525 Grange Road, Guelph, Ontario N1E 7C4
Tel. 519.836.4545 Fax 519.836.9612
Principal: S. Marquis; VP: T. Drohan
Office Coordinator: L. Smith
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL AND VICE-PRINCIPAL
Welcome back to the 2015 - 2016 School Year! Hopefully everyone had a chance to enjoy some family time
over the summer months and is ready for another school year. Our Kindergarten yard is finally complete.
Thank you to everyone who has helped or supported the Greening Committee, we have been able to create a
wonderful space for our Kindergarten students to play in. The next phase of our larger yard will start this year.
If you are interested joining our Greening Committee please contact the office.
A special welcome to our new Kindergarten students who begin their student
careers this year. We wish them plenty of success and enjoyment here at Ken
Danby.
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome new families to Ken Danby P.S. Throughout our school, 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. We are also looking
forward to becoming reacquainted with those faces that we have missed over the summer!
Teachers have been in during the summer preparing their classrooms and planning lessons. We would like to
thank Mr Martin and his staff for making our school look clean and in excellent repair.
Please mark “Meet The Teacher/Open House” on your family calendar for Thursday, Sept 24th. from 6:30 –
8:00. We look forward to a great turn out and to meeting as many families as possible. Our classrooms will be
open and teachers will be happy to share plans for the up-coming year.
The first Council Meeting is on Thursday Sept. 25th at 6:30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend!
A reminder that, once again, classes may change after the first week. This is to ensure that all classes in the
province meet Ministry of Education parameters for maximum class size. As in years past, we will try to keep
disruption to a minimum should this happen. No matter what class your child is in, we are committed to
making sure that this is a fantastic year of learning.
Here is to a healthy and happy year for everyone!
Saskia Marquis and Trisha Drohan
THANK YOU TO THE STAFF
We want to extend a big thank you to all the staff for all their hard-work preparing for a new school year over
the last few weeks. From organizing the office, to preparing lessons, to cleaning the building, every member of
our team has been working very hard. It is going to be a super year!
SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Please note the change to the school schedule for the 2015/16 school year. We now have two Nutrition
Breaks of 45 minutes each. Nutrition Break consists of 20 minutes of eating time and 25 minutes of outdoor
play.
8:30
Entry Bell
8:30-9:10
Period 1
9:10-9:50
Period 2
9:50-10:30
Period 3
10:30-11:15
First Recess
11:15-11:55
Period 4
11:55-12:35
Period 5
12:20-1:20
Lunch Break & Recess
1:20-1:40
DPA (or other)
1:40-2:20
Period 6
2:20-3:00
Period 7
3:00
Dismissal Bell
VOLUNTEERS
Ken Danby P.S. considers its parent and community volunteers a special resource. Parents and community
members are encouraged to help in the classroom and on school trips, assist in the library or with extracurricular activities, and participate on School Council. We need help with our snack program, maintaining the
gardens, reading with students, etc. Being a volunteer is a wonderful way of participating in your child’s
education! Please call the school if you wish to enrich our school community with your help.
PARKING LOT REMINDER
The parking lot is for Kindergarten parents only – both before and after school
Kindergarten parents are issued a Purple Kindergarten pass that they need to show in order to enter the
parking lot area. The side Kindergarten "drop off" area is not meant for more than a two minute drop off. If you
need more time, please park in the parking lot.
MINISTRY CLASS SIZE LIMITS
The Ministry of Education has stipulated specific parameters to promote smaller class sizes. This benefits all
students. We will be submitting our latest enrolment figures to the Board this week and it is possible that the
Board will make changes to class organizations in order to be compliant with the parameters below. Principals
do not have the option of changing the school organization that is set by the District Staffing Committee. This
means that your child may be moved to a different class with a different teacher in the first few weeks of
September. We will keep you informed if changes are necessary and try to make transitions as smooth as
possible.
Ministry parameters for all Boards in Ontario:

Full Day Kindergarten classes (with a teacher and an ECE) have a cap of 30 students.

90% of Gr. 1-3 classes: 20 or fewer students

10% of Gr. 1-3 classes: 21-23 students

Grade 3/4 splits have a cap of 23 students

Junior/Intermediate classes will have a Board average class size of 25.6:1
KEN DANBY STAFF 2015-16
Assignments are tentative and may be subject to change.
Grade/Position*
Staff
KA
K. Priestley/ A. Fritzley
KB
C.Moreau/ S. Spence
KC
S. Duffy/ H. Barber
Grade 1
J. Benediktson
Grade 1
D. Zevenbergen
Grade 1
L. Smeltzer (for S. Sinkovits)
Grade 2
A. Hernandez
Grade 2
A.Bell
Grade 2/3
S. Mollison
Grade 3
S. Kennedy
Grade 3
A. Curtis
Grade 4
M. Close (for S. Larsh)
Grade 4/5
G. Schaller
Grade 5
K. Brown
Grade 5/6
K. Scott
Grade 6
T. Hamilton
Int. Core 7/Math
C. Smith
Int. Core 7/8/Math
P. Jordan
Int. Core 8/Phys Ed
L. Mishaw
Special Education
K. MacKay-Hoogkamp
Core French
J.VanOpstal
Core French
S. Boyne
Planning
S. Rane
Planning
J. Hesch
Library/Planning
C. Forde
Resource
A. Klein
Resource/Planning
J. Hearn
Educational Assistant
C. Adams
Educational Assistant
D. Marchment
Educational Assistant
T. Prothmann
Educational Assistant
J. Shultis
Educational Assistant
E. Smart
Educational Assistant
L. Stiver
Office Coordinator
L. Smith
Assistant Office Coordinator
V. Talbot
CYC
A.Follick (for B. Pomfret)
Custodian
C. Martin
Principal
S. Marquis
Vice-Principal/Intermediate Resource
T. Drohan
LET’S PROMOTE LITERACY WITH OUR MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER
Ken Danby P.S. will be launching once again our annual magazine fundraiser on October 7th, 2015. Save
your current subscriptions and renew with us, or give someone the gift of reading! All magazine fundraising
money will go toward greening our school yard. Watch for details coming soon.
PEANUT AND NUT ALLERGIES
We have several students with life threatening allergic reactions to peanut butter and other nuts. 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 restricting the presence of nuts at Ken Danby
P.S. Please DO NOT send nut products to school for snack or lunch with your child. This includes imitation
nut products as it is too hard to tell the difference and causes confusion. If touched, eaten or even inhaled,
foods containing even small amounts of peanuts or nuts may be life threatening to those students with
allergies. We appreciate your understanding.
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 oral medication is administered by
school personnel it will be kept in the office. Non-prescription oral medication (e.g. Tylenol), 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.
SNACK PROGRAM
We are pleased to be continuing the Ken Danby Snack Program this year. Bins will be stored in
each classroom containing fresh fruit and non-perishable items. More perishable items will be
delivered twice a week to classrooms by the new Snack Club. Student volunteers will be filling
the snack bags and delivering them during first recess. Please let your child’s teacher know
immediately if your child has any dietary restrictions so they may be observed
We continue to need the assistance of parent volunteers. Volunteer duties can include preparing food (slicing
fruit/veggies), ordering food, assembling bagged lunches and cleaning duties. Times are very flexible and all
help is most gratefully appreciated. Please contact Katherine Scott at (519)836-4545 x 438 or by email
katherine.scott@ugdsb.on.ca if you are able to help keep this important program available for our hungry
students.
We welcome donations of grocery gift cards to support our program at any time.
Thank you!
Katherine Scott
VISITORS TO THE SCHOOL
We warmly invite parents and guests to visit our school and encourage volunteers in our classrooms. For
safety reasons, all visitors must report to the office, sign in, and obtain a visitor’s badge before
proceeding to classrooms or onto the yard.
SCHOOL COUNCIL
Please join the School Council on September 17th at 6:30pm in the Library. We are always looking for new
members to join the School Council. The purpose of School Council is to work collaboratively together to
improve student learning. The commitment is easy – there are usually 6 evening meetings a year. Everyone
is welcome at School Council meetings.
There will be some open positions this year. Please see below the Descriptions of Executive Positions and
Self-Nomination form.
Detailed Descriptions of EXECUTIVE POSITIONS
All Executive Members shall serve on School Council and provide input and a voice in school happenings and
concerns of themselves and others. Must attend a minimum of 2/3 of all meetings and understand that the time
commitment for this position shall be 3 years.
All Executive Members shall recognize that he/she may serve on any committees established by the School
Council.
All Executive Members must observe the School Council’s Code of Ethics and established By-laws.
CHAIR and CO-CHAIR
An individual must serve on School Council at least one year prior to holding the position of Chair
Shall:
prepare agenda for School Council meetings in consultation with the principal, and email the agenda to the
School Council members one week prior to the meeting
inform and update School Council on correspondence received addressed to School Council
chair School Council meetings
oversee all School Council happenings and events
ensure that the annual report is prepared for the principal, school community and the Board
attend and participate in information and training programs and consult with board staff and trustees as
required
COMMUNICATION OFFICER
prepare School Council letter in consultation with the principal for the monthly school newsletter to
advertise School Council events and activities that they support
maintain a School Council poster to be displayed (with the School Council brochures) at school events to
heighten awareness of School Council activities.
SECRETARY (May be a rotating position)
Shall:
record minutes at School Council meetings
forward a draft of minutes using the "School Council minutes template" to principal and Chair for approval
before distribution to members and posting on the school website
post a copy of draft minutes on the community bulletin board at the front of the school
FUNDRAISING CO-ORDINATOR
Shall:
chair the fundraising committee (which includes the principal) and report to School Council
organize annual fundraising activities with directives and objectives of School Council
arrange for volunteers to help assist with fundraising activities
co-ordinate the School Council fund raising events with those of other groups in the school to not
overburden the school community
TREASURER
Shall:
supervise the collecting and counting of all money made through fund raising
pay all bills by invoice and/or statement
record and maintain activity and balance bank statement
attend School Council meetings and report finances
prepare a balance sheet for each meeting as well as a summary at the end of the end of the school year
signing officers (always 2) shall be treasurer (or Chair) and principal
KEN DANBY PUBLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL SELF-NOMINATION FORM (2015-2016)
Please check position(s) of interest:
o Chair
o
Co-Chair
o
Communication Officer
o
Secretary
o
Fundraiser Co-Ordinator
o
Treasurer
o
General Member
Name: ___________________________
Address: _____________________________________________
Home Phone: _______________ Work/Cell Phone:_______________
Email: ____________________________________
I am a parent/guardian of _____________________ who is (are) registered at Ken Danby P.S for the
year 2015-2016.
I am an employee of the Upper Grand District School Board: Yes______ No _____
Signature: __________________ Date: ______________________
FAMILY HANDBOOK AND AGENDAS
Students in grades 1-8 are asked to purchase a student agenda/planner from the school at a cost
of $5.00, and use it as part of the daily routine. This is an excellent tool for home-school
communication as well as an organizational tool for students. Students can bring their money
directly to the office at both Nutrition Breaks where the agendas will be handed out.
Once again this year the Family Handbook is posted on our school website.
We encourage you to read the Family 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.
NOON HOUR SUPERVISORS
We are looking for Occasional Noon Hour Supervisors for our 2015-2016 school year. This is a paid position
and a current police record check will be required. If you are interested in joining our wonderful team of Noon
Hour Supervisors please contact Mrs. Drohan in the office.
VALUABLES AND ELECTRONICS IN THE SCHOOL
As our society becomes more and more technologically advanced, we are noticing that many students are
bringing valuable items to school. These items, especially those electronic in nature, are attractive and we
cannot be responsible for theft or loss of such items. In addition, electronic devices are becoming problematic
in the halls and on the yard. We prefer students to use recesses for physical and social interaction with others.
Therefore, it is the school’s policy that, unless directed by the classroom teacher for a specific purpose to
enhance learning in the classroom, no electronic equipment should be used or be visible while at school. This
includes, but is not exclusive to items such as ipods, MP3s, electronic games, cameras, video cameras, PDAs,
listening devices and cell phones. Any other device which is capable of taking pictures is also strictly
prohibited. This is due to privacy concerns. While we understand that children sometimes carry cell phones for
safety reasons, this is not necessary while at school because if a family emergency arises, they would be given
access to the school phone.
In order to ensure compliance with our policy, any electronic equipment that is visible or is being used at
school without the permission of the teacher will be confiscated. We will then ask the parent or guardian to
come to the school to retrieve it. We appreciate your support in keeping valuables and electronic devices
safely secure at home. Please read and sign the Computer Network and Internet Use and B.Y.O.D. letter sent
home with the first day packages.
DRESS CODE
At Ken Danby we promote a respectful and professional student image. Appropriate dress is defined as attire
that is free of symbols of hate, gang membership, or images that portray violence, death, abuse, cigarettes,
drugs, alcohol, racial slurs, obscene words, and political or sexual statements explicitly or by implication.
Clothing that is revealing and shows an excessive amount of skin such as muscle shirts, low-scooped
necklines, tops with spaghetti straps, bare midriffs and open backs are unacceptable. Shorts and skirts must
be a reasonable length. Undergarments should not be visible. Hats must be removed upon entering the school.
SAFE ARRIVAL PROGRAM
Please call the office (519.836.4545 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), teacher’s name(s) and reason(s) for absence/late arrival.
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 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; and inform the school when their child will be returning after an absence of more than 1 day.
SAFE DEPARTURE
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.
Also, please send written authorization if a child who takes a bus is going to be picked up. Unless we can
confirm otherwise, it is our practice to send the child home as per usual arrangements. Under urgent
circumstances, a telephone call may be made to the office before 2:30 p.m. We appreciate your efforts to
make all foreseen arrangements ahead of time accompanied with a note.
MATH
Do you believe that all children can excel in mathematics?
Do you believe that children are born with the math gene?
Do you believe that children can suffer from math anxiety?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then please take a moment and continue reading.
This year our work in math will continue to focus on helping your children understand that math is about
learning, not performing. Research indicates that every time any one of us makes a mistake in math our brains
grow and connections are made1. We need to help our children understand that making mistakes is not a ‘bad’
thing. Making mistakes is how we understand and get better at math.
At school, we want to help your children understand that math is about problem solving, reasoning and
proving, making connections, communicating their thinking and persisting when tasks are challenging. We
want to help them adopt an “I Can do Math” attitude.
In order for this to happen, we need to teach math differently than the way many of us were taught. No longer
is the teacher robotically demonstrating mathematical methods that your children don’t understand or care
about.
Sebastian Thru, CEO of Udacity, says that we do not and cannot know what mathematics students will need in
the future. The best preparation we can give them is to teach them to be quantitatively literate, think flexibility
and creatively and pre-solve and use intuition as they develop mathematical ideas2. Math is about so much
more than plugging numbers into a formula. Math is about children actively engaging with the problems, so that
they understand how math is used in their own life. We need to teach our children to use mathematics in the
world they will live in now and tomorrow. We’re not sure what that world will look like, although we do know
that it will be different from the world we grew up in. We also know that we want our students to love math and
say with confidence “I can do math”. As parents we think you want that too!
For ideas to support your children in math go to www.YouCubed.org
UGDSB Curriculum Department
1. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education 7, no.1 , January 2012
2. What’s Math Got to Do With It, Jo Boaler, 2015
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
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/sexeducation-ontario.
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),
Overdrive (eBooks and audiobooks), and much more.
When students are at home they can go to this URL:
https://www.ugdsb.on.ca/ug2go
They will be prompted 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 for any
additional passwords.
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.
STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE
Parents or guardians are responsible for expenses related to student injuries on school premises during school activities.
Accidents can and do happen and the costs involved might not be fully covered by Provincial Health Care or employer
group insurance plans.
The Upper Grand District School Board is empowered under the Education Act to offer Accident and Life Insurance for
students.
Information has been sent home with respect to Student Accident Insurance offered by the Old Republic Insurance
Company of Canada (“Old Republic”). You should receive the Director’s letter, an Acknowledgment to be signed by
parents (and returned to school) and a Student Accident Insurance Application form (to be mailed directly to Old
Republic). Old Republic offers a variety of options, including family rates and multi-year plans, at affordable prices. The
cost must be paid by parents or guardian.
Subscription is directly through Old Republic by mail or on line. Questions should be directed to Old Republic at 1-800463-5437 or www.insuremykids.com
For today’s active children, especially those who participate in field trips, co-curricular and other school activities outside
the school day, Student Accident Insurance is valuable.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
School Council would like to take the time to thank all of our generous sponsors who supported the
2015 Annual School BBQ!
Planet Bean
Jefferson Elora CORP.
Hoffman Family
Eggcetra
Mobile One - Oil Change
Smitten Apparel
Guelph Storm
Toronto Zoo
Science Centre
Toronto Blue Jay
Tupperware-Adele Gaunt
Michaels Auto
Onside Sports
Arbonne -Sam Jones
Arbonne- Marcia
Canadas Wonderland
Norwex
Ceramic Décor
Pottery to Go
Bulk Barn
Lunchbox Orders
Bingemans
Hustle
Liz Hearty
Liz Hearty