Princess Margaret Public School

PMPS Weekly Update October 13th, 2023

Posted October 13, 2023

Good morning Mustang Families,

 If we look back to the start of September, it is clear that students are making good progress. We’re proud of everyone’s efforts. Volleyball has started, grade threes are working on CCAT practice, and we have our first spirit day coming up today. 

Upcoming Recognition/ Spirit Days:

October 13th: Bold hat day: Wear a bold hat to celebrate Women’s History Month or wear school colours.

October 20th: All blue for Autism Awareness: How many pieces of blue clothing or accessories can you wear?

October 25th: Wear orange, purple, and blue to raise awareness about inclusivity for ADHD and Learning Differences.

October 31st: Orange and black clothes and accessories day.

Important Dates:

-October 17th, 2023:-IEPS (Individual Education Plans) for students who have them, go home. Please sign the consultation page and return. Any feedback or questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher. 

-October 17th, 2023: Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day: We are thankful for our wonderful ECEs, Mrs. Bradford and Mrs. Taylor

-October 18th to October 20th, 2023: CCAT Grade 3 Writing Dates

-October 27th, 2023: PD Day. Staff will be working on workplace violence training in the morning and in the afternoon, and will be writing progress reports that go home in November. 

-November 2nd: School Council meeting in person, new members are welcome always welcome. We meet at 6pm in the library and try to keep the meeting to one hour. The minutes for October are posted on our school website:

https://www.ugdsb.ca/princessmargaret/october-school-council-minutes/

-December 2nd, 2023: Save the date: Our Holiday Craft Fair is on the first Saturday of December. We are still looking for vendors. If you are interested in being a vendor please contact Mrs. Mckenzie in our office. 

EQAO Results: PMPS results: Results went home with our students (grade 4 and 7 students)  this week. Overall, here at the results for PMPS:

Primary Division:  (% number of children who scored at or above the provincial expectation, level 3 and 4) 

Junior Division:  (% number of children who scored at or above the provincial expectation, level 3 and 4) 

Upcoming PD Day: Just a reminder that Friday , October 27th is a PD day. Staff will be completing health and safety training in the morning and writing progress reports in the afternoon. There is no school for students. 

Cracker Donations: Princess Margaret- we need your help! We are in need of boxes of crackers! We are asking for students to bring in a box of crackers to help our snack program. Boxes can be brought to the front office to be fed to Snacker the Cracker monster. Thank you for all your support towards our snack program where we eat to fuel our minds. Any questions, ask Mrs. Larsen in the library! Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

ATTENDANCE SUPPORT WEEK 2: 

We are continuing to share information to help families support their child’s attendance at school. Below are some tips you can try that involve the routines and the environment at home.

• Practice consistent bedtime and morning routines with your child. 
• Parents can model the same routine at home, as it helps students stick to the routine of coming to school each day.
• Having a set schedule for sleep and nutrition is key to a good morning and feeling good about coming to school.
• Preparing for school at night so that the morning is less hectic can be helpful.  Organizing clothing, packing backpacks and including favourite foods can be reassuring.
• Putting out clothes and making lunch the night before can help get your child out the door in the morning.
• If your child does refuse to attend school, try having no screens/devices during the time when they are at home. Make staying home as boring as possible! Shutting down the home Internet can be helpful if this is a draw for your child to stay at home.
• Creating an environment conducive for improved sleep hygiene (e.g. dark room, quiet, sound machine, light in morning, consistent bed and wake times).
• Ensuring at least 30 minutes of screen-free time before bed and removing all electronics from bedrooms before bed can be helpful. 
• Limiting screen time before bed is key to winding-down and getting a great night’s sleep!

For more information, please visit the UGDSB website: https://www.ugdsb.ca/parents/student-attendance-at-school-tips-and-strategies-for-families/

HALLOWEEN: Many schools celebrate Halloween with costume dress up and/or black and orange.  Halloween is a day that is not observed by all students or staff. With this, it is considered a choice to participate as are all spirit days. Alternate and supportive accommodations are provided for students if school events take place.  Please reach out to your child(ren)’s teacher to speak more about accommodations. We want to make sure all students feel supported.

Costumes:  It is our responsibility to ensure that all school community members (e.g., students, staff, parents in our building…) avoid using identities and cultures as costumes. This includes appropriative costumes/cultural stereotypes (i.e. cultural garments), black/brown face, transphobic costumes (i.e. man dressed as a woman), body-shaming and objectifying costumes, and costumes that joke about situations that have caused harm (i.e. COVID pandemic). Such costumes perpetuate stereotypes and can cause harm that can further marginalize and oppress community members. We also ask that violent, scary, and bloody costumes are also not worn, as these costumes scare some  students. All props and accessories stay at home as well, so they are not lost. If costumes violate the above criteria, students will be asked to remove their costume and parents/guardians will be notified. Thanks for helping to make our school a safe and inclusive environment for all. Teachers will provide more guidance about the details around Halloween (e.g. when costumes should be worn etc). 

Reminders: 

Stolen scooters and bikes- lock them up: We have had a few scooters and bikes stolen that have not been locked up from our bike rack. If your child rides a scooter or bike to school, please make sure that it is locked up. The school is busy and it is hard for me to find the time to follow up on unlocked, stolen, or damaged items. 

Milk: Milk is currently on sale 1st lunch break. Each milk (plain or chocolate) is $1.00 and students require cash to purchase.

Delivered Lunches to the School:  Please note that Skip The Dishes/ UberEats etc deliveries are discouraged. Often drivers drop food, not indicating who the delivery is for. We often have student office helpers at lunch time, as our hardworking Mrs. Mckenzie needs a break. As you can imagine, having multiple meals delivered without indicating who they are for and without a label can confuse everyone. If you are dropping off a lunch or having it delivered, please make sure your child knows it is coming, what it is, what time (1040am or 1250pm) it is being delivered, and to come and get it after coming in from recess. We do our best, but mistakes can happen. This week again, a driver dropped off a lunch with no name. Rest assured, we will never let a child go hungry, as we have our food program here. Thanks for your support and understanding. 

Don’t forget you can also follow our school Twitter feed: @margaret_ps . I update our website regularly as well: www.ugdsb.ca/PrincessMargaret/ . We have so many great things happening at our school and I like to share with our community. 

Thank you for all you do to support your child and our staff here at PMPS. Have a fantastic weekend.

Andrea Papavasiliou, Principal

Categories: News