ILPS March 2019 School Newsletter

Posted March 1, 2019

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The past two days of sunshine have are a reminder that Spring is around the corner!   We are all appreciating longer days (more sunshine!) and the promise of flowers blooming in the near future.

We have had an excellent start to Term 2 here at Island Lake and are looking forward to the next few months of school.  It has been a busy beginning to 2019 – please check out our calendar on our school website to see the amazing events and activities that are going on in the school.

Thank you to our community and our School council for supporting the Scientist in the School program and providing funds for our Gym and Library Learning Commons through our fundraisers. Council also helped to pay for the new murals in our gym – We are proud to be the “Home of the Ospreys”!  There is no limit to the heights to which our students soar!

We are pleased to announce that ILPS Spirit Wear with our new logo will soon be available for students.  More info to come soon!

Please remember to label all clothing to ensure that if it is lost, the owner can be found.  There is a large amount of lost and found clothing in our bin in the front foyer.  We will be spreading it out next week and having classes walk through.

We wish our families a lovely March Break together.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone back on Monday, March 18th!

Sincerely,

Mr. Sean Singh (x223)    Mrs. Janice Dampier (x 224)

Principal                                   Vice-Principal

Grade 8 Haiti Water Project Update—————————————

In October, students in Mrs. Manzerolle’s class learned of the water crisis happening in Haiti.  Their water is unsanitary and often carries waterborne illnesses like Cholera.   The class decided to raise money to help them get clean water as a part of our Science unit.  The school raised a grand total of $233.40  We would like to thank everyone for their kind donations.  Well done, Grade 8’s! 

ILPS Challenge Course returns———————————————

The ILPS Challenge course offered by Summit Climbing Company is coming back to ILPS for the week of Mar 18-23.   We would like to thank our School Council for subsidizing half of the cost to run the program again this year for all of our students.  The cost will be $7/student to participate.  The School Cash Online payment website will be active until midnight on Monday, March 18.  However, please ensure the permission form has been signed and returned by Monday, March 4th to ensure your child can participate.

Information from Public Health——————————————–

In Ontario, the Immunization of School Pupils Act requires that all students attending school be fully immunized or have a valid exemption on file. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) has recently mailed immunization notices to elementary students with incomplete vaccine records. To avoid suspension, please update your child’s immunization record by March 15, 2019.

If the student has already received the immunization(s), report them using one of these methods:

  • Online: View and report immunizations at immunizewdg.ca. Sign-in using your Ontario Health Card Number or the Ontario Immunization ID (provided on your Immunization Notice if received by mail from WDGPH).
  • Email: Send a copy of the record to [email protected]
  • Call: 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4396

If the student needs the immunization(s) do one of the following:

  • Make an appointment with student’s health care provider, bring the notice from WDGPH with you, and follow up by reporting the immunization(s) to WDGPH.
  • Call 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4134 to make an immunization appointment at WDGPH.

If the student is not being immunized for medical or conscience/religious reasons:

For the Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief Exemptions a parent/guardian must also complete an immunization education session at WDGPH. For an appointment call 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4134.

Talking About Mental Health: March 2019——————————–

Random Acts of Kindness

Did you know that there are scientifically proven benefits of being kind! That’s right. Just the act of being kind has been shown to stimulate the same part of the brain as those who receive an act of kindness. The simple act of kindness can:

  • Reduce the stress hormone cortisol
  • Increase sense of positive mood and satisfaction
  • Help with physical health including lowering blood pressure
  • Increase sense of happiness
  • Increase feelings of “calm”
  • Improve the mood of somebody simply witnessing the act of kindness

Kindness is also something that is TEACHABLE.  Dr. Ritchie Davidson of the University of Wisconsin states that: “It’s kind of like weight training, we found that people can actually build up their compassion ‘muscle’ and respond to others’ suffering with care and a desire to help.”

As a family, you can:

  • Make a conscious effort to recognize and say something kind about each other or someone else
  • Give everyone in the family sticky notes to leave kindness notes to each other around the house
  • Challenge everyone to do a random act of kindness every day for a week and have dinner time discussion about what everybody did that day
  • Make an effort to identify and appreciate kindness that has been received

The weather may not be “playing nice” with us here in Southern Ontario these last weeks but we can still give our brain and our mental health a winter “boost”!  So go out and notice kindness, receive kindness and give kindness this month.

Jenny Marino, Mental Health Lead

Follow me on Instagram @ugdsb_mental_health

ILPS Danceathon/ Movie night————————————————

On Friday, February 22nd, ILPS held its annual Danceathon—complete with disco lights!!!

Students brought in pledges to raise funds for our Scientist in the School programs.    A huge thank you to all who participated.  Our intermediate students watched a movie, “Middle School” in the gym and later that evening our community attended another amazing ILPS Movie Night complete with free popcorn!  .

A special thank you to our School Council Parent volunteers who organized the events in support of Scientists in the Schools.  Winners of the prizes will be announced soon!

BAG 2 SCHOOL INITIATIVE————————————————–

What is Bag2School?

This is a recycling, waste reduction program that the Island Lake PS Ecoteam has registered for.

Students, staff and parents work together to contribute previously enjoyed clothing and textiles that are then weighed and exchanged for cash at the current market rate. The items will be shipped overseas and sold as quality used clothing, boosting affordable clothing markets in developing countries.
It’s a great way for ILPS to raise money for our garden. Plus, it feels good to be green. The program teaches students about the importance of recycling and re-using, thereby fostering environmental awareness at a young age. On top of this, it makes a real impact by reducing the amount of textile waste in our landfills.
Donations of clothing, etc can be dropped off in the hallway in front of the library, from April 1 – 23​. The Bag2School pickup date is Wednesday, April 24.

More info to come from the ILPS Ecoteam!

We wish all of our families a wonderful March Break together.  Thank you for all of your support and encouragement of our Ospreys.

Sincerely,

Sean Singh

Principal

Island Lake PS

 

 

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