JUNE JOTTINGS 30 June Avenue Guelph, ON N1H 1H6 Phone: 519-824-4560 Fax: 519-824-9520 Principal: Ms. C. Kay Office Coordinator: Mrs. D. Roosenboom MISSION STATEMENT Our mission at June Ave. P. S. is to teach skills that assist each child in his/her academic, social and emotional development. We do this by using all our available resources and expertise through team collaboration and planning. We do this so that all children can learn and achieve their potential. January 2016 NEWSLETTER NO. 5 PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Happy New Year and Welcome Back! Thank you to everyone for their Christmas cards and kind holiday thoughts. I trust that everyone had some special family time with loved ones and we are now ready to tackle the last part of winter and the end of term one. Starting a new year is exciting and offers a chance to start fresh with renewed enthusiasm, the real secret to success. A key way to build success in your child is to stay involved with your child’s progress. We value your partnership to support the learning of your child as we recognize that parental involvement reinforces the importance of school. Teachers regularly welcome volunteers to their classrooms for a variety of supporting roles; listening to students read, practicing skills, helping with special tasks, accompanying on filed trips, the list is endless. If you have some time throughout the day or even just over a nutrition break, please consider giving your time to help out in the school. You will benefit from this experience and as well as helping out our students. Sincerely, Chris Kay Children Learn What They Live If children live with hostility, they learn to fight If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy. If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient. If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence. If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate. If children live with fairness, they learn justice. If children live with security, they learn faith. If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves. If children live with acceptance, and friendship, they learn to find love in the world. Family Literacy Day Since the year 2000, January children and adults have celebrated Family Literacy day by participating in activities that promote reading and learning as a family activity. This special day communicates the important message to child and parents in our community that the reading and learning activities we engage in as a family contribute to the development of good communication skills. Plan to join June Ave on January 27th, as we celebrate with activities involving language and math that your child can bring home to share with the family. We will conclude the day with some snuggle up and Read time so send along a favourite stuffed animals or blanket for snuggling with while we do independent and partner reading as a school. More information will follow in once activities and timing is confirmed. Take time to enjoy a good book and celebrate Family Literacy Day! RECORDING SCHOOL EVENTS AND PRIVACY Parents, family and friends who personally record school events and then subsequently post them on social networks like Facebook or You Tube is not respectful of the privacy rights of all those parents, staff and particularly students whose images they share without their knowledge or permission. Please remember our Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy. VISITORS TO OUR SCHOOL Just a reminder, that anyone visiting our school must check in at the office. Whether you are dropping off homework, lunches or other items it is important that we know who is in the building. For the safety of our children please honour this request. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. JUNE AVE PUBLIC SCHOOL THE GIVING TREE Our school community can be very proud of the bounty of food and non-perishable items donated for the food bank. Students were proud to add to their families’ gift under this tree and know they were helping families in need at this time of year. Thank you to Ms. Pennesi and the students of the Free The Children Club. INDOOR SHOES PLEASE Parents are asked to send indoor shoes which can double up as running shoes for physical education. We want students to be prepared for school and in the event of an emergency when we have to exit the school building. This is a good time of year ask your child if their shoes still fit. The students do lots of growing in the four months they’ve been at school! WANTED! Junior/Senior Kindergarten Students for September 2016. The Kindergarten years is a 2 year blended program offered to students who are 4 years of age by December 31 in any given year. With first and second year students blended together for “Play Based Learning” children spend their days learning and growing together and senior kindergarten students, aged 5 by December 31, learn valuable leadership skills working with younger classmates. Beginning in February, we will be registering children for our kindergarten group. If you or someone you know in the neighbourhood has a child who is or will be 4 years old by December 2016, please encourage them to register in the office. Formal registration will take place February 1 - 5, 2016. Please remember that you have to register in person and you must show your child’s birth certificate (or other form of birth verification), their immunization record (yellow card) and show proof of address. Student Safety -School Lockdown Drills In the interest of student safety, the Upper Grand District School Board had directed all schools to conduct at least one Lockdown drill each school year. A lockdown is used when it is suspected that an intruder has entered the school and poses a threat to the safety of our students and staff. Detailed procedures have been developed in conjunction with our local police services and provided to all schools as part of our emergency procedures manual. June Ave will practice the first of 2 drills to be conducted this year on Thursday, January 21 at 2:30 pm. In a lockdown, students and staff are directed to secure areas where doors can be locked and the children are kept out of sight (such as classrooms and portables) No one may leave their secure area until they receive an “all clear” from the authoritieis. Please note that during a lockdown no one will be able to enter or leave the building. In the event of a real lockdown, only emergency responders (police etc) will be allowed to enter the building. The end of the DRILL will be announced over the PA; however, in a real lockdown, classes will be released, in person, by the emergency responders. Lockdown drills are just one way, along with regular fire and tornado drills, that help us continue to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Students will become familiar with lockdown drills as they are with Fire and Tornado Drills which we are also required to do each year. Teachers will explain the procedure and purpose of our lockdown to students prior to our first event on Thursday, January 17th, 2016. After the drill, teachers will de-brief with students to reinforce it was only a practice and the reason for it. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the drill please contact Miss. Kay. She will gladly clarify this safety practice for you. Recess/Lunch in Extreme Cold Unless the wind chill temperature, and conditions on our playground prove prohibitive and unsafe for outdoor play, recess will continue, although sometimes shortened to balance the need for fresh air and exercise with safety and health considerations. These breaks also provide teachers; valuable preparation time for the next learning block, meeting with and supporting students requiring extra help, time to communicate with parents as well as time for networking with colleagues. Please consider that if your child is too ill to go out for recess, they are probably to ill to be at school. Parents and guardians should be aware that frigid temperatures present a risk of frostbite within minutes of skin being exposed. Environment Canada warns that when the temperature is between -28 to -39°C, exposed skin can freeze in just 10 to 30 minutes. Parents and guardians should ensure their children are dressed properly for frigid temperatures. PARKING As we enter a new year we are anticipating the presence of snow resulting in growing high banks along June Ave. This dramatically reduces the visibility in a high volume traffic area, in front of the school. To ensure the safety of walkers, especially our students, parents are reminded that parking is permitted further along June Ave toward Kathleen and Brentwood. Additional parking is available behind the school at the end of the catwalk. For the safety of our students, your children, we respectfully ask that you observe and obey the No Parking areas. Our student patrols need to be able to see up and down the street to ensure the safe crossing of our students, and the buses that provide transportation for our students need a clear area in which to safely load and unload our students. Please be aware that the Police and By-Law Officer will have an added presence in our school zone area, especially at drop off and pick up times, to ensure the safety of our school community. Thank you for your cooperation when choosing safety over convenience. PARENTS make the difference This is the time of year when we attempt to make out New Year’s resolutions stick. Why not consider taking on a reading resolution that’s easy to make stick? Here are a few suggestions that are easy and fun, will help encourage your child to become a better reader. Read with your child every day. Reading aloud is the most important thing you can do to encourage a love of reading. As you read, you also help build your child’s vocabulary and interest in reading. Make a comfy place for your child to read away from the television and computer Show interest in listening to stories by having your child read aloud to you. You can be the worker; doing the dishes, folding laundry (any quiet, still task) and your child can read to you. Respond to their reading by chuckling at the funny parts, commenting when expression is used and asking them to reread when it doesn’t sound right. They’ll know you are listening and that what they’re reading is of interest to you too. Head Lice Here is what you need to know: Check your child’s scalp once a week under good lightning Teach children how head lice are spread and how to avoid them Keep long hair tied back Do not share headgear such as hats, scarves, hair clips, helmets or headphones and do not use other people’s pillows, towels, combs or brushes. Surviving Winter As we all know, winter WILL arrive and there will be cold and blustery days ahead. We will undoubtedly have times when it is necessary to cancel student transportation services due to bad weather. In some cases, the decision may be made to close schools. Transportation Transportation to and from school is provided by Services de transport de WellingtonDufferin Student Transportation Services (STWDSTS). STWDSTS has inclement weather porcedures for school buses which are common to all five school boards in Wellington-Dufferin region. Information about bus cancellations along with school closures due to bus cancellation will be posted on STWDSTS website by 6:30 a.m. STWDSTS defines four division across Upper Grand for transportation services. Our division is Division One (Yellow). An email will be sent ot those who subscribed to STWDSTS dekays and cancellations. Otherwise, stay tuned to CJOY 1460 AM, Magic 106.1, CTV Kitchener/CKCO-TV, 570 News AM, CHYM 96.7 FM, Country 106.7, 105.3 Kool FM, Oldies 1090 AM and 107.9 FM (Y108) Remember: When buses are cancelled, June Ave is OPEN for those who can safely walk to school. If busses are cancelled in the morning they will not run in the afternoon. Students who are dropped off in the morning must be pick up at the end of the day. Students are dismissed at 3:30 pm Don’t Forget: If your child is a walker and will not attend school on a day when buses are cancelled, please call the school each time to let us know that your child will not be at school. School Closures Each morning, the general manager of STWDSTS will assess the temperature in all four divisions of the UGDSB using Environment Canada’s Wind Chill Index by 5:15 am. When the 7 am forecasted temperature is -35°C nor colder with wind chill, schools may or may not be closed. The decision is a joint decision of the Directors of Education of the Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic District School Boards with Board Chairs. If the decision is made to close schools, an alert will be posted on the board and school website, and local media will be alerted. Winter Patrol Duty At minus 25 Celsius (including the wind chill), safety patrol duty is reduced to the last five minutes of the morning scheduled time and the first five minutes of the afternoon scheduled time. Parents and patrols should check the local radio stations or internet weather reports for temperature readings. MATHEMATICS as a way of thinking In the last few years, there has been some confusion around the “new” way of doing math. It is important to note that today’s math includes all the same mathematical concepts and facts as the “traditional” math, the only real difference is in the way students learn this information. Today’s math focuses on understanding math ideas by encouraging discovery and exploration through problem solving. In our math curriculum, there are 7 mathematical processes: problem solving, selecting tools and computational strategies, reasoning and proving, representing, communicating, reflecting and connecting The goal of these processes is to help students become more confident problem solvers. Below you will find the processes broken down into questions. These questions are meant to be used as coaching tools to help students with their mathematical thinking. Try them at home. You may be surprised by the answers! Solving the Problem What is the question and what do you need to do? Selecting tools and strategies Will you need to add, subtract, divide or multiply? What tools or technology would help you? Representing (Showing the work) How are you going to show your ideas? (graphs, numbers, words and symbols) Reasoning (Making sense) Does your answer make sense? If not, do you need to fix or change something? Communicating (Sharing it with others) How can you explain your answer in writing? Reflecting (Making it personal) What worked and what did not? Why? Connections (Seeing relationships) Does this problem remind you of anything? 11 18 25 10 17 24 31 4 3 Sun Day 2 Day 1 Day 2 Day 2 BACK TO SCHOOL Mon Day 3 School Council Meeting 7 p.m. Day 3 Day 3 26 Day 2 Guelph Storm Visit 11:30.—12:30 19 12 5 Tue Day 4 27 20 Family Literacy Day Day 3 Day 4 Day 4 Grade 5 & 6’s to River Run Centre 13 6 Wed Day 5 Day 5 Day 5 28 Talent Show P.M. Day 4 Lockdown Practice 2:30 p.m. 21 14 7 Thu January 2016 29 22 15 8 1 Pizza Day Day 5 (no school) PA Day Pizza Day Day 1 Pizza Day Day 1 NEW YEAR’S DAY Fri 30 23 16 9 2 Sat June Avenue Parent Council Minutes – December 8, 2015 People Present: Ronnie, Ruth F, Debbie R, Andrea M, Marnie T, Dave C, Erin S, Chris K Regrets: Dana S, Lori H, Martha A Special thank you to Marnie for hosting our meeting in her home! Acceptance of November 2015 Minutes and Acceptance of December 8th Agenda - group all in agreement for both Treasurer’s Report – Lori was not able to be at the meeting so no financial information was shared at this time. This will be revisited in January. Principal’s Report Teacher sanctions are over – everything is in full swing RiverRun trips have started – Grades 1, 2, 4 and 5 have been so far Holiday Carol Sing planned for the entire school last week on Mon, Wed, Fri Westminister Woods drama production taking place Tuesday December 11th Report Cards Go Home December Staff Meeting – focus was on Inquiry Learning (Book Study – Natural Curiousity) Crimson Maple Tree planted on behalf of Mr. Roosenboom – special thank you to Pioneer North and Dana for having this work completed Grade 3 Green Environment Group – will be continuing to work on Eco School goals, waste audits and Yard clean up. Boomerang lunch initiative will begin in January (less garbage at school can lead to more money for school supplies). School will be supported by the Environmental Lead Teacher at the Board. Ronnie is available to help this group on Tuesdays and Thursdays as needed Miss Kay is hoping for another placement round of McMaster Nursing students – main focus would be on environmentally friendly and healthy lunches for kids Teacher codes have been initiated for photocopying Many teachers have already used their $100 and submitted claims It was again brought up that parents would like all teachers if possible to book Scientists in the Classroom ( make use of the funding provided by parent council) Lunch program going well – offered Tues, Wed, Thurs and run by University volunteers (approx.. 30 kids per day use this program – combination of need and want) Superintendent Gary Slater was in for his Fall visit – commented on the “happy school culture” of June Avenue – great news! Reading Tutor this year is Marnie – June Ave was given 10 hours per week for Primary students – more training/structure provided this year and hours to begin soon Fundraising Norcard fundraiser made approx. $2000 - but poor disorganization and customer service on Norcard’s end – many missing items and backordered products . We will likely try something new for next year to avoid future frustrations with Norcard. Thank you Dana for all your hard work and to Martha for also helping to sort/hand out items. Bag2School bags will be picked up next week – phone message to go out to families to remind them about the December 16th pick up date. There will be another pick-up in the Spring. Terra Cotta cookie fundraiser started – kids happy with the cookies (they come on Fridays at 2nd Break – same day as pizza). It was decided that we will try the Cookie Dough fundraiser also through this company – order forms to go home Feb. 1rst and to be collected after Family Day weekend. New Business Mrs. Ford shared that some money will be requested in future to replace/supplement the leveled text readers for Primary division – supports home reading program Issue was brought up by Andrea about leveled text reading support for Junior Division – Fontas/Pinnell has a good Reading Benchmark Assessment Tool and costs $400. This issue will be considered by staff and Miss Kay Next Meeting: Tuesday January 12th, 2016 7:00 – 8:00pm All Welcome!