Laurelwoods Elementary School
October 2015 Newsletter
Principal’s News:
There are many exciting things taking place at Laurelwoods! Our junior and intermediate soccer teams played
in their regional tournaments, and cross-country practices are taking place in preparation for the October 6th
competition. Intramural games are being held in the gym on a regular basis, and lots of students are taking
advantage of the extra support that is being offered to them during recess breaks.
With the arrival of colder weather, we remind our students of the importance of dressing for the conditions.
Students should not be coming into the school to warm up. In order to ensure the safety of our students, they
need to be outside where our supervisors are located.
Breakfast club is running five mornings a week this year. Students may come inside for something to eat. A big
thanks goes out to the staff and parent volunteers that have helped support this great initiative.
On behalf of the staff, I wish all of our families a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Darren Hale
Thanksgiving and P.A. Day
Laurelwoods Elementary School will be closed to students on Monday, October 12th for the
Thanksgiving Holiday. The school will also be closed to students on Friday, October 30th for
the Professional Activity Day.
Parent Council has already started to plan for the Hallowe’en Fun Night. We are hoping to have parent
volunteers who are able to come out in the evening and help run and set up for the event, help clean up
afterwards and / or run a station for an hour or two. If you are able to volunteer a couple hours of your time
on October 29th, please sign the form below and return it with your child to the school. We will collate the
names and a member of the Parent Council will call you in the near future.
☐ I am able to help-out for the Hallowe’en Fun Night on October 29th. More Information to follow!
Name________________________________
Please return this form to your child’s teacher.
Phone Number____________________________
Terry Fox Run 2015:
Laurelwoods had wonderful weather for
our annual Terry Fox Run. Students from
K-8 participated and joined in the Marathon of
Hope by walking and/or running. Fun was had by
all. More importantly, we raised over $300.00 to
help find a cure for Cancer!
FCC Drive Away Hunger
Food Drive:
Help FCC drive away hunger!
Laurelwoods is a supporter of Farm
Credit Canada Drive Away Hunger. It's a
way we can come together as a community to help
Canadian food banks. These food banks help those
who often go hungry, including children, who sadly
make up 36 percent of the people that rely on food
banks. We asked for food donations beginning
October 1st to the 7th. The food collected will be
reaching our local food banks and helping families
in our community. The FCC along with their tractor
visited LES on October 7th. Students helped to
carry out over 300 lbs. of food onto the tractor!
Exact Change Needed:
When sending funds to the school for
payment of milk, class trips etc., please
make sure that you send the correct amount as the
school does not have cash on hand to make
change. Cheques made payable to Laurelwoods
E.S. are preferred. Any over payment will be
considered a donation.
Cross Country Meet:
Many of our students in grades 1-8 participated in
this year’s Cross Country Running Meet that was
held at the Orangeville Fairgrounds on October 6th.
They have all been training hard for the meet. We
appreciate the time and effort of our coaches in
training our runners and organizing for the event.
Congratulations!
School Security:
We would like to remind all parents to enter the
building using the front door and to always check in
at the office. Children entering and leaving the
school during the school day must be signed out at
the office. We thank you for your cooperation as
we are continuing to work toward keeping all
children safe at Laurelwoods.
Fire Drills/Fire Prevention Month:
The Fire Marshall requires that all Public
Elementary Schools hold six fire drills per year. We
hold three of these drills in the fall and another
three drills in the spring. Teachers have been
reviewing fire drill procedures with our students so
that students will be able to evacuate the building
quickly, quietly and safely. Laurelwoods staff and
students have demonstrated their safety
procedures during our recent fire drills.
Anaphylaxis:
We have a number of students at our school that
have severe allergies to products such as shellfish
and peanuts. We are aware that we are
surrounded by potential allergens, and thus it is
impossible to completely remove the risk of
exposure to our children. Nonetheless, we strive to
keep our students as safe as possible.
Each school is responsible to develop plans for
students that have been identified with lifethreatening allergies. Our UGDSB
policy/procedures for Life Threatening Allergies
indicate that products (or any others that imitate a
known life-threatening allergen) are not permitted
at our schools. This would include imitation
products such as Wow Butter and Soy Butter. This
is not because of a health danger, but because it is
confusing for students in the class and for staff
monitoring the room. Products that imitate peanut
butter create a false sense of safety for our
students and staff. We cannot find ourselves in a
situation where we have to decide whether
something is peanut butter or not. A note from a
parent is not sufficient.
We understand that this may pose a challenge for
our families to find a variety of items for student
lunches, however, student safety is always our
paramount concern.
Junior Soccer:
Our Junior Soccer team had a fabulous day at their Soccer Tournament. On September 22nd the
Junior Soccer Team attended the Junior Soccer Tournament at Centennial Hylands ES. The team
won one of the five games they played, lost two games and tied two. I am very proud to say that each player
tried their very best, worked hard and was respectful at the tournament. The kids played as a team. Thank
you to all the parents that helped out the day of the tournament.
Win A Dairy Queen Gift Card:
After your family has read this newsletter, please sign and detach this coupon. “Our family” must include
at least one parent/guardian who has read the newsletter. This coupon must be placed in the yellow
mailbox in the front hall of the school. A ballot will be drawn on Thursday, October 29, 2015.
Our family has read the newsletter corresponding to this draw.
Family Name: _____________________________
Child’s Name: _____________________________
Parent Signature: __________________________
October 2015
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thurs
Fri
1
Sat
2
3
Photo Day
4
5
6
7
8
9
Pizza Day
10
13
14
15
16
Pizza Day
17
20
21
22
23
Pizza Day
24
27
28
29
30
P.A. DAY
31
Cross Country
Meet
11
12
Bus Patrol Training
18
19
25
26
Photo Retake Day
Gr 7/8 vaccinations
Halloween Fun
Night
INFORMATION LETTER
Partnering for Change
Dear Parents/Guardians:
We want you to know about the model of service delivery that our school is receiving in
partnership with the Central West Community Care Access Centre (CW CCAC). This model was
developed and studied by CanChild, a research centre at McMaster University. This model
provides educational opportunities for our teachers. Teachers will learn more about how children
develop motor skills and how they can help promote motor development using activities in the
classroom. An occupational therapist (OT) will work in our school to help teachers learn more
about motor development in all children and about how to help children who may be having
difficulty with some motor skills.
OTs are health professionals who work with children in many different settings and who know a
lot about fine and gross motor skill development. Fine motor skills are things like printing and
writing, cutting with scissors, opening juice boxes and doing up zippers. Gross motor skills
include things like jumping, getting onto the school bus, climbing stairs and running.
The OT will spend time in our classrooms, gym, and playground. She will observe children and
then suggest different materials, tools and instructional methods that make it easier for children
to learn and do motor-based activities. The OT will also help teachers to understand how they
can use centres and other activities in their classroom to help children develop their motor skills.
If the OT feels that your child is having more difficulty learning new motor skills than is typical for
his/her age, the OT will contact you.
Starting in September, the OT will be in our school one day every three weeks. The OT will be
working at our school and available so that all the teachers in the school will be able to ask her
questions. She will work with teachers to share useful information and ideas that support teacher
and student learning. Educational sessions will be offered for parents as well – watch our school
newsletter for details.
We hope that you will introduce yourself to the OT when you are in the school to attend a parent
function or to visit your child's classroom. If you have concerns about your child’s ability to do
motor-based activities at home, feel free to let her know. If you have any questions about this
service, please feel free to talk with your child’s principal.
For more information, you can also contact a Pediatric Intake Care Coordinator, at the CW
CCAC by phone 905-796-0040 or Toll Free: 1-888-733-1177, ext. 7328