Nov 23rd – Weekly

Posted November 23, 2023

Hello Harris Mill families, 

As we get closer to the end of November and heading into December our calendar is really picking up. Be sure to check out these important reminders and have a great weekend! 

#1 PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS and PA DAY: This year’s parent/teacher Interviews take place in person during the evening of Thursday, November 23rd and during the professional activity day on Friday, November 24th. The online portal is now closed but if you would still like to have an interview please contact your student’s teacher directly to set up a virtual interview or a meeting at a different time.

#2 Progress Reports: It’s not too late to access your child’s Progress Reports (Grades 1-5) and/or Initial Communications of Learning (Full Day Kindergarten) as they are available online (they went ‘live’ at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15, 2023) at our Report Card Portal. There are a few ways to access your child’s progress report. 

#3 WELCOME: A giant “Welcome” goes out to Christine Little who will be taking over the Grade 1/2 class for Mrs. Terry. We wish Mrs. Terry all the best while on her maternity leave.  

#4 Harris Mill Gives Back: To help kick off the festive season, Harris Mill will be giving back to the community by running our annual 5 Days of Giving Holiday Food Drive. During the week of December 4th – December 8th classes will be collecting non-perishable food items and warm winter socks for our local food bank. On Friday December 8th students are invited to wear fun, colourful, cozy socks to celebrate Harris Mill giving back to our community.

Below you will find a list of items that are in need at our local food bank this year. We are also looking for donations of reusable grocery bags to help pack the donated food items.

Here is a list of the most needed items: Instant Coffee, Jams, Cookies, Kids Snacks, Crackers, Juice, Oil & Laundry Soap.

#5 Harris Mill School Council meets Tuesday Dec 5th  at 7:00 pm at the school or on Google Meet. Click here for more info and the Google Meet link: https://www.ugdsb.ca/harrismill/2023/11/21/parent-council-meets-dec-5th-7pm/

Also, school council is interested in hearing from parents and guardians about their thoughts on the current Grade 1-5 playground. Please take a moment to answer the survey: PLAYGROUND SURVEY LINK (Survey closes December 2nd)

#6 Save the date! Harris Mill presents a Winter Soiree! Stop by December 20th from 6-7:30pm to see some beautiful artwork by our Harris Mill Huskies, play some literacy and math games with your friends and family and to see our winter storybook doors! 

#7 LUNCHLADY: You asked, and we listened!  Parent Council has worked hard to get more lunch options into the school this year.  As of Monday, November 20th, you will have the benefit of choosing to order hot healthy dishes for your students from Lunch Lady.  All you need to do is go online to www.lunchlady.ca, sign up, and register your students.  All ordering and payments are done through this site.  Orders will be delivered every Monday beginning November 27th (aside from holidays and school closures) at second break.  Orders must be placed/cancelled by 7am on the day of delivery.  Not only is this a great fundraiser for our school funds which will go towards teacher wish-lists, technology and playground improvements, but our kids also get the added benefit of a hot lunch of their choice.  Any questions, please reach out to our Lunch Committee Lead Jennifer Shaw at [email protected]

#8 Pizza Days are Back!:  In order to avoid the holiday craziness, school council has opted to open up Pizza orders earlier this year for our next term.   All ordering is completed through the SchoolCash Online website as of Monday, November 13th.   As a reminder, pizza days will run on Wednesdays at second break from January 17 through March 27. There are 10 pizza days in this ordering period. Pizza days are: January 17, 24, 31, February 7, 14, 21, 28, March 6, 20 & 27. If there is an inclement weather school CLOSURE on a Wednesday, that pizza day will be moved to the end of the schedule. If buses are cancelled but school is open, pizza day will run as scheduled unless otherwise communicated. If your student is absent on a day when they would have received pizza, refunds will not be given.

NOTE: Order deadline is December 1st

#9 Kindergarten Donations: The Kindergarten Team is currently looking for donations of small toy cars (hot wheels size), figurines (animals, superheroes, Disney characters, etc), and trucks/diggers (tonka truck size) for outdoor play. If you have any of the above-mentioned items, please drop them off to the main office. Thanks in advance. 

#10 EQAO results 2022-2023

EQAO assessments results for schools in  2022-2023 have been shared through the EQAO website. Please see the results below for students who achieved at or above grade level.

Grade 3 (at level 3 or 4) – Math 58%, Reading 77%, Writing 84%

#11 Bully Prevention Week (Nov 19th to the 24th): Ontario has designated the week beginning on the third Sunday of November as Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week to help promote safe schools and a positive learning environment. Here in the UGDSB we are focusing on Support, Advocacy, Allyship and Action during this week. Harris Mill has been learning all week about what it takes to stop Bullying and how to support others. Sara Westbrook made a special appearance at the school on Nov 21st to share her message with students about the importance of the choices we make and our character as well as much more. Also, Wednesday was Wear Pink Day in support of Bullying Prevention.  

#12 WHY Survey for Parents: UGDSB parents and caregivers are invited to complete the 2023 WHY Survey. This survey, which we are running with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, is for students in Grades 4-12, all staff, and all parents/guardians. Completion of the survey is voluntary. This survey will provide the information we need to inform programs and supports. The results will also help identify opportunities to improve the well-being of children and youth in our community, as well as UGDSB Staff. The survey opened on November 13 and closes on November 24, 2023.Please see the following link to the parent survey: https://is.gd/2024parentwhy 

The information is collected under the authority of Board Policy #204 and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.  Should you have any questions or concerns regarding this research project, please contact: Lyndsey Dossett, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, 1-800-26-7293 ext. 4542, [email protected].

#13 Inclement Weather? Get Updates! UGDSB is sharing information on websites and social media, reminding families of where to get updates/alerts about bus cancellations and delays (i.e. STWDSTS) and where info gets posted about school closures due to inclement weather (i.e. UGDSB websites and social). Please check out the link to learn more: https://www.ugdsb.ca/blog/its-that-time-of-year-again-everything-you-need-to-know-about-ug-inclement-weather-procedures/ 

#14 The Daily Snack Program: is being offered at our school again this year. This program offers nutritious foods to all students to support learning and healthy development. Nutritious food helps kids learn and focus. Because all students have universal access, they are welcome to enjoy food from our nutrition program. We receive funding through The Children’s Foundation Food & Friends program for a portion of the costs and the rest of the cost is covered through donations. If you are able, here is how you can help:

  • Volunteer your time.
  • Donate to the program on the Children’s Foundation Food & Friends donation page . If donating through the Children’s Foundation, be sure to add our school’s name in the box on the donation page so the donation can be directed to our student nutrition program.
  • Donate grocery gift cards.
  • Ask your employer or a local business to donate.
  • Encourage your child to feel comfortable eating healthy food from our program.

Thank you for your support of our student nutrition program and for helping us bring healthy food to hungry minds. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the school.

#15 Harris Mill and the UGDSB Need Noon Hour Supervisors: Harris Mill PS and other UGDSB schools are always looking for parents or community members who are willing to help out as a Noon Hour Supervisors, click here for more information – https://www.ugdsb.ca/harrismill/2023/09/18/ugdsb-career-opportunity-noon-hour-supervisor/

#16 ACCESSIBILITY & EQUITY: There may be times throughout the year when we ask parents to send in money to cover the cost of field trips, pizza, special events, etc. We understand that for some families, these funds may cause financial hardship. We never want a child to miss out due to financial hardship. If you are ever in this situation, please contact the school, and we will arrange to have the school cover the cost.

#17 Subway Fridays are still going strong! Order now for a weekly treat delivered fresh on Fridays. Lunchbox by School Cash Online makes it easy to receive subs on Fridays. Place your order by Sunday at noon each week, or order in advance for several weeks at a time. Cancellations can be made up until the Wednesday before the delivery day. Click on the Lunchbox icon within School Cash Online to order now!

#18 DOGS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY: We kindly ask that all families who walk their dogs to the school refrain from taking their dog into busy areas around the school (ie Kindergarten drop off and pick up areas, the back tarmac and sidewalk of the school area during drop off and pick up times). We have many students who for various reasons are uncomfortable around dogs and to help these students transition easier to and from school we ask that all dogs be kept well away from these areas around the school. Thank you for your help and understanding. 

#19 ILLNESS PREVENTION: KEY PROTECTIVE MEASURES – As a school, we want to remind everyone of the importance of many standard protective strategies to help keep staff and students safe and healthy. Strategies such as frequent hand washing, respiratory etiquette and making the most of our outdoor spaces for learning continue to contribute to the health and well-being of students and staff. Classes in the UGDSB will continue to have a standalone HEPA filter unit, with more than 2500 units deployed across the system. In addition to these measures, the UGDSB will continue to support students, staff and visitors to our schools and respect their individual choices about masking. 

Management of Illness in Schools – The UGDSB will continue to follow the direction of WDGPH for appropriate responses to illnesses in our community. Please visit their website for the most current information about COVID-19: https://wdgpublichealth.ca/covid-19/covid-19-information-public/status-cases-wdg

#20 Morning Drop Off Safety: To help us ensure the safety of all our students at Harris Mill, parents are asked to stay on the edge of the tarmac close to the yellow posts when dropping off their grade 1-5 child(ren) before school starts. If parents are dropping their child off late (Kindergarten to Gr.5) Please go to the front office doors and connect with the Office staff. Thank you!

#21 Wanting to Volunteer at Harris Mill?: We really appreciate and value all our parent and guardian volunteers who give up some of their time to help us out, whether that be in the school or on a field trip. To get started volunteering this year there are a couple of actions to take. 

  1. Anyone who is new to the volunteer role at Harris Mill must first contact Ms. Evans, our Office Coordinator, for full information on how to submit a vulnerable sector check. 
  2. Those volunteers who have already submitted a vulnerable sector check to the school previously must also see Ms. Evans to complete a quick annual offence declaration. Please note: Following the UGDSB Policy 205: School Volunteers, your vulnerable sector check remains valid for 5 years, as long as you sign a yearly Volunteer Agreement with Annual Offence Declaration.

Harris Mill Important Upcoming Dates:

Thursday November 23rd – Parent Teacher Interviews after school

Friday November 24th – PA Day – Parent Teacher Interviews – School Closed for students

Friday December 1st – Pizza Day Orders are Due

Monday December 4th to Friday December 8th – HARRIS MILL 5 DAYS OF GIVING

Tuesday December 7th – School Council meets at 7pm

Wednesday December 20th – Harris Mill presents a Winter Soiree (6pm to 7:30pm

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