Principal’s News:
Laurelwoods Elementary School
Newsletter
October 2014
I was delighted to have the opportunity of seeing so many parents at our Open House! Thank you to the
teachers, who put a tremendous amount of effort into making sure that the evening was a success.
I would like to welcome Ms. Lori Turk and Ms. Joanna Reynolds to Laurelwoods. Ms. Turk has accepted a 0.1
Resource Withdrawal position at Laurelwoods and she will be in the school during the mornings on Day 5. She
will be working with students in the Primary and Intermediate grades. Ms. Reynolds is the new Early
Childhood Educator who will be working with Ms. Gaudette’s class. We are very excited to have both Ms. Turk
and Ms. Reynolds supporting the students at Laurelwoods.
This month, our Junior and Intermediate soccer teams competed against other schools in a round-robin
tournament. Our team members played well and enjoyed themselves. Our students were great ambassadors
of Laurelwoods and made us all proud of their efforts and accomplishments. Thanks to Ms. Gibson and Mr.
Johnson for coaching the teams.
I would like to congratulate Alexandra Ince as she has taken on the role as our new Parent Council
Chairperson. Mrs. Ince will be joined by Lana White, Sylvie McPherson and Colleen Pipher who make up the
executive of the Council. At the first meeting, the Council has already started to plan for the Hallowe’en Fun
Night. We are hoping to increase the number of parent volunteers who are able to come out that 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 of hours of your time on October 23rd, 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 would encourage you to come to our regular Parent Council meetings. Attending Council meetings allows
parents to become an important partner in education at the school, contribute to the shared goal of
excellence at the school level and make a difference in the education of the children in our community. I look
forward to seeing you at our meetings.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Walker
☐ I am able to help-out for the Hallowe’en Fun Night on October 23rd.
Name________________________________
Please return this form to your child’s teacher.
Phone Number____________________________
Terry Fox Run 2014:
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
$400 to help find a cure for Cancer! Student
Council would like to thank all those who donated
to a great cause. Terry would be proud!
FCC Drive Away Hunger Food
Drive:
Help FCC drive away hunger!
Laurelwoods is passionate about Farm
Credit Canada Drive Away Hunger. It’s a way we
can all come together to help Canadian food banks
help those who go hungry – including kids, who
sadly make up 36 per cent of people who rely on
food banks in our country. Student Council is asking
for food donations beginning October 1st to the
14th. Food collected will be reaching our local food
banks and helping families in our own community.
The FCC will be coming to our school, tractor and
all, to collect the food on October 15th. Our goal is
to reach 800lbs of food!! We need your help!
Send in any non-perishable item(s) with your child
to help fill our grocery carts.
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 will be
participating in this year’s Cross Country Running
Meet that will be held at the Orangeville
Fairgrounds on October 15th. Good luck to all our
runners! 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.
EQAO Results:
The Education Quality and Accountability Office
has released the 2013-2014 Grade 3 and Grade 6
Provincial Assessment Results in Reading, Writing
and Math. EQAO tests the province’s students on
the same questions. Doing this allows student
achievement to be assessed in relation to the
provincial standard. The percentage of our grade 3
students achieving provincial standards, or higher,
were: Reading 85%, Writing 85%, and Math 65%.
The percentage of our grade 6 students achieving
provincial standards, or higher, were: Reading 83%,
Writing 77% and Math 40%. At Laurelwoods, we
will continue to improve practices to deliver the
best programming to meet the needs of all our
students. Parents can support their children by
supporting the school throughout the year. Please
visit the website, www.eqao.com for other
information.
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.
Periodic Head Lice Checks:
Please check your children under bright lights,
parting and lifting strands of hair. Please also let
the school know if your child has lice. Please treat
your child and remove all the nits. Thank you for
your help.
Remembrance Day:
On November 11th, Laurelwoods will be
having a Remembrance Day Assembly in
the gym at 9:30 am. All are welcome! This year
marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of
World War 1. Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Jordan are
asking for family items from veterans, to be put on
display at the school during Veteran’s Week. These
could be pictures, medals, uniforms, etc. Please
send your items in the first week of November or
contact Mrs. Martin or Mrs. Jordan to make
arrangements. Thank you.
Dufferin Parent Support Network:
Special Presentation
Advocating From Strength: Bringing Our Best
Selves to the Table. This presentation, will examine
some of those dynamics, and help you advocate
from your strengths.– Wednesday, October 22,
2014 – 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – 655 Riddell Road –
Cost is $10.00. Please call as seats are limited 519940-8678. Please also check out the Free Parenting
Workshops at www.dpsn.ca.
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
two of the four games they played and lost two games
by just one goal each. 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 and who arranged for their
children to attend after school practices. A big thank
you to Coach Curtis for all of his help co-coaching the
team with Ms. Gibson.
Thanksgiving and P.A. Day
Laurelwoods will be closed to
students on Monday October 13th,
and Friday, October 24th, 2014.
Thank you:
The Arkema Family would like to sincerely thank everyone at LES for reaching out to us and showing us
such generous outpour of support when our home was hit by the tornado in June. It brought tears to all of
our eyes when we were visited by 2 fantastic teachers from the school while they were on their summer
holiday to bring our gift from the LES community. We are so lucky to be a part of a community that is filled
with so much kindness, compassion, and the eagerness to help! We can't say enough how wonderful and
thoughtful it was and how truly thankful we are. It has been a long 3 months but we are extremely happy to
report that our repairs are well underway and we should be back to normal before the snow flies.
Gratefully,
The Arkema Family
Ecuador:
Thank you to everyone for your Spaghetti Day Contributions last year. Matthew Panter-Hough made it to
Ecuador to help build a school! Here he is with help from a local boy collecting stones for the foundation of a
school.
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 Friday, October 31, 2014.
Our family has read the newsletter corresponding to this draw.
Family Name: ____________________________
Child’s Name: _____________________________
Great Job! Heather Dyer, Elementary Curriculum Leader 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. 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
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.
October 2014
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thurs
1
Hep B & HPV
Vaccinations
Fri
Sat
2
Pita Pit Smoothie
3
4
10
11
Photo Day
Pizza Day
5
6
World Teacher
Day
12
7
Career Pathways
Grade 8’s
Pita Pit Lunch
Cookie Day
13
14
Bus Patrol Training
Pita Pit Lunch
Cookie Day
19
20
21
8
Scientist in School Pita Pit Smoothie
Ms. Gibson
15
Cross Country
Running Meet
FCC Tractor visit
22
Pita Pit Lunch
Cookie Day
26
27
28
Pita Pit Lunch
Cookie Day
Photo Retake Day
9
16
Pita Pit Smoothie
23
Pita Pit Smoothie
Halloween Fun
Night
29
Pizza Day
30
Pita Pit Smoothie
17
18
24
P.A. day
No classes
25
Pizza Day
Pizza Day 31
Spirit Day - Black
& Orange Day