Farhan Hussain, Principal Hanna Morris, Vice Principal Della Broderick, Office Coordinator Linda Peyton, Administrative Assistant

With the warmer temperature, come melting snow and a muddy playground. Please continue to have your children wear appropriate footwear outside as well as keep a pair of indoor shoes at school. The staff is providing many exciting opportunities for students to enrich their school experience through events such as Intramural/Intermural sports, class trips and activities.

Keep up to date by using our online Calendar found at:

https://www.ugdsb.ca/kortright/calendar/monthly-view/

In closing, the final few months tend to go the fastest. Let’s all work to make this the best term of our year!

Guest Speaker Raising Resilient Children

Sponsored By School Council Location : Kortright Hills PS

Time : 7pm - 8pm Date : April 12 th Audience : Adults

Speaker : Larry Lacey

Description: In this era of change, children need the skills to cope with daily challenges. Parents and significant adults are key to assisting children with building resiliency skills. Resilience is the ability to recover from difficulties or change—to function as well as before and move forward. Many refer to this as “bouncing back” from challenges. The presentation will examine scenarios and strategies to help youngsters, "bounce back", as they face new situations. Parents who attend this workshop will be given the opportunity to examine their parenting tools and will add new skills to their toolbox. Larry Lacey has over 35 years of experience as a teacher and school Principal. His journey as a hockey referee, university hockey coach, wrestling coach, and parent of 3 children has allowed him to interact with a variety of age groups. Plan on attending this not to be missed presentation. Childcare for school age children will be provided, please ensure that you RSVP for the evening. If you plan on attending the Guest Speaker presentation, please RSVP by April 5th, at kortrightpc@gmail.com If applicable, please include the # of children requiring childcare.

June 14th 2018 More info to come!

Easter Weekend

The Easter long weekend is Friday March 30th to Monday April 2nd. There is no school for students.

Congratulations to Mrs. Zanyk who retired in March! She has been a wonderful member of the Kortright Hills family for so long and a valued member of the Upper Grand District School Board. While we will miss her greatly, we hope that retirement brings time to focus on her many interests and provide lots of great time with family and friends. We are pleased to welcome Mr. Leader who currently teaches in our intermediate division to our resource team, he will be taking over Mrs. Zanyk’s resource position. Welcome Mr. Leader.

Library News

Forest of Reading programs will continue until late April. Students who are participating in the Forest of Reading programs are asked to please return books as soon as they have finished reading them so that other students have access to the books too. We do have multiple copies of all of the novels, but the program is very popular! Students participating in the Forest of Reading programs have less than a month to complete their books before we vote! Voting dates are listed below. Please remind your child that they must read at least 5 of the 10 books to be invited to vote. If families wish to read the books together (shared reading or read aloud), that is absolutely encouraged! Silver Birch Express votes April 24th - 1st recess

Silver Birch votes April 26th - 1st recess

Red Maple votes April 26th - 2nd recess

We will celebrate our reading accomplishments with ice cream sundae parties after we vote. Ice cream and some toppings will be provided. If students would like to contribute some toppings, that would be much appreciated! Thanks.

To view the books for each program, please visit the library website Forest of Reading page. Links to the blogs are also posted on the library website or can be accessed through UG2GO. Blue Spruce Celebrations were held for all Kindergarten - Grade 2 students on March 28th & 29th. Results of our voting will be announced after Easter.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be arriving on May 3rd, with previews on May 4th, and sales May 7th - 9th. More information will come home closer to the date. The book fair is a fantastic fundraiser for the library. We earn up to 70% of all sales as credit to purchase new books and resources! Thank you for your continued support of our library programs, Sheila Morgan Teacher Librarian sheila.morgan@ugdsb.on.ca http://bit.ly/KHPSLLC

Yearbook Ordering Information

Personalize your yearbook when you order online! When you place your yearbook order online, you will be able to add an additional 4 pages of pictures from your child’s year at no additional cost. The back cover can also be customized. Order now and continue to personalize until the due date!

Order Link: kortrighthillsps.picaboo.com

Passcode: khps

Once on the order site there are two options for ordering:

K-8 Yearbook 2017-2018 (delivery last week of June)

• $14 Softcover

• $24 Hardcover

• This is our full school yearbook that will contain one page for each class and additional pages with photos of events, teams, clubs, & candids.

The order and personalization deadline is May 25, 2018

Grade 8 Yearbook 2017-2018 (delivery in September)

• $11 Softcover

• $21 Hardcover

• The Grade 8 yearbook will only contain photos of the Grade 8 students, and will include the Quebec trip & Graduation.

The order and personalization deadline is July 31, 2018 Please note: Once on the order site there are two options for ordering, the K-8 full school yearbook, and the Grade 8 only yearbook. Please be sure to order the appropriate yearbook(s) for your child(ren). If you do not wish to order online, please complete & return the order form that was sent home in March (or download a copy through our school website), but please understand that you will NOT be able to personalize your child’s yearbook.

Orders through the paper form are due May 11th, 2018

LORETTAPENNYRETURNSTOKORTRIGHTHILLS!

WehavebookedspeakerextraordinaireLorettaPennyintoourschoolfortheentiredayonApril12th!TherewillbeaKto5assemblieswithherfrom9:10-10:30amonthetopicofOceanCreatures.Therewillbeagrade6to8assemblyfrom11:45-12:55pmonthetopicofWaterisLife.

Sheisthebestofthebestformotivational,environmentalkids'speakersandallparentsarewelcometojoinusatanytimethatday.Inadditiontoherslidesandstorytelling(fromallofhertravellingworld-wideadventuresandwildliferesearch),shewillsetupseveraltablesofcoolthingsthatthestudentsarewelcometopickupandtouch(e.g.snakeskins,animalfurs,turtleshells,etc.).

Shewillalsosetupseveraltablesoffree-tradeitemsthathavebeenboughtfromdevelopingcountriesthatstudents/staff/parentsarewelcometobuy(e.g.polishedrocks,smalljewelry,musicalinstruments,jewelryboxes,scarves,etc.)andtherangeofpricesarefrom50centsto$20.TheproceedsfromthosesaleswillgotosupportoneofLoretta'sfavouritecharities,amen'sshelterinMississaugawhereherfamilyvolunteersregularly.

Sheisincrediblyinspiringandanexcellentexampleofhowonepersoncantrulymakeadifferenceintheworld!Pleasejoinusifyouareavailable!ForanyquestionspleasespeakwithCathyDykstra.

International Day of Pink

April 11th, 2018 marks the International Day of Pink. It is a day where communities across the country, and across the world, can unite in celebrating diversity and raising awareness to stop all forms of bullying.

Wear pink to show your support.

Anti-Bullying at KHPS

In an equitable and inclusive school climate, all members of the school community feel safe, comfortable, and accepted. Staff and students value diversity and demonstrate respect for others and a commitment to establishing a just, caring society. An equitable, inclusive education system encourages and enables all students to learn and to fulfill their potential.

Staff will: Closely supervise students in all areas of the school and school grounds.

Students will: Refuse to bully others.

Parents will: Teach problem solving skills. This insert was taken from our Bully Prevention Plan. This can be found at: https://www.ugdsb.ca/kortright/resources/bullying-prevention-plan/

April 2, 2018 WORLD AUTISM DAY WEAR BLUE!

On April 2, 2018 Canadians will officially recognize World Autism Awareness Day.

As a means of increasing public awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the day-to-day challenges and triumphs of people with autism and their families, KHPS will join Autism Ontario and schools across the province in the 2018 Raise the Flag campaign. As a school, we will be working to raise money to support programs, events, and services delivered through Autism Ontario.

We will encourage everyone to wear blue and donations of a toonie are welcomed on April 3rd. Help us raise donations, raise awareness, and raise a flag to support World Autism Awareness Day!

Autism Ontario http://www.autismontario.com/

Kerry's Place Autism Services http://www.kerrysplace.org/Public/Home.aspx

We’d love to celebrate customs and traditions from all around the world! If you have a suggestion or idea, please contact your child’s teacher, Mr. Hussain or Mrs. Morris. If you are willing to come in and share ideas with us, we would love to hear from you.

Great things happening at Kortright Hills PS.

Clubs, Extra Curricular

Time Staff In Charge

Safety Patrol Before and after school H. Morris

Milk Monitors Grade 6 Both Breaks H. Morris

Library Helpers (Gr. 6 - 8) Day 1 - 5, first break S. Morgan

Workshops Promoting Good Mental Health (4-8) K-3

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays In Class

V. Jameson, L. Beddard, U of G students-Miss Bossence, Miss Irwin and Miss Lenuik

Lego Club Day 4 V. Jameson

ME TO WE (5-8) Day 2, second break V.Jameson, C.Dykstra

Writer’s Circle (6-8) Day 3, first break K. Jones, A. Leader

ECO Leaders (5-8) Day 5, first break K. Jones, C.Dykstra

Silver Birch Express (3 & 4) Day 4, first break S. Morgan

Silver Birch (5 & 6) Day 2, first break S. Morgan

Red Maple (7 & 8) Day 1, first break S. Morgan

Coding & Robotics Club (5-8) Day 1, second break S. Morgan

Video/Animation Club (1-8) Day 2, second break S. Morgan

Coding & Robotics Club (1-4) Day 3, second break S. Morgan

Arts & Crafts Makerspace (1-8) Day 4, second break S. Morgan

Engineering Makerspace (1-8) Day 5, second break S. Morgan

Concert Band

R. Cade

Primary Games Club Day 3, November - April S. Bowden

Cobra Choir (1-5) Day 1, first break S. Phelan

Intermediate Choir Day 5, first break S. Phelan, S. Mason

Office Helpers Breaks D. Broderick

Zentangle Club (7-8) Day 3 and 4 first break C. Brindle

Baking Club (8) After school C. Brindle

Intermediate Floor Hockey

S. Petersen

Junior Floor Hockey

S. Hemsley

Intermediate Badminton

S Mason

Child and Youth Mental Health Week 2018 #MHUG

May 7-11, 2018 More info to follow will follow from Mrs. Jameson and Ms. Beddard. SUPER stands for the mental health and well-being skills that we will be building each day of the week. Monday Social Connection Tuesday Understanding Emotions Wednesday Personal health – sleep, nutrition, exercise Thursday Empathy Friday Resilience

May 8th 2018

TalkingAboutMentalHealth–April2018SpringCleanYourMentalHealth!

It’s Spring! Flowers blooming, birds chirping, sun shining. There is nothing quite like it. Often we Spring Clean our homes – tuck winter away, clean out the cobwebs and get ready for summer. Spring is a time of renewal. Why not use this momentum for a mental health renewal?

Let the sun shine in … Try and ‘spring clean” your emotional and mental spaces this month. Get rid of emotional debris that is no

longer serving you. Here are some ideas to help get you started on your mental health Spring Clean. Focus

on things that make you happy and give you a clear, fresh state of mind

Start a Journal Writing can help articulate your thoughts, clear your emotional space and help put things

into perspective. Try having a family journal time where once a week everyone journals/records their

thoughts and feelings. This can help clear your mind of clutter and also get things out of your mind and

onto paper. Don’t worry about punctuation or spelling – it’s just for you.

Be Aware of Your Thoughts Sometimes we don’t even notice the negative things we say to ourselves.

Try to notice your thoughts and reframe thoughts into kindness. Instead of “We never have time to sit down as a family for dinner” try “When we sit down as a family for dinner it is such a treat”. We are

careful of how we speak to others but often not so careful about how we speak to ourselves. Practice your

own self compassion this month.

Enhance Your Physical Health Physical wellness is a big part of maintaining mental well-being.

Exercise, sleep and eating well all contribute to positive well-being. Try replacing soda or coffee with

herbal tea. Try going for a nature walk or scavenger hunt with the family. Yoga, Pilates and mediation can also enhance both your emotional and physical well-being.

Remember, each day is fresh start – just like Spring. Have a great April!

Jenny Marino, Mental Health and Addictions Lead Upper Grand District School Board

Monthly environmental activities to help celebrate our planet

April22ndisEarthDay!

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” - Albert Einstein

CelebrateEarthDayonApril22nd!Founded in 1990, Earth Day Canada inspires people of all ages across the country to connect with nature and build resilient communities as well as foster an intrinsically motivated, enduring commitment to stewardship and conservation. https://earthday.ca/about/

EarthDay2018Theme:EndPlasticPollution From poisoning and injuring marine life to disrupting human hormones, from littering our beaches and landscapes to clogging our waste streams and landfills, the exponential growth of plastics is now threatening the survival of our planet. Earth Day 2018 is dedicated to providing the information and inspiration needed to fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics. https://earthday.org

IdeasforyourfamilytocelebrateEarthDay:

• Get involved with Earth Day 2018’s Theme https://www.earthday.org/yourjourney2018/

Download your Plastic Pollution Primer to learn more about this problem and act to help End Plastic Pollution!

• Spend a day outside. In the garden with your family, plant vegetables, trees or native flowers and attract native animals and pollinators. Or join a local community event to help clean your neighbourhood or restore local plant life.

• Make commitments to cut down on your energy usage as well as waste. Turn lights off, power down electrical devices, turn down your thermostat and only do full loads of laundry and dishes. Always bring cloth bags when shopping, refuse to buy over packaged products, and lug a mug instead of using non-recyclable coffee cups.

• Learn more about the environment and the effects of global warming. Encourage awareness and promote the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle way of life.

Remember that every day is Earth Day! Don't restrict yourself to just one day a year. Make environmental actions and caring about the planet a habit - on Earth Day and every day.

waystogogreenblog.com