1. education
2. school

MAY 2015
COBDEN DISTRICT PUBLIC SCHOOL
N
E W
S
Dear Parents, Staff & Students,
SCHOOL
DRESS CODE
As students start purchasing
spring and summer clothing,
we wish to remind everyone of
our school dress code.
CURRENTLY OUR
CDPS DRESS CODE IS:
Students are expected to wear
acceptable school attire. To
travel from room to room and
to be prepared for fire drills or
emergency evacuation, each
child should wear a pair of
indoor shoes. T-shirts bearing
coarse language, halter-tops,
and spaghetti straps or other
clothing of questionable taste
for school wear will not be
permitted. The school staff
will insist that the student
change into other clothing.
PLEASE NOTE:
T-shirts must be long enough
to cover the midrift and shorts
must be of reasonable length
(one way to define reasonable
is when standing straight with
your arms at your side) - your
shorts should be no shorter
than the tips of your fingers.
E T T
E
R
Well, April stayed cool, but we eventually had enough warm days to get the frost out of the ground
and get our playground structures opened up. That is always an exciting time of year for the students.
Please help us to remind them about playground safety. Simple rules like one person at a time on the
slides, riding the slides to the bottom, and no pushing on the structures will help to ensure that our
students are safe while enjoying their free time.
The testing dates for EQAO have been set and will occur between the dates of May 25th and
June 5th. If your child is in grade 3 or 6, it is extremely important that they be present between those
dates. Please try to avoid any appointments during that time.
Congratulations to Megan Covell and Emma Misener
for running a successful cake raffle raising funds in support
of our 10th year working with Right To Play. Fittingly,
Mr. Grady was the winner. Mr. Grady has been the driving
force behind our efforts to support Right To Play over
these last 10 years so it was a pleasure to see his name
drawn as the winner. Despite the fact that he purchased
many tickets himself, it is interesting and heart warming
to note that the winning ticket, though it had his name,
was not in Mr. Grady’s penmanship. Somebody bought
tickets and put Mr. Grady’s name on it. What a tribute to
his hard work and what an example of generosity and
respect by one of our students. Whoever did that, you are
to be commended. (Photo at right)
I think I mentioned this previously, but to confirm, our
annual Fun Fair is set for May 21st. Once again, this
promises to be a fantastic evening. I’d like to thank
Mrs. Benson and the wonderful crew of staff and parent
May 25th - June 5th
volunteers who have already put in countless hours to
During
the testing period, it
prepare for this community event.
would be most helpful if parents
Finally, I’d like to mention that with May comes the
& guardians could ensure that:
start of year end class trips. We will provide ample notice
 You avoid booking appointments for
for each of these. They are important events to support
your child during the testing block.
learning and have fun. If you have any concerns with

Students arrive at school on time.
the class trips, please feel free to contact the school.
EQAO Testing
Peter Burnette, Principal
Pay for Student Fees Online
with….
School Cash
Online
… to the
Civitan Club
for once again
supporting
the needs
of students
at CDPS!
L
Benefits:
√ Convenient: Make payments anytime…
Online!
√ Easy to Use: Fill a shopping cart and
check out
√ Safe: No more need to send cash to
school
√ Secure: Our website is protected and
PCI compliant
√ Save Time: It takes less than 5 minutes
to register
Check our website & click on
the Cash Online Banner!
Thanks to all parents for your patience in
this transition phase of implementing the
School Cash On-Line in our school.
 Your child gets a good sleep.
 Students start their morning with a
healthy breakfast.
FUN FAIR
Thursday, May 21st, 2015
5:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Our annual Fun Fair is always a
big draw and remains a very
popular event in the community.
An information sheet and parent
volunteer forms have been sent home.
We rely on volunteer help to support
this important evening.
If you would like to lend your support,
please call Mrs. Benson @ 613-646-2271.
urgess
to Mrs. Bme coach!
Thanks an
eso
aw
g
n
for bei
Gr. 7 Badminton Tournament, April 24th
y for
Mr. Grad
Thanks todedicated coach!
an
being
Singles: Olivia Peever and Joe Mick played strong games
and advanced well into the tournament. Kaitlyn Bourgeois
and Brayden Dellaire were B Champs.
Doubles: Katie Belsher and Tim Brochu advanced four
games. Ethan Johnson and Carson Edwards were B
Quarter Finalists. Ethan Prins and Tyson Tomasini played
both A Finalists and B Finalist. Taylor Olmstead and
Natasha Kargus were B Semi Finalists. Hilary Dick and
Andrew Blok played the A Final and won the B Final.
Jordan Mitchell and Sydney Broome were the A Champions.
This was a really fun day. These Grade 7s are athletes in
every sense of the word. Thanks a lot from your coach,
Mrs. Burgess. Thanks Mrs. Hamilton for convening the
tournament. It was an amazing day. And thanks to all
the Grade 7&8 helpers for your hard work at the score
tables.
Oops… We missed thanking
3 of our incredible Basketball Coaches last month...
 Mrs. Clark for being a
wonderful coach for
Gr. 7 Boys
 Mrs. Broome for her
dedication to the Gr. 7
Girls’ team
 Mr. Grady for great
leadership with the Gr. 8
Girls’ players.
...to Taylor Olmstead
who donated “Anne of Green
Gables” book set for our library!
Gr. 8 Badminton Tournament, April 23rd
The Grade 8 Badminton Team travelled to The Renfrew Armouries on
Thursday, April 23rd. The team represented Cobden School, as always, in a
respectful and sportsmanlike manner throughout the day. The level of badminton play was quite high. The tournament is arranged in a double knockout format: once a player or pair loses two games they are done playing for
the day. Some of our strongest players were eliminated early because of
their exceptionally challenging draws. Ryan McIntyre and Alex Stoppa played
very well against medal winners!
Alyssa Ritchie and Kevin Ready filled in as a mixed pair. Of Cobden's
players, most of our singles and doubles played in at least four games.
Carley May lost her second game just before quarter finals, as did the
doubles team of Jacob Turcotte and Bryson Duncan. The boys' doubles team
of Adam Wood and Carter Mick lost in quarter finals, as did the girls doubles
team of Alyssa Vandekemp and Shaylyn Bielaskie. Tyson Black and Avery Reckzin
also lost in quarter finals. All of these quarter final game were decided by
just two points.
The girls' doubles team of Alexa Gamache and Jamie Broome, the
mixed doubles team of Emily Barron and Jonathan Peever, as well as the girls’
singles representative Carolyn Wytenburg, all advanced through their brackets
undefeated as they entered their respective championship best-of -three
matches. All finished the afternoon undefeated and took home first place in
their division. Congratulations Cobden School on having such a fine team, in
both athleticism and character, represent you at this event. Thanks to
Mr. Somerville for his help in preparing the team for the tournament. A big
thanks also goes to Mrs. Churchill of A.J. Charbonneau School for organizing
the tournament.
Finally, a shout-out should go to Sidney and Jamie Broome. The sisters
were champions of the Girls' Doubles Division. Jamie won with Alexa Gamache,
and on the following day Sidney won with Jordan Mitchell.
MILK, JUICE & WATER
MAY DRAW
PLEASE SIGN BELOW TO INDICATE
THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED
THIS NEWSLETTER AND
RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM TEACHER.
______________________________
Student’s name
______________________________
Parent/Guardian’s Signature
Theme Days
May 8 - Detective Day
May 22 - Neon Day
The following items are available for purchase
at Nutrition Break: at 11:25 am:
Milk, Chocolate Milk .50¢
Water bottles $1
Canned Juices from machines $1
Milk tickets can also be purchased.
Milk tickets are available for $5.00 each
which will give the student 10 milk.
They are available at the milk table at lunch
time. Student’s names will be put on the milk
ticket and returned to the student when the
ticket is complete. Thank you.
Mrs. Hamilton’s “Green Team”
Mrs. David’s Classroom Cares
The Senior Kindergarten and Grade One students in Mrs. David's class
recently completed the Scholastic "Classrooms Care" challenge. In
this challenge the class had to read 100 books by May 31st. By
doing so, Scholastic, in partnership with other organizations,
donates 100 books to a classroom in need.
These enthusiastic
students were able to complete the challenge 1 month before the
deadline and have shown that they are truly a classroom that cares!
Mrs. Clark’s UFO Designers
Mrs. Clark’s Grade One class have discussed and
“constructed” space UFO’s for their Science Unit. We have investigated our solar system and the eight planets that make up our galaxy. We found out why Pluto, the dwarf planet, is no longer considered the ninth planet. It “acts” differently than the rest because
it moves around so much more than the other planets, some times
getting closer to the sun than Neptune. Our class learned that the
universe is expanding all the time, resulting in the Big Bang.
If you have a student in in Mrs. Clark’s class, ask her/him to
explain what a black hole is.
Students were asked to complete 10 items to
become a member of the Green Team. This was a fun
voluntary activity as part of Earth Day celebrations. Some
of the items on the list were: pick up at least 5 pieces of
garbage, turn off the water when you are brushing your
teeth, turn off the lights when you are leaving the room,
use a cloth towel instead of paper towel, wait until the
dishwasher is full or wash by hand, use both sides of
paper for writing or drawing, take a shower instead of a
bath, use a reusable water bottle instead of a throw-out
bottle.
Students had to do 10 of the items and get their
parents to sign a form to become part of the Green
Team.
Alexis Ratcliffe & Summer Wagner show off their
art that has beautified our office space.
Food Bank Drive
Mrs. Oakes’ Grade 3 class is
once again collecting for the
Cobden Food Bank one last
time. They are asking that you
send in goods during the week
of May 4-8. Don’t forget to
check the expiry dates!
Thank you for all
your support this year!
EASTER BASKET
WINNER
Ciera Bennett
Score One for
Mental Health
Students
Helping
Students
Floor Hockey Tournament
May 2, 2015
Several students took
initiative early in the Spring
season to sweep the paved
surfaces of our yard so
that other students could
see the four-square lines
on the pavement. This led
them to volunteer at 7
o’clock one morning with
the help of Mr. Covell and
they re-painted the lines on
the pavement for the enjoyment of all at recess.
Thanks to Paige, Michele &
Penny!
10 am - 3 pm
Fellowes High School
Age Categories:
9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18+
$50 per team,
minimum 5 players, no maximum
Goalie plus 4 players on floor, 1
must be female
Silent Auction, Raffle &
Canteen will be available.
Proceeds to The Phoenix
Centre 24/7 Crisis Line
To register, call Laura Carroll
At 613-735-414 or
email [email protected]
Students at left have
a final practice for
their concert on
April 29th to
showcase their
latest music!
REGISTRATION
Scouts Canada
(Cobden Chapter)
Boys & Girls
are welcome to sign up!
May 21st, 2015
Junior & Senior
Kindergarten
for September 2015
at Cobden District
Public School
Junior Kindergarten
Children 4 years of age by
Dec 31, 2015
Senior Kindergarten
Children 5 years of age by
Dec 31, 2015
Please provide:
Proof of Age,
Ontario Health Card,
Immunization Record,
Lot & Concession Numbers,
New Road Name
& Civic Number.
Students already attending
Junior Kindergarten are not
required to register.
Please call the school
for an appointment
at 613-646-2271.
May 2015
5:30-7:00 p.m.
at the CDPS Fun Fair
Parents are also needed to
become involved with the
Scouts through leadership
or parent helpers.
Training is provided.
Registration for
All-Day
MON
SU
TUE
WED
THU
1
For more information,
Contact Margaret Matheson
Group Commissioner
613-628-5919
May 4-8 Mental Health Week
3
4
5
6
7
Grade 8 Graduation
Monday, June 22nd, 2015
@ 7:00 p.m.
FOOD
BANK
PIZZA
DAY
10
17
16 Cowley Street, P. O Box 130
Cobden, Ontario K0J 1K0
Phone: 613-646-2271
Fax: 613-646-2194
Ministry of Education Website
www.edu.gov.on.ca
11
12
13
HOT
DOG
DAY
18
19
20
Gr. 5 Trip
to Ottawa
24
25
14
HAMBURGER
DAY
15
21
22
FUN FAIR
5-7:30
Victoria
Day
Cobden District Public School
Principal: Peter Burnette
Office Manager: Philippa Bell
Head Custodian: Irene Mousseau
8
2
9
Theme Day:
Detective
Mothers’
Day
April
JK/SK
Class Trip to
Renfrew
SAT
D R I V E - Mrs. Oakes’ Gr. 3 Class
NEWSLETTER WINNERS
Grayson Delarge
Michael Zangerl
Ben Yackobeck
Keenan Burchat
Kiley Lynch
FRI
26
EQAO
27
-
28
Grade 3 & 6
16
PA Day
23
Theme Day:
Neon
29
30
COBDEN DISTRICT PUBLIC SCHOOL
16 Cowley Street, P.O.Box 130, Cobden Ontario K0J 1K0
Tel: 613-646-2271 Fax: 613-646-2194
Principal: Peter Burnette
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Subject:
Mental Health & Well-being
I am pleased to make you aware that our school is participating in activities for promoting
and supporting the RCDSB vision for positive mental health and well-being. The vision
fosters an environment where the mental health and well-being of all individuals in the
school community is promoted and supported through caring relationships and resources
that nurture the development of healthy minds, compassionate hearts and resilience.
Mental health is recognized as essential to student success and academic achievement. One
of the activities provides students with an opportunity to create and vote on the selection
of a school poster to submit to the RCDSB Mental Health Leadership Team, which will be
used in the design of promotional items for raising awareness about the vision within the
board and community. Teachers may also choose to use classroom activities to teach
students about achieving their full potential using calm minds, compassionate hearts,
kind thoughts and feelings.
You can participate at home by using the attached activity sheet. The activities suggested
compliment what is happening in schools. The ability to calm down the mind and body
is a developmental skill that needs to be nurtured in students. The part of the brain that
supports emotional regulation isn’t fully developed until the mid twenties. The more
opportunities students get to support the development of healthy minds, the more able
they are to use these calming experiences to fulfill their full potential. Mental health
resources are also provided to support you to access information and services if you are
concerned about your child’s mental health. You can also talk with the principal, viceprincipal and/or school support counsellor for information about school supports and
resources for community service information.
Sincerely,
COBDEN DISTRICT PUBLIC SCHOOL
Peter Burnette, Principal
Home Activities for Nurturing Positive Mental Health and Well-being
Supporting the development of healthy minds, compassionate hearts and resilience.
Mind Globe Materials and Instructions:
Materials:
One clear container or jar with secure lid
Water
Glitter (dark colors work best)*
Drops of dish soap
Instructions:
Fill the bottle with water ¾ full.
Add 1-2 tsp. of glitter.
Swirl the water around (some of the glitter may sink but most will float).
Add 2 drops of dish soap
Swirl around the water until most of the glitter has fallen.
Put the lid on and shake.
Let the bottle settle for 2-3 minutes.
Open the lid and add some water till the bubbles come out. Keep the water level close to the lid but leave some room at the top
of the container for the water to move around when you shake the bottle.
Put the lid back on and try shaking the bottle. Put the bottle down and watch the glitter settle. (At first, all the glitter will swirl
around together. Next you will notice that the glitter begins to settle and the water is becoming transparent again. There will still
be some glitter swirling around for a bit. It will take up to 1 minute for most of the glitter to settle; it can take up to 5 minutes for
all the glitter to settle.
The mind globe is used as a representation of the mind. The glitter inside the globe represents thoughts and feelings. The initial
settling of the glitter during the first minute will help provide a visual representation of the mind calming down. The remaining
glitter swirling around represents thoughts and feelings that are still in the process of settling. When all the glitter has settled, this
represents the mind as clear and calm. When the mind is clear and calm, we are capable of feeling relaxed, thinking clearly and
taking on challenges. When you shake the mind globe, this represents thoughts and feelings that are all mixed up. Since the mind
and body are connected, if you put your hand on your heart to feel your heart beat, you will notice if your body is calm or revved
up. The faster the heart beat is going, the more the body is revved up which makes it difficult for the mind to think.
Staying still and breathing slowly into the belly helps the mind and body calm down so that we can think clearly again and make
good choices. With your hand on your heart, say kind thoughts to oneself and to others. Kind thoughts connect us with kind
feelings. We feel good about ourselves when we have kind thoughts and feelings. It is good to practice the calming strategies when
calm. That way, when mixed up thoughts and feelings arise, the mind/body have the experience to support the ability to calm
down. Everyone has mixed up thoughts and feelings sometimes. All people need caring relationships and supportive experiences
that promote calming strategies and provide opportunities for help. Once a child understands the concept of a calm mind and
mixed up mind, have them try to name the feeling or express their thoughts. Naming the feeling and recognizing thoughts helps
develop a language for expressing them self verbally.
Mental Health Resources
Child, Youth and Family crisis line for Eastern Ontario: 1-877-377-7775 provides confidential, anonymous 24 hour
crisis line support and referral.
Call 211 for information about mental health services in Ontario.
The following websites are also helpful for locating services:
www.211ontario.ca/ www.ementalhealth.ca www.countyconnections.ca www.thrive4youth.ca
For mental health emergencies involving immediate harm or danger call 911.