PMPS Weekly Update September 8th, 2023
Dear Mustang Families,
What a great week! Students were excited to be back and eager to learn and make new friends. Routines are quickly being established and students are settling into the rhythm of a new school year. It’s been great to catch up with students, to see how much they have grown, and to hear about what they were up to over the summer. Our school is a special place when students are back and learning.
Over the summer, we had a lot of work happen in our school. We have beautiful new flooring in our gym and all of our hallway floors on the first and second level were replaced. The building looks fantastic!
With help from the UGDSB, we were able to purchase 18 brand new instruments: 6 trumpets, 6 clarinets, and 6 flutes. We also had all of the older instruments cleaned and repaired. We are excited to announce that we are bringing back instrumental music from grade 6-8 this year for those who are interested. More information to come.
We are also excited to announce that all students kindergarten to grade 5 will have art taught to them by our very talented art teacher. If you have been to our art shows, you know what I am talking about.
If you haven’t had the opportunity, please check out our beautiful community garden. We are harvesting food and donating it to the Orangeville Food Bank. There are really good things happening at our school.
Each week, I will send a short email update about news at Princess Margaret Public School. You can also follow our school Twitter feed: @margaret_ps . We update our website regularly as well: www.ugdsb.ca/PrincessMargaret/ . Staying connected during the school year is key.
Spirit Wear:
Spirit wear can be ordered at any time during the year now. Please visit http://princessmargaret.deco-apparel.com/. This is also posted at the top of our school website as well.
Milk & Pizza Sales:
We are still working with our supplier, but hope to have milk sales start again very shortly. Pizza days will begin at the end of the month. More information to come.
Welcome Back Information Package & Important Forms That Need to Be Returned:
The following forms were sent home and require a signature. Please return ALL of these forms:
-Student Verification form – please make necessary changes to the information on this form, sign and date
-Consent to Share Personal Information; newsletters/media/UGDSB websites/social media (violet)- please indicate your consent, sign and date
-Walking Trip form (blue) – please sign and date
Important Upcoming Dates:
-Our first School Council ‘Virtual’ Meeting will be Monday, September 18th at 6:00 PM. Please contact the office for the meeting code. We are always looking for new members.
-Our Meet the Teacher evening is September 21st, 2022 5:30-7:00pm.
-Our annual Terry Fox Run will be held on Friday, September 22nd in the last learning block. More information to come, but donations can now be made online through School CashOnline.
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.
Drop & Go:
We know it can be tough, but once staff are out and on duty, please give your child a big hug and leave them with us. Staying behind or saying a long goodbye is often hard on our little ones who have trouble separating from you (their favourite people). A quick goodbye is often best and if your child is upset, we are able to calm them more quickly when parents and caregivers do not linger. Please know that we will communicate with you if this is not the case. Thanks for your trust.
Attendance/ Lates/ All Visitors:
If your child is not going to be at school, please call our school office and report the absence on our attendance line. Please also do this if your child is going to be late. If a student is late, they must check in with the office and get a late slip. This allows the teacher to know that the student has checked in with the office, so attendance can be accurate.
Our school day is from 830am to 250pm every day and it is important that students arrive on time, as there are important routines and announcements that they will miss if they are late. Thank you for your help.
If you are coming into the school, please check in with the office. All visitors must check in with the office.
Parking Lot:
We are kindly asking parents and guardians to park off school property at the beginning and end of the school day. We have limited parking and need to keep our fire/ bus line clear of vehicles at all times. Thank you for your cooperation. This applies to our daycare parents/ guardians as well.
School Volunteers: The UGDSB updated their School Volunteers Policy (205). 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 application, a volunteer agreement, an interview, a reference check and a vulnerable sector check (VSC) /offense declaration. A VSC will be required for field trip supervisors, volunteer drivers, classroom volunteers working with students, volunteer coaches/advisors. Please note: all volunteer drivers will need to complete a 508-3 Transportation of Students in Privately Owned Vehicles, a signed volunteer agreement, and a VSC/ Offense Declaration. This means that the school can no longer coordinate rides to sporting events unless we have parents/ guardians who have completed the VSC and other paperwork. Parents/ Guardians and family members must transport to games. The school will be able to provide letters that parents/guardians can use to apply for a VSC. We understand that this is a significant change but the school needs to support the policy set out by the UGDSB.
WOW Butter/ Peanut Butter Substitutes:
Please do not send in peanut butter or peanut butter substitutes in your child’s lunch. We have a number of life threatening peanut and nut allergies, and these products create worry with staff and students, as they are hard to tell apart. Thank you for your cooperation.
Spoons/ Forks/Heating Up Food:
A reminder that we do not supply cutlery and do not heat up student meals. Thanks for your understanding.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Andrea Papavasiliou, Principal
Categories: News