Tamarac Education Centre “Reading to or with your child daily will significantly improve their reading ability.”

Where Learning Comes To Life! October 2018

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Principal’s Message

They say "Time flies when you are having fun", well the month of September flew by. I want to say a huge thank you to all students, staff, parents and community members for making my first month so incredible. I absolutely love being at TEC and I already feel like I am home. We had a busy month of September. We had Pink Anti-Bullying Day, School Spirit PJ day for Children's Wish, a #Be Like Terry day to celebrate all of Terry Fox's accomplishments and we also celebrated Orange T-shirt day to acknowledge that every child matters. Our sports teams were in full force with boy's and girl's soccer and cross country running. A special thank you to all our coaches for giving of their time for our students. The month of October is Mi'kmaq History month. Classes will do various activities during the month. P-3 will have a First Nation puppet show on October 12th and our Grade 8 students will be introduced to some traditional First Nation food on October 25th. Thank you to all parents for keeping the lines of communication opened. Together We Can Make A Difference

Drop off and Pick Up School doors open at 8:15am. Please do not drop your child off before this time. Homeroom is from 8:25-8:45. Classes start at 8:45. As a security measure our doors will be locked from 8:45am to 2:25pm. Parents picking up their children must wait in the foyer until the walkers are dismissed. Walkers will be dismissed following the first run buses leaving.

Strait Regional Centre for Education

Safe Arrival Process for Elementary Schools

2018-2019 TAMARAC EDUCATION CENTRE and the Strait Regional School Board believe that regular attendance at school supports greater student success and achievement. Attendance supports student learning and promotes a sense of responsibility that students will need as they transition from grade to grade. Promoting and supporting regular student attendance is a shared responsibility. All partners, students, parents/guardians, teachers, school administration and school board staff, must work together. As a result, the following safe arrival process will be implemented at our school to help us account for any student’s unexplained failure to arrive at school:

Parents/guardians are responsible for notifying the school when their child(ren) will not be in attendance.

If your child(ren) is going to be late or absent from school, the parent/guardian is asked to contact the school by email (Please send to both freda.macmillan@srce.ca and debra.chisholm@srce.ca ) or telephone at 902-625-6650 before 9:00 a.m. An explanation is required.

On a daily basis, homeroom teachers will complete morning attendance. A list of those students who are absent will be generated.

If a student is marked absent during first class and we have not been previously notified by parents/guardians, we will call the numbers provided in the student demographic information.

When direct follow-up contact with parents/guardians cannot be reasonably made, we will then determine appropriate action. This may involve contact with the RCMP.

Policy 1X-A-1 – Transportation: Mandate and Standards 1.8 Bus Passes A bus pass is required any time a student is being picked up or dropped off at any location that is different from the one that is recorded as the regular bus stop on the official bus roster. At any time, when parents/guardians are requesting that their child(ren) be dropped off at an alternate location, they shall submit a written request (note or email) to the school administration providing the exact location including the civic number and the name and telephone number of the individual at the drop-off location. Please

note that students shall only be dropped off at the nearest authorized bus stop location. Once authorized, the school administration will issue a bus pass before noon and will only be approved when there is available seating on the bus. Bus pass requests will not be accepted after 12:30pm on the day of the request. Please access a copy of the Bus Pass Request Form found in Appendix A. You can also find a copy attached to this newsletter.

Halloween

Again this year, students and staff will be

invited to wear Halloween costumes on

Wednesday, October 31st. Students in Grade

P-2 are encouraged to wear Black and/or

Orange that day for their wing activities in

the morning. However, if you decide to allow

your child to wear a costume that afternoon,

and they require assistance to put it on, you

are asked to bring the costume to school for

12:40pm and return to collect it at 2:20pm;

you may help your child change into their

costume at the office. We will not be

responsible for any costume items left at

school. There are no P-2 activities planned for

the afternoon that will require them to wear

costumes, but they are still welcome to do

so.

Mi’kmaq History Month

This year we are engaging our learners in the

how Mi’Kmaw Veterans played a vital role in

World War I. During this 100th year

anniversary we will remember those who

fought for Mi’Kma’Ki, the homeland of the

Mi’kmaq. Some returned home, others made

the ultimate sacrifice for their families and

communities.

More than 200 Mi’Kmaw sma’Knisk from

across Atlantic Canada enlisted to serve at

least 89 were from Nova Scotia. One from

Richmond County Frank M. Paul who is from

Red Island. Along with Paqtnkek Mi’Kmaw

Nation James Bernard, Peter Murray

Marshall, and David Stephens.

On September 27, 2018 all students and staff

across Strait Regional Centre for Education

were encouraged to wear orange to never

forget those who suffered in the Residential

school. A student who had a new orange shirt

had it ripped from her as it was not accepted

by the officials that were governing the

schools at the time. The saying on the shirt

that staff at Strait Regional Centre for

Education are wearing is “Every Child

Matters.”

Rita Joe wrote a poem book called, “For the

children” Now here is just one of her poems

that either was published or unpublished.

Prejudice Is Something We Can Do Without

I walk into a store in town

My pockets bursting with money

My needs are like any other

For goods I want to buy in a hurry

The clerk in the store sees my face, the

rugged clothes

My feet in mukluks, the headband on my

brow

She has immediate ideas of the poor Indian,

The stereotype in progress

She does not know I sense ill will

So gently I turn around and walk out,

Looking for another store

One where the clerk is all smiles, even if it

hurts

I have bought out the store,

My pockets are empty

Prejudice is something we can do without

Accept me just as I am,

My money, and my identity

(I just wanted to add in today’s society we

would not use the word Indian but I wanted

to keep Rita’s poem to her original content

because it is her thoughts and her words.)

Sabrina Skinner, Student Support Worker

We would like to thank the following individuals

for their generous donations:

Bill and Charlene MacDonald for their donation

to the Breakfast Program.

Jill Landry, a community member for her

donation of lunch boxes and school supplies to

our school.

Dianne Matheson for her donation of school

supplies.

Also to the Atlantic Superstore for the donation

of soccer, basketballs and volleyballs.

SCHOOL PHOTO’S

Monday, October 1st – 5/6 Imm – 8

Tuesday, October 2nd – Preprimary – 5

RETAKES

Wednesday, October 24th

School Insurance Program

Every eligible child attending public school in Nova Scotia is automatically insured by the School Insurance Program's Basic Plan student accident coverage. This coverage is provided without deductible and at no cost. Basic Plan coverage can cover things such as physiotherapy, dental and medical equipment expenses, up to policy limits.

However, if parents/guardians wish to purchase additional coverage, the Gold Plan increases the time that your child is covered to 24/7 including summer vacations. Many of the specific loss accident payments are triple those of the Basic Plan.

Please visit www.sip.ca for policy & limit information and for more information on how to purchase the optional Gold Plan.

Strait Regional Centre of Education

Information Sharing Agreement with Department of Health and Wellness

Annually, students across Nova Scotia are offered services delivered by Public Health including the Grade 7 School Immunization Program, Pre-school Screening, Enhanced Vision Screening Program and the Fluoride Mouthrinse Program. Public Health works with the education system to distribute information about these programs and to obtain consent for student participation. Occasionally, Public Health practitioners may need to contact parents/guardians of students where consent information is incomplete or unclear, or when a consent form has not been returned. Public Health will not contact you if you have signed a consent form indicating you do not wish to have your child participate in one of these programs. The Strait Regional Centre for Education will share limited information such as names of parents/guardians and students, with Public Health for the purposes of operating these public health services for students. Please contact your local public health office if you have any questions about these public health programs. If you have any questions

about how your information is shared, please feel free to contact the school or our Regional Centre’s Information Access and Privacy Manager at 902-625-2191.

Congratulations

To our very own Dara MacDonald, Grade 6A teacher and Adam Young who have been nominated for Traditional Roots Recording of the Year for The Lake Sessions for the Music Nova Scotia Awards!

Richmond Skating Club Registration for Can Skate and Figure Skate will take place at the Richmond Arena on Friday, October 12th: Can Skate start time is 6:00. Please come early to register! Join our Face Book page “Richmond Skating Club” for more details call Pam at 902-227-7116

Dietitian’s Corner Shelley LeBlanc PDt. 902-631-4969 shelley.leblanc@nshealth.ca

Are you stuck for ideas for healthy after school snacks? Brainstorm meal and snack ideas with your kids. Keep an ongoing list on the fridge. To save time, get into the habit of making extra food. Aim to have meals with food from at least three of the four Food Groups. Aim to have snacks with food from at least two Food Groups. Check your schedule. It’s helpful to know if you will be eating at home or if you need to pack food to-go. Ideas: Fruit-yogurt smoothie in a thermal mug Cheese cubes, whole-grain crackers, an orange and water A mix of dry whole grain cereal with plain popcorn, nuts and water. For more information, reach out to discuss at the contact above, or check out the resource below: http://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/School-Health/Articles/Quick-meals-and-snacks-for-after-school.aspx

UPCOMING ASSESSMENTS DATES: October 11th & 12th – Grade 6 ELA Provincial Assessments October 16th & 17th – Grade 6 Math Provincial Assessment