedule staff development sessions. October 8, 2014 April 15, 2015 December 3, 2014 May 6, 2015 We appreciate the support of parents in making alternate arrangements for their children on these days. We hope this advance notice will provide adequate time for this to happen again this year. These dates are also noted in the planner. Professional Activity Days – 2014-2015 Friday, September 26, 2014 Friday, October 24, 2014 Friday, November 21, 2014 Friday, January 30, 2015 Friday, June 5, 2015 Friday, June 26, 2015 For children born in 2011, there will be a “Let’s Learn Clinic” - Kindergarten Registration for Elgin Market School and KTTPS. It will be held at Ecole Elgin Market Public School on Thursday, October 23, 2014 9:00-5:00pm Watch the October Newsletter for more details. NUT FREE ZONE Just a friendly reminder that we strive to be a “Nut Free Zone” at Elgin Market School. We have a growing number of students in the school with severe allergies to peanuts and various other varieties of nuts, so we ask that students’ lunches contain nut free products. We thank you for your support in maintaining the safety of our students. Information about packing nut free lunches for your children can be found at: http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/viewdocument.aspx?id=41 Planners are an important organizational and communication tool used daily by our Grades 1-7 students. Planners are given to each student at the beginning of the year at a cost of $6.00 each. If you feel you need assistance to purchase a planner for your child or children, please Mme. Wilson at the school at 396-8115, ext. 527. It is current board policy that students who do not have a signed permission form for any school trip off school grounds will not be able to attend. Students who do not return permission forms will remain at the school and receive alternate programming. We appreciate all of your support in these policies. Toonies for Terry On Wednesday, September 24th, the grades 1 to 7 students at Ecole Elgin Market will be participating in the nationwide Terry Fox walk to raise money for cancer research. We will be walking from the school to the Canadian flag by the Tiny Tot Park and back. Please ensure that your child is dressed in appropriate clothing and footwear. Your child’s teacher will be collecting Toonies for Terry daily during the week of September 22nd. If every student brought in a Toonie, we would reach our goal of $400. “Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue.” - Terry Fox Consider Purchasing Student Accident Insurance Important Dates – September Sept. 8 Sept. 12 Sept. 15 Sept. 24 Sept. 25 Sept. 26 Sept. 30 School Council Meeting 7 pm in the library Peace Day at Huron Heights For Grades 6 and 7 Spirit Day – Wear items associated with ‘peace’ Home & School meeting 8 pm in the library Terry Fox Walk Staff Barbecue PA Day Pizza Have you purchased accident insurance for your child? It is a low cost way to provide benefits for dental injuries and other accidents which may occur through your child’s participation in sports and other school activities. The basic insurance can be purchased for as little as $8 per year to cover accidents which occur during school hours. Reduced family rates are available for all packages and multi-year options are also available. We invite you to visit Elgin Market’s School Website to find out about the latest news and events at the school. Our school newsletter, as well as Home and School newsletters can be found there. OUR FAMILY READING MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER IS RETURNING SOON - AND THIS YEAR IT IS BIGGER AND BETTER! INTRODUCING MAGAZINES & MEMORIES - NEW THIS YEAR – PHOTO PRODUCTS! Each year, we hold our magazine subscription fundraiser to raise money to benefit our students while also encouraging more at home reading. The success of the program depends on your participation. “To Remember This” – New this year! Make your own photo keepsakes! Choose from cards, calendars, stickers, posters, photo books, chore charts, and more! You can create your own keepsake, share your keepsake online, or give as gifts. You make the memories and this program helps you keep them! Please save your magazine subscription renewals for our sale. It is only when you renew directly through our program that our school receives any profit from your order. If you are anxious to renew before the official campaign begins, you can support us today by shopping online! It’s easy . . . visit www.QSP.ca! All early orders will count towards your child’s rewards. Thank you in advance for your support. Please remember that your participation in this fundraiser is voluntary. Breakfast Club Did you know that Elgin Market Public School has a Breakfast Club? All students can come inside the school and grab something nutritious to eat before school starts, each and every morning. Sometime, there is toast or waffles or scrambled eggs. There is always cheese and various fruits such as apples and oranges. This club is run by volunteers. We are looking for new families/volunteers who could help make and serve breakfast on Wednesday and Friday mornings. If you are interested, please contact Marga Wilson at: (519) 396-8115 x 527 Reminders Have you ever forgotten whether it was a special food day, a class trip, an assembly or money was due in for an activity? You can register to receive reminders of events happening at Elgin Market the night before the actual event. Here are two ways to register: 1) Go to the following link: www.remind.com/join/elgi nma 2) Mrs. Wilson created Elgin Market Families on Remind. Follow these steps to join! 1. Download the Remind app. It’s free! 2. Enter the class code @elginma Remind is a simple way for you to stay informed and up-to-date with what’s happening in the school. By joining the ‘class’ on Remind, you’re choosing to receive messages via push notifications, SMS, or email. Don’t worry, your phone number will not be shared with anyone else. If you have any questions, please contact Marga Wilson at: (519) 3968115 x 527 FIRST Lego League 2014 FIRST LEGO® League (FLL), created through a partnership between FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and The LEGO Group, inspires future scientists and engineers. Become a member of the team!! The 2014 Lego League Challenge is beginning! Teams consist of up to 10 kids, ages 9-14. Teams will meet once a week until the beginning of December, to prepare a presentation and build and program their robot for the challenge. There will be a $50 fee to participate in the program. This fee will cover the cost of equipment, t shirts and tournament fees. Parents can find more information about the program at http://firstlegoleague.org/parents The team will be meeting Monday and Thursday nights from 6 to 8pm at Huron Heights. Students, parents and interested coaches are invited to a brief information session at the beginning of the first meeting Monday, September 15th at 6pm at Huron Heights. Coaches and mentors are needed! Hope to see you there! For more information, contact Gwen Cavasotto at gwen_cavasotto@bwdsb.on.ca Terracycle Elgin Market’s Green Team is again participating in the Terracycle program. If you have any of the below items, please drop them off at the school at your convenience. 1) Mr. Cookie snack size wrappers 2) Plastic diaper packaging and wipes packaging 3) Schneider’s Lunchmate plastic containers 4) All Aircare Febreze products (empty containers) 5) Inkjet cartridges 6) old cell phones 7) old laptops 8) old digital cameras 9) old MP3 players 10) used Tassamo cups 11) drink pouches 12) coffee bags 13) MOM brand cereal bags Thanks for your help in keeping the environment clean.