Principal’s Message
Welcome back to another school year. We extend an extra special welcome to all the children and families joining us for the first time either in junior kindergarten or in an older grade as families relocate.
Mr. Near has been diligently cleaning and the school is spotless. We are very fortunate to have such an amazing custodian who takes great pride in keeping our building sparkling. Our teachers have also been very busy over the summer preparing lessons and classrooms so that we can welcome our students back to Sprucedale Public School. Many of our staff members have also been busy as students this summer, attending workshops, reading professional materials, and taking courses to refine their teaching practice.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to work at Sprucedale Public School with an amazing group of educators, students and very supportive families. Children learn best when school and home work together. Supporting children at school can be as simple as taking an interest in what is happening at school and by reading with them daily (doesn’t have to be long – but regularly). If at any time, your child is having difficulty learning, please let us know so we can offer more assistance.
I encourage you to catch me out on the yard before or after school, give me a call, shoot me an email or drop by my office if I can help with any matter. Never hesitate to give us a call or make an appointment to talk in person to your child’s teacher so that we can work together to make 2016/2017 the best year possible for your child(ren).
I would also encourage you to consider getting involved in Sprucedale Public School either on School Council or as a volunteer. Please give me call, send a note with your child or drop in if you are able to help out in any way. Please note my school email is now [email protected] Looking forward to working with you and your children to make this a great year of learning and growing!
Don Rauser
Welcome!!!
We are very pleased to welcome Ms. Eicher to our teaching staff. Ms. Eicher will be teaching grade 5/6 this year while Ms. Maddock is off on maternity leave. We would also like to welcome Mr. Stevenson back to the teaching staff. Mr. Stevenson will be teaching French and will also be teaching in our grade 2/3 class for a quarter of the day. In addition, we are thrilled to have Ms. Wilker and Ms. Deweerd , a pair of highly qualified Educational Assistants who will be supporting students in our primary wing. Mrs. Christian is welcomed as well as our Technical Resource staff.
Meet the Teacher – Tuesday September 20th – 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
We hope everyone is able to come on Tuesday September 20th to meet their children’s teachers and visit classrooms. We will also have School Board Staff on hand who will be able to help you register for School Cash Online – a secure and easy way to pay for things at school. Looking forward to seeing you on the 20th!!
Libro Boosts Playground Fund – Shared the Pie!!!
A huge thank you to Libro Credit Union as they have made a very generous five thousand dollar donation to our Sprucedale Public School Playground Fund. On Thursday September 1st members of the credit union came and presented students and School Council members with a very large cheque. Libro was also kind and brought the groups some most delectable pies to share as we celebrated the donation. Our playground fundraising has become even more urgent as students will no longer be permitted to use the main play structure. The play structure is likely to be removed early this fall.
Sabrina’s Law
The following is a quotation from Sabrina’s Law. “Employees of a board may be preauthorized to administer medication or supervise a pupil while the pupil takes medication, in response to an anaphylactic reaction, if the school has up-to-date treatment information and the consent of the parent, guardian or pupil. If an employee has reason to believe that a pupil is experiencing an anaphylactic reaction, the employee may administer an epinephrine auto-injector or other medication that is prescribed, even if there is no preauthorization to do so. The Bill provides that no actions for damages shall be instituted respecting any act done in good faith or for any neglect or default in good faith in response to an anaphylactic reaction, unless the damages are the result of an employee’s gross negligence. The Bill preserves common law duties.”
Ryan’s Law – supporting the well-being of students with asthma
As you may be aware, Ryan’s Law, 2015, was recently passed by the Ontario Legislature. This piece of legislation is an important step to support the well-being of students with asthma in Ontario schools. If your child has asthma, we ask that you immediately contact the main office at your school to provide information about your child’s asthma medication. With your permission, your child will be allowed to carry his/her asthma medication while at school. The Ministry of Education website has resources on asthma that can be found at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/healthyschools/anaphylaxis.html As a best practice and to support your child, please let the school know if your child has a medical condition so that the school is aware and can keep this information on file. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Don Rauser
Kids Plus Accident Insurance
Our school board is offering you the opportunity to voluntarily purchase student accident insurance through the Kids Plus™ Accident Insurance program, underwritten by Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
Kids Plus™ Accident Insurance provides protection against unexpected costs arising from accidental injuries. The program is especially valuable for families who:
- do not have medical or dental plans,
- have limited plans, as it may help supplement health and dental benefits, or
- have active children who enjoy sports and outdoor activities.
Kids Plus™ Accident Insurance has a selection of plans to suit most budgets. Benefits include coverage for:
- The full school year (September to September), 24 hours a day, while at home and in school;
- Expenses that are often limited or not covered by private or group insurance plans, or Provincial Health Insurance Plans, such as ambulance, physiotherapy, private tutoring, counselling, and much more;
- Injury-related dental treatment (including future dental treatment up to age 26);
- Out-of-province or country emergency medical expenses.
If your address changes during the school year, your Kids Plus™ Accident Insurance plan is transferable from school to school, anywhere in Canada. Insurance premiums for children are $14.50 or $33.50 per year, depending on the plan selected. A discount is available for families with 3 or more children. Adults age 20 to 64 can also be insured for $32.00 per year.
For more information or to apply online, please visit kidsplus.ca, or speak with a Kids Plus™ Client Service Administrator at 1-800-556-7411.
School Cash Online
Brochures and how to register cards will come home the first week of school. This will be the preferred method of payment for food, milk, class trips, etc.
Register for School Cash Online today! All families who purchase an item online between August 29th and October 15th will be entered to win one of two iPad Minis. **
** Families will receive a maximum of one entry for each child for whom an item is purchased.
Volunteer Needed
Sprucedale is in need of a parent volunteer to purchase snack items on a regular basis for the Student Nutrition Program. The volunteer would purchase food items (fruit, vegetables, breakfast bars, crackers, etc.) every week or two for students who require extra food during the day. Receipts would be handed in to the office and you would be reimbursed by a school cheque. Please call the school office if you are willing to help out.
Newsletters
Newsletters will be sent home from the office each month and posted on our school website. We find that the most effective way to get these home to you is via email. We strongly urge you to use this option. We will not share your email address. As an added bonus, this allows us to share information that comes up during the day. If we ever have an emergency at the school and had to close or go to an alternate location, I can effectively contact all parents quickly. As an added bonus, I will continue to send out emails on snow days as well!
When you update the Emergency Contact information sheet (being sent home first day of school), there is an opportunity for you to provide your email address(es). Unless you indicate otherwise, we will use this to send newsletters electronically. If you do not indicate an email address, we will send paper copies home with your youngest child.
Please be sure to keep your email address current. If it changes during the year and we send newsletters out to “lapsed” addresses then other people with the same providers sometimes don’t get theirs as we get blocked as spam.
We start fresh each year and rebuild our mailing list so you must provide us with an up to date email address to ensure you receive our emails.