Laurelwoods Elementary School
Newsletter
February 2015
PRINCIPAL NEWS
On Thursday, February 12th, students from Senior Kindergarten to Grade Eight will be bringing home their
reports to share all of their successes from first term. Hopefully, you will have some time to celebrate the hard
work your child has put into his/her schoolwork, plus, discuss goals that your son/daughter can strive towards
for the rest of the school year. Please take some time to fill out the comment section on the final page after
reflecting with your child about his/her strengths and next steps. Also, we ask that you sign and return the final
page to your child’s teacher.
On February 9th and 10th, we will be having our school-wide lockdown drills. The purpose of the lockdown is to
ensure that all staff and students know what to do in the event of an emergency. During a lockdown, all
classroom doors are locked, curtains are closed, and students are brought together into a safe location in their
room and are quiet. I will walk through the school and check for locked doors. The drills will last approximately
5 to 10 minutes.
February is going to be a very busy and exciting month for the students at Laurelwoods. During the week of
February 9th we will hold our annual Carnaval D’Hiver. Mme. Neumann and Mme. Chalifoux are busy planning
the various activities for the students with their student committee.
On February 17th, the entire school will be participating in a math activity period between 9:30 and 10:30. The
plan for this morning is to introduce to the students various math activities/games to demonstrate how math is
not only found in textbooks but in other areas of our lives, as well.
We are looking forward to these exciting events.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Walker
Live Free Campaign
The Live Free campaign is coming up for the Food and Friends program that supports our Breakfast
Club. Laurelwoods ES is participating in the Live Free Campaign and we need your support! Students will
pledge to Live Free of something on February 27th, for example their favourite TV show, favourite food etc. and
will donate a toonie to the Live Free Campaign as a symbol of what they’re giving up.
For more information about this cause, and to support breakfast, snack and lunch programs in your community
please visit www.livefreecampaign.ca. For some children and youth, the food served in these programs is their
only meal for the day, so we appreciate any help you can give us! All proceeds raised by our school will stay in
our school to support our Breakfast Club program. More information will follow.
Black History Month
Attendance/Pick-up
For those of you that aren't aware, February is
Black History Month. Black History refers to the
stories, experiences and accomplishments of
people of African origin. People connected by their
common African History and ancestry have created
Black History here in Canada.
It has been celebrated in Canada since the 1950’s
and is an opportunity for all Canadians to recognize
significant contributions African-Canadians have
made in education, medicine, art, culture, public
service and politics. Black History Month is a
chance for us to understand the role that the
African-Canadians have played in our history; one
that is often forgotten in our History books. Portia
White, Oscar Peterson, Jackie Robinson, Laurence
Miller and Donovan Bailey are just a few that have
helped put Canada on the map!
At Laurelwoods, we will be recognizing Black
History Month through class discussions and
morning announcements. At home, you can also
visit the website www.blackhistorycanada.ca for
more information.
Please telephone the school at
519-940-3666 ext.100 if your child will not be
attending school on any given day or will be late
and include their teacher’s name and bus number.
It is extremely important that parents notify the
school if their child(ren) will be absent. If you are
picking your child up prior to 3:15 p.m. send a note
with your child or call the school before 2:30 p.m.
so that a bus slip can be completed. Please
include the teacher’s name and bus number.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Student Safety
Each school with full day kindergarten has been
asked to survey our parents of JK, SK and Grade
1’s to determine if there is any interest in an
Extended Day Child Care Program at Laurelwoods.
Parents are asked to complete a survey at
www.ugdsb.on.ca/extendeddaysurvey to express
their interest.
Thank you for diligently using the sign in and sign
out procedures when at Laurelwoods. Please also
note that adult supervision begins at 8:25 a.m. each
morning. Children should not be dropped off
prior to 8:25 a.m. unless previous arrangements
have been made.
Procedures:
1. All visitors and volunteers need to check into the
office.
2. When leaving the school, all visitors and
volunteers must sign out.
3. All parents picking their children up during the
day need to report to the office to sign out their
children. Their children will then be called down to
meet them.
4. Any parents visiting the playground need to
check into the office and obtain a visitor’s badge.
They may also be asked to identify themselves to
staff/supervisors on duty.
Inclement Weather
Laurelwoods is a school entirely
dependent on bussing. It is important for
parents to check the Board’s website as well as
www.findmyschool.ca for any bus delays or
cancellations. Schools dependent entirely on
bussing are closed to students on No Bus days.
Pink Shirt Day
Wednesday, February 25th is Pink
Shirt Day. Wear something pink to
symbolize that you are taking a
stand against bullying.
2015/2016 Extended Day Program
Junior & Senior
Kindergarten
Registration for
September 2015
Kindergarten registration will take place the week of
February 2 - 6, 2015. Please come into the school
between the hours of 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. to
complete the required forms. Parents will need
their child’s birth certificate and immunization
records for registration. We look forward to
meeting you! Please inform other parents in our
community about this event.
Breakfast Club
Parent Council Corner
Laurelwoods Breakfast Program continues to
provide the opportunity for students to have a
nutritional breakfast. With breakfast, students have
a great start to their day! Our program is
sponsored by Food and Friends grants and
supported by our School Council, and we continue
to be thankful for any donations parents or
community partners wish to make. If you have any
questions about the Breakfast Program, please
contact Danielle Cellucci at the school.
In light of the winter weather that we have
been experiencing, please be advised that
in the event of a “snow day” or “no bus day” on a
Friday, we will reschedule the missed Pizza Day to
a future date and notify everyone accordingly when
that day will be. Please do not assume that the
following Monday will automatically be a Pizza Day
as this is not the case.
Stay Well Month
Grand Valley Strikers Soccer
New Executive, New Ideas, New Focus….
GV Strikers Minor Soccer Registration:
Monday, Feb. 23rd 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. and
Wednesday, Feb. 25th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the
Grand Valley Community Centre. Please bring
your child’s birth certificate. Payments by cash or
cheque accepted. Payment plans are available.
Ages 3 to 4 - $60.00. Ages 6 to 16 - $80.00.
Equipment Manager / Field Maintenance position
open and Coaches required.
Carnaval 2015
From February 9th to Feb.12th,
Laurelwoods will be having their 3rd
annual CARNAVAL D' HIVER.
Students can start their soap
sculptures at home and bring them to school by
Tuesday February 10th. On Monday February 9th,
we will have our Opening Ceremonies at 9:00
a.m. Tuesday will be 'Toque Day' and students will
be having a traditional French Canadian treat--les
crepes (2nd nutrition break). Wednesday
(11:10 a.m. - 1:10 p.m.) will be our outdoor events
such as snowshoeing, curling, tug o' war and snowangel relay, so please make sure everyone dresses
warmly! On Thursday, our festivities will end with
our Closing Ceremonies at 2:00 p.m.
Bonhomme Carnaval is very excited to visit
Laurelwoods again this year!
Reduce the risk of serious infections - proper handwashing is one of the best ways to avoid getting
sick.
Stay home when you are sick and limit contact with
others -Children should not be in school with a
fever, undiagnosed rashes, vomiting, or diarrhea
and should stay at home at least 24 hours following
the end of symptoms.
Cover your mouth and nose - when you sneeze or
cough; use a tissue or the bend of your elbow.
You can prevent many serious illnesses by keeping
immunizations up-to-date for you and your children.
Call 1-800-265-7293 for more information.
Important Dates to Remember.
Family Day
Monday, February 16, 2015
March Break Holiday
March 16th – 20th, 2015
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 from the mailbox each month. This month’s draw will be held on Friday, February 27, 2015.
Our Family has read the newsletter corresponding to this draw.
Child’s Name: _______________________________________ Parent’s Signature: _____________________________
February 2015
Sun
Monday
Tuesday
Kindergarten
Registration
Groundhog Day
2
Wednesday
3
Thursday
Friday
4
Jr. Cross Country
Skiing
5
Shed the Light Presentation Gr 7/8
Sat
6
7
Pizza Day
Pita Lunch
8
9
Lockdown Drill
10
11
Pita Lunch
Cookie Day
Lockdown Drill
Carnaval D’Hiver
Opening Ceremony
15
16
Family Day
Toque Day
Outdoor Events
17
12
Theatre Orangeville
Primary Division
Report Cards
go home
14
Valentine’s Day
Pizza Day
Closing Ceremony
18
Pita Lunch
Cookie Day
13
Intermediate
Skiing
19
Spirit Day
P.J’s
20
21
27
28
Pizza Day
Math Activity
9:30 - 10:30 am
22
23
24
Pita Lunch
Cookie Day
Gr 7/8 Badminton
Tournament
4:00 pm
25
Pink Shirt Day
26
Intermediate
Skiing
Pizza Day