177 Rickson Avenue, Guelph, Ontario N1G 4Y6
Tel. 519.766.0862
Fax 519.766.0720
“Where Children Come First”
WELCOME BACK ! SEPTEMBER 2015
Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer and that you are eager to start
a new beginning.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Ms. Woytko
as our new VP, new staff and families to Rickson Ridge
P.S. We look forward to getting to know you and encourage
you and your family to participate in the many wonderful opportunities available at this school throughout the year. We
are also looking forward to becoming reacquainted with
those faces that are more familiar, and that we have missed
over the summer!
At Rickson, we encourage a strong parent–school
partnership in order to maximize student success. We invite
all parents to become involved in the education of their
children, and encourage open communication.
Please contact us with any questions, concerns or positive
feedback. The first school event we would like to invite you
to is the School Open House & Book Fair on Tuesday September 122nd at 5:30– 7:00pm. We look
forward to seeing you then!
S. Guest
8:45
Entry Bell
8:45-9:35
Period 1
9:35-10:25
Period 2
10:25-11:10
Recess
11:10-12:00
Period 3
12:00-12:50
Period 4
12:50-1:10
Lunch
1:10– 1:35
Lunch Recess
1:35-2:25
Period 5
2:25-3:15
Period 6
3:15
Dismissal Bell
Staff Assignments 2014-2015
Assignment
Staff
KA
Ms. Rimando,T. McIntyre
KB
Ms. Lau, M Page
Rickson Ridge considers its par-
KC
Ms. Marsden, Ms.Metcalf
ent and community volunteers a
Grade 1C
Ms. Mumford
Grade 1/2A
Ms Hingston/Ms. Klimczuk
community members are encour-
Grade 1/2B
Ms. Cloutier /Mrs. Abra
aged to help in the classroom , on
Grade 2/3 D
Mr. Farmer
school trips, assist in the library
Grade 2/3 C
Ms. Scott
or with extra-curricular activities,
Grade 3/4A
Ms. Anderson
Grade 4B
Mr. Robinson
Grade 5B
Mr. Allison/Ms. Painting
Grade 5/6 A
Mr. Perry
Grade 6 B
Mr. Strimas
Grade 7 B
Ms. Stone
Grade 8B
Mr. Kumbhani
Grade 7/8A
Mr. Selman
Grade 8 C
Ms. Walker
Grade 8 D
Mr. McIver
Grade 8 B/JR6
Mr. Rees
SPE1
Ms. Chapman
Resource
Ms. Chick
Jr./Int. Core French
Ms. Koivisto/Ms. Tavares
Music
Mr. Duncan
Library
Ms. Patrick
EA
Ms. O’Brien, Ms. Sibley, Ms.
EA
Ms. Foley, Mrs. Mackenzie,
CYC
Ms. Booth
Office Co-ordinator
Ms. Mullin, Ms. Campagnolo
Head Custodian
Mr. McMahon
Custodian
Ms. Bryant
Vice Principal
Ms. Woytko
Page
2
Principal
Ms. Guest
special resource. Parents and
and participate on School Council. Being a volunteer is a wonderful way of participating in your
child’s education!
Medical Concerns
If your child has a serious medical condition, please contact the child’s teacher and the
office. We need to be provided with up-to-date information and medication. A Life Threatening
Management Form must be completed by the parent and the doctor. This information will be kept on
file and shared so that all staff will be knowledgeable of emergency procedures.
Parents should administer medication at home whenever possible. When medication must be
administered by school personnel, it will be kept in the office. Non-prescription oral medication as
well as prescription medication requires the completion of an authorization form before medication
can be administered. This form is available at the school office.
Allergies
We have several students and a teacher with life threatening allergic reactions to
peanut butter and other nuts, milk, sesame seeds, eggs, dairy, goat/sheep products
and fish. The safety of all our students is very important to us. Please be aware that, due to
legislation requiring every school to reduce risk of exposure of anaphylactic causative agents, we
are asking parents to avoid sending the specified foods containing allergens to classrooms. If a
student happens to bring a specific allergen into a classroom with a life threatening allergy, the
student will be given the option of eating in another classroom or the office. Thank you for your
ongoing help in avoiding sending these items to school and thank you for helping us keep all
members of our school safe.
Family Handbook
Your child will be bringing home a Family Handbook. We encourage you to read the Handbook and
discuss pertinent sections with your child. It contains important information about procedures,
routines, homework guidelines, code of conduct, etc. that you and your child must be familiar with.
Please be sure to read the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Contact the
Principal in writing if you have any objections to the use or disclosure of your child’s personal
information.
Page 3
Student Admission Forms
We will be sending home a copy of your child’s student admission form for you to check, update,
sign and return by the end of the 1st week. Please be very accurate with your contact information and include an emergency contact we can call if you are not available. Also include any important medical information. Please call the office if any information changes during the
school year.
Student Agendas
Students in grades 1 to 8 will have the opportunity to buy student agendas at a cost of $10 each.
These agendas will be used as a form of communication between school and families. Students
will also be writing their homework assignments in them. Students should bring the money to their
teachers by Friday, September 11.
COME TO THE RICKSON RIDGE P.S.
OPEN HOUSE
AND BOOK FAIR!
Tuesday, September 22nd
At 5:30pm
We look forward to seeing you!
Operation Back to School
City of Guelph Police and By-Law will be conducting a “TRAFFIC SAFETY AWARENESS “ Campaign that will focus on school zones to remind drivers to adhere to all
traffic laws within school zones. There will be a marked increase in officer presence
within school zones during the first couple of weeks of school. Remember, students
are our number one priority. Please drive carefully and help us protect our most vulnerable resource !
Page 4
Message from School Council
Welcome back to another exciting year! If you are new to the school, welcome to our school community.
Please consider coming out to our first Council meeting on Tuesday September 15 at 7:00pm in the library. We
would be happy to answer any questions you may have and would welcome your involvement and participation.
Hope to see you!
Attendance—Safe Arrival Program
Please call the office (519.766-0862 ext.100) before 8:15 am if your child is going to be
absent or late. The voice mail can take your messages 24 hours a day. Please supply us with the
student name(s), class(es) and reason(s) for absence/lateness. The Ministry’s Safe Arrival
Program mandates that we call parents of absent students if we have not been informed, by a
parent, of the reason for the absence. If we cannot reach you at home or at work, we will attempt
to call your emergency contact person. Late students must report to the office for a late slip before
going to class, so the attendance register can be amended.
Board Policy on Safe Arrival reads:
It is the responsibility of parents to:

provide current telephone contacts such as: home phone number, work number of both parents, number of caregiver, number of safe arrival contact, and emergency contact numbers
on the student admission/information form;

update the information during the school year;

communicate with the school, prior to the start of school in the morning or afternoon, when
the child will be absent or late for any reason;

provide written permission for their child to leave the school during the day

inform the school when their child will be returning after an absence of more than one day.
Safe Departurek
Please send authorization in writing if someone other than the legal guardian is going to pick
your child up from school. The authorized adult may also be asked for photo identification.
If it is necessary for a child to leave early, or to leave for a period during the day for an
appointment, a note must be sent to the teacher. For the safety of your child, we request that you
come into the school to sign him/her out at the office. We cannot send students out to waiting
cars.
Page 5
School Organization
Schools have built class lists based on their tentative organizations. Changes may be necessary
in order that our Board remain compliant with Ministry parameters (see below). Principals do not
have the option of changing the school organization that is set by the District Staffing Committee
of the Board. If changes affect your child(ren), you will be informed by the school.




Ministry of Education Parameters
90% of the Board’s primary classes with 20 or fewer students
10% of the Board’s primary classes up to a maximum of 23 students
Grade 3/4 classes have a cap of 23 students
Junior/Intermediate Class Size Average for the Board is 25.2 students 1 teacher
P.A. Days 2015—2016
There will be five Professional Activity days this year. Please note for babysitting purposes that
there is no school for students on the following dates:
Full day: PA days Oct. 30th, Nov. 27th, Jan. 22nd, Jun 3rd, Jun 30th
Page 6
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/
sex-education-ontario.
Page 7