Ross R. MacKay Public School

35 Trafalgar Road, R.R.# 2 Hillsburgh, ON N0B 1Z0

Phone: (519) 855-4957 Website: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/rossrmackay Fax: (519) 855-6901

Principal: Ms. T. Armstrong

Office Coordinator: B. Gerrits November, 2019

Principal’s Message:

Gratitude goes to our School Council

for hosting our spook-tacular Halloween

Activities on Oct. 31. Students are certain

to enjoy the festivities.

This past month, we

have focussed on

the Character Trait

of Responsibility.

The month of

November will be all

about Compassion. We encourage you to talk

to your children about what these words

mean at home, school and in the community.

Compassion, or empathy, is ‘caught, not

taught’. The key is to demonstrate

compassion and empathy ourselves as adults,

showing we understand and care about our

children’s feelings and treating our family

and people outside our family with kindness.

It’s also important to talk about our own

emotions – not to overburden our kids, but

to openly share about the range of normal

feelings.

We’d also appreciate you as

parents/guardians talking to your children

about self-regulation and keeping small

problems small as we have noticed that a

number of students have been struggling

with both in the last while at RRM. Here’s a

great link to resources that can help with

these discussions. https://self-reg.ca/

We welcome parents/guardians to join

us this month at our Character Education

Assembly on Nov. 4, at our Remembrance

Day Assembly on Nov. 11 and, of course,

during our Interviews on Nov. 28 and 29.

As always, we encourage you to use

the UGDSB Messenger App, to visit our RRM

School Website regularly

http://www.ugdsb.ca/rossrmackay/, ensure

you are signed up for Email Blasts and to

follow us on our Twitter Account

@RossRMacKayPS. Our School Council also

invites you to follow their Facebook Page

Ross R. MacKay Public School - by School

Council

As parents/guardians, you are our

partners in ensuring the success and

happiness of your children. Please feel free

to email, call or set up a meeting if you have

questions, concerns, suggestions or

compliments!

Yours in education,

Ms. Tracy Armstrong

tracy.armstrong@ugdsb.on.ca

(519) 855-4957 x223

Wanted – Volunteers & Paid

Positions

Volunteers are always a

valuable resource in the

school. We appreciate

the many, many hours

that parents and

volunteers provide in

order to support our

students and to assist

with the events that are offered at the school.

If you wish to volunteer on a regular basis, we

ask that you connect with your child’s teacher

first. You will be asked to complete and sign a

Volunteer & Confidentiality Form which we will

keep on file. We also ask that all volunteers

report to the office to sign in upon arrival, pick

up a volunteer badge and to sign out again

when leaving the building.

We are also always on the lookout for back-up

Nutrition Break Supervisors (supervising both

the eating and the outdoor activity time),

Emergency Occasional Teachers (to teach

classes if a regular Occasional Teacher is

unavailable) and Emergency Early Childhood

Educators and Occasional Educational

Assistants (to fill in if a regular Occasional E.A.

is unavailable). Please check in the office if you

are interested and available for such paid

positions. Qualifications for Emergency Staff

are not necessary but an up-to-date police

check and resume will be requested.

Life Threatening Allergies:

Every month, we remind our school

community that we have several students and

staff with life-threatening medical conditions at

Ross R. MacKay. We ask that you please

respect our guidelines to support student

safety.

NO

Pineapple

NO Whole Eggs

NO Peanuts and Tree

Nuts

NO Shellfish (NEW )

IF students bring food items that are DAIRY

PRODUCTS, students need to ensure they

wash their hands thoroughly to avoid cross-

contamination for our student with a life-

threatening contact allergy to Dairy.

School Council Corner:

Our 2019-2020 School Council has been

acclaimed and we held our first meeting in

October. I would like to thank everyone who

signed up to work on, or support, Council. It is

going to be a great year!

We have had some questions about one

person holding two positions on Council and I

wanted to take a moment to address that. This

only happens because we do not have enough

volunteers for all positions. In the event that

we are few volunteers short for a full Council,

we match similar positions under one person

(i.e.: Chair/Treasurer and Events/Hot Lunch) so

that we can ensure that all the important

positions get handled by seasoned volunteers.

This Thursday is our first event, and we are

putting the finishing touches on our annual

Halloween Dance Party! The students will join

us in the gym for snacks, games, crafts and a

dance. We are still in need of some large

décor so if you happen to have a not-too-

spooky Halloween inflatable that you aren’t

using, please drop it off at school (Attention:

Linda) and we will put it to good use for a few

hours! Please note that all snacks we will serve

at this function will be dairy, egg, peanut and

pineapple free.

We could still use some help decorating the

gym, running games and chaperoning the

dance this week, so if you are available

between the hours of noon and 3:30 this

Thursday, October 31 please email me at

lcampbell@innovativeresponse.ca and I will

find a job for you.

I also wanted to address why we charge an

admission fee for in-school events. Most of our

fundraisers happen during school hours for a

few different reasons:

1. The kids love to have the teachers there and we benefit from the extra chaperones.

2. All the kids get to participate in the event - which doesn’t always happen if Mom and Dad must bring them at night due to work schedules, extra curriculars, siblings, etc.

We are a small school and fundraising is a

challenge. We charge an admission to make

little bits of money here and there and because

we are providing a fun experience for the kids

along with prizes and free food and beverages.

The small admission fee that we charge allows

us to cover our costs and turn a small profit.

Please note that all the money we make from

fundraising goes back into the school and

benefits both the children and the parents.

School Council donates the money that we

raise to classrooms for teaching materials, to

supply books to the library, to offset the cost of

buses for field trips, to help with the Grade 6

Graduation ceremony and class trip and to

provide playground equipment.

If you have any questions about Council or our

events, please don’t hesitate to email me at

lcampbell@innovativeresponse.ca.

-Submitted by Linda Campbell, Chair

Remembrance Day Assembly –

November 11

We invite all family members to attend our

Remembrance Day Assembly held on Monday,

November 11th at 10:45 AM in our gym.

We would ask that students

dress respectfully on the

day of our

assembly…ideally wearing

black, red and/or .

Poppies and poppy stickers

will be distributed (provided

by our local Legion). We would ask all students

to contribute a loonie or toonie so that we may

make a donation to our local Legion who

provided the poppies and stickers to RRM.

Save the date

Ross R. MacKay Holiday Concert

Thursday, December 19

6:30 – 7:30 PM

Treaties Recognition Week –

November 4 – 8, 2019

Ontario passed new legislation in 2016 to

recognize the importance of treaties and to

bring awareness to the treaty relationships

between Indigenous and non-Indigenous

people. The Ministry of Indigenous Relations

and Reconciliation (MIRR) has proclaimed the

first week of November each year as Treaties

Recognition Week. This year, Treaties

Recognition Week will take place from Nov. 4–

8, 2019

The Upper Grand Board is proud to support

Treaties Recognition Week and raise

awareness of the histories, cultures,

contributions and perspectives of First Nation,

Métis and Inuit peoples in Canada. Across our

district, schools will use many programs and

initiatives to plan curriculum-linked learning

activities that will help all students understand

the true history of the First Nations in Canada –

including residential schools.

The Truth and Reconciliation report is one of

our Board’s commitments to achieving equity

and inclusion as part of the board's strategic

plan, Plan for Student Success.

For more information on Treaties Recognition

Week, visit www.ontario.ca/page/treaties

School Newsletter Insert from Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public

Health - Free dental care for children and youth (17 and younger) Oral health is an important part of a child’s overall health and wellbeing. If you cannot afford dental care for your child, Public Health has programs that can help. Public Health offers free preventive dental care at locations across Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph for eligible children and youth. Our dental hygienists will check your child’s mouth for oral health concerns, clean their teeth, apply fluoride and sealants and teach them how to brush and floss. Dr. Baseer Mohammed (“Dr. B”) provides free dental care including check-ups, x-rays and treatment to children and youth enrolled in the Healthy Smiles Ontario program. He is located in Guelph (160 Chancellors Way). If you have this card and do not have a family

dentist, call the Public Health Dental Line at 1-

800-265-7293 ext. 2661 to book an

appointment. If your child has a dental

emergency and you cannot afford their dental

care, call Public Health for help.

Get your Flu Shot! • As a parent, you are at risk of exposure to communicable diseases because of your close contact with children.

• Children under two years of age are the most susceptible for hospitalization related to flu and flu related complications, while 5-9-year-olds are the most likely to spread the infection.

• Flu immunization is available at your local pharmacy, physician’s office, or Public Health office and is suggested annually for everyone 6 months of age and over. NOTE: Pharmacies will not provide immunization for children less than 5 years old. Public Health and your family physician offer flu vaccines to all ages. *FluMist is not available for this flu season. * If you have any questions related to the benefit of immunization, please call 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4746 PARENT TIP - Check out this link for tips to help your child cope during immunizations! http://www.sickkids.ca/PDFs/Learning/32832-

CMAJ%20HELPinKIDS%202010%20Appendix

%201%20parent%20tool.pdf

Bullying Prevention Week –

Nov. 18 – 22, 2019

Each year in November, the Upper Grand District

School Board marks Bullying Awareness and

Prevention Week. Every year, students and staff

across the UGDSB step up in a big way to

address bullying and cyberbullying while learning

strategies for promoting safe schools and a

positive learning environment.

Please visit our

school website to

view our Bullying

Prevention Plan.

We take all incidents of bullying seriously. If your child is the

victim of bullying or sees bullying behavior at school, please encourage him/her to speak with someone at school or use our board’s online reporting tool. Report Bullying gives students and parents 24/7 access for reporting bullying. You don’t have to identify yourself – just your school – and your message gets sent directly to the school principal for follow-up. You’ll find the Report Bullying button on our school’s website. Information Item – to assist parents in distinguishing between conflict and bullying Is conflict the same as bullying? People may

sometimes confuse conflict with bullying,

although they are different. Conflict occurs

between two or more people have a

disagreement, a difference of opinion or

different views. Conflict between students does

not always mean it is bullying. Children learn at

a young age to understand that others can

have a different perspective than their own, but

developing the ability to gain perspective takes

time and the process continues into early

adulthood. In conflict, each person feels

comfortable expressing his or her views, and

there is no power imbalance. Each person

feels able to state his or her view point. How

people deal with conflict can make it positive or

negative. Conflict becomes negative when an

individual behaves aggressively by saying or

doing hurtful things. Then the conflict is an

aggressive interaction. Conflict only becomes

bullying when it is repeated over and over

again and there is a power imbalance. Over

time, a pattern of behaviour may emerge where

the person who behaves aggressively in the

conflict may continue or even make it worse.

The person who is the recipient of the

aggressive conflict may feel less and less able

to express his or her point of view and feel

more and more powerless. That is when

negative conflict may turn into bullying. A

school will respond to bullying and conflict

differently. For example, in the case of a

conflict, a school staff member may try to have

the students come together to tell their side of

the story and help them resolve the situation

together. In the case of bullying, a principal will

consider discipline, which may include

suspension or expulsion.

DPSN’s mission is to encourage, educate and

support parents of school-aged children by

providing opportunities to build positive

parenting skills and healthy community

connections. Please see the attached Calendar

and Highlighted Workshops for upcoming

event.

Monthly environmental activities to help celebrate our planet

Friday November 29th

is BUY NOTHING Day!

Don’t buy, give. “No one has ever become poor by

giving”, Anne Frank

Celebrate Buy Nothing Day on

November 29th!

Buy Nothing Day is an awareness day

highlighting society’s habit of buying too many

things. It is a day for society to examine the

issue of over-consumption and is held on

‘Black Friday’, which is one of the busiest

shopping days in the United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org

“We are also consuming and trashing clothing

at a far higher rate than our planet can handle.

Today's trends are tomorrow's trash. The only

solution is to reduce our levels of

consumption.”

Dr Kirsten Brodde of Greenpeace Germany-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk

Repair, reduce, re-use, recycle – 4 R’s are

best!

It's time for a new kind of materialism, based

on an economy of better, not more... that

makes things which last and can be repaired

many times before being recycled, from

furniture to tools, cars, fridges, clothes and

food. ‘Repair, reduce, re-use, recycle’ could be

the new model. https://www.theguardian.com

Some great ideas for your family on Buy

Nothing Day!

• Instead of shopping, enjoy a day in the

great outdoors by walking trails or going to the

park.

• Recycle school supplies such as

binders, workbooks, pens and pencils instead

of buying new.

• Donate clothes, books, toys and games

your family does not need any more.

Think of things you can make or do for

people as gifts without spending any

money.

Either way, there’s no doubt that going without

buying anything for an entire day is quite a

challenge in the modern world, and will serve

to make you think about what your life is really

about!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/buy-

nothing-day

Talking About Mental Health

November 2019 – Nature and Mental

Health

Fall is here and so is that pre-winter chill!

Getting outside makes such a difference to

how we all are doing inside. Spending time in

nature improves our mental health and well-

being. Being outdoors is a simple way to add

some much needed down time from screens.

Adding some time in nature is having some

much deserved peace and quiet in our busy

lives. One study showed that even 5 minutes in

nature improves our mood. 5 minutes! We all

can take 5 minutes (or more if have it) to go

outside and enjoy nature.

If you want your family:

To be less stressed

To be happier

To be more resilient

To feel better about themselves

To have increased attention

To have a better ability to learn

Then GO OUTSIDE! Take your kids outside!

Enjoy and be part of nature.

Try this:

o Go for a walk

o Head for the woods – make a

scavenger hunt

o Go birdwatching – make it a

game to find the names of all

birds you see

o Go on a bug hunt

o Watch the clouds float by

o Make a game of identifying all the

sounds you hear outside

If you are not sure where to go, check out the

links below for lots of great parks in our area.

http://guelph.ca/living/recreation/parks/

http://www.wellington.ca/en/discover/trailsandfo

rests.asp?hdnContent=

https://www.grandriver.ca/en/grand-river-

parks.aspx

http://headwaters.ca/experience/parks-

conservation-areas/

https://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/

Jenny Marino, Mental Health and Addictions

Lead for the Upper Grand District School Board

Follow me on Instagram

#upper_grand_mental_health