Goodfellow Public School 827 9th Line

Innisfil, ON L9S 1A6 goodfellowps.com

Phone: (705) 436-3600

Fax: (705) 436-1868

Safe Arrival: 705-436-3600 press “1” to report your

student absence.

Alison Beecroft Principal

Heather Owen Vice-Principal

Paula Murphy

Superintendent of Schools (705) 734-6363 ext. 11811

Donna Armstrong SCDSB Trustee

(705) 734-6363 ext. 11811

CENTRAL Weather Zone

January 2018

*** Goodfellow P.S. is a SCENT FREE and NUT FREE school ***

Jan 12 Nantyr Visits Goodfellow Gr.8’s

Jan 15 FI after school program begins (Mon & Wed) with Ms. McCord 3:45-4:45pm

Jan 16 Skating-McCord, Auer,

Villani, McNamara, Winfield, Steingard 9:30am -12:30pm

Snow Valley Trip Grades 4-8,

9:20am-5pm

French Immersion Information Night 6pm in Library

Jan 17 Skating-Jeffels/Brunton, King/

Mancini, Goodfellow/Crisafi, Cua, Gates 9:30am-12:30pm

Nantyr Shores S.S. Open House 7pm

Grade 7 Parents Tim Horton’s Camp Info Night 5-6pm in Library

Jan 23 Skating-McCord, Auer,

Villani, McNamara, Winfield, Steingard 9:30am -12:30pm

Jan 24 Skating -Jeffels/Brunton, King/

Mancini, Goodfellow/Crisafi, Cua, Gates 9:30am-12:30pm

Nantyr Shores S.S. Open House 7pm

Jan 26 PA DAY

Jan 29 New Service Dog Assembly for Lily

Jan 30-Feb 2

Grade 7’s to Tim Horton Camp

Jan 30 Skating-McCord, Auer,

Villani, McNamara, Winfield, Steingard 9:30am -12:30pm

Jan 31 Skating-Jeffels/Brunton, King/

Mancini, Goodfellow/Crisafi, Cua, Gates 9:30am-12:30pm

School

Day

Supervision Begins 9:05 am

School Starts 9:20 am

Class Time 9:20-11:00 am

Lunch 11:00-11:20 am (Kind. & 7/8 Eating, Gr. 1-6 Outdoor Play)

Lunch 11:20-11:40 am (Gr. 1-6 Eating, Kind. & 7/8 Outdoor Play)

Class Time 11:40-1:20 pm

Snack 1:20-1:40 pm (Kind. & 7/8 Eating, Gr. 1-6 Outdoor Play)

Snack 1:40-2:00 pm (Gr. 1-6 Eating, Kind. & 7/8 Outdoor Play)

Class Time 2:00-3:40 pm

Dismissal: 3:40 pm

Please ensure your children are aware of the time that school begins so that they will be on time. Please review Signing IN/OUT & End of Day Process at the Office

Dear Parents and Guardians, Happy New Year! All the best for 2018! At this time of year more than ever, I am consistently impressed by the generosity that the Innisfil community shows towards one another. Goodfellow students and their families donated 1500 lbs. of food to the Innisfil Food Bank this year and in addition donated many toys and clothes to those who needed it. Thank you to everyone for supporting our various fundraising opportunities this fall and for your constant support of our school. As we move forward into 2018, we are positive about the learning and opportunities that our teaching staff have in store for our students. We are continuing our push for our students to achieve Magic 15 in the learning skills on their first term report card. Please assist your child to set goals to achieve Magic 15. Our Provincial Report Card will be distributed to students on February 16th, 2018 which will provide marks and further information about how to be supportive of your child’s learning. We start the new year with new changes as well. Please welcome Mrs. Heather Owen who is our new Vice-Principal. Our former Vice-Principal, Mrs. Jennifer Henderson, has left to take on a new role as Principal of Lake Simcoe P.S. Mrs. Owen was in the school before the holidays to meet staff and students. She is an experienced Vice-Principal who is excited to be at Goodfellow P.S. We welcome Mrs. Owen to our school and are delighted to have her join our wonderful team of staff, students, parents and community! Allison Beecroft, Principal

FUN LUNCH ORDERING NOW OPEN ON SCHOOL CASH

ONLINE! ORDERS ARE DUE JANUARY 24. DON’T MISS OUT!!

Please Attend Our French Immersion Information Night, January 16, 6pm

The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) offers French Immersion (FI) at select schools throughout Simcoe County beginning in Grade 1. Please join us January 16 for our information session at 6pm in the library. The FI online application form will be available from 9

a.m. on Mon. Jan. 22, until 9 p.m. on Wed. Jan. 24, 2018 at www.scdsb.on.ca under Programs, French as a Second Language. (See page 8 below for more details)

Nantyr Comes to You!

Nantyr Shores Secondary School representatives will be at Goodfellow Public School on January 12th – 11:45 am (All Grade 8s in library)

High school information nights coming to a school near you!

Is your child starting Grade 9 next year? High school information nights happen this fall and winter. This event gives an overview of what’s new, what to expect, as well as a chance to check out the school and ask questions. Attend our local high school information night to find out what’s of-fered:

Nantyr Shores Secondary School 1146 Anna Maria Ave., Innisfil Wednesday, January 17, 2018

7:00-8:30pm Check out the full schedule of info nights and more information at www.scdsb.on.ca/highschool.

January’s Character Trait is Honesty. “We behave in a sincere , trustworthy and

truthful manner.”

New Service Dog Coming to Goodfellow A second service dog named Lilly will be joining us at Goodfellow Public School. She will be attending assemblies and various school functions in order to become familiar with our surroundings. We will have an assembly to welcome Lilly on January 29. If you would like more information please contact Mrs. Owen in the office.

Regional Spelling Bee! A Regional Spelling Bee will be held for Innisfil, Barrie and Area on March 3, 2018 at Kempenfelt Bay School at 145 Innisfil Beach Road, Innisfil, ON. Ages are divided into the following groups: (age by December 31, 2017) Primary 6 – 8 years Junior 9-11 years Intermediate 12-14 years Registration closes on January 15, 2018 or when the age divisions have reached capacity. Registration forms are available at the office or can be downloaded at spellingbeeofcanada.ca

Calling all Student Graffiti Artists! Réseau de Savoir sur l’Équité | Equity Knowledge Network (RSEKN) is calling on students across the province to design their logo as a graffiti tag. It will be used on their website, print materials, conference app, and in other media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The deadline for submission is on January 15th, 2018 Details at https://www.knaer-recrae.ca/Images/RSEKN/RSEKN-Logo-Contest--Final-ENG-FRA.pdf

Kindergarten registration opens in January Do you (or someone you know) have a child who was born in 2014? If so, it’s almost time to register them for Kindergarten in the SCDSB! Beginning January 22, 2018, Simcoe County’s public schools will register children for Kindergarten for the 2018-19 school year. Required registration documents include birthdate documentation, proof of address and record of immunization. Visit www.scdsb.on.ca/kindergarten for more information.

There will be a parent meeting for Grade 7 students on Wednesday, January 17 from 5-6pm in our library about the trip to the Tim Horton's camp. Vicki from the Tim Horton's camp will be here to discuss and answer questions. The actual trip is taking place January 30, 31, February 1 and 2.

Coming soon for 2018, a new fundraising option. You talked to us and we heard you! In the past, the only way to contribute was to take part in a specific fundraising initiative that was offered. This is a good solution, but not great for everyone. For many, busy schedules and busy lives mean that they miss out on opportunities to give to the school because they can’t participate in the structured fundraisers. We will be launching our Open Donation Option on School Cash OnLine in the near future! Watch for more information and details coming home with your children soon! Goodfellow Public School Parent Council

Santa Shop Update Students in the Learning Centre learned about resume writing, inter-view skills, making change and graphing through activities centred around the Santa Shop. During the week of December 11th, they worked collaboratively as greeters, cashiers, wrappers, technology experts and advertisers and raised over $1500 for the school! Thank you so much for all your donations! We couldn't have done it without your help. Ms. Hussey, Ms. Birchall and Ms. Luscombe

EQAO is a high quality test that gives parents and guardians another lens to see their child’s progress in addition to the Ontario Report Cards. To see more about how the EQAO tests are created, administered and scored please see the video at: www.eqao.com > Our Data In Action > Video Library.

5 Healthy New Year’s Resolutions for Your Family Some of the top New Year’s resolutions across all age groups for 2017 were eating healthy, getting in shape and reducing stress. So, how do you set and achieve a resolution to be healthier? It’s been proven that the key to success is setting small goals which require steps towards a larger goal. Here are some New Year’s resolutions that families can work on together in 2018:

spend 30 minutes outside playing together as often as possible, regardless of the weather

find a place that provides opportunities for the entire family to be physically active together or offers child care and after-school programs

add physical activity or play time to the calendar, such as sched-uling an evening walk or fitness class, with the same commitment as other important meetings

pick a fun run/walk or 5K to do as a family – sign up, train and participate together have more family dinners together and in-volve children in preparing meals as much as possible

For more information about programs offered at the Y for the whole family, please visit www.ymcaofsimcoemuskoka.ca. Information provided by the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka (www.ymcaofsimcoemuskoka.ca)

Lost and Found, Last Call Before Clearing Out!

Our lost and found box is jam packed once again. All items will be available to retrieve until Friday, January 19 end of

day. After that time all items that are left will be donated.

Inclement Weather & Bus Cancellation Information

All information regarding cancelled buses in Simcoe County is posted on the Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium’s bus information website at www.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca. Our school is in the Central Weather Zone. When buses are cancelled, schools remain open for student learning, unless otherwise noted. The Consortium and bus operators try to make the decision to cancel school buses before 6 a.m. and make every effort to post announcements before 7 a.m. Inclement weather cancellations are effective for the whole day and buses cancelled in the morning will not run at the end of the day. You can follow the Consortium on Twitter @SCSTC_SchoolBus for bus cancellations and other information. You can also sub-scribe to receive bus delay notifications here: https://scstc.ca/Subscriptions For school event cancellations in case of inclement weather, follow our school’s Twitter account at @goodfellowps or listen to local radio for event cancellation information. When the weather is bad and the buses are cancelled due to inclement weather, all students (both walking and bus students) are excused from classes. Our school has moved to an automated safe arrival system. The first parent/guardian listed in the student file will receive an automated call on days when buses are cancelled if their child isn't at school. The recording will tell you that you do not need to call the school back unless your child should be at school. Remember, if buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not run in the afternoon. If you decide to bring your child to school, it is your responsibility to ensure that your child is picked up at the end of the school day.

Pay for field trips, lunch days, etc. with School Cash Online

If you have not already done so, be sure to sign up for School Cash Online. This is our preferred method of payment for all school fundraising including lunch days and field trips. School Cash Online

allows you to pay with your debit or credit card. Follow these steps to get started: Go to simcoecounty.schoolcashonline.com or from our

school website click on “Pay Fees” Register and add your child to the newly created

account View and purchase items through echeck or credit card

The School Cash Parent Helpdesk is available 24/7 to help you with registration, password recoveries or any other payment issues. Call the helpdesk at 1-866-961-1803 or email parenthelp@schoolcashonline.com. If you have any questions, or concerns please contact Mrs. Reed at extension 23405.

Parent Portal gives parents real-time access to attendance, grade information!

The SCDSB Parent Portal is a secure online tool that provides parents/guardians (of students less than 18 years of age) with quick access to their children’s attendance and grades and includes the option to sign up for email notifications. To access the Parent Portal, parents/guardians will need their child’s SCDSB Pupil ID Number, which can be found on the Student Information Verification Form, as well as an Access ID. The Access ID will be provided in a sealed letter this fall with instructions on how to create an account. If you lose the Access ID, visit us in the school office and we’ll provide it to you after verifying your identity.

Every School Day Counts!

Did you know that one in every nine SCDSB students is absent on any given day? This is higher than the one in every ten student statistic for the province of Ontario! Simcoe County students need to be in school in order to achieve at their highest potential. Habitual lateness can add up to many days of school missed. As the cold weather approaches, many families take their children out of school for temporary absence – this is a parent decision and must be approved by the Principal if the absence will be for 5 or more consecutive days. Our school bell rings at 9:20 a.m. The school provides 15 minutes of supervision before the bell for students to arrive. Please take advantage of this system to ensure your children arrive on time.

Supervision Prior to and After School Supervision on our playground does not begin prior to 9:05 a.m. If your child(ren) are arriving at school earlier than 9:05 a.m., they will not be supervised. Please ensure that they are not dropped off or that they do not leave home so early that they will arrive before 9:05 a.m. As well, there is no after school supervision. Students must leave the school property once the 3:40 p.m. bell rings.

Dogs on Goodfellow Property A reminder that dogs other than Service Dogs are not allowed on school property. We are having issues with feces being left on the premises and this is causing significant issues keeping out students clean and health concerns. Thank you for your cooperation.

Goodfellow will be participating in the TerraCycle recycling program. TerraCycle is an eco-friendly recycling company that has become a global leader in recycling typically non-recyclable waste. TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers around the world to help you collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste. Some items have changed please see list below:

Schneider’s Lunchmate kits

All brands and sizes of snack pouches (such as GOGO)

Febreeze air care canisters, plug in containers and Swiffer packaging

Sally’s Cereal bags

We are also collecting Cookie and Cracker Wrappers

Europe’s Best Packages

KEEP RECYCLING GOODFELLOW GATORS!!! Congratulations to Ms. Auer’s class for leading our school in receiving 2nd place in the Terracycle contest! Their Oscar Loves GoGo’s design helped us receive funds from Terracycle. Keep up the recycling and Terracycle will provide more prizes and funds to our school!

www.terracycle.ca

The Goodfellow Board Games Club is taking donations of new or in new/perfect condition (no dirt, stains, rips, missing pieces, smells etc…) at any time throughout the year. Please contact Mr. Cua for more information.

Important Bus Information: Please note the following information regarding busing. For those students who are using a bus to get to school, it must be used consistently. SCSTC states that “approved and communicated bus schedules for individual students should be reasonable and consistent – ensuring that safe bus arrival and departure expectations are acknowledged by parents / guardians, the school, school vehicle operators and the SCSTC”. If your child needs alternate arrangements for busing, you will need to come into the school and provide the necessary details. An example of an inconsistent schedule: needing transportation on Monday, Wednesdays only every week. This would be considered a “re-occurring schedule” (simcoecountyschoolbus.ca ; go under Policies and see TE10). Process:

Requests must be submitted through the student’s school (Form SCDSB ONLY TF012).

Requests will be received and processed by the SCSTC following SCDSB policies and procedures.

Approvals received from the SCDSB for transportation on alternate days or alternate weeks will be communicated to parents through their student’s school.

Please register online: www.ymcaofsimcoemuskoka.ca Or the Innisfil YMCA front desk after December 9, 2017

Start Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2018

SAFE ARRIVAL

The Ministry of Education’s mandate is that all schools in Ontario have a Safe Arrival program in place. The Safe Arrival program provides a ‘safety net’ for realizing in a ‘timely fashion’ that a student has failed to reach the school as the parent had planned. In order for this program to work and allow

us to locate a missing child in case of an emergency in a timely manner, we ask your help with the following: Please call/email safe arrival when your child will be away

by 8:30 a.m. Call: 705-436-3600 PRESS 1 (please do not call 0). This is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week voice mail system, you can call at anytime.

Email: gooattendance@scdsb.on.ca to report your child’s

absence. Please be aware that this system will not be accessed if our office staff is absent and you may still receive a safe arrival call. If in doubt, use call system above.

Please note that sending a text or email to your student’s

teacher may not reach them before attendance is done or if they are absent. Please use the safe arrival system to report all absences to the school office.

VISITORS TO GOODFELLOW Signing In/Out Procedures

All visitors and volunteers must sign in at the office. Due to Ministry’s Safe School guidelines, no parents are allowed to walk the halls. If you would like to speak to a teacher, please contact them directly to make an appointment.

Signing IN/OUT

End of Day Process at the Office Your child’s academic success is important to us. Interruptions in the classroom throughout the day hinder not only the learning of your child but also that of the other students. We ask that you please make appointments outside of school hours whenever possible.

ALL students arriving after the 9:20 bell are considered

late and MUST sign in at the office (we’ve had instances when a child did not sign in, teacher submitted the attendance showing the child is missing and the office has then spent time looking for a child that was actually present. In case of a real missing child these few precious minutes would have hindered us in locating this child). Not to mention how upsetting it will be to you the parent to receive a call from Safe Arrival knowing you had dropped your child off at the school.

If you are picking your child up early, please send a note to

your child’s teacher with them in the morning so that they can send them to the office before recess or going outside for learning. Without a note, we are not able to guarantee we will locate your child in a timely manner, as the students do not spend their day in their classroom only.

We strongly encourage parents not to pick up students

between 3:20-3:40 p.m. Many classes use this time for last minute instructions, preparing students to get their belongings together and in some cases, going outside for their Daily Physical Activity time. Our staff is very busy during this time ensuring students are dismissed safely. If your child must be signed out at the end of the day, please arrange to pickup students before 3:20pm.

All student’s must be signed OUT at the office by an adult

on their emergency list. If you need to change emergency contacts and/or those that are authorised to pickup your children, you must submit this in writing to the office. These changes cannot be accepted over the phone.

End of day at the school is an extremely busy time. Please ensure you make changes to end of day plans with your children before they leave home for the school day. We are attempting to limit the interruptions during classroom instruction time for better student learning. We cannot ensure that calls made at the last minute to the office at the end of the day will result in the proper directions reaching the student and the student accurately following these changes.

Thank you for ensuring the safety of all our students!

A full description of the Supervision, Arrival and Dismissal Procedures is available at www.scdsb.on.ca – Parents – Safe and Healthy Schools – Procedures.

Indoor Shoes We are teaching students to respect our school by doing their part to maintain a clean and organized school. We are insisting that students pick up their shoes and other items at the end of the day to make it easier for our custodians to clean.

Please help us by ensuring that your child has a pair of indoor shoes that can always be kept at school. Students are not allowed to wear their outdoor shoes in their classroom. As well, if there is an emergency, it is essential that your child(ren) be wearing footwear.

Time for Warm Clothes!

WINTER IS HERE! And the subarctic start to 2018 sure is a sign

of the winter we will have.

Please review the importance of dressing

for the weather conditions with your

children and take time to ensure that there

are warm gloves, warm hat, coat and

proper footwear ready for the current

weather.

Verification of Attendance for Government Agencies

Requests for letters of education verification for government agencies and other organizations, (i.e. Revenue Canada, Social Ser-vices, and/or confirmation of attendance letters, etc.) must be made by the parent/guardian/adult student, in advance and in writing, and must be verified with proper identification and/or documentation. Forms are available on the Simcoe County District School Board website www.scdsb.on.ca under Student>Transcripts> Transcript and/or Education Verification Request Form. Please be advised that processing these requests may take up to 10 business days, so please plan accordingly. Thank you for your understanding.

Roots of Empathy

Roots of Empathy is an evidence-based classroom program that has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression among schoolchildren by raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. The program reaches elementary school children from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Goodfellow will

be implementing this program over the next 27 weeks, in one of our Kindergarten programs. We are excited for this opportunity. For more information please visit their website at www.rootsofempathy.org.

All School Playgrounds are Closed for the

Winter

Every winter, school playground structures are closed.

Students are made aware of this during school hours

through announcements and staff reminders during breaks.

This may not be well known throughout the community

despite signs indicating that playground structures are a

winter hazard and are closed. The Canadian Standards

Association Regulations make recommendations for the

depth of ground cover required to minimize injuries (e.g.

sand, pea gravel, or wood chips). These surfaces cannot be

maintained when the ground freezes. Injuries from falling

would be more

significant on frozen

ground. We strongly

recommend that you do

not allow your children

to play on any

structures while the

ground is frozen.

Head Lice Screening Now that students are back at school and the weather is becoming colder, we will begin to have occurrences of head lice among some of the students. Please check your son or daughter’s head at least once each week and notify the school if you find any lice. Although there are no medical problems associated with having head lice it is a nuisance and quickly spreads from one child to the next. We send students home if head lice has been found and ask parents to treat their child’s hair and physically pull the nits out prior to returning to school. Thank you for your diligence in keeping this nuisance under control at Goodfellow.

School Safety Messaging We’d like to remind parents and guardians to reinforce strategies that students should use if approached by someone they do not know, wherever that might be. Please take the time to remind your children to be aware of their surroundings. Please note that if any unauthorized personnel are in the school area, these people should be approached and directed to report to the main office to sign in. Here are some safety guidelines that could be of assistance when communicating with your child about safety: If children walk to school or to the bus stop, try to arrange a

walking buddy or group. They should use main routes that are well-travelled, rather than taking shortcuts through deserted areas.

Develop a "what if" game for children to get them thinking about how they would respond if they felt threatened or afraid.

Parents/guardians should know who their children play with and where they go. This includes keeping a list of their friend's addresses and phone numbers.

Children should not be left in unsupervised locations, such as cars, parks, public washrooms, arenas, malls and plazas, etc.

Teach children where and how to get help. Children should talk to a trusted adult immediately when

someone does or says anything that makes them feel strange or uncomfortable.

Parking Lot

Our parking lot is very busy especially at arrival and dismissal time. For everyone’s safety, we encourage parents who have students in the busing areas to please take the bus to and from school and that walking students walk to and from school rather than driving to school. There is absolutely NO PARKING in the

Kiss and Ride drop off area and NO PARKING near the dumpsters. We have had several vehicles causing congestion every day and student safety may be affected as vehicles attempt to maneuver around the vehicle blocking the route. Also, only school vehicles (school buses and vans) or emergency vehicles (ambulances/police cars) are allowed in the school bus loading zone that is directly in front of the school.

Attend a French Immersion information night, registration opens in January The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) offers French Immersion (FI) at select schools throughout Simcoe County beginning in Grade 1. The goal of the FI program is to enable students to communicate in French with a high level of proficiency, enabling them to function with ease in both French and English. Upon graduation from the program, students will communicate in French with confidence in a wide variety of real-life situations. Information sessions take place in January for parents of students in Senior Kindergarten. A letter will be sent home to those parents with more details. Information session dates will be posted at www.scdsb.on.ca under Programs, French as a Second Language. The FI online application form will be available from 9 a.m. on Mon. Jan. 22, until 9 p.m. on Wed. Jan. 24, 2018 at www.scdsb.on.ca under Programs, French as a Second Language. While every effort is made to accommodate all FI applications, available space and staffing will determine how many students can be registered. Applications will be processed in the order they are received electronically. Please contact the school if you do not have Internet access at home or require assistance accessing the online application. Please note that the host sites for FI may change during your child’s time in the program, and your child may need to move schools. This may also include splitting the program between two different sites.

Kindergarten registration opens in January Do you (or someone you know) have a child who was born in 2014? If so, it’s almost time to register them for Kindergarten in the SCDSB! Beginning January 22, 2018, Simcoe County’s public schools will register children for Kindergarten for the 2018-19 school year. Required registration documents include birthdate documentation, proof of address and record of immunization. Visit www.scdsb.on.ca/kindergarten for more information.

Provide Input on Proposed 2018-19 School Year Calendar

The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) invites public school communities to submit input regarding the proposed school year calendar for next school year (Sept. 2018 to June 2019). Starting Jan. 9, input can be provided by visiting www.scdsb.on.ca, then clicking the link on the ‘School Year Calendars’ page under the ‘Schools’ menu. All stakeholders including staff, school council members, parents/guardians, students and members of the school community are invited to provide input. The deadline to submit input is Jan. 31.

Parents Invited to Information Sessions About Special Education

The SCDSB is hosting a series of information sessions for parents/guardians to learn about special education in the SCDSB, and how to

support students with special education needs.

Jan. 22

Assessments in Special Education: Psych Ed and Other Assessments

Feb. 19

Transition Planning Grade 8 to 9

March 19

Accessing Supports in the Community

April 16

Understanding Alternative/Non-Academic IEP Goals

All sessions take place from 6 to 7 p.m. at the SCDSB Education Centre, located at 1170 Highway 26 in Midhurst. No registration required.

Update Your Child’s Immunization Records

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is required to keep up to date immunization records for all students who attend elementary or secondary school in the County of Simcoe and the District of Muskoka. Parents are responsible for reporting immunizations to the health unit each time their child receives a vaccine from their health care provider. It’s easier than ever to update your child’s immunization status. Go to www.smdhu.org/immsonline to update your child’s record, or call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520. Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

Changes to Ontario Early Years Centres Effective Jan. 1, 2018 In February 2017, the Ontario government announced the transformation of the delivery of early years programs for children and families. Starting in January, Ontario Early Years Centres, Parenting and Family Literacy Centres, Child Care Resource Centres and Better Beginnings, Better Futures centres will collectively be known as EarlyON Child and Family Centres. These EarlyON Child and Family Centres will be open to all families across Ontario, and provide support, parenting programs, personal connections and a network of resources as well as play- and inquiry-based programs for young children. Effective January 1, Child and Family Programs currently in schools will be relocated to the community. These four agencies will now man-age EarlyON Child and Family Centres in Simcoe County:

OEYC Simcoe North, www.oeycsimcoenorth.ca Simcoe Community Services, www.simcoecommunityservices.ca, E3 Community Services, www.e3.ca La Clé (Francophone), www.lacle.ca

For specific days and hours of operation, please contact your local lead agency. Information can be found by visiting www.scdsb.on.ca – ‘Schools’ – ‘Before & After School Care.’

OHIP+ provides free prescription drug coverage for children Beginning Jan. 1, 2018, the province will provide free prescription drug coverage for children and youth aged 24 and under, regardless of family income. Under OHIP+, Ontario children and youth will have access to over 4,400 medications and other drug products. Enrollment in OHIP+ will be automatic, based on age. There are no upfront costs, no co-payment and no annual deductible. Those who are eligible for OHIP+ will only need their health card number and a valid prescription from their doctor or nurse practitioner when they visit their pharmacist. For more information, visit: www.ontario.ca/page/learn-about-ohip-plus.

Questions About Your Child's Health?

Health Connection offers free, confidential health information from nurses and health inspectors on: how your child is growing, parenting tips, fast and healthy meals, safe food and water, common illnesses, keeping kids safe, fun family

activities health unit programs such as vaccinations and dental care community resources for parenting, mental health, addictions, quitting smoking or financial help

Contact Health Connection at 1-705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or

http://www.simcoemuskokahealth.org/. If English is not your first language, we have a telephone interpretation service.

Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

School’s In For Summer at the SCDSB

Are you and your child planning their courses for next school year? Looking for a way to create flexibility in their timetable and earn a credit?

Consider summer school!

Each year, the SCDSB offers a variety of summer programs to over 2,000 students. Summer school options include open, college and university level courses from Grades 9 to 12. Courses are offered in-person or online. Interested students can also travel and earn credits with

the summer EduTravel program.

Summer school program details can be found on the Learning Centres website at www.learningcentres.com. Current SCDSB students should speak to their guidance counsellor for information and to register. Register now so that your summer school choices align with course

selection for next year!