McHugh News
Ms J. Kempe, Principal
PH: 905-451-2515 x401
Ted Byers, Superintendent
PH: 905-451-2862
Kathy McDonald, Trustee
PH: 905-890-1010 x2029
DECEMBER NEWSLETTER, 2014
FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK…
remaining classes will participate in the Spring
Concert.
Welcome to December, a wonderfully busy time of the
year.
As our students begin to anticipate the
upcoming holidays with enthusiasm, please remind
them to be safe on their journey to and from school,
as well as dressing appropriately for the weather. As
some of our older students are stopping at the skate
board park in the morning and are late for school, we
ask that all families remind students about the
importance of being on time.
We wish all of our McHugh families a wonderful, safe
holiday season. We hope that you are able to spend
time with family and friends enjoying this festive
season. See you all next year 
Thank you to the many families that attended our
Progress Report Card parent- teacher interviews on
November 13th and 14th. Interview evening is an
important time as we share your child’s progress to
date, celebrate their success and establish personal
learning goals. Term One report cards will be sent
home on February 6th, 2015.
HELP YOUR FAMILY
STAY WARM THIS WINTER!
Canada Safety Council recommends the following
tips for staying comfortable and preventing
hypothermia when working or playing outdoors:

Our “Lost and Found Shelf” is full. If your child is
missing any clothing please encourage them to check 
the lost and found. Please make sure that you label
your child’s clothing as this will help us find missing 
belongings. Any unclaimed items will be bundled
together and donated to a local charity prior to
Christmas Break.
Our Annual Food Drive has begun and will continue
throughout the month of December, as a way of 
spreading Christmas joy to families in need. We ask
that you contribute to our Food Drive by sending nonperishable food items to school between now and 
December 12th, to help us spread some Christmas joy!

Our Christmas/Winter Concert will be hosted
Thursday, December 18th, 1:50 – 2:50 pm. In the
event that you are unable to attend our afternoon
performance, we are hosting a “Dress Rehearsal” the 
same day at 9 am. The Kindergarten and Grade 
Ones classes will be participating in this event. The
Wear a warm hat—most body heat is lost through
the head. Children should keep an extra hat at
school.
Wear layered clothing. Layers allow warm air to
stay trapped around the body.
Protect your feet and hands. Wear loose
waterproof boots. If the boots have liners, carry an
extra pair to replace damp ones or take an extra
pair of socks. Mittens are warmer than gloves.
Carry an extra pair of mittens to school, on
outings, etc.
Prevent dehydration and exhaustion, which can
lead to hypothermia. Drink plenty of fluids and
pace yourself when doing vigorous activities.
Stay fit by exercising and eating well—people who
are fit are less susceptible to hypothermia.
If you stay indoors, avoid moving from a hot
environment to a cold one. Excessive sweating
caused from an extreme change in temperature
increases the risk of developing hypothermia.
Eat high-energy food such as nuts and raisins.
If you are travelling (on the road or in the
wilderness) carry emergency supplies.
IT’S OUR PLACE TO LEARN AND GROW
TRAFFIC SAFETY IN OUR COMMUNITY
LET’S FILL HAITI’S BUCKET!
“A group of grade 5 students have decided to fill
Haiti’s bucket. Haiti is a very poor country that has
been through a lot of horrible weather like:
hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. We are trying to
help Haiti by raising money to buy water purification
Safety is a top priority at our school. Here is a list of tablets. $10 will allow us to purchase 50 tablets and
traffic tips to keep students, staff and parents safe that could help so much. See why we need to help:
while
commuting
to
and
from
school. go to Povertyresolution.com. Just remember we all
have the power to change the world!”
 Respect traffic signs and road markers around
Thank you,
the school.
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Drive slowly and with caution on and near
school property. Adhere to the posted speed
limits on any surrounding streets used by
students on their way to and from school.
Always yield to pedestrian traffic. Wait for
students, staff members and parents to cross
before driving past them.
When dropping your child off at the school,
use the Kiss'n'Ride area. This is a supervised
area that is designed to keep students safe.
Do not double park or do anything else to
block traffic or draw your child off the curb and
into traffic. Do not take shortcuts over curbs.
Have your child ready to exit the car when you
reach the curb. Say goodbye to your child
before you park at the curb to let your child out
of your car.
During regular drop-off times, students are to
remain in the car until it is safe for them to exit
the car onto the curb.
Follow the directions of staff or volunteers on
duty in the school parking lot and treat staff,
students, volunteers, passengers and other
drivers with respect.
Consider parking off site and walking a short
distance to school. This will give you time to
talk to your children about their day, review
new vocabulary words, math concepts, etc.
Remind your child to only cross the street at an
intersection or crosswalk. They should never
“jaywalk” by crossing in the middle of the
street.
Students who bike to school should always
wear a helmet, and follow all traffic laws. They
should only cross the street at a crosswalk or
intersection—never in the middle of the road.
Grade 5 Students
FROM THE BOOK SHELF
I would like to extend a big thank you to everybody
who came out and participated in our Scholastic
Book Fair. It was a great success. The money earned
from the book fair has gone toward booking an author
visit for McHugh in March. Students will have the
opportunity to listen and interact with children’s author
and illustrator, and 2015 Blue Spruce Nominee Ruth
Ohi on March 31.
The library website is up and running and can be
accessed
by
students
by
logging
into
byod.peelschools.org and clicking on the ‘What’s
Happening’ button. Students have already started
sharing videos about things they have been learning
in class and reviewing books they have read. They
have been learning about positive digital citizenship
and how to use the Internet safely when visiting the
library. There are several resources to be found on
the McHugh Library website including a link to our
online book catalogue and a link to Peel’s e-resources
database, which includes a variety of rich resources to
help both primary and junior students with research,
such as Kids Infobits, Britannica and Pebble Go. They
are encouraged to spend some time on the website
with their family and explore it and check it out!
I am looking forward to the new year with the launch
of the Forest of Reading program which includes Blue
Spruce for our younger students and a Silver Birch
Club for students in grades 3-5. The books are in and
they are fabulous!
Thank you,
Ms.Gilliland
IT’S OUR PLACE TO LEARN AND GROW
CELEBRATING FAITH AND CULTURE
JACK SMYTHE FIELD CENTRE
“A Bird in the Hand….”

December

December 2

December 6

December 8

Sunset of
December 11
to 30
December 13


Sunset of
December
17 to 24
 Eve of
December
20 to 21
 December 21

December 25

December 26

December 26

December 26
to January 1
December 28

December 31
to January 4
December 31
to January 18

Luut'aa
(Aboriginal Spirituality)
Maun Agiyaras/
Muanajiyaras
(Jainism)
Sanghamitta Day
(Buddhism)
Bodhi Day (Rohatsu)
(Buddhism)
the month of Masa’il
(Bahá’í)
Birthday of Imam
Agakhan
(Islam)
Chanukah
(Judaism)
Kindergarten students enjoy feeding the birds at Jack
Smythe Field Centre.
Yule
(Wicca)
Tohji-taisai
(Shinto)
Christmas
(Christianity and
Canada)
Boxing Day
(Christianity and
Canada)
Zarathosht-no-Diso
(Zoroastrianism)
Kwanza
(African-Canadian)
Birth of Guru Gobind
Singh
(Sikhism)
Ghambar Maidyarem
(Zoroastrianism)
the month of Sharaf
(Bahá’í)
“Feed the Birds…. ”
Grade 4 students line up to feed the Chickadees.
IT’S OUR PLACE TO LEARN AND GROW
MORE FUN AT JACK SMYTHE
Students learning about Habitats.
WINTER CONCERT
Our Winter Concert is fast approaching! This year, our
winter concert will include the kindergarten and grade
1 students and will be held on Thursday, December
18th, at 1:50 p.m. Please note that we will only be
having a DAYTIME concert this year. This allows all
children to participate. A letter has been sent home
with your child explaining any further details about our
concerts. Thanks!
In Song,
Ms. Ross
UNITED WAY
The Food Chain Game
A big thank you to the students of McHugh who
participated in last week's 'Giving Week' for United
Way. Our loonie and toonie drive brought in $82.50.
The teachers also got in the spirit by having a chili
lunch, where we raised $140. Every bit helps and all
the money will go straight back into our community to
help those in need. Thanks for giving!
Learning how animals survive the Winter using snow
as insulation.
IT’S OUR PLACE TO LEARN AND GROW
Ms.Ross
Bus cancellation & closing schools
due to bad weather
During the winter months, we may need to cancel buses or close schools because of inclement weather.
Information regarding details of cancellations or closures will be announced on radio and television stations listed
below and posted at www.peelschools.org and www.stopr.ca. Information will also be available on Twitter
@Peelschools, Facebook at www.facebook.com/peelschools or by calling 905-890-1010 or 1-800-668-1146.
VIRGIN RADIO FM99.9
CFNY FM102.1/AM640
CFRB AM1010
FM Z103.5
CHIN FM100.7/AM1540
CITYPULSE
CHUM AM1050
CJCL AM590
EZ ROCK FM97.3
FM93.1
CBC99.1
GLOBAL NEWS
CFTR AM680
CHFI FM98.1
CJBC (FR) AM860
FM Q107
CTV
One of the following messages will be announced (highlighted text only):
Peel District School Board buses are cancelled.
This means that schools remain open for students and staff, but buses are cancelled. Bus cancellations could occur
in all or parts of municipalities. Buses will remain cancelled all day. All activities that require busing will also be
cancelled. Permits, night school classes, child care and other activities in schools will operate as usual.
All Peel District School Board schools and board offices are closed.
This means that all schools and Board offices are closed to students and staff. All activities in schools and board
offices are also cancelled, including child care, night school and permits.
All evening programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are cancelled.
This means that all activities in schools and Board offices are cancelled, including continuing education courses and
events. The buildings will be closed.
All weekend programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are cancelled.
This means that all activities in schools and Board offices are cancelled, including continuing education courses and
events. The buildings will be closed.
IT’S OUR PLACE TO LEARN AND GROW