Ross R. MacKay
Public School
35 Trafalgar Road, R.R.# 2
Hillsburgh, ON N0B 1Z0
Website: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/rossrmackay
Phone: (519) 855-4957
Fax: (519) 855-6901
Principal: Mr. P. Huddleston
Office Coordinator: Mrs. E. Lantz
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Where did April go? Spring came upon us
suddenly and left just as suddenly. Hopefully,
May brings warmer temperatures, as we have
various activities planned for outside.
Please continue to encourage your child to get
actively involved in extra-curricular activities
offered by our teachers. In our classrooms we
look at ways to help children develop
responsibility and accountability for their own
learning.
The more engaged students are in learning
activities, the more they remember and apply
what they have learned to other situations. We
support this engagement by creating
interactions among students (i.e., sharing ideas
with their partners or groups, learning how to
listen and respond to others’ ideas) and
increased student participation in lessons.
We appreciate the vital role that parents play in
supporting your children at home, helping them
attain their learning skill goals.
May, 2015
Class Placements for
September 2015
Many variables are considered in deciding next
year’s class placements for students. Programming
needs are always a priority along with balancing
students who can work independently with students
who require additional supports.
We attempt to balance the number of boys and girls
in classes, while also considering the social &
emotional needs of students.
Given the number of considerations needed to
place approximately 130 students each year, it can
be very challenging to meet parental requests. A
great deal of time and consideration is invested by
staff in student placements, based on all student
needs. Given this, we ask that parents who are
requesting a particular placement for their child,
please provide a note with an explanation of your
request to Mr. Huddleston, prior to May 20th.
As in past years, students will learn who their new
classroom teacher is on the first day of school in
September. In the case that we are required to
reorganize to meet class cap sizes, due to a
change in student numbers, student placements
will be considered tentative, until the third week of
school.
Please note that if there is reorganization we will
continue to put student’s learning needs first. Thank
you for your continued support and understanding.
Dates to Remember
Environmental Bake Sale
A huge thanks to all Ross R. students, parents,
and volunteers, who helped out by contributing
to our successful environmental bake sale last
week. Your donations and time were greatly
appreciated!
We raised $183.80 which is a new
environmental club record (over the past 3
years). This is outstanding as all monies
generated through the sale will go directly to
the greening up of our wonderful school.
•
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Garage Sale
•
Monday, May 18, 2015
Victoria Day
(No school for staff and students)
•
Monday, May 25, 2015 –
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
EQAO (Grade 3 and 6)
•
Friday, May 29, 2015
Junior Kindergarten Orientation
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
I am so excited to work with the environment
club and Mr. Huddleston and spruce up our
gardens around Ross R. MacKay. Thanks
again for all your generous support!
Mr. M. Robnik
Library Book Return
As we move towards the end of the year
we are asking all students to return their
library books by Friday, June 5th. The library will
not be open for exchange after that date.
Provincial EQAO assessments for Grade 3’s and
Grade 6’s will take place on May 26, 27 and 28.
Student attendance and punctuality is especially
important on these dates, as well as a full &
nutritious breakfast to start the day off with a
healthy body and a clear mind.
Lock Down Drills
Monday, May 18, 2015
Victoria Day
(No classes for students.)
Just a reminder, there is a Board
Holiday on Monday, May 18, 2015.
Join the
2015 Pause to Play challenge May
10th – 16th 2015.
The Pause to Play challenge encourages
students and their families to put their television,
video games and computers on pause for one full
week. Participants are more likely to feel good
about themselves. Exercise that gets your heart
pumping has many benefits to your health!
Being active for at least 60 minutes daily can
help children:
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•
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•
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Improve their health
Do better in school
Improve their fitness, grow stronger and
maintain a healthy body weight
Have fun playing with friends and feel
happier
Learn new skills and improve their selfconfidence
Take the challenge for a week or more and learn
how much fun it can be to pause to PLAY!
Go to www.wdgpublichealth.ca for more
information and for a list of free or low cost
activities your local library and recreation centres
are offering.
Student Safety - School Lockdown Drill
Thursday, May 21st
In the interest of student safety, the Upper Grand
District School Board has directed all schools to
conduct two Lockdown drills each school year.
A Lockdown is used when it is suspected that an
intruder has entered the school and poses a
threat to the safety of our students and staff.
Detailed procedures have been developed in
conjunction with our local police services and
provided to all schools as part of our emergency
procedures manual.
Violence and Abuse
Prevention
It is the policy of the Upper Grand District
School Board to provide child abuse
prevention education for all students. The
goal of the Prevention Curriculum is to give
children the knowledge and skills
necessary to reduce the incidence of child
abuse and to encourage the reporting of
suspected cases.
The personal safety program, “CARE”, will
be taught here at Ross R. MacKay in grades
1 & 3. The focus of the program is for
children to recognize and avoid potentially
unsafe situations. In the grade 5 program
they use the “Touching “ video, which
focuses on saying “No” to inappropriate
touching and to get away from unsafe
situations and to tell someone they trust.
In May and June your son/daughter will be
involved in the particular program geared to
their grade level. If you have any concerns
about the program please contact your
child’s teacher or our CYW staff at the
school.
Live local – be HELPFUL in your
neighbourhood
Assistance with
nutrition break
supervision.
These are PAID
positions.
If interested, please
contact the
school office.
Think local and save the environment. It is time
to celebrate our local talent and to appreciate the
wealth of natural goodness grown locally. Every
decision we make to purchase local products,
reduces carbon emissions. Our province
produces an abundance of fruits, vegetables,
meat, nuts, and grains. However, the richness of
local products doesn't end with food products.
We have many local talented artists, sculptors,
and fashion designers. Every time we choose
local products we are making a choice to support
our local economy and individual microeconomies.
What is an ecological ? "An ecological footprint
is used to depict the amount of land and water
area you would need to provide the resources
required to support yourself." By caring about
your environment and making careful choices
you can have a positive impact on the planet and
leave a smaller ecological footprint so that your
own and future generations - not to mention the
other creatures - can enjoy this beautiful planet.
Help the planet by starting in your own backyard.
Look around your neighbourhood to see what
places—parks, gathering spots, natural places,
quiet nooks, play areas, walking routes,
commercial centers—could be protected or
regenerated. Think about what changes could be
made to reduce pollution and environmental
degradation. So don’t pollute, conserve water
and other resources, ride your bike or walk as
much as possible and eat and shop locally, and
you will help keep your “footprint” small!
If you live your life locally, you protect
globally! - Let’s go green, everyone!