BRANT AVENUE PUBLIC SCHOOL
64 Brant Avenue, Guelph, Ontario N1E 1G2
519-824-2671
Fax: 519-824-6159
Mair Ann Gault, Principal
Raffella Alton, Office Co-ordinator
NOVEMBER 2014
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
You might recall that once again in our
September newsletter I asked all parents and
guardians to respond to a survey about Brant
Avenue Public School. We had many, many
families respond to the survey. I was very happy
to hear from so many of you. Also during
September I had opportunity to survey many of
our students. I asked them about the things they
love about Brant Avenue Public School and to list
one thing they would like to see happen.
Below are the most frequent responses:
Parents:
Favourite Things about Brant:
#1 - the staff
#2 - the friendliness
#3 - the educational environment
#4 - the small school
#5 - the activities
Students:
Favourite Things about Brant:
#1 – the staff
#2 – friends
#3 – the climber
#4 – recess
#5 – the library
Next Steps suggested from Parents and
Students:
#1 – continue to improve the school yard
with equipment, trees and activities
#2 – more technology
#3 – lockers
#4 – more field trips/ expanded Running
and Reading program
#5 – before and after school care
Last year, parent and students requested more
technology including IPADs. We were able
through the year to purchase a class set of
Chromebooks with a cart to securely store and
charge them in, three tubs of Ipads in sets of five
for classroom use, and an Ipad for every
classroom.
To pursue our technology goal for this year, we
are hoping to improve staff access to data
projectors for classroom use and instructional
purposes and provide an Ipad for use in our HUB
room. Of course, in addition to teaching students
how to access technology, we are actively
teaching them how to be responsible and wise
with technology.
I am excited to see what our ever growing, active
School Council, along with staff and Board
initiatives will do with this year’s survey results,
working together to make our dreams happen.
Sincerely,
Mair Ann Gault 
From the Stage- Remembrance Day
As a central part of the November 11th
Remembrance Day assembly, the Brant
Avenue Drama club will be presenting
an interpretive dramatic performance
based on Dire Straits song “Brothers in
Arms”. On behalf of the Drama
Club, I would like to invite you to
attend our first performance of the
school year. The assembly will start
to gather at approximately 10:30 am.
Thank you.
Mr. Graham.
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.
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 authorities.
PROGRESS REPORTS/INTERVIEWS
Progress reports will be sent
home on Thursday, November
13th. This progress report will
provide students and parents with early
feedback on the progress made during
the first two months of the school year.
It will tell you how your child is doing in all
subjects using words: “progressing very
well”, “progressing well”, or “progressing
with difficulty”. Interviews will be held on
Thursday, November 20th in the evening
and Friday November 21st during the
daytime. Please contact Mrs. Alton our
school secretary, or your child (ren)
teacher, at 519-824-2671 to set up your
interview appointments.
P.A. DAY
There will be a Professional Activity Day
on Friday, November 21st which means
no school for the students. Teachers
will be conducting pre-arranged
interviews at the school during the day.
SCHOOL DRILLS
In the interest of student safety, the
Upper Grand District School Board has
directed all schools to conduct at least six
fire drills, two lockdown drills and one
tornado drill each school year.
Students and staff will be instructed on
what they are to do when a drill is held.
Lockdown drills are becoming familiar
to students just like fire and tornado
drills which we are also required to do
every year.
If you have any questions or concerns
about Lockdown drills, we would be
happy to discuss them with you.
LOST AND FOUND
Did you label, with a permanent
marker, items your child brings to
school that could go missing? Our lost
and found bins are filling up fast and it is
more likely an item can be returned if you
have labelled sweatshirts, coats, lunch
bags, backpacks, shoes, etc. All items
not claimed in a timely manner will be
donated to a charitable organization.
COLD DAYS – WET WEATHER –
OUTDOOR RECESS
It is getting chilly out and the snow may
fly soon. Please remember to assist
your child in wearing the proper clothing
to school. This includes a warm jacket,
hat, mitts, and waterproof footwear.
Thanks for sending extra socks in your
child’s backpack just in case. All
students are expected to participate in
outdoor recess, as this important active
break aids concentration and success in
the classroom. Indoor shoes are
essential to help keep our classrooms
clean and dry.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
It is the parent’s responsibility to
determine whether or not it is safe for his
or her child to leave for school in
inclement or severe weather. A parent
must be aware of the following:
•
•
•
When a bus does not travel a
route in the morning due to fog,
ice, snow conditions, it will NOT
travel that route in the afternoon.
While we have an excellent
transportation system, buses may
be delayed in the morning due to
traffic, poor road conditions,
mechanical breakdowns etc.
This will ensure your child is not
stranded at his/her pick up point,
please make sure they know what
to do and where to go if their bus
is more than 15 minutes late
Remember to listen to CJOY 1460
AM or Magic 106.1 FM in the
event of inclement weather.
They will broadcast bus
cancellations or school closures.
Procedures are also in place to ensure
the safety of students during their
outdoor breaks at nutritional breaks
during periods of extreme cold.
In the event of inclement weather, the
Director of Education will make the
decision to close schools.
Announcements are made by local radio
stations and this information is also
posted on the Wellington-Dufferin
Student Transportation System website.
Website: www.stwdsts.ca
SIGN IN/SIGN OUT PROCEDURES
We take the safety of your child(ren) very
seriously!
Adults entering the building are asked
to come to the office to sign in. If you
are staying to volunteer or as a visitor
for an event, please pick up and wear the
appropriate badge from the office.
Adults in our building who are not
wearing a visitor’s badge will be asked to
return to the office and sign in. Please
remember that the safety of our students
is extremely important.
If parents are dropping off a kindergarten
child, please do not walk through the
school but exit the doors that you came
in. If you are dropping your child(ren) at
the office, please allow them to proceed
to class on their own.
To keep disruptions in the classroom to a
minimum, parents picking up students
during the school day are asked to come
to the office and wait for their children
there. Please remember to sign your
child(ren) out at the office. If children
are reminded in the morning when to
come to the office to meet a parent and
the teacher has been aware of the
absence, this will go a long way to keep
disruptions in the classroom down.
Lunches, clothing, homework etc. must
be dropped off at the office. We will
make sure that your child(ren) receive
the items before breaks.
Finally, parents needing to speak to a
teacher are asked to phone ahead or
write a note and request an interview
time, rather than dropping in when the
teacher is busy with other
responsibilities. The home/school
connection is so important for your child’s
success. You are more than welcome
to call your child’s teacher to discuss any
issue.
SCHOOL SAFETY PATROLS
CHILD CUSTODY
Unless otherwise directed by a court of
law, both natural parents have full
access to their child and their records. If
for some reason these rights are
restricted, it is important to notify the
Principal with a photocopy of any legal
documents that outline a parent’s access
rights (e.g. Custody Order). Should the
situation change, please ensure that the
Principal is notified.
Our safety patrols have been doing an
excellent job in safeguarding our
students and parents as they walk to and
from school. We would like to remind
parents of the following:
*Please come to a full stop at stop signs.
*Please do not stop to let your children off at
the crosswalk or wave for students to cross.
*Please do not obstruct the sidewalk by
parking in neighbours driveways.
HEAD LICE
Here is our friendly head lice reminder;
as you are aware, having head lice is not
an indicator of poor hygiene – lice like
clean hair best! They can happen to
anyone. If there was a report of head
lice in your child’s class, we will send
home a head lice notice. Please check
your son/daughter’s hair regularly, and
contact the school if you discover your
child has lice or nits. If your child has
head lice, please treat them with a
remedy from the pharmacy that kills the
live lice and then using a special comb or
other technique; and remove nits from
the hair. Since no product can
effectively kill all nits, you will then need
to check for nits and remove them from
the hair every day for 7-10 days at which
time treatment is redone with a pharmacy
product. Please be advised that once or
twice in the year a group of volunteers
may do head checks at the school. If you
have questions or concerns about this
process, please contact the office
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Kindergarten Registration for the
2015/2016 school year will take place in
the New Year. More information will
follow.
*Please take care in attending to our
patrols and be patient.
*Please do not park/stop in no parking/no
stopping areas. This choice of parking
spots blocks the line of sight for our
patrols.
RECESS GAMES
A group of dedicated Grade 5 and 6
students have been leading outdoor
recess games for primary students. The
games take place a few recesses a
week. The Recess Games Leaders will
be developing their leadership skills as
they teach and lead games such as “TV
Tag” and “Octopus Tag”. At the same
time, they also remind the younger
students about using Kelso’s Choices to
resolve any conflicts. We hope the
primary students have fun playing these
active games at recess.
Mrs. Pye-Clifford
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE
LIBRARY …
A MESSAGE FROM OUR
KINDERGARTEN CLASSES
Did you know that our board has
wonderful resources that our students
can access at home? It is called
UG2GO and it includes educational
videos, access to kid friendly sites,
Tumble books (hundreds of books kids
can click on and have read to them) and
much, much more! On your home
computer go to the main
address: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/ug2g
o
Mrs. Filippakis and Mrs. Bond are asking
if our community has any gently used
mitts, boots, and snow pants sizes 4-6 for
girls and boys. These donations will be
used for students who are in need of an
extra change of outdoor clothes when
they get muddy and wet from recess. Any
items that are not used (due to size etc)
will be donated for other students to use
in our school. Thank you.
Terry Fox Walk
Students will be prompted to type in the
user name and password they use at
school. If your child cannot remember
their username and password they can
come by the library and pick up a card
with their information on it to take home.
NEXT SCHOOL
COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday, November 13th
In the Library
from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
At Brant Avenue P.S. we have been
fund-raising to beat cancer with Terry
Fox for 17 years. This year, to recognize
the Terry Fox Walk we held a special
assembly and held our annual walk on
school property. Congratulations to our
students this year for raising $200.00 to
help fight cancer!
RAISING COMPASSIONATE
CHILDREN
Here are just a few ways you can help to
raise a child who is compassionate,
caring and an engaged global citizen:
•
Everyone Welcome!
•
•
Connecting leads to caring. Set
your alarm 20 minutes early each
day so that you aren’t rushed in
the morning with your children.
Checking in and connecting is a
vital part of their day. Help start
the day on a positive note.
Let you children know that their
efforts are important to running
your household. Helpers in the
home are helpers in the
neighbourhood. Responsibilities
are good for all of us.
Make the back seat of your car a
technology free zone. Take the
•
•
•
lead and share with them some
details of you day. You might be
surprised how much they share
after some practice.
Make gratitude a habit. Have your
children share something
wonderful about their day at the
dinner table or just before going to
bed. Focusing on the positive can
help our children be resilient.
Model random acts of kindness.
Open doors for others, bake some
muffins for your grandparents or
offer to babysit for a friend. The
possibilities are endless and they
don’t have to involve money.
Step back so a child can step up.
Remember to provide children
with a chance to do the right thing
or solve a problem with a friend on
their own first, and then be there
to help them talk through their
choices afterwards. When they
suggest a way to help someone
else, honour that thought and do
what you can to support them in
taking action.
Talking About Mental Health!
The UGDSB has launched a new website design that
is more engaging and user friendly. The most exciting
part (at least from my perspective) is that there are
now mental health and addictions resources available
on the website. To find the resources, go to:
ugdsb.on.ca
Click on the Parent tab, then click on the Mental
Health Tab.
There is also a Student tab with a Mental Health tab,
which you can share with your children and youth.
Once you are on site, you will find information about
local mental health and addiction resources.
Children and Youth in Guelph Wellington: HERE 247
(1 844 437 3247).
Adults in Guelph Wellington Dufferin HERE 247 (1
844 437 3247). The page also has links to useful
websites with information for parents about about
mental health and addictions.
There is an Access to Mental Health Resources
document that provides more details about counselling
and supports in Guelph Wellington Dufferin.
The UGDSB Mental Health and Addiction Strategy
For more information check
out www.freethechildrren.com or go to
your local library and borrow a copy of
“The World Needs Your Kid.”
-
Connie Bender UGDSB
Summary, as well as the full strategy are also provided
as links. Hope these resources are helpful for you and
your families
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“The greatest part of each day, each
year, each lifetime is made up of small
seemingly insignificant moments. These
moments may be cooking dinner, taking
out the trash, stopping at a stop sign,
relaxing on the porch with your own
thoughts after the kids are in bed, playing
catch with a child before dinner,
speaking out against a distasteful joke,
driving to the recycling centre with a
week’s newspapers. But, they are not
insignificant, especially when these
moments are models for kids.”
Barbara Coloroso,
Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction Meeting the needs of all students in the classroom is at the heart of the Ministry of Education’s document Learning for All1. This document was created as a resource for teachers to help them plan and deliver instructional programs so that all students can be successful. It is based on research that shows “that all students learn best when instruction, resources, and the learning environment are well suited to their particular strengths, interests, needs and stage of readiness.” (Learning for All, p. 8). Two important strategies that are known to support this idea are Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI). Universal Design for Learning is based on the idea that the strategies that are necessary for some students to be successful in the classroom may be helpful for all students. You might be familiar with this in architecture. Ramps are built for people with accessibility needs, and without them, these people would not be able to enter and exit a building. While these ramps are essential for these people, many others will use the ramps. Parents with strollers and members of our aging population may find that their ability to access the building also improves. The laptops and phones we use daily have tools built in that are necessary for some users to access that technology, but benefit all users. Some of this assistive technology, for example, software that can convert a person’s spoken words into text, was developed for students with learning disabilities and other special learning needs, but is now used by technology users worldwide. In the Upper Grand District School Board, students and staff have access to Read and Write for Google, a program extension for Google that gives them access to tools that support reading and writing. While this support may be necessary for some, it can benefit all in one way or another. Differentiated Instruction is an approach to teaching that is driven by an understanding of how students are different. When teachers take students’ strengths, interests, and readiness to learn into account, and plan lessons that allow for differences in learning styles and abilities it is known to increase students’ desire to learn and their ability to succeed. What is taught, how lessons are taught, the learning environment, and the products created by students, can all be different for different students based on their needs, interests and abilities. In the classroom, this means that students are not necessarily working on the same task, all at the same time. Students may be working alone or in small groups on work that is more personalized to meet their specific needs. Together, Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction can be powerful teaching tools to increase student success, and are being used more in more in classrooms in the Upper Grand District School Board and across the province of Ontario. For more information about how teachers are using these strategies, you can access the Learning for All document on the Ministry of Education’s website, or talk to your child’s teacher. 1 Learning For All http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/LearningforAll2013.pdf November Environmental & Character Education Theme
Save energy – show your COURAGE by being a leader
Saving energy and reducing the use of electricity is necessary to help our planet. Electricity is a
type of energy that was discovered over 100 years ago. One of the most common ways to make
electricity is by converting other energy sources, such as coal, natural gas, and oil or solar, wind
and falling water. Right now we get most of our energy from nonrenewable energy sources,
which include the fossil fuels — oil, natural gas, and coal. Unfortunately the burning of fossil fuels
to produce power causes air pollution an is linked to global warming and climate change, which is
the gradual, harmful, increasing temperature on our planet. But the good news is that recently
Ontario became the first province in Canada to no longer make electricity using coal-fired power
plants! And we as individuals can also help solve this problem by learning more about it and
making energy conservation one of our goals at school and home.
Did you know? Turning off the lights in one classroom for one hour keeps over two pounds of
pollutants out of the environment. Let’s remember to turn the switch off whenever we leave an
empty room.
We all can make a difference in helping the environment. Demonstrate your courage in making
a difference and conserving energy by enforcing the following tips at home. Set your home’s
thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter or a few degrees higher in the summer. Your
family will save money and reduce greenhouse emissions. Turn off lights and all electronics (like
computers, televisions, stereos, and video-games) when you leave a room. Use machines like
washers, dryers, and dishwashers only when there is a full load and after 8pm when energy
consumption is lower. Open your blinds or curtains on sunny winter days to let the sun shine
into and warm your home. In the summer remember to close them and keep the hot sun out. It
takes courage to make changes to your own habits and help others to do the same. But you
have what it takes to be an environmental leader!
Global Warming is not Cool! - Let’s go green, everyone!