Website: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/rossrmackay
Principal: Mr. P. Huddleston
Office Coordinator: Mrs. E. Lantz
P
M
What a terrific start to Autumn. Hopefully families have been able to get outside on the weekends to enjoy the colourful leaves and the sunshine.
Thank you to parents, guests, and our wonderful students for making the Fun Fair so successful. Thank you to School Council for your hard work organizing this community event. We had over 220 people pass through the gate.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while we reorganized a few students in the school. All students are now settled in classes and working productively.
Our school wide focus continues to be teaching math through problem solving. Lessons are developed by teachers using diagnostic assessments. This data allows teachers to program for small group instruction with students with similar skills that require development. The same strategy is used when teaching reading to our students.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school. Wishing you all a
Happy Thanksgiving holiday!
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Huddleston
35 Trafalgar Road, R.R.# 2
Hillsburgh, ON N0B 1Z0
Phone: (519) 855-4957
Fax: (519) 855-6901
October, 2015
Attention Families:
I would like to confirm the following:
The Upper Grand DSB is currently undertaking a review of the French program in our Board.
Following this review, a Long Term
Accommodation Plan (LTAP) will be developed by staff. It will be presented to the Board for approval (sometime in 2016 would be my best guess). The LTAP will set out a timetable to review the various areas of our Board in order to ensure that we are making the best use of our schools.
My expectation is that there will be no Boundary or Accommodation Reviews concluded prior to the 2017-2018 school year, apart from any possible boundary adjustments related to the
French Review, or the opening of the new
Couling Cresc. School in Guelph.
If there were to be a review of enrolments and school utilization in East Wellington, such a review would be well publicized and there would be ample opportunity for the school community to be involved.
Therefore, there are no plans at this time, at the
School Board level to close Ross R. MacKay PS.
Sincerely,
Martha C. Rogers
Director of Education

October, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
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Walking is good exercise. It’s a way to increase physical activity among children.
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Walking keeps the air clean. It reduces the number of cars on the road, which ultimately reduces air pollution.
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Walking enhances stamina and gives more energy. Children who walk are more alert and ready to learn.
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Walking relaxes a child, lessens anxiety and tension.
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Walking to school empowers children thereby fostering independence.
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Walking is economical. You will not need to fill up your legs with gas.
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Walking is educational. You will better admire all the beauties in your neighbourhood.
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Walking is fun and a great way to meet new friends.
For lots of great information and ideas visit www.saferoutestoschool.ca
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Monday, October 12, 2015
Thanksgiving Day
(No School for Students)
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Friday, October 30, 2015
Professional Activity Day
(No School for Students)
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Thursday, October 8, 2015
School Council Meeting
10:00 am
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Friday, October 16, 2015
Lock-Down Drill
If you need to leave a voicemail message for a staff person you may do so by calling the school’s telephone number and entering the extension listed below:
(519) 855-4957
Staff Person Extension
FAIRFIELD, G. Mrs.
FLETCHER, S. Mrs.
GAIDIES, S. Mr.
HUDDLESTON, P. Mr.
KAUFMAN, S. Ms.
LAKHANI, A. Mrs.
LANTZ, E. Mrs.
LAWSON, S. Mrs.
PEARCE, T. Ms.
ROBNIK, M. Mr.
SPENCER, K. Ms.
WARDELL, S. Mrs.
414
406
221
401
417
413
407
409
405
223
411
408
Safe Arrival 100
(No classes for students.)

Ross R. MacKay is on
You can now follow us on Twitter!
RossRMacKayPS@RossRMacKayPS
Follow us to keep up with classroom and school events!
Thanksgiving Day
T he Staff at Ross R.
MacKay would like to wish you and your family a fun-filled Thanksgiving weekend with your family and friends.
There will be no school on
Monday, October 12,
Soon the weather will be turning colder and we can be certain that the snowflakes are not too far away.
Please note the various ways school closures are announced to the public. If busses are cancelled or delayed in the morning, the following radio stations will be notified:
CBC FM 99.1, CHFI FM 98.1, CFTR AM 680,
CJOY AM 1460, MAGIC FM 106.1, CKGL AM 570,
CHYM FM 96.7, CHAY FM 93.1.
If you are unsure, please check the board website at www.ugdsb.on.ca
October's Environmental Theme:
P
ROTECT
O
UR
E
ARTH
This year we will challenge ourselves to LIVE green every day, because one small change one day at a time adds up to a world of difference. The environmental theme for September is sustainability. ‘Sustainability’ means protecting our
Earth and using Earth's natural resources carefully, like forests, water, minerals, and fossil fuels.
Part of living in a sustainable way is using, buying and eating only what you really need. This saves resources and cuts down on waste too. For example, do you really need a new pencil case or pencil crayons or a brand new eraser every year, or do your old ones still work? Do you throw your leftover lunch items in the garbage at school, or do you take them home and eat them for a snack after school? Do you buy vintage clothing or wear hand-me downs? Do you eat meat every day, or do you eat vegetarian at least once a week, like those who have accepted the 'Meatless Monday
Canada' challenge.
To find out how carefully you use the Earth's resources, Google the following words: “zero footprint calculator” and take the footprint calculator quiz. It will tell you how many Earths we would need to survive if everyone lived like you!
Slogan of the month: Sustainability – choosing to live better with less!

Thank you so much for your help in raising money for our school by purchasing items from our Lunch
& Milk Program. All proceeds help with purchasing classroom and school consumables. Those who purchased their milk in advance from the preordering form that was sent home, I would also like to send my thanks. This has created a larger spending budget earlier in our school year, to ensure the students get classroom needs met sooner.
Please remember to note on your calendars that on October 1 st
we will be starting our Milk
Program followed by our first pizza day, on
October 2 nd
.
I would like to send a thank you out to all who stepped up and offered help with our Lunch program. It means a lot to myself, but also our students. The volunteers who have been selected for the lunch program will have received an information package sent home with your child.
Please ensure that the next orders sent home are returned to the school no later than 3pm on the due date indicated on the order form . No exceptions will be made. Thank you for helping us process the orders on time.
Lunch & Milk Coordinator
Ross R. MacKay Public School
519-827-4556
B
Have you caught Blue Jay Fever yet, or are you already thinking about the NHL pre-season?
Maybe you’re not a sports enthusiast, and instead are busy taking your children to dance, swimming or music lessons. Whatever the case, why not incorporate math into these afterschool activities?
Here are some quick and easy connections to share with your children on those early mornings, after school or late night drives that connect math to our everyday lives.
1. Batting average
This number tells fans how many times a player gets a hit compared to the amount of times he gets up to bat. Simple division is used to figure out a batting average. For each game divide the number of hits the player gets by the number of times he is at bat. The answer should result in a decimal answer. (For example: Bautista gets up to bat 8 times, but he only hits 5 times. The equation would be 5 divided by 8 giving a batting average of 0.625.)
2. Staying out of the penalty box
Which fraction is largest: 5/4, 4/3, 3/2 or 2/1? If the Leafs have a 5 on 4 advantage, and
Phaneuf has to decide whether to draw an opponent away from the play, it's important for him to know that 4/3 is a larger fraction than
5/4. Math tells us that 4 skaters have a better advantage over 3 than 5 skaters have over 4.
3. Patterns in Music
Musical pieces often have repeating choruses or bars, similar to patterns. In mathematics, we look for patterns to explain and predict the unknown. Music uses similar strategies. When looking at a musical piece, musicians look for notes they recognize to find notes that are less familiar. In this way, notes relate to each other. Relationships are fundamental to mathematics and create an interesting link between music and math. Listen carefully to the music next time. You’ll definitely hear the patterns!
4. Swimmingly Mathematical
Speed of swim (measurement of distance and time), surface area of palm (area measurement of odd shape), kicking angle of the legs
(trigonometry, angle), rhythm of the stroke
(sequence, counting, pattern sector), and breathing (volume of air required, space measurement) are all about the math!
5 The Science of Dance
There’s the symmetry (between arms and legs, but also between bodies and within a single body), counting, rhythm, momentum, mass, connection, sequence, and shape. Every area of math can be expressed with the human body.
Source: https://www.google.ca

Welcome to the new school year! My name is
Dr. Lynn Woodford and I am the Mental Health and Addiction Lead for the Upper Grand
District School Board. Every month I write a
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485 Silvercreek Pkwy, Guelph
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wwd.cmha.ca column for school newsletters about mental health and provide strategies and resources for families.
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Dufferin Child and Family Services
(Services for Children/Youth in Dufferin
County)
Hope that the transition back to school has been a positive one for you and your family. If your child or youth is experiencing any challenges with the transition back to school, please talk to your child or youth’s teacher or administrator.
The UGDSB has many resources available on its website: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/ for parents and students to access. To access these resources: 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.
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To access Addictions, Mental Health and
Crisis Services
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519-941-1530
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Talk in Services on Tuesdays 1:00- 7:00
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655 Riddell Road, Orangeville
• http://dcafs.on.ca/
There is an Access to Mental Health
Resources document that provides more details about counselling and supports in
Guelph Wellington Dufferin.
Once you are on site, you will find information about local mental health and addiction resources:
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Canadian Mental Health Association
Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Branch
(CMHA WWD)
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To access Addictions, Mental Health
(including eating disorders and first episode psychosis) and Crisis Services
(Guelph/Wellington for Children/Youth and
Guelph/Wellington/Dufferin for Adults) contact:
•
HERE247 at 1 844 437 3247 (1 844
HERE247)
• www.here247.ca
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Walk in Services on Tuesdays for
Children/Youth 1:30- 7:00
There are also links to useful websites with information for parents about mental health and addictions such as:
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Kids Help Phone (1 800 668
6868) www.KidsHelpPhone.ca
provides phone and web counselling for youth under the age of 20. Support is free, 24/7, anonymous and confidential.
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The ABCs of Mental
Health http://www.hincksdellcrest.org/ABC/
Welcome provides information related to different mental health concerns, according to developmental ages.
Hope these resources are helpful for you and your families. Hope you have a wonderful fall!