CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHOOL
Phone: 519 821-7990 Fax: 519- 821-8270
September 2015 Newsletter
Principal: R MurrayCako
Office Coordinator: S. Greisman
Principals Message
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to
another year in the Central Public School
community. We have an exciting year of discovery
and learning. I look forward to the opportunity to
interact with you and your family.
Please know my door is always open to concerns,
questions and creative suggestions on how to
enhance your child’s school experience. Do not
hesitate to contact me.
It has been a very busy summer for many who have
worked hard to prepare our school for this school
year. The school looks amazing!
We are excited for the community to see the new
flooring that was put in the library and the Arts room
over the summer. The Custodial team worked very
hard to ensure the building is clean and ready for
both staff and students.
The Central staff have been busy over the summer
preparing lessons and classrooms. It is an exciting
time of year for all.
We have some new families to our community and I
would like to extend a warm welcome form the
Central School Team. We are all looking forward to
an excellent school year!
Classroom Organization
Within the first week of school we work closely
with the board’s staffing committee around student
numbers and class organization. Once this has been
completed there may be a need to reorganize our
classes if there are significant changes from what
was expected in June. If required to do so, teachers
and support staff meet with the principal (as they do
in June) and will review student class placements
and build classes. This is a careful and thoughtful
process. We will inform all affected
students/families as soon as possible and make all
efforts to ensure this process is smooth.
Safe Arrival Program
Your child’s safety is one of our primary concerns.
If your child is going to be absent or late for school,
please contact the school prior to 8:30 a.m. We have
an answering machine which allows you to call the
school at any time, day or night. If your child is
absent and you have not contacted the office by
9:00 a.m., we will attempt to contact you first at
home, then at work and, if necessary, we will
contact your emergency contact person. As a last
resort, the police will be called.
Contact number: 519 821-7990 ext. 100
In order to stay in contact, please help by making
sure we have your most up to date home, work, cell
and emergency contact telephone numbers.
Central School Day
8:45 – First Bell
8:45 – 9:35 Period 1
9:35 – 10:25 Period 2
10:25 – 11:10 – First Nutrition Break
11:10 – 12:00 Period 3
12:00 – 12:50 Period 4
12:50 – 1:35 – Second Nutrition Break
1:35 – 2:25 Period 5
2:25 – 3:15 Period 6
Late Arrival
Arriving late to school is hard on the late student.
Thank you for your assistance in promoting good
habits of attendance with your children.
Mark Your Calendars
 September 15th – Patrol Recruit
 September 22nd – All forms to be returned
 September 22nd – School Council Welcome
to new Families and Fresh Food Party
 September 30th – Terry Fox Walk
member (commit to attending 6 out of 8 meetings if
possible). We are always looking for new faces and
new ideas (and would welcome with open arms
those interested in coordinating fundraising
projects, and community building events!).
Our first meeting for 2015/16 is
Monday, Sept. 28th
6:30pm in the library - please join us!
Check out our website
(http://centralpublicschoolguelph.weebly.com) for
more information and event dates.
School Council
Central School Council welcomes all the families
who are new to Central, and welcomes back all of
our returning families! We hope you had a
wonderful summer and look forward to seeing all of
you this fall. Our first Central event is the Fresh
Food Party and everyone is invited; it’s a great
opportunity to get to know our school community!
Save the date: Tuesday September 22nd 6:00-7:00
(more details to come).
The goal of School Council is to work with our
school and our community to enhance our
children’s school experience. Through committee
work we: strive to raise funds in fun and creative
ways; re-imagine outdoor spaces to provide
green/natural/welcoming/fun places; create a
thriving and inclusive community through social
events; and encourage communication between all
members of the school community. There are many
ways you can become involved: on the front lines,
or behind the scenes; during the day, evening or
weekend; for a one-time event or an on-going basis;
and according to your interests and skills. It’s a
great way to learn about our school, and to make
new friends! You are welcome to observe our
(almost) monthly meetings, or to become a voting
School Council Annual Fresh Food Party
All families are invited to join us on Tuesday,
September 22nd for our first special event of the
year. Watch for more information to come!
Agendas
Your child received an agenda the first day of
school. Please support the use of agendas by
sending $6.00 with your child.
Picture Day
The photographers from Lifetouch Canada will be
visiting our school for student pictures on
Wednesday, October 16th. Watch for order forms
that will be distributed prior to this date.
Important Forms
A package of forms will be coming home at the end
of this week. Please take some time to look through
the forms to ensure they are accurate, sign and
return to the school. If changes are required please
make them directly on the form, sign, date and
return to your child’s homeroom.
School Excursions
Throughout the school year, many of our classes
will be going on a variety of excursions that require
bus transportation. Trip forms will be sent home to
be signed by parents OR guardians. Walking trips
in our Central School community are also a vital
part of our school programs. Occasionally students
will leave the school with their class to visit a local
park or perhaps to enjoy a nature walk. A blanket
trip form is included in your startup package to
cover this type of excursion for the school year.
Teacher-Parent supervision will always be provided
for any excursion, and our expectations for student
behaviour are clearly outlined in our “Code of
Positive Student Behaviour”. This information can
be found in the agendas. Please review with your
child.
Student Accident Insurance
Parents or guardians are responsible for expenses
related to student injuries on school premises during
school activities. Accidents can and do happen and
the costs involved might not be fully covered by
Provincial Health Care or employer group insurance
plans.
The Upper Grand District School Board is
empowered under the Education Act to offer
Accident and Life Insurance for students.
Information has been sent home with respect to
Student Accident Insurance offered by the Old
Republic Insurance Company of Canada (“Old
Republic”). You should receive the Director’s
letter, an Acknowledgment to be signed by parents
(and returned to school) and a Student Accident
Insurance Application form (to be mailed directly to
Old Republic). Old Republic offers a variety of
options, including family rates and multi-year plans,
at affordable prices. The cost must be paid by
parents or guardian.
Subscription is directly through Old Republic by
mail or on line. Questions should be directed to Old
Republic at 1-800-463-5437 or
www.insuremykids.com
Medication Policy
If your child needs to take medication at school, the
Upper Grand District School Board requires that a
form 509-3 be completed prior to administration of
any and all medication by staff. The requirement is
for the parent to sign the form that also requests
information about the medication itself. This
ensures that instructions are clear to everyone
involved and that the safety of your child is
protected. All medication must be in the original
container that is provided by the pharmacy with the
appropriate instructions.
Life Threatening Management Plans
Each year we compile a list of students who have
potentially life threatening medical conditions. If
this is the case, please indicate on the verification
form, and we will send home paper work to be
completed.
Lunch
If your child is to stay for lunch, we require your
assistance in supporting the following rules:
 Children must not share food with other
children.
 Please be sensitive to the presence of food
allergies by not sending identified problem
foods, if any, for your child’s class.
If you wish to remove your child from school
during lunchtime, please notify the office.
From the Library
Please stop by to check out our newly renovated
library! It looks great. The library needs
volunteers. Even 30 minutes a week is very
helpful! Please place a note in your child's agenda
if you are available and Ms Brennagh will get in
touch with you.
The library is on the 5 day cycle mandated by the
provincial government, rather than the Monday
to Friday schedule. Students in grades Kindergarten
to grade 3/4 will follow the 5 day cycle. Students in
the 4/5 and 5/6 classes have a library exchange
twice a week at the beginning of the school day.
Do you believe that all children can excel in mathematics?
Do you believe that children are born with the math gene?
Do you believe that children can suffer from math anxiety?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then please take a moment and continue reading.
This year our work in math will continue to focus on helping your children understand that math is about
learning, not performing. Research indicates that every time any one of us makes a mistake in math our brains
grow and connections are made1. We need to help our children understand that making mistakes is not a ‘bad’
thing. Making mistakes is how we understand and get better at math.
At school, we want to help your children understand that math is about problem solving, reasoning and proving,
making connections, communicating their thinking and persisting when tasks are challenging. We want to help
them adopt an “I Can do Math” attitude.
In order for this to happen, we need to teach math differently than the way many of us were taught. No longer is
the teacher robotically demonstrating mathematical methods that your children don’t understand or care about.
Sebastian Thru, CEO of Udacity, says that we do not and cannot know what mathematics students will need in
the future. The best preparation we can give them is to teach them to be quantitatively literate, think flexibility
and creatively and pre-solve and use intuition as they develop mathematical ideas2. Math is about so much more
than plugging numbers into a formula. Math is about children actively engaging with the problems, so that they
understand how math is used in their own life. We need to teach our children to use mathematics in the world
they will live in now and tomorrow. We’re not sure what that world will look like, although we do know that it
will be different from the world we grew up in. We also know that we want our students to love math and say
with confidence “I can do math”. As parents we think you want that too!
For ideas to support your children in math go to www.YouCubed.org
UGDSB Curriculum Department
1. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education 7, no.1 , January 2012
2. What’s Math Got to Do With It, Jo Boaler, 20
In September the new Health and Physical Education curriculum will be fully implemented in Ontario schools.
For elementary schools, the new curriculum has existed for several years, but will now include an updated
portion of its ‘Healthy Living’ component to include Human Development and Sexual Health. The document
as a whole aims to educate children to understand themselves and others, think critically to make healthy
choices, develop and maintain healthy relationships, be safe physically and emotionally, and to be physically
active for life. The curriculum is available on the Ministry of Education’s website.
The Human Development and Sexual Health component of the curriculum had not been updated since 1998.
Since then much has changed and kids need to know more to keep themselves healthy and safe. This education
starts with children learning about themselves, their feelings, their bodies and about showing respect for
themselves and others in a reliable and accurate way. This learning is most effective when parents and schools
work together. Parents help their children form values about relationships and their behaviours. Teachers will
endeavour to communicate upcoming topics from the Human Development and Sexual Health units to families.
Open and honest conversations at home about body parts, their functions, physical changes, healthy
relationships and effective living habits help children connect learning and lets them know they have someone
to talk to about questions they might have. Questions about topics can always be directed to the teacher or
school principal.
As mentioned above, Human Development and Sexual Health is one sub-component of the curriculum. The
document also focuses on skills related to Active Living, which involves physical fitness, safety and active
participation; Movement, which teaches specific movement and physical activity skills and tactics; and Healthy
Living, which focuses on understanding health concepts, making healthy choices and making connections to
healthy living.
There are plenty of ways you can support your children’s learning from the Health and Physical Education
curriculum. Consider what you and your child can do together that is fun and healthy. Enjoying physical
activity or making meals together is a great start. Ask your child and their teacher about what is being taught
and have discussions where you provide factual, straightforward answers to your child`s questions. Finally,
learn how to be safe online and use that information to guide your child’s use of any device that connects to the
internet. There are plenty of resources available for parents to support the learning from the HPE curriculum.
The best place to start is the Ministry of Education’s website:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health.html or at https://www.ontario.ca/page/sexeducation-ontario.