Stephen Central Public School Tiger Tales- “Roaring with Pride!” October 2014 David Bennett – Principal Betty Regier – Secretary www.yourschools.ca/stephencentral Principal’s Message Well it was a whirl wind start to the 2014-15 school year at Stephen. Not only did we have the usual anticipation and exhilaration associated with the beginning of every school year, we had the added excitement of welcoming so many new students. We even had three new students join us this week. Stephen Central is clearly the place to be, and as our enrolment rose above 190 the school board was able to increase our staff allocation by 2.25 people. This made it possible for us to add an additional class in the junior division and an Early Childhood Educator in kindergarten. These changes mean much lower class sizes for many of our students, some straight grade classes, and more staff on yard duty to help ensure that an adult is never far away when a student needs help at recess. Parent Council News 2014-2015 Parent Council would like to say Thank You to everyone who came out and enjoyed the school Open House. We would like to thank the teachers, staff, and Mr. & Mrs. Laye, the school looked fantastic! It was great to see everyone and meet new families attending our school. Thank you to everyone who filled out a ballot and offered to volunteer over the next year. Please feel free to join us at our meetings at least once over the year. We will be having a fall fundraiser. Watch your students’ back packs for the information. Your support with fundraising is greatly appreciated and goes directly to purchasing items for the students of Stephen Central. Our next parent council meeting is October 20, 2014 at 6:30 in the school library. Please join us. Now that all of these changes have taken place, and we are in our second month of the school year, things are settling down to regular routines. This is good because in addition to all our regular extracurricular activities and events, teachers and students are also busy working on projects, assignments, assessments and other classroom activities. Our first set of report cards, called Progress Reports, and parentteacher interviews are only six weeks away! Hotlunches.net update: It was wonderful to meet with many of you at our Open House last week and we look forward to seeing you at parent-teacher interviews in early November as well. I'd like to thank the 94 families that have set up their user accounts on hotlunches.net. These families will be notified by emails, reminding them of their students’ orders for October. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please don`t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or the office. Our door is always open! - Dave Bennett As of October 1st, the November orders can be entered. November’s order will close on October 15. It would be greatly appreciated if all payments are received by October 20. Payments should be sent with the remittance slip (print off) or with a paper identifying userID, Student Names and - Paula Eagleson Congratulations to Cayla, Dakota, James, Colby and Dylan who were winners of the student games at Open House. They received a DQ gift certificate and a Stephen Central Tigers sport pack. family names. Both payment and paper should be sent to school within a zip-lock bag or envelope, to ensure funds and orders arrive to school together. If you do not have Internet access and would like to receive paper format order forms, please let the office know, so we can add you to the list. If you have already notified us, you do not need to do this again. If you have any questions or need help with orders, please contact Alison @ home (519-2373771), or email [email protected] Calling All Three Year Olds (CATYO) On Wednesday, November 5th we will be registering kindergarten students for the 20152016 school year. Before and After School Care “As part of an on-going commitment to make the school day as seamless as possible for our families, each family will be receiving an information sheet in mid-October regarding before and after school care. Families interested in before or after school programs for their four and five year olds, and possibly older children in the upcoming school year, should complete an on-line survey by November 30. The link to the survey will be found on the Board website starting mid-October. We appreciate your assistance as we determine the feasibility of offering such programs. Should you require a paper copy, please contact the school after October 15.” The Terry Fox National School Run Day Students, staff, parents and the community raised over $200.00 for the Terry Fox Run. Your generosity is appreciated. Congratulations to the lucky recipient of this year’s Terry Fox commemorative t-shirt. Many thanks to Mrs. Desjardine and Ms. King for organizing this year’s event! Children who are 3 years old by December 31, 2014 are eligible for junior kindergarten in 2015. Children who are 4 years old by December 31, 2014 are eligible for senior kindergarten in 2015. If you or someone you know have a child of kindergarten age please call the school (519234-6302) for registration information. The registration process will include developmental screening. The purpose of the program is to help parents assess how their child is developing. CATYO allows parents ample time to link their child to any needed services and supports. This will help ensure children are better prepared for school entry the following September. To Do: Please call the school to register your child for Kindergarten for September 2015. Registration packages are being sent home beginning October 6 for those who call to register. Sport Shorts Soccer – The regional Junior Soccer Meet was held in St. Marys on September 24. Six teams competed in the tournament and Stephen Tigers ended up with a 4th place finish. The weather was terrific and we enjoyed our first sporting event of the season. Thank you to the parents who came out and cheered us on, and thank you to Ms. Laye for coaching this year’s team. Cross Country – Our regional cross country meet will be held in Exeter on Thursday, October 9 (rain date: Friday, October 10). Students will be leaving at 11:30 a.m. For specific age groupings and start times, please refer to the schedule that will be sent home with your runner. The times listed are approximate and parents should come in advance of the times posted. The District cross country meet will be held in Benmiller on October 20 (rain date: October 22). Runners will be notified if they will be advancing and parents will be responsible for transporting and supervising their own child(ren) for the District meet. Good-luck to all of the runners! We are cheering you on from the sidelines. Go Tigers, Go! Hallowe’en At SCPS, some, but not all of our families celebrate Hallowe’en. Therefore, we will be providing alternate activities for whom this celebration is not one they observe. For the children and their families who would like to participate, this is the planned agenda for the afternoon of October 31. Spirit Day- Wear orange and black or a costume Dance - Primary Grades JK- 3 (period 6) Dance – Junior Grades 4-6 (period 7&8) Admission of a non-perishable food item would be appreciated and will be donated to a local food bank. All participating students are encouraged to wear a costume or dress in the black and orange theme. Prizes will be awarded in various categories of costumes. ✂ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- ✂ Congratulations to the winners of the September newsletter draw. October Newsletter - If you received and read this newsletter, please return this tear-off section for a draw. The students from the winning family will receive a free pizza, compliments of New Orleans Pizza in Exeter. ________________________________ Parent/Guardian Signature How are we doing? Please provide us with some feedback as we value your comments: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________