Southwold P.S. Cougar Times

Principal: Mrs. S. McManus 519-631-5997 Vice-Principal: Mme. K. Loucks Fax: 519-631-5625 Website: http://www.tvdsb.ca/Southwold.cfm

Welcome Back

The school is sparkling clean, the pencils are sharp and new backpacks are at the door ready. Yes, it is time for

school! Whether you are new to Southwold or a returning student, we are glad that you are here.

Southwold prides itself as a community school. We welcome your family and look forward to getting to know you.

I would like to welcome a number of new faces at Southwold. Mme. Loucks is our new Vice Principal, Mrs. Fife and

Ms. McQuiggan, Kindergarten Teachers and Ms. Bertens, an Early Child Educator. We welcome Mrs. Allan and Mrs.

Gardner as Educational Assistants and we also welcome the following teachers Mrs. Nancekevell Gr. ½, Mr. Read

Gr. 2, Ms. Zinken ¾, Ms. Benoit Gr. 5, Ms. Walker Gr. 5/6, and Ms. VanDam Prep teacher.

The staff at Southwold have one goal in mind and that is to support your child in being the best they can be. We

hold high expectations in learning and in character and we strive to support each and every child to reach their

potential.

Our character education program stresses that students are proactive and lead respectfully. September’s charac-

ter focus is being a caring cougar.

There are lots of notes to read in September but we are hoping that much of the paper is now online in the Parent

Portal. Often one spot makes it easier to find material. If you have trouble navigating the portal please call the

school for assistance.

All schools in Thames Valley are launching new Websites in September. We will be adding material to the website

throughout the year. Mark it as a favourite and stay abreast to Southwold happenings.

Planners will be coming home during the first week. Please set aside some time to read them with your child

(grades 1-8) and sign them daily. There are some pages to sign off on.

When family members, and teachers join together students of all ages thrive. It is an honor to be a part of such a

rich heritage and a wonderful school. On behalf of the staff at Southwold we look forward to working with you this

year.

Sincerely,

Sharon McManus and Kristina Loucks

Principal Vice-Principal

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Technology and Cell Phone Use

Students may use their cell phones at school with the teacher’s permission for learning

purposes in the classroom. If you encounter a family emergency or you require to speak

with your child during the school day, please do not text them but call the school. We will

be happy to relay a message to them or allow for them to come to the office to speak

with you.

Southwold Routines

The safety of our students is always our primary concern. We request that all parents report

to the office upon arrival. Our dismissal time is 4:00 and we ask that early pick up times are

minimized as much as possible, as this is disruptive to the whole class. As you know we also

have very limited parking.

If your child is being picked up prior to the end of the day, please allow the office to con-

tact the classroom to have them come to the office. We appreciate you waiting for your

child in the front foyer. We also request that you sign your child in and out at the office.

We thank you in advance for supporting this protocol as they support student safely.

Parent Portal - That was easy!

As schools try to be more environmentally friendly, we are streamlining the number of forms

sent home at the beginning of the school year and asking you to complete the forms

online in the parental portal.

Have you set up your account?

Please go to the TVDSB home page and at the top click Parent - Parent Portal. You will

need an email address and a password to set up your account.

www.tvdsb.on.ca - parent tab- scroll down to parent portal to create your account.

Please complete the forms by September 16th please.

School Messenger Attendance Reporting System

Schools in our Board use the SchoolMessenger Attendance Reporting System

This system allows parents/guardians to report student absences by phone, website, or

smartphone app.

In the event of an unexplained student absence, the system is able to communicate

with parents/guardians in a timely manner for student safety reasons.

You can activate this system by calling 1-844-305-3756 or www.tvdsb.ca/SchoolMessenger

WANTED! At this time, we need extra hands to help sort food for our snack program. Community members and par-

ents meet each Tuesday and Friday to help prepare simple snacks for our students from 9:30 to 11:30. Find

out more by calling the office or attending the Volunteer Meet and Greet on Oct. 16th.

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Balanced School Day

2017- 2018

9:15 Buses Arrive at school:

Supervision begins on playground

9:30 School Begins

BLOCK 1 Learning

11:10 Lunch Break 1

11:30 Recess Break

11:50 BLOCK 2 Learning

1:30 Lunch Break 2

1:50 Recess Break

2:20 BLOCK 3 Learning

4:00 Dismissal Southwold students receive

Cougar Paws for being…….

Caring Proud

Optimistic Responsible

Unified Individual

Goal Setting Doing your best!

Accepting Enthusiastic

Respectful .

Each month our Honorary Cougars are nomi-

nated by staff for outstanding Cougar Pride

Names are published in our monthly newslet-

ters and posted on our Cougar Pride bulletin

board.

Orange shirt day – September 27, 2018

TVDSB First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education would like to remind you of an important

National Event commemorating Residential Schools. Orange Shirt Day, Every Child Mat-

ters is held on September 30th of each year.

TVDSB will be honouring Indian Residential School students and survivors on Thursday,

September 27, 2018, as September 30th falls on a Sunday this year. Elementary and sec-

ondary schools are welcome to honour Orange Shirt Day on September 27th.

“Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemora-

tion event held in Williams Lake in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis’s account of

losing her pretty new orange shirt on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has be-

come an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools hap-

pening annually. The date was chosen because children are back in school in Sept.

Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and

community agencies to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for gener-

ations of children to come.” - http://www.orangeshirtday.org/

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School Bus Regulations

Please review the following bus regulations with your child. Students are expected to

follow these rules while riding the bus to and from school, as well as on field trips. Failure to

follow these rules will result in discipline and possible suspension from the riding the bus. Bus-

sing is a privilege.

Students will:

1. enter the bus and take their seats in an orderly manner;

2. remain seated facing the front when the bus is in motion;

3. keep head and arms inside the bus at all times;

4. talk quietly and make no unnecessary noise;

5. not litter the bus;

6. not throw anything from the bus;

7. not bring live animals, birds, reptiles, fish or insects on the bus;

8. not smoke, eat or use profane language while on the bus;

9. be courteous to fellow passengers and obey the instructions of the driver;

10. be responsible for any damage to the bus and liable for the cost of repairs.

*For everyone’s safety, students should ask permission from the driver before bringing large

objects e.g. projects and large musical instruments on the bus.

Bus Planner Delays App

The BusPlanner Delays app is available for both iPhone and Android devices and is free.

Instructions for Students/Parents/Guardians:

1. Download the free app to your device.

2. When asked for an access code, enter MBYB.

3. Select “For My Child’s Transportation”.

4. Select the school(s) from the list.

5. Select the bus run numbers (AVAILABLE IN THE PARENT PORTAL) – make sure you add

both AM and PM bus run numbers, especially if your student has different bus assignments

in the morning and afternoon.

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Up

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Front Gardens and Green Grove Clean-up

Thank you to our garden angels who make our front gardens and Green Grove look so invit-

ing. We know that you are busy but make time to beautify our school. We thank you and

appreciate your talents, work ethic and donation of time and energy.

On behalf of the students, staff and community, we appreciate all of your work.

Parent Council and Home and School

Parent Council meets on the second Tuesday of the month and our first meeting will take

place on Tuesday, September 11th to vote for our Parent Council Executive. If you would

like to be part of the executive, please fill out the nomination form attached. Parent Council

has a focus on the curriculum and parent engagement.

Home and School also takes place on Sept. 11th and the focus of the Home and School is

more on fundraising, and supporting school events.

All parents and community members are encouraged and welcome to attend.

Sept. 11th Home and School 6:30- 7:30 and Parent Council 7:30 – 8:30.

Count Yourself In – Tuesday October 16th

The Home and School, and Parent Council are looking for volunteers. On Tuesday, October

16th at 6:30pm there will be a meet and greet at Southwold. Please come out for some re-

freshments and hear about volunteer opportunities at the school. Some experiences are

during the day and others in the evening. Perhaps you are not able to commit monthly to a

meeting but are more than willing to help at a school event, (example: set up/tear down at

meet the staff night, help cut vegetables once a month), then please come out and sign up

to be a Southwold Volunteer. Many hands make less work and the Home and School are

hoping to compile a list of names and emails to send out blasts when they need help. If you

can support a particular event, then you confirm through email or telephone. If you are not

available that’s okay maybe next time.

We hope to see you on the 16th.

Eco-School We are a proud eco-school and we have many student focused activities throughout the

year to educate our students about minimizing our environmental footprint. Here is a mes-

sage from the Eco-Club.

“Welcome back Cougars! The ECO club would just like to remind you that we are still col-

lecting batteries, lunchables, old markers, pop tabs, and ink cartridges.”

Thank you for helping our planet.

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Health

Info

IMMUNIZATION REMINDER Elgin St. Thomas Public Health will be offering school based immunization clinics for Hepatitis

B, HPV and Meningoccocal C to grade 7 students.

Consent forms from Elgin St. Thomas Public Health will be sent home soon. Please return the

signed consent forms to the school by Sept 21st. If you have any questions, please call the

Public Health Unit at 519-631-9900.

Please mark immunization dates on your calendar!

October 24th and April 29th

Individual Medical Emergency Plans

If your son or daughter has special medical concerns of which we should be aware, please

complete the necessary paperwork in your Parent Portal or contact the office. Mme Loucks

(V.P.) can meet with you to complete the Individual Medical Emergency Plan which will give

us a clear indication of the concerns, emergency contacts, and how your child should be

cared for in the event of an emergency.

It is important that these forms be completed as soon as possible.

Administration of Medication

When students require the administration of a prescription medication during school hours,

parents must complete an “Authorization for Administration of Prescription Medication” form.

This form is available in your Parent Portal or from our school’s V.P. office. (Please note that

these medications must be in the prescription container with the instructions clearly marked.)

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Health

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Supporting Students with Prevalent Medical /

Health Conditions in Schools

To ensure children with potentially life-threatening medical conditions remain

safe while attending school, TVDSB requests Parents/Guardians update the nec-

essary medical information on the Parent Portal so that an Individual Plan of

Care (IPOC) for the student can be reviewed by the school’s administration.

Medical conditions considered potentially life-threatening may include:

Asthma

Anaphylaxis

Epilepsy

Type 1 Diabetes

Any other potentially life-threatening condition that could result in a med-

ical incident* (discuss with your school administrator)

Parents/Guardians can provide important information about their child's life-

threatening or prevalent medical condition by logging into the TVDSB Parent

Portal and clicking on the following tab: Student Medical Information. Once an

Individual Plan of Care is submitted, the school administrator will then review the

information. Parents/Guardians may be contacted for further information, if re-

quired.

Parents/Guardians who cannot access the Parent Portal on the Internet should

contact the school office.

Please note that Parents/Guardians are expected to be active participants in

supporting the management of the student’s prevalent medical condition(s)

while the student is in school. It is the responsibility of Parents/Guardians to inform the school of such conditions to ensure the student's safety at school.

*A medical incident is a circumstance that requires an immediate re-

sponse and monitoring, since the incident may progress to an emergency

requiring contact with Emergency Medical Services – 911

ALLERGIES

We have several students in our school with life threatening allergies to pea-

nuts and nut products. Thank you for reading labels and for not sending

foods with nuts to school (i.e. peanut butter, some brands of granola bars,

chocolate hazelnut spread).

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Green

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PARENTS & STUDENTS……WELOME TO THE GREEN CORNER!

We hope your summer was a memorable one. This year at Southwold,

we are seriously looking for HELP with our GREEN INITIATIVES…namely,

the GREEN GROVE.

It is our hope to recruit parents, students and/or families to assist in

the ongoing task of helping to maintain our very PRECIOUS Grove.

The Grove is a quiet space in our school yard where students can go to

read, share stories, participate in lessons, find shade and so much more

The Grove was established in 1997 and it has thrived on the sole help of

VOLUNTEERS. If you can spare a couple of hours during the school year,

please consider joining in the FUN & FELLOWSHIP …..absolutely NO skills

required, yet we welcome those with talent in the areas of gardening &

horticulture. As we say here at Southwold….

NO JOB IS TOO BIG, NO ACTION TOO SMALL, FOR THE CARE OF THE

EARTH IS A TASK FOR US ALL!

Please consider being the PIECE OF THE PUZZLE that makes A DIFFERENCE!

JOIN our Green Team!

Complete and detach the form on the following page and return it to the office.

SINCERELY YOURS,

Southwold’s Green Team

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September 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11

Parent Council and

Home and School

12 PICTURE DAY Kindergarten

Gr. 1-3

13 PICTURE DAY Gr. 3/4—8

Active Learners

14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21

Terry Fox School Run

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23 24 25 26 Cougar Pride K-3 9:45am 4-8 10:30

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Orange Shirt Day

Meet the Staff

5:30-6:30 Class visit

6-7:15 BBQ

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PD DAY

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Upcoming Dates:. October 16—Volunteer Meet and Greet 6:30pm