NORTH ELMSLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL

OCTOBER 2013

NEWSLETTER

Principal: Mr. Paul Hannah / Office Administrator: Mrs. Jayanna Wood Phone: (613) 267-1371 Fax: 1-855-480-0860 209 Port Elmsley Rd. Perth, ON K7H 3C7

Principals Message
Greetings everyone! September has been a busy month, and it has gone by very fast. Our girls and boys junior and senior soccer teams are in full swing; our School Advisory Council organized a successful Meet-the-Teachers Night; Book Fair sales gave us an $800.00 credit for books and classrooms essentials; the Terry Fox Run brought in $356.37 for cancer research; and classrooms are abuzz with lots of exciting learning activities. Our all day, every day kindergarten program is working out very well. Ms. Labelle has noted how quickly our kindergarten students have adapted to attending school every day, and she is already seeing some of the benefits that research has identified with respect to play-based learning programs for this age group. I am sorry to share with you that Mr. Papple, one of our grade 6/7 teachers, has moved on to a grade 7 position with more teaching time at Almonte District Secondary School. In the short time that he was with us, Mr. Papple was a great addition to our teaching staff. We congratulate him on this movement forward in his teaching career and wish him all the best at his new school. Mrs. OBrien will teach full days to cover Mr. Papples position until the hiring process to replace him, which is already underway, concludes. We have had a smooth start to a great year, and our school community has so much to be thankful for. With that in mind, Id like to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Sincerely, Paul Hannah, Principal

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH:

RESPONSIBILITY is leading the way, helping to accomplish tasks through initiative and hard work.

NEPS Halloween Harvest Party

On Friday October 18th wear your costume and be ready to hear devilish delights, play ghastly games, do creepy crafts, win prizes. The fun starts at 5:30 pm (everyone) at NEPS. The cake walk starts at 7:00 and the dance starts at 7:30 pm (grades 4-8) and the cost is $5 PER CHILD. If you wish to help that night, donate treats for the canteen or a cake for the cake walk please contact lesamjones69@gmail.com. Watch for a flyer coming home closer to Halloween.

Electronic Newsletter School Photo Retake Day

Retake Photo Day will be on Wednesday October 23, 2013. We prefer sending out our monthly newsletters and some correspondence electronically over paper copies for a number of reasons, yet will still honour requests for paper copies. The benefits to this plan will be to significantly reduce the amount of paper used by the school (environmentally friendly!) and to

Our School Scent Free

This is a friendly reminder that our school is a scent free building, as there are students and staff members who have allergic reactions to various scents. In accordance with health and safety policy, we require perfume to not be worn and that the products such as scent free hand sanitizers be used. Thank you for being sensitive to the health and well-being of others.

ensure that you consistently get information! If you have not already done so, please provide the office with your name, email address and grade(s) of child(ren). A distribution list will be created by classes and for those not on the list, traditional paper newsletters will still be provided. You can also access our
newsletters, calendars and other electronic info on our blog and/or facebook. The address of our blog is

http://northelmsleypublicschool.wordpress.com http://www.facebook.com/North.Elmsley.Public.School https://twitter.com/NorthElmsley

Math Tutoring grades 7-10

Does your child need help with math? Homework Help is run by TVOs Independent Learning Centre with support from the Ontario Government. Free online math tutoring for grades 710 students is offered. Teachers are standing by every Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Parents can sign up for a free guest account. Get resources and tools 24/7, math videos, interactive exercises and activities, scientific calculator and more! Register at Ontario.ca/homeworkhelp

Hot Lunch Program

Sealtest milk or 100% apple or orange juice (both containers 250 ml), pizza, and Subway are available through monthly order form. Hot Dogs (Mondays) and Grilled cheese sandwiches (Thursdays) are pay as you go. All items offered for hot lunches meet the Ministry Nutrition Guidelines. Thank you to Leigh Craig for donation of hot dog sleeves and Wendy Moore and Owen Trenholme (Owens Offerings) for donating wax sandwich bags for grilled cheese sandwiches.

Terry Fox

On Thursday September 26th, we held our annual Terry Fox Run/Walk. It was a great afternoon for the run and our kids were totally pumped about it. Our School raised $356.37. Way to go Knights! A Special Thank You This summer some students from North Elmsley Public School held a Lemonade and Bake Sale to raise money for the Terry Fox Run being held at NEPS on September 26th. The following students are being recognized for their dedication and generosity: - Amy and Emmaleigh Garrent - Callum and Carmindy Young - Meredith and Olivia Ferguson Thank you to these NEPS students for their fantastic donation of $126.02!

Unexplained Non-Attendance Policy

A special thank you for the outstanding cooperation from parents and guardians who call in and let us know that their child(ren) will not be attending school. We know everyone has busy schedules and your response has been fantastic. As part of the Safe School Arrival Procedures, the tracking of absent students is mandatory. If you have not called to inform us that your child(ren) will be away, we then have to contact you and/or all contacts that we have on file. The Updated Version of Board Policy Unexplained Non-Attendance Policy is attached. Please take the time to read it. You can also go to UCDSB website to view policy 107 at http://www.ucdsb.on.ca/aboutus/policies/100students/Pages/ default.aspx. The answering machine is turned on 24 hours a day for your convenience. You can leave a message regarding your childs absence anytime. It would be also be helpful to know if your child(ren) are experiencing flu-like symptoms, as the health unit is monitoring this on a weekly basis.

Pick Up of Students
If you will be picking your child(ren) up after school please call the office before 3:00 pm. We require written or verbal notice from parents. If a student is not on this list the teacher will put your child on the bus. All children have been instructed to wait in the foyer for parent arrival for pick up. All parents must tell Mrs. Madden or Mrs. Kilpatrick that you have your child(ren). This is part of our Safe School Policy.

Guitar and Fiddle Lessons NEPS Kids Need You!

We would be happy to see you at our next meeting. All you need is desire to help. We want to hear your ideas and would love to have your support at school functions. Our next School Council meeting is Tuesday, October 22nd 5:30 pm at NEPS. Guitar and Fiddle lessons started on Friday October 4th with Wade Foster during school hours. There are still spots available for sessions. The lessons are hour in length and cost $20 per half hour. Classes are every Friday. For more information and to arrange lessons with your child, please call Wade at 812-0096 or email @ wade.foster@ripnet.com.

Criminal Reference Checks

Returning Volunteer: A volunteer who is returning the following school year is required to complete an Offence Declaration which can be obtained from the school office. This Declaration will be maintained at the school, along with the individuals original CBC in a secure and confidential manner. If there is a gap of one school year or more in which the individual does not volunteer at the school, the individual must then obtain a new CBC in the same manner as a New Volunteer. New Volunteer: A criminal background check must be received from the person who wishes to volunteer prior to the individual commencing at the school. The CRC must be current or obtained within 6 months of the person commencing at the school.

Cooler Weather
Now that the cooler weather is upon us, please make sure that your child comes prepared for outdoor recesses. Extra clothing can be removed, but additional clothing cannot be added if its not brought to school. This will enable all students to be comfortable and warm for a fun recess.

Scholastic Book Fair

Our Scholastic Fall Book Fair was a huge success! Our school will benefit from over $1000.00 in free books and scholastic teaching materials thanks to the generosity of our North Elmsley parents. Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted in setting up and running the book fair. The Family Event Door Prize of $25 in free books for a student plus $25 for a classroom, was won by Taylor Labelle and Mrs.Boychuk. Congratulations!

October 31st Halloween Day

On Monday October 31st some classes may choose to participate in the Halloween/Fall Harvest type activities (i.e. costume dressing, crafts, parties, etc.). More information will follow from your childs classroom teacher.

Board Practice Peanut Free

We would like to remind you that our school has students and/or staff with peanut allergies. We kindly ask that you do not send products that contain peanuts. There are food suppliers who are marketing peanut-free products that look, taste, and smell like peanut butter. These peanut butter substitute products can cause confusion and create an unsafe environment for our students and staff that are peanut anaphylactic. Therefore, due to the difficulty in differentiating between peanut butter and a peanut butter substitute, Board Policy does not allow these products in our school. Attached are some healthy alternatives from the Health Unit. We thank you for your support in keeping a safe environment for all.

Sports
Best of luck to our students who have taken advantage of the opportunity to try out for the following sports teams and have been practising steadily for their upcoming tournaments: Junior Girls Soccer Senior Girls Soccer Cross Country Running Junior Boys Soccer Senior Boys Soccer

September 4As Recognition Assembly

Academic Awards: Isaac Mackay, Craig Robertson, Hazel Robertson, Chris Walkden, Bailey Labelle, Ashleigh Labelle. Athletics Awards: Travis Hendrick, Logan Schultz, Nicole Comeau, Andrew Ferguson, Samson Wilkinson, Cameron Baker.

Attitude Awards: Travis Purdy (Perseverance), Brandon Arts Awards: Amy Garrett, Julianne Walkden, Katja McTavish, Kieley Glazier, Charlie Jones. Absent: Holly Oliver Dumouchel, Robert Brown (Respect), Camryn Hollywood, Faith Buker. Absent: Haley Wardle (Perseverance)

Community News
Car Wash Benefit for Victoria Martin-Luna
A Thank you from Lesa Jones, Chair of NEPS School Council: A special thank you goes out to all the volunteers, both youngs and old, who helped on September 14th make the BBQ, bake sales, and car wash that benefited Victoria Martin-Luna and her family such a great success! I am very proud to watch everyone come together and support members of our community with so much excitement and enthusiasm. You should ALL give yourselves a pat on the back because when we all do a little we can accomplish a lot. Always remember We are small, but we are MIGHTY!

Fire Prevention Week Oct. 6-12

HAVE 2 WAYS OUT! We encourage you to sit down as a family and develop an escape plan for your own home and determine an appropriate meeting place. Fire Prevention Week Contest forms went home on Monday October 1st for grades k-6. Please fill out and return to school by Monday October 15th for a chance to win one of 3 great prizes: 1st prize You and a friend take a ride in a fire truck and have a free lunch at McDonalds and a $75 gift card to Canadian Tire or Home Hardware, 2nd prize - $50 gift card for Canadian Tire or Home Hardware, and 3rd prize - $25 gift card for Canadian Tire or Home Hardware. Remember if there is a fire: Stay as low as you can in a fire smoke kills. Feel a door before opening it never open a hot door. Feel for hot spots with the back of you hand you cannot use a burned palm. Never go back into a burning building get out and stay out

Open Doors For Lanark Same-Day Counseling Clinic

Open Doors for Lanark Children and Youth now offers same day counseling clinics. Walk in or call ahead to reserve your spot. Smiths Falls Mondays 1:00 6:00 pm, Open Doors Office, 88 Cornelia Street West, Smiths Falls, 283-8260 Perth Tuesdays, 1:00 4:00 pm, Open Doors Office, 40 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 123, Perth, 264-1415 For more information please contact Open Doors at www.opendoors.on.ca or call 283-8260.

Perth Library PA Day Movie

Perth & District Union Public Library PA Day Movie Presents..THE CROODS, Rated G, Friday October 11th @ 1:00 pm 2:30 pm. FREE! Bring your own snacks juice will be provided.