This week at Oscar Peterson P.S.

♦ Farooq Shabbar, Principal ♦ Vivienne Baines, Vice Principal ♦ Shawn Bredin, Superintendent of Schools (905) 895-5155 ♦ Loralea Carruthers, Trustee (905) 953-0562 ♦ OPPS Phone: (905) 642-1236 Fax: (905) 642-5938 ♦ Website: http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/oscarpeterson.ps

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Kindergarten Registration to Commence January 19, 2018

Kindergarten registration will commence on January 19, 2018 for the 2018-19 school year. Registration forms are available on YRDSB’s website: www.yrdsb.ca. Children who turn four or five years old during 2018, live within the school boundary and whose parents are public school tax supporters will be eligible to register for kindergarten. A kindergarten information session for parents is being planned for this spring. For more information, please visit the YRDSB website or contact OPPS. Students entering Year Two in September 2018 who are already attending OPPS in Year One, need not register again.

FRENCH IMMERSION REGISTRATION

French Immersion Information Sessions and Registrations

Information sessions for the French Immersion (FI) program will take place at French Immersion schools on January 18, 2018 at 7 p.m. Please visit YRDSB’s website in January 2018 (http://www.yrdsb.ca/Programs/fi/Pages/Program-Locations.aspx) to find the FI program location for your elementary school location. FI registration will begin January 19, 2018. Parents or guardians of Senior Kindergarten students entering Grade 1 in 2018, and wishing to enroll in the FI Program, can visit or call the school office and request an Office Index Card - short version. The Office Index Card must be signed by the principal of the home school. Parents or guardians then take this form, along with one piece of identification showing their address to the designated FI program location to register between January 19 and February 9, 2018. This eliminates the need to provide duplicate enrollment information or to pre-register.

YRDSB’s FI Accommodation Plan provides long-term consistency and equity of access to all students in York Region and will enable YRDSB to continue to offer the FI program to all who wish to enroll. The FI program will be offered in Dual Track or Single Track settings, in a variety of configurations. In order to meet

community needs and optimize available space in our schools, a community's Grade 1-8 FI program may be provided over more than one school during the course of a student's FI education. Space requirements at some schools may mean that siblings are in different schools for primary dual track French Immersion programs due to differing grade structures. Like any of our schools across the Board, changes to school boundaries, and/or the accommodation model for the French Immersion program may need to be considered when new schools open, a school experiences enrolment growth, or program changes occur. This will allow flexibility in addressing community needs and the opportunity to use existing space in schools.

More information is available on the Board’s website: www.yrdsb.ca. Please note: Some of the FI accommodation plans will require facility modifications or the development of new schools and will require short-term transition plans that might include overflow while we work toward the long-term vision. Overflow refers to situations in which the Board directs students to attend a school other than their community school or optional program for a specific period of time, as defined in Policy #108.

DOGS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY

While we welcome your dogs on leashes walking with you to drop off and pick up students, we ask that you kindly keep them off of the playground and away from other students as some students have fears, allergies, etc.

DRESSING FOR WINTER WEATHER As you know, our students are provided with recess from 10:30‐11:00 a.m. and 12:40‐1:40 p.m. (lunch). Part of this break time is allocated for exercise in the fresh air. It is important to the health and well‐being of each student that they exercise and have outdoor activity. Students need to come to school dressed to play outside during recesses (hats, gloves/mittens, snow pants, boots, etc.). It is advisable for children to bring extra pants and socks in case they get wet, and to ensure they have indoor shoes at school. Being physically active during winter is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. The office staff keeps a close eye on weather conditions, including wind chill. When conditions necessitate, students will remain inside for recess, and/or reduced outdoor recesses may take place. If a student is well enough to attend school, then he/she will be expected to go outside for recess. We ask that parents be sensitive to the demands placed on our secretaries and not call the school to inquire about indoor recess, and that parents send their children dressed for outdoor play and ensure that students have all of the necessary clothes before coming to school to minimize interruptions in the office and to classrooms.

BREAKFAST PROGRAM

Every Tuesday morning at 8:35 am - 8:50 am, just outside of the staff room. Students enter doors by the YMCA and exit through the Primary doors. All students are welcome to come and grab a healthy snack. SCHOOL COUNCIL LUNCH PROGRAM

The next round of Pizza, Subway and Pita will be posted on School Cash Online on December 4th. Don’t miss out. The new Pizza order starts January 12th. The Subway order starts January 24th. The Pita order starts January 31st.

MESSAGE FROM OUR TRUSTEE, LORALEA CARRUTHERS

In November, about 1,000 students, staff members and community partners came together from across the Board to form a Ring of Peace and stand together against hate, discrimination and intolerance. The student speakers at the event shared meaningful messages about the importance of feeling welcome, valued and respected.

At York Region District School Board, we are committed to listening to the voices of our students and communities. We will continue working with our school communities to ensure our schools provide safe, welcoming and inclusive environments for everyone.

Last month, our annual Quest conference brought together educators from across Ontario, Canada and around the world to share, learn and discuss how to foster well-being in schools. Some of the themes covered included equity and inclusivity, and safe and caring environments.

It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about some of the positive things happening in our own schools and other districts. In recent months, we have had several international visitors come to our system and schools to learn more about the work in our system to support student achievement and well-being, including Qatar, the Netherlands, Texas and the United Kingdom.

We are pleased to have these opportunities to continue highlighting and sharing the great things happening in our schools thanks to our outstanding students, staff members, families and community partners. Your engagement makes a difference in our schools and I encourage you to continue getting involved in the life of your child’s school.

As we enter the holiday season, I am once again impressed by the generosity of our school communities and our students’ commitment to helping others.

Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful start to 2018.

EQUITY AND INCLUSIVITY TEAM The Equity and Inclusivity Team at Oscar Peterson Public School has just kicked-off a project to celebrate the various languages our students speak at home. The goal of our project is to have students and families create a canvas that says “Hello” in the many languages our students have the opportunity to know! We are so fortunate to have such a diverse representation of languages in our community. We really hope that with your help, we can make this canvas an authentic feature to celebrate and share. Parents of children in grades FDK-3 are requested to complete the form below (sent home earlier this week). Students in grades 4-8 will be surveyed at school. Sincerely, The Equity and Inclusivity Team -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student name: __________________________________________________________________ Teacher: ________________________________________________________________________ Language(s) spoken at home (other than English): ________________________________________________________________________________ ** Is there an adult in your family who would be willing to ❐ yes participate/consult in helping us represent your language? ❐ no If yes, Parent(s) Name(s): ______________________________________________________________

Phone: ________________________________________________________________________ Email: ________________________________________________________________________

O.P.P.S Holiday Concert Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are excited to inform you that the students in Grades 1-3 (alongside a festive introduction from the Intermediate Band) will be participating in a Winter Holiday Concert next month. Parents and relatives will have the chance to come watch one of two shows on Wednesday December 13th. The concert will be held from 1:45-3:00pm and 6:30-7:45pm in the school gym. In order for this to be a wonderfully, festive success, it is important that as many students as possible attend BOTH performances. If families know already that their child won’t be able to attend on either the day OR the evening of the 13th, PLEASE contact your child’s teacher to inform them, no later than November 30th.

With two performances, seats will be available on a first come, first served basis (without pre-reserved seating please). We are asking families to consider choosing to attend only ONE of the concerts (day or night) to accommodate enough room for all. (Students involved will be supervised in classrooms during both the day and evening shows, before and after their performance). Students are asked to arrive at the school that evening for 6:10pm and will go to their assigned room to get ready. Band members are asked to wear band attire--a white shirt, black/dark pants, and black/dark shoes (with black socks).

We look forward to celebrating a festive time of year with you and your families!

Oscar Peterson P.S Staff

Student Transportation Services of York Region 320 Bloomington Road West Aurora, Ontario L4G 0M1

905-713-2535 FAX: 905-713-2533

Web site: www.schoolbuscity.com

School Bus Cancellation Notice To ensure the safety of students, school bus service may be cancelled due to inclement weather, extreme temperatures and/or poor road conditions. In these cases, parents and students should develop alternate care/transportation arrangements. Cancellation decisions will only be made after thorough consultation with the Safety Officers of school bus companies servicing York Region and are based on several factors including precipitation, air temperature, road conditions and weather forecast. Please note the following;

• A decision to cancel school bus service will be region-wide meaning all school buses, vans and taxis will not operate.

• School bus routes may be cancelled when severe weather may not be affecting all municipalities in York Region. Both the YRDSB and YCDSB operate many regional educational programs. Students attending these programs are transported over large attendance areas encompassing several municipal boundaries. This limits the ability to cancel bus service using a municipality or zone methodology.

• When bus service is cancelled all school tests and/or examinations will be cancelled and rescheduled.

• Student trips involving the use of school buses will also be cancelled. • Unless otherwise stated, schools will remain open and parents can make arrangements

to transport their children to and from school even if school bus service is cancelled. If buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not operate in the afternoon. Therefore students transported to school by parents will require the same transportation home.

Parents, students and school staff are asked to access the following radio and television stations after 6:00 a.m. to receive bus cancellation information: RADIO 590 AM 640 AM 680 AM 860 AM 1010 AM 1050 AM 1540 AM 1580 AM 88.5 FM 89.9 FM 92.5 FM 93.1 FM 94.9 FM 95.9 FM 97.3 FM 98.1 FM 99.1 FM 99.9 FM 101.1 FM 102.1 FM 104.5 FM 100.7 FM 105.9 107.1 FM TELEVISION CITY TV CTV Barrie CTV Toronto CP24 GLOBAL NEWS A bus cancellation message will also be available at www.schoolbuscity.com and by calling 1-877-330-3001, or by following @YRDSB and @YCDSB on twitter

ME TO WE – MILK BAG COLLECTION

The students at Oscar Peterson are encouraged to bring in clean, washed milk bags that will be made into mats by the students at SDSS. Please see the mat in the front foyer. Let's help the environment, our students at SDSS, and individuals in need around the world. Milk Bags can be deposited into the box in the office.

Upcoming….

December 3rd: First Sunday of Advent

December 6th: Pita Lunch (if ordered)

December 8th: Pizza Lunch (if ordered)

December 11th: Jr. Girls Volleyball Tournament at OPPS

December 13th: Winter Holiday Concert (see letter attached)

December 13th: Birthday of Aga Khan

December 13th-20th: Chanukah

December 13th: Subway Lunch (if ordered)

December 15th: Pizza Lunch (if ordered)

December 20th: Pita Lunch (if ordered)

December 21st: Yule

December 22nd: Pizza Lunch (if ordered)

December 25th: Christmas

December 25th – January 7th (inclusive): Winter Break (no school for students)

December 26th: Death of Prophet Zarathustra