May 2015 PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE Has the pace picked up around your home? It definitely has around Crestview! There appears to be a great deal of energy as we move into the last 2 months of another school year. As I have said in previous newsletters, this seems to be the year for ongoing staffing changes here at Crestview. Miss Morsink was with us until March Break when she obtained a permanent teaching contract with the school board at Westvale Public School. We were fortunate to hire Miss Harkness to be our grade 1/2 teacher until the end of June. Miss Harkness is a very familiar face to the Crestview community as she practise taught here and has supply taught many of our classes as well. Mrs. Carol Williams’ health continues to improve. She is making excellent progress and we anticipate her return for next September. We had Mrs. Carol Hagerman here in the VP office for the month of March. From now until the end of the school year, we have two retired administrators that are sharing the VP role here at Crestview. Miss Ann Bailey is here in the mornings and Mr. Ian Bowers is here in the afternoon. Both of them bring many years of experience to the role of VP and we welcome both of them. Spring is always an exciting time. In April, we had our Move-a-thon. The students were so excited to participate and we want to thank you for your support of this school council activity. We have used some of the proceeds from the Scholastic Book Fair to support classroom libraries and our home reading program. Thank you again to our families for your support of the book fair. As we look ahead, May and June are busy months including Track and Field, Primary Play Day, Provincial Testing for grades 3 and 6, Kindergarten Orientation, Grade 6 transition to Senior Schools, as well as many end of year activities. Be sure to mark all these important dates on your calendar as more information arrives at your home! Sincerely, Ms. P. Shiry Principal SCHOOL-DAY A huge thank you to everyone who has signed up for School-Day. We have over 210 families registered. If you need any help on registering your child please do not hesitate to contact the office. Kindie Trip – The Kindergarten students will be going on a field trip to Steckle Farm on May 28. The information for this trip along with the permission forms etc will also be posted on this website so please sign up now. If you don’t have access to a computer please contact the office on 519-893-1140. DATES TO REMEMBER May 4 – Family Visit to Stanley Park (grade 6 students) 7:00pm to 9:00pm May 7 – Welcome to Kindergarten Evening 6:00 pm in the library May 12 – Spring Concert 7pm May 13 – School Council Meeting – 6:30pm May 18 – Victoria Day Holiday – no school May 25 – June 5 – EQAO Testing May 29 – PA Day – no school Kindergarten Registration Kindergarten Registration for September 2015 is happening now. Please call the school office at 519-893-1140 to make arrangements to register your child. This is for new registrations for children born in 2010 and 2011 (if currently not attending school). Current students do not need to reregister. SCHOOL COUNCIL UPDATE Move-a-thon Update A big thank-you to, Katherine Raines, Jessica Dufton, Rachel McCorriston and Meagen Ballard for all their hard work in planning the Move-a-thon. We trust your kids came home excited about the time spent in the gym moving to the music provided by Car Toons. We raised over $2,500.00 for our greening initiative. Thank-you for your donations. There will be some wonderful changes happening outside very soon! Next Council Meeting Please join us at the next school council meeting Wednesday , May 13th at 6:30 pm in the library. This will be the final meeting for the school year. On behalf of the Crestview School Council. We Team News (2010 births will enter Junior Kindergarten (JK) in September and 2011 births will enter Senior Kindergarten (SK) in September.) EQAO Grade 3 and 6 It is that time of year for our EQAO Testing. May 25 to June 5 Can you please if possible try to get your child here at school on time each day we, would greatly appreciate that. Check us out on the web at http://cre.wrdsb.ca Our We Day team has been busy with our international fundraising project. This year, The We Team is making global change by raising money for Free the Children's Clean Water initiative. They are excited to have partnered with a local business, Jimmy's Minis, to make a difference in the world. The We Team will be educating Crestview about the importance of clean water as a basic human right. A huge thanks to all the students and families who contributed to our Jimmy’s Minis fundraising event. We raised $400.00 . Thanks again to the We Team who organized this event. 2 Planning for 2015-2016 As families are looking toward the summer, teachers and administration are gearing up to organize for September 2015! At this point in the year, our current students are counted. The WRDSB responds by sending us a school organization which takes into account the Provincial Guidelines for cap on class sizes. With this information in hand, teachers and administrators take on the task of creating classes for next year. This is a process that staff works through in a very deliberate and careful way, the goal being to create classes with a combination of the following criteria: Academic needs of all students Balance of boys and girls Social and emotional needs Relationships between students Balance of students with special needs in each classroom Staff do their very best to meet the needs of all students in this process. While we do not accept requests for specific teachers, the office will accept letters from parents that provides us with information that will assist in placing your child in the appropriate class. Please provide this information to the office no later than May 29, 2014. Class lists will be posted on the front and back doors of the school on Friday, August 28th by 4:00 pm. Speech, Language and Hearing Month Please see attached the May calendar to increase awareness and understanding of Speech and Language. Check us out on the web at http://cre.wrdsb.ca Grade 6 Students We are changing the format of the way we celebrate our grade 6 students here at Crestview to include the rest of the student population. We will be moving towards a more informal grade 6 celebration as part of our year end assembly. The grade 6 students will be recognized as a group in front of the entire student body, celebrating their move on to Stanley Park in September at the beginning of the assembly (9:00 am). Since all of the other 350 students will be in the gym, there will be limited room for families. Parents will have an opportunity to take pictures. Dress is casual. Regular school attire will be appropriate for our grade 6 students. There will be a party for the grade 6 students to celebrate with each other during the second block. We feel that this more informal approach will be more appropriate and less stressful for our students and families as we celebrate their growing maturity and their move on to senior school. Safe, Caring and Inclusive School Survey As parents at Crestview school we invite you to take part in the most recent version of the Safe, Caring and Inclusive school survey. This survey is completed by students, staff and parents each year to provide the board and the ministry of education information regarding current school climate, to assist in identifying the strengths and challenges of the school's climate and to allow resources to be focused on areas that require improvement. Results of the survey will be made available to the school and to the public in late June. If you would like to take part in this survey please log on to the WRDSB web site and look for Safe, Caring and Inclusive Schools survey on the main page. You can also access the survey at 3 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Parent_Guard ianSCIS Your input to this survey will at all times be confidential. Thank you for considering this request. Please contact Mr. Bowers at the school should you have any questions 519-8931140. TASSIMO DISCS Terracycle has suddenly and without warning to us changed the tassimo recycling program. Brigades now must collect using specially purchased boxes and be available to the public. From now on discs may be donated to the following location: - Adams Landscape Supply 30 Dumart Place, Kitchener - Benefits KW Synchronized Swim Club - Monday to Friday 7am to 4:30pm This location is also accepting Febreze brand waste. way to get kids moving. To recognize the birthday student you could make a button, sign, sash, crown or badge for them to wear. Celebrating in these ways might feel even more special for the student and also teaches them that fun doesn’t depend on unhealthy food. Find more unique and healthy party ideas here: http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/healthy_school_celebrations. pdf Foodimals Looking for a fun activity that motivates kids to eat more vegetables and fruit? Challenge your kids to create ‘foodimals,’ animal-like creatures made out of vegetables and fruit! This activity encourages children to use their creativity and provides an opportunity to try new foods. Bring kids to the grocery store or farmer’s market to be inspired by the different shapes and colours of fresh produce. Encourage them to choose several vegetables or fruit to experiment with at home and turn into ‘foodimals.’ After they have admired their creation and washed the produce well they can enjoy eating the fruits of their labour! Search ‘foodimals’ on www.eatrightontario.ca for some ideas to get started. Spotlight on Healthy Fats Please support the implementation of the Ontario School Food and Beverage Policy and to encourage healthy nutrition within school communities. Did you know that some fats are healthier than others? Our bodies need some fat for good health and to help us absorb certain vitamins. Canada’s Food Guide recommends including a small amount of healthy unsaturated fat in your diet every day (2 to 3 tablespoons or 30 to 45 ml). This could include soft, non-hydrogenated margarines as well as vegetable oils like canola, olive and soybean used in cooking or salad dressings. Nuts, seeds and avocado are also great sources of healthy fats to include in small amounts every day. Try sliced avocado on a sandwich or sunflower seeds in a salad or rice dish. However, we should limit sources of saturated and trans fat, like butter, hard margarine, lard, shortening, high fat meats and processed foods. Consuming too much saturated and trans fat may increase our risk of developing heart disease. Keep the focus on healthy fats! Healthier Celebrations Why Whole Grains? Celebrations are important, and they should be enjoyed! There are lots of ways to make celebrations fun, festive and exciting without overloading on unhealthy treats. Consider shifting the focus from food to fun next time you want to send something in to the class to help celebrate a birthday or holiday. Send in game supplies, pencils, stickers, craft supplies, small containers of play dough or other small tokens instead of candy or cupcakes. Classroom activities such as playing a game or having a dance party are memorable and also a great Whole grains are more nutritious than processed grains like white flour and they have more flavour too! Whole grain products are made from all three parts of the grain including the bran, the germ and the endosperm. The bran has fibre and B vitamins, the germ has healthy fats, vitamins and minerals and the endosperm is the starchy part that has carbohydrates and protein. When grains are processed into white flour, the germ and the bran are removed along with the fibre, healthy fats and most of the vitamins and minerals! Sometimes it is hard for By Region of Waterloo Public Health Check us out on the web at http://cre.wrdsb.ca 4 people to adjust to the flavour of whole grains when they’re not used to them, but before long our taste buds adapt. Keep offering nutritious and delicious whole grains and even picky eaters can learn to enjoy them. Canada’s Food Guide recommends we make at least half of our grain products whole grain each day, so enjoy variety in your diet. Try whole grain bread or pasta, oats, barley, brown rice, quinoa or wild rice at your next meal. Dogs on School Property Canine lovers know that a nice walk on a beautiful day is very enjoyable with their pets. Our staff love animals; however, we also have a responsibility to our students and recognize that accidents can happen. There have been Change of Address/Home # Please keep us posted with any phone/address changes! If you are moving or have a change in phone or any contact info we need to know so we can easily reach you. Contact us at 519-8931140 or stop into the office. Thanks!!! some instances in Waterloo Region in which children have been hurt by animals. Therefore, please do not bring your pet onto school property during school hours. If you walk your pet please stop at the sidewalk. Thank you for “Stooping and Scooping “. Continuing this practice will ensure that our playground is clean and safe. We thank you very much for cooperation in making our school a safe one for all students. End of Day Dismissal This is a friendly reminder for parents, guardians and students regarding our dismissal routine. At the end of the instructional day, it is our expectation that all students will promptly leave the school property and head home (or to child care). Students should not be staying on the school property to play games or socialize with their friends. Students may only stay on the school property after the dismissal bell if they are under the direct supervision of a care giver. Our staff supervision at dismissal time ends at 3:20 pm, and is primarily designated to ensure that all the students leave the school grounds in a timely manner. Thank you for your cooperation in helping ensure the safety of all our students. Check us out on the web at http://cre.wrdsb.ca 5