ORCHARD PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE
24 Calverley Street, Orillia L3V 3T4
Phone 705) 325-7772 Fax (705) 325-5522
School Web Page http://orc.scdsb.on.ca Follow us on Twitter: @OrchardParkPS
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Eileen Wise
Shelly Long-Bokma
Principal
January 2015
Vice Principal
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Winter is upon us with full force!!
The snow is deep and banks are high, great for playing in as long as you are
prepared. Please make sure your child has snowpants, hats, mittens, coats to
enjoy our wonderful winter. An extra pair of socks in the backpack is good.
The banks are high and make it difficult for cars and buses, we ask that you
pick-up/drop off your child at the far end of the drive so we can load and
unload the busses.
We have reviewed with the students our expectations in the winter;
1.
Snow stays on the ground
2
You can’t play catch with a snowball
3.
Throwing snowballs is like hitting and we
don’t hit at school.
4.
Don’t push people off snow hills.
5.
Don’t ruin other peoples work or creations.
If you didn’t make it, don’t wreck it!
I’m sure these will help us keep everyone safe, and as we said to the students,
they can do some of the other “fun” activities at home. We do encourage all
students to go straight home after school. We need to support our students in
setting goals for their futures and making the connections from their actions
today leading to their future success. This is particularly true for our grade
eights as they are starting to make decisions for when they transition to
high school.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS!
Let’s start the New Year off right!!!! Being present and on-time at school is an
important skill to teach your child. Patterns of attendance are established
during the early years of schooling and there is a direct relationship between
attendance and achievement.
Being late for school also affects student learning. If a child is just 10 minutes
late for class every day, they will miss over 30 hours of instruction over the
course of the school year. Poor attendance makes it difficult for students to
form positive peer relationships and students that have learning difficulties are
put at even greater risk when they miss school frequently.
Here are some tips to help with attendance and punctuality:

Talk with your child about why it is important to attend school
regularly - give specific examples of how education can help them
in their life.

Make sure that your child stays healthy by eating properly,
exercising and getting enough sleep.

Lead by example; if children see their parents missing work
frequently, they may expect to be able to do the same thing.
If your child is having a specific issue at school that is causing them to not
want to attend, speak to school staff as soon as possible so we can work with
you to solve the problem.
FRENCH PROGRAMS
French Immersion and Extended French info nights and registration info
The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) offers French Immersion
(FI) and Extended French as a Second Language (EFSL) at select schools
throughout the county. FI begins in Grade 1 and EFSL begins in Grade 5.
These programs give students a bilingual education and the opportunity to
become fluent in another language. Information sessions will be held in
January for parents of Kindergarten and Grade 4 students. A letter will be sent
home to those parents with more details. Information session dates are posted
online at www.scdsb.on.ca under Programs, French as a Second Language. To
apply for these programs, you must complete the online application form in
January at www.scdsb.on.ca under Programs, French as a Second Language.
The FI application form will be available from 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 19,
until 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015. The EFSL application form will be
available from 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, until 9 p.m. on Thursday, Jan.
22, 2015.While every effort will be made to accommodate all FI applications,
available space and staffing will determine how many students can be
registered in the program. Applications will be processed in the order they are
received electronically. EFSL is an open access program. This means that any
student starting Grade 5 in September 2015 will be eligible for the EFSL
program, and all online applications will be processed. Parents who do not
have Internet access at home, or who require other assistance accessing the
online application, should contact the school.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Do you (or someone you know) have a child who was born in 2011? If so, it’s
almost time to register for Kindergarten in the SCDSB! Beginning on January
26, 2015, Simcoe County’s public schools will be registering children for
Junior and Senior Kindergarten classes for the 2015-16 school year. Contact
your local public school for registration information. As of the 2015-2016
school year, ALL schools will offer full-day, every day Kindergarten. For
more information, visit:
http://www.scdsb.on.ca/Programs/Kindergarten/Pages/Kindergarten.aspx.
During recent years there has been an increase in the number of situations
where parents do not have appropriate documentation to register students in
our schools.
Land Registry offices no longer offer same day service for the processing of
birth certificate applications. Presently, birth certificate applications take
approximately 6 - 8 weeks to be processed in Thunder Bay. Encourage parents
who are registering their kindergarten children to start the process now to
obtain a birth certificate in time for the 2015-2016 school year.
The Board standard for acceptable documentation for proof of age for new
kindergarten students will include any of the following:
• Canadian Birth Certificate
• Canadian Passport
• Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
• Canadian Certificate of Registration of Birth
Abroad
• Confirmation of Permanent Resident document
• Permanent Resident Card/Record of Landing
(IMM 1000)
• First Nation Status Card
• Statement of Live Birth (long version with seal)
• Current Canada Immigration and Citizenship
documentation (not visitor visa) – contact
Newcomer Welcome Centre, 725-8360
ext. 304 for more information.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
Parents and guardians are ultimately responsible for the decision to send their
children to school during severe weather conditions. If your child (ren) walks
to school, please call and advise the office if you are keeping them home on
Bus Cancellation Days/Inclement Weather days. This will help with the
number of calls for Safe Arrival.
The Bus Operator in consultation with the Transportation Consortium decides
upon bus cancellations. Please note that if buses do not run in the morning
they will not be running at the 3:35 p.m. dismissal time. All bus cancellations
will be announced over the local radio stations: KICX 105.9 FM, SUNSHINE
89.1 FM, ROCK 95, 93.1 FM, CHAY 101 FM, LIFE 100.3 FM, THE DOCK
104.1 FM. All information regarding bus cancellations is also posted on the
Simcoe County District School Board web-site at
www.scdsb.on.ca.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR OUR KITCHEN! If you are able to
give us a couple hours a week to help with hot dogs or filling
snack bowls, please contact the school office.
WINTER SAFETY
Students are reminded regularly through morning announcements to follow
routines set in place to ensure their safety. Throwing snowballs, of course, is
prohibited. Students will be given a snowball sheet to take home as a warning
should they choose to throw a snowball. Repeated incidents will result in a
suspension. Snow hills are designated “out-of-bounds” to prevent injury from
tunneling or falling from the top. Several supervisors are on duty at each
outdoor break to monitor our expanse of playground. These measures,
combined with ongoing class discussions, help maintain fun-filled but safe
outdoor breaks for our students.
DENTAL SCREENING
Oral health is an important part of a child’s overall health and well being.
Undetected or untreated dental decay and other oral health disorders can result
in pain, poor eating habits and poor self-esteem – all problems
that reduce a child’s capacity to succeed in school.
The oral health team will be coming to Orchard Park on
January 27th and 28th, 2015 to begin this year’s screening
process. They will be screening children in JK, SK, grades 2
and 8. Individual children from other grades may be seen as
well. For more information about this or other oral health programs offered by
the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, please call 705-721-7520 x 8804 or
call toll free at 1-877-721-7520.
DRESS WARM
Students are reminded regularly to dress appropriately for the
weather, and to arrive at school as close as possible to 9:05 a.m.
when the entry bell rings. Parents of Bussed students are asked
not to send children to the bus stop too early (to avoid having
them standing in cold weather for lengthy periods). We watch
the temperature closely, and when it drops in temperature we will always go by
what the board advises. The students are brought or kept inside. They are,
however, expected to be dressed warmly for our regular cold Canadian winter
weather!
READ ACROSS CANADA
From early January to Mid-March the library will be running a reading
incentive program for students in grades 2-6. Any school library book read by
students, except movie titles or previously read books, will count towards their
house point totals, as well as for rewards for individual students. Books read
to students by their parents also count towards this total. (Parents reading
aloud to, or with, their child each night is a great way to improve their
child’s reading skills.) Our minimum goal is that students will read at least
110 pages each week. As always, they may visit the library to get new books as
often as their classroom teacher allows. To support emerging readers at school
in this program we will:

Allow parents to read to their students

Steer students to books at an easier reading level

Include primary non-fiction/high interest books
Please contact Mr. Jones, in the library, if you have any questions about this
program.
NO ELECTRONIC ITEMS!!!!!
This is a reminder that electronic items (cell phones, video
cameras, MP3 players, iPODS, Gameboys, etc.) and trading cards
should not be brought to school. We cannot be responsible for
loss or damage of such items. Our students are encouraged to be
physically active during outdoor recess times.
WRITTEN PERMISSION NEEDED
Please be aware
that we are unable to accept verbal permission
for students to
travel on out-of-school excursions, including
sports events.
Written permission is required. It is very
important to
return permission forms for excursions by the
required return date.
Written permission is also necessary for students
to leave the school property at lunch time, unless their usual routine is to return
home for lunch. It is not recommended that students walk to neighbourhood
eateries for lunch. Many extra-curricular activities are offered to keep students
involved at the school during the lunch hour.
DECEMBER FOOD DRIVE RESULTS
WAY TO GO Orchard Park E.S. students and parents. We held a food drive in
December and collected loads of food. The food was packed in boxes
decorated like train cars which were lined up in the front hall of the school. As
I told the students that donated, they have had a real positive impact on many
families’ lives over the holiday. Thank you to all for a great demonstration of
our school’s caring attitude.
P.J./STUFFED ANIMAL SPIRIT DAY
We will be holding our next House Assembly and Spirit Day on Tuesday,
January 20. The theme for this Spirit Day is STUFFED ANIMAL/PJ DAY.
Students may dress up in PJs (Students dress must still conform to the school
dress code. Students may wish to wear PJs over their regular clothes),
AND/OR students may bring their favourite stuffed animal to earn house
points. Grade six, seven and eight students that participate, will also earn
credit towards their activity points.
CANDY CANES
A big thank you to our students and parents who helped make our Candy Cane
sales a huge success! A special thank you to the student elves that dedicated
their
lunches and recesses to prepare, sell and deliver to our
students. A BIG thank you to Mrs. Thurlow for once again
organizing the Candy Cane Fundraiser!
COOKIES AND POPCORN!
Popcorn and chocolate chip cookies are available to purchase in the office
during 1st and 2nd nutrition breaks for
$1.00 each. Both snack
items are approved by the board.
FINAL SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Does your child need some great reading for the March Break. We will be
holding our final Scholastic Book Fair from Wednesday, February 4 to Friday,
February 6. The students in grades 1-8 may purchase books during the school
day on Thursday, February 5; and Friday, February 6 between 9:15 and 10:40
a.m. The book fair will not be open at night but parents are welcome to visit
the school during these times (Please check in at the office first.) The funds
raised from this book fair will be used to bring authors/presenters into the
school, and for other library programs. This is a great chance to pick up
reading books for the holidays, as well as supporting the school’s library
program.
WELLNESS INTRODUCTION
Every morning before the first nutritional break we have introduced a
mindful minute….take a minute to ask your child about it and show
you some of the exercises we have been learning…More info to
follow
GRADE 8 PARENT/STUDENT INFORMATION
OD/PARK Secondary School is hosting a grade 8 information night on
Wednesday, January 14. 2015 6pm-8pm. All grade 8 students and their
families are welcome to attend.
ONTARIO ECO SCHOOLS
This year Orchard Park is going for GOLD. That is gold certification with the
Ontario Eco Schools program. With this program we look at ways our school
can reduce our environmental footprint. There are five areas including waste
minimization, energy conservation, school ground greening,
curriculum connections to the environment and
environmental teamwork and leadership. Waste
minimization is an important factor at school. School lunches
are a major source of waste in Ontario – the average student’s lunch generates
a total of 30 kilograms of waste per school year, or an average of 8,500
kilograms of waste per school per year. With your assistance, we can make a
great contribution to reducing waste, every day. Please try to use reusable
lunch containers and recycle waste in the proper bins. By using reusable lunch
containers you can:



Reduce the cost of waste disposal so that education funding can be
put to better use.
Encourage fresh and nutritious lunches (many pre-packaged lunch
items contain significant amounts of sodium, sugar, preservatives
and fat).
Help you reduce the cost of lunches: a waste-free lunch can cost as
little as $2.50 per day, whereas a regular lunch containing prepackaged items can cost $4.50 or more per day.
Thank you to everyone for helping keep our world clean!!!!
JANUARY DATES TO REMEMBER
9
12
13
14
19
19-22
20
21
21
21
22
22
26
27-28
30
-Junior Gifted Trip Board Office
-Parent Council Meeting 6:30pm
-February Food Orders Go Home
-OD/PARK Grade 8 Open House
-Grade 2 Trip Festival of Lights
-French Program Registration
-Spirit Day –P.J./Teddy Bear
-Wendy’s Fundraiser 4:30pm-7:30pm
-Gr 8’s Trip Hardwood Hills
- February Food Orders Due
-Gr 7 Meningitis Vaccine
-Gr 8 HPV #2 Vaccine
- Kindergarten Registration Begins
-Dental Screening
-PA Day (no school for students)
SNOW DAY – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Question;
If my child(ren) rides a school
bus do I need to call safe arrival?
Answer;
NO you do not need to contact
safe arrival.
Answer;
NO your child(ren) will not
receive their pizza on the snow day but will
receive pizza on the following regular school
day (never on a Monday-this is hot dog
day). A packed lunch must be sent with
them.
Question;
If the weather is extreme do my
child(ren) go outside for every recess and
before class begins in the morning?
Answer;
The Simcoe County District
School Board has given schools protocol to
follow being -25C or wind chill of -28C is
advised to keep students in. Principals are
advised to use their professional judgement
and we would never send children out at
that temperature and we will always call
children in before the start up bell. The
weather will be monitored throughout the
day. Temperature and weather permitting,
students might be sent out for 15 minutes to
get fresh air.
Question;
If my child(ren) walk to school
do I need to call safe arrival?
Answer;
YES you must call safe arrival.
Question;
If I send my child(ren) to
school will he/she receive her milk?
Answer;
YES your child(ren) will receive
their milk.
Question;
If my child (ren)does not go to
school does he/she get milk another day?
Answer;
YES your child(ren) will get
milk twice on the next regular school day,
once at first nutrition break and again at
second nutrition break.
Question;
If my child(ren) go to school
will he/she receive hot dogs?
Answer;
NO your child(ren) will not
receive their hot dog on the snow day but
will receive hot dogs on the following
regular school day. A packed lunch must be
sent with them.
Question;
If my child(ren) go to school
will he/she receive pizza?
FEBRUARY FOOD ORDERS
Due back
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21, 2015
Reminder that food orders are
Available for purchase on line
http://orc.scdsb.on.ca