David Marquis, Principal
Brenda Sherry, Vice-Principal
Lindsay Redpath, Office Co-Ordinator
397 Stevenson St. N, Guelph ON, N1E 5C1
Tel: (519) 763-7374 Fax: (519) 763-6344
SEPTEMBER 2014
Principal’s Message
Welcome to the 2014 - 2015 School Year!
It is with great anticipation that I prepare for a great year together with students, staff,
parents and community members. I hope that everyone had a chance to enjoy some
family time over the course of the summer. I also hope that you were able to work with
the weather to participate in some exciting outdoor activities. At this time, I would like
to extend a warm welcome to all our students and families as we come together for
another school year. A special “Bienvenue” to all new families joining us for a first time.
During the summer, many of our teachers have been busy continuing their professional
development. Many have attended workshops, worked on curriculum and of course,
planned for the upcoming year by setting up inviting classrooms for our learners.
A huge “Merci!” to all our staff for their professionalism and dedication to the school and
students.
Several important pieces of paper will be coming home during the next few weeks.
Please return any forms by indicated return dates.
I wish all of you plenty of success and enjoyment here at École Edward Johnson!
Here’s to a FANTASTIC 2014-2015 school year!
D Marquis
Meet our Staff
School Organization
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
M. Shoesmith / J. Lamer
S. Malone / A. Pierce
T. Tan / M. Finlay
TBA / E. Andrews
E. Stretch / L. Horwath
K. Stansfield / Sarah Billings
K. Lenz / Nora Szabo
Grade 1
Grade 1
Grade 1
Grade 1
Grade 1/2
Grade 2
Grade 2
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 3
Grade 3/4
Grade 4/5
Grade 5
Grade 6
S. White
N. Potwin
K. Prilesnik
Y. Tendick
A. Kehrer
V. Motto
J. Eddington
J. Davis / J. Macleod
T. Owen
M. Lehoux
N. Anselmini-Lofton
S. Roberts
S. Lachmansingh
S. Caudarella
Planning
V. Pelchat, C. Robbins, H. Patrick, A. Mizutani, B. Sherry, J. Caswell,
J. Bastedo
A. Mizutani
S. Spike, B. Sherry
Library
Resource
Educational Assistants
S. Bolger
Child and Youth Counsellor
A. Fonte
Office Co-Ordinator
Head Custodian
Vice-Principal
Principal
L. Redpath, V. Talbot and D. Bott (assistants)
D. Sweeney
B. Sherry
D. Marquis
Year at a Glance
September 2
October 13
October 24
November 21
Dec. 22 – Jan. 2
January 23
February 16
First day of School
Thanksgiving
PD Day
PD Day
Christmas Break
PD Day
Family Day
March 16 – 20
April 3
April 6
May 18
June 5
June 25
June 26
March Break
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Victoria Day
PD Day
Last Day of School
PD Day
Twitter at Edward Johnson
This year we are launching the Edward Johnson Public School twitter feed in an effort to
help families stay connected with us! Follow us at @EJ_PS for news about our school,
as well as helpful links about learning, school events, and community resources. Of
course, we will continue to provide our website updates and regular newsletters as well.
Open House
You are invited to join us on Thursday, September 25th, 6:30-7:30pm for Open House.
Come and visit your child’s classroom and see what we have been up to during the first
few weeks of school. Meet your child’s teacher and visit in the classrooms. Open
House is great opportunity to meet your child’s teacher early in the year. Hope you can
join us for this first school event.
School Council
Being a member of School Council is an excellent way of having input into our school’s
activities and becoming involved in your child’s school life. School Council members
take lead roles in numerous projects to enhance the learning environment at school. An
information session is planned for all interested parents on September 11th, 6:30 PM,
and our first meeting will be held on September 16th, at 6:30 PM in the school library.
Important Driveway Information
Please note that the driveway at École Edward Johnson is closed to automobile traffic
from 8:20 - 8:45 a.m. and 2:45 - 3:30 p.m. Only staff vehicles will be allowed to enter
and leave the parking lot during these times. If you drive your child to school or pick up
your child at the end of the day, you will have to park on a nearby side street.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING US KEEP OUR STUDENTS SAFE!
Life-Threatening Illnesses
Parents, please inform the school if your child has a life-threatening illness. We will ask
you for more details and with your assistance, we will develop a classroom and
playground plan. École Edward Johnson has a large number of children with very
serious allergies. They include: dairy products, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. In
particular, we are asking that students not bring food items to school that contain nuts or
peanuts. Please note, depending on individual circumstances, there may be classes
where we ask to extend the list of foods to avoid to ensure student safety for all.
Student Information Sheets
It is important to let the school know if there is any change in your personal information
(i.e. home/work numbers, emergency contact, etc.) so that in the event of an
emergency, we can contact you immediately. The student information sheets coming
home on Monday, September 8th are critical in keeping accurate student records.
Please sign this sheet and return it to school by the end of this week.
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
The Freedom of Information Act directs schools to be careful about the information they
collect about students and it limits how schools can use this information. Please read
the Freedom of Information letter carefully and respond if desired. It is understood that
we have FOI consent unless we receive a written objection from you.
Bus Cancellations
Bussing information can be accessed at http:/www.stwdsts.ca/. Information on all
bussing status is posted here daily. The inclement weather card can also be found
here. For Edward Johnson, the card color is yellow. There is also an option to sign up
for notifications regarding bus delays and cancellations.
School Photo Day
Photo Day at l’École Edward Johnson will be Tuesday, September 23rd. Please try to
avoid any appointments for your child on this day so that all our students can have their
individual photos taken and most of all, be part of the traditional class photo. We’ll
expect everyone to be wearing their smiles to school on the 23rd!
School Supplies
Many parents enquire about school supplies for September. While we provide for most
of the essential supplies such as notebooks and writing utensils, here are some
suggestions for items that you may purchase to assist your child at school.
Primary – pencils, pencil crayons, pencil case, school bag or back pack, markers, glue,
stick, gym shoes.
Junior – pencils, pencil crayons, pencil case, pens, markers, small scissors, metric
ruler, gym shoes.
QSP Fundraising
QSP magazines will again be offered as the main school fundraising event this year.
There will be a school assembly on September 19th during which students will learn how
the event will be organized. We invite you to participate in the event as a meaningful
way to bring literacy into your homes. All ordering information will be included in the
information that will be sent home following our assembly. Thank you in advance for
your support.
School Handbooks
Our Parent School Handbook has been uploaded to our school web site for your
perusal. The handbook includes school routines and guidelines as well as our Code of
Conduct. We ask that you please read and review this document with your child. Being
informed about our school will help everyone know what is expected and what needs to
be done.
Aizan Messaging System
École Edward Johnson will be using the Aizan messaging system for school-wide
notifications. This system will be used when information needs to be communicated
with our school population in a timely manner (bus cancellations, school closures,
emergencies, etc.). When used, this system will place one call per household to
communicate information. The system is currently registered to call the home number
(if you do not have one, it is set up to call the provided cell number). If you do not
answer, it will leave a voice message with the caller ID being the school number (519763-7374). Please call Mrs. Redpath, Mrs. Sherry or Mr. Marquis should you have any
questions. (Note: In the event of power failure, we will not be able to access the
system.)
Volunteers
The importance of parent involvement in student achievement and success in school is
well documented and recognized as an essential ingredient. At École Edward Johnson,
we welcome parent volunteers to help by preparing learning materials for teachers,
assisting in classes and on trips, supervising on special event days or in the library. If
you are interested in becoming a regular volunteer at the school, please ask to see Mr.
Marquis. Volunteers are asked to complete a form which is kept on file at the office.
Student Lunchroom Behaviour Expectations and Responsibilities
The following lunchroom expectations have been discussed at school. Students
understand that while eating lunch in the classroom, they are expected to respect the
rights of others by:
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sitting in assigned seats
speaking in soft, indoor voices
not sharing or asking for others’ food
following the direction of the lunchroom supervisor and the student helpers
leaving to go to the bathroom only with permission from the lunchroom supervisor
waiting to be dismissed before going outside
placing items in the garbage or recycling bins when dismissed to go outside
ensuring that their area is clean before leaving
Our Board has a wonderful resource for all of our students that can be accessed 24/7
from school or from home. It’s called UG2GO and includes Learn360 (educational video
streaming), Student Link (a site children use at school that gives them access to web
sites that are kid-friendly and relate directly to their current units of study), Tumblebooks
(a site that has hundreds of books children can click on and have read to them),
Noodletools (gives children help making bibliographies), Knowledge Ontario (a variety
of approved encyclopedias, magazine articles suitable for elementary students), and
much more. When students are at home, they can go to the main address:
https://www.ugdsb.on.ca/ug2go which will prompt them to enter the same Windows
username and password that they use at school to get onto the school network. Once
they enter their Windows username/password, they will enter the site and they can then
click on any of the resources and be taken directly to the individual resource without the
need to login.
Please take a few minutes to explore the site with your child. It is an important tool that
will aid them in their education, and may make your life easier when it comes to
homework and projects. We are excited that students will be able to access information
from anywhere and at anytime in this information age!
Safe Arrival Program
We appreciate your calls when your child(ren) are going to be absent or late. Please
call the school at 519-763-7374 ext.100 and leave a message. You do not need to
speak to the school secretary to report an absence or late arrival. The school’s
answering machine is available to the community 24 hours a day. Calling in advance
also alleviates early morning telephone congestion. Thank you for your support.
School Yard Updates
There was a lot of activity going on in the yard at Edward Johnson over the summer
months. First, is the School Council endorsed project by the Earthscape design firm
transformed the school yard into a multi-functional space using natural materials in
order to provide a range of imaginative play and learning opportunities for all. It looks
beautiful and I know that students will put it to good use for many years. “Un gros
MERCI” to all who contributed to making this happen. Our school also the addition of 3
new portables as well as extensive drainage work to help in making the yard more
accessible during wet months. Please note that there is currently some temporary
fencing along the north end of the property limiting access to the garden areas where
there continues to be some exposed areas and work to be completed. Full yard access
may not be possible until a much later date.
Learning? Thinking? Or Learning to Think?
Everyone sends their child to school to learn. Or do we? Do we send our children to
school to become programmed robots who simply regurgitate facts and formulas, or do
we send them to school to learn to think? Learning is not about committing ideas to
memory. Learning is about exploring ideas and building on our understanding of the
world. Remember your two year old child who never stopped asking “why”? They were
learning to make sense of the world around them. Learning is about problem solving,
generating ideas, analyzing facts, critically evaluating decisions and asking questions to
make sense of things. David Perkins in Smart Schools (1992) says that “learning is a
consequence of thinking”. Scores on a test (depending on the test) are not evidence of
learning. I know as a parent, I often said to my children; “think about it”, “think for
yourself, or “what do you think?” For those of you with pre-teens and teens, I’m sure,
like me, there were plenty of times you wished you knew what they were thinking (well,
maybe not all the time)! As parents we need to model thinking and learning for our
children. Instead of saying “I don’t know” or “because I said so”, we need to share our
perspectives, insights, ideas and misunderstandings with our children. We need to
share how we plan, organize, make a decision and seek clarity at home or at work. We
need to share our thinking with our children so they can develop their own ideas and
learn how to think. When our children offer a differing opinion, we need to value what
they have to say, instead of allowing it to become a “because I said so” power struggle.
We need to ask our children this simple question; “what makes you say that?”, and
listen – really listen. We need to have them explain and share their thinking with us.
Even when their ideas are very different from ours, we need to give them their voice,
and then offer ours with an explanation as to why we think that way. Tonight when your
children come home from school don’t ask them what they learned today or what they
did. Instead, ask them what made them think today. When they look at you as if you
have two heads and have completely lost it, ask them more questions. Push them to
think. Together, we need to encourage them to question what they see and read on the
internet, we need to model for them how to make informed decisions, and we need to
prepare them for jobs not yet created. Excited, interested energy is learning, because
that’s when thinking occurs; that’s when children own their learning, and that’s what
going to school is all about.
Cheryl Van Ooteghem
Principal of Program