Robertson School Newsletter
“A community of learners—working together”
Robertson School
550 Robertson Street
Winnipeg, MB R2X 2C4
Ph: 589-4745
Fax: 589-7293
VICE-PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
The month of September at Robertson School was
very exciting. We came back to a wonderful office,
staff room and kitchen renovation and our brand new
addition.
The students and staff are thrilled to be using the
new library, computer room and of course our very
large, new gym. It has been a great start to the school
year!
Our “Meet the Teacher” evening was well attended
again this year and parents had an opportunity to visit
all areas of the school, especially our new addition and
renovated rooms. A very special thank you to Garth
Ball, who happens to be Mrs. Ball’s husband, for taking
such professional looking pictures of our families.
Once again our annual walk-a-thon was a huge success
and we would like to thank all the Robertson students
and families for their terrific support of this event.
We raised $13,071.92 for our students and this
money will go towards the grade 6 camp, field trips,
books and many other projects and activities that will
benefit our students. A portion of our walk-a-thon
pledges will also be donated to the Terry Fox
Foundation. Thank-you everyone!
Please plan to attend our annual community barbeque
organized by Parent Council on October 1st. This will
be a great opportunity to see and celebrate our new
addition/ renovation and to meet and connect with
other families in the community. The official opening
of the addition/renovation will take place on December
10th at 7:00 p.m.
Robertson Roadrunners
Once again, Robertson School is very privileged to be a
part of the University of Manitoba, Faculty of
Dentistry Variety Children’s Dental Outreach program.
This is a wonderful program that offers free dental
work for our students. Thank you to Dushant Persaud
(North District Superintendent) and Dr. Lekic (Head
of Pediatric Dentistry) for including us in this program!
The initial screening will take place at our school on
October 13th.
A reminder to parents that the Comprehensive
Assessment Program is taking place in classrooms this
month. The CAP student assessment helps teachers
provide appropriate programming for all students. The
results from CAP will be shared with you at report
card time during the November conferences.
Thank you parents for your unending support of
Robertson School and for all you do to strengthen our
home/school connections. You play a huge role in the
education of your children and we recognize your
support and your efforts with home reading,
homework, behavior issues and working with your
children to help them be the best they can be. We
work together to ensure your children’s success! You
are encouraged to either phone or stop by the school
any time if you have any questions or concerns.
Have a wonderful month of October and enjoy your
Thanksgiving Holiday!
Take time to talk to your children about all the things
we have to be thankful for.
Elaine McKenna
HERD OF ROADRUNNERS?
 WALK-A-THON PRIZE WINNERS
PIZZA PARTY for the room that brought in the most donations: ROOM 11

The four students who brought in the most $$ in donations:

ISAAC B. - Bike
WILLY H. - Portable DVD Player
SEAN P. - Ninento DS
LEO P. - T.V./DVD Combo $13,071.
and . . .

students who raised $100.00 or $200.00 or $300.00

were given gift certificates for CHAPTERS!

Thank you to everyone who participated in and supported the school’s WALK-A-THON.
The school raised over $13,071.00 WOW!

Physical Education News

Welcome back to a new school year and a new gymnasium. Many of us are excited to move into the new facility and it looks like
this will occur around October 1st.

The new gym floor is a rubber surface on top of concrete. It has excellent grip but it is much firmer and less forgiving than the old
wood floor. If students fall during activity they will certainly notice an uncomfortable difference and floor burns on their skin is
quite possible. For reasons of safety, students must have a clean pair of gym runners to participate in phys. ed. classes.
Also, due to the nature of the flooring, we are requesting white soled runners if possible. Regular shoes, sandals and boots are
neither comfortable or safe for physical activity. Along with our new facility, I am hoping that students in grades 3 – 6 have a
positive attitude towards physical activity and display that by changing into appropriate gym clothing during class (t-shirt and shorts
or sweat pants that they change out of after the class is over).

Students are able to sign up for a number of activities throughout the school year. Grade 1 – 3 students can sign up for Jungle Gym,
which will take place on Tuesdays during the lunch hour, starting in the next few months.

Students in the intermediate grades can sign up for the following activities:
Intramurals (within our school) Gr. 4 – 6 Soccer, Volleyball. Floor Hockey
Gr. 6 only Basketball
Interschool (against other schools) Gr. 4 – 6 Speed Skating, Fit Run
Gr. 5 and 6 Soccer, Volleyball, Softball

Intramural Soccer

Students that have expressed interest in this activity have been put on a team and given a permission slip. The first game was played
on September 29th with the schedule carrying on until late in October. This is a semi-competitive event. Scores are kept in
individual games but there are no playoffs or championship. The emphasis is on skill development, game knowledge, and fun. Fair
play is expected at all times.

Interschool Soccer

This activity will be available to grade 5’s and grade 6’s this year. Students who are interested will practice in preparation for an all
day tournament at Tyndall Park school against other schools from the division. They will also bring more information home
regarding the event date, practice dates, etc. Please see the October calendar for specific dates.

Mr. Brent Stacey

Physical Education Teacher

Page 2
We have started the school year with over 60 patrols. This allows us to have three whole squads. Each patrol
squad will be on post for about two weeks and then they will have a whole month off.

One new development in patrol news is that students will no longer patrol the busy Airlies Avenue. Instead, we
will have two adult patrols covering those posts this year.

All patrols will have received patrol training by Sgt. Doug Blaine in September. Students will also be receiving
patrol cards. Patrol cards allow patrols to see selected movies for free. Information on movies and other offers
will be pinned up on the bulletin board in front of the office as they come.

The weather has been very nice lately, but the cold weather is coming. It is expected that all patrols dress for
the weather.

Your Patrol Supervisors,

Mr. Sabatini
Mrs. Olson

October Music News From Mrs. Le Grand

Music classes are in full swing. Classes started the year with a review of our national
anthem “O Canada”, looking at both the words and the meaning behind the song.
Grade 4-6 Choir meets on Day 6 at 1:00pm for one hour. This year we have 110 members
in the choir. We are learning music that will be performed throughout the year. It will be nice
to be able to practice in the multi-purpose room this year as we work towards our musical in
April.
The Robertson Singers have started practices on Wednesdays at lunch. This is a group of
46 singers who really like to sing and perform as a choir. We sing for 30 minutes and then eat
our Non Warm-up Lunch. It is a lot of work but also a lot of fun.
Grade 4, 5 and 6 students will be playing the recorders again this year. Rooms 102 and
105 will begin in October. Students have been asked to find, borrow or buy their recorder so
we can start early in October. Rooms 133, 134 and grade 4’s in 149 will play in January and
Rooms 101 and 103 will play in March. A note will be sent home to let parents know when
recorders will be needed.
I am looking forward to our many musical events this year! Check the upcoming
newsletters for more information.

Page 3
 Our New Family Room
Welcome to our new Family Room located in room 148!

All parents, volunteers and children accompanied by adults are invited to join us from 8: 45 a.m. in the morning and 12:45 p.m.
in the afternoon. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and snacks while getting to know your neighbours, community members,
children’s friends and their families.

Our Family Room provides a place to gather and chat if you arrive early when dropping off or picking up your children. Please
come in and make yourself at home. Bring your younger children into room 148 while you are waiting for your other children
and grab a quick few minutes to read a book to your child. There are lots of books, games, puzzles, toys and art supplies to
entertain everyone. Children of all ages are welcome.

Early Years Support Teacher Nancy Adkins and Educational Assistant Linly Treflin will be there to greet and assist you.

Computers are available for your use as well as lots of newspapers, parent resources, educational articles and community
resources. The Family Room has information on becoming a volunteer and acts as a meeting place for our volunteers.

Our Family Room will provide an opportunity for you to get more involved in your child’s school life, which provides valuable
support for your child.

Lots of activities are being planned for this Family Room and ideas and suggestions are really welcome.

Some plans being considered are:

· strategies for reading with your child

· parenting and family relationships
· educational issues
· playgroups
· story time for younger children
· crafts
· scrap booking
· nutrition, cooking and baking
· fitness and wellness programs
· *** and the list goes on !

There are so many possibilities. We want our Family Room to reflect the needs and wishes of our Robertson School
Community.

Notice of scheduled activities will be listed in the monthly newsletter and in the Family Room.

Please join us. We look forward to seeing you!

All New Volunteers

Thank you to all of our new volunteers who completed the Volunteer Services registration form.

On Friday, October 2, Carman Court, the Volunteer Services Co-ordinator will be conducting an orientation program with all
our new volunteers. You are welcome to attend at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. in room 148. The orientation will take about one hour.
Another date will also be available for any volunteers unable to attend these sessions. See you then.

Nancy Adkins
Early Years and Family Room Support Teacher

Page 4
Page 5
 INSERVICES FOR PARENTS AND VOLUNTEERS

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009

Time: 1:15 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Location: Lord Selkirk School

170 Poplar Avenue

Presenter: Nancy Stillinger

Occupational Therapist

Children play to explore the world. Play develops both a strong body and stronger finger and hand skills (fine motor).
Come and try out some activities to have fun at home while helping your child develop fine motor skills necessary for school.

Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2009

Time: 1:30p.m. – 3:00p.m.

Location: River Elm School (Library)

550 Riverton Avenue

Presenter: Kathy Gerylo

Speech/Language Pathologist

This workshop will:

^ Explore the relationship between language and reading.
^ Demonstrate how by reading to your child, you can create attachments that will foster learning.
^ Help parents and volunteers become active participants in the development of a child’s most fundamental language skills -
TALKING & LOVE for READING.

If several volunteers are interested in

attending these sessions - contact Nancy To Register Call: 453-1748
Adkins in Room 148 and we will arrange to
go together. *PLEASE REGISTER EARLY TO ENSURE YOUR PLACE.*

Page 6 Robertson School Newsletter

 THE BLOCK PARENT PROGRAM
The Block Parent Program has been operating in Winnipeg since 1975, helping to make our communities safer. An elected
volunteer board manages the program in the 171 elementary school communities in Winnipeg. An annual grant from the Winnipeg
Police Service provides most of the operating funds necessary.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

“Can I be a Block Parent if I work all day?”

YES! Fewer homeowners can afford to leave one partner stay at home. Displaying your window sign for a few hours a week will
help.

“Do I have to be a parent?”

NO! If you care about safer communities and are over the age of 18, you could be a Block Parent.

“Do I have to open my door to strangers?”

NO! If you feel uneasy the individual can stay outside while you call the Police or other necessary person.

“Aren’t there enough Block Parents already?”

NO! For Winnipeg there are 13 registered Block Parents per 1000 population. That is not enough!

“What does a Block Parent do?”

The block Parent window sign is shown only when someone over the age of 18 is available to answer the door. If the sign is not
displayed, this does not mean that no one is home, only that the Block Parent is not available to offer immediate assistance.

A Block Parent may be called upon to offer his or her home as a place of safety when someone is:
• Bullied
• Lost or hurt
• Caught in severe weather
• Frightened by a stranger

A Block Parent assists persons in distress by telephoning the appropriate emergency service when necessary.

Children and others have been taught to look for the familiar red and white Block Parent sign in times of distress.

Block Parents are at work every day, helping to make your community safer for everyone - especially children.

For more information on how to become a Block Parent contact your local police or call 284-7562.

P L E A S E S AV E Y O U R
. . . . . from the Nurse ALUMINUM C ANS!
Dear Robertson Community,

Our students are collecting aluminum cans to help fund raise for
upcoming activities. Please drop off any cans at the white bucket
just outside of Room 136. Bags of cans are also accepted.

Last year we raised over $180.00 from the aluminum cans which
were turned in. The money went towards grade 6 camp fees.

36 Thank you for your support.

The students and staff of Room 136

Page 7
 ALLERGY ALERT
We have a number of children at Robertson School who have a severe allergy to peanuts, nuts and fish. Even exposure to a tiny amount of
these items could be very serious and life threatening. We can all play a role in preventing such a dangerous and frightening situation at
school. Although our children who have severe nut allergies and their families must take responsibility to avoid exposure to nuts and nut
products, Robertson School staff, other children and their families can also help to make the Robertson School environment safer.

• Please check the list of ingredients on items you send to school.

• Avoid sending peanuts or items containing nuts with your child to school.
• Discourage your child from sharing lunch or snack foods at school.
• Teach your children to respect this very serious situation: discourage teasing or threatening of children with serious allergies.

Please realize how important your cooperation is, even though it may seem like an inconvenience for you.
We thank you for your cooperation.

Pam Ball

December 10th 7:00 p.m.

Please mark your calendars for this very special evening…..

We will have the official ribbon cutting ceremony take place in the new gymnasium
at 7:00 p.m. on December 10th 2009.

For this special occasion, government representatives, Public Schools Finance Board representatives,
the architect and general contractor, our superintendent and trustees, as well as many other
dignitaries, will be present. A program of events for the evening is being prepared and we look
forward to a very special evening with the plaque unveiling and ribbon cutting. All are welcome to
attend.

Robertson Before and After School Program

The Robertson Before and After School program has officially moved into the multipurpose
room. The space expansion has allowed us to increase enrolment from 40 to 55 spaces. We are
still accepting both full time and part time enrolment, If interested, please contact us at 586-
7950.

Our program is currently doing a Mom’s Pantry fundraiser. Information forms have gone out in
your child’s backpack.

We would like to thank the Robertson community for their continuous support, especially to
Pam Ball for all her hard work getting our program up and running on September 8th.

Page 8 Robertson School Newsletter

Page 9 Robertson School Newsletter
September 25, 2009

Dear Parent or Guardian:

This letter provides you with important information on preventing the spread of influenza in your child’s school.

Starting in September, Public Health Nurses from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) will be
working closely with Winnipeg schools to monitor and help reduce the spread of H1N1 influenza. Nurses will be
providing important information about how to prevent influenza, and they will be tracking the level of influenza-
like illness in school children.

That is where you, as a parent, can play a key role. There are several important things that you can do to help stop
the spread of influenza:

1. Please keep your child at home if he or she is sick, until he or she is better.

2. Encourage your child to wash his or her hands often, especially before eating, or after coughing or sneezing
into their hands.

3. If your child has a cough, encourage him or her to cover his or her cough with a tissue, or to cough into his
or her sleeve.

4. If your child is staying at home because of an illness, please contact the staff at your school to let them
know why your child is absent, and tell the staff what symptoms your child is experiencing (symptoms of
influenza include cough, fever, fatigue, muscle aches, sore throat, vomiting or diarrhea).

Thank you for helping to fight the spread of H1N1 influenza. The information you provide will help health
authorities make important decisions about influenza prevention activities. We will update you as necessary if
there are any significant changes to these recommendations.

For more information, please call your local community area public health office; the phone number for the
Community Offices can be found on page 9 of the Winnipeg Health Services Directory (blue pages) in the middle
of the Winnipeg MTS telephone book.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sande Harlos

Page 10 Robertson School Newsletter

 Robertson School will be offering a Triple P – Positive Parenting Program - Group this fall!

You will learn:

how to create a safe engaging environment for your child,

how to promote your child’s development,

how to deal with common behaviour problems, and...

how to look after yourself as a parent.

Our group will consist of parents – like you – who want to do the best for their kids and have a more enjoyable
family life! The number of participants will be limited, so please call now to reserve your spot.

The group requires a commitment to attend four 2-hour group sessions. Follow-up will also be available to
ensure you are meeting your individual goals. Child care will be available and snacks will be offered for our
groups.

To register, complete the form below and return to the office.

If you would like more information, drop in to our Parent Centre (Room 148) or call:

Nancy Adkins Katherine Currie

589-4745 589-4745

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name:___________________________________

Preferred time: ______ Mornings

______ Afternoon

______Evenings

Child care required: _____Yes - Ages of Children ____________________________

_____No

Page 11 Robertson School Newsletter

 All varieties within each size shown are eligible for redemption.

473ml V8 Splash 10oz/284ml 10oz/284ml Chunky 168g, 180g, 190g, and

condensed soup soup 200g Pepperidge Farm
Goldfish Crackers

900ml Ready to Use 19oz/540ml Ready 28oz/796ml Chunky soup

broth to Enjoy soup condensed soup 19oz/540ml, Chunky
chili 14oz/425g

1.36kg Pepperidge Farm Goldfish 48oz/1.36L condensed 1.89L V8 Splash

Crackers soup

* Be sure to include the UPC and and front label

* UPC is required only for Pepperidge Farm products and Ready to Use Broths
* Ready to Serve soup also includes Healthy Request

Institutions such as school cafeterias, hospitals and restaurants use Foodservice Products.
Case UPC can be found on the cardboard box that
Foodservice Products are shipped in.

Product What to Save Label Value

48 oz. Red & White Soup label + UPC three
Eating Smart Soup (4/case) Case UPC nine

Page 12 Robertson School Newsletter

D O Y O U S P E A K A N O T H E R L A N G UA G E A T H O M E ?

This is what you need to know!

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1. English is not our first language. Do we need to speak English to our children?

No. Speak to your children in the language you are most comfortable with. Children need to hear good language
models in the home.

2. Won’t our children learn English faster if we speak English at home?

Not necessarily. The stronger your child’s skills are in their first language, the faster they will learn the new
language (English).

3. My husband and I speak different languages. What language should we speak to our children?

Each speaker should speak the language they are most comfortable speaking. This could mean that the mother
would speak one language to the child and the father would speak another language.

4. Won’t learning two languages be confusing for my children?

No. Children all over the world learn more than one language. Speaking more than one language is an advantage.

5. My children do not want to speak our language at home. What should we do?

You can continue to speak your first language even if your children choose to talk in English.

6. Why should we continue to speak our first language if we now live in in Canada/Winnipeg?

Language is one of the strongest ties to your culture and heritage. Continuing to speak your home language will
help your children learn their history and culture and maintain their relationships with older family members.

7. What can I do to help my child develop our first language in the home?

• Talk to your child

• Read to your child every day
• Encourage your child to tell you stories from the pictures in the books
• Take your child places and talk about what you see
• Tell family stories
• Use new words, use them often.
• Repeat your child’s sentence after them and add to it
• Look at your child when you are talking to them
• Play with your child
• Talk about what your child is doing
• Talk about what you are doing
• Listen to music; sing together

Page 13 Robertson School Newsletter

 Full Time Lunch Program Fees for OCTOBER are Now Due.
1 Child - $23.00 * 2 Children -$41.00 * 3 Children - $50.00
Part Time Daily Fees
Send $2.00 Daily
*Everyone who attends the lunch program must fill out a yellow registration form
and pay the $5.00 cash registration fee.
* Please mark all envelopes: Lunch Program, Students Name(s), Room #, Date.

WARM UPS
Microwaves are available to all students in the lunch program. In most grades, there are
a lot of warm ups that need to be done. There are times when your child may need to
wait a while for his/her food to be warmed up because of the number of children who
bring warm ups. If possible, could you please try to do the following:
• Most frozen foods that the students bring need to be heated for more than 5 minutes
because they are still completely frozen. We are asking you to take them out the
night before and refrigerate them overnight so that it would take half the time to heat.
• Please try not to send warm ups every day.
• All food must be pre-cooked *NO UNCOOKED PACKAGED NOODLES/RAW MEAT

NUT and SEAFOOD FREE SCHOOL

There are students who come to our school who have severe
life-threatening allergies to either NUTS or SEAFOOD, so we
are reminding you not to send these in you child’s lunches.

NOTES
Students who are full time in the lunch program and will not be staying for lunch on a
certain day need a note from their parent or guardian. If they don’t have a note they will
not be able to leave the school .

*Please remember to pack a spoon in your child lunch*

Any questions, please call 589-4745 HELP WANTED

between 11:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Thank you for all you cooperation.
Sherry Bednarski & Cindy Griffin
We are still looking for staff to supervise
students during the lunch hour. If you are
interested, please come see Sherry or Cindy in
room 140. Small children are welcome to
come while you are working the lunch hour.

*THIS IS A PAID POSITION*

Page 14 Robertson School Newsletter

 ROBERTSON SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL
‘WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE CHILDREN”

550 Robertson Street 589-4745

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

September has been a very busy month for all. It’s hard to believe that an entire month of
school has gone by.
What an amazing turnout for the Meet the Teacher evening. It was nice to see so many
families take the opportunity to come out and enjoy an evening at the school, not to mention the
opportunity to have a family portrait done. I’m sure that everyone enjoyed looking at our new
facilities that we have waited so long for.
The Walk-A-Thon was a great success again this year. There’s no better way to promote
healthy living than to have a school wide walk. All of the students should be very proud of their
efforts.
Parent Council is busy planning this years fundraisers. Fundraisers are an enormous amount of
work and it would be great if we could see a few more volunteers helping out. Our Parent Council is
well known for its great support of Robertson School, but we are a handful of parents and it would be
great to see new faces and ideas come forward.
In early October you will be receiving a catalogue with some great items inside. We hope that
you enjoy the catalogue and share it with your family and friends. Every little bit of fundraising
helps our students.
We hope to see everyone out at the BBQ October 1st from 5:30 pm until 8:00 pm. This is a
great evening for everyone. We hope that you can make time to come and enjoy an evening with
friends.
Our next Parent Council meeting is October 14th at 6:30 pm in the library. We are looking
forward to seeing some new faces. We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Bonnie Janzen
#589-4745

Page 15 Robertson School Newsletter

 IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

Nov. 10 - Remembrance Day Service - 11:00 a.m.

Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day - NO CLASSES
Nov. 26 - Early dismissal at 2:55 p.m.
- Parent Teacher conferences evening
Nov. 27 - NO CLASSES - Parent Teacher
Robertson Roadrunners conferences

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Day 6 1 Day 1 2

Parent Council BBQ

Gr. 4 - 6 Classes
5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
CLOSED all day
teacher inservice

Day 2 5 Day 3 6 Day 4 7 Day 5 8 Day 6 9

Kindergarten Kindergarten Kindergarten Gr. 5 boys soccer (a.m.)

Gr. 5 girls soccer
Hearing Screening Hearing Screening Hearing Screening
(p.m.) at
Gr. 6 boys soccer at Tyndall
Park School -a.m. Tyndall Park School
Gr. 6 girls soccer at Tyndall
Park School –p.m.

12 Day 1 13 Day 2 14 Day 3 15 Day 4 16

Thanksgiving Day Parent Council Rooms 150 and 151 Bus Ridership
NO SCHOOL Meeting at 6:30 to Fort Whyte
(all day)

Day 5 19 Day 6 20 Day 1 21 Day 2 22 Day 3 23

Gr. 5’sto MTYP Room 115 NO CLASSES

“Aga Boom” CLOSED S.A.G.
all day Conferences

Day 4 26 Day 5 27 Day 6 8 Day 1 29 Day 2 30

Unicef
Picture Retakes Unicef Unicef Unicef
fundraising events
(a.m. only) fundraising events fundraising events Parent Council fundraising events
Hep. “B” - gr. 4’s Subway Lunch Day
HPV - gr. 6 girls “Before and After”
Halloween Dance
(a.m.) 3:30 - 5:00 P.M.