HYLAND HEIGHTS E.S. HAWK TALK
FEBRUARY NEWS, 2014
Dear Parents, Guardians, & Caregivers;
On behalf of Hyland Heights staff, I want you to know how much your care,
concern, and thoughtfulness is appreciated. This past Monday, when buses
didn’t run due to poor weather and road conditions, we were overwhelmed
(in a good way) by the number of parents who called in early to report their
child’s absence, saving the office precious time in making dozens of phone
calls to ensure every student is safe as soon as possible. Calling in to
report your child’s absence is important everyday, but especially critical on
days where the weather itself can put students at risk if they have not
arrived safely. Thank-you for calling in! At the end of today Wednesday, we
were again sharing appreciation for the incredible support and
understanding you showed during a very unpredictable weather day. When
buses arrived this morning, we anticipated that they would also be able to
return students home at the end of the day. With many roads being closed
and blowing snow causing some dangerous conditions, it required all of us
to work together to ensure students could either be safely picked up or with
parent consent, billeted to a friend’s place in town. Please know that safety
is always our first priority and we are grateful that we have such incredible
parents who work with us each and every day to put children first. Thank
you also to the parents who arrived to offer any support that may have been
needed, should some of our students not be able to make it home safely.
We are grateful that you are a part of the Hyland Heights community!
Thank-you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
D.Heaslip
Live Free Day on Friday, February 28th
Ever have one of those days when the alarm did not go off and everyone
runs around madly trying to get dressed and not miss the bus, without time
for toast? Or those days when nobody called “last bag of milk” so there’s
no cereal this morning? There are many reasons and many times when
The Breakfast Program is needed. Whether that is once, or once a month,
once in a blue moon or once in awhile....we are here when you need us.
The Live Free Campaign encourages each of us to support this need.
We can do this by doing without something that we do not need – for just
one day. So if you can Live Free of your favourite treat (maybe it’s
chocolate, or coffee, maybe it’s a treat at the booth after hockey practice or
that video game rental) for just one day ...why not donate a bit of the
money you save to a great program that fills the needs of your school every
day? Donations to the Live Free Campaign collected at Hyland Heights
today will directly support the HHES breakfast club.
Principal, D. Heaslip
519-925-3745, Attendance: Ext. 100
* Press ‘0’ to connect directly with the office
School Council Meetings
Please note that the next meeting
is on Monday, February 10th.
All parents are welcomed to attend
and babysitting is available!
Feb 10 & Mar 3
Family Day is Feb 17th
Wishing you some special time
with family and friends on this day.
2014-2015
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten Registration takes
place at Hyland Heights E.S. from
February 3rd-7th
@ 9:30-11:0
and 2:15-3:45
Wear Red on February 14th
and Raise some Spirit!
Library News
A new addition to the line-up of
activities taking place in the library this
year is “The Craft Club”. Organized and
run by Grade 8 students, Sierra,
Samantha and Jade, “The Craft Club” is for all
interested students in Grades 1-3. Organized
around seasonal holidays, students have already
had the opportunity to make handprint turkeys for
Thanksgiving, as well as tree ornaments and
reindeer candy canes for Christmas. Keep your
eyes open for a cute Valentine craft that might be
coming home soon. Thanks so much to Sierra,
Samantha and Jade for providing this “crafty”
opportunity for some of our youngest students!
Child Abuse Prevention Policy & Program
The Upper Grand District School Board places a
high priority on the safety of our students. The Child
Abuse Prevention Policy is evidence of our
commitment to this priority. “Every citizen in the
community shares a responsibility for our children”.
School officials and teachers share this collective
community responsibility for creating safe and
nurturing environments for children. As required in
the policy, we will be teaching age-appropriate
lessons to help our students identify abuse and
protect themselves from abusive situations. The
goal is to provide children with the tools they need
to keep themselves safe. Lessons cover a broad
range of safety issues including bullying, stranger
danger, and abuse by a known and trusted adult.
These will occur during the month of March and
April for grades one, three, and five. While there is
not a formal program in grades two, four, and six,
safety concepts are reviewed by classroom
teachers. We encourage you to discuss with your
child at home, the concepts taught in the Child
Abuse Prevention Curriculum. For more information
regarding the Child Abuse Prevention Policy and/or
Programs, please contact D. Heaslip or
T. McCabe, (Child & Youth Counselor).
Hyland Heights Me to We
Hyland Heights Me to We are dedicated to ensuring
Musa, a 17 year old resident of Ugunja Kenya
continues with his high school education in order to
fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor in his
community. The past two years we have been able
to pay for Musa to write his exams and continue his
education. This year we have a goal of $500 to
send to Musa's school. Our first fundraiser will be
bracelet grams, during the week of February 10th
we will be selling rainbow loom bracelets that our
dedicated Me to We group have been busy
making. These bracelets will be on sale for $1.00
each, and you can attach a note for a special friend
which will be delivered in our school, to the
recipient on February 14th in time for Valentines
day! All money raised will go directly to supporting
our friend Musa. This is a unique experience for our
Me to We group since we have a personal
connection to Musa through one of our Me to We
leaders!
Health Risks of Extreme Cold
www.wdgpublichealth.ca
Frostbite
 Can occur when temperatures drop below zero.
 Can cause permanent damage (including loss of
limbs) if not treated immediately.
 Risk increases as the wind chill drops. At a wind chill
of -28ᵒC, exposed skin can freeze in 10 minutes.
Symptoms The skin:
 Initially starts to appear yellow or white but still feels
soft to the touch
 Tingles or burns
 May turn pale, waxy, and hard to the touch, or go
numb as frostbite gets more severe
At the first signs of frostbite:
 Protect the exposed skin.
 Get out of the cold.
 Warm the skin gradually using body heat (do not rub).
 Once warm, do not re-expose affected area to the
cold.
 Seek medical attention if the frostbite is serious (pale,
waxy skin that is hard to the touch; affected area is
numb).
Homework Help: FREE MATH
TUTORING
Homework Help is Ontario’s free,
online math tutoring website for
students in Grades 7-10. It
provides free, live one on one
tutoring with Ontario certified teachers five days a
week, Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 pm to 9:30
pm ET. Tutors work together with students on a
shared screen until students understand their math
homework. Online math resources are also
available on the site, including videos, online
tutorials, and digital lockers to help students
overcome math challenges.
Register today and access free tutoring by visiting
ontario.ca/homeworkhelp. Click through to
homeworkhelp.ilc.org and create a free account.
Students can register quickly and easily with their
Ontario Education Number (OEN) and Date of
Birth. Homework Help is a program funded by the
Ontario government and administered through
TVO's Independent Learning Centre (ILC).
For further information contact Steve Wynen
e-Learning, homeworkhelp@ugdsb.on.ca
Making the Difference in Math
Heather Galoska – Elementary Curriculum Leader
With the dip in Provincial and Local EQAO results in
Primary and Junior mathematics this year, Upper
Grand is looking to do everything we can to reverse
this trend. Although test scores are an important
benchmark for public education, supporting students
in being confident, efficient, fluent, and accurate
mathematicians is our ultimate goal. So how can we
get there? How can we best support student learning
in mathematics?
As a Board, we’ve identified four main areas that we
are focusing on this year that we believe will make the
most significant impact on student learning –
Diagnostic Assessment, Consolidation of Lessons,
Student Independent Practice, and the Classroom
Environment.
Diagnostic Assessment
If you want to reach a goal, you have to have a
plan. And if you want to make an effective plan, you
have to figure out from where you are
starting. Diagnostic assessment (or assessment for
learning) is exactly that – figuring out where students
are starting from in their learning. Teachers use
diagnostic assessment data to plan the course of
learning for their students – taking time on concepts
where there is an identified need, and spending less
time on areas of strength in regards to the
curriculum. It informs teachers on what small groups
they may need to bring together for some targeted
instruction so that everyone’s learning needs are met
to achieve the Ontario Curriculum expectations.
Diagnostic assessments can take many forms – such
as traditional tests or quizzes, student-teacher
conferences, a page from a textbook, a math game, a
math journal – or a combination of any of the
above. None of it is used to generate report card
grades; it is simply to inform the teacher of each
student’s strengths and needs so that they can make
an informed plan.
Consolidation
In a three-part math lesson, consolidation is the
pivotal moment when the teacher brings together the
learning for his or her students. Quite often student
work will be shared, and this is the time for the
teacher to explain and model concepts. All
conversation and teaching are focused on the
learning goal of the day as, through student work and
teacher examples, the teacher brings students to the
point of understanding and confidence with a
particular mathematical concept.
Independent Practice
“Learning floats on a sea of talk” is a cornerstone
philosophy of current educational practice – and is
one of the reasons the three-part math lesson sets
aside time for students to work with partners and
participate in classroom discussions about the math
they are learning. However, we know that, although
collaborative learning serves a very high purpose,
there comes a time when students must be able to
demonstrate their mathematical understanding on
their own.
The end of every math lesson finishes with significant
time for students to practice what they’ve learned in
the lesson by themselves. The teacher is there for
support if needed, but independent practice is part of
the consolidation of the learning – it is the time for
students to practice the skills and habits of mind they
are developing, ask questions, and feel comfortable
with the new material.
Classroom Environment
Every classroom is unique space, reflective of the
classroom community that works in there each day. It
is important that every student feel safe, welcome,
accepted, and respected within those four walls every
day. Without it, learning can’t happen. Building
classroom communities, full of diverse people and
personalities, is no small challenge, and we are
constantly striving to create and maintain this dynamic
classroom space where every student feels happy
and challenged.
Hand in hand with classroom community is the
classroom space itself. Is the classroom a welcoming
space? Are the things posted on the walls helpful for
students? Is it easy for different types of learning to
happen in the space? Is the classroom space
inspiring? Does the classroom reflect the community
within it? These are the kinds of questions teachers
ask themselves when designing classroom
space. We want our classroom spaces to send a
message to everyone who walks through the doors –
Hey! Great learning happens here!
FEBRUARY EVENTS CALENDAR
MONDAY
TUESDAY
27
Pita Day
28
3
Smoothie Day
4
WEDNESDAY
29
Pizza Day
Gr 8 Graduation
Photos @9a.m.
5
Pizza Day
Rescheduled Gr 8 Parent
Info Night at CDDHS
@7PM
THURSDAY
30
6
SK-Gr 8 Report Cards
come home today!
FRIDAY
31
Movie Night @6:30
(organized by HHES
Parent Council)
7
Gr 4-6 Skating
Gr 7 Hep B and Gr 8 girls
vaccines today
Kindergarten Registration
Feb 2-6
*students born in 2010
10
Pita Day
11
12
Pizza Day
13
18
Smoothie Day
19
Pizza Day
20
21
25
26
Pizza Day
27
28
Live Free Day!
What will you choose to
live without today to
support others who live
without every day?
Coffee? Chocolate?
*Donations to Live Free
Campaign collected
today directly support
the HHES breakfast club
6
7
WEAR RED TODAY
& RAISE SOME SPIRIT!!!
Parent Council Meeting @
6pm (babysitting
available)
17
Family Day
(no school for students)
rd
Sunday 23
Legion Speeches @ 1:30 in
the Museum Hall (HHES
student reps register at
12:30-1:15)
Monday 24
Pita Day
Gr 4-8 Winter Activity
Day
th
Gr 7&8 receive Pathways
Training
MARCH 3
Smoothie Day
4
5
Pizza Day
Ministry Mandated PA
Day
Gr 7&8 students visit
Glenbrook E.S. to hear
author Eric Walters
@ 8:45a.m.
Parent Council Meeting
@6pm (babysitting
available)
10
MARCH BREAK
14
(there is no school for
students on this day)
11
12
13
14
MARCH BREAK
MARCH BREAK
MARCH BREAK
MARCH BREAK