Harris Mill Public School

Feb 23rd – Weekly

Posted February 23, 2024

Hello Harris Mill Families, 

It is hard to believe February is almost done, time is moving so quickly because of all the fun we are having at school. Please read the important reminders below and all the best this coming week!  

#1 Pink Shirt Day: Show you Stand against Bullying on Wednesday February 28th by wearing something pink (ie. A pink shirt, construction paper headband) For a full list of Bullying Prevention resources please check out – https://www.pinkshirtday.ca/resources 

#2 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

#3 Provide your input on the 2024-25 School Year Calendars: Planning for the next school year has begun and the Upper Grand District School Board is seeking feedback on the proposed 2024-2025 school year calendars. Staff, students and families in our district are invited to take a few minutes to provide their input on the UGDSB’s draft 2024-2025 School Year Calendars via an anonymous online survey. To learn more and complete the survey, please visit https://www.ugdsb.ca/blog/provide-your-input-on-the-2024-25-school-year-calendars/.

#4 Important – April PA Day date change: The UGDSB has made the decision to move the PA Day originally scheduled for Friday, April 19th, 2024 to Monday, April 8th, 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/

#5 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! 

#6 Pizza Days are Back!:  All ordering is completed through the SchoolCash Online website as of Monday, February 26th.   As a reminder, pizza days will run on Wednesdays at second break from April 3rd through June 19th. There are 12 pizza days in this ordering period. Pizza days are: Apr 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and Jun 5, 12 & 19. 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.

#7 A Guide to Harris Mill Food Orders: To help make things easier, please refer to this quick chart to help with food orders. It will be updated as needed. 

#8 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!  

#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 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.

#11 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.

#12 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/ 

#13 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.

#14 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.

#15 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. 

#16 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

• Cases of respiratory illness generally increase throughout the fall and winter months. Please review the most current guidance from the Ministry of Health throughout the season: https://www.ontario.ca/page/protection-covid-19-and-other-respiratory-illnesses

Harris Mill Important Upcoming Dates:

Wednesday February 28th – Pink Shirt Day to Stand Up Against Bullying (try and wear something pink if you can!)

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