Together In Education
October 2016
Lancaster Drive Public School
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
Message from Your Administrative Team
Autumn Greetings!
Thank you to all of our families for sharing in our Open House BBQ event. Students were eager to share their school with you and it created opportunities for staff to also share a window into the wonderful learning environments they are creating. We are fortunate to have such a strong home and school community connection.
As the excitement of September begins to settle, staff and students become ready to “dig in” to another school year. Certainly the building has been abuzz with student athletics with cross country, soccer teams, and our very own Race Around the Park. At Lancaster we know that active bodies support active minds and helps to keep students engaged in their learning. Staff have also been embracing many opportunities to make positive connections with their students, getting to know individual learning needs and talents, and generating a safe and welcoming place for students to explore their curiosity and challenge their thinking. Part of our goal setting in September involves working for continued improvement as a school and in our classrooms. As a school we have been setting goals in three areas: fostering critical thinking skills in our students, exploring best practices in mathematics, and making the effective use of technology as a tool to support and share our learning. We look forward to continuing our partnership with you in support of the learning journey we share ahead.
Your administrative team,
Lani Fox, Principal & Sara Wellwood, Vice-Principal
Communication: A Key to Success!
Communication is very important in relation to what is happening with each child both at home and at school. All classrooms will have tools to encourage this: agendas, class blogs, Remind, Twitter! Make sure that you remain informed and communicate to the teacher in return. Here are some other ways that you can ensure that your children are set up for success!!
- Make sure they arrive at school on time by establishing strong morning routines; please call the school if they will be absent
- Ensure that they have a good night sleep; share a note in the agenda if it has been a tricky night for sleep
- Encourage a balance of activities including outside play, limited electronics, sports, arts pursuits, hobbies
- Provide experiences for your children that give them “schema” about the world that they can build their learning on: go to a park, museum, travel near and far!
- Send your children to school with water bottles that can be re-filled at our water bottle filling station; water is so good for the brain!
- Send healthy, nutritious foods for lunches and snacks: fruits and vegetables, whole grains, proteins
- Avoid picking your children up early for school for unnecessary reasons and try to schedule appointments after school so that valuable classroom time is not disrupted for them and their classmates
- Always model a positive outlook and growth mindset about school!!
Be Allergy Aware
We have many students at Lancaster with severe life threatening allergies to NUTS - which includes peanuts and tree nuts. To ensure a safe, inclusive school environment at Lancaster we have some very important accommodations put in place.
Anaphylaxis - a life threatening allergic reaction - is possible if students with allergies come in contact with their particular allergen. Because of these risks, we are requesting a NUT AWARE Lancaster Drive Public School. Along with nuts, we also have students at school with serious dairy, banana, fish, tomato and bee sting allergies. We are asking parents to be "nut aware" as well as "allergy sensitive". Please speak directly to your child's teacher about the allergies that may exist in their classroom.
Please make sure that any treats you send in to share with your child's class for birthdays or other holiday parties are nut free. Consider non-food treats to celebrate an event or holiday. Please speak to your child's teacher about allergies before sending in a food treat with your child. We want to ensure that all students at Lancaster feel safe and included.
Please read labels and take note of peanuts and nuts listed when you prepare snacks for the class or send in packaged snacks. Many foods contain nuts, peanuts or by-products, such as peanut oil.
We appreciate your understanding and support in meeting these important accommodations. We anticipate a safe and healthy school year for all of our students.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sara Wellwood.
Follow the "BE" Rules
On Wednesday, September 28th, the students at Lancaster were welcomed into the gym for a Safety Assembly. At the assembly, Mrs. Wellwood talked about the "BE" Rules:
- BE Respectful
- BE Responsible
- BE Kind
Following the "BE" Rules during recess, in the washrooms, in the hallways, as well as in the classroom, will help keep Lancaster safe and fun! Please review these concepts with your child(ren) and ask them how they can demonstrate the "BE" Rules everyday!
Letter from your Parent Council Co-Chairs
Welcome back to school and to the first edition of this year’s joint council and school newsletter! We have teamed up with the school to bring all the up-dates to you, in one place. This newsletter will be published the first Friday of every month throughout the year.
We have had a busy start to the school year! It is so awesome to see all the students settling in, the teachers and staff enthusiastic and organized for classes and all of our fall clubs and sports up and running. As well, our parent volunteers are buzzing around the school helping with the library, hot lunch, skate exchange, teacher appreciation, welcome events and the book fair. There is just so much going on, and this is what makes our school so great! It is definitely a team effort and we think we are off to a fabulous start! Please see some of the council event and activity up-dates below:
General/Election Meeting - Congratulations to our new parent council members 2016-2017 that were elected at the general meeting in September! We are extremely fortunate to have so many generous and active parents, who graciously donate their time to our school. Thank you and welcome aboard, we are looking forward to working with you all this year! Please find new contact information on the last page of this newsletter.
Welcome Event - The Boo Hoo Breakfast was well attended by our Jr. kindergarten parents and newcomers. Thank you to Lisa Delaney, our hospitality coordinator and her team of volunteers for organizing this event.
Teacher Appreciation - Council took the opportunity to welcome back our amazing teachers and staff on the first day of school. Thanks to Serena Millings for creating a welcoming display of tasty treats and refreshments in the staff lounge.
Skate Exchange – For a first time activity, we had a good number of skates donated and exchanged over the past two weeks. Thanks to parent volunteers, Cindy and Greg Curtis for helping to organize this. We raised $150 for Jump Start for kids. Thank you for your participation.
Parent Council and School Essentials Packet – Once again, we have teamed up with the school to assist in augmenting communication between home and school. You should have received a copy of our packet last week in your child’s agenda. Be sure to check out all that our council and school has to offer!
- Back-to-School Open House and BBQ – It was nice to meet so many families that passed by our council booth this year. We hope you picked up your free Lancaster magnet, had a chance to find out more about parent engagement and checked out our new spirit wear! Thank you to the many volunteers, to our school administrative team and to the teachers for organizing such an informative evening!
Upcoming events:
- Parent Council Meeting – Tuesday November 1st at 6 p.m. All parents are welcome! Please join us. Babysitting will be provided. Please e-mail us by Monday, October 31st if you need childcare.
We hope that after the first few weeks of school that you are already feeling well-informed and part of the Lancaster community. Should you have something to share, or still need more information we are always available at lancd_council@limestone.on.ca
Sincerely,
Donna Banting and Corrie Allingham
LDPS Parent Council Co-Chairs
Parent Council Balance
The Parent Council account balance
as of September 29th was
$1,526.86.
The Charitable Trust account
(Operation Love Lancaster donations)
contains a balance of
$375.70.
Help Wanted!
Parent volunteers are essential to maintaining a rich learning environment. If you can help in any way, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Laurie Gedke-Kerr at: laurie.gedckekerr@queensu.ca
Fun Run Club for Parents
Please join us for some exercise, socialization and fun every
Monday morning at 8:30 (after the bell).
What a great way to start the week!
Meeting place is at the front of the school.
Strollers welcome!
Inclusive Education
A New School Year is Here!
A big welcome to all the new families at LDPS, and welcome back to everyone returning. The Autism Program has six returning students, along with two new recruits. Last year's class grew to be quite a close, caring group and it is wonderful to see so many of them back together again. They will no doubt serve as a solid base to help support the new boys. Fortunately Linda Powers is back as the Autism Program teacher, joined once again by two wonderful Educational Assistants, Greg Hamilton and Ken Roberts.
The returning students will be focusing on integrating regularly into mainstream classes, to put into practice the many skills and strategies they learned last year. I had a chance to observe some of those abilities in action this weekend at my son's ninth birthday party. The whole class but one made it to the party, along with one boy from last year who has moved to another school -- a happy reunion full of exclamations and hugs. The afternoon was fairly wild -- nine boys let loose on my house -- but they managed beautifully, quick to pause the mayhem to talk things out if anyone had a grievance.
Such gatherings are also a chance for the parents to meet and talk, though often just in passing. As the Inclusive Education Coordinator, I would like to encourage and facilitate more communication between the parents, as we face many of the same issues and can benefit from each other's knowledge, experience and support. So expect to hear from me! And for the rest of the LDPS parents, please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, comments or ideas about inclusive education.
Here's to a great year!
Emma Garrard
Inclusive Education Coordinator
2016 Fall Parent Workshop on October 22
For Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers
Speaker: Heidi Bernhardt
Fee: $25 coffee/lunch/free info/free draws
Place: 255 Kingscourt Avenue
Register at: http://www.adhdsupportgroup.ca/ or call 613-561-5453
Time: Preregistration at 8:30, Workshop 9 am - 3 pm
Kingston Minor Hockey Special Needs Division
Open to those ages 5 and up who have the ability to skate and the desire to play our national game. No age is too old.
Saturdays at Centre 70 from 10 - 11 am
For more information: http://www.kamha.ca/organizations/1208/announcements/1099808-Special-Needs-hockey-division-launches-in-KAMHA-
October is Child Abuse Prevention Month in Ontario
Where do kids need to be safe? Everywhere in the Community. Who should keep them safe? Everyone in the Community. For more than 122 years, Family and Children’s Services has been helping kids and families in this community. This month they’re asking for your help. If you know a family that needs help keeping kids safe, then help them by calling Family and Children’s Services. You can help in other ways, too – foster parenting, adoption, volunteering and more. Find out how you can help kids safe by going to www.FamilyandChildren.ca.
School News
Lancaster Girls Soccer
On Monday, September 26, the Lancaster Girls Soccer Team wrapped up a successful season by playing in the Division 1 District Tournament.
While the season was short, all team members should be congratulated on an outstanding season. Following a hugely successful season last year, and with a large portion of the team returning for another season, the girls entered the tournament with confidence. Showing excellent commitment and teamwork, the girls defeated Odessa PS, before squeaking out a tie against L’Ecole Acadie. Unfortunately the girls struggled with very windy conditions in a loss to L’Ecole Vanier. This placed the girls into the consolation game against Loughborough P.S. In a one sided result, the girls regained their assertiveness and confidence in ball possession, and defeated their opponent 4-1.
Once again, the girls demonstrated their understanding of the game as they played together as a strong team, and were outstanding representatives of the school..
Special congratulations go to Lauren V., Emily S., Jill P., Caitie P., and MacKenzie M. who complete their Lancaster Soccer career.
Great job Lions!!!
SPIRIT WEAR
Piano Lessons
Maria Boston has room for more piano students for the 2016-2017 school year.
Please call 613-384-1057 if you are interested in having your child take piano lessons at Lancaster Drive P.S
Community Celebrations
We are blessed to be part of a diverse community here at LDPS. At the beginning of the school year, the Muslim families in our school celebrated 'Eid-ul-Adha (September 12) following the annual Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah). Last June, we also shared in the celebration of Ramadan.The Lancaster community was able to share in these celebrations by decorating the front display cabinet. This cabinet is available to members of the school community who wish to create displays to celebrate special cultural occasions or events. Please contact Sara Wellwood if interested in sharing your special occasion/event, and she will facilitate gaining access to the display case.
"Don't count
the days
make
the days
count."
~ Muhammad Ali