Dear Mustang Families,
Things are in full swing here at Princess Margaret! There are so many exciting opportunities happening for our students. Tania, our CYC, has been offering drop-ins and classroom presentations to help students transition back into school and settle into September routines. Clubs and extracurricular activities are also getting underway, including cross-country running, junior and intermediate soccer, choir, and gardening club. It’s wonderful to see our students engaged, involved, and connected as we all settle into our routines and begin another exciting school year together.
We can’t wait to welcome families back on our Meet the Teacher night, Thursday, September 24th from 530-7pm. Come out to see your child(ren)’s classrooms and meet with their teachers briefly. Please note, this is not an interview night, but a brief opportunity to meet the teachers and visit the classroom environment. If you need a longer conversation, please let the teacher know and they’ll be happy to give you a call or arrange a meeting. Thank you in advance. Please note our first school council meeting of the year is also scheduled on the 24th from 6-7pm. Please stop by to see what we are all about.
This week, we completed ¾ of our drills for the fall. We had all of the students and staff out of the building safely in 1 minute and 30 seconds. That’s awesome for over 330 people! We have one more drill to complete, fingers crossed, tomorrow.
We’ve recently had an issue with students in Grades 1 to 8 collecting burrs and sticks, including thorny branches from neighbouring properties, and using them to play with or hurt one another on the yard. Could you please help us reinforce with students that burrs are to be left alone and sticks or branches are never to be taken from neighbouring properties through the fence. Staff are addressing this through reminders, education, and consequences when students continue after being warned. I’m also working with our grounds crew to see what can be cleaned up around the property. This is a new issue for us, so I’m hoping that with some consistent reminders, we can put a quick stop to it. Thank you for your support!
IMPORTANT: NEW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS: Please follow us!
Our Princess Margaret website is https://www.ugdsb.ca/PrincessMargaret/ and our Twitter/ X page is: @margaret_ps .
We have transitioned to new Facebook and Instrgram accounts: Facebook: Princess MargaretPS- New and Instragram: @psprincessmargaret
Important Upcoming Dates:
-24th: Meet the Teacher (530-7pm) and School Council (6-7pm)
-25th: Terry Fox Run-last block (please make a donation online if you are able)
-28th: Picture day: Individual pictures (class pictures at a later date)
October:
-1st: Officer Amy at PMPS to present about Cyber safety to all grade 5-8s (letter sent home earlier this week)
-2nd: GET REAL inclusion assembly grades 4-8 (letter was sent home with more information)
-5th:World Teacher’s Day
-12th: Thanksgiving- No School
-13th: Grade 7 Immunizations
-14th: All IEPs go home
-15th: Fall Dental Screenings (more info to come)
-16th: Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day
-20th: ECE appreciation day
-26th: PD Day -no school for students
-27th to 29th: CCAT grade 3 testing
-28th: PMPS individual picture retakes, staff photo, and class photos
November:
-2nd to 6th: Treaties Recognition Week
-5th: New Director &CEO Mr. MacDonald & SO Mr. Cousins visit
-11th: Remembrance Day
-11th: Progress reports go home
-27th: PD Day (interview day)
December:
-5th: 30th Annual Holiday Craft Fair at PMPS 9am-2pm.
Spirit Days:
-September 18th: Blue and White Day! To support and inspire our Toronto Blue Jays!
-September 29th: Wear Purple Day! Raise awareness about Concussions!
-September 30th: Orange Shirt Day! Wear an Orange shirt to support and acknowledge the history of residential schools.
-October 9th: Fall Colours! Wear fall colours like brown, red, orange, or yellow to celebrate Fall and Thanksgiving!
-October 16th: October is Global Diversity Awareness Month! Let’s promote cultural diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect worldwide by wearing lots of bright colours!
-October 23rd: School Colours Day! PMPS students and staff can wear purple, grey, blue, or white to show their school pride!
-Preparation for Diwali: Each class can make a colourful paper chain - with a sunflower on it- to be ready for Diwali on November 8th. Paper chains due to Miss. Lyon on November 6th!
-October 30th: Black and Orange Day OR Costume Day
Personal Items Brought to School: Students and parents/caregivers are reminded that if they choose to bring valuable personal items to school, the school board will not cover loss or damage.
School Volunteers: The UGDSB updated their School Volunteers Policy (205) this year after the Ministry of Education made changes mandatory for all Ontario boards. If you are volunteering in our school or plan to in the future, it is important to note that the following is required: a volunteer agreement and a vulnerable sector check (VSC) /offense declaration (if the VSC was already on file with our school and completed in the last three years). A VSC will be required for field trip supervisors, volunteer drivers, classroom volunteers working with students, volunteer coaches/advisors. The school will be able to provide letters that parents/guardians can use to apply for a VSC. Please note if you completed this process and we have your information on file, Mrs. Mckenize is sending home what you need so you can be ready to continue volunteering at PMPS.Please stop in the office if you are interested or ask your child’s teacher. * More information was sent home on Monday- please check our school website for a copy of this email.
Parking Lot: A reminder that the front parking lot is closed and parents/ caregivers may not park in it during pick up and drop off ( with the exception of an accessibility parking pass). This year we have three buses and two taxis dropping off our students with special needs and/or bussing needs.. Our parking lot is not designed for this amount of traffic and additional cars only add to the congestion. Please do not block the exit at any time. Our buses are on a strict schedule and dropping ff and pick up at several different schools. Thank you.
Parent Resources:
Dufferin Parent Support Network: Please check out https://www.dpsn.ca/ for free parenting workshops. The Dufferin Parenting Support Network is a great organization of parents supporting parents.
DCAFS Behaviour Solutions: DCAFS offers a wide range of services designed to meet the unique needs of each child and family. They believe that every child deserves the chance to reach their full potential, and they are committed to helping them do just that. If you're looking for support for your family within a safe and welcoming community, look no further than DCAFS! Please see the link for some different workshops and events: https://behavioursolutions.dcafs.on.ca/events/
Milk & Pizza Sales: coming soon! Pizza is posted through School CashOnline!!! Milk is cash only and should be on sale by September 25th.
Supervision: Please remember that students should not be arriving before 820am in the morning and need to be picked up/ or leave the school at the dismissal bell at 250pm. Our school day is from 830am to 250pm every day.
We’ll see everyone for another day of learning on Friday. Have a wonderful weekend after a full day of learning tomorrow.
Andrea Papavasiliou
Proud Principal of PMPS