April 2015 Newsletter - J.R. Henderson School

James R. Henderson Public School
Principal’s Message
Welcome to Spring! After another long winter, we are all looking forward to the
warmer temperatures and first sightings of robins, spring flowers poking through the
ground and trees beginning to bud. Spring is also a time when we can get back to
spending more time outdoors and can consider using a method of active transportation
such as walking or cycling to get to school. As you know, we have been working hard to
manage the flow of cars which bring children to school every day. Our most recent
Intercept survey on January 15, showed that 100 cars brought children to school that
day. That is a huge number! Although we know that some family schedules require
children to be driven to school, our students should actually be either be walking or
coming on a school bus.
Spring is a great time to give some thought to your child walking or cycling to school. We
currently have one Walking School Bus route operating. The Westpark-Conservatory PondAuden Park Walking Bus route runs on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays mornings and
our other Walking School Bus routes will resume shortly. In addition to the three Walking
School Bus routes which operated last fall, we also had one Cycling School Bus. Joining a
Walking or Cycling School Bus is a wonderful way for your child to start their day with
some physical activity and gives you the peace of mind that your child is getting to school
under the supervision of a caring adult from our school community. For details about all
routes, please go to http://jrhenderson.limestone.on.ca/School_Council/. If you would
like to start a Walking or Cycling School Bus route in your neighbourhood, please email
the school at jrhen@limestone.on.ca
Our Walking/Cycling School Bus program was highlighted in a recent article in the
Kingston Whig Standard. Please see http://www.thewhig.com/2015/02/23/programhits-the-ground-running to read the article. Many thanks to our “Bus Leaders" Theresa,
Kaoru, Heather, Janet, Erika, Cam, Kate and Lorne.
Thanks to Julia McKay, Whig Standard reporter/photographer, for the great article and
photo.
Through the work of our Active Transportation Committee, it was determined that our
students’ ability to walk or cycle safely to school would be greatly improved with the
addition of sidewalks on key streets. Representatives from the school and School Council
presented this information to the City of Kingston last July and I am very pleased to report
that our priority sidewalks are part of the City’s new four year Capital plan. Sometime over
the next four years, you will see new sidewalks on
•
Ashley Cres - FROM the Chelsea Rd/Ashley Cres pathway TO Henderson Blvd
•
Fairfax Dr - FROM the end of existing sidewalk TO Henderson Blvd
•
Henderson Blvd – FROM Glen Cairn Terr TO Meadowcrest Rd
We are very grateful for the continuing work of the Active Transportation Committee!
Please email the school if you would like to join this group.
Every year, School Council engages in a variety of fundraising activities which provides
funds to enhance student learning in and outside the classroom. The staff is very grateful
for this support and appreciate the participation of families in Hot Lunch, Magazine sales
and Movie Night. This spring sees the return of a Henderson tradition- MAYFAIR is back!
Mark May 21 from 5-7:30 pm on your calendar now! Your family will not want to miss this
fun-filled event! Please see inside this newsletter for more details.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher, Mrs. Leggett or myself
with any questions or concerns about your child at school.
B. Moore
Follow us on
Twitter!
J.R.Henderson
now has a
twitter account, and
you can follow us at
@JRHenPS_LDSB.
Upcoming Events &
Important Dates…….
th
*Thursday, April 9 –
7p.m. Health Futures
Evening at Frontenac
Secondary School
th
*Wednesday, April 15 –
p.m. Sedore/Landis classes
to Loyalist Gymnastics
th
*Thursday, April 16 Graduation Photos &
Sibling Photos
*Wednesday, April 22
– p.m. Sedore/Landis
classes to Loyalist
Gymnastics
nd
rd
*Thursday, April 23 –
6:45 p.m. School Council
Meeting
*Tuesday, April 28th –
Goddard/Hearn/Kimmerer
to Gould Lake
2015/2016 Kindergarten Registration
Registration for kindergarten has begun. Forms can be found on the Limestone District School board website www.limestone.on.ca or
may be picked up at the school’s office. Once the forms are completed, please return them to the school’s office together with a copy of
the child’s immunization record, health card (optional) and proof of citizenship (ie birth certificate). You will also need to provide
documentation of your residential address (ie utility statement, driver’s license, etc.) Completed registration forms will be accepted at the
school office during the hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Lost and Found
Survey regarding
the
Implementation of
PPM 140 Incorporating
Methods of Applied
Behaviour Analysis
(ABA) into
Programs for
Students with
Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) by
School Boards
2015 is open on
the LDSB Website
as of March 25,
2015. The link for
the parent survey
is:
https://www.surve
ymonkey.com/s/P
PM140PARENTSU
RVEY2015. This
survey will be open
until May 31,
2015.
The Lost and Found bins at
Henderson continue to
overflow with an enormous
number of shoes, boots,
snowpants, sweatshirts, hats,
mitts and gloves. All items will
be displayed on tables by the
gym from Apr 7- 15. Children
seem to have trouble
identifying their lost items so if
you provide a brief description
of the items you know your
child is missing, we can help
locate them. The agenda is a
great place for that
information. Any items
remaining after April 15 will be
donated to a local charity.
Water, Water, Everywhere
and a lot of Mud!
Now that spring is FINALLY
here, our yard has some
very wet and muddy areas.
It is very important that
your child has a few extra
pairs of socks and a
change of pants at school.
Splash pants and rubber
boots are highly
recommended as the water
is the huge draw for
students of all ages!
RUNNING CLUB
After this long winter, we are
happy to announce plans are
in place for the start of our
spring Running Club. Running
Club is the official warm-up to
Track and Field season and is
a great way for students to
begin their training. Students
from grades 3-8 are welcome
to participate and Mme.
McIsaac is looking for any
parents who are interested in
coaching or helping to
supervise our athletes. Once
we have a few volunteers, we
will begin to put together a
schedule for practices before
school and after school,
depending on the availability
of coaches. We are hoping to
begin training very soon as
there are district road races
planned for early May.
Shortly after the road races, a
number of staff members will
be involved in coaching our
Track and Field team. Please
email jrhen@limestone.on.ca
if you are interested in
helping out with Running
Club.
SAFETY REMINDER!!!!
We appreciate your efforts to use the front of our school as a STUDENT DROP OFF ZONE from 8:45am to 9:15am
on school days. During this time you are permitted to stop for a maximum of 3 minutes and you must stay with
your vehicle. When dropping your child off, please encourage your child to use the entrance by the gym to get to
the Primary Yard or the sidewalks around the north and south parking lots. We ask that you do not park at the
front of the school between 8:45 and 9:15. If you need to walk your child into the school yard, please use one of the
approximately 180 parking spaces located within a 3 minute walk (250 metres) of a school yard entrance. Please refer
to the map attached to this newsletter for parking locations close to the school. We have a team of parents that meet
on a regular basis to discuss student transportation. If you would like to participate, please send an email to
jrhen@limestone.on.ca .
School Council Meeting:
Your next School Council meeting will be
on Thursday April 23th at 6:45 – meetings are
held at the school and all parents, guardians and
community members are welcome to
attend. Child care is provided.
If you have any questions about these meetings,
please contact Carrie at carrie.miles@cogeco.ca.
We hope to see you there!
JR HENDERSON MAYFAIR
THURSDAY MAY 21st, 2015 5:00pm – 7:30pm
BBQ, Games, Silent Auction and More!!!!
Mayfair will be a fun-filled family event for the entire school community. All proceeds from this event
will be used towards refurbishing our Library, which will be moved into the much larger space
currently used for the Computer Lab, when it is dismantled this summer. The Mayfair Committee is
hoping to raise significant funds at the Silent Auction and is looking for donations such as a product or
a gift certificate from businesses operated by Henderson families.
In recognition of your community support, your business name and business card will be displayed
at the Silent Auction tables. In addition, to show our appreciation of your generosity, the name of
your business will be included in our Mayfair thank you in the June edition of this newsletter. Please
include with your donation:
• 3 business cards or other business flyer/menu
• Value of the donation
If you would like to make a donation for the Mayfair Silent Auction, please contact Allyson Tonelli at
allysontonelli@gmail.com or call Allyson at 613-484-1863 in order to arrange drop off/pickup.