HYLAND HEIGHTS E.S. HAWK TALK
NOVEMBER NEWS, 2014
Principal: Mitch Zuk
519-925-3745, Attendance: Ext. 100
* Press ‘0’ to connect directly with the office
Dear Parents & Guardians,
It’s hard to believe that November is here.
Hyland Heights Reads has just finished! After three weeks of students reading and undertaking literacy activities
on the following books:
the Hyland Heights students voted for their favourite selection:
Voting Procedure
The Ballot
Polling Clerks: Dean and Karly
Ballot Boxes
At an assembly on Friday, November 7th, Exclamation was announced as the favourite book as voted upon by our
students and staff. I was most fortunate to read Exclamation to the entire school and celebrate all the books
during the assembly. The book, Exclamation, focused on a non-confident exclamation mark learning about the
important role exclamation marks’ have on ideas, words and phrases. The exclamation mark’s story is really
everyone’s story. It’s about fitting in, standing out, and finding your way with the help of others. Thanks to our
teacher-librarian, Mrs. Bannon for organizing an amazing, authentic learning experience that increased our
understanding.
On Tuesday, November 4th, Chris D’Souza, the Race and Equity Relations Officer for the Peel District School Board
presented to our students in grades 5-8. Chris delivered a sincere, clear, and purposeful message about inclusion,
tolerance, equity and justice. Our students enjoyed the presentation and thought Chris has a strong message that we all need to appreciate our individuality while respecting the various cultures and practices of all peoples.
Here are some of the comments our students made to their teachers after the assembly:
“he was exciting,” it’s important to talk about your identity,” it’s important to be yourself and not someone else,”
being different is nothing to be ashamed of,” you have to respect identities because they are not changeable,”
and “a certain country may not have a certain look.” We are now working on a JK to 3 presentation.
We are getting ready for our annual Remembrance Day assembly, Student Progress Report Interviews, AntiBullying Awareness Week (November 17th-21) and Parent Council’s Holiday celebration Night on November 27th.
Mitch Zuk, Principal
Remembrance Day
HHES remembers those that have fought and given
much for our country. On November 11th, all
classes will attend an assembly @ 9:30 am. A
number of classes will present poems, songs, and a
media presentation in honour of our veterans.
Parents and Caregivers are welcome to attend.
Parenting Workshops – Fall
2014
Anger, Parenting and You
November 11 from 7:00–9:00
PM—2 nights Parkinson Centennial Public School–
120 Lawrence Ave
We all strive for healthy communication between
parents and children. This workshop will help you
recognize your anger triggers and how to release
anger safely, and help you teach your children how
to manage their emotional responses. Participants
will examine coping strategies for anger and stress
management for both parents and children.
Parenting Siblings November 18 from 7:00–9:00
PM — 1 night at Island Lake Public School—50 Oak
Ridge Drive
Being a parent of one child is a challenge. But when
a child turns into a sibling, new problems and
possibilities arise. Through the use of a DVD and
group discussion, learn how to help kids solve
conflicts on their own and deal with their siblings in
age-appropriate ways.
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen Refresher Session
November 25 from 7:00–9:00 PM—1 night
Parkinson Centennial Public School–120 Lawrence
Ave
This one-evening workshop is for people who have
previously attended the six-week "How to talk so
Kids Will Listen" program. Bring your success stories
as well as your challenges, and we will talk as a
group about how the strategies are working (or
not...)
Skills for Single Parents December 2 from 7:00–
9:00 PM—1 night at Island Lake Public School—50
Oak Ridge Drive
This workshop is in a “video-and-discussion” format.
It touches on the following issues: feelings, co-
parenting, managing single-parent life, dating, and
single parenting.
Positive Discipline for Effective Parenting Nov. 12,
19, 26 and Dec. 3 from 7:00–9:00 PM—4 nights
Princess Margaret Public School—51 Wellington
This workshop uses theories and information from a
combination of parenting experts to provide you
with practical information and ideas to help you
along your everyday journey as a parent. We will
look at discipline as a teaching tool, working
together as a couple to parent consistently,
parenting styles, and practical tools to help both
you and your child be successful within your family.
Positive Parenting from Separate Homes
November 13 from 6:30–9:30 PM—2 nights
Dufferin Child & Family Services—655 Riddell Rd
Are you worried about the effects of separation,
divorce and parenting from two homes on your
children? Learn how to manage these changes to
ensure that your children do not get caught in the
middle of parental conflict. You will learn to
understand your feelings, your children's needs and
develop a business-like relationship with the other
parent. You will not be asked to talk about your
individual situation as the program is for general
information.
A Parent’s How-To Guide for Helping Your
Child in Math
By: Gina Betts & Rylan Pranger
(Upper Grand Curriculum Leaders)
Math education looks different than it did even ten
years ago. Employers today cite that the essential
21st century skills of problem solving, collaboration,
logical reasoning and the ability to think critically
are the most important ‘look-fors’ when
interviewing candidates. In schools today, students
are asked to solve challenging mathematical
problems that put more importance on conceptual
knowledge instead of procedural knowledge. This
leaves parents sometimes at a loss about their role
and how to best support their child. As a parent,
you are an invaluable partner in your child’s
mathematics education; you are the first educator
in your child’s life. Research shows that when there
is a high level of family involvement, students do
better in school. Below are some tips to support
your role as a mathematics parent.
Tips for Parents:(adapted from Doing Mathematics
with Your Child - A Parent’s
Guide http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynume
racy/
• Real-life experiences that encourage and
engage your child to think and talk about
mathematics (shopping, sorting, construction,
managing time and money, understand patterns
and trends, make predictions based on patterns,
analyze data)
• encourage and provide manipulatives to explore
mathematical concepts (toothpicks, popsicle
sticks, money, chocolate chips, etc…)
• be mindful of your attitude towards
mathematics; strong, positive attitudes about
math increase a child’s ability to feel successful
and to persevere with challenging math tasks
• encourage risk taking
• provide a supportive, relaxing environment
• build your child’s confidence by engaging them
in math activities that will allow them to feel
successful
• engage in math activities or math talk in the
language you are most comfortable with
• a math problem is not necessarily a word
problem; don’t allow language to be the barrier
to the mathematical concept presented
• build on memorization of math facts by
ensuring the understanding of the concept
(What does multiplication/division
mean? When would we use it? Why would we
use it? How did you figure out that fact? How
can you use one fact to help you figure out
another?)
• familiarize yourself with the Ontario Math
Curriculum
(http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/ele
mentary/math18curr.pdf) in order to
understand what your child is learning and what
is expected of him/her
Resources:
• Homework Help (Gr. 7-10)
https://homeworkhelp.ilc.org
•
Math Activity Sites - there are many more sites
in the Doing Mathematics with Your Child (links)
http://www.mathstories.com
http://www.hoodamath.com/games/
http://www.mathplayground.com
http://www.funbrain.com/teachers/subj_math.htm
l
http://www.aplusmath.com
http://cemc2.math.uwaterloo.ca/mathfrog/main.sh
tml
Environmental Education and Awareness
Saving energy and reducing the use of electricity is
necessary to help our planet. Electricity is a type of
energy that was discovered over 100 years ago. One
of the most common ways to make electricity is by
converting other energy sources, such as coal,
natural gas, and oil or solar, wind and falling water.
Right now we get most of our energy from
nonrenewable energy sources, which include the
fossil fuels — oil, natural gas, and coal.
Unfortunately the burning of fossil fuels to produce
power causes air pollution an is linked to global
warming and climate change, which is the gradual,
harmful, increasing temperature on our planet. But
the good news is that recently Ontario became the
first province in Canada to no longer make
electricity using coal-fired power plants! And we as
individuals can also help solve this problem by
learning more about it and making energy
conservation one of our goals at school and home.
Did you know? Turning off the lights in one
classroom for one hour keeps over two pounds of
pollutants out of the environment. Let’s remember
to turn the switch off whenever we leave an empty
room.
We all can make a difference in helping the
environment. Demonstrate your courage in making
a difference and conserving energy by enforcing the
following tips at home. Set your home’s thermostat
a few degrees lower in the winter or a few degrees
higher in the summer. Your family will save money
and reduce greenhouse emissions. Turn off lights
and all electronics (like computers, televisions,
stereos, and video-games) when you leave a room.
Use machines like washers, dryers, and dishwashers
only when there is a full load and after 8pm when
energy consumption is lower. Open your blinds or
curtains on sunny winter days to let the sun shine
into and warm your home. In the summer
remember to close them and keep the hot sun out.
It takes courage to make changes to your own
habits and help others to do the same. But you
have what it takes to be an environmental leader!
On-line Bully Reporting Tool
Did you know that
in the majority of
cases, bullying
stops within 10
seconds when
peers intervene or
don’t support the bullying behavior?
The Upper Grand District School Board takes all
incidents of bullying seriously. That’s why we
developed an online bullying reporting tool. Stop a
Bully gives students and parents 24/7 access for
reporting bullying. You don’t have to identify
yourself – just your school – and your message gets
sent directly to your school principal for follow-up.
We will follow up on your report.
You’ll find the Stop a Bully button on our school’s
website and the board’s website
(www.udsb.opn.ca/stop-a-bully).
If your child is the victim of bullying or sees bullying
behavior at school, please encourage him/her to
speak with someone at school or use the Stop a
Bully tool. For more information, contact the
school.
Library News
Once again, our Fall Book Fair, which
was held from October 21-24, was
very successful, thanks in part to our
terrific group of volunteers. Thank you
to all students, teachers and families who
supported the Book Fair and to Mrs. Bannon who
worked so hard to organize the event. Because of
the large number of books purchased at the book
fair, Scholastics has awarded our school close to
$1600.00 in credit to purchase new books for the
Hyland Heights library. Your support is very much
appreciated!
Playground Climbers are Closed
As days grow colder and snowflakes
start to fly a time of change comes to
our playgrounds. Metal playground
parts can become very slippery, particularly against
winter coats. Please note that, for safety reasons,
our playground climbers are now shut down for
the winter season. We look forward to using them
once again sometime in April. We also ask that you
take a moment to discuss this with your child.
Students are not to be using the climbers before or
after school. Thank you for your help with this to
keep kids safe.
Student Progress Reports
The focus of progress reports is to share progress
related to learning skills and work habits, and
explains how your child is doing in subjects using
the words: “progressing very well”, “progressing
well” or “progressing with difficulty”. Progress
reports will go home with the students from Gr.1 to
8 on November 13th. Parent-teacher interviews
take place on the evening of Nov 20st and all day
on Nov 21nd. This is your opportunity to find out
early in the school year how your child is
progressing, what the school will do to help and
what you can do at home to support his/her
learning. Please note that while these are the only
scheduled interviews for the year, we encourage
parents and teachers to communicate helpful
information or concerns, at any point during the
school year, where this supports student learning.
February and June report cards will follow a more
traditional format with marks for all subjects
Winter-Like Weather has Arrived!
Please help your child dress
appropriately for the weather by
pulling out those warm hats, mitts,
and snow pants. Students are
outside for two 25 minute blocks each day and
being dressed in warm clothing allows children to
enjoy their break time and be more comfortable
while outside. An extra pair of dry socks is also a
good idea!
Winter Weather & Bus
Cancellations
Decisions to cancel transportation is
made by 6:30 a.m. and this is based on a
number of factors including, weather and road
conditions, checked first-hand by designated
•
•
•
bus operators in each area, weather predictions
made by Environment Canada, and information
on road conditions from the local Road
Superintendent. During times of inclement
weather, please check the transportation
website for updates: http://www.stwdsts.ca/
You can also listen to: 1460 AM CJOY,106.1
Magic FM, 99.1 FM CBC, NewsTalk 570 AM, 96.7
FM CHYM, 98.1 FM CHFI, 680 AM CFTR, 92.5
KISS FM or watch the A Channel News or CKCOTV television news for school transportation
cancellations.
A message will also be left on the school’s Bus
Cancellation/School Closure line as soon as we
are informed. (519-925-3745 Ext. 501.)
If bus students are driven to school on a “no-bus
day”, please ensure they are picked up promptly
at 3:15 p.m. allowing our staff to travel home
safely during daylight hours.
No Bus Day Attendance
Hyland Heights remains an open school to all
students when the buses are not running and is
only closed when a rare School Board system
closure occurs. Non-bussed students are expected
to attend school unless parents decide it is unsafe
for their child to travel to and from school. Final
decisions about your child’s attendance rest with
each individual family.
Leaving a message about your child’s absence
provides us with valuable time to ensure that all
students are accounted for and are either safe at
school or safe at home/daycare. We have only
three telephone lines so please keep trying until
you are able to leave a message.
Cold & Flu Season
With cold and flu season approaching it’s that time
of year again to get your flu shot. The flu is a
respiratory illness that spreads quickly from person
to person. Common flu symptoms include fever,
cough, sore throat, muscle pain, joint pain, and
weakness. The flu is more serious for the very
young and elderly. They can get the flu from schoolaged children who don’t seem sick but may have a
mild case. Get your free flu shot. It protects
everyone. If you don’t like needles, there's an
alternative called FluMist®. FluMist is a nasal spray
available for children and adults ages 2 to 59.
FluMist® is not available at drop-in clinics and
should you choose this option you will have to call
to make an appointment. The Wellington-DufferinGuelph Public Health Unit offers free flu shots with
no appointment necessary and drop-ins are
welcome. Feel free to call 1-800-265-7293 or visit
the following website at www.wdgpublichealth.ca
for more information.
Grade Eight Graduation: An Early Update
Calling all Grade 8 parents!! New this year - there
will be a parent grad committee. If you would like
to be involved please email your information to:
[email protected]
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS
what help us achieve our
goals.
We are pleased to be offering
MacMillan’s products as our
major fundraiser for the
current school year. Our
fundraising campaign will
generate funds for our new
junior playground. We have a
current goal of $40,000 and
fundraisers such as these are
MacMillan’s offers an array of many
delicious products including Cookie
Dough, Muffin Batter, Gourmet Deserts,
Pizzas, Peanut Free and Kosher items.
There are lots of wonderful products
perfect for entertaining this holiday
season!
All order forms with payment are due
no later then: Tuesday, November 18th
2014. Cheques can be made payable
to: Hyland Heights Elementary School.
We thank you for your support in helping
us achieve our fundraising goal!
Next Meeting Dates
Meetings are located in the library. These
meetings are a great way to find out what’s
happening in the school and to get involved. All
parents are welcome and as always there is
free babysitting.
Pick up on Tuesday December
2th between 3:15-6:30pm in the
gymnasium.
Our next meetings are scheduled for the first
Monday of the month:
November 24th at 6:00pm
- Hyland Heights Parent Council
Did you hear?
The Holiday Celebration
Night is coming up!
Join us on Thursday, November 27th
between 6-8pm for a night of Holiday fun.
There will be free crafts for the kids, a raffle
room, cookie decorating, carol singing plus LOTS
more!
Our Silent Auction will be opening soon for bids. Come into the
school lobby for your chance
to bid on some AMAZING prizes: Watch for a School Council
Flyer to follow!
Don’t forget to come and pick-up your
MacMillians order in the gym on Tuesday,
December 2nd at 3:15 – 6:30 p.m.
HYLAND HEIGHTS E.S. - NOVEMBER NEWS
MONDAY
3
Pita Day
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
11
Remembrance Day
Assembly @9:30am
(Red & White Day)
12
Pizza Day
13
Progress Reports
Go Home
14
19
Pizza Day
20
Hands-On
Catering lunch
4
5
Pizza Day
6
Parent Council
Meeting @ 6pm
(in library –
babysitting provided)
10
Smoothie Day
Moment of Silence at
11:00am
17
Pita Day
BULLY
PREVENTION WEEK!
24
Smoothie Day
DEC
18 Anti-Bully
Awareness Day – WEAR
PINK! - Thunbs Up Day
(catch someone doing
something good)
MacMillan’s Orders due
into the office today
25
2
*MacMillan Orders to be
Picked Up between 3:15
and 6:30 in the Gym.
Gr.7 Hep B#1
Gr.8 Girls HPV #1
Parent-Teacher
Interview Evening
3:30-8:00
(It is helpful for
students to attend
with Parents)
Flouride Varnishing for
students who were
missed
Parent Council
Meeting @ 6:00pm
1
It’s OK to be Different
Lesson for all classes
(Equity and Inclusion
event)
- all week
9;30 - KB walking
to library.
7
Hyland Heights
Reads Assembly at
9am
21
PA DAY (no
regular classes)
Interview Day for
Parent/Teachers
9:00-3:00
(It is helpful for
students to attend
with Parents)
26
Pizza Day
27
HOLIDAY
CELEBRATION
EVENT @ 6-8pm
28
3
Pizza
4
Peter Pan trip for
6/7A, 7/8B & 8A
5
Peter Pan trip for
Gr. 1-6