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Ridgeway Public School
Ridgeway Public School March 2015 Newsletter
143 Ridge Road, Ridgeway, ON, L0S 1N0 (905) 894-3751 fax (905) 894-6833
Visit our website for up-to-date information http://www.dsbn.org/Schools/Ridgeway/
From the Office…
PVA/ Parent
March Break 2015
Dear Parents,
We have had a productive start
to the second half of our school
year. Students have recently
received their term one report
cards and have some personal
goals in mind to focus their
learning.
Parents are always welcome
and encouraged to contact the
school if they have concerns or
need more information about
their child’s academic or social
progress.
Teachers have been working
very hard focusing on their
instructional practices to meet
the individual needs of their
students. All grades continue to
implement effective teaching
strategies and resources to
address critical thinking skills.
Our current teacher learning
focus is on critical inquiry
learning in language and math.
Parental support in student
achievement makes a huge
difference in a child’s
development. Your efforts and
suggestions are appreciated.
Advisory
Council
A reminder to
parents that
March Break
Holiday will be
March 16th to
March 20th. There will not be any
school on those days and the
school will be closed. We wish our
families a safe and enjoyable
week. We look forward to seeing
everyone return to school
Monday March 23rd, 2015 when
classes resume.
At this time I would like to wish
Ms. Redekop all the best as she
heads off on maternity leave. In
her absence I am pleased to
introduce Ms. Carson who will
be filling in for Ms. Redekop.
Please join me in welcoming
Ms. Carson to our Ridgeway
staff.
Mrs. S. Storrey
Our next PVA Meeting is on Tuesday March 24th at 6:00 pm in the
library. We encourage any new parents to join us if they can. We will be
continuing to discuss upcoming
events and initiatives. Interested parents are invited to all meetings. For
more information please contact the
school.
If you were unable to attend our
Junior Kindergarten Open House on
February 6th for registration, please
come to the school office between the
hours of 9:00-12:30 or 1:30 - 3:30
p.m. on any school day to register. It
is not necessary to register children
who are currently in Junior Kindergarten for Senior Kindergarten. Children
who turn 4 years of age by December
31, 2015 are eligible to begin JK in
September 2015. Be sure to bring
your child’s birth certificate (or
proof of age) and immunization
record.
Please “spread the word” to families
in your neighbourhood who as of yet
have no children attending Ridgeway
Public School.
Candy Grams
Thank you to our parents for all your
support with our Candy Grams. We
raised $440 towards our school nutrition program.
Ridgeway PVA
Electronic
Recycling Event
Start saving your electronic waste,
as Ridgeway Public PVA will be
holding an electronic recycling
event on Saturday, April, 18th,
from 9am to 12 noon in our school
parking lot. A list of items that are
being accepted are on the back
page of this newsletter.
Easter Food Drive
At this time of year we
think about those
families in our community that just might
need a little extra to
get by over the Easter
holiday season. We are asking the
families at Ridgeway Public School
to support our Easter food drive.
We will be holding our food drive
from March 24—31. All donations
will go to the St. George Food
Bank. So, let's work together as a
community to fill the food bank
shelves and help those who are
less fortunate.
Lost & Found
Items
We are asking students and parents to
check our Lost &
Found table on the main floor for
any items they may have misplaced. We have a number of winter items, mittens, hats, gloves
etc., that are in need of reuniting
with their match, and their rightful
owners.
Chess Club
Ridgeway Public
School Chess
Club has begun
it’s 2014 season.
Students meet at the Fitness and
Nutrition break to practice. All students are welcome and we encourage everyone regardless of
ability to attend regularly. The only
way to improve is to practice,
practice, practice!
Try this website—
http://www.sparkchess.com
Thank you to Mrs. Longval for
organizing this fun activity for our
students and to Mr. Darragh for
helping out!
Book Fair is coming!
Mrs. Smith is starting to
coordinate our spring
Book Fair. She will be
looking for volunteers to
help her run another
successful event. If you have a
couple of hours to volunteer, one
or more days during the week of
March 30th to April 2nd, please
call the school and leave your
name and the times that you are
available.
More information to follow as the
date gets closer.
March Break
@ the Library
It might be frozen
solid outside, but
things are shakin’ at
the library for March
Break! Want to get the rhythm of
the beat? Check out Mystic Drumz
at Centennial and Crystal Ridge on
Monday March 16. The Reptile Kingdom is bringing their Amazon Rainforest Show to the Crystal Ridge
and Centennial branches on
Wednesday March 18, with real
iguanas, snakes and more! St. John
Ambulance will return to present
their two popular training courses
for youth – What Every Babysitter
Should Know at the Crystal Ridge
branch on Tuesday March 17 and
Home Alone at the Centennial
branch on Friday March
20. Videogames more your
style? The Super Smash Brothers
WiiU tournament at Centennial on
Saturday March 21 might be for
you. Prefer to get your hands moving by making things? The Silhouette Art on Tuesday March 17 at the
Centennial branch or a Pete the Cat
Party at Crystal
Ridge on Thursday, March 19
might be your
choice. Pot of
Gold Bedtime
Stories at Crystal Ridge on
Monday, March
16 and a
Stuffed Animal
Sleepover at
Stevensville on Wednesday, March
18 will calm things down a
bit. Looking for something to do at
your own pace? Library Bingo,
Where’s Waldo Scavenger Hunt and
a Guess the Characters game are
happening all week at every
branch. Prizes for all. To round out
the week, there are movies at the
Centennial branch each afternoon
and evening, including the Hunger
Games series. Full details are available on our website www.fepl.ca
Immunizations
Immunization begins in early
infancy and continues
throughout life. Your child will
receive the majority of his or
her immunizations between
the ages of two months and
six years of age.
Please take a moment to
check your child’s Immunization Record (yellow card) to
be sure his or her immunizations are up-to-date. Immunizations work best when given
on time.
For more information on childhood immunization, including
the immunization schedule,
speak with your doctor or visit
www.health.gov.on.ca.
If you have further questions,
please call the Vaccine Preventable Disease Program at
Niagara Region Public Health
at 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505
-6074 ext. 7425 to speak to a
public health nurse.
Cold Weather Alerts at DSBN
Winter is a time of wonder for many children; many enjoy the crisp air, the freshly fallen snow
and participating in a whole host of exciting winter sports and activities.
Although we feel it is important for students to spend some time outside each day exercising
and socializing with their peers, there are times when bitterly cold temperatures and other inclement weather conditions require that we keep children inside.
Because Niagara is such a large geographical area, and weather conditions may vary from one municipality
to the next, the decision whether or not to hold recess outdoors is made by the individual school principal.
When making this decision, principals will often consult with neighbouring schools, talk with parents as they
arrive in the morning, and if the decision to send children outside is made, will equip yard duty staff with walkie-talkies so they can communicate with the office to sound the bells to bring students in earlier, if necessary.
The health and well-being of our students is a top priority at the District School Board of Niagara, and if it is
determined that the weather conditions pose a risk to their safety, students will be kept indoors. Extreme
cold weather alerts issued by the Niagara Region are often good indicators that students will stay inside.
Even when temperatures are not low enough to necessitate an indoor recess, it still may be quite cold
outside. Here are a few tips to help ensure that your child stays warm during the cold winter months.
• Try to send children to school with plenty of layers, such as long underwear, sweatshirts, sweaters and
pullovers. Layering their clothing will allow them to add or remove items depending on the weather.
Share the joys of summer with a Fresh Air child!
Fresh Air summers are filled with children running barefoot through the grass, gazing at star-filled skies or swimming for the first time. Join our New York City host families who will host Fresh Air children at their summer
homes next summer, and share the beauty of your community with a Fresh Air child!
The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences to more than
1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Each summer, over 4,000 innercity children visit suburban, rural and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program. Fresh Air children are boys and girls, from six
to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for one or
two weeks. Children who are reinvited by host families may continue with The Fresh Air Fund through age 18
and can enjoy extended trips. Over 65 percent of all children are reinvited to stay with their host families, year
after year.
For more information on hosting a Fresh Air child at your
summer home, please contact Tina Mayne at 905-9840290 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at
www.freshair.org.
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Congratulations!
EFN Hat Day
Public Speaking
Our favourite hat day event to raise funds for Education
Foundation Niagara, was amazing! We had a great
response and saw a wide variety of very interesting
hats. When we finished the day, the final donation tally
was $121.00. This money goes To
EFN and will help DSBN children
with costs that occur throughout the
school year that are not funded
through other agencies.
On Thursday, February, 26th, we had
6 students participate in our school
public speaking event. These students
wrote their own speeches and practiced during recesses with Mrs. Storrey and Mrs. Stratton. The following
students worked very hard and did a great job: Harper
James; Zoe Gilmour; Celia Ruegg; Tristan Jagiello;
Stephen Ochej and Adam Ochej. On Saturday, February, 28th, 3 students represented our school at the
Ridgeway Legion Public Speaking Contest. Congratulations to our Legion winners, Celia Ruegg-1st place,
Harper James-2nd place, and Zoe Gilmour-3rd place.
What a fun way to help others!
NEWSLETTER DRAW:
Please sign and return this slip to indicate that you have read the Ridgeway Public Newsletter. One returned slip
will be chosen randomly for a prize.
The _____________________________________family has read the Ridgeway Public Newsletter.
Student(s) Names
____________________________________________________
Parent Signature:
Teacher(s)
__________________________________
____________________________________________________
Please return this page by March 13th.