Author: Wingerg

District School Board of Niagara

The Husky Howler

September 2019

Volume 1, Issue 1

Inside this issue:

School Start-up Reminders	Pg . 2 / 2
Medically At-Risk Students.	Pg .2
Meet the Teacher BBQ Event	Pg. 3
Rowan’s Law Day	Pg. 3
School Organization	Pg. 4

September Dates to Mark Down.
Sept. 3 : First Day of School
Week of Sept 9- X-country tryouts and Int/Jr. Soccer tryouts begin.
Sept. 13: Early Release Day (Students dismissed at 12:15).
Sept. 17-Picture Day
Sept. 19-Gr. 6 to Walker Living Campus-animation workshop
Sept. 19-Int. Soccer Tournament-Cent. Park
Sept. 19: 5-7 pm Meet the Teacher BBQ event
Sept. 20—Gr. 7 & 8s to WLC—Leadership camp
Sept. 25: Junior Soccer Tournament-Cent. Park
Sept. 25: Rowan’s Law Day—wear purple
Sept. 26: Cross Country meet at Memorial Park-Welland
Sept. 27-Terry Fox Event at WHPS.

Principal’s Message : Welcome Back Huskies!

By Mr. M. Leduc,

Welcome back to all those students and families returning to Wellington Heights, and a special welcome to all of those students and families who are new! I hope you have all enjoyed the beautiful summer that we have had; and are ready to embark on another great school year. Teachers and students are already getting back to the day to day routines of school and learning! A special thank-you to all school staff for their efforts these past few weeks, and to Mrs. DeRuiter who has worked diligently to make sure the place was spotless, shining, and ready for our first day back!
We are all very excited to be able to enjoy our new creative playground! The feedback from students and parents has been very positive. Thank you again to our School Advisory Council for all of their efforts coordinating fundraising events so that we were able to get the playground installed for students to enjoy.
I am very much looking forward to my fourth year here at Wellington Heights, working with your children, the teachers, and the community to ensure students have enriched learning opportunities and fun, memorable experiences. Welcome to our new staff who have joined us for this upcoming year. Mrs. Potthast and Ms. Chmay will be joining our staff working in classes supporting students in a variety of capacities. Welcome also to Ms. Luska who is teaming up with Miss Mackenzie in our K-1 classroom this year. You will find our school organization on page 4 of this newsletter.
Students at Wellington Heights can look forward to another year with great learning opportunities, and extra-curricular activities which will include athletics, the arts, and technology. We look forward to continuing to work with you, our school community, to ensure our students have the best experience possible! Please join us for our Meet the Teacher BBQ on Thursday, September 19th form 5-7pm. We hope you are able to join us!

The school newsletter is an important tool for communicating with you so please take the time to read through it each month. We will be posting it on our school website found at : http://wellingtonheights.dsbn.org
We will also send it to families as an email attachment.

School Start Up Reminders

MEDICALLY AT-RISK STUDENTS
If you have a child with a Prevalent Medical Condition (Anaphylaxis, Asthma, Diabetes, and/or Epilepsy) we want to make sure we have a current Plan of Care to support your child.
The Plan of Care form is a new document that replaces the Emergency Action Plan. All parents of children with Prevalent Medical Conditions are asked to fill out the new Plan of Care and submit to the school. Forms were sent home with students who had a Plan of Care last year. You can also download the forms here dsbn.org/prevalent-medical-conditions.
We have students who have a severe allergy to nuts and nut products, oils, etc. We request nut-free lunches and snacks to be brought by students and ask that we all exclude these types of products from being brought to school. Please avoid sending products to school that say, “may contain nuts” as well.
If you are bringing in a special treat please check with the teacher or office in advance, ensure that you provide a nut fee treat. Although we cannot guarantee a peanut free environment, we appreciate your continued efforts to support us with this delicate issue.

Childcare at Wellington Heights!
We are pleased that “A Child’s World” will continue to provide before and afterschool care for many students. Hours are from 7:00 am to 8:45 am, then again after school from 3:15-5:30. If you are interested in obtaining more information, please call 905-735-1162 or 905-414-7357 or visit them on their website at www.acw.on.ca
If you are dropping off at the daycare in the morning, please park in the parking lot and enter through the doors at the East side of the school (closest to the entrance off of Alsop Ave) . Similarly, students can be picked up at the same entrance after school hours.

Attendance: Absences, Lates, Sign-Ins & Sign-Outs.
Your child's safety and whereabouts are very important to us! It is essential for us to know when your child is absent from school. Please use the Safe Arrival system to report your child’s absence. Information about the system and links to the apps can be found at:
https://www.dsbn.org/earlylearners/safe-arrival-program
Being on time for school is an important habit to teach your child. We stress the need for every student to be at school on time in order to not miss important lessons or information being shared. Students who do arrive late must check in at the office before heading to class.
Students who may need to leave the school during school hours must be picked up by a parent or guardian at the office. When you return your child to school, they must check in with Ms. Shaver at the office before heading to class.
If there is a change in your child’s normal dismissal procedure (i.e. “not taking the bus home today”, etc.) please write a note in your child’s agenda. If calling regarding any changes, please do so as early as possible. The office can be very busy at dismissal time and we do not want to miss notifying your child of any changes to their routines.

SAFELY PICKING UP/DROPPING OFF STUDENTS….
Please, when dropping off students, follow the arrows to the appropriate area. Please do not use the bus lane in the morning or after school as this will interfere with bus traffic routines. Please use the “kiss and ride” drop off zone when dropping off students by car. Please do not park or leave your car unattended in this lane. If you need to come into the school, we have many parking spaces for you to use. This will keep traffic flowing smoothly, assisting with student safety. Those students arriving off of Canboro Road are to use the path to walk around to the rear of the school. Those coming from the Cherry Ridge Community are to use the side walk off of Alsop Ave, then turn directly into the playground area once they are at the school. Students should not be walking across the parking lot at any time unless accompanied by an adult and should use the crosswalk areas as marked. Please help us keep our students (your children) safe!

Page #

The Husky Howler

Wellington Heights Daily Schedule
8:35 AM : Outside Supervision Begins
8:50 AM : Entry Bell
8:55 AM : Instructional Block 1
10:35-10:50 AM : Indoor/eating portion of the first Nutrition Break
10:50-11: 15 AM: Outdoor Recess
11:15 AM : Instructional Block 2
12:55 –1:15 PM : Indoor/Eating portion of Nutrition Break 2
1:15-1:35 PM: Outdoor Recess.
1:35 PM : Instructional Block 3
3:15 PM : Dismissal Bell

ACCIDENT INSURANCE
Each year , a Student Accident Insurance Plan is made available for all students on a voluntary basis. The plan provides protection for dental damage due to accidents, fracture benefits and other important coverages which are NOT covered under the Provincial Health Plan.
Some parents may have Dental Plan coverage through their work but many of these plans are limited, while this accident coverage is not. You should compare to make sure you have the coverage you need or desire. Under the Education Act, the Board is not permitted to provide coverage for accidents to pupils, therefore, the Board recommends consideration of this plan to any parent who wishes to obtain this kind of insurance. Although the policy has all the advantages of a group plan, it is essentially a direct contract between the parent and the insurance company.
Details of these plans are described on the application form sent home in the first week of school and online at www.insuremykids.com. If you require further information, you may contact InsureMyKids at Box 557, 100 King St. Hamilton, L8N 3K9 or call toll free at 1-800-463-5437. If you wish to subscribe to this insurance, please complete the form sent home and mail it directly to Old Republic Insurance Company in the enclosed stamped envelope before the end of September.

Meet the Teacher School BBQ
We are looking forward to seeing you out at our Meet the Teacher BBQ Night on Thursday, September 19th. It will be a great chance to reconnect with WHPS staff, and our school community, and a chance to visit your child’s classroom and say ’hello’ to their classroom teacher for this year. To start the evening off, staff will be barbequing hot dogs from 5-5:45 pm. From 6-7 pm, you are invited to visit the classroom where your child can show you around and introduce you to their teacher!

MILK, PIZZA, AND HOT LUNCH DATES.
Pizza , Hot Lunches, and Milk delivery will all begin in October. Thank you to Mrs. Crookham who will be leading the coordination of our hot lunch program this year. Our Milk program will commence on Monday, September 30th. Our first pizza day will be on Wednesday, October 2, and our first Hot Lunch day will be on Friday, October 18th.Please watch for more information to come home shortly.
We encourage all families to use Cash-on-line to place and pay for orders. For October hot lunch, Cash on line will be open starting the week of September 16th. You will receive an email notification when Cash-on line becomes available.

ROWAN’S LAW DAY—-SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
On September 25, Rowan’s Law Day will be observed by our school. This is a day to increase awareness about the danger of concussions, and to positively promote injury prevention.
Rowan’s Law was created after Rowan Stringer, a 17-year old student died after sustaining two concussions. Because she did not tell anyone about her injuries or how she was feeling with her family, coaches, or friends her concussions went untreated.
By observing Rowan’s Law Day each year and educating our school community about concussions, we hope to promote a culture of safety at our school.
Purple was Rowan’s favourite colour, so we are asking students to wear purple to school on September 26 – it could be a purple shirt, socks, a ribbon – something to represent Rowan.

WELLINGTON HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOL STAFF
2019/20
JK/SK 1: Miss K. Mackenzie, Mrs. K. Luska (DECE),
JK/SK 2: Mrs. H. Fallowfield, Miss A. Church (DECE)
JK/SK 3: Mrs. K. Reid
Grade 1: Mrs. H. Haining
Grade 1/2: Mrs. V. Thorne
Grade 2: Mr. D. Purdie
Grade 3: Miss C. Haining
Grade 3/4: Mrs. A. Keus
Grade 4: Mr. T. Blacquiere
Grade 5: Mrs. S. Bench
Grade 6: Mrs. A. Brennan
Grade 7: Mr. B. Teal
Grade 8: Mrs. S. Lockhart
FSL: Mme S. Corbeil
LRT: Mrs. D. Hunchak
PR/JR Prep: Mr. M. Ford Additional School Support:
Primary Prep: Mrs. N. Mako Youth Counsellor: Mrs. T. Hofland
Admin. Asst: Ms. P. Shaver Social Worker: Ms. C. Vanderbent
Educational Assistants: Mrs. L. Stavinga, Ms. L Potthast Instructional Coach: Mrs. M. Hilliker
Miss D. Chmay Lunch Supervisors: Mrs. P. Young, Mrs. B. Lundquist
Custodian: Mrs. J. DeRuiter
Principal: Mr. M. Leduc

LEGAL DOCUMENTS
When couples separate or divorce, parents generally share custody of the children. Sometimes, however, other arrangements are made and set out in a court order.
The school cannot enforce these alternate arrangements unless we have a copy of the court order on file in your child’s confidential Ontario School Record (OSR).
Should you have such a court order that we should be aware of, please speak to the principal and share the most current copy with the school office.

SMILE :)
On Tuesday, September 17 we will be having picture day here at WHPS for all students. Pegasus School Services will once again be providing this service for our students and families. Watch for forms and more details to come home closer to the date.

Soccer and Cross-Country Already Starting!!
It doesn’t take long for extra-curricular sports and activities to get started at Wellington Heights. In the first few weeks of school Junior and Intermediate Soccer practices and Cross Country practices will begin. Please encourage your son/daughter to consider participating in school sports as it promotes physical health not to mention it is lots of fun!!! Practices will occur in the morning, during nutrition breaks, or after school. Our Husky Howlers will also begin next week!