Eagle Express K. Shepherdson Principal December Newsletter It’s beginning to feel a lot like winter! The snow and cold weather are here to stay. Please make sure that your child has a warm coat, snow pants, boots, mittens and a hat as all students are expected to be outside for all recesses. If possible, please label your child’s clothing and boots as sometimes items get separated from their owners! With just two more weeks of school left in December, there are lots of activities and special events going on in the school and in classrooms. Please check classroom newsletters for more details. Christmas Concert Classes have been working hard with Mrs. Card to prepare their performances for the Christmas Concert. Just a reminder that the concert will be taking place on Tuesday, December 16th, beginning at 1:45 p.m. We hope that you will be able to join us. Before and after the Christmas concert, the Grade 1 “Incredi-bulls” class will be holding a bake sale to help raise money for some upcoming class trips. Lost and Found Like our students, our Lost and Found collection continues to grow! There are many sweaters, mittens, socks, and other items that have made their way to our Lost and Found. Items have been shown to many of the classes but the pile has not seemed to shrink. Lost and Found items will be on display outside of the gym during the Christmas concert, please take a moment to look through the pile and collect clothing that belongs to your child. Any items that remain in the Lost and Found at the end of December will be washed and donated to charity. Early Arrival Just another reminder that students are not to arrive at school before 8:35 a.m. Staff begin supervision at 8:35 and the students are not allowed to be on the playground or in classrooms without supervision. Students who arrive before 8:35 are required to stand outside the office until supervision begins. The office is a busy place in the morning and it is difficult to properly supervise those students who are waiting. Thank you for your cooperation. Bus Information Students participated in bus evacuation drills recently. We know that not all students travel to and from school on the bus but it is likely that all students will ride on a bus at some time during the year to participate in a field trip or class outing. It is important that all students know and follow the safety rules and behave appropriately on the bus. Over the last few weeks and months, we have had several requests from parents for bus students to be dropped off or picked up at a location other than their regular bus stop. This is not something that can be done on a temporary basis. Any changes to bus stops must be permanent and must be approved through the Transportation Department. The bus drivers are required to follow these rules as well. Please do not put them in a difficult position by asking them to break the rules and drop your child off/pick your child up at a different location. Fresh from the Farm We hope that everyone has now received all of their orders from Fresh from the Farm. We appreciate your patience. As a school, we were very disappointed with this fundraiser this year as not enough product arrived, some of the produce went rotten, and getting information from the organization was difficult. We would love to hear from you. Is this something that you think we should continue? Wreath Orders Thank you to everyone who purchased wreaths. We hope that you are pleased with the product. We would love to get any feedback (positive or otherwise) about this fundraiser so we will be able to make an informed decision as to whether we continue with this next year. Cheese Orders We had another overwhelming response to the Thornloe Cheese fundraiser. We anticipate that orders will be sorted and ready for pick up on Tuesday, December 16th – in time for the Christmas Concert. Thank you to everyone for supporting our school. Grade 8 raffle Tickets are going quickly! Time is running out for you to purchase tickets on the beautiful leather recliner and 50” LED SMART TV. Only 1000 tickets were printed. Tickets are on sale for $5 each. The draw will be held on Thursday, December 18 th at 2:00 p.m. If you have not yet had an opportunity to purchase your tickets, please call the school – 705-544-2345. Rotary Donations Thank you to everyone who was able to make a donation to the Rotary baskets this year. Your generosity is appreciated and it is great to know that we will be making someone’s holiday a little brighter this year. What a great opportunity for our students to learn about giving and being a caring citizen. Building Character through Social Justice Our theme for the month of November was Peace. Students were encouraged to discover and celebrate all of the ways that we can contribute to peace in our school, in our families, in our communities and in our world. We highlighted the character traits of respect, kindness, honour, and thankfulness. In December, we are learning about different cultures and the traditions that other people have to celebrate special events. Some classes explored the traditions in a few countries like Mexico, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Australia, and Japan. We are highlighting the character traits of respect, curiosity, appreciation and acceptance. Our Good Citizen award winners for the month of November were Lauren B., Henrik, Ava B., Hudson, Zacharia, Charley, Russell, Alexis, Jack, Thomas, Gabby, Callyssa, Tanner, Alyssa, Rowan, Mackenzie N., Matteo and Courtney. Celebrating Success Each month, one student from each class is celebrated as a Star Student for persevering, meeting goals and showing a commitment to learning. We are very pleased to celebrate the following Star Students for November: Owen V, Lincoln, Eva, Alex B., Reese, Nina, Ayla, Stephany and Becky. Parent Council Update We now have a new School Advisory Council Chairperson. Thank you to Debra Schenk for taking on this role. Our new school jerseys have arrived and they look fantastic! Our students were able to wear them at the recent Intermediate Volleyball tournament. Thank you to the Parent Council for purchasing these new reversible jerseys for our students. When we return from the Christmas holiday, the School Advisory Council will be launching its next fundraiser – pepperettes. We will try to have the orders sent home in the first week of January. Announcements and Upcoming Events: December 10 December 11 December 12 December 16 December 18 December 19 December 19 January 5 - Smoothie Day OPP KIDS Graduation - Grade 5/6 and 6/7 Bannock and Maple Syrup sales - $1 Christmas Concert - 1:45 Student – Staff Volleyball game Pajama Day and Movie Day Last day of school for students for 2013! Welcome back! From all of us at Englehart Public School, we want to wish you and yours a holiday season that is full of happiness, good health, and good wishes for the things that matter most to you. Ms. Shepherdson, staff and students