BRANT AVENUE PUBLIC SCHOOL
February, 2014
At Brant Ave P.S. we
treat others the way
we want to be treated!
M. Gault, Principal
Happy Snowy February!
We have some wonderful things planned for
our Safe Schools Campaign this month. First,
we will be having a Pink Shirt Day on February
26th. The original event was organized by
David Shepherd, and Travis Price of Berwick,
Nova Scotia, who in 2007 bought and
distributed 50 pink shirts after
a male ninth grade student was
bullied for wearing a pink shirt
during the first day of school.
On February 26th, in addition to
wearing pink, we will be having
two assemblies with special guests. The first
assembly will be for our primary students and
it will teach the students about inclusion. The
second assembly will be for our junior students
concerning the topic of cyberbullying. More
information is on the next page written by
Mrs. Fonte our Child and Youth Worker.
Finally, I have included below a quote from a
Ministry of Education pamphlet concerning
the difference between conflict and bullying.
There is an important distinction to be made as
it is an issue that often confuses many of us.
See below:
“Is conflict the same as bullying? People may
sometimes confuse conflict with bullying, but they
are different. Conflict occurs between two or
more people who have a disagreement, a
difference of opinion or different views. Conflict
between students does not always mean it’s
bullying. Children learn at a young age to
understand that others can have a
different perspective than their own, but
developing the ability to gain perspective takes
time and the process continues into early
adulthood. In conflict, each person feels
comfortable expressing his or her views, and
there is no power imbalance. Each person feels
able to state his or her view point. How people
deal with conflict can make it positive or negative.
Conflict becomes negative when an individual
behaves aggressively by saying or doing hurtful
things. Then the conflict is an aggressive
interaction. Conflict only becomes bullying when
it is repeated over and over again and there is a
power imbalance. Over time, a pattern of
behaviour may emerge where the person who
behaves aggressively in the conflict may
continue or even make it worse. The person who
is the recipient of the aggressive conflict may feel
less and less able to express his or her point of
view and feel more and more powerless. That is
when negative conflict may turn into bullying. A
school will respond to bullying and conflict
differently.”
For more information go to the following link:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/multi/english/BullyingEN.p
df
As always, I am available it you have any
questions about this, or any other topic of
interest concerning your child’s education and
experience at Brant. Ave. P.S.
Sincerely,
Mair Ann Gault
JUNIOR AND SENIOR KINDERGARTEN
REGISTRATION
Please contact the office at 519-824-2671 if you have a
child, or know of a child, who will be turning four on or
before December 31, 2014 for Junior Kindergarten or
five on or before December 31, 2014 for Senior
Kindergarten and has not yet registered.
INDOOR & OUTDOOR SHOES REQUIRED
Please make sure your children have indoor shoes
available at school for gym and in class. Boots are
only to be worn outside. Not only is it unhealthy and
dangerous for students to walk around the floors of the
school in socks, students will not have a chance to
change into their footwear if there is a fire alarm or drill.
Thank you for helping with this.
CONTACT INFORMATION/SAFE ARRIVAL
In September you were asked to
update contact information on your
child’s admission sheet. I am finding
that as I make daily phone calls many
of the contact numbers are either now
out of service or people are not
employed at the original number given to the school.
This outdated information makes it very hard to have a
safe arrival program. Please call the school office at
519-824-2671 or send in a note with any change of
information. If there is any type of emergency I may
not be able to reach you.
Also, a friendly reminder to call in your child’s absence
to the attendance line 519-824-2671 ext. 100. This
line is available day and night.
bus students drive their child(ren) in the morning,
they must also be picked up at 3:15 pm.
PARKING
Snow banks will begin to emerge
along Brant Avenue which means a
reduction in visibility and the need
for an increased awareness of our
students. Vehicles are to park
along the road when picking up or
dropping off students; this will ensure that no students
walking home through the parking lot are at risk.
Please adhere to these procedures as we work to
make our scool a safe place for students, staff and
parents.
LIVE FREE CAMPAIGN
Thank you for your support. Mrs. Smith
Live Free For Those Who Live Without...Coming
th
February 28
LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!
Winter is fully upon us and therefore
this is a good time to send out a
reminder about winter recess
expectations. Please ensure your
child comes to school with the
appropriate winter clothing,
including a coat, snowpants, hat,
mitts and boots, etc. Extra socks and mittens are
recommended. This is also the time we remind
students about the “no one owns the snow, so share
when building snow forts and snowmen”. Of all
the rules, however, the most serious one is outlined
below:
No throwing snow, snowballs or ice balls.
This rule is in place at all schools to maintain the safety
of all students. We want to encourage safe and fun
play this winter at Brant Avenue Public School.
BUS/TAXI
CANCELLATIONS
During times of inclement
weather, please listen to our
local radio stations: 1460
AM CJOY; 106.1 Magic FM for school transportation
cnacellations. Information on bus/taxi cancellations
and school closures are also posted on the Upper
Grand District School Board’s website:
www.ugdsb.on.ca
If your child(ren) regularly travel by bus, parents do not
need to inform the school of your child’s absence when
buses are cancelled. If however, your child(ren) walk
to school, you are asked to leave a message on the 24
hour attendance line (519-824-2671 ext. 100) for any
absence or late arrival.
Please note: on days
when buses/taxis are cancelled, unless otherwise
informed, the school will be open and a regular
school program will be offered. Also, if parents of
Every day, many children in our community live without
the basic necessities that many of us take for granted.
Often these children go to school without the proper
nutrition to allow them to focus on their class work. Put
simply, they are too hungry to learn. But this can
change and you can make a difference. Brant
Avenue Public School will be taking part in the “Live
Free Challenge”. Students and staff will be challenged
to “Live free” of something they take for granted every
day. The challenge will take place on Friday February
28th and student will be asked to give up something
they like or enjoy for the whole day as part of the “Live
Free Challenge”. Students are asked to donate a
Toonie to the campaign to show their support for
Food and Friends program in our area. All the
money donated by Brant Avenue students will go
directly towards our school’s snack program!!
Thanks for your participation!!
VALENTINES DAY COOKIE SALE to support our
2014 Live Free campaign.
Brant Avenue Public School. will be
selling Valentine’s cookies at 2nd nutrition
break on February 14th for a $1.00 per
cookie. All proceeds from the cookie sale will go
towards our Live Free campaign, which will then
going directly back into our school nutrition
program.
Thanks for your support.
PINK SHIRT DAY ON WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY
26TH.
Brant Avenue P.S. will be taking part in Pink shirt
Day to show their support in...” Standing up and
not standing by to Bullying”. Here is a link to learn
more about this day.
www.pinkshirtday.ca
SOREN BENNICK PRODUCTIONS is coming to
Brant Avenue School.
The second show is for grades 4-6 and is called Cyber
Busters.
On Wednesday February 26th, Soren Bennick
Productions will be putting on two shows at our school.
SUMMARY: Two students
meet by accident in a park.
As they begin to talk, the
topic turns to cyber bullying.
The students tell each other
stories about cyber bullying
that they have experienced
at school.
TOPICS COVERED: What is
cyber bullying? What are the
negative effects of cyber bullying? What to do if it
happens to you? How do you prevent cyber bullying?
The first show is for grades K-3 and is called Hi Rez
Comes to earth.
SUMMARY: Hi Rez has only
been playing with other purple
aliens and has been ignoring all
the aliens of other colours. So
he is assigned by his planet
elders to visit Earth to find out
about INCLUSION.
Upon arrival, Hi Rez meets a young school girl named
Jessie and they become friends. Jessie teaches Hi
Rez the positive benefits of being receptive to new
people and new ideas. And Hi Rez helps her
understand the importance of being persistent and
standing up for yourself, especially when she really
wants to do something, like join the hip hop club, even
when they don't want you as a member! Together,
Jessie and Hi Rez also work out that it's OK to have
your own group of friends and that not everyone can be
part of every group (to play football, you have to be
able to play football!). It's just that when someone is
being left out, then that's not right.
SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING DATE
The next School Council Meeting date is set for
th
Thursday, March 6 , at 6:30pm in the school
library. Come join your neighbours and fellow parents
and guardians to learn more about your child’s school
and how you can get involved.
MONTH of FEBRUARY
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
4
5
6
River Run trip:
Gr. 1, 1 / 2, 2/3A
& 2/3C
9
10
11
12
River Run trip:
Gr. 5/6
7
8
14
15
Report Cards go
home
13
VIP Grade 6
Cookie Sale
Red and White
Day
16
17
Family Day –
no school
23
24
18
19
Basketball
tournament
25
20
4:30pm Tim
Horton’s Camp
Info Night
26
Pink Shirt Day
Soren Bennick
Productions
27
21
Olympics Day
and Olympics
Assembly
28
Live Free Day
22