Volume 26 No. 7
2015 02 25
Together, Making A Difference…..One Student At A Time
From The Principal’s Desk
Pizza Days
Mid-year report cards and the rapidly approaching
March Break have made us all anticipate the good
weather on the horizon! We have a little way to go
until then and it is also likely that we will have
inclement weather as winter hangs on.
Our next order is due by Monday,
March 23rd . You may send one
cheque for your family but please
remember that you MUST SEND AN
ORDER FORM FOR EACH CHILD TO
THAT CHILD’S TEACHER!! Cheques are made
payable to: James McQueen Public School.
Please remember when checking the school board
website for bus cancellations, the card colour for our
school is BLUE.
When listening to the radio to hear bus and taxi
cancellations, the message for our school is CENTRE
WELLINGTON.
As is typical, our students are busy in classes working
on lessons and curriculum based activities.
Remember that we are here to work with you and
your family to help your children learn and grow.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have
questions or concerns. Have a wonderful, fun and
safe Spring Holiday.
Sincerely,
L. Lacey,
Principal
Please Keep Checking!
We would like to remind
parents that it is very
important to check your child
regularly for head lice. We
remind children not to share
hats, hairbands, hockey helmets, etc.
and we know that you do as well. If you
do find head lice, please make sure to contact the
school office so that a notice can be sent home asap.
Thanks!!
Yearbooks For Sale!
Once again this year there will be James McQueen
P.S. yearbooks for sale for the price of $10.00. Order
forms will be sent home later this week. Please return
the forms, along with your money, to Mrs. Hopf in the
office by Friday, May 22nd. The yearbooks will be
distributed before the end of the school year.
MS Read-a-thon
Thank you to those students and parents who
participated in the MS Read-a-thon. Together you
raised over $400.00. Good work!!
School Council Corner…
Breakfast with the Easter Bunny – Saturday,
March 28 – 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
This is an extra special event this
year – the 20th Annual James
McQueen Breakfast with the
Easter Bunny is fast
approaching! If you are
looking for a way to contribute
to this year’s event, there are many
different ways you can do so! We
will be looking for prizes for both the silent auction or
penny table. No prize is too small, and all prizes are
greatly appreciated! If you think you have something
you would like to donate or a business you would to
promote, the committee can be contacted at
jmpsbunnybreakfast@gmail.com. Also, be on the
lookout for information coming home with your child
regarding food donations and volunteer recruitment
after March Break. We are still looking for donations
of frozen orange juice and pancake syrup as well as
parent/community volunteers. Many hands are
needed for this event, so if you have some time to
spare the week leading up to the event or on the day of
the event itself, we would love to hear from you!
Thanks to the families who have already donated!!
Valentines Dance a Success!
Thanks to everyone who helped out and/or attended
the Valentines Dance! Thank you as always to our
amazing DJ, Mark Haynes, and the best party
coordinator, Mrs. Arnott. Thanks to parents for
baking amazing treats even though you don’t have
time, for taking time to purchase drinks and supplies,
for helping at the tables, for setting up and cleaning
up, for getting floats, for spreading the word….for all
of the things that you do to help make JMQ such an
amazing place for our kids!
We raised nearly $400.o0 for school council – money
that will help offset year end trip costs, go toward play
yard equipment, or additional science or arts
programming
Have you given to the Learning Foundation
yet?
It’s easy – visit
www.uppergrandlearningfoundation.com and direct
your funds to James McQueen Public School. If every
family gave $30 we would raise as much as we have in
previous years. Your contribution will support class
trips, arts and science programming (e.g. Scientists in
School, local authors), and play yard equipment, etc.
And you get a tax credit – it is that time of the year!
Give us your email address….
…and we’ll keep you up to date on everything you
need to know at James McQueen. It’s so easy – go to
http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/jamesmcqueen/ and click on
the “subscribe” button. You will receive notification
every time a newsletter comes out, as well as other
updates.
Next School Council Meeting
School Council meetings are open to everyone
– join us the second Wednesday of the month – the
next meeting is Wednesday, March 11 from 6:30
to 8:00 p.m. Free babysitting is available.
Participating in school council is a great way to play
an active role in your child’s school experience within
this incredible school community – and we promise
you won’t have to bake or fundraise!!
Help Your Child to be More Resilient
Life can be stressful for both children and their
parents. When children learn how to handle
challenging situations in positive ways and to
bounce back after a negative experience they
become more resilient. Resilient people are
happier, healthier and more successful in life.
Children learn resiliency skills from the adults in
their lives. Here are some ideas to help you to
build resilience in your child:
1. Build a caring and trusting relationship:
listen to your child and talk about their
day, share cuddles or hugs, play or do
activities together.
2. Think positive: each evening ask your
child to share a positive thing that
happened during their day. You could
share something positive that
happened in your day too!
3. Gently challenge your child’s negative
thinking: If your child has had a
stressful experience, acknowledge their
feelings and help your child see that
experience as only one of many things
that happened that day: “It sounds as if
Max really hurt your feelings by not
inviting you to play hockey. Did you play
with him at another time? Did you play
with some of your other friends?”
4. Build confidence: allow your child to do
things independently as often as
possible; such as getting dressed ,
helping to make dinner, wrapping a
birthday gift, helping with a chore. Only
give guidance if absolutely necessary.
5. Allow your child to feel that he or she
has control over his or her life: allow
your child to make age-appropriate
decisions, such as what to wear, a
choice of what to have in their lunch
(“would you like a banana or yogurt?”),
what book to read before bedtime,
what movie to watch on the weekend.
6. Model and practice calming: When you
are dealing with a difficult situation
show your child how you calm yourself
down. Practice calming with your child
(deep breathing, counting to 10, going
to a quiet place).
Continued on next page…….
7. Model coping: when you have a
problem, talk to your child about how
you solved the problem calmly. What
did you think about as you were solving
your problem?
8. Build your child’s coping strategies:
Help your child think through a
challenge. Help your child to know that
the issue is just temporary and that he
or she can solve the problem. Support
your child in coming up with a solution.
In supporting your child in building resiliency
skills you are developing a positive outlook that
will last a lifetime. For more information on
resiliency please go to the website below.
Source: Reaching In, Reaching out Website:
http://www.reachinginreachingout.com/resour
ces-parents.htm
March Environmental &
Character Education Theme
Walk and bike more – be
SELF-DISCIPLINED
The climate is changing, and the impacts on
the planet could be substantial. Due to
burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil
we have dramatically increased the amount
of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere
and the temperatures are rising. When we
burn fossil fuels, we create two main kinds
of pollution: greenhouse gases and smogcausing pollutants. Smog has been linked
to many health problems, from respiratory
diseases to cancer. We need fewer cars on
the road. So what is the answer? What can
you do about it? You can walk or bike to
school, or your friend’s house or the store. It
is good for the environment and it is good
for you too. There are plenty of great
reasons to walk to school — less traffic,
safer streets, cleaner air — but one of the
best is that you will be healthier. Lack of
physical activity is a major cause of chronic
illness and fatigue. Being fit helps you feel
better, and a morning walk helps you to be
more alert and more ready to learn at
school. So find a friend and ask them to
walk to school with you too.
If every Canadian left their car at home just
one day a week, we would save about 3.8
million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
each year – the equivalent of taking about
800,000 cars off the road.
The I CAN WALK pledge (found online at
icanwalk.ca) asks you to identify locations in
your community that you could easily and
safely walk or bike to, then pledge to use
active transportation instead of driving.
You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for
every kilometer you don’t drive!
Stop pollution, we’ve got the solution – walk
to school! Let’s go green, everyone!
Food and Friends
Did you know that 1 in 10 children go to school
hungry each day? On Friday, March 6th our school is
taking the challenge to help kids Live Free from
hunger for our Food and Friends program. All
students and staff are encouraged to think of
something that they take for granted every day – and
make a promise to give it up for March 6th. How
about chocolate or maybe the computer? Check out
the video to see what it’s all about!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNZjTOO1vUc
A donation of just $10.00 provides snacks for over 11
students. Donations of $20.00 or more will receive
charitable tax receipts and can be made on line here:
http://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.
aspx?registrationlD=2684091&IangPref=en-CA
Our Food and Friends program welcomes Corporate
Donations. Help us reach our 2015 goal of $250.00!!
Then on March 6th, bring in a Toonie to donate to our
Food and Friends Program! All money raised goes
directly back to the Food and Friends program at
James McQueen.
Dates to Remember……
Wednesday, March 11
School Council Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome!!
Monday, March 16
First day of March Break. Enjoy!!
Friday, March 27
Comfy Cozy Games Day.
Monday, March 23
Saturday, March 28
Welcome back!!
Pizza orders are due today for April.
Breakfast with the Easter Bunny – 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
LAST MONTH’S NEWSLETTER DRAW WINNERS WERE…….Elliot & Isaac Turner!! Congratulations!!!
Important Information from Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health:
Your Child's Immunization During a Disease Outbreak
For school attendance, parents are required by law to provide proof of their child's
immunization to Public Health. To find out what vaccines are required and if your child's
immunization records are up-to-date, please call1-800-265-7293 ext. 4396. You can
also book an appointment for your child's immunization at any Wellington-Dufferin­
Guelph Public Health location.
If you've chosen not to immunize your child, you must have a notarized statement of
medical exemption or a statement of conscious or religious belief on file with Public
Health. Please contact Public Health at 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4396 to arrange for your
child's exemption to be on file if you have not already done so.
If the Medical Officer of Health declares an outbreak of a disease in your child's school
and his/her immunization record is not up-to-date with Public Health, or you have an
exemption on file, your child will not be allowed to attend school for the entire duration
of the outbreak.
2
Your Input Can Change the Future!
This is an exciting time in Ontario as we work together
to develop a new system of services and supports for children and youth
with special needs and their families.
We would Uke to hear from
parents,caregivers ar1d service providers
who SUfilport children and youth
as we develop a new system in our area that includes:
• coordinated services for children with multiple or complex needs
• makingoccupatienal ther py,physiotherapy and speech and
language therapy services more integrated from birth through the
school years.
How?
Visit our website below for information on:
• Focus groups March 2-10, 2015how to register,
locations and times
• If you can't attend a focus group, how to complete our
survey between March 6- 22, 2015
http://dufferinwellingtonspecialneedsstrategy.weebly.com/
or
calll-888...372-2259 ext 1588