Mountain Ash Public School

SEPTEMBER 2017Principal’s MessageWelcome back to a new school year at Mountain Ash for all our returning students and families. We would also like to welcome our newest Kindergarten students who will be starting throughout this week, and to our grade 6 French Immersion students who will be starting with us this year. Our wonderful staff has been working so hard throughout the summer and over the past couple of weeks to ensure that it is ready and welcoming for your child.

This first week of school brings feelings of anticipation, excitement, and in many cases a feeling of consistency as we get back to our regular family routines. It is a time where we renew and build new and existing relationships.

We are so fortunate to work with such a supportive community and we look forward to a year filled with new learning that is fun and filled with awesomeness!

As always, if you have specific questions or inquiries throughout the year, we invite you to touch base with your child's teacher and/or myself.

We look forward to a great new beginning as we start the 2017-18 school year.

Sincerely,

Craig Cooper Principal Mountain Ash P.S.

 Principal:Craig Cooper

 Vice Principal:Brian Rasmusson

 Superintendent:Pat Noble

Welcome Back!

Stay connected by following us @MountainashPS

SAFE ARRIVAL (Reporting Student Absences)Student absences are no longer reported on our school phone. Please ensure you report all absences by calling the toll-free line at 1-855-209-6155. Parents can also visit http://www.pdsb.schoolconnects.com to report absences via the web or to download the mobile app.

Please note that all late arrivals are considered an absence and will be called out to parents if parents have not reported a child as late. This is to ensure that parents are aware when their child or children arrive to school late (especially in the case of students who walk to school on their own). The purpose is to work with parents to ensure the safe and timely arrival of all students.

Birthday Celebrations / Special OccasionsChildren love to have their birthdays acknowledged and parents enjoy sharing their special day with other children in the class. Please be mindful that we cannot accept food of any kind for birthday celebrations – or any type of celebration. Some children have allergies to milk, wheat, eggs and all sorts of foods other than peanuts. Therefore, if you would like to send a loot bag to school, please fill it with pencils, stickers, etc. for everyone to enjoy!

Thank you for your co-operation.

Help protect students with severe allergies by keeping lunches, snacks peanut-free

Anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that affects some children. We ask that you help us take care of these students by sending lunches and snacks for your child that are free from peanuts or nuts, because these foods are the leading cause of anaphylaxis. Please read the label of any food you plan to send to school with your child. If the label says, "May contain nuts or peanuts," please do not send it to school.

Want to keep up to date with what’s happening at Mountain Ash? Check out our school website where you'll find:

the latest school news contact information for school administration, superintendent and trustee calendar enrolment data school hours mission, vision and values registration information printable forms frequently asked questions volunteer information EQAO reports

Keep up to date with our website subscription service

Our new website also features a subscription service where you can sign up to receive email notifications for school news, calendar events and volunteer job opportunities. You can also choose to be notified via

email and/or text message for critical news, such as school closures due to bad weather. Click on the subscribe link on the left-hand side of the main page of our website.

Visit Mountain Ash’s website http://schools.peelschools.org/1421/Pages/default.aspx

Protect your kids—and your finances

The Peel District School Board does not provide accident insurance coverage for student injuries that occur on school property or during school activities including extracurricular sports. Each year, many of our families spend thousands of dollars when their children are injured at school, on field trips, while participating in non-school activities, or at home. If a student is injured, parent(s)/guardian(s) are responsible for any costs not covered by provincial health care or their employer’s health plan. Please check with your provider regarding your coverage.

The provincial health care system does not cover costs which are commonly related to accidents including dental work, ambulance fees, casts and crutches, and physiotherapy. All of these are covered by Old Republic’s student accident insurance plan. It is strongly recommended that all families consider this coverage, especially if your child participates in extracurricular activities. The annual plans provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year coverage. The insurance agreement is between you and Old Republic Insurance Company.

For more information call Old Republic Insurance Company toll free at 1-800-530-5446.

Indoor Shoes

We would like our students on the field whenever possible and our school looking clean and pristine. Therefore, we are asking that students come to school with a pair of indoor and a pair of outdoor shoes or a pair of boots for outside and a pair of shoes for indoors. As you can imagine, when the field is muddy wearing the same shoes outside as inside creates a mess not only in the hallways, but on the classroom floors and carpets, as well.

Thank you for helping to keep our school clean by sending your child with indoor and outdoor shoes.

Understanding your child’s Ontario Student Record

The Ontario Student Record (OSR) is an ongoing, confidential record of a student’s education progress. Authorized by the Education Act and protected by the Freedom of Information Act and Protection of Privacy Act, an OSR is established for each student enrolled in an Ontario elementary or secondary school. The record is housed at the student’s current school and moves with the student as they transition from one school to the next. If a student leaves Peel to attend another school in Ontario, the OSR is forwarded to the new school upon request. If the OSR is not requested or the student leaves Ontario, the OSR is housed in the last Peel school that the student attended.

The OSR contains familiar documents that parents can view at any given time. OSR contents include:

biographical data documentation file, containing (if applicable): verification of a custody arrangement,

change-of-name order, placements decisions, suspension letters, psycho-educational assessment report, identification and placement decision letters, and registration forms

information concerning special health conditions name(s) of student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) Ontario Student Transcript (secondary school only) – the cumulative record of a

student’s successful completion of secondary school courses photographs may also be attached record of the student’s accumulated instruction in French as a second language, if

applicable report cards school(s) attended

Every student, and parents or guardians of students under 18 years of age have the right to examine the student’s OSR and receive a copy of its contents. Supervisory officers, school administration and teachers may also access a student’s OSR for the purpose of improving the instruction of the student. Written permission is requested for any outside agency or personnel to access the OSR.

Contact your school principal for details of the procedure to review your child’s OSR.

If you would like to learn more about your child’s OSR, visit the Ontario Ministry of Education web site at www.edu.gov.on.ca.

What you need to know about busing

Peel District School students may access transportation services if their primary address is within the school's attendance boundary, at a distance

of more than: kindergarten and grade 1 students – 1 km

grades 2 to 4 students – 1.6 km grades 5 to 8 students – 2 km grades 9 to 12 students – 3.8 km

Eligibility distances are calculated using appropriate roadways and pedestrian walkways and are measured from home property line to school property line using Board approved software to ensure a consistent and equitable assessment of distance for all students and all schools within the Board. It is also important to note that parents are responsible for safely getting their children to and from school.

How do I know if my child is eligible for transportation?

Student Transportation of Peel Region (STOPR) has a website, www.stopr.ca, where you can find information concerning transportation including bus safety, procedures, late buses, cancellations, and frequently asked questions and as well whether your child is eligible for transportation based on your home address. Click on "Am I Eligible for Transportation" and enter your information.

In addition, if your child is eligible for transportation, beginning the last week of August to the end of June each year, at www.stopr.ca you can securely access your child’s specific transportation information, including bus stop location and pick-up and drop-off times. Click on “Parent/Student Login” and enter the information required. To ensure privacy of information you will be required to enter the Ontario Education Number (OEN), which can be found on your child’s report card.

Parents can now sign-up to receive automatic e-mail notifications of delays or cancellations for their children’s bus run. Go to www.stopr.ca and click on the “bus delays and cancellations” link and then click “subscriptions” to sign-up for this service.

Courtesy Bussing

If your child is not eligible for bussing, but you would like to see If he/she can be placed on a bus through the Courtesy Bussing Program, please put your request in writing to Mr. Rasmusson outlining your reasons for the request. After bussing and enrolment have been settled within the school, there may be spots left on certain buses that allow the student to travel on the bus as a courtesy. Priority will be given to those students with health concerns. If spots are available, parents will be notified by mid-October.

Schools use many strategies to keep children safe

Peel schools provide a safe environment for staff and students to work and learn. The board has many procedures to ensure safety. To keep students safe, schools use many strategies including: requiring all parents and visitors to check in at the main office and obtain visitor passes the use of a "buddy system" – students can only leave the classroom if accompanied by

another student (for example, going to the washroom) assigning teachers to supervise inside and outside the school during recesses, before and

after school locking all exteriors doors, including the main entrance, during school hours [elementary

schools only] encouraging staff to regularly review streetproofing skills with students expecting staff and students to report unidentified individuals to the office immediately holding fire drills and "lockdown" rehearsals having evacuation and bomb threat plans in place ensuring that all staff and volunteers have up-to-date criminal record checks working with the police to provide education on street-proofing

We feel that it is important that you also take this opportunity to review safe procedures with your child. Peel Regional Police have provided the following safety guidelines: Tell your children to never go anywhere with a stranger, not to talk to strangers and never

take anything from them. You also have to teach them what a "safe stranger" is in case they need help. A safe stranger includes a police officer, a cashier, a fire fighter.

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

Know who your children play with and where they go. This includes keeping a list of their friend's addresses and phone numbers.

Do not leave your child in unsupervised locations, such as cars, parks, public washrooms, arenas, malls and plazas, etc.

Teach your children where and how to get help. Go with them on their regularly travelled routes.

Your child's body is private. Tell your children that no one may touch the area their bathing suit covers. If someone tries to touch them, they should tell you immediately.

Teach your children to talk to you immediately when someone does anything that makes them feel strange or uncomfortable. Listen when your children are trying to tell you about something that bothers them and provide them with support and understanding.

Communicate to your children the importance of following the teacher’s instructions during a lockdown, hold and secure, bomb threat, shelter in place or fire drill and to not use cell phones to ensure their own safety.

For more information about safety at your school, review your school handbook or speak to your principal or teacher.

Procedures help keep students safe at school

Dear Families,

Peel schools provide a safe environment for students and staff to learn and work. The board has many procedures to ensure safety ¾¾ including regular fire drills, evacuation plans, criminal record checks for new staff and volunteers, and lockdown, hold and secure and shelter in place drills. Together with Peel Police, OPP and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board, the board developed procedures for critical situations including lockdowns, hold and secure, shelter in place and bomb threats in order to help keep schools safe during a potentially serious or violent incident.

Every school will review the key points of the lockdown process with students. We rehearse the drill twice per year to make sure staff and students know what to do if we have to initiate a lockdown.

During the rehearsal, the principal will make an announcement to "initiate lockdown procedure." The school bell will ring continuously for a period of time and our goal is to make the school appear vacated.

Students and staff inside the school will: go to the closest room, close the door and lock it, if possible turn off the lights and lie down on the floor away from doors and windows remain on the floor quietly until further directions are given

Students and staff outside the school will: move as far away from the building as possible remain outside until further directions are given

Depending on the situation, students and staff outside the building may be directed to an evacuation site. When the rehearsal is over, the principal will make another announcement.

Important things to note when an emergency occurs

1. Students and staff must not use cell phonesIt is important to note that in these critical situations, safety is our number one priority. During rehearsals or in real critical situations, Peel Police have advised that cell phone usage can cause more safety risks and danger than benefits.

We recognize that when an emergency occurs, students and staff may feel the need to communicate immediately with their families. However, increased cellular traffic in these critical situations can result in more dangers and the following consequences:

- Cause signal delays for emergency services to attend to the situation.

- Prevents police from being able to communicate with each other and other important personnel in a timely manner.

- Public posts and messages may identify where individuals are in the building and a pose a safety risk.

- Cell phones can create a safety hazard by attracting attention to the area of the school where the phone is being used.

Parents are requested to NOT call the school or your child’s cell phone during emergency procedures.

2. How parents can get updates during emergency procedures

There are a number of ways that parents can stay connected and get important, timely updates in the unlikely event of an actual lockdown, hold and secure, shelter in place or bomb threat. We will try to make every effort to keep parents informed using the methods listed below.

- Monitor your child’s school website. - Get updates by following posts on the Peel District School Board Twitter account (@Peelschools),

www.twitter.com/peelschools - Visit www.peelschools.org. All important updates are posted on the homepage under the What’s New section. - Listen to local media

3. Parents are requested NOT to go to the school

In the unlikely event of an actual lockdown, hold and secure, shelter in place or bomb threat, police ask that parents do not go to the school. For safety reasons, you will not be allowed to enter a school that is in lockdown, hold and secure or shelter in place and students and staff cannot leave the school. In some cases, police will designate a Parent Information Site for you to attend and get up-to-date, accurate information. Please monitor your child’s school website and do not come to the school unless requested to do so.

If you have any questions about our lockdown drill, or any of the procedures we have in place to keep students and staff safe, please call the school.

Peel board trustees ¾ accountable to the community

The Peel board, like every public school board in Ontario, is governed by a board of trustees. Trustees are elected by public school taxpayers every four years during municipal elections. The next municipal election will be held in October 2018. The Peel board currently has 12 trustees representing three municipalities:Trustee Ward(s) City Email Phone #Carrie Andrews 7 and 8 Brampton carrie.andrews@peelsb.com 647-473-1858

Stan Cameron Caledon stan.cameron@peelsb.com 905-880-1162

Robert Crocker 6 and 11 Mississauga robert.crocker@peelsb.com 416-528-1312

Nokha Dakroub 9 and 10 Mississauga nokha.dakroub@peelsb.com 647-707-7320

David Green 1 and 5 Brampton david.green@peelsb.com 905-495-4579

Sue Lawton 3 and 4 Mississauga susan.lawton@peelsb.com 905-625-8084

Brad MacDonald 2 and 8 Mississauga brad.macdonald@peelsb.com 905-593-3547

Kathy McDonald 3 and 4 Brampton kathy.mcdonald@peelsb.com 905-796-8163

Janet McDougald(Chair)

1 and 7 Mississauga janet.mcdougald@peelsb.com 905-278-1402

Suzanne Nurse(Vice-Chair)

2 and 6 Brampton suzanne.nurse@peelsb.com 905-495-3423

Harkirat Singh 9 and 10 Brampton harkirat.singh@peelsb.com 647-209-8000

Rick Williams 5 Mississauga eric.williams@peelsb.com 905-814-6180

What do trustees do? advocate for the needs of the community help members of the community address concerns about the school system govern and set policies for the board explain the policies and decisions of the board to the community evaluate and review the board’s achievement of its goals, objectives and strategic plan participate in budget development, approve budget decisions and monitor its progress protect the future of the board by always considering the long-term effects of decisions

Visit www.peelschools.org and check out the ‘Meet Your Trustee’ section to subscribe to board meeting agendas and minutes and read highlights from board meeting.

Peel Region High Performers

Train More. Rehearse More. Learn More.New Peel District School Board program offers flexible school options for student athletes, artists

Does your child/teen have an intense sports or arts training and competition schedule that makes it difficult to attend school regularly? The Peel District School Board’s new Peel Region High Performers Program will offer flexible timetabling to accommodate student athletes and artists with demanding practice, competition, rehearsal and/or performance schedules.

As of September 2017, the Peel Region High Performers Program will be offered at: Britannia Public School (grades 4 to 5) Dolphin Sr. Public School (grades 6 to 8) Mississauga Secondary School (grades 9 to 12)

For more information on the program, visit www.peelschools.org/HighPerformers

We inspire success, confidence and hope in each student.

September 2017 Attendance Line:

1-855-209-6155Sunda

y Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3 4Labour DayNo School

5First Day of School

6 7 8 Pizza Order Forms Go Home

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10 11 12 13 14 15 Pizza Orders Due

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17 18 19 20 21 Pizza DaySchool Council6:30pm-7:30pm Library

22 23

24 25 26PA DayNo School

27 28 Pizza Day

Terry Fox Run

29Rain Date for Terry Fox

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Oct 1 Oct 2 Oct 3 Oct 4 Oct 5 Pizza Day

Welcome BBQ & Open House 5:30pm-6:30pmClass Visits 6:30pm-

Oct 6 Oct 7