Good evening Mustang Families,
It’s been another fantastic week at PMPS. Our Special Olympic athletes and student coaches started to practice for their big day in a couple of weeks, the grade three and six students are busy preparing for EQAO, and in recognition of Mental Health and Education Week, each class participated in a kindness art activity that was organized by our Child & Youth Worker, Tania. Last week, the grades 4-8s enjoyed a presentation from GET REAL about inclusivity involving the 2SLGBTQ+1 community. Thanks to our School Council for supporting this work. Next week is the Bike Rodeo. We have many students who are participating. For those students please remember your bike locks, helmets, and permission forms on the 13th. Good luck to our school’s chess team who will be competing at Credit Meadows ES next week in our county tournament. Go PMPS Mustangs go!
Important Information Re: Donut Pick Up: Donuts will be available for pick-up on Friday afternoon, May 9th, from 2:50pm until 4pm in the school library. Thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser! Please be reminded that these donuts will arrive freshly baked from Quest for Cakes Bakery and can be frozen. School Council volunteers will have alphabetical lists for distribution on Friday afternoon. Kindly pick up your donuts before 4pm. Thank you.
UGDSB Math@Home: The UGDSB Math@Home document which has activities and games for families. The document includes 30+ pages of templates. UGDSB Math@Home for Grades 1 - 3
Important Dates:
-May 5th to May 9th: Education Week and Mental Health Week
-May 9th: Whole group grade 8 visit to ODSS (more information to come)
-May 9th: Donut pick up (if ordered, more details to come)
-May 13th: Bike Roadeo at PMPS (information has gone home to interested students)
-May 13th, 20th, and 27th: Grade 3 and Grade 7 Swim to Survive program (permission forms have been sent home by teachers of these grades)
-May 15th: Chess tournament at CMES (permission forms going home to team members soon)
-May 16th: EA & CYC Appreciation Day: We have the best team at PMPS hands down! Thanks for all that you do!
-May 16th: Jump Rope Kick Off Event!(more information to come)
-May 19th: Victoria Day, no school
-May 20th: Grade ⅘ & ⅚ in Library from 115-215pm: Moccasin Identifier Program
-May 22nd: Catch up vaccination at PMPS (more information to come)
-May 22nd: Kindergarten Officer Amy presentations (letter has been sent home)
-May 21st: Special Olympics, Board Wide Event (more information to come)
-May 21st to June 3rd: EQAO at PMPS grades 3 and 6: All students need to be at school well rested and ready to go! Our students will do great! (more information to come)
-May 28th: Intermediate track and field standards day
-May 29th: Indigenous Games Trip to Island Lake: Shaw, Fendley & Westlake (more info to come)
-June 2nd: Bursting with Pride School Event & Flag Raising
-June 3rd: Arts Night and Family Fun Night 5-7pm(more information to come)
-June 5th: Grade 8 Intermediate Trip to Niagara Falls
-June 5th: Last School Council meeting of the year: Elections for 25/26 6pm
-June 6th: PD day-No school for students (more information to come)
-June 9th: Compass Run at School(more information to come)
-June 10th: Rescheduled CMHA Presentations for Intermediates (new letters going home)
-June 11th: Headwaters Farm Program Presentation- kindergarten (letter to go home)
-June 12th: Headwaters Farm Program Presentation- grade ½ class (letter to go home)
-June 13th: Jump Rope Event
-June 16th: Healthy SchoolS School Wide Play Day (morning two blocks)
-June 17th: JK Orientation-9-12pm approximately (more info to go home)
-June 19th: Track and Field Board event (more information to come)
-June 23rd: PMPS Grad!!! (more information to come)
-June 25th: Public Health Fluoride Varnish #2 (more information to come)
-June 25th: Intermediate walk to Island Lake
June 26th: Term 2 report cards go home & Last day with students
June 26th: Last Day morning assembly, intermediate bbq and dance
June 27th: PD day: No school for students
Upcoming Spirit Days:
-May 9th: Sparkle and sunshine day! Wear glittery accessories, shiny and sparkly clothes, or wear shiny jewellery!
-May 16th: ART in the classroom! Just like board games day- take a period during your day and create some class art work!!
-May 21st: Special Olympics Day! Wear Olympic Red and Olympic grey in support of our PMPS Special Olympics team.
-May 30th:Beach day (Dress like you are going to the beach - no bathing suit.)
Don’t forget about our Mustang Spirit Cup! Congratulations to Mrs Ditchburn’s and Miss Bonger’s class for being our award winners for March and April!
Please remember to stay connected in the following ways:
-Downloading the new mobile app - it’s everything Upper Grand in your pocket. For the latest updates, please sign up for notifications! Download for Android https://aptg.ca/V7pmln Download for iPhone https://aptg.ca/370LCh .
-checking our NEW Princess Margaret website once https://uppergranddsbon.sites.thrillshare.ca/o/pmps.
-Our Twitter/ X page is: @margaret_ps, we also have a Facebook and Instagram page.
-your phone messages and text messages
Reminders:
Attendance at PMPS: Did you know that April 29th we had 9.5% of our total student population absent and 6.6% were late to school? Our most absent day of the week is Fridays with 10.4% of our students away, followed by Mondays with 10.2% of our students away. Monday and Fridays are also the days of the week when most students are late. Grade 8s are the most absent grade and grade 1s are our most late grade. Grade 5s have the best attendance and grades 4s and 5s are the least late.
Spring is a great time to recommit to making it to school every day and to do so on time. Attendance letters will be going home this week to all parents and caregivers next week whose child(ren) are absent or late for more than 10% of the school year. As of April 29th, there have been 126 days of school. Please reach out to your child’s teacher or myself, if we can support you and your child(ren) with attendance. We are here to help. The letter will have more information.
Primary & Junior EQAO Math Webinars Parent Info for Grade 3, 6, and 9 EQAO Math Night for Parents and Guardians: Join us for a free live webinar where EQAO staff will discuss math questions that Ontario students encounter when they participate in Ontario’s large-scale assessments. These assessments are taken by all Ontario students in Grades 3, 6 and 9. During the webinar, EQAO staff will show how these math questions help assess the skills students are learning in their math classes. Staff will also share valuable insights from the past three years of assessment results, which can help parents and guardians support their children’s math learning. Register
EQAO Language Webinar for Parents and Guardians of Elementary School Students: Register for this free live webinar and learn about EQAO’s primary and junior Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics. Participants will learn about the purpose of Ontario’s large-scale assessments. EQAO staff will explain the assessment format, highlight resources to support students, and answer questions from participants. The session will be approximately 45 minutes, followed by a live Q&A with EQAO staff. Register
Running Shoes/ No necklace/ No bags etc on Play Structures: Our playgrounds are now open for the spring! A reminder that children can only use them if they have proper footwear. Proper footwear is running shoes that have a good tread on the bottom. Sandals and Crocs are not allowed. Please no necklaces, small purses, or bags, this can get caught and lead to choking. Thank you.
Milk Sales: Our wonderful Student Council continues to sell milk. The milk costs $1.25 each. Milk sale profits support our Student Council.
Parent Resources:
Parent Support Network: Please check out www.parentsupportnetwork.ca for free parenting workshops. The 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/
DCAFS Walk In, Talk In Clinic: Open to Everyone!
Talk-In Clinic is your primary gateway to essential mental health support. Talk-In Clinic is open Wednesdays between 12:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (last appointment at 5:30 p.m.). Please come as early as possible to ensure an appointment. If you prefer, you can call ahead at 519-941-1530 to provide some basic information. This is support for children, youth, and families.
Thanks for taking the time to read through my weekly emails and your continued support. We’ll see everyone on Friday for another great learning day before heading into the weekend.
Andrea Papavasiliou, Principal