Victory Newsletter for June 2021 June 2021 juin 2021
Principal’s Message
2020-2021 has been a very unique year for our Victory families and our school team. Together we have learned to pivot and thrive! I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our students, school community, families and staff for the extraordinary amount of support that has been given during this challenging time. Your thoughtfulness and kindness are greatly appreciated! We look forward to the day when we can all be together again!
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 have had an opportunity to visit King George virtually 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 have already met virtually with the Principal of Willow Road P.S. The Grade 6 Graduation will take place on June 24th with a socially distanced celebration. Ms. Kelly will be providing students with a scheduled time when each student and their immediate family may celebrate the successes of this school year outside the Victory School doors.
Carla Anderson
Principal
519 822-6931 x223
Kindergarten Orientation
We look forward to welcoming our new JK students and families to Victory in the fall! Kindergarten Orientation information has been emailed to our new families. If you have not yet received this information or not yet brought in all documents (registration form, proof of birthdate and address, immunization records and legal custody documents if applicable), please call the office to let us know that the email did not reach you or to make an appointment to bring in the necessary documentation to school.
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 7th), 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 we are uncertain about the Public Health Guidelines that will be established at this time, we are asking that only students enter the school yard at this time. Should this change we will communicate this information to families by posting information to our School Website.
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 2021-2022 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 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!
Visitors to our School
We will continue to follow the guidelines recommended by Public Health with respect to essential visitors. Please follow the School Website for up-to-date information in this regard.
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 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.
Gold Award from Healthy Schools
Thanks to our Health Squad, Mme Doyle and Mlle Cauley Victory is being presented with a Gold Healthy Schools Certificate! Our enthusiastic Health Squad led a number of healthy school initiatives that were both educational and fun.
Victory School Council Meeting Wednesday June 2, 2021
AGENDA
1) Login: 6:50-7:00
Please email [email protected] for a link to our meeting
2) Welcome and introductions: 7:00 – 7:05
3) Information items: 7:05 – 7:20
Chair:
We have had great meetings during this challenging academic year, with continued support from our Council for our teachers and students, and coordination of events between Victory and the community. Including providing voice amplifiers to teachers, funding for the Forest of Reading, the 12 Days of Giving, an Art Day on Feb 6. We also had the exciting announcement that Bisson Dentistry has donated $2000 to Victory through the UG Learning Foundation and will be applied to technology, specifically Chromebooks. We have sponsored a Staff Book Study focused on anti-oppression training brought to us by teacher Olivia Vaughn. We also recently came to the conclusion (surprising to many Council members) that purchasing mulch every 2 years is at this time the best way forward, ensuring a safe and engaging space for students to play and learn. We also conducted an activity aligning the activities our Council funds with the Victory School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (SIPSA), and were pleased to find a balanced alignment within the Inclusion, Well-Being, and Engagement Framework. We will be considering budget priorities in the new academic year, given continued uncertainty, and are hopeful that September will begin a more consistent year.
If you have topics to discuss this month, please include them in our agenda below. Thanks to everyone that has attended our meetings to this point and we look forward to welcoming all new and returning faces at our April meeting!
Principal:
- Mental Health & Education Week
- DancEd School Performance
- Grade 6 Students -Virtual Visit with Willow
- Asymptomatic COVID Testing at J.F. Ross (May 6 & 8)
- Online Report Cards
- Playground Inspection Report & Quote
- Farewell to Mme Chaarani (Grade ½), Welcome back Lisa Fildey (Library and FI Planning) in September
- Camp Discovery for Gr. 1 and 2 Students with focus on reading and writing skills
- Virtual Tour of KG for Gr. 4 FI students
- Kindergarten Orientation information emailed to JK Families
- Deselection of Materials in the Library
- UnLearn from Mme Cauley
- UnLearn Shared during morning meetings/announcements
- Agendas for Next Year
- Purchased Outdoor Equipment
- Playground Inspection-quote for repairs to equipment
Treasurer:
4) Discussion items
Thank you to David DiCenzo for drafting a letter that we will be asking Council to approve as a way to communicate with future Councils regarding our current position regarding mulch. Please have a look at the letter and we will discuss during our meeting.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16yZyiCwDi1LpeiM1od9ut1MVcl2QF1h6/view?usp=sharing
5) Newsletter:
Carla has graciously offered to include Council Newsletter items in communication via the school newsletter or website.
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.
Yearbooks
Mme Sproule has worked hard creating a special yearbook of 2020-2021 Victory memories. Students who ordered yearbooks will be receiving them in the next few weeks.
St Jean le Baptiste
On June 24th 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 known
and 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 Janine Broadfoot, Child and Youth Counsellor.
Keeping Students Safe on There 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.
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.
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, 2021. This information is very important as we make class lists and organize our staffing for next year.
Monthly Environmental Activities to help celebrate our planet
June 5th is World Environment Day!
Protecting the planer is everyone’s responsibility
Celebrate World Environment Day on June 5th 2021
A Platform for Action- World Environment Day is the United Nations’ most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment and is widely celebrated in over 100 countries.
This year’s theme – Ecosystem Restoration!
Urge governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together to explore grow trees, green our cities, and clean up rivers and coasts. We are the generation that can make peace with nature. https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/
Ideas for your family to celebrate World Environment Day!
· Create an event for family, friends and neighbours -There is no end of ideas that you could take forward for World Environment Day. Surprise yourself! Think about ideas that we can do to help the planet like fixing a problem in your community. It can be as simple as a community clean-up, to a tree planting activity.
· Get out into nature – World Environment Day is all about appreciating the beautiful planet we inhabit. Why not spend time in a park, hiking a trail or appreciating a forest walk? Or, have a picnic in the back yard!
· Inspire others – A great idea will naturally attract others who will join and make your idea awesome. So, take your idea to reduce single use plastics, or to lug a mug to events or to promote an ecofriendly product and share it! Or ask everyone to make their own personal pledge to change one wasteful or harmful habit for the better. Share what you’re doing using the hashtag: #WorldEnvironmentDay
· Make sure you have fun: Make your event for World Environment Day fun, inspiring and interesting. Google events happening locally that you can attend with family or friends, or check out Pinterest for fun, recycled crafts ideas.
For more information go to: What can schools do? Or What can individuals do? Or Google ‘World Environment Day activities’.
TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
June 2021
What a year it has been. We have all collectively had to manage an ever changing landscape. Pressures on families, children and youth have been significant as we work our way through this global pandemic. We have, together, focused ourselves on wellness skills throughout the year. It seems appropriate that our last month together our Umbrella theme is mastery. Mastery refers to the desire to become competent at a skill. In many ways we have all been working at this skill as we try and find ways to manage during this pandemic.
This month, I invite you to look back at the skills we collectively worked on this year: empathy, mindfulness, gratitude, self-compassion, healthy lifestyle, autonomy and intrinsic motivation. Have you had the opportunity to explore any of these skills? What, if anything, have you been able to add into your routine? If nothing, that is okay. Just the act of learning about new skills is the beginning of building.
How can you support your child with this? Explore the past themes together. Try and encourage your child to persevere when they are frustrated. Helping our children to desire to become competent at a task is what we naturally do much of the time. Consider helping your child learn to ride a bike. There may be falls. There may be scrapes and frustration. But there will also be that celebration when they first pedal away, wobbly at best, but independently. This is one example. There are many. It is important to remember that success is unique to each person’s abilities.
Throughout the year, with the Umbrella Project, we were hoping to bring some connectedness, some shared experience, to an otherwise disconnected time. However you participated, thank you for joining the UGDSB staff and students on this wellness journey. We look forward to re-connecting and continuing this work together next year.
Jenny Marino
Mental Health Lead, UGDSB
The Umbrella Project at UGDSB is made possible through a donation from Edge Mutual.
Categories: News • Newsletter