RTM

May 2015
Principals Message
Mission:
We prepare all
students for a
successful life.
Vision:
Creating Futures.
Leading and
Learning
for All.
Principal:
Mr. Paul LeRoy
Vice-Principal:
Ms. D. Stroud

175 Paterson Street,

Almonte, ON
K0A 1A0

Phone: 613-256-8248
Fax: 1-855-428-1500

It seems we skipped Spring and jumped right into Summer and

R. Tait McKenzie students are enjoying the warmer weather!
There are a number of events on the horizon for R. Tait
McKenzie Public School students including Track and Field,
EQAO, Jump Rope for Heart and Grade Six Leaving
Ceremony. We are attempting to organize our Track and Field
meet for May 19th at Gemmill Park (rain date TBD @ school). It
should be a fun day! The Grade 3 and 6 EQAO assessments will
take place beginning May 25th. Students and staff have been
preparing diligently for this task. We wish them well! Finally,
we are beginning to coordinate our Leaving Ceremony for
students in grade 6. This celebration will commemorate the
contribution our grade 6 students have made to RTM.
It is going to be a busy May to set up for an even busier June
hang on tight!
Paul LeRoy
Principal
R. Tait McKenzie

http://
rtait.ucdsb.on.ca

PIZZA DAYS
www.facebook.com/
rtaitmckenzie

May
May
6th SK Grad Photo Re-Takes
18th Victoria DayNo School
25Th to 28th EQAO Gr 3 AM/Gr 6 PM
28th JK/SK Field Trip
29th P.A. DayNo School

June
1st to 4thEQAO Gr 6 AM

Friday 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd

Thursday 28th

Nova Holts Story of Giving

Nova Holt, a young lady in grade 5 at R. Tait McKenzie School, did something this week that many would not do.
She cut off 8 inches of her long blond hair to donate to 360 Hair so that children who have lost their hair because
of cancer treatments could have wigs.
So why did Nova want to support this cause? In 2010, her Dad, Sean, was diagnosed with cancer. He fought for
two years but in the fall off 2012 he lost his battle. Nova wanted to do something in memory of her Dad. I decided
to donate my hair because it was very long and instead of cutting it off for no reason I decided to give it to kids
who need it more than I do.
On April 28, 2015, which would have been her Dads 53rd birthday, Nova gathered all of the donation boxes from
the classes and headed to the hair dressers where she had 8 inches of her hair cut off. She, along with her sister
and her Mom counted the donations from R. Tait. Nova also collected donations on-line at the Cancer Society
website.
Nova revealed both her new haircut and her total in donations the next day in an assembly at R. Tait. In her new
pixie haircut she presented a cheque from R. Tait in the amount of $1572.81 which surpassed the on-line donations
of $1210 for a grand total of $2832.81! Amazing!!
But it doesnt stop there! Nova, Phoenix and Julie, as a thank you for all of the support from the staff and students
at R. Tait, baked 32 cookies for each of the 15 classrooms and provided homemade cupcakes and ice cream sandwiches for the class who raised the most money. Novas own class raised the most bringing in $384.15!!
This amazing act of caring, generosity and courage brought the R. Tait staff and students to their feet as they gave
Nova a standing ovation at the assembly that marked the end of her journey!

Spotlight on
Puppets!
This month our students have been creating amazing puppets of all varieties with the owner and
staff of JBArts of Almonte. It was so exciting to see the enthusiasm and pride on our students
faces as they left their sessions with incredible puppets on their hands! Thank you to Jan Smith
for organizing this burst of creativity and to JBArts for working so hard with our students!

JBArts offers a wonderful summer camp for kids! Website: http://www.jbarts.ca

Heart and Stoke

Jump Rope for Heart
Are You Ready to be
JUMPCREDIBLE????

On the afternoon of Friday May 15th, the R.Tait students

are participating in Jump Rope for Heart to benefit the Heart and
Stroke Foundation.
Pledges can be made by using the forms sent
home last week /or by completing pledges online.
JumpRopeForHeart.ca
Thank you for your support!!!

Parent
Council

The next School Council meeting is Tuesday, May 19th at

7:00 p.m. in the Learning Commons. All R Tait parents and
guardians are welcome to attend. An update will be
given from our three new sub committees as initial
meetings have been held. The committees are focusing on:
School Climate, Safe and Active Routes to school
and updating our Learning Commons. Let us know if you
are interested in joining any of these sub committees, as it's
not too late. Please feel free to email either of the co chairs
at: shannonboisvenue@hotmail.com or
christineandersen@rogers.com if you have any questions.

E-Bits May 2015

For Families:
New Immunization Requirements for School-Aged Children. As of J uly 1,
2014, meningococcal disease, pertussis (whooping cough) and varicella
(chicken pox) have now been added as designated diseases under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA). This is in addition to the previously
designated diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. It
is parents responsibility to provide a copy of their childs immunizations to the
health unit or the original copy of a valid exemption form for these new
designated diseases. Immunization information is not automatically transferred
between health care providers and the Health Unit. Under ISPA, students can
be suspended from school if they do not have all of the required immunizations. Here are the requirements for the newly designated diseases:
Meningococcal Vaccine: 2 doses. Fir st dose on or after the fir st bir thday
and again in grade 7. Students in grades 7-12 who did not receive the
meningococcal ACYW-135 vaccine in grade 7, can receive a catch-up dose at
the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit by appointment.
Pertussis (Whooping Cough): Usually 4-5 doses, depending upon the age of
the child when immunized. Pertussis immunization is included with the tetanus
vaccine that children receive.
Varicella (Chicken Pox): Under ISPA, immunization is r equir ed for children born in 2010 or later, although children born on or after January 1, 2000,
can receive vaccine for free. 2 doses are required and are usually given at 15
months and with the 4-6 year booster.
For more information visit http://www.ontario.ca/vaccines or contact the
Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit at
1-800-660-5853.