June Newsletter
Principal’s Message
Victory’s Dessert Party was a resounding success thanks to a very dedicated group of volunteers. Families came out in droves to partake in the festivities. Thankfully the weather co-operated this year! The food, games, silent auction and desserts were fantastic! What a wonderful evening of community building, laughter and fun. We had several former students and staff join us for the celebration. A huge thank-you goes to Dessert Party Committee: Meredith Davis, Mark Hallman, Leslie Mifsud, Tricia Radburn, Amy Manlapas, Cynthia Freedman, Alex Waisanen, Danielle Castledine, Erin Beal, Jody Bell, Katie Reid, Larissa Klee, and Marissa Cunningham. Additionally, we would like to thank Laura Wallace who Special Mention to Laura Wallace, who was a huge help with her contacts for food and bbqs. Please see the list of volunteers later in this newsletter. Teachers at Victory also ran games for the event. Countless hours went into making this event a fun-filled opportunity to bring our families together and fundraise for our school. This was truly a team effort! A big thank-you also goes out to all the families and local businesses who donated prizes, desserts, treats and items for the classroom baskets. I’d also like to thank all of the community members who attended and supported this event that has a long tradition at Victory.
June is a very busy month here at Victory with teachers wrapping up units of study and putting transition plans into place. Our Grade 4 French Immersion students will have an opportunity to visit King George on June 14th and will be decorating our school fence with unique individually hand-painted fish. It will be nice to still have a little piece of them left behind when they leave for King George. I’d like to thank the group of Grade 4 FI parents who stepped up to make this project happen!
Our Grade 6 students will be celebrating thier graduation on the afternoon of June 22nd. Both students and parents are strongly encouraged to attend a meeting on June 14th at 6:00 p.m. at Willow Rd. P.S. Our grade 6’s will also be walking over to Willow as a class to visiting the school on June 13th.
We have several fun events to look forward to this month like: City Track and Field on June 15th, and Play Day and June 26th for students in Grades 1-6.
Carla Anderson, Principal 519 822-6931 x 223 [email protected]
September Class Placements
Ms. Anderson and teachers have collaborated to build next year’s class lists. A variety of criteria were considered as we created student groupings that accommodate children’s learning strengths and needs, work habits, behaviour, friendships and other factors. Teacher placements are not yet finalized, as we anticipate a few changes within the school.
We will not be sending home the name of your child(ren)’s teacher before September. On the first day of school, (Tuesday, September 5th), children will assemble under their grade sign in the schoolyard (weather permitting). In keeping with privacy legislation and our commitment to keeping our children safe, the Upper Grand District School Board’s policy is that class lists will not be posted in a public place. Teachers will call out names of children in their classes prior to entering the building.
As in recent years, classroom organizations and student placements during the first week of school will be tentative until enrollment numbers are confirmed. It is likely that we will have to re-organize some classes during the second week of September.
School Hours for 2023-2024 School Year
Our daily timetable follows the balanced day model with the following schedule. We appreciate your efforts to have children arrive at school before the entry bell.
Entry Time: 8:50 a.m.
First Instructional Block: 8:50 – 10:30 a.m.
Break: 10:30 – 11:10 a.m. (20 minutes inside eating time followed by 20 minutes outside play)
Second Instructional Block: 11:10 – 12:50 p.m.
Break: 12:50 – 1:30 p.m. (20 minutes inside eating time then 20 minutes outside play)
Instructional Block: 1:30 – 3:10 p.m.
Dismissal Time: 3:10 p.m.
Each child’s safety is of the utmost importance to us. If your child will be late or absent, please follow our Safe Arrival protocol and let us know by agenda note or phone call. For your convenience, our telephone answering machine is available for late night or early morning calls. (519-822-6931 x 100). Thank you!
Dessert Party
The Victory Dessert Party was another fantastic success! We’d like to extend an extra big thank you to all of our Dessert Party attendees, and we’d like to personally praise this year’s tireless coordinators who went above and beyond the call of duty:
Dessert Party Committee & Volunteers
We would also like to thank all who volunteered to support out team leaders, baked cakes, donated to the silent auction and lucky draw and came out to celebrate.
Visitors to our School
Thank you for remembering to check in at the office when you visit our school. Whether you are dropping off homework, lunch or other items it is important that we know who is in the building. For the safety of our children please honour this request.
If you are staying to help in a classroom, helping on a pizza day, etc., please sign in and put on a visitor’s badge. The badges are located by the sign in book outside of the office. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.
Silent Auction
A big thank you to all who participated in the 2023 Silent Auction. The auction was a huge success and raised almost $5000 that will be used towards grounds improvements, literacy support, extracurricular activities and classroom resources. We would also like to recognize all of our generous donors:
Human Development and Sexual Health
This school year, the Ministry of Education has requested that the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations from the 2010 Physical Education curriculum be taught to students. This education starts with children learning about themselves, their feelings, their bodies and about showing respect for themselves and others in a reliable and accurate way. This learning is most effective when parents and schools work together. Parents help their children form values about relationships and their behaviours. To support these discussions, we are letting parents know that this unit will be covered in the May and June. There are plenty of resources available for parents to support the learning of the curriculum on the Ministry of Education website: http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health.html.
Farewell Picnic Grade 4FI
On May 26th in the afternoon we will be having a “Farewell Picnic” for the Grade 4 FIs at Exhibition Park.
Silver Award from Healthy Schools
Thanks to our Health Squad, Mme Doyle, Mlle Cauley, Mme Kukovia and Ms. Dunsmoor, Victory is being presented with a Silver Healthy Schools Certificate! Our enthusiastic Health Squad led a number of healthy school initiatives that were both educational and fun.
Privacy
June is a month of school celebrations. We know that many families like to record special events, and that these souvenirs will become even more cherished over time. To respect the privacy of all families, please do not post photos or videos of other children on social networks like Facebook or YouTube. Thank you for your consideration.
School Council Meeting Wednesday, June 7, 2023
VPS Council Meeting Agenda June 2023
Bus Students
Parents of bus students please remember to check the Transportation website 2 weeks before school starts in
September to confirm your child’s bus pick-up and drop off locations and times.
CITY TRACK
Junior City Track takes place on June 15th.
St Jean le Baptiste
On June 23rd wear blue and white for St. Jean le Baptiste Day celebrations at the school!
Child Abuse Prevention Policy and Program
The Upper Grand District School Board places a high priority on the safety of our students. The child Abuse Prevention Policy is evidence of our commitment to this priority. The following is a quote from this policy:
“Every citizen in the community shares a responsibility for our children. School officials and teachers share this collective community responsibility for creating safe and nurturing environments for children. Under the Child and Family Services Act, this responsibility includes the legal requirement to report to the local Children’s Aid Society any suspected child abuse or other situations where a child may be in need of protection. Teachers and other Board employees have a special opportunity to know and understand children during their most influential years of development. They are in a unique position to be able to see early signs of maltreatment, and to know or hear about the abuse and neglect that is often suffered by children.”
As required in the Policy, we will be teaching age appropriate lessons to help our students identify abuse and protect themselves from abusive situations. The goal is to provide children with the tools they need to keep themselves safe. The lessons cover a broad range of safety issues including bullying, stranger danger and abuse by a knownand trusted adult. During the month of May or June students in grades one and three participate in lessons from the Red Cross C.A.R.E kit and while grade five students will be taught the new Kids in the Know Child Abuse Prevention program by their classroom teachers with the support of the Child and Youth Counsellor. There is no formal program in grade two, four and six, although the safety concepts are reviewed by classroom teachers informally.
We encourage you to discuss with your child at home, the concepts taught in the Child Abuse Prevention Curriculum.For more information regarding the Child Abuse Prevention Policy and/or Programs please contact Carla Anderson, Principal or Darcia Romaniuk , Child and Youth Counsellor.
Sun Safety
During a typical school day, children spend a considerable amount of time outside. In addition to walking to and from school, we have two recesses and often have outdoor Gym, Daily Physical Activity and other activities. With the summer sunshine, we remind parents of some sun-safe practices and encourage you to:
Help your child apply sunscreen and lip balm before (s)he leaves for school in the morning.
If your child will be bringing sunscreen to school, please teach him/her how to apply it independently. Staff members are not able to do this.
Provide a sunhat for your child.
Send sunglasses for outdoor activities.
Have a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt in your child’s backpack for extra protection.
Talk about ways to reduce sun exposure by going into the shade.
We encourage children to bring a reusable stainless steel or BPA-free plastic water bottle to school. They may refill these at our drinking fountains to ensure they are properly hydrated throughout the day.
Keeping Students Safe on Their Way To and From School
This is just a reminder that the speed limit in school zones is 30 mph. Please slow down and watch for our students. Please also obey the no parking and no stopping signs on the streets around the school.
Library Book Due Date
All library books are due back to the library by June 12th! If you are unable to locate any books please send a note to Mme Caswell and we can check in the library and if needed mark them as missing. Thank you!
Farewell Celebrations
In June we will be bidding farewell to some Victory students. Our current English Grade 6 class will be attending Grade 7 at Willow Road Public School and students in our Grade 4 French Immersion classes will be attending l’Ecole King George for grade 5. We will be holding a farewell picnic for French Immersion Grade 4 students on Friday, May 26th. Our Grade 6 graduation will be on Thursday, June 22nd.
Are You Moving?
This is a reminder to let us know if your child will not be returning to our school, or will be switching from French Immersion to English, in September, 2023. This information is very important as we make class lists and organize our staffing for next year.
Categories: News