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Administrator’s Message

Wow what a busy month at Parkinson Centennial. With students exploring Science and biodiversity at Island Lake, students learning about being environmental custodians in our Earthkeepers program at Island Lake, runners tearing up the field at cross-country, and intermediate students beginning their early morning volleyball practices, it has, indeed been a busy month.

I would personally like to thank our Safe Schools Committee who met for the first time this month. We used our Climate Survey to develop a well laid out plan to promote and support safe and healthy schools, inclusion, equity, and a sense of belonging at Parkinson. We are fortunate to have our Youth Educator Travis Greenley from Family Transition Place as part of our team. Through our assemblies and other initiatives in our Safe School Plan, our goal is to help students understand how to be happy and contributing members of their family and school communities. We will be stressing a series of seven habits that help create happy kids based on the research and work of Sean Covey including:

Habit 1: Be proactive. You’re in charge. Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind. Have a plan. Habit 3: Put first things first. Work first, then play. Habit 4: Think win-win. Everyone can win. Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Listen before you talk. Habit 6: Synergize: together is better. Habit 7: Sharpen the saw. Balance feels best. Be sure to ask your children about these habits each month. Our first assembly will be Oct 26th at 11:30 lead by Mrs. Ritchie’s class.

As we look ahead to November, it is important that we take the time to remember all of the Canadian soldiers who have served, or are currently serving overseas. Our assembly is set for Friday, November 10th at 11: 20. As always, you are welcome to attend our ceremony.

** NOW DUE ** Chocolate is due back at the school. Please return any unsold chocolate or money that you have collected.

Nov 1 Take your Kid to Work Day Nov 2 Grade 7 Immunization Nov 7 Junior Volleyball Nov 10 Remembrance Day Assembly Nov 13 JK-2 Flouride Varnish Nov 20-23 Bully Prevention Week Nov 24 Parent-Teacher Interviews Nov 25 Breakfast with Santa Nov 27-29 Volleyball Tournaments

Upcoming Dates

Reminder ……. With the arrival of cold and wet weather, please remember to pack extra dry clothing (socks, mitts, and pants). Students also need to come to school dressed appropriately for the weather as they are expected to go outside for recess unless it is raining or or extremely cold.

Order deadline was October 26 through Cash Online. If you missed ordering for November, be sure to sign up for Cash Online to receive notifications for the dates in December.

Lunch Lady will be providing lunch one day per month offering a choice of

pancakes, turkey hotdog or spaghetti and meatballs. Orders must be placed through Cash Online.

REGISTER FOR CASH ONLINE AT: UGDSB.SCHOOLCASHONLINE.COM (If you need assistance with Cash Online, please contact the school office)

Pizza Days have returned November 1, 15 and 29

A Treaty Is A Promise: Indiginous Treaties Recognition Week

Treaties Recognition Week is the first week of November. Treaties Recognition Week was introduced in 2016 to honour the importance of treaties and to help Ontarians learn more about treaty rights and treaty relationships. This week is an opportunity for staff and students to learn about why treaties matter to everyone in Ontario.

For Your Information:

· Grade 5 students study our indigenous peoples as part of their social studies learning · Treaty education is included explicitly in the Scope and Sequence documents for grades 7 & 8. · Remember that at its simplest point, a treaty is a promise. Young children can understand promises,

and the consequences of broken promises. · Maurice Switzer, Ontario Human Rights Commissioner and treaty expert will be speaking to grade 5

teachers (Professional Development) on 1 November.

MONTHLY ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES TO HELP CELEBRATE OUR PLANET

NOVEMBER 24TH IS BUY NOTHING DAY! Don’t buy, give. “No one has ever become poor by giving”, Anne Frank

CELEBRATE BUY NOTHING DAY ON NOVEMBER 24TH! 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

5th Annual Breakfast with Santa

Saturday, November 25, 2017 • 8:00 – 11:30 am

Breakfast which includes pancakes, sausage and drink - $5.00

• 8:00 – 11:30 am Twoonie Store and Raffle

• 9:00 – 11:00 am Free Photos with Santa

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR NUTRITION PROGRAMS? PCPS is lucky to have both a Breakfast and Lunch Club. Breakfast Club runs from 8:15-8:40am each school day.

Lunch Club runs at 1st nutrition break each school day, 10:40-11. All students are welcome! Whether it’s a rushed morning, a forgotten lunch

or just needing a little more to satisfy hunger!

Donations are welcome whether its food items or monetary!

A Message for parents and guardians,

Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health will be providing free fluoride varnish on November 13, 2017 at Parkinson Centennial Public School.

Fluoride Varnish Consent forms will be handed out in the JK, SK, grade 1 and 2 classrooms. Students in other grades who would like to participate will be able to pick up Fluoride Varnish Consent forms at the office. The form must be completed and returned to the school by November 5th. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Public Health dental team at 1-800-265-7293 ext. 2661. Consent forms can also be downloaded from the WDG website: wdgpublichealth.ca

ZONES OF REGULATION A Curriculum Designed to Foster Self-Regulation & Emotional Control Our Kindergarten to grade 6 teachers have received training in the Zones of Regulation curriculum. We need to teach our kids GOOD coping and regulation strategies so they can help themselves when they become stressed, anxious, or sad.

Typically, kids who can self-regulate will turn into teens who can self-regulate. Self-regulation skills are vital for the success and happiness of our children.

RESEARCH ON SELF-REGULATION • Higher academic achievement is more likely when interventions include self-regulation components. -

Blair & Raza, 2007

• Self-regulation abilities have a stronger correlation with school readiness than IQ or entry-level reading or math skills. – Blair, 2002-2003; Normandeau & Guay, 1998

• Research shows that teachers can have a positive effect on students’ self-regulation skills. – Burchinal,

Peisner-Feinberg, Bryant & Clifford, 2000.

WHAT ARE THE ZONES?

There are four zones to describe how your brain and body feel.

BLUE Zone – Your body is running slow, such as when you are tired, sick, sad or bored. GREEN Zone – Like a green light, you are “good to go.” Your body may feel happy, calm and focused. YELLOW Zone – This zone describes when you start to lose control, such as when you are frustrated, anxious, worried, silly or surprised. Use caution when you are in this zone. RED Zone – This zone is for extreme emotions such as anger, terror and aggression. When you are in this zone, you are out of control, have trouble making good decisions and must STOP!

GOALS OF THE ZONES CURRICULUM

To teach the students: • Indentify their feelings and levels of alertness • Effective regulation tools • When and how to use the tools • Problem solve positive solutions • Understand how their behaviours influence others’ thoughts and feelings

And ultimately… • Independent Regulation!

We will bring you more information about the Zones of Regulation in the coming months. For now ask your child: What zone are you in? Help them to label their emotions.

Talking About Mental Health November 2017

When a tragic event occurs, children and youth will hear about these events through media, peers or other sources. These are difficult topics to talk about and your response will shape your child/youth’s core beliefs.

Tips for talking to children/youth about tragedies

You know your child/youth best, and you’ll have a good idea of how much information your child/youth is ready to hear. Consider these tips as a guideline:

Don't allow young children to watch the news. Watching news footage can be very disturbing to young children so it’s important to keep it off when they’re around.

Keep your message simple. Say something like, “That person decided to hurt other people." For young children, this may be all the information they need. Older children are likely to ask more questions. Stick to the simple facts. It’s OK to say you don’t know all the answers.

Focus on the steps that are being taken to keep people safe. Talk about how police officers, government officials, and other first responders are helping. Spend more time talking about the good work people are doing, rather than the horrific event. This can help reduce your child/youth's anxiety about safety.

Empower your kids to become helpers. Discuss how they can take positive action in the wake of a tragic event. Volunteering in the community and donating allowance money can go a long way toward helping children/youth see that they can always take steps to make the world a little better. Children/youth who feel like they have a little bit of control are less likely to feel helpless in the wake of a tragic event.

Send a healthy message to your child

No matter how many conversations you hold or how much you decide to share, keep the message the same, bad things happen but there are good people out there helping and we’re strong enough to get through it.

Sharing with your child/youth messages that fosters resilience and teaches your children/youth they’re able to cope with whatever bad things come their way in life and there are caring adults in their lives to talk to and who will support them.

(This information is taken from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201710/how-talk-kids-about-the-las-vegas-shooting)

Have a mentally healthy day!

Dr. Lynn Woodford is the Mental Health Lead for Upper Grand District School Board Follow me on twitter: @drlynnwoodford

Parkinson Centennial Public School

Paola Argentino, Principal • Wayne Peeters, Vice Principal • Madeline Mitchell, Office Coordinator 120 Lawrence Avenue Orangeville, Ontario L9W 1S8 519-941-2461

October 2017

RE: Drinking Water Testing

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I wanted to provide you with some information regarding drinking water test results in our school.

As you may be aware, there has been attention in the media lately about lead levels in school drinking water. Our school was listed in one such media article.

I wanted to provide you with some background on the water testing that our school board routinely does and assure you that corrective actions had already taken place prior to the start of the school year to address any issues.

The school board has been testing for lead in school drinking water since 2007. New provincial testing requirements came into effect this July, which increase the amount of testing that is required.

Board staff are extremely diligent and follow the required procedures to the letter.

If a sample comes back with a higher than acceptable level of lead, the fixture that the water sample was taken from is immediately bagged so that no one is able to use it, and it remains off limits until the fixture is replaced and re-tested.

Much of the work testing and replacing fixtures happened this summer prior to the start of the school year.

More information, and all of the results of water testing for lead in our schools, is posted online on the board website at www.ugdsb.ca/programs/environment/water-testing-for-lead/.

As always, the safety and well-being of your children is our primary concern.

Sincerely,

P. Argentino, Principal