BLACK RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DECEMBER 2017

5279 Black River Road, PO Box 1120 Sutton, Ontario L0E 1R0 Phone: (905)722-5889 Fax: (905)722-6017

The Black River Bear

Principal: Sandra Angell-O’Grady Superintendent: Dianne Hawkins 905-895-5155 Vice Principal: Earl Liverance Trustee: Cynthia Cordova 290-716-3359 School Office Administrative Assistants: Jackie Low and Lianne McAndrew

Follow us on Twitter! @BlackRiverPS

School Website: www.yrdsb.ca/schools/blackriver.ps

DECEMBER 2017

Administrator Message

The month of November has been a busy one. We had a very special Remembrance Day Assembly and I want to thank all

of the students for their polite and respectful reflections. I was very proud of how everyone participated! Special thanks

to the staff who were involved, St. Bernadette’s, our two students who sang Highway of Heroes so beautifully and to our

partners from the Legion for their help.

The School Council Fresh From the Farm fundraiser was a big success. Thanks to the School Council parent volunteers

who helped to make this happen.

Congratulations to the Intermediate Boys’ Volleyball team who represented us so well at the Area Championship.

It was nice to see so many families attending the recent Progress Report Card Interviews. We encourage families to

continue to contact your child’s teacher regarding their academic achievement and progress.

Please set aside the evening of December 19, 2017 at 6 p.m. for the annual Black River Holiday Concert. Stay tuned for

further details.

As the holidays draw closer, on behalf of the staff of Black River PS, we would like to wish you and your family a safe

and happy holiday season and all the best for the New Year. We are looking forward to seeing everyone back to school on

January 8th, 2018.

Sandra Angell-O’Grady

Principal

December’s Character Trait is

Empathy

We strive to sense and appreciate the emotions of others, to “stand in their shoes”. We

demonstrate appreciation of and concern for their feelings.

Message From Our Trustee

In November, about 1,000 students, staff members and community partners came together from across the

Board to form a Ring of Peace and stand together against hate, discrimination and intolerance. The

student speakers at the event shared meaningful messages about the importance of feeling welcome,

valued and respected.

At York Region District School Board, we are committed to listening to the voices of our students and

communities. We will continue working with our school communities to ensure our schools provide safe,

welcoming and inclusive environments for everyone.

Last month, our annual Quest conference brought together educators from across Ontario, Canada and

around the world to share, learn and discuss how to foster well-being in schools. Some of the themes

covered included equity and inclusivity, and safe and caring environments.

It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about some of the positive things happening in our own

schools and other districts. In recent months, we have had several international visitors come to our

system and schools to learn more about the work in our system to support student achievement and well-

being, including Qatar, the Netherlands, Texas and the United Kingdom.

We are pleased to have these opportunities to continue highlighting and sharing the great things

happening in our schools thanks to our outstanding students, staff members, families and community

partners. Your engagement makes a difference in our schools and I encourage you to continue getting

involved in the life of your child’s school.

As we enter the holiday season, I am once again impressed by the generosity of our school communities

and our students’ commitment to helping others.

Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful start to 2018.

SAFE ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL

Please remember to phone the school to report that your child is going to be late or absent. Our phones are extremely busy in the morning, so please leave a message if we don’t answer right away. Tell us your child’s name, spell your child’s name, teacher’s name, duration of the absence and the reason for the absence. The school office can be reached at 905-722-5889 any time day or night. If a future absence is planned such as an appointment, vacation or religious holiday, please call the office and leave a message advising us of the absence. Students arriving late for school must check in at the office for a late slip before going to their classroom. In the event that your child is absent from school and the reason is unknown, the office will attempt to reach your home, work, cell and emergency contact numbers. Failing that, for your child’s safety, we will contact the York Regional Police. So please help us keep your children safe by keeping us informed! For your child’s safety please make sure your child knows his/her “going home” plans before coming to school for the day. End of the school day is extremely busy in the office. Phone calls with requests cause interruption to the classroom and the students’ learning. We appreciate your help teaching your child to prepare ahead of time as well as how to arrive home safely. Verbal permission for lunch plans, field trips, after school plans will only be accepted by the Principal/Vice Principal. All permission must be in writing (fax, email or handwritten note). If you are changing your child’s normal afterschool plans it is requested that you send a note to your child’s teacher or the office, so the school is aware of these changes. If your child does not have a lunch and you plan to send one, please remind your child to come down to the office to check for it at lunch time. When you are picking up your children after school please meet them outside at their assigned entry/exit door at the back or side of the school. Vehicles other than school buses are not permitted in the bus loop during morning bus drop off and afternoon bus

dismissal. This will also assist with traffic in the bus loop. Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

DECEMBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

UNFORTUNATELY DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WE

DO NOT HAVE PHOTOS OF OUR STUDENTS THIS MONTH

Primary

Hailey, Ricky, Jillian, Maizy, Riley, Victoria, Jayden, Kaitlyn

Junior

Kyla, Hope, Noopur, Jelynn, Emma, Avery, Ethan, Cameron, Aaliyah, Katie

Intermediate

Erin, Caleb, Maya, Ali, Andrew, James, Josh

School Council Update

We would like to thank you again for your support with our Fresh from the Farm fundraiser. We raised

almost $800 which will be put towards our cost sharing program to purchase more Chromebooks and

laptops for our students!

Drop by our table at the Holiday Concert!

We will be selling our beautiful Black River ornaments, water bottles and vintage T-shirts. We will also

be selling popcorn, water and as always tickets for the holiday basket raffle. More details on our

Facebook page, @blackriverschoolcouncil

Our next meeting is on Monday January 8 @5:15 pm. We would love to have you join us!

Upcoming Weather Watch

This is a reminder to all parents to ensure that their child is dressed for the great outdoors when

he/she comes to school. Students have a 20 minute outdoor recess in the morning and a 40

minute outdoor recess after eating their lunch.

Getting some fresh air is important for all students. Students should be wearing a scarf, hat,

gloves or mitts, boots and a warm winter jacket. If a student is going to be playing on the

field they should have winter boots and snow pants.

It is important that all students have a pair of indoor shoes. This will assist our caretakers in

maintaining the cleanliness of our school. As well, when the fire alarm sounds we do not have

time for the children to stop and put on outdoor footwear. We must evacuate the building

immediately and having indoor shoes on will assist us.

In the event of inclement weather (a significant wind chill factor) students will be kept inside

during all or part of the recess break. The principal will keep a close eye on weather conditions

and make decisions based on what is best for all of the students.

TIPS TO AVOID CATCHING THE FLU

Ontario is offering everyone ten helpful tips to stay healthy and reduce the risk of spreading the flu

and other viruses to your friends and family this holiday season.

1. The best way to avoid the flu: Get the flu shot. It's free.

2. Wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly and often.

3. Keep alcohol-based hand sanitizer handy.

4. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.

5. Stay home from work if you are sick.

6. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

7. Avoid large crowds of people where viruses can spread easily.

8. Clean germ-spreading surfaces like purses or gloves.

9. Eat well, exercise and get enough rest.

10. Did we mention get your flu shot?

School Bus Cancellation Information

To ensure the safety of students, school bus service may be cancelled from time to time due to inclement weather, extreme temperatures and/or poor road conditions. In these cases, parents and students should develop alternate care/transportation arrangements.

Since some busing schedules begin by 7:00 a.m., cancellation decisions must be made by 6:00 a.m. to allow time to communicate this message to bus drivers. Cancellation decisions will only be made after thorough consultation with the Safety Officers of school bus companies servicing York Region and are based on several factors including precipitation, air temperature, road conditions and weather forecast.

Please note the following;

A decision to cancel school bus service will be region-wide meaning all school buses, vans and taxis will not operate.

When bus service is cancelled all school tests and/or examinations will be cancelled and rescheduled.

School bus routes may be cancelled when severe weather may not be affecting all municipalities in York Region. Both the YRDSB and YCDSB operate many regional educational programs. Students attending these programs are transported over large attendance areas encompassing several municipal boundaries. This limits the ability to cancel bus service using a municipality or zone methodology.

Unless otherwise stated, schools will remain open and parents can make arrangements to transport their children to and from school even if school bus service is cancelled. If buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not operate in the afternoon. Therefore students transported to school by parents will require the same transportation home.

Parents, students and school staff are asked to access the following radio and television stations after 6:00 a.m. to receive bus cancellation information:

RADIO

590 AM 640 AM 680 AM 860 AM 1010 AM 1050 AM

1540 AM 1580 AM

88.5 FM 89.9 FM 92.5 FM 93.1 FM 94.9 FM

95.9 FM 97.3 FM 98.1 FM 99.1 FM 99.9 FM

101.1 FM 102.1 FM 104.5 FM 100.7 FM 107.1 FM

TELEVISION

CITY TV CTV Barrie CFTO TV CP24 GLOBAL NEWS

A bus cancellation message will also be available at www.schoolbuscity.com and by calling 1-

877-330-3001, or by following the YRDSB on twitter. Please note that school bus charters will

not operate when home to school bus service is cancelled.

MODERN LEARNING IN THE LIBRARY

Mrs. Snoddon's class made structures based on the 5 Little Pumpkins and 3

Little pigs. They also made Lego Volcanoes and learned how circuits work

by creating their own using LED lights, playdough, and battery packs.

Mr. Macleod's class made innovative recycled projects and their new

"repurposed" items have been on display at the office. They are now

experimenting with rovers and learning how to program so the rover can fit

into tiny places or other places that humans may not be able to get to,

such as Mars.

Miss Dunn's class has experienced a variety of Makerspace activities such

as pom-pom drops through paper towel mazes, clothes peg towers, and

working water pumps out of lego.

Mr. Ballantine's class has been busy helping other students learn about

Lego Mindstorm robots and how to program them to move forwards,

backwards, in circles and even pick up blocks. (pictured here are students

in Ms. Longfield's class learning with their Intermediate Student Partners).

Next week Black River will be participating in the Hour Of Code and our

Grade 7 and 8 students will be helping the whole school learn about

coding.

DECEMBER

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

1

4

5 6

7

8 Ms. Dunn, Ms. Limb & Mr. Kanis’ classes skating

11 12

13 MADD Canada Presentation Grades 7&8

14 Mr. Kanis, Ms. Woodward & Ms. Audino’s classes to WONDER at the GEM

15 Ms. McGhee & Ms. Gibson’s classes skating

18 19 Christmas & Holiday Concert

20

21

22 Mr. Macleod’s class skating

UPCOMING

January 8th first day back to school