Beaver Valley Community School
February 2, 2015
Address: 189 Bruce Street South, Box 340, Thornbury, Ontario. N0H 2P0
Phone: (519) 599-5991
Fax: (519) 370-2905
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:www.bvc.bwdsb.on.ca
Administrators’ Message
The coming of February means that we have
reached the mid-point of the school year. It
also means that spring is just around the
corner (it is a long, slow corner, but we are
always hopeful).
At this time of the year, we would like to
express our gratitude to all the volunteers
who provide us with such great support and
assistance at Beaver Valley. Whether it’s
helping students in classrooms, assisting in
the library, providing extra adult supervision
on field trips, fund raising, helping with pizza,
or serving on Community Advisory Council, we
appreciate all you do for us every day!
We welcome volunteers and encourage you to
call the school to find out how you can
become one of our learning volunteers.
Please feel welcome to contact us at any time.
Andy Amos – Principal;
Shelby Gilbert – Vice-Principal
February/March
Important Dates
Monday, Feb. 2 – Groundhog Recipe Day
Tuesday, Feb. 10 – CAC Meeting
– 7:00 PM
Saturday, Feb. 14 – St. Valentine’s Day
Sunday, Feb. 15
- Parinirvana Day
- Flag Day
Monday, Feb. 16 – Family Day
Friday, Feb. 20 – Term One Report Cards
sent home
Thursday, Feb. 26
- Lockdown Drill
- Parent/Teacher Interviews – 4:00 to
7:00 PM
Saturday, Mar. 7 – Turn your clocks
ahead one hour before going to bed
Tuesday, Mar. 10 – CAC Meeting
– 7:00 PM
March 16 to 20 – March Break
Friday, Mar. 20 – First Day of Spring
Friday, Mar. 27 – Severe Weather Drill
STUDENT MEDICATIONS
As we enter cold and flu season, we usually
experience an increase in the number of
parents sending medications to school with
their children. We would like to remind
parents that, for safety reasons, students
should not be transporting medications to and
from school and teachers should not be asked
to dispense medication to students. If a child
needs to take medication during the school
day, please contact us. We will make
arrangements to have your child receive their
medication safely according to board policy.
CAMERAS ON SCHOOL BUSES
Safety on school buses is a priority for the
Bluewater District School Board. We have
found that the use of video cameras on school
buses has assisted us in making the daily trip
to and from school safer for everyone. Parents
should be aware that, from time to time,
video cameras are used on our school buses
and that the images collected by those
cameras are used in compliance with the
Ontario Municipal Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act.
Beaver Valley Outreach
BVO Pre-School:
Do you need full day childcare? BVO Preschool
has spaces available for children aged 18 months
to 6yrs. Our licensed program runs Monday to
Friday 7:30 am-6:00 pm. Our experienced
Registered Early Childhood Educators run an
emergent child based program (following the
ELECT document) for toddlers and pre-schoolers
each day. Come and see what we are all about.
We are located at 23 Napier St. (Just behind the
school). If you have any questions or would like to
register please call Jennifer or Sherrie @ 519-5992190 or email us @ [email protected].
Recreational Funding: Want to register your
child(ren) for swimming lessons; enroll them in
hockey, skating, music dance or art? BVO has
funds available to help parents with the cost of all
sorts of recreational activities for children up to 18
years of age living in the Town of the Blue
Mountains. Call 519-599-2577 ext. 21 for details.
Kids Club Before and After School
Program:
BVO Kids Club is now accepting registrations!
Please go to bvo.ca to register your child and
update information if your child is returning from a
previous year.
Please email Carol at [email protected] or call 519599-2033 for more information about this safe,
reliable Day Nursery licensed program for school
age children 3-11 yrs.
Breakfast Club: Please call Barb at 519-5993114, if you are interested in becoming a
Breakfast Club Volunteer.
Good Food Box: The next Good Food Box is
available on February 18th. Orders are due by
February 13th. The GFB is available on the third
Wednesday of each month. Cost is $8 /single and
$15/ per family. Please call Bonnie at 519-5992577 ext. 26 to place an order.
COMMUNITY ADVISORY
COUNCIL - CAC
Our next Community Advisory Council
meeting takes place on Tuesday,
February 10th starting at 7:00 pm in the
library. Please feel welcome to come out
and participate in this important part of
our school community. Your advice and
input into decisions are valued.
GUITAR LESSONS @BVCS
Fretless Progressions Guitar Academy uses the
latest release of the world famous “The Shearer
Method - Classic Guitar Foundations” a multimedia
approach (DVD, CD, Web) to teach aspiring guitar
students step by step how to read and perform
music on the guitar. Students learn the most
current technique for playing the guitar while
gaining a strong understanding of the elements of
music, i.e. Rhythm, Pitch, Dynamics and Tempo.
Private lessons are held weekly on Wednesdays
and Fridays during school hours at B.V.C.S.
Students are encouraged to participate in monthly
performance classes with peers to share and learn
from others musical interpretations. The year
concludes with a Student Recital held in the North
Gallery of the beautifully restored Meaford Hall,
Arts & Culture Centre. For information and
registration please contact Edmund Baxter.
519.538.3808 or [email protected]
COLD WEATHER PRECAUTIONS
We consider the following when deciding whether
or not to send students outside during periods of
very cold weather:
1. The Canadian Pediatric Society advises that
children should definitely not be outside
when the air temperature is below -25°C
and/or the wind chill hits -28°C. The risk of
frostnip and/or frostbite is significantly
higher at these temperatures for anyone,
but more so for children.
2. Environment Canada wind chill warnings.
3. Individual students react to lower
temperatures in different ways.
If the temperature or windchill is between -20°C
and -25°C, we tend to keep children indoors.
There are occasions when older children may be
permitted to go outside, but their time outside is
limited and they must wear appropriate winter
clothing.
If the temperature and/or wind chill reaches minus
25°C, then all students are kept indoors while at
school – no exceptions.
Children who are more susceptible to the negative
effects of colder temperatures will be
accommodated providing we have been advised of
any specific medically diagnosed conditions that
would prevent them from going outside on colder
days.
L.E. SHORE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Regular Programs:
MAKE- All Seasons & All Reasons Outdoor
Skills - Everyday skills and knowledge that
you can use throughout the year. Come learn
cloud reading, identifying birds, shelter
building, fire making and fishing. We will be
going off site at times and look forward to the
adventures that lie ahead!
Tuesdays. Snack at 3:50. Program runs from
4:00 to 5:00pm *Session starts Tuesday,
January 13 2015*
PLAY- Play is small games, big games, theatre
workshops, and celebrations. We’ll be doing
all sorts of activities together and we know
you’ll have a good time. Thursdays. Snack at
3:50 pm. Program goes from 4:00 to 5:00pm
* Session starts Thursday, January 15 2015.*
Parent & Child Book Club (PCBC) - The last
Tuesday of the month from 7:00-8:00pm.
Starting January 27, for parent(s) and their
child(ren); book club aimed at 8-12 year olds.
*Book Club selections are available at the
book club shelf near the front circulation
desk.*
A message from the Ontario
Association of Optometrists:
EYE SEE…EYE LEARN!
HOW WELL CAN YOUR CHILD SEE?
Your optometrist knows the answer.
Every year thousands of children start
school without their eyes being checked.
An annual eye exam by an optometrist is
covered by provincial health insurance
until the age of 19. No referral needed.
Just bring your child’s health card to the
exam.
Learn more about our program for Junior
Kindergarten students for FREE GLASSES
in participating schools.
Our local optometrists, Mountainview
Eye Care (519-599-6070), are
participating in Eye See…Eye Care!
To find out more about “Eye See…Eye
Care!”, or to find an optometrist, please
visit www.EyeSeeEyeLearn.ca.
Story Time for Children – Join us in the story
tower for a great way to start your weekend.
Every Friday from 10:45 to 11:30 am.
Featuring stories, songs and crafts
PD Day Movies
Join us from 1:00-4:00pm at the Library on
PD Days. Movies will be announced closer to
the date.
Check out an iPad at the Library!
The Library now has two iPad Air tablets
available for 7-day loan. The iPads are loaded
with apps, including educational games for
kids. iPads can be checked out by library
members over the age of 18. Place a hold for
an iPad in person, by phone (519-599-3681)
or online at
www.thebluemountainslibrary.ca/ipads.cfm.
We encourage our students and parents to
check out the library website at:
www.thebluemountainslibrary.ca
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
FOR SEPTEMBER 2015
Children who were born in 2010 are
eligible to attend Senior Kindergarten in
September 2015. Children born in 2011
are eligible to attend Junior Kindergarten
in September 2015.
If you missed our registration day on
October 30th, you can still register your
child for JK or SK. Just call the school or
drop in. If you know of any parents with
children who could attend JK or SK next
year, please let them know that we are
now accepting registrations.
SCHOOL HOURS
Yard supervision begins – 8:30 AM
Instructional Day Begins – 8:55 AM
1st Break – 10:55 - 11:35 AM
2nd Break – 1:15 – 1:55 PM
Dismissal – 3:15 PM
SAFETY DRILLS
Throughout the year, we conduct a number of
drills so that in the event of an emergency
our students and staff are prepared and their
safety protected. All of us can remember fire
drills at school. In the last few years, we
have begun to conduct lockdown and severe
weather drills. These drills are conducted
throughout the year.
Our second lockdown drill of the year will
take place on February 26th.
Our severe weather drill will take place on
March 27th.
Again, the purpose of our various drills is to
prepare students and staff for emergencies
that we hope will never happen and protect
their safety in the event that an emergency
does occur. It could be that some of our
students will find the lockdown and severe
weather drills upsetting. We do our best to
reassure them, but parents may wish to
speak with their children prior to the drill to
prepare them and soothe any anxiety that
they may experience as a result of the drill.
Pop Tabs - Tabs For Wheelchairs
The Elora Legion gave out 2 wheelchairs
during January bringing their total to
1,974 Wheelchairs. A special thank you
to: Tyler, Dyleigh and Dreyden for
their contribution of tabs. We
appreciate ALL the help you can give!
Learn to play the piano!
Weekly, one on one, piano lessons are being
offered at BVCS for students of any age.
If you are interested or have any questions,
please contact: Jaime Hill
at 226-665-0084 or [email protected]
“It is one of the most beautiful
compensations of life that no man can
sincerely try to help another without helping
himself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
APPLE VALLEY YOUTH CHORUS
The Apple Valley Youth Chorus will be starting
on Thursday, February 5, 2015. Selected
'Elements of Climate' music will be featured
(clouds, rain, thunder, snow). Choir
rehearsals are every Thursday after school at
St. George's Anglican Church,
Clarksburg. There is a snack time between
3:15 and 3:45pm. The practice is from 3:45
to 5:00pm. There will be 13 rehearsals and a
final concert. The director is Ann-Marie
MacDairmid and the assistant is Karen
James. They are teaching the youth to sing in
2-part harmony. Some of the songs will
feature various percussion
instruments. Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary
Club helped get this community-based chorus
started and continue to assist in funding the
group, largely with money donated to the club
by CIBC Wood Gundy. Open to students aged
7 to 17, the Youth Chorus provides an outlet
for kids in the community who love to
sing. For more information, contact AnnMarie or Karen at 519-599-7506 or at
[email protected].
PARENT/GUARDIAN E-MAIL ADDRESSES
Keeping parents informed of what is happening
at school is important to us. To this end, at the
beginning of the school year we requested that
parents/guardians send us their e-mail
addresses so that we could better communicate
school news, e-mail newsletters, etc. We are
updating our e-mail lists and are asking parents
to provide us with their e-mail addresses or let
us know if their e-mail addresses have changed.
Please complete the attached form and return it
to the school. If you have already sent us
your email address, and it has not
changed, you do not need to return the
form.
BUS CANCELLATIONS/SCHOOL
CLOSURES/SNOW DAYS
One of the joys of living in Canada is our wonderful
climate (no sarcasm intended). Our winter climate,
while inspiring to many of us, offers significant
challenges to schools. Most of our children travel to
and from school by bus. From time to time, the
weather is severe enough that buses are cancelled.
Bus company operators make this decision after
consulting with the OPP and local road maintenance
authorities. The decision to cancel buses will be
made if road conditions are unsafe. This decision is
made as early as possible (usually by 6:45 AM).
When the buses are cancelled, local radio stations
will broadcast that information. Parents can obtain
information about bus cancellations and/or school
closures by listening to CFOS AM-560, MIX FM-106,
Country FM-93, The Peak FM-95.1, The Beach FM97.7, The Bull FM-94.5, CKNX AM920, The Dock FM92.3, Life – FM90.1 or FM100.3, Kool FM-107.5. You
may access the same information on the following
radio station or TV websites:
www.radioowensound.com
www.thepeakfm.com
www.945thebull.ca
www.923thedock.com
www.lifeonline.fm
www.koolfm.com
www.ctvbarrie.ca
On occasion, the information being broadcast by
local radio stations regarding bus cancellations can
be confusing. Radio announcements for bus
cancellations will now make reference to a School
Bus Zone. The bus zone for Beaver Valley
Community School is Zone 12 – Meaford/Thornbury.
When listening to the radio, please listen for that
zone number. The message applies to all schools in
the Zone. You may not hear our school’s name, as
radio announcers may choose to mention individual
school names only when necessary.
The Student Transportation Service Consortium of
Grey-Bruce is pleased to announce that school bus
cancellations, school closures, and school event
notifications are now publicly available on-line. A link
to the cancellations website can easily be found on
the Consortium website at
www.stscgb.wordpress.com. Cancellations for our
school will appear on the section titled “12 Meaford,
Thornbury”. If you would like to automatically
receive an email each time a new posting is made,
just press the “Follow” button at the bottom of the
screen and enter your email address. You can also
follow on Twitter and RSS.
Occasionally, a bus cancellation will occur after 6:45
AM if weather and road conditions deteriorate.
Parents and caregivers are asked to continue to
listen to the local radio stations for late cancellations.
Whenever buses are cancelled, they will not run in
the afternoon. Parents who choose to drive their
children to school on days when buses are cancelled
will need to make arrangements to have their
children picked up at the end of the school day.
Pizza days, pita days, field trips, and sporting events
will be cancelled on days when buses are cancelled.
Students will rarely be sent home early on bad
weather days.
On very rare occasions, schools may be closed due
to bad weather. Again, this decision is made in the
interest of student safety. We would consider closing
when local roads and highways are closed and any
kind of travel would be unsafe. Also, in the event of
extended power failure, school closure may occur.
Local radio stations will be contacted when we close
schools as a result of bad weather.
One of the concerns that we hear expressed on
occasion by parents when we have a bus
cancellation is that the weather improved later and
was fine by 9:00 or that the weather where they live
was not that bad. We would ask parents to consider
that our weather can be localized, especially when
we have fog and snow squalls. The decision to
cancel buses must be made as early as possible in
the interest of student safety and to allow parents to
make alternate arrangements. Also, most of our bus
routes are interconnected and, for this reason, the
buses for an area may be cancelled as opposed to
cancelling single buses.
We encourage parents to have a safety plan in place
just in case there is a last minute bus cancellation.
For example, we have had incidents where a bus
cannot continue on a route due to poor road
conditions. In a case such as this, children may be
waiting on a bus that will not arrive. Parents will be
called by the bus company when this happens and
an announcement will be made on the radio.
However, parents should have a safety plan in place
in case this situation arises.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
SEWING COURSE
At Beaver Valley Community School we are
fortunate to have the support of volunteers to
help students with special learning needs and
school activities. Our students benefit greatly
from the additional help and caring provided by
our volunteers! It is a very rewarding and
illuminating job to assist with BVCS students and
we hope that you will consider helping us out, if
your time permits.
We are looking for Students, Grade 7 and
up, who are interested in learning to sew.
Join us for a 10 week sewing course at the
First Baptist Church, every Tuesday from
3:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. starting on February
17th, 2015. The sewing course is free.
To sign up, call Kay at 519-599-3816 or
Wenona at 519-599-6125.
The following is a brief description of the
volunteer jobs available:
Everyone’s A Reader Volunteer:
- task is to tutor students who are having reading
difficulties
- meet with students individually
- trained by Learning Resource Teacher
- training takes a couple of hours
- opportunity to shadow experienced volunteer
for a few hours
- minimum 2 ½ hours a week
Classroom Volunteer:
- task is to tutor individual or small groups of
students
- trained by Learning Resource Teacher and/or
classroom teacher
- training time varies
- minimum of a couple of hours every week
Occupational Therapy Volunteer:
- task is to tutor students in printing or
handwriting, who are experiencing difficulty with
fine motor control
- trained by Occupational Therapist
- training takes about one half hour
- a minimum of a couple of hours every week
PREMIER AT HOME
Should you or anyone you know, be interested in
volunteering at BVCS, please call Ms. Shelby
Gilbert (ext. 535) or Mr. Rob Munden (ext. 534).
ATTENTION PARENTS!
SOS - Save Our Subscriptions!
It is never too late to order magazines
through our QSP Family Reading Magazine
Program, so please save your magazine
orders (new or renewals) and order them
online through our school program.
You can order early and still support our school by
shopping online! It’s easy…just visit www.QSP.ca.
Our School ID # is: 3711819
QSP Customer Service: 1-800-667-2536
Bluewater District School Board is pleased to
continue to support the Premier AT Home
program for our students and
parents/caregivers. Premier Literacy has a
suite of digital reading and writing computer
programs that are used with students in
Bluewater. These programs continue to be
updated and available at Bluewater Schools
and the Premier AT Home license allows
access to these computer software programs
for student and parent/caregiver use AT
HOME. NOTE: the only limitation is that the
computer must be owned by a student who attends a
BWDSB school or by a parent/caregiver of a student.
These software programs can have your
computer read a favourite web page, email,
homework, or even read a book. The
programs Launch Pad- Reader , Talking
Word Processor and Worksheet Wizard are
favourites in schools. There is also a
program on the site that will convert
documents into audio files so they can be
played on a MP3 player. Other programs
include a talking dictionary, a pdf
manipulator and many more. Some
programs are multilingual which allow some
French features.
To get more information regarding the
Premier Literacy Tools visit the following
website:www.premierathome.com
When you get to the web page-log in to the
website
Type in the following
User name: bluewater
Password: family
(these are case sensitive)
TERM ONE REPORT CARDS AND
PARENT/TEACHER
INTERVIEWS
Term One Report Cards will be sent
home on Friday, February 20th.
Parent/Teacher Interview Night has
been scheduled for Thursday,
February 26th – 4:00 to 7:00 PM. If
you wish to meet with your child’s
teacher to discuss the report card,
please call the school beginning on
February 20th. We ask that you call
the school after 10:00 AM to book an
appointment. This will allow us to
complete Safe Arrival.
A few teachers are unable to attend
the Parent/Teacher Interviews on
February 26th. Those teachers will let
parents know about alternate
interview dates.
NUT AND LATEX ALERGIES
We have several students at BVCS
who have serious, and even lifethreatening, allergies to nuts and/or
latex. For this reason, we do not
allow nuts and latex products at
school. Please note that, in addition
to peanuts, all tree nuts, such as
almonds, walnuts, filberts,
hazelnuts, and pecans are not
allowed at school. Latex is
somewhat more difficult to deal with
as it can sneak into a number of
products commonly found in schools.
However, obvious sources of latex
include balloons, paint, erasers, and
first aid supplies, so no balloons at
school.
Students who are anaphylactic can
experience life-threatening reactions
when exposed to allergens such as
nuts.
Please read product labels carefully
and do not send products that
contain nuts or latex to school.
HEAD LICE
The occurrence of head lice is not recognized
as an educational problem nor as a public
health concern. However, it is a concern to
parents. Many of us have had the frustrating
experience of children with head lice. Daily or
weekly head checks at home continue to be
the most effective way to prevent school-wide
infestations.
Parents are requested to notify the school if
they find evidence of head lice during their
regular home checks so that the school can
alert parents of classmates to be particularly
diligent in conducting home checks.
We continue to encourage parents to
treat head lice as quickly as possible
after receiving a phone call from the
school or after finding nits or live lice
during home checks. Our local
pharmacies carry various treatments and
can provide advice as to the effectiveness
of these treatments. Also, it is very
important that nits (eggs) are removed
from hair even after treatment. Special
lice combs are available for this task.
The key to controlling head lice is effective
treatment which includes the removal of nits
(eggs). We thank parents for their cooperation
in following through on treating head lice in a
timely manner.
Parent/Guardian E-Mail Addresses
If you wish to receive the BVCS newsletter and other school news by e-mail, please complete this tear-off form
and return it to the school by February 13th.
Information that we may send you could include: School, board, and class newsletters, messages from our
Community Advisory Council, information from local community groups (sports organizations, theatre groups,
service clubs, churches, etc.), and information regarding events that, while not directly related to school
business, could be of interest to students and parents.
Parents on our email list receive updates on bus cancellations and school closures. This information is
usually emailed early in the morning on the day of a cancellation/closure. Snow days can create havoc for
families. Receiving early notification can help with organizing alternate transportation, daycare, etc.
If at any time after providing us with your email address you wish to unsubscribe (i.e. delete your email address
from our list), please contact the principal.
If you wish, you may have information sent to more than one e-mail address – just include any additional
addresses on this form. Your e-mail address will be subject to the same protection with respect to confidentiality
and privacy as other personal information shared with the school.
If you provided us with your e-mail address in September/October
and your e-mail address has not changed, there is no need to complete
and submit this form.
BVCS Parent E-Mail Addresses
Parent/Guardian Name(s) (Please print clearly): ___________________________________
Name(s) of Child(ren): _______________________________ Homeroom Teacher: _______________
(Please print)
_______________________________ Homeroom Teacher: _______________
_______________________________ Homeroom Teacher: _______________
E-mail address (Please print clearly): _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature: __________________________________________
Date: ________________________________________________