JOHN BLACK PUBLIC
SCHOOL
150 LAMOND STREET, FERGUS
Scott Preston, Principal
N1M 2A1
February 2016
519-843-2665
Belinda Norris, Office Coordinator
KINDERGARTEN
REGISTRATION 2016
Registration for Junior and Senior
Kindergarten in the Upper Grand District
School Board will be held February 1-5 ,
2016.
Children who will be four years old (Junior
Kindergarten) or five years old (Senior
Kindergarten) on or before December 31,
2016 may attend.
For school attendance areas and contact
information, go to www.findmyschool.ca.
Parents must register in person at their local
school and provide the following at time of
registration:

Proof of child’s age (birth certificate, birth
registration form, baptismal certificate,
citizenship certificate, passport)

the child’s up to date immunization record
any custody order documents
 Proof of, and full address (driver’s license,
bank statement, utility bill or similar
documentation).
To save time and be better prepared, you can
download, print and complete these forms to
bring with you from the Board’s Website.
If your child is already attending JK you do
not have to re-register for SK.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE
We’ve had quite a busy month at school since our
return from the Christmas break.
On January 20th our Junior volleyball teams
participated in a tournament at Elora Public
School with their coaches Mrs. Mooney and
Mrs. Olszewski. We are all very proud of their
hard work and great sportsmanship.
January is always a special time for our Grade 8
students because as we are head into the last
half of their final year of elementary school
their thoughts are turning to high school, the
next stage of their educational career. In
January they attended presentations from
Centre Wellington and College Heights high
schools. Through these presentations and visits
to the schools they have been learning about
activities, opportunities and course available to
them in high school as they start to work with
their parents and teachers on course selections
for Grade 9 next year.
Read on in this newsletter for information on
events and special activities coming up in the
months ahead.
Parent Council Corner
NUT FREE
We all hope you had a safe and happy holiday season and
welcome to the New Year. Parent Council has been busy
planning the rest of the 2016.
Please remember when you are packing your
child’s lunch that we are nut free.
There are many products available that comply
Big Box of Cards Fundraising Event
with school nut policies and can be determined
Our Big Box of Cards Fundraiser last year was very
by simply reading the label. By working tosuccessful. New this year is the Big Box of Cards set of 33
assorted birthday cards. Watch for information and the starter gether, we can keep all of our students safe.
box coming home in February.
Lunches
Lunches are still available to order online through
www.lunchboxorders.com.
Pita Pit, Subway and Frabert's Fresh Food and Boston Pizza
are rotated every Tuesday. All meals meet the nutritional
guidelines set by the Ministry of Education's Food and
Beverage Policy. Ordering is easy and a contribution to the
school is made with every lunch purchased.
E-mail List
Do you want to receive Parent Council meeting agendas and
minutes? Do you want to know about events and requests for
help and other information that we feel is pertinent? If you
would like to be added to this list to receive information
please forward us your name and e-mail address to:
sc.johnblack@ugdsb.on.ca.
Next Meeting
The next Parent Council meeting is Tuesday, March 1st at
6:30 p.m. at the School. Please join us... Everyone is
welcome. If you have any questions or comments please email us at: sc.johnblack@ugdsb.on.ca.
The meetings are an opportunity to come together, discuss
school events and receive a Principal’s update for the school.
We hope you will join us in some capacity this year to help us
improve our children's lives and our John Black Community!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM
WELLINGTON –DUFFERIN-GUELPH
PUBLIC HEALTH: Your Child’s
Immunization During a Disease Outbreak.
For school attendance, parents are required by
law to provide proof of their child’s
Immunization to Public Health. To find out
what vaccines are required and if your child’s
immunization records are up-to-date, please
call 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4395. You can also
Book an appointment for your child’s immunization at any Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph
Public Health location.
If you’ve chosen not to immunize your child,
you must have a notarized statement of
medical exemption or a statement of conscious
or religious belief on file with Public Health.
Please contact Public Health to arrange for
your child’s exemption to be on file if you
have not already done so.
If the Medical Officer of Health declared an
outbreak of a disease in your child’s school
and his/her Immunization record is not up to
Date with public Health, or you have an
Exemption on file, your child will not be
allowed to attend school for the entire
duration of the outbreak.
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SKATE-A-THON
UPCOMING EVENTS
Our Lions Club Skate-A-Thon is February 10. Feb. 1-5
Please be sure your pledge forms are in.
Kindergarten Registration
Feb. 10
Reports go home
Lions Skate-A-Thon Gr. 1-8
Feb. 12
Intermediate Ski Trip
DRESSING FOR OUTSIDE
Feb. 16
Family Day Holiday
We have not had a very cold
winter so far this year, but we
still could experience severe
wind
chill
and
snow
conditions.
Each day, weather permitting,
our students go outside twice
for up to 25 minutes at recess.
If your child is well enough to
come to school, he or she is expected to go
outside for recess as it is healthier to get fresh air
and exercise. There are exceptions for injury or at
a doctor’s request, but please ensure that your
child is dressed appropriately for recesses and the
trip to and from school and
understand that we do not have
the facilities nor personnel to care
for ill children.
March 1
Parent Council 6:30 p.m.
March 2
Grade 8 Graduation Photos
March 3
Intermediate Ski Trip
March14-18
March Break
March 25
March 28
Good Friday Holiday
Easter Monday
April 5
Parent Council 6:30 PM
April 25
PA Day
May 2-6
Education Week
May 10
Parent Council 6:30
May 23
Victoria Day Holiday
June 2
June 3
Arts Day and Intermediate
Performance
P.A. Day
June 7
Parent Council 6:30 p.m.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
CAMPBELL SOUP LABELS
June 16
We continue to collect labels from Campbell Soup.
We use the funds to support our library and classroom programs. We have a collection box for them June 21-24
in the front lobby.
June 28
Thanks for your continued support!
June 29
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Parent Council ‘Spring Fling’
James McQueen and Victoria
Terrace Parent Orientation
Grade 8 Trip
Grade 8 Graduation
Reports go home
Last Day of School
Stress Busters
This year four students and some teachers have
started a program called Stress Busters. Its for
grades 4 to 8. This program started because in
the colder months we know that kids get a lot
more stressed and there are tests coming up and
things like that. So, we decided that we would
start this program that has fun activities such as
playing in the gym, bucket drumming, coloring,
crocheting, Zumba, worry stones ,yoga and knitting. Each session runs twice per week, once on
Tuesdays at 2nd break for intermediates and
Thursdays at 1st break for junior students. A
teacher will run one of the activities twice during
the week. We started in January and run for 8
weeks. Students meet in the library, have their
snack and we will focus a talk on one area to help
deal with stress. During the recess portion,
students will be engaged in an activity to help
destress. Each session will focus on one type of
breathing. Each week there's a new healthy
snack for students to eat at Stress Busters such as
Smoothies, apples ,cheese and crackers, hummus
and crackers, yogurt ,veggies and dip and salsa
and chips. The final goal here is to help students
build a toolbox of strategies they can use to
address stress and anxiety, explore calming
techniques and positive mental health
strategies.
Public Input
Sought for Draft Policies
The Upper Grand District School Board has
adopted a new approach to the development
of policies and procedures, important documents that guide the board, staff and activities
of our school system. Our goal is to improve
policies and procedures at the draft stage,
with your help. By providing an opportunity for
input from parents, the community and stakeholders we are aiming for greater openness
and transparency in our governance.
The first policy, procedures and guidelines to
be posted for public consultation are related
to “Equity and Inclusive Education”. You are
invited to review the draft documents and
submit online feedback at www.ugdsb.on.ca/
policy. The deadline for public input is April
13, 2016. Persons without internet access
may call 519-822-4420 ext. 723 to request a
printed copy of the draft documents.
by: Kailen Epoch,Samantha Leet, Reuben
Bowley, Angus Bullock.
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