1. education
2. school

827 9th Line, Innisfil, ON L9S 1A6
Phone (705) 436-3600 Fax: (705) 436-1878
goodfellowps.com
Charlotte Swift
Principal
John Legere
Superintendent of Schools
(705) 734-6363; ext. 11318
Donna Armstrong
SCDSB Trustee
(705) 431-9982
Allison Beecroft
Vice-Principal
GOODFELLOW P.S. IS A SCENT-FREE SCHOOL
As you know at Goodfellow we started the “Magic 15” last year. A student achieves “Magic 15” when the accumulate 15
points from their Learning Skills. An excellent is worth 3 points, a good is worth 2 points, a satisfactory is worth 1 point
and a needs improvement is zero points. If your child is in grade 8 and they achieve Magic 15 three times in their final
year they will receive a letter of recommendation from me for their first job.
Your children received a “Progress Report” on November 7th which outlined levels of progress to date in their academic
areas and their current success towards meeting the learning skills. There is a strong focus on the 6 Learning Skills
which are being directly taught and assessed within the classroom. Make sure you set academic and behavior goals at
home to support school success.
As the cold weather begins, we typically see more students arriving late for school. I want to remind all parents and
students that our school day begins at 9:20am. Children who arrive late miss important routines and the beginning of
instruction and disrupt the learning of their classmates. Please ensure that you are making efforts to be at school on
time for your children to enter through their appropriate entrances when the bell rings at 9:20am.
Thank you for all your support,
Charlotte Swift and Allison Beecroft
Upcoming Events/Dates At a Glance:
(Please see the back page for a comprehensive list)
Progress Reports go home
Nov 7
Library Closed
Nov 11
Remembrance Day
Nov 11
Book Fair
Nov 12—Nov 17
Library Closed
Nov 18
Wendy’s nite
Nov 19
Have your say about the Simcoe County
District School Board’s mission, vision
and values
The Simcoe County District School Board
(SCDSB) is renewing its mission, vision and
values. Your input is needed. Feedback is
being gathered through a short survey. Find
more information and the survey here:
www.scdsb.on.ca/mission. The deadline to
respond to the survey is November 12. We
appreciate you taking the time to share your
views. Please also share this information
with others who may be interested.
Free after-school workshops for parents of children
with ASD
This year, the Simcoe County District School Board
(SCDSB) and the Centre for Behaviour Health Sciences
at Mackenzie Health are partnering to offer workshops
for parents and educators of students with Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These workshops will be
offered monthly during the school year, starting in October. All of the workshops are free for parents and educators, and run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the SCDSB
Education Centre, 1170 Highway 26 in Midhurst.
Space is limited in each workshop and registration will
be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, contact Sue McNabb at [email protected] or
705-734-6363 x11246. For more information and specific session descriptions, visit SCDSB’s website at:
www.scdsb.on.ca/Parents/Pages/Workshops.aspx.
Re-organization day balances class sizes to support
your child's success
Each year, our school starts off with a certain number of
classes and teachers - these numbers are based on estimates
made the previous spring about how many students will be
enrolled during the next school year.
As you may be aware, the Ministry of Education has class
size goals that all school boards are required to meet. When
the Simcoe County District School Board organized its
schools in the spring, they adhered to this ministry expectation. Each September, the board compares actual enrolment numbers to the numbers projected by the board in the
spring. At times it is necessary to re-organize classes.
After re-organization, some students may move to another
class in order to balance class sizes. In some cases, it may
be necessary to move teachers to a new school. If your
child was affected by a change, you would have received a
letter with details following re-organization. Please be assured that these changes will not affect the quality of education your child will receive at Goodfellow Public
School . Our staff have the skills, training and resources to
work effectively with students in a variety of settings.
Supervision Prior
to School
Supervision on our playground does not
begin prior to 9:05 AM. If your child(ren) are
arriving at school earlier
than 9:05 AM, they will
not be supervised.
Please ensure that they
do not leave home so
Head Lice Screening
Now that students are back at school and
the weather is becoming colder we will
begin to have occurrences of head lice
among some of the students. Please check
your son or daughter’s head at least once
each week and notify the school if you find
any lice. Although there are no medical
problems associated with having head lice it
is a nuisance and quickly spreadS from one
child to the next.
We send
students home if head lice has
been found and ask parents to
treat their child(ren)’s hair and
physically pull the nits out prior
to returning to school.
Indoor Shoes
We are teaching students to
respect our school by doing
their part to maintain a clean and organized
school. We are insisting that students pick up
their shoes and other items at the end of the
day to make it easier for our custodians to
clean. Please help us by ensuring that your
child has a pair of indoor shoes that can always be kept at school. Students are not allowed to wear
their outdoor shoes in their
classroom.
As well, if there is an emergency
it is essential that your
child(ren) be wearing footwear.
Thank you for supporting our school!
Inclement Weather &
Snow Days
On snow days, the Safe Arrival Program WILL NOT RUN.
When the weather is bad and the busses
are cancelled due to inclement weather, all
students (both walking and bus students)
are excused from classes. Safe Arrival assumes that your child will remain home on
these days.
If busses are cancelled in the morning, they
Verification of Attendance for
Government Agencies
Requests for letters of education verification for
government agencies and other organizations,
(i.e. Revenue Canada, Social Services, and/or
confirmation of attendance letters, etc.) must be
made by the parent/guardian/adult student, in advance and in writing, and must be verified with
proper identification and/or documentation. Forms are available on the Simcoe County
District School Board website www.scdsb.on.ca
under Student>Transcripts>Transcript and/or Education Verification Request Form. Please be advised that processing these requests may take up
to 10 business days from the date we received
them in the office, so please plan accordingly. Thank you for your understanding.
Dogs cannot be on property unless
they are a service dog, as per
Board policy. Thank you for your
support for the safety of all of students.
Bus cancellation information in
case of inclement weather
Although fall has just arrived, winter is just around the
corner in Simcoe County. With it comes the possibility
of severe weather, challenging winter driving conditions and, as a result, possible bus and school event
cancellations.
All information regarding cancelled buses in Simcoe
County is posted on the Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium’s bus information website at
www.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca. Our school is in the
central zone. When buses are cancelled, please remember that schools are still open (unless otherwise noted)
for student learning.
The Consortium, in conjunction with bus operators,
will make the decision to cancel school buses before 6
a.m. and as such, will make every effort to post announcements between 6 and 7 a.m. Parents should also
note that inclement weather cancellations are effective
for the whole day and buses cancelled in the morning
will not run at the end of the day.
You can also subscribe to receive bus delay notifications here: https://scstc.ca/Subscriptions and you can
follow the Consortium on Twitter
@SCSTC_SchoolBus.
It would appear that the fall season is truly upon us as the leaves are quickly
changing colour and the temperature is
beginning to drop.
Please review the importance of dressing
for the weather conditions with your children and take time to ensure that there
are warm gloves, warm hat, coat and
proper footwear ready for the coming of
the likely soon to arrive winter weather.
GOODFELLOW P.S. IS IN THE CENTRAL SCHOOL ZONE
Kiss N’ Ride
A huge thank you to all of our parents/
guardians for your cooperation in our Kiss N’
Ride. It is up and operational and that is due
to everyone working together.
A couple of reminders:
There is no parking:
At the dumpsters
On the laneway out to
the 9th Line
In Kiss N’ Ride
In the bus Zone
PARKING
There are new by-laws in effect for parking on the streets surrounding Goodfellow
P.S. Please ensure you pay attention to
the new “No Parking” signs as By-Law
Officers will be issuing tickets.
If you are parking on the street, please
remember:
Check for “NO PARKING” signs
Not to turn around on private driveways;
Only park on the school
side
south of the road;
Park the right proper direction facing the
school.
Grade 8 Information Nights
Is your child starting Grade 9 next year?
High school information nights happen this
winter! Information nights give an overview
of what’s new and what to expect, and are a
chance to ask questions.
High school is an exciting time—there are so
many programs, clubs and activities for students to try. Attend the information night (see
schedule on SCDSB’s website here: http://
www.scdsb.on.ca/Schools/Pages/
highschool.aspx) to find out what’s offered at
your local high school.
If you can’t attend an event, call your local
public high school to book an appointment to
visit.
We need your help to keep students safe at
arrival and dismissal
The safety of students is our top priority. Arrival and dismissal are busy times at our school.
We need to work together with parents/
guardians and childcare providers to make sure
students are safe.
Here are key points to be aware of when planning pick up and/or drop off of students:
Supervision starts fifteen (15) minutes before bell time and ends fifteen (15) minutes after bell time. School staff will contact the
parent/guardian, followed by emergency contact, for any student who is not picked up within this time. If late pickup happens often, additional support services may be involved.
If parents/guardians arrange for other people to pick up their children, like a private
childcare provider, the parent/guardian is responsible to ensure the alternate person/
program is picking up on time.
Designated bus loading zones are out-ofbounds during arrival and dismissal times, with
the only exception being Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium buses. Private
childcare providers will be asked not to use
these areas. Parents are also not allowed to
drop off or pick up in the bus zones.
Once buses have departed and the loading
zone has been opened up by school staff, vehicle traffic may begin to flow through the area
to pick students up. Traffic must be in constant
flow in this area at all times, meaning no unattended parked vehicles in this area.
Unattended vehicles must be parked in an approved parking space, outside of the kiss and
ride area, with the engine turned off.
A full description of the Supervision, Arrival
and Dismissal Procedures is available at
www.scdsb.on.ca – Parents – Safe and Healthy
Schools – Procedures.
Do you want to recognize a STAR at your child’s
school?
Our new employee recognition program, SCDSB
STARS, provides the opportunity for members of
the school community to nominate an outstanding
SCDSB teacher, custodian, educational assistant,
early childhood educator, administrator, office staff
person, etc. who has done something wonderful to
support students in our system.
SCDSB STARS will be informed of the nomination
and the staff person will be recognized in our weekly internal staff eNewsletter. He/she will also receive a personalized thank you and commemorative
lapel pin from the Director of Education. It’s just
one way to recognize the shining stars in our education system who make a difference every day in our
schools, facilities and classrooms. Nominate an outstanding staff person by visiting www.scdsb.on.ca
Pay for field trips, lunch days, etc. with SchoolCash Online
The SchoolCash Online program is now available at
all schools, offering parents the option to pay online
for field trips, lunch days and other items. The program is intended to reduce paper, eliminate the need
for students to travel with money, and for money to
be counted and stored at schools. Payment by credit
card has now also been added.
Parents who sign up will receive a notification when
a new item becomes available for purchase. Items
are personalized to each student/grade. Parents will
use a secure online account to process payments,
and can either make a one-time payment for each
item as it occurs, or load money to carry a balance
in the online account to make payments in the future.
ISE Ontario would like to invite interested
students and parents to an information
meeting night, to learn about exciting exchange opportunities for Grade 7 - 11 students.
ISE Ontario has a formal agreement with
the Simcoe County DSB to offer exchanges
to students within the board.
Please choose the evening best suited to
your schedule and RSVP with the choice of
evening to Aubrey Hawton, Simcoe Region
Program Manager:
[email protected]
Thursday, November 13
General Information Meeting
Penetanguishene Public Library, 6:30 -7:45
PM
24 Simcoe St, Penetanguishene
Tuesday November 18
General Information Meeting
ISE Ontario Head Office, 6:30- 8:00 PM
Suite 1413, 64 Cedar Pointe Drive, Barrie
Thursday November 20
General Information Meeting
Orillia Public Library, 6:30- 8:00 PM
36 Mississauga Street W, Orillia
Thursday November 27
General Information Meeting
Collingwood Public Library, 6:30-8:00 PM
55 Ste. Marie Street, Collingwood
R. Aubrey Hawton, Program Manager-Simcoe County
International Student Exchange – Ontario
www.iseontario.on.ca
Registration information was sent home with students on November 3. To create an online account,
go to https://simcoecounty.schoolcashonline.com.
Tel: 705-722-9440
Fax: 705-722-9441
Follow Goodfellow PS Library on Instagram!
The Goodfellow Public School Library has joined Instagram. Instagram is an Android
and Apple Application that allows you to share photos with fellow followers and users. I have created an account where I can share daily anecdotes and pictures of
what your child is discovering and learning while in the library. This account will only
feature student work not faces.
Instagram photos can be viewed on both a home PC or Mac, as well as on tablets,
iPads, iPhones and Android supported phones. Signing up is very easy; just access
your app store on your phone or tablet, download the application “Instagram” for free
and follow the prompts to create an account. You can add the library page Goodfellow PS Library (goodfellow_library) by searching the name and click “follow”.
Enjoy!
Jennifer Calabretta
Teacher Librarian
Local health unit monitoring Enterovirus D68
You may have heard of a nasty cough that has been hospitalizing some children in the United States. It
has now been detected in Canada, including communities in Ontario. This particular bug is called the
Enterovirus D68, a cousin of the family of common cold viruses. For most people including most children, this virus will cause mild illness similar to the common cold. Symptoms include fever, runny nose,
sneezing, cough, and body and muscle aches. Most people don’t need a visit to the clinic or the hospital,
and will get better on their own. There is no specific antibiotic or antiviral medication or vaccine for
D68.
The virus spreads like the common cold, by droplets from sneezing or coughing and from nasal mucus. It
can also be picked up by touching surfaces that have been contaminated. This virus behaves much like
the cold or influenza, and protecting yourself and your children is much the same as with those diseases.
Participate in the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study and School Mental Health Surveys
The 2014 Ontario Child Health Study is underway and will provide vital information about the
mental health needs of children and youth living in Ontario today. This study will be the first of
its kind in Canada to examine the influence of family, community and school environments on
child and youth mental health. The results will be used to develop programs and services to
improve the mental health of young people in Ontario.
From October 2014 to May 2015, Statistics Canada will be inviting 7,000 families with children
aged 4 -17 to complete an interview in their home. At the same time, McMaster researchers
will be conducting School Mental Health Surveys in 240 Ontario schools to help us learn new
ways of promoting and addressing student mental health needs.
Let's make our province a better place for children and youth. If invited to participate, please
say ‘yes’ to the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study and School Mental Health Surveys. For more
information, visit: www.ontariochildhealthstudy.ca.
Circle of Learning Parent Academy - Free workshops to help you boost your
child’s success
As a parent/guardian, you were your child’s first teacher and you are still his or
her most important teacher. Your involvement in your child’s education has an
impact on success. Register to attend workshops throughout the year designed to
help you support your child’s learning and development.
Sessions include:
Successful transitions – how parents can guide their children to achieve their
full potential
Make the difference in math with a growth mindset
Math 101 - all parents can support their children in math
Resilience: Nine things kids need from their families, schools, and communities
Find workshop dates, times, descriptions and register online at www.scdsb.on.ca/
circleoflearning.
Changes to elementary report cards
The provincial government has updated elementary report cards to align with changes
in the curriculum. The changes are minor and reflect changed to the curriculum in the
following areas:
French as a Second Language (Grades 1 to 8) Changes: the three areas of evaluation (Oral Communication, Reading, and Writing) were changed to four areas: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Report cards will now list these four areas.
Social Studies, History and Geography in Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) Changes: two
areas of study were renamed: Heritage and Citizenship to Heritage and Identity, and
Canada and World Connections to People and Environments.
Reporting the Arts in Elementary (Grades 1 to 8) Changes: all four areas of study for
the Arts (Dance, Drama, Music, and Visual Arts) now have a box to indicate if the subject was taught in French.
For more information, and to see examples of the report cards, visit http://
www.edu.gov.on.ca and search for ‘Report Cards’ in the upper right search box.
SCHOOL SPIRIT WEAR
THE GATORWEAR BOOTH IS COMING
BACK TO GOODFELLOW
STUDENT SHOPPING
Friday December 5th (during school day)
FAMILY SHOPPING
Saturday December 6th (from 10 am - 1 pm)
All sizes - t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies.
Reasonable clothing prices - total cost depends on how many decals you want ironed
on.
CASH ONLY
Protect your family during cold and flu season
International Language Program
You may have heard of a nasty cough that has been hospitalizing some children in the United States. It has now been detected in Canada, including communities in Ontario. This particular bug is called the Enterovirus D68, a cousin of the family of
common cold viruses. For most people including most children, this virus will cause mild illness similar to the common
cold. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough,
and body and muscle aches. Most people don’t need a visit to
the clinic or the hospital, and will get better on their own.
There is no specific antibiotic or antiviral medication or vaccine for D68.
The virus spreads like the common cold, by droplets from
sneezing or coughing and from nasal mucus. It can also be
picked up by touching surfaces that have been contaminated.
This virus behaves much like the cold or influenza, and protecting yourself and your children is much the same as with those
diseases. For more information, visit the Health Unit’s website
Registration is now open for the free International
Language Program offered through the Learning
Centres in Barrie and Bradford. This program is
open to all elementary students.
School grounds smoke-free 24/7
This is a reminder to students, parents, guardians, and community members that under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act it is
against the law for any person to hold lit tobacco or to smoke
anywhere on school property at any time. Please respect this
law when visiting the property for purposes such as to pick up
students, to meet with staff and to attend school performances
and sports events. Your actions encourage youth to obey the
law and to choose tobacco-free lifestyles. Have questions?
Contact the Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721
ARE YOU A VOLUNTEER AT GOODFELLOW?
OFFENCE DECLARATION NOW PAST DUE!
http://www.thelearningcentres.com/learning-centresprograms/international-languages-program
Hint: Clip out the “Upcoming Dates” below & put it on your fridge.
Important Upcoming Dates
Progress Reports go home
Nov 7
Library Closed
Nov 11
Rembrance Day
Nov 11
Book Fair
Nov 12—Nov 17
Library Closed
Nov 18
Wendy’s Nite
Nov 19
Primary Dairy Presentation
Nov 25-26
If you are a volunteer, you are required to complete a
yearly offence declaration. Without a current declaration,
you will be unable to volunteer in the school and you will
be required to complete a new Criminal Background
Check before you can volunteer again. Offence Declarations have been sent home. If you have not received it yet,
Remember: Safe Arrival does not run on inclement weather days.
Goodfellow PS is in the Central District