MAY 2015 AHJ NEWS - Agnew H. Johnston Public School

Agnew H. Johnston School
145 Churchill Drive, Thunder Bay, ON P7C 1V6
Telephone (807) 577-6448 Fax (807) 577-9978
Mrs. Maureen Abbott, Principal
Ms. Maria Casasola, Vice Principal
MAY 2015 AHJ NEWS
Find the news on our website @ http://agnew.lakeheadschools.ca/
Agnew Bulldogs believe in Cooperation, Community, Commitment
Principal’s Message
With warmer weather, students seem to
start to arrive earlier and earlier at
school. Our playground and JK/SK
Classrooms are not supervised until
8:10 each morning, so please ensure students
arrive between 8:10 – 8:25 so that they can be
properly supervised on the school grounds to
ensure safety! Any families arriving before 8:10
are asked to wait in the foyer at the front office
until the 8:10 bell rings.
EQAO testing for Grades 3 and 6 occurs during the
two week window of May 25th to June 5th. If you have
students in these grades, more information will come
home shortly. Please let us know well in advance if
your child will be absent for any of the testing dates
noted in the letter you receive.
With the end of the year approaching, you may be
interested in receiving an update about your child’s
progress, since report cards went home and
interviews were held way back in February. If you
have any questions about your child’s progress, or
about anything at all, please do not hesitate to send a
note with your child for the teacher to give you a call.
I look forward to continuing to work with you,
Mrs. Abbott
Dates to Remember:
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PIZZA FRIDAYS: May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
May 8: EcoBus presentation for all Gr. 1 classes
May 8: Chess Tournament at C.D. Howe School
May 13: Creative Movement Jamboree at the Fort
William Gardens 7:00-9:00pm
 May 15: ActiveU Fieldtrip for all Gr. 4 to 6 students
 May 15: Final date to complete ON Special Needs
Strategy for Children and Youth Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6GJNQJJ
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(see P. 4)
May 18: Holiday – No School
May 19: Jump Rope for Heart Pledge Forms Due
May 20: School Council @ 6:30, Staff Room
May 25 to June 5th are EQAO Assessment Dates
May 28: TBDHU here for Immunization Program
for SK, Gr. 7s and Gr. 8 girls
June 1 : Agnew Track Meet for Grades 4 to 8 at the
Legion Track
School Council News:
Thank you / Merci!
for supporting our annual
Spring Fling on April 23rd.
There was an awesome turnout and a good time
was had by all. Special thanks to our parent
and staff volunteers!
Our next and final meeting for this year will be on
Wednesday, May 20th at 6:30 p.m. in the Staff
Room. All parents and guardians are welcome to
attend.
Diversity and Equity Dates:
Lakehead Public School’s Equity and Inclusive Education Working Committee publishes an on-line calendar of Inclusive
Holidays and Events at Lakehead Public School’s Website. Our Student Leadership Team uses this calendar to announce
Holidays and Events to our students and staff as part of our morning announcements and to plan events. The calendars
for the year can be found at: https://www.lakeheadschools.ca/school-calendars/
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING AT SCHOOL!
AYARA 2015 Recipients
Congratulations to Eric (Academic Achievement), Danice (Academic
Achievement), Sierra (Community Leadership), and Eryn (Community
Leadership) who were honoured with an award at the Northwestern ON
Aboriginal Youth Achievement & Recognition Awards banquet on April 8th
2015 at the Victoria Inn.
Jump Rope & Dodge Ball for Heart
Be a heart hero and support the Heart and Stroke Foundation! On Tuesday, April 14th Donna Grau from the
Heart and Stroke Association and students from Lakehead University’s kinesiology program came out to
“Kick-Start” our Jump Rope for Heart fundraising initiative.
Interested students are already collecting donations for our annual Jump Rope for Heart
fundraiser. Pledge envelopes are due back at the school by May 19th 2015. Grades SK
to 5 Jump Rope Event will take place on June 23rd with Grades 6 student leaders for
each group, and Grade 7 leaders running the centres the children will rotate through to
show off their skipping skills and have fun! Incentive prizes for students who have earned
rewards through pledges will be given out the day of the event. Thank you to Mme Gerry
for organizing this community fundraising initiative while promoting a healthy and
physically active lifestyle activity for our students.
Track and Field
All grade 4 to 8 students and staff will be walking over to the Legion Track on Monday, June 1st for our SchoolWide Track Meet. The top placing competitors in these events will have the chance to represent our school at
the Lakehead Public Schools Track Meet on June 16th and 17th. The group will leave the school at 8:30 am and
return at 2:30 in time for regular dismissal routines. Please pack a "Ready-to-eat" lunch, extra snacks,
plenty of drinks and layers of clothes to accommodate the weather and an active day outdoors. We are
very fortunate to have the use of the Legion Track to run a mock event and we will require volunteer parents
and guardians to help make this event a success! If you are available for even a part of the day, please inform
your child's teacher. Special thanks to those parents who have already volunteered!"
Creative Movement Jamboree
Mrs. Kashuba and Ms. Wolowich have been working hard with the group of Grades 4 to 8
students who have signed up to participate at the Creative Movement Jamboree on May
13th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Fort William Gardens. This event is always a fantastic
celebration of dance, movement and the arts, so please plan a family outing to attend, even
if your child is not participating this year. In lieu of admission, you can bring a non-perishable
food item for Shelter House or a donation can be made to the Lakehead Learning
Foundation which supports programs and initiatives for Lakehead Public Schools students.
Bike Safety!
The warmer weather has finally arrived, and students are beginning to ride their bikes to school.
Please remember to review safe riding practices at home. Ride with traffic, use
correct hand signals, stop at crossings and be aware of the traffic at all times.
Remember: wearing a helmet is mandatory for student riders.
It’s not only safe practice, it’s the law.
COMMUNITY NEWS:
May is Speech and Hearing Month
HEARING LOSS
Hearing loss is an invisible and greatly
misunderstood disability even though it
affects one in ten Canadians at some
point in their life.
Common Myths:
 that if you are deaf, you cannot
speak
 if you wear a hearing aid or have
a cochlear implant, you can hear
perfectly
 if you are deaf, you are not very
bright
 if you speak, you cannot be deaf.
Children with hearing loss face these
types of assumptions daily; the greatest
handicap for them is ignorance and
misunderstanding on the part of the
general public.
Our Principal Objectives:
1. Provide hope and support to
parents
2. Inform that children who are deaf
or hard of hearing can learn to
listen and speak
PLEASE NOTE: We receive many
notices from Community Partners
to share with our school families.
While trying to include as many
as possible, we also try to
consider the amount of paper we
are sending home. If you’re having
trouble reading these scaled down
versions, try opening the PDF in
colour on our website, where you
could increase the viewing size, @
http://agnew.lakeheadschools.ca/