Together in Education
June 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
UpcomingEvents
May 31-June 1 - Camp Oconto Trip
June 5 - Regional Track and Field Meets
June 7 - 1000 Islands Playhouse performance K-3
June 7 - Intermediates to BSS for Mathletes
June 7 - Staff Appreciation lunch from Parent Council
June 8 - District Track and Field
June 9 - SK/1, 1 and DAP Trip - Bowling and Lake Ontario Park
June 14 - Volunteer Tea - 7:45-8:30 am
June 15 - Kingston Cycle Event - 9:15-11:15 am
June 16 - Kindergarten Orientation event 1:30 pm
June 19 - Julie Lalonde visiting Intermediate classes
June 19 - DAP Open House
June 20-21 - Mr Vreeken's Grade 6s- Zoo Trip
June 21-22 - Mr. Stalker's Grade 6s - Zoo Trip
June 23 - School-wide Play Day
June 26 - Gr. 4 Hamilton to Aquatarium
June 27 - Junior Division to Lakeshore Pool
June 27 - Graduation and Boat Cruise
June 28 - June Recognition Assembly 9:00 am
June 28 - Report Cards go home
June 29 - Last day of school
June 30 - PA Day
Sept 4 - First Day of Classes
Message from your Administrative Team
June will come and go in the blink of an eye! Students and teachers are enjoying their last few weeks together and our year-end activities are in full swing! As we write this message, our Track and Field team is representing Lancaster at the District Meet. Our Ultimate Frisbee team is working hard towards clinching another City Championship title, and our Grade 7 and 8s just returned from a memorable trip to Camp Oconto. We asked several of them to tell us about their favourite memory of their time away. The winner? Kayaking :)
Our 25th Anniversary festivities were a huge success! Watching our current students and staff looking through the memorabilia along side former students and staff was very impactful. Our new school logo was unveiled during the event and is now proudly being displayed in our front foyer. The logo design comes as a result of our student submissions for our Logo Design Challenge earlier this year. Eliah’s design (Gr. 3) was brought to life by a local graphic design artist and Lancaster parent and represents all that Lancaster grows in students; knowledge and wisdom, innovation and creativity, a healthy body, mind and spirit, and strong heart and character.
EQAO has also finished for another year. Our students persevered and did their best throughout the 3-day testing period. The results will be shared with the school and with parents in the Fall. Please remember that these results represent your child’s performance on ‘a day in time’ and must be viewed as part of the whole continuum or ‘story’ of your child’s achievement profile.
During the next few weeks, our Grade 3-6 students will be participating in an outdoor cycling festival in partnership with Cycle Kingston. We have classes visiting the Brockville Aquatarium, going bowling, visiting Lakeshore pool, and participating in Mathletes!
June is also a time for celebrations - notably, our Grade 8 graduation! For those students and families moving onto other adventures, we will miss you. You have made a difference during your time with us, and please know that Lancaster will always be a place that you can call home.
We also send farewells to some of our Lancaster staff. Ms. Ryan has made wonderful connections and brought great learning into the SK/1 class, Mr. Higginson provided strong programming with a great dose of personality into our Core French program, and Mme. Rinfret will be missed as she heads off to welcome a new addition to her family. To Mr. Stenman, our heartfelt best wishes as he heads into retirement after an outstanding career as an educator - may there be lots of music and moments of peace ahead of you. Thank you to all of these staff members for your contributions to Lancaster!
We would also like to celebrate our many volunteers! The partnership between school, parent/guardian, and student is essential. On behalf of our staff and students, we would like to thank all parents who helped in so many ways to make this school year such a success at our drop-in Volunteer Breakfast on June 14th. Your efforts, individually and collectively, have been greatly appreciated by all. We would like to take this opportunity to personally thank each and every one of our parents for allowing us the privilege of working with your children. The memories created in elementary school are ones that will last a lifetime.
As we all get ready to enjoy the summer, we would like to recognize all the hard work, collaboration and discovery that went into making this school year a huge success. We are proud of our community’s dedication towards excellence and of all our students’ incredible accomplishments in academics, athletics, artistic endeavours, and personal goals. Students are encouraged to take time to reflect upon their achievements and to be proud of all that they have learned this year. We hope you have a safe, healthy, and rejuvenating summer holiday! We are already looking forward to seeing excited faces on Tuesday, September 5th!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Sara Wellwood and Mrs. Lani Fox
Grandparents lunch and recess chats
Marathon Club
Outdoor learning at Gould Lake
Letter from your Parent Council Co-Chairs
Dear Lancaster Families,
It is hard to believe that this is the last newsletter for this school year already! What a busy and successful year we have had! Thank you to all the council leaders and committee members for their enthusiasm, hard work and commitment to the betterment of our school and community.
Special recognition is warranted for our super supportive administrative team who have been major contributors to our success. Ms. Fox and Ms. Wellwood have given so much of their own time, dedicated to our mutual goal of building connections and relationships within our school community and providing enrichment opportunities for the students throughout the year. They are an amazing team to work with. A huge thank you to all the teachers and school staff as well. They are always willing to entertain our ideas and support us in so many ways. We are so appreciative that we have and continue to grow such a positive partnership with all. Last but not least, our students have been amazing volunteers along with their parents to help keep our events and activities running smoothly! Thank you everyone!
We would like to recognize a few council members who will be stepping down or moving on as their children move on next year. Thank you to Laurie Gedcke-Kerr, Nancy Krampitz, Vinay Singh, Mona Rahman, Lisa Delaney, Emma Garrard and Brenda MacDonnell. Your involvement in Parent Council has been very much appreciated. As co-chairs we will also step into new roles in the fall. We are looking forward to working with new council members, that join the team. Please join us in the fall!
Please find this month’s up-dates below:
PRO Grant – In May we co-hosted a Parent Workshop about Kids and Anxiety along with Cataraqui Woods PS council. It was a popular session that brought out 66 participants from all LDSB schools and the community. Feedback was very positive. We have since applied for a 2017-2018 grant and are hoping to plan for a STEM family event next year.
Teacher Appreciation – Thanks to Gillian Brown and Serena Milling, our teacher/ staff appreciation coordinators, our teacher appreciation health and wellness lunch event was a hit!
Nominations/ Elections - Nomination forms are still being collected. Please send in a form to indicate your interest in participating in next year's Parent Council. Formal Elections will be held on September 19, 2017.
Year End Report – Parent Council is responsible for submitting an annual report that summarizes our activities for the year to the LDSB. This report will be available to all parents and can be found on the parent council section of our school website.
It has been our privilege to serve such a remarkable school community as your parent council co-chairs. We are grateful for the support we have received over the past two years.
Have a safe and happy summer!
Sincerely,
Donna Banting & Corrie Allingham
School News
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
PARENT COUNCIL NEWS
2016-2017 Parent Council Executive
Parent Council Account Balance
The Parent Council account balance
as of May 31, 2017 is
$11,297.98
Submitted by Jennifer McKee, Treasurer
Call for Nominations for Parent Council 2017-2018!
Interested in being a part of Parent Council 2017-2018? Fill out the nomination form available online at:
Request from the Grade 8 Graduation Decorating Committee
We are hoping we can reach out to our Lancaster Community to help us with our Grade 8 Graduation that is taking place on June 27th, 2017.
We have a small committee looking to see if we could borrow any of the following items for the big event.
We are looking for the following:
- White Tulle (the wider version would be preferred, but we won’t turn any down!)
- Warm White Christmas lights (please label any strands we borrow)
- White Icicle lights (please label)
- Extension chords (please label)
We greatly appreciate any items that we can borrow.
Please contact Laurie Gedcke-Kerr - at
We are happy to arrange pickup and will be sure to return items to you after the graduation.
Thank you!
Useful Resources from the Anxiety Workshop
On Wednesday, May 17, Parent Council hosted a workshop focusing on anxiety in children facilitated by Nicole Corbett and Jacqueline Boehme from Pathways for Children and Youth.
Some useful links:
- Pathways for Children and Youth: http://www.pathwayschildrenyouth.org/
- AnxietyBC: https://www.anxietybc.ca/
- "Bullies to Buddies: how to turn enemies into friends" by Izzy Kalman: https://www.amazon.ca/Bullies-Buddies-Turn-Enemies-Friends/dp/0970648219
This workshop was funded through a Parent Reaching Out (PRO) Grant
from the Ontario Ministry of Education
25th Anniversary Picnic
Celebrating 25 years of memories
First Principal, Town Crier, BBQ and Steve Stenman's band!
Ministry Seeking Feedback on Indigenous Education Policy Framework
The Ministry of Education is seeking feedback from students and families to help inform the development of the Third Progress Report on the implementation of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education Policy Framework.
More information is available at the Limestone Disrict School Board website at: https://tinyurl.com/y8mhy8pe
Deadline is June 23, 2017
Government Seeks Input on Accessibility Standard for Education
The Government of Ontario has committed to identifying and addressing accessibility barriers in the education sector and to the development of a new accessibility standard for education.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and accessibility standards provide a roadmap to an accessible Ontario, where people of all abilities can work, play and participate in all aspects of daily living. The purpose of a new accessibility standard for education would be to address barriers to accessibility in the delivery of education. Under the Act and accessibility standards, organizations across Ontario have flexibility to provide accessible services in a way that meets the needs of people with disabilities and is appropriate to the organization’s unique circumstances.
The Ministry of Education is seeking input on the development of an accessibility standard for education that will address barriers in education that might prevent students from reaching their full potential.
Families and staff within the school district are invited to participate in an online survey in English or French. The Board will also invite feedback from its Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), Accessibility Committee and School Councils.
The online survey asks questions related to five themes:
- Accessibility Awareness and Training: Ensuring all members of the school community have differentiated training to provide an accessible and inclusive educational experience
- Awareness of Accessibility Accommodations – Policies, Processes, and Programs/Supports: Ensuring parents, students, and instructors have access to information about programs
- Information, Communication, and Inclusive Decision-Making: Ensuring people with lived experience have a voice during planning processes
- Transition Planning: Supporting children entering school from child care and planning for entry into post-secondary education or employment
- Inclusive and Accessible Learning Spaces: Ensuring that K-12 schools, colleges and universities include accessibility features throughout the built environment.
The survey takes about 30 minutes to complete and will remain open until July 14, 2017.
The input from this event will be shared with the Minister of Education, the Minister Responsible for Accessibility, and a Standards Development Committee to help shape an accessibility standard for education. For more information about the engagement process, please email the Ministry.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Inclusive Education: A Fond Farewell and New Beginnings
Now that June is here, the countdown to summer vacation has started. For most of the boys in Mrs. Powers’ class, this is their last month at Lancaster and next year will see each of them at a different school. Many wonderful friendships have been made between these students as well as with their peers in their integration classes, and there is certainly sadness over the coming goodbyes. Most of the boys will be transitioning back to mainstream classes next year, ready to apply the strategies they have learned in a larger group with less support. This is an exciting next step but also a source of anxiety for the children – and their parents! The bonds that have formed during the program will hopefully withstand the upcoming changes, and continued playdates with familiar friends will be especially beneficial during the transition phase. All the best to all the boys heading off on this new path in their schooling journey.
In September, Lancaster will welcome several new children into the autism program and into the broader school community. They too will likely be feeling anxious about the transition to a new school – as no doubt will their parents! – so please look for opportunities to make them feel welcome and included at Lancaster. And in the meantime…have a wonderful summer!
~Emma Garrard, Inclusive Education Coordinator
Save The Bees
Bees are in trouble. Due to global warming, many plants and animals have shifted north, but studies show bees have not caught up with that trend. This has caused bees to disappear at an alarming rate because the wildflowers the bees feed off of are also disappearing. We can help by planting wildflowers and making our school and backyards “bee-friendly”. To receive a free packet of Vesey wildflowers, visit https://bringbackthebees.ca/Contest/Index.
Help us bring back the bees!
"Service to others
is the rent you pay
for your room here on earth."
~ Muhammad Ali
Useful Links
Sign Up for the Parent Council E-mail List
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Sign Up for Parent Council on REMIND
https://www.remind.com/join/ldps-pc
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People for Education
To sign up for their bi-weekly newsletter:
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LDSB Family Lending Library
limestone.on.ca/lending_library
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Limestone Link
www.limestone.on.ca/
Limestone_Link/
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Council Calendar
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School Calendar