Dates to

Remember:

Dec. 7 to 11 - Heroes for

Hunger last week for

donations

Dec. 7 to 11 - Hour of

Code Week

Dec. 7 - Junior Girls’

Volleyball DSBN Tour-

nament

Dec. 8 - Grade 8 Day at

High Schools

Dec. 11 - Report Cards

Go Home

December 19 to Janu-

ary 3 - Winter Holidays

Mondays and Fridays -

Lunch Lady

Thursdays - Pizza Day

DECEMBER 2015

DreamBox is an online, Intelligent Adap-

tive Learning(tm) program that helps all

students achieve better, faster math profi-

ciency.

Your child can access DreamBox Learn-

ing from any computer, 24 hours a day, 7

days a week using this link:

https://play.dreambox.com/login/42cv/

orchardpp

DreamBox is an online program - there's

no software to download! All you need is

a high-speed Internet connection and

Adobe Flash. Adobe Flash is free and is

included with many Internet browsers.

To access DreamBox on iPad, go to

http://www.dreambox.com/ipad, or search

for "DreamBox Math" in the App Store.

When prompted in the app, use this

School Code:

42cv/orchardpp

Review your student's academic progress

with a DreamBox Parent Account. Please

follow these steps to create your free Par-

ent Account:

1. Go to https://play.dreambox.com/

login/42cv/orchardpp

2. Have your child login to their profile just

as they would at school.

3. Click Setup Parent Access at the bot-

tom of the page.

4. Follow instructions to create a new

login and password.

5. Read Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

6. Click "Submit".

Log into your home account after set

up:

1. Go to http://play.dreambox.com

2. Enter your email address and pass-

word.

3. To see student progress, click the

"Parent Dashboard" button.

If you have any questions, please contact

DreamBox Client Care by calling them at

877-451-7845 (weekdays 7am to 5pm,

Pacific Time), or email

support@dreambox.com.

Students are challenged to use

Dreambox for a minimum of 20

minutes a day over the holidays!

DREAMBOX

SCHOOL CASH ONLINE

If you haven’t registered for School Cash Online yet please go to http://dsbn.org/schoolcash/ and

register. We almost have 80% of the school using School Cash Online. It is our preferred method of

payment because we have record of what you have paid for in real time and you don’t need to

worry about sending money to school with your child. If you have any questions please let us know.

NEW: Parents can change the language when they login and all of the template information will be

published in the language of your choice.

3691 Dorchester Rd.,

Niagara Falls, ON

905-354--3916

Principal -

H. Nunnenmacher

Secretary -

S. Mannella

ORCHARD PARK PUBLIC SCHOOL

Our Lost

and

Found is

overflowing. Items

will be out on dis-

play until Dec. 18th.

Please stop in to

see if anything be-

longs to your child.

Unclaimed items will

be donated to a

charity in need.

Month of Newsletter Page 2

DRESSING APPROPRIATELY

FOR THE WEATHER

FRENCH IMMERSION REGISTRATION

When the snow is on the

ground and ice is all around

we have some winter rules

that we ask our students to

follow in order to avoid in-

jury.

Snow is to stay on the ground.

No throwing or kicking snow.

Students are not to be sliding

on the ice.

The playground equipment is

off limits until the spring.

Please talk to your child

about these rules and the

importance of following them.

Now that

the cold

weather is

starting to

arrive it is

important that students are

dressing appropriately.

Hats, hoods, scarves and

mittens/gloves are particu-

larly useful in keeping the

extremities covered. Also

proper winter boots give

protection from the cold as

well as from slips and falls.

Winter coats and snow pants

help to keep students’ bod-

ies warm.

Please encourage your child

to dress appropriately. The

expectation is that students

will be outside unless adviso-

ries are received from the

School Board indicating ex-

treme weather conditions.

Indoor Shoes: With winter

coming and students wearing

boots, it is important for

safety reasons, that students

have indoor shoes to wear in

school. It is also very helpful

if they can leave the shoes

at school so they are always

readily available.

The French Immersion program (offered at French Immersion sites) is open to all stu-

dents in Senior Kindergarten interested in enrolling for the 2016-2017 year. If you

want your child to develop a high proficiency and fluency in Canada’s two official

languages, French Immersion has a great deal to offer.

Features of the French Immersion program:

Development of French language skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing from grades one to twelve;

Designed to be a second language program for children whose first language is NOT French;

Current enrolment of over 2,500 elementary students;

Certificate of French Immersion Studies awarded upon successful completion of the elementary and secondary Immersion program;

Promoting understanding of different cultures;

Providing additional opportunities for employment using French as the working language;

An increased ability to communicate and interact with confidence in French.

Registration will open on January 4th, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. and will close February 16th, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.

For more information about French Immersion in the District School Board of Niagara visit www.dsbn.org/fi or speak to your school prin-cipal.

A parent Information evening session will be held at John Marshall Public School (3910 St. James Ave, Niagara Falls) on Thursday, Janu-ary 7, 2016 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Welcome to

Miss Giroux

who will be

filling in until

the holidays for

Mrs. O’Connor!

WINTER RULES

URGENT!!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!

Every month we are very fortu-

nate to have a Saturday morning

volunteer time slot with our local

Bingo Hall. This opportunity earns

Orchard Park approximately

$500 each time we provide two

volunteers. As a result of this

funding, we are able to buy things

like books and magazines for the

library, gym equipment, netbooks,

etc. All things that benefit all of

our children’s education.

Without volunteers, we will lose

this opportunity and most likely

never get it back. There are many

organizations waiting in line for

this fundraising opportunity for

their organization! We are look-

ing for Parents, Grandparents,

Aunts, Uncles, Friends that can

spare a couple of hours only once

or twice per year to help us run

our shifts.

If you are interested and would

like more information, please con-

tact Melissa

(mprocopio@assante.com) for

details. Our children have bene-

fited from the money that we re-

ceive from this funding. Please

consider offering your time!

Thank you! Your School Council

Page 3 December 2015

Last year we raised $330

from Lunch Lady Lunches!

NIAGARA ICE DOGS The Niagara Ice Dogs visited Orchard Park on November 16th. They shared with us their “Just

Stop It” campaign. They shared with the students that they need to make each other feel good

and not to be mean, if they see someone that is being mean to another student or if a student is

being mean to them they should be saying “Just Stop It!”. If that doesn’t help they are to get an

adult. After their assembly student representatives had the opportunity to play some floor hockey

against the players. Congratulations to Ella (K1), Desean (K1), Selina (K2), Lance (K2), Halleah

(1), Diego (1), Samantha (1/2), Tristen (1/2), Matthew (2), Leah (2), Oliviah M. (2/3), Cameron

(2/3), Ayla (3), Maguire (3), Kaitlyn (3/4), Jamie (3/4), Larsen (4/5), Kaydence (4/5), Chloe P.

(5/6), Quintin (5/6), Maddie (6/7), Colton (6/7), Miles (7/8), Mackenzie (7/8), Isaac P. (7/8),

Breea (7/8) for being a great Orchard Park team!!

MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER WRAP UP

Thank you to every-

one who partici-

pated in our maga-

zine fundraiser in

September. Thanks to your support we

raised $1,336.33. Congratulations to the

following students who won a prize for

their orders. Savannah, Olivia B., Rachel

C., Carter, Noah, Avery, Alexander R.,

Logan K., Sophia T., Grace, Isabel.

PIZZA KIT FUNDRAISER

Thanks to you our Pizza Kit

Fundraiser was a success. This

was the first time trying this and

families are now enjoying Little Caesar's

Pizzas fresh out of their ovens. The feed-

back we are receiving is that the pizzas and

bread are delicious. We raised $785 from

this fundraiser. Congratulations to Miss

DiLibero’s class who won the pizza party

and to Olivia B. who won the online draw

and selected a Toys R Us gift card!

We want to take a

moment to wish all

of our families a

wonderful holiday

and a Happy New Year!

Whether you are celebrating

Christmas,

Chanukah,

Kwanzaa, Eid

Al-Adha or

another spe-

cial event this

season we wish you time to

spend with friends

and family to makes

some wonderful

memories.

The Orchard Park Staff

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

PINK SHIRT DAY A BIG thank you to our School Council for their support with the purchase of

Pink Shirts for all of our students! It was so nice to see the entire school wear-

ing their pink shirts. Thank

you to those families for

their $2 contribution to the

shirts (if you didn’t send

your’s in yet, please feel

free).

PAUL DAVIS PRESENTATION

Check out our Website!!

http://orchardpark.dsbn.org/

YMCA of Niagara Winter

Holiday Care for 4 Year Olds

YMCA Child Care will be offering Winter Holiday

Care for children 4 years of age in designated

licensed centres. Designed to keep your child

engaged in play-based throughout the holidays,

YMCA Winter Holiday Care provides a safe and

nurturing environment for children to develop

into confident, caring and happy individuals. For

more information on locations and fees, please

visit www.ymcaofniagara.org

Mad Science, the world’s leading provider of educational and entertaining science pro-grams for children is coming to Orchard Park Public School! They will be getting kids

excited about science with fun, entertaining and exciting activities and demonstra-tions. Students and teachers will be thrilled on 13/Jan/2016 when Mad Science comes

to the school to do a Spectacular Science show. The assembly will be educational, en-tertaining and also the kick off to the Mad Science Club. The Club is a 6-week science

enrichment program offered to the students. Students who join the Science Club will go on a voyage of discovery designed to support the Ontario Science and Technology

curriculum. The topics will be different this year than when Mad Science was last at

the school. The Club will take place on Wednesday, Jan 27, Feb 3, 10, 17, 24, Mar 2 from 12:55 PM - 1:35 PM. Mad Science also performs Birthday Parties, Camps and

Special Events. Give them a call at 905-937-1878

and watch out for them in Malls, at Fairs, Festivals

and Scouts and Guides.

School Council sponsored a presentation from Paul Davis again this year. Students in grades 4-8 learned important information to

maintain safety while online. That evening parents came out and learned about what their children are doing online and what they

can do to be safe (themselves and their children). Here is some feedback from parents in attendance:

Second time seeing you and excellent presentation again. Thank you for your information and advice. Every time I see you it’s

motivating.

This is my second time learning from your presentation and I leave here tonight feeling more informed and motivated to stay

involved in my son’s access to the internet. Your presentation is a mandatory attendance and I wish more people would listen to

what you have to share. Thank you!

Very informative, shocked by some of the info, very appreciative of the information, great speaker.

Since this presentation is so important and valuable it may be offered again in 2 years. Hope to see you there. You won’t be dis-

appointed.

Welcome to Miss Giroux who will be filling in until the holidays

for Mrs. O’Connor! Did you know….

Our playground equipment is only intended for children in

grades 1-8s. The height of the structure is for a grade 1

aged child which is why our Kindergartens do not play on it.

That parents and other children should not be in the school

yard until the bell goes at the end of the day. We quite

often have classes going on at that time we do not want in-

terrupted.

MAD SCIENCE CLUB IS COMING!!!

Encourage Your Child’s Social and Emotional Learning

Teaching children healthy coping strategies when they experience big feelings (mad, sad, scared frustrated etc.) is important for their

social and emotional well-being and can help prepare them to manage challenges throughout their lives.

Let your child know all emotions are okay. You can help them find healthy ways to express them by:

• Offering hugs and signs of affection when they are upset • Pointing out the emotions they are expressing, “It looks like you are mad/sad/frustrated…” • Being there for them when they are ready to talk • Listening to your child; gently ask them to tell you what is wrong • Helping your child think of things to do that will help them feel better (such as: practicing deep breathing, kicking a ball against a wall, listening to music, drawing a picture)

If you are concerned about your child’s social and emotional health please discuss your concerns with your child’s teacher. Your child

may need some extra supports that can be made available within the school or in the community.

For more information, talk to your school nurse.

Kids and teens look to celebrities as role models and often copy their fashion and behaviours, even if those celeb-rities are just acting. Movies have a powerful influence on young people’s decisions especially when it comes to seeing smoking in movies. Research shows that the more kids and teens see smoking in movies, the more likely they

are to start smoking.

Ways to Protect our Kids:

Be aware of what your children are watching and find out which movies are smoke-free.

Talk to your children about effects of tobacco use and teach them to be aware of what they are seeing in the media.

Show your support for smoke-free youth-rated movies in Ontario at Canadian Cancer Society’s Take Action for Smoke-Free Movies

(www.takeaction.cancer.ca).

Join the conversation online and talk to other parents through Hooked by Hollywood on Facebook

(www.facebook.com/hookedbyhollywood) and Twitter (@Hookedhollywood).

To learn more about the influence smoking in the movies has on kids and teens and to find out what movies are

smoke-free, visit: www.hookedbyhollywood.ca

For more information, talk to your school nurse.

Are your kids being Hooked by Hollywood?