ERNEST CUMBERLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CUMBERLAND …ern.scdsb.on.ca/Lists/Newsletters/May 2015 Newsletter.pdf · session by Applebrooke Minis and many other fun surprises. There were

ERNEST CUMBERLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

May 2015

CUMBERLAND CHRONICLE Mrs. Aileen Ross, Principal Mr. Michael Wilson, Vice Principal

May Character Trait

Cooperation - We work together towards shared goals and purposes.

April Absenteeism 10.7%

During the month of April 1362.5 instructional days were lost due to absentee-ism. 362 times students arrived late and left early 208 times creating classroom interruptions.

Kindergarten Registration

► When do we register for Kindergarten? Now! Please drop into the office and pick up registration forms.

► How old must my child be to enter Kindergarten? To be eligible for attendance this August, your child must be 4 years of age by

December 31, 2015 (born in 2011).

► What documents do we need for registration?

Birth date Documentation: Proof of birth date (original Canadian birth certificate, Certificate of Canadian Citizenship, Canadian Passport, Permanent Resident Card/Record of Landing, or Statement of Live Birth – long version).

► Residential Address: Proof of your child's address. Below is a list of ap-propriate pieces of documentation that a parent/guardian may present to verify ad-dress: Driver’s License, Local Property Tax Assessment, Utility Bill, Credit Card Statement, Bank Statement, Residential Lease, Residential Mortgage Statement or Agreement, Canada Child Tax Benefit Statement. ► Record of Immunization & Health Card Number: A record of immunization is also requested to assist the District Health Unit in meeting its requirement under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) to collect and maintain immunization records for every child registered in school. For further immunization details, con-tact the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit at 1-877-721-7520.

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CUMBERLAND CHRONICLE

We realize that it must seem early, but believe it or not, planning for the next school year has already begun! It is very helpful for us to have an accurate en-rolment projection. When you know if you are moving in or out of our attending area, would you let us know right away? Thank you. We appreciate your con-sideration as it really facilitates the organization of classes and staff allocation.

Yearbooks

The Yearbook Committee would appreciate any doubles of pictures taken by parents at assemblies or on trips for use in the Yearbook. They should be dropped off at the office by Friday, May 15, 2015, Attention Yearbook, or you can email them to us at [email protected]. We will not be able to return any of the pictures . Thank you for your help!

Spirit Day - Friday, May 15

HAT DAY—Students and staff will celebrate school spirit by wearing our cra-ziest and coolest hats to school.

Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

The 3rd Annual Ernest Cumberland Spring Fling took place on Saturday, May 9th. Again this year, the event included a student talent show, silent auction, yard sale, barbeque lunch, Mr. Rapin’s Outdoor Fun, an animal information session by Applebrooke Minis and many other fun surprises. There were activities for all ages and interests - obviously no mean feat to or-ganize and coordinate. The fact that the day ran so smoothly is a huge credit to all the great people that support our school as School Council members and volunteers. What a wonderful day for our community! Thank you to Linda McNab and Martina Whittick as well as our extraordinary school council, volunteers and staff! Please accept, and pass on, our heart-felt appreciation for the work and persistence in making this day such a success. Another big thank you goes out to Hong Hughes, Crystal Badal and Mr. Van Roestel for all the hours spent judging students for the final talent show as well as making the event a success that day.

Are You Moving?

Kindergarten Entry Procedures 2015

Senior Kindergarten students will begin school on Monday, August 24, 2015 and Junior Kindergarten students will start on Wednesday, August 26, 2015.

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May 2015

Student Drop off and Pick up

Ernest Cumberland Elementary School aims to provide an open, welcoming and safe environment for all. We believe that all parents/guardians and volunteers play a valuable role in the life of the school.

We require all visitors in our school to follow our Safe School Procedures. This will assist in ensuring the safety and well being of our children, families and staff. All visitors are expected to report to the office upon entering the school to announce your presence and re-quest assistance. Visitors to the School must sign in and out at the office and obtain a visitor tag. For the safety of everyone, we cannot have visitors in the halls or outside classrooms.

Lunches, clothing, homework, etc... that are dropped off at the school office should be clearly labelled with your child’s full name and their classroom teacher’s name We will notify your child that their belongings are in the office for pick up at break times.

Messages for students: Please advise your child before school starts of after school arrange-

ments. After school arrangements need to made from home prior to school starting. If your child needs to stay after school unexpectedly he/she will be permitted to use the telephone.

Students arriving late: We have quite a number of students arriving late and signing in at the of-

fice. Please remember that late students interrupt the class in progress as they enter the classroom and this is very disruptive to other students. Parents are asked to say good-bye to their children at the office. If the student is uncomfortable walking to their room alone, we will assist.

Picking up students during instructional time is also very disruptive to the class and other stu-

dents. As a courtesy to the teacher and classmates, please try to arrange pick up times during breaks (Morning: 11:10 - 11:50 and Afternoon: 1:30 - 2:10) If it is necessary for you to pick up your child, please come into the school office and your child will be called to meet you. You are required to sign your child “in” and “out” during school hours.

Please also note that only adults who have been authorized by parent/guardians on the Student In-

formation Verification Form can sign out a student. If a situation arises and another adult will be pick-ing up your child we require their name, relationship and contact number in writing. This can be sent in the students agenda, faxed to us or sent to our general email box.

Dismissal time: Please be considerate at the 3:50 dismissal time and pick up your child on time.

The teachers and office staff are extremely busy at this time and cannot supervise children nor pro-vide appropriate child care services.

Thank you for helping us with these practices and assisting us to lessen interruptions in the classrooms and your child’s learning.

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CUMBERLAND CHRONICLE

Appropriate School Attire

One of the things that always happen when spring arrives is that students get out their summer clothes. We see a significant increase in flip flops, tank tops, shorts and muscle shirts appearing in and around the school. We usually have to remind students that there are appropriate places for some items of clothing that they wear… but it may not be at school! For example; short shorts are not really appropriate at school. How short is short? Well, we don’t use a ruler to measure them but generally speaking if the tips of a student’s fingers extend below the hem of the shorts, then the shorts are probably too short. Tank tops and muscle shirts are acceptable to wear in Phys Ed class but they should not be worn outside of the gym. There is a myth that the “three finger rule” indicates if the straps on a top are more than three fingers wide the top is acceptable. Think lasagna straps not spaghetti. Our students have been told that the expecta-tion is that clothing provides “an uninterrupted line of clothing covering the body from the top of the shoulders to mid thigh”. Displaying undergarments is unacceptable and tops should have appropriate necklines that are not too revealing and there should not be inappropriate graphics or expressions on the top. The choice of footwear is somewhat more flexible, but it must be appropriate to the class. Sandals may be appropriate in Math class but they are not appropriate for Phys Ed or Science class.. If you have any questions or concerns, please refer to the diagram or contact the Principal or Vice Principal.

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May 2015

Proper Usage at School:

Student cell phones are to remain off and should not be visible while students are on school property during the school day with the following exceptions:

Students may use cell phones with teacher permission if they are using the

device for educational purposes with direct teacher supervision.

Students may use cell phones for contacting parents/guardians after ob-taining teacher permission.

Consequences for Improper Usage at School: First Offence-Staff member removes device and keeps it for the remainder of the school day. The device is given back to the student at dismissal time follow-ing a “coaching” conversation.

Second Offence- Staff member removes device and forwards it to the Vice-Principal. The VP keeps the phone for the remainder of the school day. The device is given back to the student at dismissal time directly following a “coaching” conversation with the VP.

Third Offence-Staff member removes device and forwards it to the Vice-Principal. The VP keeps the phone until the student’s parent(s) can retrieve it from the school.

Fourth Offence-Student is immediately sent to the office for administrative in-tervention.

School Council Meeting

Our next school council meeting is Monday, May 25, 2015 in the library. Please join us.

Kidney Clothes

Participate in our clothing drive and raise funds for Ernest Cumberland Elemen-tary School. This unique opportunity also supports individuals living with kidney disease and the environment!.

Items need to be dropped off by Thursday, May 28, 2015. Acceptable include: gently used clothing (any size, any season), footwear, outerwear, belts, ties, purses, yarn, fabric, patterns, blankets, bedding, linens, draperies, cushions, luggage and sleeping bags.

Any questions or inquiries can be directed to the School Council Co-Chairs (Linda McNab [email protected] or Martina Whittick [email protected]. You may also contact [email protected] for more information about the Kidney Clothes program.

Cell Phones / iPods

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CUMBERLAND CHRONICLE

Reminder to Parents re Gr 7 & 8 Immunizations

Nurses from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit will be in school in the spring providing the last of the series of immunizations to Grade 7 students and Grade 8 girls who provided consent. It is important that students complete their series of these vaccines to provide the best protection. If your child has missed a school clinic, please call the health unit to speak with the school’s immuniza-tion nurse about booking a time to receive the missed immunization. The con-sent forms and fact sheets are available on the immunization page of the health unit’s website at www.simcoemuskokahealth.org. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520.

McDonald’s Fundraiser - May 28, 2015

McDonald’s coupons will be sent home with each student prior to this date. Share them with your family, neighbours and friends. Upon presentation of the coupon at the Young Street location between 4pm to 8pm, 15% of all food pur-chases on May 28 will be donated to our school. The purchase of gift cards does not qualify toward our share of funds raised.

Register now for Summer School

Free workshop May 13 on resilience As a parent/guardian, you were your child’s first teacher and you are still his or her most important teacher. Your involvement in your child’s education has an impact on success. The final Circle of Learning Parent Academy event for this school year, Resilience: Nine things kids need from their families, schools, and communities, takes place on May 13. Find the workshop locations, times and descriptions on the SCDSB website: www.scdsb.on.ca/circleoflearning. You can also register at this link. The Circle of Learning Parent Academy is hosted by the Simcoe County District School Board’s Parent Involvement Committee and made possible with the support of the Ministry of Education through a Parents Reaching Out Grant.

Circle of Learning Parent Academy

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May 2015

Eye See...Eye Learn

Eye See...Eye Learn offers eye exams and free glasses to JK students The Eye See…Eye Learn program provides comprehensive eye exams by local optometrists to Junior Kindergarten (JK) students. The eye exams are covered under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) when parents show their child’s health card. There is no out-of-pocket cost for the eye exam and if the child re-quires a pair of glasses, they will receive them free of charge. The Eye See…Eye Learn program was developed to raise awareness among parents about the importance of having their children’s eyes checked upon starting school. The Ontario Association of Optometrists recognizes the important link between eye health and learning, and recommends comprehensive eye examinations for all children entering kindergarten. All children can receive an annual compre-hensive eye exam covered by OHIP until their twentieth birthday. The new pro-gram for children born in 2011 will begin on July 1, 2015. For further information and a list of participating optometrists in your area, visit: www.eyeseeeyelearn.ca.

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CUMBERLAND CHRONICLE

EQAO Testing—-Grades 3 & 6 May 25 to June 4

EQAO stands for Education Quality and Accountability Office and is the provin-cial agency that designs and tests Grade 3 and Grade 6 students in reading, writing and mathematics.

The EQAO tests give parents, teachers, principals and school boards infor-mation about how well students have learned the Ontario curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics.

The provincial standard is based upon The Ontario Curriculum for the students in Grades 3 and 6. The curriculum tells us where students should be at each level in their education. If your child isn’t working at the level they should be, EQAO testing can tell you and teachers what subjects to concentrate on. The tests do not count as part of a student’s mark. Students with special needs and some students may receive special accommodations to help them with the tests. In some cases, certain students may be exempt.

Teachers have different initiatives to prepare their students for the EQAO test. Classroom teachers are helping to prepare their students for the test. There is no special preparation for the tests because they are testing skills in reading, comprehension and writing that have been built up over time.

The schedules dates are May 25 to June 4. We ask that you ensure your chil-dren are attending school on these dates, Please do not book appointments or vacations during this important time.

Nominated for SCDSB Star Recognition

“Mrs. Rapin is my first son's grade 3 teacher. My son got fracture and had surgery last year. He could not been school for 3 weeks. Mrs. Rapin did care about him. She called and asked my son's condition and sent some materials for my son to study at home. So my son did not miss too much class study. When my son came back to class, he was able to catch class study fast. That is Mrs. Rapin's effort made it.” “Ms. McCague is my first son's gifted screening program teacher. I had no idea about the screening process. After my son entering in the screening process, I was fully informed about the tests and the results and what was the next step. Also she gave me the contact infor-mation if I had questions. Those information made me less stress and much easier for me to help my son.” “My little son was shy before he entered in JK. After about 1 year in Mrs. Nolan's class, he be-came open and more confident. He loves school now. Even in weekends and holidays, he asks to go to school to see Mrs. Nolan sometimes. Mrs. Nolan loves students from her heart. She is a very good teacher.” “Mr. Rapin runs many different extra curricular activities and donates an exceptional amount of his time to run these programs such as the school hockey league/ wrestling team etc. I am honestly amazed at his dedication and enthusiasm in doing so.”

ERNEST

CUMBERLAND

ELEMENTARY

May 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Day 1 1 2

3 Day 2 4 Day 3 5 Day 4 6 Welcome to JK 5-7pm

Day 5 7 Day 1 8 9 Spring Fling 10am-2pm Book Fair 11am-1pm

10 Happy Mothers Day

Day 2 11 Dental Screening Follow up Gr K,2,4,6&8 Rugby Tourny 13th Line Fields

Day 3 12 Dental Screening Follow up Gr K,2,4,6&8

Day 4 13 Day 5 14 Day 1 15 Spirit Day: Hat Day Character Ed Assembly 9:30

16

17 18 VICTORIA

DAY

19 SPRING BREAK

20 SPRING BREAK

21 SPRING BREAK

22 SPRING BREAK

23

24 Day 1 25 Gr 7 Niagara Falls Trip School Council Meeting 6:30pm

Day 2 26 Gr 7 Niagara Falls Trip

Day 3 27 Day 4 28 McDonald’s Fundraiser 4pm-8pm

Day 5 29 30

Phone: 705-435-0676

Fax: 705-435-0103

Website: ern.scdsb.on.ca

Email: [email protected]

160 Eighth Avenue

Alliston, Ontario L9R 1A5

ERNEST CUMBERLAND

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL