Ross R. MacKay September Newsletter
Ross R. MacKay Public School
Newsletter
35 Trafalgar Road
Hillsburgh, Ontario
519-855-4957
Principal: Mr. Huddleston
Office Coordinator: Mrs. Lantz
September 2015
Welcome Back!
Ross R. MacKay PS School Organization
Hello to All,
2015-2016
I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer holiday with family and
friends. Ross R. MacKay is ready for another year of teaching,
learning, and growing together.
Kindergarten-Mrs. Lawson and Mrs. Wardell
Grade 1/2– Ms. Spencer
Our school team would like to welcome back all students and parents
for the 2015-2016 school year. We would also like to welcome all
new students and their families to the Ross R. MacKay Public School
Community. It promises to be an exciting year as we build on
initiatives started last year and begin many new ones.
The staff at Ross R. MacKay have created an exciting, inspiring and
welcoming environment for our students. I thank them for their
dedication and hard work in preparing for opening day.
Thank you also to our amazing custodians, Mrs. Neil, Jacob, and
Cathy who worked this summer to clean and organize our school.
I am looking forward to catching up with students, staff and parents
hearing stories about their summer adventures and embarking on a
new year of learning.
Educating a child is a partnership between home and school. Please
do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have a question or
concern.
Grade2/3– Mr. Gaidies
Grade 3/4-Ms. Kaufman
Grade 5/6-Mr. Robnik
Grade 5/6– Ms. Airdrie (on maternity leave until January). Ms.
Lakhani will be here as the LTO until Christmas.
Special Education/Planning– Ms. Fletcher
Core French, Planning Teacher– Mme. Pearce
Library– Mr. Huddleston
Educational Assistant–Mrs. Burt, Ms. Rees
Ms. Fairfield-CYC
Our monthly newsletters are posted on-line on our school website at
the beginning of each month. In an effort to reduce paper this year,
unless requested, this newsletter will be the only paper copy coming
home. I thank you for your support with this environmental endeavor.
Welcome back and all the best for this school year.
Office Coordinator– Mrs. Lantz
Head Caretaker– Mrs. Neil
Principal– Mr. Huddleston
Sincerely,
Mr. Huddleston
*Welcome to our new staff members: Ms. Airdrie, Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Lakhani, Ms. and Ms. Rees We look forward to all you
have to offer to RRM.
Soaring Higher
Ross R. MacKay September Newsletter
Possible Class Re-Organization
Safety
Each spring I submit our number of students to the
District Staffing Committee. They inform us of our
class organization for the upcoming school year. This
information is based on class size as determined by
the Ministry of Education. Numbers of students are
then re-submitted in September, after we find out
who has moved away and who is new to the school.
Sometimes this will result in a reorganization of
classes. We should know by the end of the second
week if we need to reorganize. I will keep you posted
of any changes.
Our school day begins at 8:55 am. A staff member is on
duty beginning at 8:25 am. We ask that you not send
your child, or drop your child off at school prior to 8:25
am as there is no supervision.
Just a reminder that our entrance to the parking lot
will be blocked off from 8:25 am to 8:55 am in order
to ensure safety in the parking lot. If you are dropping
off your child, please do so at the sidewalk. They will
then proceed to their appropriate yard. No students
should be entering the front doors of the school in the
morning, unless attending Breakfast Club or they have
prearranged permission.
At the end of the day, the driveway will once again
be blocked off from 3:25 pm to 4:00 pm to ensure
student safety. Bus students will leave the school
through their assigned exit doors when their bus is
called. All students who are walking home or being
picked up will leave through their assigned exit doors.
Parents may meet their child at these doors.
Walking or Riding
We have two transportation lists for our younger
students – walkers or bus students. We expect all
students from JK to Gr. 6 to be either a bus
student or a walker and that this will be the
situation for them all the time – unless otherwise
informed by note or by phone from the parents. If a
student is on the walker’s list, they will not be
allowed to take the bus. If students are on the bus
list, they will not be allowed to walk. This is very
important for us to know in order to be sure of the
attendance on our buses and to ensure the safety
of our students.
*School staff cannot make changes to students
riding buses. Parents must contact the bus
company directly to make changes. No exceptions
will be permitted. Please keep in mind that student
safety is our number one priority.
*Students who arrive late, or visitors to our building
must go to the office upon arrival. Thank you for
helping to keep our students safe!
Absence from School
If your child is going to be absent, please call the
office and leave a message. This can be done the
night before, or the morning of. If we don’t receive
a message, we will be calling to ensure your child
is safe.
School number: 519-855-4957
Transportation Website
All information regarding bussing can be found
on the transportation website at
www.stwdsts.ca
Soaring Higher
Ross R. MacKay September Newsletter
Agendas
Breakfast Club
The use of agendas helps
to promote student
organization, improves
study skills, and facilitates
home and school
communication. We
greatly appreciate your
support in helping to
defray the $6.00 cost of
the agenda. We encourage you to read the
agenda and sign it with your child regularly.
Please send the money to your child’s teacher.
Thank you.
We are pleased to announce that RRM’s Breakfast Club
will continue this year on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday of each week from 8:20 am until 8:55 am. The
tentative start date for Breakfast Club is Monday,
September 28th but please watch your student
mailbags for confirmation of that date.
We are asking all parents who are interested in
volunteering to cook for this wonderful in-school program
to attend an information session on Tuesday,
September 16 at 9:30 am. This information session will
be held in the library by Mr. Huddleston and Linda
Campbell, the Program Co-Ordinator. Please note that
the administration, menu planning and food delivery is
completely covered, but we are looking for 4 reliable
individuals who can provide our students with yummy
food and a warm and friendly environment.
Ross R. MacKay PS—Balanced School Day
8:25 a.m.
8:55 a.m.
8:55 - 10:35
10:35-10:55
10:55-11:20
11:20-1:00
1:00– 1:20
1:20-1:45
1:45-3:25
3:25-3:45
- Staff on duty
- Entry Bell
- Instructional Block #1 (100 minutes)
- Nutrition Break #1 (20 minutes)
- Outside Time (25 minutes)
- Instructional Block #2 (100 minutes)
- Nutrition Break #2 (20 minutes)
- Outside Time (25 minutes)
- Instructional Block #3 (100 minutes)
- Dismissal and Bus Loading
Visitors to Ross R. MacKay
To ensure the safety of our students, we ask that all visitors check into the office with Ms. Alton. Throughout
the school day, all other doors to the school are locked in order to better control access to our building.
Should you wish to meet with your child’s teacher, we ask that you please arrange a mutually
convenient time. If you are picking up your child at the end of the day, please wait for the 3:25 pm dismissal
bell outside at your child’s exit door. This will enable us to get students to their proper bus and dismissal
locations with reduced congestion in the hallways.
Thank you for your support and understanding with this safety routine.
Soaring Higher
Ross R. MacKay September Newsletter
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/sex-education-ontario.
September Student Information
Package

Student Personal Information Routines
Uses and/or Disclosures
 Board Calendar
 Walking Trip Form
 Consent to Share Personal Information
Your child’s safety is a priority for us at Ross R.
MacKay P. S. Each student has received an
individual printout of the family and emergency
information on our database. ONLY people
listed on this database will be allowed to pick
up your child.
Custody order information is also listed.
Please proofread this information, make corrections, sign and date the form and return it to
your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
Life Threatening Allergies
Please do not send products with nuts/nut
products to school. We have students at Ross
who are allergic to these food items. They can
experience anaphylactic shock by coming into
contact with small particles or residue from
these food products.
As a result, please be aware that there may be
restrictions in your child’s class to protect a
student with such an allergy.
Please do not send nut products to school.
* Parents/Guardians of a student with
potentially life threatening allergies or those
with a life threatening condition are asked to
inform the school by contacting the office so we
can establish a Life Threatening Management
Plan.
Thank you!
Soaring Higher