Feb 16th – Weekly

Posted February 16, 2024

Hello Harris Mill Families, 

The snow is back and we are all wondering how long it will last this time! Just a reminder that report cards are now available to see for Term 1. Details to access the reports are below and please check out the other important reminders and have a great family day long weekend! 

#1 Term 1 Report Cards: Access to Term 1 Report Cards for all Harris Mill students are now available to access online. For a reminder on how to access the digital copies of your child’s report card please click this link for more information: https://www.ugdsb.ca/harrismill/2024/02/08/term-1-report-cards-available-feb-14th-how-to-access/ 

Instead of asking each family to print out the document and complete the “Return Slip”, we will be sending home a copy of the “Return Slip” with each student. We ask that families please complete this after reading their student’s Report Card and return it to their student’s teacher. Please direct any questions to your student’s teacher.

#2 IEPS for Term 2: If your child has an IEP with curriculum modifications or alternative expectations, a paper copy has been sent home on the 14th. IEPs with accommodations only are not reprinted at this time.

#3 Monday February 19th is Family Day: Just a reminder that Monday February 19th is the Family Day Holiday and that the School is Closed on this day. Have a wonderful time with your families!

#4 Welcome Mr. Teasdale! We are happy to announce that Mr. Teasdale has joined our staff as the new FI Planning and Core French teacher for the remainder of the year. We are glad he has become a Husky and he will be reaching out to families to introduce himself soon.

#5 Important – April PA Day date change: The Upper Grand District School Board has made the decision to move the PA Day originally scheduled for Friday, April 19, 2024, to Monday, April 8, 2024.They have made this adjustment due to the fact that the solar eclipse is set to occur during school dismissal, when students will not have full supervision and will be travelling home. Complete details about the change can be found here:  https://www.ugdsb.ca/blog/important-april-pa-day-date-change/ 

#6 Parent Digital Resources: Every week we will try to share a resource that parents/families can access to support their child(ren)’s development and learning. This week’s site is the main collection point for most of these resources – The UGDSB’s Parent Involvement Committee’s Community Resources and Partners Website https://www.ugdsb.ca/pic/crp/ When you get a chance please walk through the site and explore! 

#7 Please Call The School: To ensure that all of our students are safe every morning we kindly ask that all parents call the school office (519-856-0309) to let us know if their child will be absent or late. When the office does not have confirmation of where the child is then we must call all available numbers until we have confirmation that the child is safe. Thank you for helping us out with this!  

#8 New English Language Grade on Term 1 and 2 Report Cards: FYI – Recently, the Ontario Ministry of Education shared that English Language Marks (grades 1 to 8) on the Term 1 and 2 Report Cards will be represented by one overall grade or mark which is different from previous years where the grade was divided into 4 areas with a corresponding mark for each. The ministry of education shared the following: “To foster a cohesive approach to both instruction and assessment across the elementary language curriculum, achievement in language will be reported as one overall grade or mark, with supporting comments.” https://www.ontario.ca/page/growing-success-assessment-evaluation-and-reporting-ontario-schools-kindergarten-grade-12#section-1 

#9 Harris Mill and the UGDSB Need Noon Hour Supervisors: Harris Mill PS is actively looking for one more person who can fill in as a Noon Hour Supervisor as needed throughout the week. Also 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/

#10 Live Free Letter to Parents/Guardians: Dear Harris Mill Families, Harris Mill and The Children’s Foundation are working hard to meet the growing need in our community, and that includes fighting food insecurity through our Help Kids Live Free from Hunger campaign. 100% of the funds raised between January 8th and March 1st will go towards providing healthy snacks to students through our Harris Mill Food & Friends student nutrition program. With your help, we can continue to provide healthy snacks for our school community. This year, the need is greater than ever. 1 in 5 children may experience food insecurity, and with rising food prices a healthy Food & Friends meal can cost up to $2.50. Campaigns like Live Free help us continue to meet the growing need within our school community and ensure those most in need feel supported. Please refer to our school cash online to donate to our school’s nutrition program. You can also Click Here to Donate to make a donation to our school’s Live Free campaign through the Children’s Foundation, if you would like a tax receipt for donations of $20 or more. Please remember to select our school from the drop-down list so that your donation will be directed to our school’s nutrition program. Our Nutrition program is available to all students! Maybe they forgot their lunch or are going through a growth spurt and require additional food, or maybe they would like to try the new food we are offering. For whatever reason, there is always food available to our students, so please encourage them to use the program if they would like to. 

On February 29th, 2024, the Nutrition Program is having a “PJ & Pancake Day”. We are asking students to bring in a toonie to help support the program if you are able. We hope you’ll join us in bringing healthy food to hungry minds! With gratitude, Harris Mill

#11 Morning Drop Off: Just a reminder that students should not be dropped off at the school before 8:15 as there is no supervision happening before this time. Also an ongoing reminder that 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 for your help with this to ensure all our students are safe.

#12 Immunization Information from WDG Public Health: A reminder to make sure that your child(ren)’s immunization record is up to date with Public Health. Anyone who has questions about immunization records/exemptions, etc., please contact Public Health (1-800-265-7293 x 7006) or check www.wdgpublichealth.ca for more information.

#13 Booster Juice Orders: You can now order Booster Juice smoothies for your students for 1st break on Fridays!  Orders can be placed through www.boostyourlunch.com.  Navigate to the Elementary tab along the top, pick Harris Mill PS, enter your students name and then select their teacher.  Orders must be placed/cancelled by Wednesdays the same week at 8pm. A portion of each order ($0.75) will be donated back to the school to be used towards teacher wish-lists, technology and playground improvements.

#14 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/ 

#15 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.

#16 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] 

#17 Subway/Pita Pit 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/pitas 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 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.

#19 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. 

#20 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

Harris Mill Important Upcoming Dates:

Monday February 19th – Family Day Holiday (School Closed)

Thursday February 29th – PJ & Pancake Day in Support of the Nutrition Program

Monday March 11th to Friday 15th – March Break Holiday (School Closed)

Categories: News • Newsletter