PRINCIPAL
Ms. Joy McLean
Errol Road Public School
VICE-PRINCIPAL
Miss Angie Krenn
April 2015
989 Errol Road East
Sarnia, Ontario
N7S 2E6
Phone: 519-542-9341 Fax: 519-542-5451
E-mail: [email protected]
Note from Ms. McLean:
We are thankful for the warmer weather and the
wonderful signs of Spring. Students are happy to be
spending more time outdoors. April is a busy time of
month as we move forward with curriculum
expectations and enjoy extracurricular activities. Have
a wonderful Easter Holiday.
Lights Out Canada 2015
Our school is turning out the lights on Earth Day, April
22. We are participating along with hundreds of
thousands of students and educators in over ten
countries. The idea behind "Lights Out" is that small
changes add up to make a big difference. Students will
learn about global warming, climate change and how to
reduce their ecological footprint. This special day was
started in 2005 by a sixteen year old student. Youth
have the power to make positive change! Encourage
your child to wear green this Earth Day.
Positive Behaviour Support
Errol Road School continues to be proud of its PBS
program. By encouraging our students to show
Respect, Attentive Listening, Appreciation and
Participation skills, we encourage them to learn
and live to the best of their abilities. Throughout
February and March, our focus has been based on
the ‘Bucket Filling’ model, where we encourage
other people to succeed by building them up and
making them feel happy and confident. We have
recently met our school goal, earning enough
tickets to fill the red bucket in our foyer. The
whole school celebrated by watching a movie in
pajamas in the gym. Thank you to all of the
families who continue to support positive
behaviour at home and in the community.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Let’s all show the power of positivity!
Please remember that yard supervision begins at
8:50 a.m. School is dismissed at 3:25 p.m. and we
ask that students are picked up on time. If you
need to pick up your child early for an
appointment, it is greatly appreciated when you
write a note to your child’s classroom teacher so
your child is ready at the office rather than
requiring us to place a call to the classroom which
is disruptive to academic instruction.
Hot Lunch and Spirit Day
Hot Lunch: Friday, April 24th
April’s Hot Lunch is Friday, April 24th. The theme is
Spirit Day. Wear your Errol Road Spirit Wear if you
have it or dress in Green and Yellow, Errol Road’s
School colours!
School Council Meeting
The next Errol Road School Council Meeting is
scheduled for Monday, April 13th at 7:00 p.m. All Errol
Road parents/guardians are invited to attend.
School Council Fundraiser:
School Council will soon be sending information home
about their next exciting fundraiser from the FlowerBed
Greenhouse. We are excited to be selling beautiful
Calliope Geranium Planters, accent plants and petunias.
These will make great Mother’s Day gifts. Stay tuned
for more details.
This year, EQAO testing will take place for students
in Grade 3 and 6 from May 25 to June 5th. Both
assessments will measure students’ knowledge and
skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. We
request that appointments for students are not
scheduled during this testing period.
This
assessment provides excellent data for the school
team as we reflect on our areas of strength and
improvement and we use this data as we work on
our School Improvement Plan throughout the year.
There will be a workshop for parents in Grade 3 to
learn more about this assessment. More details to
follow.
World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD), celebrated
each year on April 2, was adopted by the United
Nations in 2007 to shine a bright light on autism as
a growing global health crisis. Autism is one of only
three health issues to be recognized with its own
day by the United Nations. WAAD activities
increase world knowledge of autism and impart
information about the importance of early
diagnosis and early intervention. Additionally,
WAAD celebrates the unique talents and skills of
persons with autism around the world.
On World Autism Awareness Day, Autism Speaks
celebrates its international Light It Up Blue
Campaign. Thousands of iconic landmarks,
communities, businesses and homes across the
globe unite by shining bright blue lights in honor of
the millions of individuals and families around the
world affected by autism.
How can you show your support?
JK/SK Registration for September 2015-2016
This year we had 29 students register for FDK in
September 2015. If you were unable to attend our
KinderSTARt registration or know of a neighbour
who may have missed this registration, pass on the
word to please visit the school office to register for
Kindergarten. It is important that parents register
their children at this time to help us plan class sizes
for next year. It is not necessary to re-register for
Senior Kindergarten if your child is presently
attending JK at Errol Road Public School.
Students visiting from Mexico
We are happy to have two Mexican students on
exchange visiting our school for the month of April.
We look forward to getting to know more about
their culture. It is our goal that they will enjoy
Sarnia and their visit with us and make life-long
friendships.
Wear Blue on Thursday, April 2nd.
To learn more about World Autism Awareness Day
Autism and the Light It Up Blue campaign visit
http://liub.autismspeaks.org/welcome
Spring Picture Day
Errol Road will again be offering Spring Pictures this
month. Lifetouch pictures will be taking photos on
Tuesday, April 7th.
Grade 8 Graduation:
Graduation ceremonies for the Grade 8 students will be
held at the Holiday Inn on Tuesday, June 23rd. Save the
date and more details to follow.
Writing Genre for April
Important Dates for April
Students from Grade 1-8 continue to focus on narrative
writing for part of April. The purpose of a narrative is to
entertain, engage, or provide an escape into a different
world or time. Students have been exploring character
development, setting, plot and dialogue. Be sure to ask
your child what they are writing about as there has
been some excellent writing taking place in classrooms.
Students love to use their imaginations and write
stories. Explanation writing will begin after narrative
writing concludes.
April 2 - Light it up Blue for Autism – students are asked
to wear the colour blue to show support
April 3
Good Friday – no school
April 6
- Easter Monday – no school
April 7 - Spring Picture Day
April 10-11 – Science Fair at Lambton College
April 13 - School Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Congested Parking
Parents are asked to drive slowly and with caution in
our school area. Please keep the following in mind:
1. The circular driveway is a fire zone. Parents are
asked to refrain from parking, waiting, leaving cars
unattended in the circular driveway.
2. It is an unsafe practice to allow your child to exit
your car in the inner circle of the circular drive. This
needs to be stopped.
If you must drive your child to school, the best practice
is to park your car in the North parking lot and walk
your child to the school yard.
2015 Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching
Do you know an outstanding teacher? Someone
who has made a major difference in the lives of
students in your community? Now is your chance to
nominate them for a 2015 Prime Minister’s Award
for Teaching Excellence!
Recipients receive cash prizes of $5,000 (national
level) or $1,000 (regional level), a certificate and a
letter from the Prime Minister. National
level recipients are invited to Ottawa to receive their
award from the Prime Minister and to share best
teaching practices with their fellow recipients.
Visit www.pma.gc.ca to download your
nomination package today! Nominations must be
submitted by April 30, 2015.
April 13 – Art Goes to School – Mrs. Hillier and Mme Dixon
April 14 – Art Goes to School – Mme Day and Mr.
Lounsbury’s class
April 15 – Art Goes to School – Mme Toms and Mrs.
Blake’s class.
April 15 – PIC – Parent Involvement Committee 6:30 to
8:30 - presentation in Dresden at Lambton Kent Composite
Centre – How to Raise a Resilient Child
April 17 – Jump Rope for Heart – kick off assembly – 2:30
in the gym – pledge forms will be sent home this day
April 17 – Art Goes to School – Mrs. Maw’s class
April 21 - PBS Assembly and Earth Day Discussion
April 22 - Earth Day – Light’s Out Event – students are
asked to wear green
April 22 - Secretary’s Day – please help celebrate our
excellent secretaries Janice and Trace
April 23rd - Sexual Assault Centre presentation to Grade 78 students at 11:30 and 1:45. More details will be sent
home prior to the presentation
April 24 - Hot Lunch Day and Spirit Day – students are
asked to wear their spirit wear or the school colours,
yellow and green
April 24 – French Cultural event - Mike Ford, for
grades 4-8 FI on April 24th
April 30 - Primary students attending Beanstock Play