As the weather continues to warm, we are all enjoying access to the full field once again and all

the fun spring games we can now play outside. As we enjoy this weather, please help us rein-

force with our students that school continues to be a place of learning and that we need to

come to school ready to learn. This includes arriving on time, completing the assigned home-

work and class work and dressing appropriately for school. As a reminder, our school dress

code is included on Page 4. Please note that this dress code applies to all students in the

school regardless of grade.

We would like to thank all of our students, parents and staff who were able to attend the ‘Just

Imagine…’ Open House on April 27th. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to

showcase their creativity and artistic talents. Those who were able to attend were treated to

a number of performances including the choir, band, individual and small group arts perform-

ances as well as French plays.

Mr. Biemiller

Principal’s Message

HOLLAND LANDING HOLLAND LANDING

PUBLIC SCHOOLPUBLIC SCHOOL 905‐836‐6614905‐836‐6614

May 2016 HLPS Highlights

Principal:

Mr. Matthew Biemiller

School Office Admin Assistant:

Mrs. Lisa Wilson

Admin Support:

Mrs. Tina Robinson

Lead Caretaker:

Mrs. Kaylene Sutton

Superintendent of Schools: Mr. Paul Carew

(905) 895-5155

Trustee:

Ms. Loralea Carruthers

Inside this issue:

Character Matters 2

Planning for Sept. 2

EQAO Testing 2

Got Wheels? Get a

Helmet!

3

Lost & Found 3

Hey Amateur Pho-

tographers!

3

Lunch Hour Rou-

tines

3

School Council 4

School Dress Code 4

Volunteers Needed 4

Be Sunsmart! 4

International Lan-

guages Program

5

Career Cruising for

Languages Program

6

Healthy Smiles On-

tario

7

Homework Help 7

Calendar 8

Bikes, Skateboards, Rollerblades and Scooters

We would appreciate if you would please

reinforce bicycle safety rules with children

who are riding bicycles to school and also

please ensure that helmets are worn. Stu-

dents are expected to walk their bicycles &

scooters to and from the school yard. Stu-

dents should also lock up their bicy-

cles in the bike rack, as the school

assumes no responsibility for bicy-

cles lost, stolen or damaged.

As a staff, we continue to focus on math learning as a key component of our school plan. We

know that math is a critical part of the curriculum, and that it can be daunting for some chil-

dren. Much of our learning has focused on the implementation of a “comprehensive math

program” which includes a balance of mini-lessons, games and puzzles and meaningful prob-

lems.

Recently, we have been working on our use of games and puzzles within the classroom. This

is not simply a matter of engaging in math games for enjoyment (not that there is anything

wrong with thatJ), but rather focused and intentionally selected games that assist students in

consolidating their math skills. We know that engaging in these games assists children in inter-

nalizing their understanding of numbers and number facts, as well as helping them to develop

multiple problem solving strategies. Ask your child if they have played a math game in school

recently and if they can explain the game so that you can play it at home as well.

We would encourage you to explore the many online resources with math games and activi-

ties that are available. One such resource is: http://oame.on.ca/mathies/ . This site is de-

signed for students from K – 12 and has resources based on the Ontario Curriculum. It in-

cludes games and learning tools as well as a variety of other activities.

If you would like to know more about the YRDSB math strategy, I encourage you to watch

our 4 ½ minute youtube video about the comprehensive math program: https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjmoqMpsrEA

Math Tip—Home is where the math is.

Page 2 HLPS Highlights

At our monthly Character As-

semblies, we introduce our

upcoming character trait for

the month. To the right, you

will find this month’s character

poster so that you may speak

with your child about persever-

ance Please engage your child

in talking about what persever-

ance means to them. At

school, we have talked about

the importance of demonstrat-

ing perseverance during the

school day. Please ask you child

how they can demonstrate per-

severance at home,.

Character Matters

Our Character Trait for the Month of May is

Perseverance.

“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the

20th.” Julie Andrews

Character Poster

Planning for September EQAO Testing

Our EQAO Grade 3 and 6 testing is ten-

tatively scheduled to be held from May

25th to June 8th. Please do not schedule

any medical appointments during this time.

Information is available at www.eqao.com and

additional information will be sent directly to

those parents whose children are in Grade 3

or 6. We encourage our Grade 3 and 6 par-

ents to explore the

website and EQAO

resources will also be

shared with the stu-

dents in preparation

for the assessments.

If you will be moving out of our area,

please let the office know of your

intentions at your earliest conven-

ience in writing. We are well un-

der way in planning for September

2016 and it is critical that we have

accurate numbers at all stages of

the process.

Based on our current projec-

tions for the fall, we expect

that our school organization

will contain mainly combined

grade classes.

As student enrolment changes

between now and September,

there may be a need to change

our school organization to meet

Ministry class size guidelines.

At this time, it has not been

finalized which teachers will

teach specific grades. Staffing

decisions will not be finalized

until late summer; therefore,

final class lists will be shared on

the first day of school in Sep-

tember.

We would like to thank Breakfast for Learning

for their ongoing support of our

Healthy Schools Snack Program.

Character Calendar

Respect, Responsibility,

Empathy, Fairness,

Initiative, Honesty,

Integrity, Courage,

Perseverance, Optimism

Page 3 HLPS Highlights

Got Wheels? Get a Helmet!

Activities with wheels are fun and are good ways to get ex-

ercise. It's important to stay safe so that kids can keep ac-

tive. Head injuries are the #1 cause of serious injury and

death to kids on wheels. A helmet could save your child's

life!

Most serious injuries and deaths associated with child cyclists

involve collisions with a motor vehicle. The most severe

injuries are those involving the head and brain; even seem-

ingly minor head injuries may cause permanent brain damage.

Other serious injuries include broken bones, facial injuries

and serious skin abrasions that require grafts.

For scootering, skateboarding and in-line skating activities,

head injuries are often the most serious type of injury, but

broken bones are the most common. Children suffer inju-

ries during these wheeled activities because of a combination

of factors that most commonly include inexperience, loss of

control, lack of traffic safety skills, high speed, and the ten-

dency to attempt stunts and difficult manoeuvres.

It’s the law! The Ontario helmet law came into effect on

October 1st, 1995. Although originally intended to apply to

all ages, it was amended by regulation before enactment to

exempt adults (18 years of age and over). The penalty for

failing to wear a helmet is $105 and applied directly to 16/17

year-olds and to the parents of

those under 16.

Got wheels? Get a helmet!

Hey Amateur Photographers! Lost & Found

The Yearbook Committee is looking for photos for the

2015/16 yearbook. If you have

photos from HLPS field trips,

sporting events or evening func-

tions, they would love to have

them! Please forward electroni-

cally any photos you would like to

share to

holland.landing.ps@yrdsb.ca .

Thank you!

Our Lost & Found is overflowing! If your child has come

home without a jacket, sweater, hoodie or other article of

clothing or perhaps is missing a lunch

bag or water bottle, please come and

take a look. Anything that is not

picked up by the end of June will be

donated to a local charity.

Lunch Hour Routines

As the weather continues to get warmer, some of our older

students wish to leave the school property over the lunch

hour. Our expectation is the students who eat lunch at

school on a regular basis will remain at school in the

good weather as well. Going to local restaurants is

NOT recommended because of lack of supervision as

well as traffic concerns. If leaving over the lunch hour, at

the beginning of the day, students must provide the class-

room teacher with a dated, signed note from a parent identify-

ing where the child will be going over the lunch hour in order

to be able to sign out in the office at lunchtime. If a student

does not have a note, we will not be able to facilitate calls to

parents during the day to gain permission.

Also, if you are picking up your child for an appointment

over the lunch hour, please report to the office and we

will have your child meet you there. Parents are not

permitted on the school grounds during the instructional

day, unless you have signed in at the office and are wear-

ing an HLPS Visitor sticker Thank you for helping us to

keep our students safe!

Page 4 HLPS Highlights

School Dress Code

As the weather turns warm, we would like to remind everyone of our school

dress code. The full dress code is clearly laid out on page 9 of the Start-Up

Package received at the beginning of the year. Please review this with your child.

The key points that we often need to review with students are:

Shoulder straps will be three fin-gers wide

Skirts and shorts must reach ex-tended arm length

Midriffs must be covered

No undergarments will be ex-posed

Thank you for your ongoing sup-port of this school policy.

Healthy Schools

Reminder The next School

Council meeting will

take place on Tuesday,

May 10th, 2016

at 7:00 p.m. in the Art

Room.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

On Wednesday, May 25th, we will be holding our HLPS Track &

Field Meet for Grades 4 to 8 (Rain Date - May 26th). If you can help out for all or part of the day, please contact Mr.

Fasan via the office.

Page 5 HLPS Highlights

Page 6 HLPS Highlights

Page 7 HLPS Highlights

From the moment they’re born, we want our kids to live happy and healthy lives and pro-

tect them from pain. Bumps and bruises will happen, but how can we keep them safe from

pain that can’t be seen – like dental pain?

Good oral health is important for your child’s self-esteem, sense of well-being and their

overall health. Cavities and gum disease can be painful and can lead to serious infections, affecting the growth of adult

teeth. Pain can result in loss of sleep, affect a child’s ability to eat and can impact a child’s ability to learn and attend

school. The best way to treat oral health problems is to prevent them before they start, through regular dental check-

ups.

As of January 1, 2016 thousands of Ontarian children and youth 17 and under are now eligible for free dental care as

part of the Healthy Smiles Ontario program. Healthy Smiles Ontario is a government-funded dental program that

provides free preventive, routine, and emergency dental services for children and youth 17 years old and under from

low-income households.

The program includes regular visits to a licensed dental provider and covers the costs of treatment including:

Check-ups Cleaning Fillings

X-rays Scaling Urgent or emergency dental care

Need more information, including how to apply? Go to http://www.ontario.ca/

healthysmiles or visit your local Public Health Unit.

https://homeworkhelp.ilc.org/

Registration Information

Students may register using their Ontario Education Number (OEN)* and Date of Birth at homeworkhelp.ilc.org.

It is recommended that students use an anonymous username and password when registering.

Teachers and guests can register to access various tools and resources but will be unable to interact in the Tutor Chat

Rooms.

* The OEN may be found on any Provincial Report Card or may be obtained from your school.

As part of the Ministry’s Provincial eLearning Strategy, the Ontario Min-

istry of Education and the Independent Learning Centre launched a new

project called Homework Help. All Ontario Mathematics students

enrolled in Gr. 7 – 10 have access to this resource, including many new

features and online resources.

Students log on to Homework Help and using an interactive chat room,

they can obtain personalized tutoring from a certified Ontario Mathe-

matics teacher. Chats take place Sunday to Thursday evenings from

5:30 – 9:30 pm.

Key Features

Best Sessions

Listen & Learn

Interactive Tutorials

Virtual Locker

Scientific Calculator

Glossary

Classroom Tools & Teacher Supports

Page 8 HLPS Highlights

May 2016 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

24 25

26 27

28

29

30

1 2 (Day 2)

3 (Day 3)

4 (Day 4)

5 (Day 5) Pizza Lunch

Welcome to Kin-

dergarten Evening

6 P.A. Day - No

School

7

8

9 (Day 1)

.

10 (Day 2) Author Visit

from Eric Wal-

ters School Council

Meeting

11 (Day 3) Area Badminton

Tournament

12 (Day 4) Band Trip to

Wonderland

Music Festival

13 (Day 5) Pizza Lunch

14

15 16 (Day 1)

17 (Day 2)

18 (Day 3)

19 (Day 4)

Badminton Re-

gional Tourna-

ment

20 (Day 5)

Bright Colours/

Rainbow Spirit

Day

Pizza Lunch

21

22 23 VICTORIA DAY

24 (Day 1) Character As-

sembly: Perse-

verance

25 (Day 2)

Special Needs Re-

gional Track & Field

Meet HLPS Track & Field

Meet

26 (Day 3)

Rain Date - HLPS

Track & Field

27 (Day 4)

Rain Date - Spe-

cial Needs Track

& Field

Rainforest Cafe

Pizza Lunch

28

29 30 (Day 5) 31 (Day 1)

1

2 3 4 EQAO Testing Window

Intermediate Trip to Camp Tawingo

EQAO Testing Window