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École Elgin Market Public School
Newsletter – September, 2014
Tele: 519-396-8115
Marga Wilson, Principal
Fax: 519-370-2919
Ruth Johnston, Office Manager
Nous tous apprenons ~ la main dans la main
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome back to another school year. It’s hard to believe that we are only one year away from being a K to
8 school. It is wonderful seeing all of the returning students and how quickly the older students are helping the
younger ones become familiar with their new surroundings. We would also like to welcome our new students and
their families. We look forward to seeing everyone together at our school Barbecue on September 25 which is put
on by our Home & School association.
A special thank you goes out to all of the Home & School volunteers who put benches together this
summer and did a major clean-up of the playground. The staff and students loved coming back to such a
welcoming sight. Your hard work and support is truly appreciated.
Our custodial staff, Mr. McCallum and Ms. Lanting, have worked hard over the summer to make our school
a clean place to learn. Our dedicated Office Manager, Mrs. Johnston, has been busy this August, finalizing all of
the important details that help Elgin Market run so smoothly. Our incredible teaching staff have put in many
hours over the summer painting and creating welcoming classrooms and programs for our learners. I would like
to extend a heartfelt thanks to the entire Elgin Market team for all of their work.
We consider you, the parents and guardians of students at Elgin Market, as partners in an educational
journey. The key to building and maintaining a positive and effective relationship is open and direct
communication. This can eliminate many unnecessary concerns and help develop a meaningful, healthy learning
environment for our children. Please feel free to contact the classroom teacher, either by phone, voice mail or in
the planner, if you have any concerns. In addition, Elgin Market’s School Council and Home & School
Association are always looking for parental input.
In addition, some of you may want to come into the school or help during field trips. Volunteers are an
integral part of the Elgin Market community. For safety reasons, we require that each person volunteering
complete a Police Check. If you had this completed last year, you will need to sign an Offence Declaration this
year. Upon having completed either a Police Check or Offence Declaration, you will be given a booklet entitled
Accessible Ontario. We ask that you read this booklet and bring any questions or concerns to me. If you have
any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Ruth Johnston or myself.
There is a great deal of information in this first newsletter. We hope you find it helpful in organizing you
and your child’s school year.
We look forward to a rewarding and fun-filled year!
Marga Wilson, Principal
When To Send Notes To The Teacher:
Please send a signed, dated note to your child’s teacher for any changes - another adult is picking up your child, has or will be absent, not
travelling on the bus at the end of the day, change of address, telephone numbers, health problems, medical appointments during the day etc.
PLEASE DO NOT PARK OR STOP AT THE FRONT OF THE SCHOOL:
Please use Princes Street to drop off and pick up your children. If another adult is picking up / dropping off your children, please inform
them that they must use Princes Street. This is for the safety of ALL students.
SAFE ARRIVAL
• Call EMP at 396-8115 before 8:15 a.m. if your child is going to be absent or late that morning. A message can be left at extension 100 anytime
after 4:00 pm the previous day.
• On the message, state your child’s name, teacher’s name, walker or bus no. and reason for absence.
• If your child’s absence extends beyond one day then you need to call the school each day (unless we have been previously notified).
• If you take your child home during the day and a note has not been previously sent, please leave a note in the office.
SAFE RETURN
All BUS students must have a signed, dated note if they are NOT travelling on the bus at the end of each day.
Welcome to New Staff!
We are very excited to welcome our new staff members to
Elgin Market this year. Here is a list of our current staff:
JK/SK Lisa Johnston-Kaminski
Kimberley Hall (ECE)
Sue Thompson
Cheryl Diffin (ECE)
1 Paula Lebrasceur
1 Michelle McKitterick
2 Laura Macpherson
2/3 Diane Tremblay
3/4 Jaime Janes
4/5 Joanne Wilson
5/6/7 Christine Cooper
Prep
Kelsey Burrows
Gillian Dent
Carolyn Hart
Learning Resource Teacher
EA
Visitors to the School
Visitors are always welcome at Elgin Market School. So that
we may serve both our students and guests well, all visitors
are requested to check in with the office staff, sign our
guest register and wear an identification badge upon
entering the school. A visitor to a school is anyone entering
the building who is not a student or staff member. If you are
calling the school to pick up someone during class time, please
report to the office, sign your child out and wait at the front of
the school. This will assist in reducing disruptions to the
teaching and learning time.
EMP School Council
Tiffany Rutledge
Elaine Minty
Supervision:
Supervising teachers are on the playground 15 minutes before
classes start in the morning and during the two outdoor play
periods. In the interest of safety, it is suggested that students’
arrival time in the morning coincide as closely as possible to
the supervision schedule. In the case of rain or severe
weather, children will be admitted to the school upon arrival.
Welcome back to a new school year! It is hard to
believe that the summer is over. As we settle in for
the new school year, it’s time to start marking our
calendars for School Council meetings. The first
meeting this year is taking place on Monday,
September 8 at 7 pm in the school library.
Council meetings generally last about an hour. At
the top of the agenda for this month is completing
the Parent Volunteer Handbook. We always
welcome seeing new parent and community
members. If there are any questions throughout the
year, please do not hesitate to contact me at
[email protected]. We look forward to
seeing both old and new faces out at our first
meeting of the 2014-2015 school year.
Sincerely, Alice Paisley-Ellis (School Council
Chair)
8:25
8:40
11:00-11:20
11:20-11:40
1:00-1:20
1:20-1:40
3:00
Balanced Day Schedule
Playground Supervision Begins
Students enter building
Outdoor Play
Lunch
Outdoor Play
Snack
Dismissal
Early Dismissal Days at 1:00 p.m.
Students in all elementary and secondary Bluewater schools
will be dismissed at 1:00 p.m. on the following four
Wednesdays in order to schedule staff development
sessions.
October 8, 2014
April 15, 2015
December 3, 2014
May 6, 2015
We appreciate the support of parents in making alternate
arrangements for their children on these days. We hope this
advance notice will provide adequate time for this to happen
again this year. These dates are also noted in the planner.
Professional Activity Days – 2014-2015
Friday, September 26, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Friday, January 30, 2015
Friday, June 5, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
For children born in 2011, there will be a
“Let’s Learn Clinic” - Kindergarten Registration
for Elgin Market School and KTTPS. It will be held at Ecole
Elgin Market Public School on
Thursday, October 23, 2014
9:00-5:00pm
Watch the October Newsletter for more details.
NUT FREE ZONE
Just a friendly reminder that we strive to be a
“Nut Free Zone” at Elgin Market School. We
have a growing number of students in the
school with severe allergies to peanuts and
various other varieties of nuts, so we ask that
students’ lunches contain nut free products.
We thank you for your support in maintaining
the safety of our students. Information about
packing nut free lunches for your children can
be found at:
http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/viewdocument.aspx?id=41
Planners are an important organizational and
communication tool used daily by our Grades 1-7
students. Planners are given to each student at the
beginning of the year at a cost of $6.00 each. If you
feel you need assistance to purchase a planner for
your child or children, please Mme. Wilson at the
school at 396-8115, ext. 527.
It is current board policy that students who do
not have a signed permission form for any school
trip off school grounds will not be able to attend.
Students who do not return permission forms will
remain at the school and receive alternate
programming. We appreciate all of your support in
these policies.
Toonies for Terry
On Wednesday, September 24th, the grades 1 to 7
students at Ecole Elgin Market will be participating
in the nationwide Terry Fox walk to raise money for
cancer research. We will be walking from the
school to the Canadian flag by the Tiny Tot Park
and back. Please ensure that your child is dressed
in appropriate clothing and footwear. Your child’s
teacher will be collecting Toonies for Terry daily
during the week of September 22nd. If every student
brought in a Toonie, we would reach our goal of
$400.
“Even if I don’t finish, we need others to
continue.” - Terry Fox
Consider Purchasing
Student Accident Insurance
Important Dates – September
Sept. 8
Sept. 12
Sept. 15
Sept. 24
Sept. 25
Sept. 26
Sept. 30
School Council Meeting
7 pm in the library
Peace Day at Huron Heights
For Grades 6 and 7
Spirit Day – Wear items
associated with ‘peace’
Home & School meeting
8 pm in the library
Terry Fox Walk
Staff Barbecue
PA Day
Pizza
Have you purchased accident insurance
for your child? It is a low cost way to
provide benefits for dental injuries and
other accidents which may occur through
your child’s participation in sports and
other school activities. The basic
insurance can be purchased for as little as
$8 per year to cover accidents which
occur during school hours. Reduced
family rates are available for all packages
and multi-year options are also available.
We invite you to visit Elgin Market’s School
Website to find out about the latest news and
events at the school. Our school newsletter, as
well as Home and School newsletters can be found
there.
OUR FAMILY READING
MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER IS
RETURNING SOON - AND THIS
YEAR IT IS BIGGER AND BETTER!
INTRODUCING
MAGAZINES & MEMORIES - NEW
THIS YEAR – PHOTO PRODUCTS!
Each year, we hold our magazine subscription
fundraiser to raise money to benefit our students
while also encouraging more at home reading. The
success of the program depends on your
participation.
“To Remember This” – New this year! Make your
own photo keepsakes! Choose from cards,
calendars, stickers, posters, photo books, chore
charts, and more! You can create your own
keepsake, share your keepsake online, or give as
gifts. You make the memories and this program
helps you keep them!
Please save your magazine subscription renewals
for our sale. It is only when you renew directly
through our program that our school receives any
profit from your order.
If you are anxious to renew before the official
campaign begins, you can support us today by
shopping online! It’s easy . . . visit www.QSP.ca!
All early orders will count towards your child’s
rewards.
Thank you in advance for your
support. Please remember that your
participation in this fundraiser is
voluntary.
Breakfast Club
Did you know that Elgin Market Public
School has a Breakfast Club? All
students can come inside the school and
grab something nutritious to eat before
school starts, each and every morning.
Sometime, there is toast or waffles or
scrambled eggs. There is always cheese
and various fruits such as apples and
oranges. This club is run by volunteers.
We are looking for new
families/volunteers who could help make
and serve breakfast on Wednesday and
Friday mornings. If you are interested,
please contact Marga Wilson at: (519)
396-8115 x 527
Reminders
Have you ever forgotten whether it
was a special food day, a class trip,
an assembly or money was due in for
an activity? You can register to
receive reminders of events
happening at Elgin Market the night
before the actual event. Here are two
ways to register:
1) Go to the following link:
www.remind.com/join/elgi
nma
2)
Mrs. Wilson created Elgin
Market Families on Remind.
Follow these steps to join!
1. Download the Remind app.
It’s free!
2. Enter the class code
@elginma
Remind is a simple way for you to
stay informed and up-to-date with
what’s happening in the school. By
joining the ‘class’ on Remind, you’re
choosing to receive messages via
push notifications, SMS, or email.
Don’t worry, your phone
number will not be shared with
anyone else.
If you have any questions, please
contact Marga Wilson at: (519) 3968115 x 527
FIRST Lego League 2014
FIRST LEGO® League (FLL), created
through a partnership between FIRST (For
Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology) and The LEGO Group, inspires
future scientists and engineers.
Become a member of the team!!
The 2014 Lego League Challenge is beginning!
Teams consist of up to 10 kids, ages 9-14.
Teams will meet once a week until the
beginning of December, to prepare a
presentation and build and program their
robot for the challenge. There will be a $50
fee to participate in the program. This fee
will cover the cost of equipment, t shirts and
tournament fees.
Parents can find more information about the
program at
http://firstlegoleague.org/parents
The team will be meeting Monday and
Thursday nights from 6 to 8pm at Huron
Heights. Students, parents and interested
coaches are invited to a brief information
session at the beginning of the first meeting
Monday, September 15th at 6pm at Huron
Heights. Coaches and mentors are needed!
Hope to see you there!
For more information, contact Gwen
Cavasotto at [email protected]
Terracycle
Elgin Market’s Green Team is again
participating in the Terracycle program.
If you have any of the below items,
please drop them off at the school at your
convenience.
1) Mr. Cookie snack size wrappers
2) Plastic diaper packaging and
wipes packaging
3) Schneider’s Lunchmate plastic
containers
4) All Aircare Febreze products
(empty containers)
5) Inkjet cartridges
6) old cell phones
7) old laptops
8) old digital cameras
9) old MP3 players
10) used Tassamo cups
11) drink pouches
12) coffee bags
13) MOM brand cereal bags
Thanks for your help in keeping the
environment clean.