Ross R. MacKay
Public School
35 Trafalgar Road, R.R.# 2
Hillsburgh, ON N0B 1Z0
Phone: (519) 855-4957
Fax: (519) 855-6901
Website: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/rossrmackay
Principal: Mr. P. Huddleston
Office Coordinator: Mrs. E. Lantz
October, 2014
Principal’s Message
October, 2014
Celebrate International
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, staff and our wonderful
students for making the Open House successful.
Thank you to School Council for your hard work
organizing this community event.
Thank you for your patience and
understanding while we reorganized the school. All
students are now settled in classes and working
productively.
We had a beautiful sunny day on September
19th, for our Terry Fox Run/Walk. Students were
able to walk or run on the trails around our school,
while taking in the spectacular Autumn colours. Our
students from JK to Grade 6 helped raise money to
donate to the Cancer Society. Way to go Hawks!
Parent Council kindly provided water and apples to
our staff and students after the walk. As a school
we raised $180.00!
If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact the school. Wishing you all a
Happy Thanksgiving holiday!
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Huddleston
Walk to School Day
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
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Walking is good exercise. It’s a way to
increase physical activity among children.
Walking keeps the air clean. It reduces the
number of cars on the road, which ultimately
reduces air pollution.
Walking enhances stamina and gives more
energy. Children who walk are more alert
and ready to learn.
Walking relaxes a child, lessens anxiety and
tension.
Walking to school empowers children
thereby fostering independence.
Walking is economical. You will not need to
fill up your legs with gas.
Walking is educational. You will better
admire all the beauties in your
neighbourhood.
Walking is fun and a great way to meet new
friends.
For lots of great information and ideas visit
www.saferoutestoschool.ca
Ross R. MacKay Staff Voicemail
Telephone Extensions
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
GAIDIES, Scott
405
GRANT, Heather
230
HUDDLESTON, Paul
223
KAUFMAN, Sara
414
LANTZ, Ellie
221
LAWSON, Sarah
227
MILLER, Mardell
404
O’NEILL, Ian
225
PEARCE, Tammy
417
ROBNIK, Mark
413
SPENCER, Karen
411
Safe Arrival
100
Friday, October 24, 2014
Professional Activity Day
(No classes for students.)
Staff will be working on our School
Improvement Plan and Professional
Development Activities.
Dates to Remember
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Monday, October 13, 2014
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Wednesday, October 15, 2014
•
Friday, October 24, 2014
Thanksgiving Day
(No School for Students)
Cross Country Running Meet
Professional Activity Day
(No School for Students)
Cross Country Meet
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Again this year the cross country meet will be held
at the Agricultural Center in Orangeville. This site
offers ideal terrain for our athletes. Ample parking
is available for spectators. More information will be
sent home from coaches closer to the date. Keep
running!
Inclement Weather
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
Thanksgiving Day
The 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 13,
2014.
Message from the
Lunch & Milk Program
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 1st we will be starting our Milk
Program followed by our first pizza day, on
October 3rd.
Due to an enormous amount of interest in
volunteering for our Lunch Program, I would like to
send a thank you out to all who stepped up and
offered help. 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.
Cherie Jardine
Lunch & Milk Coordinator
Ross R. MacKay Public School
519-827-4556
Ross R. MacKay is on
Twitter
You can now follow us on Twitter!
RossRMacKayPS@RossRMacKayPS
Follow us to keep up with classroom and school
events!
October is
Down Syndrome Awareness month
A whole month dedicated to celebrating, advocating
and bringing awareness to Down Syndrome. Down
Syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or
partial copy of chromosome 21. This additional
genetic material alters the course of development
and causes the characteristics associated with
Down Syndrome (NDSS).
People with Down Syndrome attend school, work,
participate in decisions that affect them and
contribute to society in many ways. While there
may be a cognitive delay, the effect is usually mild
to moderate and is not indicative of the many
strengths and talents that each individual
possesses. Quality educational programs, a
stimulating home environment, good health care
and positive support from family, friends and the
community enable people with Down Syndrome to
develop to their full potential and live fulfilling lives.
Get involved! October offers multiple ways to
participate in activities, events, and to help in
raising awareness. Participate in a local Buddy
Walk, educate those around you using NDSS’s
Youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/NDSSorg.
The Canadian Down Syndrome Society offers
educator resources that include videos parents can
view with their children about children with Down
Syndrome.
Below you will see the EQAO results for both
Primary and Junior students at Ross R. MacKay.
For the past year our focus for improvement has
been deepening the conceptual understanding of
Mathematics. We will continue to work on this very
important goal with our students. For many adults,
the problem solving approach to Math is a little
different, as it promotes more individual
investigation and exploration. As with many new
initiatives, the results are not seen right away.
We will continue to study Math in a way that
encourages students to talk about how they
discovered their solution. Our goal is to teach
students in a manner that will deepen their
conceptual understanding and for them to show
and explain their understanding.
Primary & Junior EQAO Results
2014-15
*Numbers represents percentage of students
achieving Level 3 & 6
Grade 3
Reading
Writing
Math
School
54
36
61
Board
66
71
61
Province
70
78
67
Grade 6
Reading
Writing
Math
School
62
75
56
Board
79
74
50
Province
79
78
55
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation:
What Do Parents / Guardians
Need to Know?
What is Canada’s Anti-Spam
Legislation?
On July 1, 2014, Canada’s anti-spam legislation
(CASL) came into effect. Under the legislation,
Board staff and Trustees must not send
commercial electronic messages (CEMs) that
encourage recipients to participate in any
commercial activity, even if it is not-for-profit, unless
they have the recipient’s prior consent.
What are commercial electronic
messages?
A CEM is an electronic message whose purpose is
to encourage commercial activity. CEMs include
emails or text messages to inform parents and
community members of promotions, advertising or
offers for sale, such as school pictures, field trips,
fun fairs, pizza or hot dog days, yearbooks or
fundraising for school. A message is also
considered a CEM when it redirects the recipient to
a website that has commercial content (e.g. an
email directing someone to the fundraising page on
the school website). Electronic messages that
have no commercial content, but are for
informational purposes, e.g. student progress or
attendance information, notice of a community
meeting, can be sent without the recipient’s prior
consent.
How does CASL apply to me?
The Board is required to comply with the
Legislation. As a parent, we sometimes
communicate to you by email or text messages, in
order to let you know about activities at the school.
If these activities involve promotions, advertising or
offers for sale, such as school pictures, field trips,
fun fairs, pizza or hot dog days, yearbooks or
fundraising for school, we are required to get your
consent before such commercial electronic
messages (CEMs) are sent.
How can I give consent?
At the start of each school year, an information
form will be sent home with students directing
parents and guardians to our CASL website to
provide consent.
What happens if I do not provide
consent?
If consent is not provided, you will not receive
electronic messages containing commercial content
and may find it more difficult to be aware of the
activities that take place in school, and which your
child may have an interest in participating.
How can I withdraw my consent?
You can withdraw your consent by unsubscribing at
any time. Board staff will act within 10 days to
unsubscribe you from receiving CEMs.
How long is my consent valid?
Your consent is valid until revoked.
Whom do I contact if I need more
information?
For more information, you may contact the
Communications department at 519-822-4420 x
725. You may also contact the Freedom of
Information Officer at 519-822-442- x 721.
Upper Grand District
School Board
Request for Consent
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) came into
force on July 1, 2014. As a result, the Upper Grand
District School Board, would like to ensure that we
have your consent to receive newsletters, school
and Board updates, announcements, event
invitations, and other electronic messages which
may contain advertising or promotions regarding
school fundraisers, field trips, the sale of
yearbooks, student pictures, uniforms, books, prom
or dance tickets, or similar events and offers.
If you wish to receive the above
communications from us, please visit our CASL
registration website at:
www.ugdsb.on.ca/CASL
By registering your email on this webpage you will
receive electronic communication from the school
which may or may not contain commercial
electronic messages as described above.
If consent is not provided, you will not receive
electronic messages containing commercial
content and may find it more difficult to be
aware of the activities that take place in school,
and which your child may have an interest in
participating.
If you have any questions or if you wish to withdraw
your consent at any time, please visit the same site
and click on “Unsubscribe” to remove your name
from our contact list.
For additional information on Canada’s Anti-Spam
Legislation you may visit our board’s website at
www.ugdsb.on.ca.
Great Job!
There is no question that everyone loves a
compliment. Our confidence grows, we feel happy
and motivated, we get a sense of accomplishment.
But what if the only feedback we ever received
were statements like ‘great job’? Okay….what we
did was good, but how do we get better? What do
we need to improve? What, specifically, about what
we did was ‘great’?
One of the things Educators are working on in
Ontario is looking at how to go beyond the “great
job” and “good try” feedback to give more of what’s
called Descriptive Feedback to students around
their learning. The goal of giving descriptive
feedback is to improve student learning in a specific
and targeted way.
The most effective time for students to receive
descriptive feedback is during the learning process
so that they can take the feedback given to them
and move their learning forward or improve on what
they are doing. Often descriptive feedback takes
the form of a strength what the student is doing
well, and a next step what they need to work on
next. Usually the feedback is based on “Success
Criteria”, which is a list of criteria that have been
written, in collaboration with students, and posted
for students and teachers to access throughout the
learning. The goal is for students to always know
how to be successful.
Definitely Educators are going to be the main
people giving students feedback. However,
classrooms are also including opportunities for
students to give each other descriptive feedback
and time for students to selfreflect on their learning
and where they are based on the Success Criteria.
This is part of students taking ownership for their
learning and improvement with the Educator there
to provide descriptive feedback and coaching along
the way.
In the words of leadership expert, Dr. Ken
Blanchard, “Feedback is the breakfast of
champions”. With descriptive feedback students
know precisely what they have done well and what
their next learning goal is. It is through giving
specific, targeted feedback that Educators can help
each student reach their goals and celebrate
success.
Heather Dyer
Elementary Curriculum Leader
Talking About Mental Health!
Some students love to go back to school and are
happy to go every day. Other students start each
fall with a positive attitude about school, but after
the honeymoon period of the first few weeks are
over, things begin to slide.
One parent recently commented to me:
“I am walking home from school with a child crying
the whole way”
“My kids are acting irrationally and freaking out”
She wanted me to share with you that if you are in
this situation, you are not alone. For some
students, this is a normal pattern. For some of our
children and youth, school is stressful. After
relaxing, having fun or at least being school free for
the summer, they had built up the energy to take on
school every day, but after a few weeks back they
are starting to get drained and strained. You may
notice more: talk of headaches and stomach aches,
tiredness, irritability, crying, and refusals.
We all do the best that we can. If we are not doing
well then we are lacking the skills or resources to
do better.
So what to do? Start with recognizing this is
normal and it too will change. Just like the
honeymoon phase of the first weeks, this phase will
come to pass as well.
Begin with the basics: good sleep, good food,
outdoor activities. This is the strong base that we all
need to function well. Keep a consistent routine
with regular times for waking up, eating meals,
school work, and bedtime routines.
Put some down time into every day. Quiet time with
the kids: reading a book, listening to music, going
for a walk, playing a quiet game, doing relaxation
activities. We all need to opportunity to de-stress.
Acknowledge that you notice how hard it is for your
child and ask “What is up?”. Perhaps they can tell
you what is going and perhaps they can’t. That is
OK. Just acknowledging that you see it is hard for
them is a good start.
Talk to your child’s teacher about how they are
feeling. Make a plan to make the student feels
welcome in the class. Look at ways of working
break times into the day at school. Set up a buddy
system to pair students who are less comfortable
with more comfortable students.
Get your child or youth to school every day.
Students who are finding school hard may want to
stay home. The best way to increase anxiety
related to school is to keep your child or youth at
home. The more they stay away, the harder it will
be for them to go to school. Make sure your child
knows that you feel good about their school and
classroom that you are comfortable with them being
there. Talk to the teacher to discuss how to support
your child at school.
Set a positive, optimistic tone about school. Find
something positive that your child likes about
school and build from there. Build on their strengths
or connections. Notice what they are doing well and
praise them for their coping skills. Children and
youth (and adults) pick up on what is going on in
their environment so if the environment is stressful
then we will pick up that stress but if the
environment is positive and optimistic, then they will
pick that up. Creating a positive attitude toward
school is contagious!
And, as always, don’t forget to breathe. Right now,
take three deep breaths. In through the nose, out
through the mouth. With each out breath, release
the tension and tightness. Every time you walk
through a doorway take three deep breaths.
Encourage your kids to do this too. The stress that
you and your kids release throughout the day will
mean less stress at the end of the day and a
happier trip home!
For more tips about Back to School transitions:
http://www.anxietybc.com/sites/default/files/Coping
withBacktoSchool.pdf
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/home_school/
b2shandout.aspx