Together in Education
November 2017
Lancaster Drive Public School and Parent Council
Email: lancd@limestone.on.ca
Website: http://lancaster.limestone.on.ca
Location: 1020 Lancaster Drive, Kingston, ON, K7P 2R7
Phone: 613-634-0470
Twitter: @LancasterPSLDSB
Upcoming Events
- Indigenous Education awareness month
- Nov 6-10: Treaties Awareness Week
- Nov 9: Picture Re-take day
- Nov 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 9:30 a.m. in the gym; all are welcome
- Nov 16: Grade 1 to 6 Progress Reports and Kindergarten Communication of Learning: Initial Observations reports going home to parents/guardians
- Nov 20 to 23: Bullying Awareness/Prevention Week
- Nov 22: School-Wide Sharing Assembly
- Nov 23: #KindnessMatters - Pink Shirt Day
- Nov 24: Professional Activity Day (no classes for students)
- Nov 28: Athletics Pep Rally Assembly
- Nov 29: Grade 4-5 to Bully Awareness Kingston Frontenacs Game; Grade 6 class to Queen's Basketball games
- November 30: INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
Finding focus.....digging in with minds on. Exit cards help show what we know
Supervising Principal, Jessica Silver, learns with staff and students
Wellness Matters - Intermediate Plank Challenge
Message from your Administrative Team
In November we take time to learn about and honour past and present Canadian military that we are so thankful for in their work to keep our country and others safe. We welcome community members and parents to our Remembrance Day service on Friday November 10th at 9:30. November is also a focus month for school-wide learning about bullying awareness and prevention. Students and staff are invited to wear pink on Thursday, November 23rd for our district Pink Shirt Day. Indigenous education is also celebrated as a focus for learning during November. The week of November 6th to 10th is Treaties Awareness Week in Canada:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/memos/oct2017/min_treaties_recognition_week2017.pdf
While our running season has wrapped up for the fall you will still hear the sound of feet moving at Lancaster. Our boys and girls volleyball teams have had a great start to their seasons with the final tournament coming up in early December. New this year, the LESAA has added junior volleyball to the range of athletics offered in Limestone. This offers younger players an opportunity to develop skills and enter a fun tournament at the end of their season. Many thanks to our senior coaches Mrs. Dowdell and Mrs. Mullrooney (Girls), Mr. Carlton and Mr. Stalker (boys) and junior coaches Mme. Take and Mrs. Sheriff (Girls) and Mr. Wilkins (Boys). Lego Bricks 4 Kids staff have also started their lunch hour sessions with students in grades 1-3. These sessions have students working together to build and test weekly design challenges and have been a bit hit with students. Mrs. Hamilton has launched her second year with the Instrumental Music program over the last few weeks. What a delight it has been to once again hear the student filling the great hall as they create music. Primary students have also been trying on their acting prowess through our recess Drama Club where they have been exploring readings, improv and script reading. Thank you to our Queen's teacher candidates and teacher Lindsay Sirman for providing this opportunity for our students.
In the area of curriculum, staff continue to bring new learning into classrooms with a focus on increasing the opportunity for student voice to take the mainstage. Intermediate students have been leading primary and junior classes in Number Talks. Number talks are a minds-on mental math challenge where they explore various student strategies, strengthen conceptual understanding and develop greater flexibility with numbers. Three classes have engaged with Global Read Aloud novels, using this as a jumping off point to deepen student thinking and questioning skills, and connecting with other classes on a international level. French classes have been using learning buddies as a way to make connections across classes and share French language skills. Students in our District Autism program have been experimenting and applying Flip Grid and applications to share learning through Google Classroom. Lots of rich learning experiences across the building.
As Progress reports head home with students this month take some time to engage with your child about individual goals they have as they continue their learning this term. We would like to thank parents for their ongoing support and our amazing staff for their diligence and commitment to continuing to grow professionally and for bringing new experiences into the classroom. We are excited to see the continued growth of our students as the year progresses.
Your leaders in learning,
Lani Fox & Sara Wellwood
Intermediates lead Number Talks in Primary and Junior classrooms
Checking in - how did your recess go? We use self-regulation strategies throughout the day
Handbags for Hope...students spearheading the campaign to help the community
Putting our thinking to the test with a math challenge
Grade one students took charge of our Fall Food Drive, counting, tallying, and predicting
Exploring shapes and area in Kindergarten
Letter from your Parent Council Chair
Dear Lancaster Families,
In October, we hosted our first restaurant night of the year at Boston Pizza. Many Lancaster families came to show their support for the school, have a great meal and enjoy a night out as a community. We raised $220 from that night. We would like to thank Steacy St. Onge, the new Fundraising Coordinator, for putting the evening together and for taking on this role for the school year.
At the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) meeting in October, which is held at the Board office, they were discussing many interesting topics. An exciting topic was the update of the website as well as they are constructing an App that will be available. The App will be multifunctional with many options for parents to access. At the next meeting we hope that there will be more information delivered.
November is going to be an exciting month. Our first product sale is set to begin the end of the month for delivery by mid December. We have chosen Wilton Cheese Factory and there will be 3 different size boxes available for sale. A letter will be going home soon with your child with all the specifics and exact dates.
Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 30th and come join us at the school for the 3rd LDPS International Night. The event begins at 5:30pm and will run until 7:30pm. Our Program/Event Coordinator Allison Slate has prepared a wonderful night to celebrate and share our community’s culture. If you would like to be a part of the evening, a display, performance or as a volunteer, please fill out the form sent home with your child or you can contact Allison (allislate@hotmail.com) by November 20th.
Up coming events:
· PIC Meeting – Thursday, November 16th starting at 5:30pm. This meeting is held at the Board office located at 22 Portsmouth Ave
· International Night – Thursday, November 30th starting at 5:30pm at Lancaster Drive PS
· Parent Council meeting – Our next month’s meeting is going to be held on Tuesday, December 5th and begins at 6:00pm. All parents are welcome to attend.
If there is anything you would like to know more about, specific questions for the council or have ideas to share please feel free to contact us at lancd_council@limestone.on.ca .
Sincerely,
Serena Milling
SCHOOL NEWS
Limestone District School Board's new Strategic Plan
The new strategic plan of the Limestone District School Board, and the School Learning Plan for our school, are being created around three key pillars for success at school: Wellness, Innovation and Collaboration. "Together we embrace and foster engaging and innovative learning where everyone achieves success and well-being." Please see the video link below for a deeper understanding about how the focus on wellness, innovation and collaboration will help us support the success of all students
Handbags for Hope
PARENT COUNCIL NEWS
INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
Come celebrate our rich diversity at our 3rd LDPS International Night. This is a wonderful event for families and staff to share their native country’s culture or a country they have visited. You can share a delicious food, wear or display native clothing, display a poster of cultural artifacts, etc. Throughout the evening, cultural entertainment will also be shared.
Volunteers Needed:
- 7th and 8th Graders to help welcome our guests
- Parents to help setup/coordinate evening activities
If you would like to participate or help in any of these fun activities, please complete and submit the form that was sent home with your child by Monday November 20th, 2017.
For any questions or suggestions, please contact Allison Slate (Program/Event Coordinator - LDPS School Council) at allislate@hotmail.com.
An example of a display poster is available to help you plan!
Coming Soon! Fall Fundraiser
Parent Council Account Balance
The Parent Council account balance
as of October 31, 2017 is
$6,389.43
Submitted by Kory Slovitt, Treasurer
Community Workshops
Learning Disabilities Association of Kingston
Saturday November 25 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Workshop: iPad Practice
iPad hands-on workshop for individual or small group work, using our devices or yours. Ask your pressing questions about getting things done with the iPad (e.g., read to me, scan documents to text, annotate documents or photos, note-taking). Try an introduction to coding with our Lego robot. Limited enrolment. Registration required. Further information ldakingston.com
Wednesday November 29 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Workshop: I Didn’t Know My iPad Could Do That
Overview of iPad tips highlighting built-in features and apps, especially new ones in the latest IOS 11. And check out our new iPad controlled Lego robot! Includes Q&A and hands-on with our iPads. Registration required. Further information ldakingston.com
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Child Directed Play
After a busy week with lots of Halloween celebrations – the kiddies (in our house at least) were a bit “out of sorts” to say the least! In an attempt to keep up with our goals of “positive parenting” in the midst of a sleep deprived, overstimulated, too- much-sugar perfect storm, I remembered some of the best advice given to me over the past 3 years of parenting a complex kid. A very wise therapist advised us to spend a minimum of 10 minutes a day with each child doing whatever THEY choose (within reason of course!). It’s called Child Directed Play, and in just a few minutes each day we have the power to improve not only our relationship with our kids but also their behavior. So how do you do it?
It’s simple really!
- First you put the gadgets away (no cell phones, no TV).
- Then get close to your child, observe what they are doing, comment on what they are doing, and join in on their play…not so hard right…there’s more....
- You, the parent, have to refrain from offering direction, or teaching, or asking questions – hence the hard part! It seems a little bit strange that commenting on the obvious “you’re building with lego” has such a positive effect, but it has proven to be a good tool in our house.
Still, give it a try next time negative behavior starts taking over your home – I call it going back to basics!
Melanie, mom of complex (and awesome) kiddies
~Melanie Huffman, Inclusive Education Coordinator
Music/Instrument Lessons at Lancaster
Lancaster is happy to share that our students are able to register for instrumental music lessons that take place in our school building during the school day. Please contact the music teachers directly if you are interested in registering your child/children for piano or guitar lessons.
Piano:
Tanya Bezanson
E-mail: Tanya.bezanson@bell.net
Phone: 613-539-8342
Guitar:
John Porter
E-mail: Mourninghorse@gmail.com
Phone: 613-328-6070
"If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it"
~ Muhammad Ali
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www.limestone.on.ca/
Limestone_Link/
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Council Calendar
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School Calendar