Lake Simcoe Public School May 3, 2017

Heather MacLeod, Principal Heather Rocca, Vice Principal

Dates to Note

May 8—Jump Rope for Heart

Kick Off Assembly

May 10, 11, 12—Scholastic Book

Fair

May 11— Kindergarten

Orientation Evening 4:30 pm

May 15—Track & Field

May 16—Grade 7 & 8

Immunizations

May 17—Arts Night

May 19—P.A. Day

May 22—Victoria Day

May 24—June 5—EQAO

Are you Moving this Summer?

Please let Mrs. Patamia know if you are planning on a move out of our school boundary this summer. This information helps us when planning our classrooms for September and helps your child’s new school plan theirs. Remember to register your child at their new school as soon as possible. To do this you will need their Birth Certificate and Immunization records. Thank you for keeping us up-to-date in the office. We appreciate it!

Kindergarten Orientation Session on May 11, 2017

This spring, we are hosting an orientation session to welcome new Kindergarten students and their parents to our school. Come experience

what life is like in Kindergarten! Explore areas of the program, meet Kindergarten educators and have the chance to ask questions. Our school’s

session takes place on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 4:30 pm. We look forward to welcoming you! For more information, visit www.scdsb.on.ca, click

on ‘Programs,’ ‘Kindergarten’ and then ‘Kindergarten Orientation.’

School start dates for September 2017 are as follows:

SK (Year 2) students will begin school on Tuesday, September 5th and JK (Year 1) students will begin school on Thursday, September 7th

To register your child (born in 2013 or earlier) for September, please bring your child’s proof of birth, immunization records and proof of address to the school between 8:30 am and 3:30 pm.

Mindful Arts Night—May 17th from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm

Please join us on Wednesday May 17th to explore how the arts can contribute to our mental health and well-being.

We will have music presentations, buskers, children’s art gallery and sale along with local community organizations who will share the services they provide.

All students will be producing pieces of art which will be available for sale with ALL proceeds going directly towards our Arts programs and resources.

You are invited to attend a presentation by Jae Fratzl – Art Therapist who will be speaking at 6:00 pm in the gym about how the arts can support our mental health and well being.

Dr. Marcia Benjamin, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist will also be speaking between

6:30 – 7:30. The topic of discussion will be anxiety with the focus on supporting students

with anxiety and how to develop resilience, as well as parenting tips and practical

applications.

Child care for school aged children will be provided during the presentations. Please be

sure to complete and return your request for child care needs.

Pizza and water will be available by pre-order. Watch for the Mindful Arts Night Flyer to come home soon!

Summer Camp

To many people, summer camp for kids might appear like nothing more than fun and games. However, a study conducted by

the University of Waterloo supports what camp directors have been saying for decades – camp is a setting for positive youth

development where invaluable life skills are acquired and nurtured. Youth development experts agree that children need a

variety of experiences in their lives to help them grow into healthy adolescents and adults. Here are five critical life skills that

are fostered at summer camp:

Getting along with others – Talk to any camp alumni and you’ll likely hear how some of their most meaningful friendships and lessons on how to get along with others came from camp.

Overcoming challenges – According to the ParticipACTION Report Card, over-supervising kids or keeping them indoors to ensure they are safe limits their opportunities for physical activity. Camp provides a safe environment, allowing children to freely learn how to overcome challenges and develop and grow their capabilities.

Getting active – A recent Statistics Canada study found that only seven per cent of youth aged six to 19 got the recommended hour a day of exercise they need. Summer camp is a great way for kids to stay active all summer and ensure they are surrounded with great role models and supportive friends.

Unplugging –We know that when children are connected with their environment, they are healthier and happier. Summer camp provides kids with the opportunity to “unplug” and help them build social skills while enjoying all the activities of the great outdoors.

Leadership – When it comes to developing strong leaders, camp provides both implicit and explicit training including morals, ethics, problem solving, teamwork and life skills.

To learn more about the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka summer camps, visit www.ymcasummercamp.ca.

Shine Green for Mental Health Week, May 1 to 7

The Canadian Mental Health Association invites us

to wear green during Mental Health Week. Be sure

to share online with the hashtag #GETLOUD. Going

green for mental health is a simple way for all of

us to recognize that we must make mental health

a priority. Visit www.greenformentalhealth.ca for

more information.

Are you Looking for Work?

The Simcoe County District School Board’s Career Centre is ready to help at no cost to you. The Career Centre has experienced, professional employment consultants available to help job searchers prepare for and find work. Visit the Career Centre for resources, including the use of computers, internet, printer, fax, information sessions, job board and online postings. No appointment necessary and the Centre is open Monday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information on the services available, visit barriecareercentre.com or call 705-725-8990. This Employment Ontario service is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

EQAO

May brings our annual EQAO testing for students in grades three and six. The dates for testing this year are between May 24

and June 5, 2017. Teachers have been preparing students for the EQAO testing during the past few months. The assessment

requires students to participate for approximately one hour each day. In our partnership with parents to help their students

achieve success, we have created a list of things parents can do to ensure that each student has a positive experience when

writing the assessment.

BEFORE THE ASSESSMENT

Mark the assessment dates on your calendar at home

Discuss the assessment with your child; ask about activies that are being done in class to prepare for the test

Help your child feel comfortable by letting them know that we only want them to do their best

DURING THE ASSESSMENT

Support your child by discussing the daily assessment activities

Avoid making appointments on assessment days as attendance is crucial

Ensure your child has a good night’s sleep and is well rested

Put together extra supplies for your child including pencils, a sharpener and erasers.

Class Placements

As our school year draws to a close, staff at LSPS will begin the process of setting up tentative class lists for the new school

year. Since we are in a growing area, we anticipate that several new students will move into our school community during

the summer months. We understand that many parents would love to hear where their child will be placed by the end of

June, however, we will be unable to share this information with our families at that time. Once we have determined how

many students will be registered at our school in each grade we will be able to create our class lists.

Staff members will be meeting soon to begin planning classes for next year. The process is very thoughtful, complex and time

consuming. Several factors are taken into account in the careful placement of all students into their classes. e.g., the

emotional and academic needs of our students, balance of boys and girls in each class, the professional view of the child’s

teacher from the previous year; class size and staffing requirements etc. Each year we receive a few parent requests related

to class placement. Please understand that while it is challenging to accommodate all parent requests due to our limited

options and the parameters we need to follow while creating class lists, we will take your requests into consideration if they

are made for academic reasons. Please be aware we are not able to honour requests for specific teachers.

Please send requests in writing to Mrs. MacLeod by Thursday, May 18, 2017. Students will be notified of their tentative class

placements on Tuesday, September 6th.

Early Pickup If you are picking your child up before the end of the school

day, please send a note in your child’s agenda and arrive a

few minutes early to school. We will call your child to the

office for pick up once you arrive.

Please do not call ahead as we do not have supervision for

students waiting to be picked up in the office.

Thank you.

Grade 8 Graduation Our Grade Graduation has been scheduled for

Wednesday, June 28, 2017.

More details will follow this month as we plan our very

first Graduation Celebration for the first graduating

class of Lake Simcoe Public School!

Vaccination Reminder for Parents of Grade 1 Students

All students must have an up-to-date immunization record on file at the health unit. Since starting Kindergarten, your child

may have received new immunizations. If so, you must send their updated immunization records to the Simcoe Muskoka

District Health Unit for:

Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Polio

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella

Meningococcal disease

Two-doses of a Chickenpox (Varicella) containing vaccine

If your child will not be getting these vaccines, you will need to give the health unit a valid medical exemption or affidavit. To

complete either of these forms, you can call the health unit. Your child could be temporarily suspended from school if the

health unit does not have an up-to-date record on file.

Follow these steps to help protect everyone in your school community:

Check your child’s yellow immunization card

Contact your health care provider to get a record or to get missing vaccines

Share the complete record with the health unit at www.smdhu.org/immsonline or fax the record to the health unit at 705-726-3962

For more information, visit the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s website at: www.simcoemuskokahealth.org.

Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

SCHOOL BUS WEATHER ZONE: CENTRAL — www.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca

LAKE SIMCOE PUBLIC SCHOOL 1701 Webster Boulevard

Innisfil, ON

L9S 2A6

(705)431-0668

Press 1 for Safe Arrival

Heather MacLeod, Principal

Heather Rocca, Vice Principal

Julieanne Patamia, Senior Admin

Leslie McCallum, Clerk Steno

Safe Arrival

We appreciate all of our families who call into our Safe Arrival line to report their children’s absences daily (705)431-0668 x1.

A reminder that our Safe Arrival Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If your child will be late or absent, please let us know before 9:30 am. Thank you for your help in keeping our students safe.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 Grade 5 Students to Tim Horton’s Camp

3 4 5 6

7

8 Jump Rope for Heart Assembly

9

10 11 Kindergarten Orientation Evening 4:30 until 6:00 pm

12 13

14 15 School Council 6:15 pm Track & Field at Nantyr Shores

16 Grade 7 and 8 Immunizations

17 Mindful Arts Night!

18 Character Recognition Evening at the SCDSB Track & Field Rain Date

19 P.A. Day

20

21 22 Victoria Day

23

24 EQAO Begins and runs until June 5th

25 26 27

28 29 30 31 1 2 3

May 2017