530 Prospect Street, Box 430, Palmerston, ON, N0G 2P0
519-343-3520
“Be The BEST That You Can Be”
“Fais De Ton Mieux”
2013-2014
Newsletter #8
April 1, 2014
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Spring has sprung and April is here! I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing and restful March Break and a
joyful Easter holiday. Now we our entering into our final stretch of the 2013-2014 school year. April, May,
and June will pass by quickly. The next few months will be filled with activities and learning. I hope that
everyone will be able to commit to working diligently, playing hard, and enjoying the rest of the school year.
Students are asked to wear blue on April 2nd for “Autism Awareness” Day. We also ask our students to
wear pink on International Day of Pink on April 9th as a bully-awareness and bully-prevention reminder.
This month our school welcomes classroom presentations by Nancy Harper, Dairy Educator. The
presentation topics are linked to the Ontario curriculum and include dairy farming, Canada’s Food Guide and
healthy eating, Careers in food production and the food chain, Food Processing from the cow to the store, and
Tools and Technology used by dairy farmers past and present.
Some of our youngest students joined the performance and sang “Roar” at the Norgan Theatre concert
organized by one of our parents, Lucas Rogerson. Our School Council received a generous donation from this
performance and they plan to use the funds to support the school’s snack bin program. The School Council is
organizing a movie night at the Norgan Theatre on April 17th. The door opens at 6:00 p.m. and the movie
starts promptly at 6:30 p.m. Please consider attending this family event. Grade 6-8 students participated in the
Mathletes competition at the University of Waterloo. Our students wore school jerseys and really enjoyed this
experience. Thanks to the parents and staff who organized this event. 18 intermediate students will be
participating in the Skills Competition in Guelph. They have been eagerly preparing for this event and our
school looks forward to hearing about their accomplishments.
Joan Heath, our Public Health nurse, will be talking to interested parents on April 28th (6:00 to 6:30
p.m.) about the “3-Up, 2-Down” plan that has been developed at Elora P.S. It will help our school community
become more healthy by educating our students about eating more healthy fruits and vegetables, getting
more sleep, and getting more physical exercise. The “2-Down” part is about reducing screen time (e.g., playing
video games, watching T.V., computer time) and also the amount of sugar our students consume. All parents
and interested community members are welcome to attend this parent education portion of the evening. You
are also encouraged to stay and attend the School Council meeting that begins at 6:30, right after Joan’s talk.
Our Primary teachers are planning an Oral Communications event during Education Week on May 9th.
Education Week is May 5-9 and the theme is “We are the Future/ Nous sommes l’avenir.” The official; opening
will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5th at John Galt P.S. in Guelph.
Please take some time to go over this month’s newsletter with your child/children. It highlights
important dates, events, and rules for our school. The creative playground will soon be open again and will be
busy with students. Take some time to review the playground rules. Please do not hesitate to call or contact
either Ms Wainman or me if you have any questions or concerns.
Wilma Shannon
Principal
LUNCH ARRANGEMENTS
Arrangements for students who normally eat lunch at school, but wish to go out for lunch should be
made before school starts. Parent notes should be sent with them in the morning.
PUNCTUALITY
School starts at 8:55 a.m. Please ensure that your children are here on time.
CORRECT CHANGE
When sending money with your child for milk, etc. please send in the correct amount of money. We
do not always have change to send home.
WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY
The seventh annual World Autism Awareness Day is April 2, 2014. Every year autism organizations
around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness raising events. By bringing
together autism organizations all around the world, we will give a voice to the millions of individuals
worldwide who are undiagnosed, misunderstood and looking for help. Please join Upper Grand District School
Board in our effort to inspire compassion, empowerment and hope by wearing BLUE on Wednesday April 2nd
2014.
POPCORN SALES
As part of the fundraising for the Grade 8 Trip, popcorn is being sold in the foyer. Primary/Junior
students may purchase popcorn at the beginning of first nutrition break while intermediate students may
purchase popcorn as they come in off the yard. This healthy, pre-packaged popcorn comes in an assortment of
5 flavours (white cheddar; dill pickle, sea salt & vinegar; light salt & butter; and sweet & salty.) The popcorn is
sold for $1.00 a bag and will be available daily until the end of May. Thanks for your support.
SAFETY ON THE PLAYGROUND
With the warm weather approaching our students are anxiously waiting for our playground structure
to reopen. This is a good time to remind everyone - students, parents, staff and yard supervisors of the rules
that help make these structures fun and safe places to play.
Our playground is designed for users aged 12 and under and we do not provide supervision,
maintenance and inspections outside of school hours. Board policy determines that the equipment is off
limits from November 1st to March 31st, and at other times as determined by the school administration. This
includes periods of freezing temperatures, when there is freezing rain, if the ground cover is frozen, or if there
is a build up of snow and ice. Due to continuing cold temperatures and snow all playground equipment,
including swings, continue to be closed.
Rules for Students





No pushing
No running around play structures
No fighting
No eating while on the playground equipment
No throwing sticks, stones or other objects.
The following are not allowed on the equipment:
Bicycle helmets, skipping ropes, ropes, scarves or loose drawstrings on children’s clothing.
Our school has the following rules which apply to our playground:
Rules for the swings
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hold onto the swing with both hands.
Do not stand on the swing.
Only one person on the swing at a time.
Do not stand in front or behind the swing when another person is swinging. Wait your turn outside the
pea gravel area.
5. No jumping from the swing – remain seated until the swing stops.
6. Do not twist the chains of the swing.
7. Take turns.
Rules for Creative Playground
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Take turns.
Do NOT push, run or fight on the Creative.
Do not pick up or throw stones, sticks or other objects.
If someone is injured report to the supervisor immediately.
Travel down the slides on your seat. No walking up the slide.
Sit when sliding.
Before sliding down, make sure no one is at the bottom of the slide.
Scarves and bike helmets should not be worn on the Creative.
We know how much the children enjoy our play structure and are looking forward to the spring
weather so they can use it again. We make safety at play our major concern, and will be reminding our
students and staff on a regular basis about the playground rules. We hope that you will reinforce them at
home with your child.
GRADE 8 GRADUATION
Grade 8 Graduation will be held on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 6:00 pm at Palmerston Public School.
The parents of the Grade 8 students are planning a celebration after the ceremony from 7:00 pm until 7:45
pm. The Grade 8 Graduation dance will be held in the gym after. More details will be provided at a later date
by the parent committee and teachers.
SNACK BIN UPDATE
Palmerston Public School offers a snack bin program to all students every morning, five days a week.
This program has been run over the years by dedicated staff, students and volunteers. Parent Council has now
offered their support in seeing that this program continues while their coordinator is on medical leave. This
invaluable program is always accepting donations and in need of volunteers to make it successful. If you are
able to contribute your time at any point during the day, we would welcome your help. Any amount of time
you could spare would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Karen Goddard at 519-807-0074 for more
information.
We also welcome in-kind donations in the form of food. If you would like to donate nut-free groceries
to our program here are some healthy options:
Whole grain cereals & crackers
Raisins & dried fruit
Cheese strings
Yogurt tubes
Fresh fruit/veggies (carrots, apples, cucumbers, bananas)
Monetary donations are also accepted and for amounts over $20 tax receipts are provided. If you wish
a tax receipt cheques should be made payable to Upper Grand Learning Foundation.
We look forward to continuing this service of providing our students with nutritious snacks to support
and help fuel them in their day of learning.
MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER
Just a reminder that you can still order magazines online for upcoming birthdays, or relaxed summer
reading! Please go to: www.qsp.ca
Our school number is 7846, but you can look it up at the site if you don't have it handy. You can only
pay with a credit card when ordering online.
Thank you so much for your generous support of all our fundraisers at Palmerston Public School!
D.A.S.H.
With April here and the good weather just around the corner, the D.A.S.H. group is ready to go! Our
trained D.A.S.H. leaders will be heading out at recesses to encourage primary/ junior students participation in
games. Recess equipment has been purchased (soccer balls, Frisbees, skipping ropes, pylons) for students to
use at recess time. D.A.S.H. participants will take care of distributing these supplies. Looking forward to seeing
happy children playing outside in the spring weather!
SPECIAL EDUCATION SURVEY
Does your child have an IEP? If so the Special Education Department would like your feedback about
special education supports and services.
A survey for parents will be posted on the Upper Grand District School Board website from April 14April 30th. This survey is for parents who have children at the Upper Grand District School Board with
Individual Education Plans (IEPs). The information from the survey will be used to help in the planning of
special education supports and services.
Responses will be kept as confidential and used in summary reports. Thank you for watching for this.
EARTH DAY 2014
Connie Bender
Elementary Curriculum Leader
Earth Day is just around the corner! April 22nd has been recognized as Earth Day since the early 1970’s
and was originally created to highlight the need for all of us to be involved with environmental protection.
Although many of our communities organize neighbourhood clean-ups and earth friendly activities for
us to participate in on Earth Day, more and more schools are trying to make the environment a focus in the
day to day lives of students and staff. One way is through the participation in Ontario EcoSchools.
Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education and certification program for grades K-12 that helps
school communities nurture environmentally responsible citizens while reducing the environmental footprint
of schools. Schools that have opted to participate in this rigorous program create a “Green Team” consisting of
students and teachers. In some cases, parents, principals and custodians also participate to create a team that
truly reflects the entire school community. This Green Team takes a leadership role in the school. Students are
empowered to take a close look at how the school is conserving energy, minimizing waste, greening up the
school grounds, engaging in environmental stewardship and environmental leadership. The purpose of this
program is to engage students throughout the year by having them collect data about their own school, create
action plans, educate others about how to make some change, and then follow up and report the results back
to the school community. The goal is to create environmentally conscious citizens who think about their
impact on the environment as they walk through their day to day life at school, at home and in the
community.
Whether your school is involved in EcoSchools or not, many schools are working with students to
actively engage them in things like litterless lunches, re-useable water bottle campaigns and reducing landfill
waste. Parents can help by supporting students in their participation in these initiatives and by modelling
environmentally conscious actions at home. Having conversations with your children about your choices and
actions are a great opportunity for them to understand how important we are to the environment. By
supporting our children to grow up green, we are helping to create a more sustainable future.
For additional information about Ontario EcoSchools, please check out their website at:
http://www.ontarioecoschools.org/.
TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
Helping Your Family Deal with Stress and Anxiety
Everyone experiences stress during their daily lives and there are times in our lives when we feel
anxious. This is normal. It happens to all of us. However, some of us and some of our children/youth are
anxious more of the time and to a greater degree and this can be challenging for the children, youth and their
families.
The good news is that there a lot of positive things that you can do as parents to help reduce the stress
and anxiety that you and your child/youth feel. Here are some tips!
Listen: Take time to listen to your child/youth’s thoughts and feelings. Being heard is very important
and can make someone feel less distressed by talking about it.
Talk: Let your child/youth know that they are not alone. Lots of people feel stressed and anxious. It is
normal, harmless and temporary.
Share: You as a parent experience fear, stress and anxiety. Model how you cope with stressful
situations with positive coping strategies.
Support: Let your child/youth know that you care and support them as they struggle with stress and
anxiety.
Practice: Practice calming strategies with your child/youth when they are calm. Practice every day so
calming becomes a habit.
Encourage: When stress arises, encourage your child/youth to use their calming strategies. Praise your
child/youth for using their calming strategies.
Model: Be a good role model for your child/youth. Create a positive, predictable environment at home.
Use your own coping strategies. Allow your children to observe how you face and deal with stress in a positive
way. You are the single most important influence in your child’s life.
Here are a couple of calming techniques that you can practice with your child/youth:
1. Calm Breaths. When we are anxious we breathe faster, which actually makes us more anxious. By
calming our breath we are sending signals to our brains and bodies that things are going to be OK.
Take slow deep breaths.
Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
For younger children they can blow bubbles or pretend to.
For older children/youth guide, they can imagine breathing in calm and breathing out worries
or tension.
Keep taking calm breaths until the breath is smooth, deep and calm.
Have the child/youth notice what it feels like to be calm.
2. Muscle relaxation. When we are anxious, our bodies become tense. By relaxing our bodies, we are
sending signals to our bodies and our brains that it is going to be OK.
Sit or lie down.
Tighten up one part of your body (e.g. your legs).
Hold the tension for 10 seconds.
Relax your body.
Allow the tension and tightness to drain away.
Repeat tightening and releasing different parts of the body.
Tighten your whole body, hold for 10 seconds then release.
Lie or sit for a moment allowing your body to be totally relaxed.
Have your child/youth notice what it feels like when their body is relaxed.
Hope these tips are helpful. The best thing that you can do is practice relaxation techniques every day
with your family to build coping skills and to have calmer, happier children, youth and families. Enjoy!
For more information:
http://anxietybc.com/parent/index.php
http://www.mindyourmind.ca/wellness
For children and youth:
KidsHelpPhone.ca 1 800 668 6868
24 hour phone line and website for children and youth.
If you are concerned that your child/youth is experiencing excessive anxiety, you can talk with your school or
community mental health provider:
CMHA WWD: 1 844 HERE 24 7 (1 844 437 3247) - For Guelph/Wellington Children and Youth Services and
Guelph/Welllington/Dufferin Adult Services
DCAFS: 519-941-1530 for Dufferin Children and Youth Services
May 4-11, 2014 is Child and Youth Mental Health Week. Next time I will share some information and activities
that are coming to your schools and communities.
Dr. Lynn Woodford, Psychologist, is the Mental Health and Addiction Lead for the Upper Grand District School
Board.
MATH HELP
Dear Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa and of course the dog and anyone else living at our house
I heard about these fun math games to play at home. Do you think we could try them out? I think math
is really important and I just need some extra practice.
Guess My Number
Goal: Can you guess the number I’m holding?
One player takes two playing cards. The cards can be ordered any way.
Be sure no one else can see the cards!
All other players take turns guessing what the number is by asking math questions.
"Is it even?" "Is it odd?" "Is it greater than 10?" "Is it a factor of 20?" and so on.
The payer holding the cards can only answer with a "Yes" or "No", until the actual number is guessed.
Let’s Get Loonie
(Materials: 2 dice, coins 8 pennies, 2 nickels, 4 dimes, 6 quarters and 1 loonie.)
Roll the two dice and add the two numbers together.
Take that amount of money from the centre.
(Try to always have the least number of coins in front of you at a time).
Object: to be the first player to get “Looney”.
On the Way Home from Soccer or Baseball
How many goals/runs were scored in the game?
How many more goals/runs did we need to get to make 10, 18, and 25?
How many players are on the team? If they each have one sibling how many children would that be? What if
half of them had 2 siblings? Now how many children would that be?
It cost $50.00 to fill up the van with gas. How much would 5 tanks cost? What about 8 tanks?
And for those nights that get rained out, how about some old favourites.
Puzzles, Pay Day, Monopoly, Rummoli, Phase 10 or Payday.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
7
Day 3
14
Day 3
21
EASTER MONDAY
28
Day 1
6:00 – 6:30 pm Info about
3-Up, 2-Down (Healthy
Schools)
6:30 pm School Council
meeting
1
Day 4
2
WEDNESDAY
Day 5
8
Day 4
9
Day 5
10
15
Day 4
16
Day 5
22
Day 2
23
Day 3
29
Day 2
30
Day 3
2:00 – 5:30 pm Little
Caesars Pizza pickup
Int. Basketball at PPS
Int. Basketball at Victoria
Cross PS
Harriston Packing orders
due
Int. Basketball at PPS
Int. Basketball at Arthur PS
Grilled Cheese
Wear blue for Autism
Awareness Day
Pitas
Pink Day – Anti-bullying
Hot Dogs
3
THURSDAY
Day 1
FRIDAY
4
Day 2
Day 1
11
Day 2
17
Day 1
18
24
Day 4
25
Skills Competition
Gr. 7 Hep B & Gr.8 Girls
HPV
Int. Basketball tournament
at Wellington Heights SS
GOOD FRIDAY
Day 5
Panda Pride Assembly 9:00
am
EASTER MATINEE
MON. APR. 21, 2014
THE NUT JOB
2:00 PM
FREE ADMISSION
DONATIONS ACCEPTED TOWARDS
1ST PALMERSTON SCOUTS
NORGAN THEATRE
PALMERSTON