Windsor Forks District School Volume 1 Back-To-School Newsletter September 6, 2018

**SEE IMPORTANT INFO AND STAFF LIST IN THIS EDITION**

A few important tasks for parents and guardians:

See “Important Information for Parents/Guardians” notice for a few important tasks for parents and guardians that was sent home on the first day.

Plan to attend our informal Open House on Wednesday, Sept. 19 (6:00-7:00 pm)(NOTE CHANGE in date from calendar sent home) – children welcome. This will be an Open House and offers a chance to meet some staff and other families, have a look around our school.

Check WFDS website for calendar websites

Watch for news and updates in ELECTRONIC monthly school newsletters, notices, and on our school website – see below for more info. Let the office know how you wish to receive monthly newsletters and notices (paper only, electronic only or both).

Make sure your volunteer checks are up to date so you can be part of our valuable team of volunteers! Contact Mrs. Jackson for info.

Watch for information from your Home and School Association on how you can get involved in your school! First meeting is Sept. 19 at 7pm. (NOTE CHANGE in date). Meetings are generally scheduled for the third Tuesday of every month (see school calendar).

Message from the Principal - September 2018

Dear Families, I am pleased to welcome new and returning students, families and staff to WFDS for the 2018-2019 school year! We have a number of new staff members this year who are excited to join our dedicated team!

Late staff changes mean we still have a few positions to fill in the coming weeks. You can see the full updated staff list on the back page of this newsletter. Ms. Jacinda Miller will be in the grade P/1 class for the next two weeks, getting the class routines established and making sure the class gets off to a smooth start. Ms. Sarah Brown will be filling the part time resource/Early Literacy Support positions for the first two weeks. Both positions have been posted, and substitutes will be in place until the hiring process can be completed. As happens each year, some families have re-located to other school districts, and we’re happy to welcome a few new families to our area. We currently have approximately 134 students, in six classes, for the 2018-19 school year.

Our staff has been working hard over the past weeks to have everything ready for another fabulous year! Many have attended courses and workshops over the summer and everyone has been busy getting things organized for a new year!

In August we had new flooring installed in five classrooms, as well as the offices and entry area. Having to empty these rooms for re-tiling provided us with a great opportunity to purge, re-organize and refresh some of our spaces. We will continue practicing TLC: “Talk, Listen, Change”, our whole school approach to help students manage interpersonal conflicts. We will also continue with our whole Class Behavior Management Plan throughout the school. Look for more information and talk to your child’s teacher if you have questions about either of these. An exciting project for the upcoming year at our school is the development of a Makers Space. In June we learned that we had been approved for an “Inspiring Schools” grant of $25 000! In short, this project will provide students with an enhanced

opportunity to develop their creativity, problem solving, social and life skills through venues such as art, technology and construction. We will be seeking donations of tools, materials and volunteers! Watch for more information very soon, including a list of materials we want to collect (things like wood scraps, hardware, fabric, yarn, buttons, and many more items you may have around your house!).

Parent and community involvement is crucial if we are to provide valuable learning opportunities for our students outside the classroom. Please be sure to complete your volunteer application form and required checks so you can help with our new Maker Space, on class outings, and around the school in a variety of capacities. Our first scheduled outing for this year is Future Farmers Friday for grades 3-5 on September 14. We will need volunteer chaperones in order to attend. Strong parent support is needed to ensure we can continue to offer special events and opportunities like this!

We hope to see you out for our Open House on Wednesday, Sept 19th from 6-7 PM (Note change in date). This will be an informal event so bring the family and feel free to come for as little or as much of the scheduled time as you like! Please give me a call if you would like to volunteer, or anytime you have any questions or concerns.

Yours Truly, Mrs. Shelley King, Principal Home – School Communication: Ongoing communication between home and school is very important. You can expect a written Communication Plan to come home from your child’s teacher very soon. Please talk to the teacher if you have any questions about the school year and how we can work together to meet your child’s particular needs. As parents/guardians you have an important role as first teachers and ongoing partners in your child’s educational journey.

Alert Messaging System Update: Check Your Contact Preferences The Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education (AVRCE) uses the “Alert” messaging system in PowerSchool to send occasional texts and emails to notify parents/guardians of school cancellations (snow days) and other important information. Our school uses the Alert system (mainly emails) for attendance, reminders, notices and monthly newsletters. Occasionally we will send texts and or recorded phone messages for more urgent messages. The Alert system uses the contact information you provide on your child’s registration form to send messages. Parents/guardians do not need to sign up to receive these Alert messages. If your phone number, email or other contact information changes at any time during the school year, please notify the school office. Over the summer, the Alert system was updated, which reset all parent/guardian contact preferences. This reset means that all parents/guardians will receive emails, texts and phone messages from the school, as well as emails and texts (including school cancellation notices) from AVRCE, unless you change your contact preferences. Carrying your previous contact preferences forward during this update was not an option available to AVRCE. If you changed your contact preferences in the past, or would like to do so for the first time (for example, to receive only texts but no email or phone messages), you will need to update your preferences using the PowerSchool Parent Portal (https://sisavrsb.ednet.ns.ca/public), or by contacting the school office. Please be aware that choosing to receive no messages may prevent you from getting school cancellation notices! AVRCE also provides a secondary notice service, Notify Me, so school community members (such as grandparents and childcare providers) can sign up to receive school cancellation notices by text or email. Notify Me has not been reset; all subscribers from previous years remains in this system. School

https://sisavrsb.ednet.ns.ca/public

community members can unsubscribe from Notify Me at www.avrce.ca/content/notify-me.

Newsletter Delivery: You can expect a newsletter the first Monday of each month. Please read the important information included in this and future newsletters. We will send the newsletter electronically via email through our alert system (“SwiftK12”) using the email addresses we have on file in PowerSchool. Please inform the office if you would like to receive paper copies. Also notify the office if your email changes. Monthly newsletters, our school calendar, and other important notices from the school and community will also be posted on our school website http://www.wfds.ednet.ns.ca Class Assignments: Students were assigned to classes today. With families moving in and out, and class cap considerations, class lists frequently fluctuate right up until the last minute. While we hope we are set now for the year, please understand that changes may be required in the coming weeks if new students arrive. Supports for Students:

We will have Guidance Counsellor services at WFDS each Wednesday, working with individuals, small groups and full classes. Parent consent will be obtained for formal individual counselling.

The school library will be open on Tuesdays. Students will visit the library in half-class groups every other week. Books can be signed out for a two week period. In addition, our classroom libraries have a broad range of fiction and non-fiction texts for student use. We also have a parent lending library in the front entry of the school. Please feel free to borrow any of the books on display.

Each class will have two Physical Education classes and two Music classes each week. Classroom teachers will also provide opportunity for physical activity.

Resource Programming (Academic, Life Skills and Behaviour Support), as well as Reading Recovery, Early Literacy Intervention and Math

Intervention Programs will be provided for identified students.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES:

Live traps are being set on the school grounds this weekend to try and deal with an ongoing you and raccoon issue. DO NOT go into the wooded area if your family are using the playground on the weekend.

Please refer to the WFDS Parent/Student Handbook for information on school procedures, playground guidelines, etc.

Check out the school website at: www.wfds.ednet.ns.ca for lots of info – updates occur regularly!

Sign up for the AVRSB “In Touch” newsletter and to receive school cawww.avrce.ca ncellation notices from the school board at

Want to volunteer at your child’s school? School board policy requires all school volunteers to have Child Abuse Registry and Criminal Records Checks completed every three years, as outlined in the attached information. Forms will be able at Meet and Greet on Sept 19th (note change in date) or see Mrs. Jackson in the main office for more information. This includes school trips and special events – get your checks completed early so you will be ready when the time comes! Please talk to your child’s teacher, Mrs. Jackson or Mrs. King if you are interested in being a regular volunteer at WFDS.

WFDS is a “nut smart” school. We have students with severe allergies to peanuts. Therefore we ask that you not send products containing peanuts to school. This includes anything that “may contain peanuts”. If you use “wow” butter or other replacements, help us by sending a note in the lunchbox indicating that it is a nut-free product (to avoid confusion). THANK YOU!

http://www.avrce.ca/content/notify-mehttp://www.wfds.ednet.ns.ca/http://www.wfds.ednet.ns.ca/http://www.avrce.ca/

We are a ‘scent smart’ school. Please avoid using scented products.

School Photos will be taken Wednesday, Sept. 12th. Re-take day is Monday, Oct. 1st.

Student Attendance Again this year we will be recognizing WFDS students who achieve excellent attendance (5 or fewer absences over the course of the year), as well as monthly excellent attendance. We will also send home individual attendance updates each reporting period. Consistent student attendance is important. When a child is frequently absent or late for school he/she misses important learning experiences. The real danger of frequent absences from school is that students will develop gaps in their skills that will hinder future learning. It is understood that there are legitimate reasons why students must miss school. When this occurs, the school will work with you to ensure your child does not fall behind. Please communicate these situations with your child’s teacher. There are also situations where students miss significant time when it is not necessary. Please take school attendance seriously. Be consistent in ensuring that your child values the importance of a good education. Make sure he/she goes to bed at a reasonable time and gets a good night’s sleep. Plan your vacation at times that will have no impact, or at the least a minimal impact, on school attendance. Do not hesitate to phone the school if you are encountering difficulties getting your child to attend school. Allow us to work with you to find solutions. We are willing to work with you to look at your child’s programming and school experiences as well as any other factors that may impact on your child attending school.

Resolving Concerns

If you have concern about your child at school, we want to work with you to resolve it. We encourage you to start by communicating with your child’s

teacher—open communication can often help resolve concerns at this level. If you feel more action is needed, please contact the principal. If the concern still requires attention, staff at our Regional Office can help. For details, please visit https://www.avrce.ca/parentguardian-concerns

Nourish Your Roots Fundraiser The Nourish Your Roots Healthy School Fundraiser is coming to our School next week!

Support our school and local farmers by selling boxes filled with root vegetables and may include fruit fresh from the farm. Our School is taking part in the Nourish Your Roots healthy school fundraiser again. This fundraiser will promote local food and healthy eating as well as raise funds to support our “Cook to Learn” program and other food related health promotion activities at our school. Educational tools and resources will be included with every package to help with food preparation, storage, recipes and “kids in the kitchen” ideas.

The selling period is Sept 10-21. Money is payable to the Windsor Forks District School and must be returned with the orders by Friday, Sept. 21st. If you or a customer would like to donate a box to the school please phone the school office. Pick-up will take place on Monday, Oct. 1st, between 2:15pm to 3:30pm at the school. For additional information about this fundraiser please visit nourishns.ca/nourish-your-roots.

Watch for more detailed information and order forms to come home next week.

https://www.avrce.ca/parentguardian-concernshttps://nourishns.ca/nourish-your-roots

WFDS STAFF Administration Shelley King Principal Teaching Staff Kathy Spence Primary TBA (sub-Jacinda Miller) Gr P/1 Vaunda MacDonald Grade 1/2 Kim Armstrong Grade 3 Kate Sircom Grade 4 Jen MacNeil Grade 5 Jackie Allen P-5 Physical Education

(Mon/Wed/Thurs) Keshia Laffin P-5 Music (Tues, Wed, Fri) Carolyn Wheaton Reading Recovery (gr 1) Kerry Pemberton Math Intervention (gr 2&3) Maggie Kenny Resource/Learning Centre/

Behavior Intervention (gr P-5) TBA (sub-Sarah Brown) Part time Resource/Early

Literacy (gr P-2) Christie Hartlin Guidance (Wednesdays)

Operational Support Staff Jackie Card Custodian Karen Fitzgerald Cafeteria

Administrative Support Pam Jackson Secretary Instructional Support Staff Wendy Bacon Educational Assistant Christina Baker Educational Assistant Gail Benedict Educational Assistant Andrea Boyd Educational Assistant Suzanne Christian Educational Assistant Kathy Freeman-Hatcher Educational Assistant Lisa Whitehead Educational Assistant Bonnie Smith Library Support (Tues) AM Bus Drivers PM Bus Drivers Michelle Elwood Frasher (Buddy) Hebb Roy Wheeler Connie Trider Frasher (Buddy) Hebb Randy Swinamer Scott Arsenault Connie Trider AVRSB Board Support Staff Krista Lunn Speech Language Pathologist Jessica Morash Educational Psychologist Jamie Swinamer Learning Disabilities Specialist Ruth Manning Learning Ctr/Autism Support Lee Reynolds Consultant of Psychological Services Emilie Smith School Plus Facilitator Kim Siler Schools Plus Outreach Worker Kristen Hubley Attendance Support Worker

Home and School Contacts Come out and get involved! Watch for Newsletters from your Home and School! President: Melanie Skelhorn 902-472-2927 wfdshands@hotmail.com Vice President: Cynthia Duey Treasurer: Amanda Wamboldt Secretary: TBA

Community Events

Looking for the direct route to Fall fun? Visit NSConnect.ca for all the recreation, sport, arts, and cultural programs, activities and events close to home and through-out the Province this Fall.

REGISTRATION

THURSDAY SEPT. 13 6:00-8:00PM

AVON VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

Programs Available:

Little Dribblers- 8 week coed program for Grades P thru 2

Male & Female Teams:

Jr. Mini (players born 2009 & 2010)

Mini (players born 2007 & 2008)

Bantam (players born 2005 & 2006)

Midget (players born 2002 and 2004)

www.shootingstarbasketball.ca

Email: shootingstar@shootingstarbasketball.ca

UNDERSTANDING · ACCEPTANCE · INCLUSION

Providing programs and supports for children, teens, and adults with autism. Come check out our sensory gym and calming room. Volunteers are always needed – Consider joining our team!

http://www.shootingstarbasketball.ca/mailto:shootingstar@shootingstarbasketball.ca