principal’s reportprincessm.dsbn.org/documents/newsletter20110601.pdf · books, bitstrips for...
TRANSCRIPT
We look forward
to a great June full of
learning and celebration.
Teachers and students are now working to
complete their term two learning. Teach-
ers are beginning to work on Term 2 report
cards and prepare for the end of the year
celebrations.
As a school, we are planning and
preparing for next year and the consolida-
tion of Princess Margaret and Battlefield
Schools. We are beginning to look at class
organizations for next year and teacher
placements. Please remember that we
work very hard to find the best placement
for all of our students considering the aca-
demic, social and emotional needs of all
the students.
The staff has be reflecting on the
things we do at Princess Margaret and are
prioritizing our needs and goals for next
year. We will be sharing our school or-
ganization for September in our end of
June Newsletter.
The School Council
continues to work hard
to make Princess Mar-
garet School the best it
can be.
Our School Council is
wrapping up another
great year. There ef-
forts and support has
been greatly appreci-
ated by the staff and
students.
Please join
us in
thanking the
School Council
for all of their
efforts this year.
Thank you to all the
Council Members
Volunteers Needed
Our Breakfast Club is looking for some volunteers. If you can help one morn-ing a month we would greatly ap-preciate it.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
SCHOOL COUNCIL
D I S T R I C T S C H O O L D I S T R I C T S C H O O L D I S T R I C T S C H O O L D I S T R I C T S C H O O L
B O A R D O F N I A G A R AB O A R D O F N I A G A R AB O A R D O F N I A G A R AB O A R D O F N I A G A R A
PRINCESS MARGARET
PUBLIC SCHOOL
http://www.dsbn.edu.on.ca/Schools/PrincessM/
J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 1 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1 0
TRUSTEE Kevin Maves Tel: 905-356-6165 DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION W. Hoshizaki Tel: 905-641-1550 SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Cam Hathaway Tel: 905-641-1550 TRANSPORTATION Heather Kyle Tel: 905-346-0302 Principal Todd Halliday Secretary Sharon Harriman Tel: 905-354-2333 Fax: 905-354-2413 E-Mail: Todd.Halliday@ DSBN.edu.on.ca [email protected]
Primary Class Sizes 2
Library News 2
Upcoming Events 2
Students of the
Month
3
EQAO Testing 4
Lockdown Drills 6
Energizing Education 6
Calendar 7
Sun Safety 3
Dress Code 5
Track and Field 5
Voracious Reading 4
Proportional
Reasoning
5
P A G E 2
Stay Connected @ Our Library
UPCOMING EVENTS
PRIMARY CLASS SIZE CAPS For the 2011/12 school year, each board is ex-pected to demonstrate that: • 90% of its Gr. 1 -
Gr. 3 classes av-erage 20 or fewer students
• up to 10% of its Gr. 1 - Gr. 3 classes have 21 - 23 students
• Gr. 3/4 combined classes will have no more than 23
students • no primary classes
will have more than 23 students.
• Early Learning Pro-grams ( Full Day Kindergarten classes) are a blend of JK and SK students and are not capped
Princess Margaret will be organizing our pri-mary classes to meet
Grade 8
Graduation
June 27, 2010
JUNE 6-8
OTTAWA TRIP
JUNE 10
PD DAY
JUNE 27
REPORT CARDS
GO HOME
LAST DAY DAY OF
CLASSES
JUNE 29, 2011
FIRST DAY OF
CLASSES
SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
looking!! This summer, stay connected with our Library! Students have enjoyed many of the links through our Destiny home page such as Tumble-books, Bitstrips for Schools and Daniel Cook. You can also browse our catalog or recommend books! Log on to destiny.dsbn.edu.on.ca
then choose Princess Mar-garet. You can also access our Library through our school website (dsbn.org then Schools and School Websites). Also, don't forget to visit the Public Library over the summer to keep up on some great reading!!
Please be sure that you have returned all library books by Friday June 3rd. It is impor-tant to get all books back as we start merging our Library with books coming from Bat-tlefield. If a book is lost, there is a $7 replacement cost. If we find the book later, you will be refunded the charge. We prefer to have the book back, so keep
these standards. If our registration num-bers change during the summer or in September we may be re-organizing our Primary classes. We do not make changes without careful considera-tion. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
P A G E 3
CONGRATULATIONS
TO
OUR
STUDENTS
WITH
COURAGE
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
Each month Princess Margaret School will be recognizing one character trait. This month we recognized COURAGE. In JUNE, we will be recognizing students who demonstrate all of the character traits.
SUN SAFETY
The Canadian Dermatology Association's Na-tional Sun Awareness Week happens. June 6-12th. Following these SunSense guidelines will help
you protect yourself and your family from the
sun.
• Reduce exposure to the sun when its rays
are most intense between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
or when the UV Index is 3 or more.
• Enjoy places that include shade, and in open
areas such as beaches, bring an umbrella to
create your own shade.
• Slip on lightweight, tightly woven, loose-
fitting clothing to cover your arms and legs.
• Slap on a wide-brimmed hat that covers
your head, face, ears and neck. Hats without
a wide brim, such as baseball caps, do not
give enough protection.
• Wear sunglasses with UVA and UVB pro-
tection.
• Slop on a sunscreen with SPF #15 or
higher – if you will be outside for most of
the day, use SPF #30.
• Apply sunscreen generously and follow
the instructions on the sunscreen label for
directions on reapplication.
• In your sun protection plan, cover up,
wearing a hat and sunglasses, along with
sunscreen to protect yourself from the
sun’s rays.
• Keep babies out of the direct sun.
Read more: http://www.cancer.ca/ontario/
about%20us/od-mark%20your%20calendar/
national%20sun%20awareness%20week.aspx?
sc_lang=en#ixzz1Nm1SF2rl
EQAO TESTING
P A G E 4 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1 0
The Ministry of
Education and Training
has informed schools and
school boards that the
EQAO tests will be held
May 30 through June 9,
2011.
Teachers have been
meeting to plan and organ-
ize for the testing process.
We invite parents of the
grade 3 and grade 6 stu-
dents to contact the school
for more information re-
garding their particular
child. Once completed,
test booklets are sent away
to be marked. Results are
made available in the fall.
Some of the class and
recess schedules will be
altered slightly to allow
the grade 3’s and 6’s
proper class time to com-
plete the tests. Remember
that children perform better
on tests when they are well
rested and well nourished.
Also, please avoid
making appointments for the
students during these times!
How can you help your child with this strategy at home? 1. Encourage your child to read more at home. Start by adding a few minutes to their regular reading time and go from there. 2. Model this strategy for your child by taking out a book of your own and reading. 3. Have your child show you what he/she is read-ing. Ask the following questions: Does this book interest you? Are you able to read most of the words? Do you understand what you are reading? Your child should be able to say “yes” to all
three questions if he/she is reading a good book to improve fluency and become a voracious reader. 4. Find a genre or style of book your child is in-terested in. Visit the li-brary or bookstore to provide more books or stories in this area of interest. Tapping into a reader’s interests cre-ates voracious readers. Thank you for your con-tinued support at home! Ideas and strategies are taken from : The CAFE Book, written by Gail Boushey & Joan Moser
Fluency is the ability to read, speak, or write smoothly and with ex-pression. The best way to become a fluent reader is through read-ing. The amount a child reads has a huge impact on their success in be-coming a fluent reader. The strategy of vora-cious reading is one used with students to increase vocabulary and fluency. Students are taught that vora-cious means to do a lot of something and still want more of it. They know that by reading, reading, and more read-ing, they will become smooth readers that are enjoyable to listen to. This will lead to in-creased comprehension and broadened vocabu-laries.
V O R A C I O U S R E A D I N G
Encourage your child to read more at home
P A G E 5
DRESS CODE REMINDER
P R O P O R T I O N A L R E A S O N I N G
TRACK AND FIELD Congratulations to all students who partici-pated in a successful Track and Field Day at Princess Margaret on May 10th. Princess Margaret sent 60 athletes to Oakes Park on Friday, May 17th to participate in the Regional Track and Field Meet. Stu-
dents who finished in the top three at Oakes Park have qualified for the Dis-trict Meet in St. Ca-tharines on June 13th. Way to go Pan-thers!
• Twice a number is really big. What do you know about the original number?
• Cameron has 7 coins that he says have a value of 17 cents. What could the coins be?
Junior/Intermediate
• Choose two fractions less than five. One should be really big and the other
Try these questions to help children get a sense of the size of the numbers. Primary/Junior
• Choose two whole numbers less than 100. One should be really big and the other pretty small. Tell how many of the small numbers it would take to make the big one. How do you know?
pretty small. Tell how many of one fraction it takes to make the other one. How do you know?
• How many 2’s are in 30? How many 3’s are in 45? How can this be? Ex-plain.
• A store is having a sale. Is it more helpful for you to know that an item is $10.00 off or 10% off?
*From Math Gains: Propor-tional Reasoning
sleeves or straps that have a
three finger thickness and
they need to cover the mid-
section/abdomen.
Undergarments should not
be exposed.
Make sure shorts and skirts
are an appropriate length to
wear to school. (Standing
with arms at your side the
length of shorts and skirts
should extend beyond your
fingertips)
Hats and sunglasses are
appropriate for recess time
but are not to be worn in-
side the school.
Please take the
time to review
these guidelines
with your child
(ren). We appre-
ciate your sup-
port in maintain-
ing our school dress code.
With the warmer weather
upon us, the topic of appro-
priate clothing has been
raised. We have gone over
the dress code with all of
our students and continue
to remind them of the
guidelines.
T-shirts should be free of
inappropriate language or
pictures. No see through or
loose mesh tops.
Tops need to either have
LOCKDOWN DRILLS
P A G E 6 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1 0
The DSBN has taken steps to ensure your child’s safety while in school. Each school has developed emer-gency preparedness plans that outline steps that staff and students will take in the event of an emer-gency. All DSBN schools have Safe School Plans that con-tain information on Lock-down, Hold and Secure and Shelter in Place. The spe-
cifics of each plan differ according to unique circum-stances for each location. A response to a situation will differ based on the specif-ics of that situation. The flexibility of the plan is the key to the success of the response. Princess Margaret School will be participating in a safety drill that is meant to further enhance the pro-tection of our students and
staff. This procedure is called a lockdown. The purpose of the lock-down drill is to practice safely securing students and staff within the school in the event of a potentially dangerous incident sur-rounding the school or within the school itself. If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact the school.
by building some new schools, consolidating some schools, renovating some schools and closing some schools. At their most recent meeting, Trustees passed a Facilities Planning report which examines how to provide optimal learning spaces for students by initiating three phases of accommodation reviews beginning in Septem-ber, 2011. Phase one accom-modation reviews will undertake an in-depth study of central and south St. Catharines and Thorold secondary schools as well as elementary schools in Fort Erie. Over the coming months, Board staff will begin to assemble an Accommodation Review Com-mittee (ARC) for the two re-views. Each committee will un-dertake an in-depth study of the school planning areas and pro-vide recommendations that will
help guide Trustees in their de-cision making. Each ARC will include a business community member and/or a municipal rep-resentative, parents, a trustee, and DSBN staff. All ARC meet-ings will be open to the public, and the public will also have an opportunity to provide feedback during specially scheduled pub-lic meetings. Moving forward, our goal is to continue serving students with excellent programs. The accom-modation review process will ensure that funding is spent on enriching the educational oppor-tunities for students
The full report, along with
information about accom-
modation reviews is
available at www.dsbn.org/
During the 2009/10 school year, the DSBN engaged in a system-wide review of our school build-ings which enabled trustees to gain an overview of how our fa-cilities are being used, and to identify potential areas for growth and revitalization in the future. The majority of school boards throughout Ontario are facing the challenge of declining enrol-ment because of changing demographics. Parents are hav-ing fewer children later in life, which reduces the number of students starting Kindergarten each year. One way school boards can ad-dress the issues of declining enrolment and aging facilities is through accommodation re-views. Through this process, education can be rejuvenated
PLANNING TODAY TO ENERGIZE EDUCATION TOMORROW