Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope everyone had a good weekend! Observations of Learning for Kindergarten students and Progress Reports for Grades 1-6 were sent home on Friday and should be available for you to access in Edsby as of Monday morning. These reports are a snapshot of your child's progress between September and the middle of November, outlining progress during these initial months of the school year. It is important that home and school work in partnership and that you have the opportunity to discuss their progress. Your child's educator will be reaching out, if they have not already, regarding setting up a time to discuss your child's progress to date.

Bullying Awareness and Prevention week is recognized in Ontario from November 19th - 25th this year. Join us in learning about bullying and how we can work together to promote safe, caring schools and create positive learning environments where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Learn more at the following website: https://www.ontario.ca/page/bullying-we-can-all-help-stop-it

If your child was absent on picture day, the photographer will be back at RNPS on Tuesday morning to take their picture. If you wanted a re-take, please send a note with your student to request one.

Once again, as December approaches, please see the info below about the Primary Movie Night and also the Holiday Shopping Spree that is once again returning to RNPS. The School Council is looking for your support of donated items. Information can be found in the article below.

Check out the rest of the important info in the newsletter below.

I hope you have a great week!

~Mr. Coulter

Nov. 21 - Picture Day for Absent Students

Nov. 24 - Jr. Volleyball Tournament

Dec. 7 - Primary Movie Night 6-8pm, hosted by School Council

Dec. 13 - Holiday Shopping Spree

Dec. 20 - School "Holiday Windows" Classroom Events -12-1pm

The Month of November is: Albanian Heritage Month, Hindu Heritage Month, and Indigenous Peoples Awareness Month

Nov. 19-25: Bullying Prevention and Awareness Month in Ontario

Nov. 24: Martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur (Sikhism)

Nov. 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

We wish our Jr. Volleyball players the best of the luck this week as they compete in the area tournaments on Friday! The Jr. Boy's team is coached by Ms. Sundup and Ms. Martin and Jr. Girl's is coached by Ms. Grimes and Ms. Sinclair. A Big thank-you to these coaches! Good Luck Team!!

Wear your PJs and bring you blankets and pillows for our holiday movie night! This event is for our Kindergarten to Grade 3 students and their families (parents must stay with their child).

When: Thursday, Dec. 7th, 2023

Time: Doors open at 6pm, movie starts at 6:15pm

Cost: $2 per person, with Drinks and Snacks available for purchase

Movie: "Small Foot"

Our School Council meetings are held on Thursdays in our school library. Our next scheduled meeting January 25th, 2023. Any parent interested in being part of the school council is welcome to attend the meetings. We are always looking for new members. We meet once a month and there are a variety of roles and tasks that we need support with. Some don’t require much commitment at all. We will also offer a virtual drop-in if you can meet the first meeting via Cisco WebEx as the platform. If you do not have the use of a computer, a free app can be downloaded to most Smart Phones. To access the meeting, please use this link: https://kprdsb.webex.com/meet/kevin_coulter

If young childcare is a concern, we do have a few mature students available to help with that during the meeting too!

If you have any questions please contact Mr. Coulter. We hope to see you!

Our Holiday shopping spree will be happening once again this year on, Wednesday December 13th. For those of you that don’t know about this fun event, it is a chance for the students to come with their class to shop for family and friends for the holidays.

Items range in price from 50 cents to $5. Your school council are looking for donations of new and like-new items from you to help supply our spree. Items such as ornaments, knick-knacks, candles, health & beauty products would all be greatly appreciated. Please no donations of books or clothes.

Items can be dropped off at the school office. Any questions about suitable items please contact Mandy at mandcald@hotmail.com

Your school council appreciates your continued support!

Please hold the date of Dec. 20th from 12-1:30pm. All classrooms will be open for parents to attend on a 20-minute cycle starting at 12 noon. No need to schedule your time, the idea is that families with more than one child will have an opportunity to visit multiple classrooms. Stay tuned for more specific information from your child(ren)'s teacher. Our choir will also be singing in our gym at 1pm for all those that would like to attend. We hope to see you there!

Each day ALL students are offered something to eat in the morning when they come into the school. Not all students choose to take something to eat, but many do. We recognize the importance nutrition has on learning. We would like to thank the "Children's Breakfast Clubs" for their support with our morning nutrition program. However, running a school wide program comes with a cost. We are hoping that families would consider donating to our program if their child is accessing it in the mornings. Look for this opportunity on school cash online this week. $5 per month, which is roughly 25 cents a day would really help us out.

Thanks for considering!

We recognize that our parking lot is a concern. We sometimes do not have enough spots for our staff. The bus company has also asked that we continue to have room for them to safely enter our parking lot. We kindly ask families to not enter our parking lot with your car as it becomes crowed and unsafe for our school buses. We know this is not ideal, especially in inclement weather, but we thank-you for your support with this!

Before and after school can be very busy with picking up and dropping off students with many little ones around. We have also been asked to remind everyone to watch the language we use during this time around our students. Thank-you!

Arriving by car? Cars will not be permitted in the school parking lot BEFORE OR AFTER SCHOOL. Students are to be dropped off on one of the side streets and can use the sidewalks to walk to a designated entrance.

Arriving by bus? A staff member will be at the bus drop-off location to assist students getting off of the bus and to greet students. Students will go directly to their designated entrance.

Arriving by foot? Students are to use the marked crosswalks when arriving at the school. A staff member will be monitoring the entrances.

Arriving by bike or scooter? Please park your bike/scooter at the racks on the left side of the front of the school and then proceed to the sidewalks to enter the yard. For safety reasons, students are NOT ALLOWED to ride bikes or scooters in our parking lot. Please make sure to walk them to the rack when on school property.

Late to school? If you arrive after the gates have been locked, please go directly to front of the school, press the buzzer and wait for further instructions.

All busing information and issues happens through STSCO. Please use the link below if you have any questions or concerns.

Please ring the buzzer when arriving at the front door of the school and sign-in at the main office. We kindly ask that parents and caregivers not be in the hallways or going to classrooms during school hours unless they are volunteering.

Should you wish to speak with a teacher regarding your child’s progress, an appointment can be made by contacting the office or the teacher directly by email. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Your child’s safety and education is our number one priority.

Most communication from Roger Neilson and our KPR board office is delivered via text messaging or email. If you have not opted into these services and would like to, please do so. For text messaging, your cell number must be in our system. You can opt into text messages by simply texting the word “yes” to the number 978338. If your phone number or email is not registered in the school system, or you have changed your number, please call the school to update: 705-745-6456.

This Weekly Newsletter will be sent via email every Sunday evening, please check it for weekly updates!

A reminder, if your child is going to be absent, you can use the "very user-friendly" School Messenger app (a free download), to let us know. You can also call the student absence reporting system at 1-844-434-8119. This number is available 24 hours a day. Complete attendance information can be found at this link: https://www.kprschools.ca/en/our-schools/attendance-and-absences.aspx

Report IT!

The Office of the Commissioner of Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility (COHREA) is fully accessible and available to all students, staff and families to report any issues of concern, and in particular human rights-based issues of discrimination and harassment that involve a breach of the Human Rights Code, and barriers to accessibility under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The Commissioner’s Office promptly reviews, assesses and determines necessary next steps for addressing all complaints. While we continue to encourage students, staff and families to first address concerns directly with those involved in the situation, e.g. the teacher, principal, manager or superintendent, concerns may also be reported confidentially, through the online reporting tool – Report IT! More information about the COHREA is available on the Board website or by contacting the office directly at cohrea@kprdsb.ca

New Language Curriculum Grade 1 to 8 – A Guide for Parents

Ontario’s language curriculum for Grades 1 to 8 was updated last spring by the Ministry of Education for implementation beginning this September. The parent guide below provides an overview of the knowledge and skills that students will learn in each grade. Language, Grades 1 to 8: a guide for parents (gov.on.ca)

-if your child is currently 7 they are eligible to register. If your child is turning 7, they will be eligible after their birthday

-pick up is at this address:

All Saints’ Anglican Church

235 Rubidge Street

Peterborough, ON K9J 3N9

(the music program does not have a religious connotation; it is just using the space)

-the registration is to be put on a waitlist for November start

-your child does NOT require a letter of recommendation

If you have any further questions, please contact Rose Sanderson (rose_sanderson@kprdsb.ca) or Teresa Laton (teresa_laton@kprdsb.ca)

8:55am - School Gates Open and students can enter yard

9:10am - Morning Bell - Students Enter School

10:50 - 11:30 - Nutrition Break #1

1:10-1:50pm - Nutrition Break #2

3:30pm - Leaving Bell (Gates Open for Parents to Pick Students up on Yard)

Principal, Roger Neilson Public School

Email: kevin_coulter@kprdsb.ca
Website: rogerneilson.kprdsb.ca/
Location: 550 Erskine Avenue, Peterborough, ON, Canada
Phone: 705-745-6456
Twitter: @rogerneilson_ps