Falmouth District School

FALMOUTH DISTRICT SCHOOL October 1st, 2017 Volume 2

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

PRINCIPAL’S NOTES

Our first month of school is behind us and we have all settled into routines and life back at school! September went smoothly and everyone has adjusted to the transition. Our biggest change this year has been to our cafeteria. As I had stated we lost Mrs. Russell in June when she took another position at Wolfville School. With this change I took the opportunity to look at other options for us. I had discussions with the principal at the adult high school in Windsor and they offer a Food Services and Hospitality Certificate where students need to complete on the job training through a coop program. We agreed this would be a great opportunity for the students in this program to gain some valuable skills for the work force as well as build onto some of our programming here at Falmouth for our older students and give them some real world experiences to relate to curriculum outcomes taught in the classrooms. We ran into a hiccup when the school year started and government hadn’t yet released its budget and therefore funding had not been targeted for the food service and hospitality program. I decided I would begin the lunch program here without certainty of the funding so our students would have a hot lunch program. I have a group of parents who have volunteered to help prep food on Sunday evenings from 6-8. If there are any other parents who can make it we would love the help. I am hoping that we will be stocked ahead enough after this Sunday to only meet every second week to prep fresh veggies and fruit. I am thinking it would be nice to post our recipes we use on our website under the cafeteria tab so that parents could use them at home if they wish. As I stated in my email. We are able to target profits from our cafeteria for items that are related to healthy lifestyles and eating (garden space to grow our own food to use in the cafeteria, playground equipment to improve physical fitness and equipment for our physical education program). I want to thank our volunteers who have offered to help on Sundays as well as all who support our cafeteria daily. We are building a menu of healthy options that are made from local ingredients and made from scratch. Our board has a nutritionist working with our schools with the end goal being food made from scratch on site using as many local food sources as possible. We are well on our way to accomplishing that goal. Although the calendar has changed to fall our temperatures certainly have not made that shift. It has been a very humid and sticky few days and the students and staff have been feeling the heat. At some point in the near future I suspect our temperatures will change and we will see more seasonal weather. Students will need warmer clothes in the morning and shed them as the day warms up. This often results in a growing lost and found bin here at school! If your child comes home missing an item of clothing please feel free to take the time to come in and look through our tubs. We are still waiting to finalize after school program details. I will let you know as soon as those are in place and we can start to offer programs for our students. DROP OFF LOOP – I wanted to remind parents when coming into park in the parking lot you must enter off Gabriel Rd. The drop off loop only exits left though the parking lot to School Street. The parking lot is a one way path as we have walking students who travel through the parking lot toward the front door. New paint has been applied to the pavement to indicate the exit on to School Street. We will be getting additional arrows and signage to help clarify this was well. Thank you for your cooperation.

Food For Thought Raffle – Tickets have gone home for the raffle to support our Breakfast Program. This event is coordinated through the Windsor Rotary Club and they have been great supporters of helping to make sure all students have something in their bellies before school in the morning. Tickets need to be turned in by Oct. 13th.

CANTEEN

Monthly menus will be posted on the website. Gardens: If anyone has extra produce like carrots, peppers, tomatoes, apples, cucumbers, etc. Coming out of their gardens and would like to donate it to the school we would gladly use it for soups and sauces. Thank You

GRAND FRIEND TEA PARTIES

Each of the P-2 classes will host a Tea Party in the fall and another one in the spring. Invitations will come home the week before your child’s Tea Party. We would ask that you make every effort to find an older person, grandparent, neighbor, aunt, uncle, family friend to come as a guest. It is a chance for your child to expand their social skills. Here is the tentative schedule: DATE TEACHER GRADE LEVEL ROOM # Thursday, November 2, 2017 Mrs. Leary Two 1 Tuesday, November 7, 2017 Mrs. Fry Two 5 Thursday, November 9, 2017 Mrs. Mulloy One 2 Tuesday, November 14, 2017 Mrs. Reid/Mrs. Shields Primary 4 Thursday, November 16, 2017 Mrs. Heffernan Primary/One 3 PHYSICAL EDUCATION

CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING - Cross Country Running is a curriculum event this year with all students in grades 3, 4 & 5 participating in three separate events. The first event was held on September 28th at Brooklyn District School. The second event will be held at Eldridge Road Park on October 5th. The final event will be held at Three Mile Plains School on October 13th. Students are bussed to and from the events and participate in the activity as part of the PE curriculum. Emphasis is placed on completing the course to the best of each student’s ability, and to cheer on everyone, regardless of the school they are representing. It is an amazing experience to witness all students encouraging each other during the events. To prepare for cross county running, students have worked on their physical fitness with challenges such as: The 100 Club Challenge, Stay or Flee, Fast or Strong. Busy bodies in each class helps build stamina.

TERRY FOX RUN - The Terry Fox Run was held on Thursday, September 21st at our school, with students (as able) donating “A Toonie for Terry”. Students gathered in the gym for an assembly to learn about Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope. Together, we learned that like Terry, we can set goals, follow our dreams and to do our best no matter what situation we are facing. We also wore stickers across our hearts to honour those we walked or ran for that afternoon. Thank you to everyone for a wonderful event!

PROPER GYM CLOTHES REMINDER - Most students are doing very well coming prepared with proper gym clothes for indoor and outdoor PE classes. Older students will be asked to include reminder notes in their agenda if they are missing gym clothes frequently. If your child’s gym clothes are missing, please check lost and found bins in the change rooms and the bus hallway. A reminder that outdoor sneakers are preferred for outdoor gym classes as they are safer than crocs, sandals or boots for PE games and activities

SCHOOL PHOTOS

School pictures will be taken at the school on Wednesday, October 18th, 2017.

SCENT-FREE SCHOOL

Parents/Guardians are reminded that Falmouth Elementary is a Scent-Free School. Many people are extremely sensitive to perfumes, colognes, aftershaves and other scented products. You are asked to refrain from wearing anything with a strong scent while in the school. RECYCLING INK CARTRIDGES

Falmouth School is registered for the Staples Recycling Program once again this year. There is a collection box in our main office if you would like to donate empty cartridges.

NO SCHOOL DATES FOR OCTOBER

DATE EVENT Monday, October 2, 2017 Home & School Meeting 6:30 Monday, October 9, 2017 Thanksgiving Holiday (NO SCHOOL) Wednesday, October 18, 2017 School Picture Day Friday, October 20, 2017 EARLY DISMISSAL – 11:10 Friday, October 27, 2017 NO SCHOOL – Provincial Conference Day

HOME & SCHOOL

Happy Fall! And with fall comes the end of our first fundraiser. Nourish your Roots are due at the absolute October 2nd. The boxes will be delivered on October 17th with pick up from 4pm – 7pm. Thank you one and all for your support! It is an amazing group and a delicious fundraiser!

Our next big event is our 3rd Annual Christmas Craft Fair. The date is set on Saturday, November 25th. If you would like to have a table send us an email at [email protected] and we will send you out a form.

Our next meeting will be Monday, October 2nd, 2017 at 6:30pm in the library. All are welcome, we hope to see you there!!!

Supernatural Kids

Supernatural Kids is a fun Christian afterschool program. All elementary age kids are welcomed. Date: Monday, October 16th - 2:15pm to 4pm at the Falmouth District School. A note of permission is required in order to stay. Please include a contact number and any known allergies. Contact Joan O’Reilly for more information 902-798-7257 LIBRARY

October is a time for reflecting on what we are grateful for, “Pumpkin People”, the great “pumpkin regatta” and getting ready for the “HACKMATACK” reading club. We are patiently waiting for the books to arrive. Last year we had quite a fewparticipants. I am very proud of them, they were very self-motivated readers..Many of the participants read all 20 books. I am excited to see who participates this year and what Canadian books we will be reading. I do know that one book is called Chasing the Phantom Ship and is written by a Nova Scotia teacher Deborah Toogood. Maybe some of your teachers have heard of her.

Just a quick reminder that our fall book fair will be coming up in November. I will be sending notices home looking for volunteers as the date gets closer. The Book Fairs would not be so successful without the help of our parent/family volunteers. You keep the event running smoothly. Reminder: Library days are Tuesday and Thursday.

Mrs. Meuse

We’ve had a great start to the school year in the music room with lots of singing, games, movement and using instruments. Once a month students in grade 3, 4 and 5 will have a mini concert during their regular music time. This is an opportunity for individuals or groups to share with their classmates any special talents they may have such as singing, juggling, skits, playing a musical instrument. This is totally on a volunteer basis for those who wish to take part. It is also an excellent opportunity to discuss and practice appropriate audience behaviour.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child or the music program please do not hesitate to contact me at the school (902) 792-6710. I am at Falmouth three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday & Friday) and at Windsor Elementary on Monday and Wednesday until February and then the schedule flips. COMMUNITY EVENTS

Curling Open House for Students

Attention all kids between the ages of 7 to 18 looking for something fun and active to do this fall and winter. How about trying out curling at the Windsor Curling Club? Come to our FREE Open Houses on Sunday, October 29th, Monday, October 30th and / or Thursday, November 2nd for a chance to learn for the first time what this great game is all about or use it as a time to get back on the ice with your curling buddies. Be sure to bring your friends! Instruction on basic curling skills will be available for those first time curlers. This will be a great refresher for returning curlers. All you need to bring is a pair of clean, indoor sneakers. All equipment (including helmets) is available for use at the club.

Open House times: Sunday, October 29th 1-3pm All ages Monday, October 30th 5-6p children in Grades Two to Five (Little Rocks) Thursday, November 2nd 5-6:30 children in Grades Six to Twelve (Juniors)

Fall and Winter Curling Program Schedule:

Mondays, 5-6 pm Little Rocks for children in Grades Two to Five. This program offers beginning skill development instruction and introduction to playing the game of curling.

Tuesdays, 5-6:30pm Juniors for students in Grades Six to Twelve. This program offers beginning and/or appropriate skill development instruction and regular game play.

Thursdays, 5-6:30pm All age groups. This program will offer all children the opportunity to practice individual skill development and participate in in-house games.

The Junior program also supports the Middle School and High School curling teams. New for the 2017/18 season – a number of curling clubs in the Valley are planning to start a Junior league for ages 12 and up. Watch for details to come but the initial plan is for the league to run Saturday mornings.

Cost Little Rocks: $55 for the year, $35 for each additional child in family Juniors: $75 for the year, $35 for each additional child in family Regular curling will start on November 6th for Little Rocks and the 7th for Juniors with registration taking place on those dates. Promoting Positive Behaviours in Children Fall 2017

Thursday Mornings, 10:00-12:00 October 5 – November 23, 2017 SchoolsPlus room, Windsor Elementary School, Windsor

For more information and to pre-register for this course contact SchoolsPlus Emilie Smith or Kim Siler at 902-792-6765

An 8 week program for parents/caregivers of children between 3 and 12 years.

Topics include  Why children misbehave  Positive attention  Increasing cooperation and independence  Reward and incentive programs  Effective discipline strategies  Improving school behaviours  Managing behaviours in public

For whom  Any parent / guardian / caregiver, but especially those managing non-compliant, oppositional, or stubborn children  Parents of children diagnosed with ADHD, ADD and ODD  Parents looking for education, support and assistance

Please let us know if you would like to attend but transportation is an issue. There is no fee to participate. If you or someone you know have a child born between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014?

If you do, register now for WELLNESS CHECK FOR SCHOOL ENTRY 2019

This FREE wellness check is taking place this fall. It provides speech, hearing, vision, dental and other developmental screening for children 2-3 years old who will start school in 2019. Parents will also receive information packages about healthy development and ways to better prepare children for school. The check is open to families with children who will be attending elementary schools in West Hants and Mount Uniacke and those who will be homeschooled.

To register call Lisa at 790-2299 and leave your name and phone number, or register online at www.wellnesscheck.ca and Lisa will call you back to book an appointment.

Sponsored by Family and Community First FALMOUTH DISTRICT SCHOOL CALENDAR 2017-2018 Subject to Change (Watch for Revised “Important Dates” List) REVISED: Sept., 28, 2017

DATE (2017) EVENT

Mon., Oct 2 Home and School Meeting 6:30pm Mon., Oct 9 Thanksgiving Holiday (NO SCHOOL) Wed., Oct 18 School Picture Day Fri., Oct 20 Early Dismissal 11:10am Fri., Oct. 27 NO SCHOOL – Provincial Conference Day

Mon., Nov. 6 Home & School Meeting – 6:30 p.m. TBA Remembrance Day Service Fri., Nov. 10 NO SCHOOL Wed., Nov. 15 Retake Day Mon., Nov. 27 Report Cards go Home Wed., Nov. 29 Early Dismissal 11:10am - P/T Afternoon & Evening Wed., Nov. 30 NO SCHOOL – Regional Shut Down (WE Day) Mon., Dec. 4 Home & School Meeting – 6:30 p.m. Tues., Dec 12 P-5 Christmas Concert Wed., Dec. 20 Christmas Lunch (Gym) Thurs., Dec. 21 Last Day before Christmas Break – EARLY DISMISSAL – 11:10am

DATE (2018) EVENT Wed., Jan. 3 First Day back after Christmas Break Mon., Jan 8 Home & School Meeting – 6:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 17 EARLY DISMISSAL – 11:10 a.m. Literacy Week

Mon., Feb 5 Home & School Meeting – 6:30 p.m. Mon., Feb. 19 NO SCHOOL – Heritage Day

Mon., Mar 5 NO SCHOOL Mon., Mar 5 Home & School Meeting – 6:30 p.m. Fri., Mar. 9 Last Day before March Break Mar. 12-16 MARCH BREAK Mon., Mar. 19 First Day Back after March Break Wed., Mar. 28 Report Cards go Home Fri., Mar 30 NO SCHOOL – Good Friday

TBA Home & School Meeting – 6:30 p.m. Mon., Apr 2 NO SCHOOL – Easter Monday Wed., Apr. 4 Early Dismissal – P/T Afternoon & Evening TBA Jump Rope for Heart Fri., Apr. 20 EARLY DISMISSAL – 11:10 a.m. Thurs., Apr. 26 Primary Parent Meeting – 6:30 p.m.

TBA Primary Registration Day TBA Primary Day Camp Thurs., May 3 EARLY DISMISSAL – 11:10 a.m. Mon., May 7 Home & School – 6:30 p.m. Mon., May 21 NO SCHOOL – Victoria Day

Mon., June 4 Home & School – 6:30 p.m. Wed., June 6 EARLY DISMISSAL – 11:10 a.m. Wed., June 27 NO SCHOOL Thurs., June 28 NO SCHOOL – Marking Day Wed., June 29 Last Day of School – Grade 5/6 Grad. – EARLY DISMISSAL -11:10 a.m.