J. Kitson-Roy, Principal M. Knockleby, Vice-Principal

It has been a busy fall and we appreciate all of the hard work of students, staff, and families to make Rockwood an incredible

place where students thrive. We are proud of our students for their thoughtfulness as they gathered non-perishable items for

the Food Bank. We are thankful to our staff members who provide many programs and opportunities for students including

breakfast and snack programs, sports activities and tournaments, choir, band, guest speakers, and presentations. In November,

we had a special guest speaker for Grades 4-8. Katie Weatherstone came to talk to students about Growth Mindset, setting

goals and overcoming obstacles. Katie plays women's hockey and is an Olympic medalist. Earlier this week, we had a

presentation for the Grade 7/8 students from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to emphasize making appropriate

choices regarding drinking and driving. Next week, Opeongo High School will be putting on a Holiday concert for our stu-

dents in which we will hear the Jazzcats, Rough Cut Diamonds, Country Roots and the Riverside Boys. In addition, we are

thankful to Rockwood's parent, grandparent, and community volunteers for helping out around the school each and every day!

It's hard to believe that December is here already!! In the halls and in classrooms, staff and students are already getting into

the Christmas Spirit as we hear the band and choir practicing as well as performances for our upcoming Christmas con-

certs. Be sure to join us on Monday, December 17th and Tuesday, December 18th for our concerts as staff and students have

put a lot of hard work and pride into their performances. But most of all, in the busyness of this Holiday Season, please re-

member to take time and count your blessings. Be sure to spend time with the people who are important to you. All the best

to you and your family.

Miss Jody & Mrs. Knockleby

Dear Parents/ Guardians ,Students and Staff:

Phone: 613-732-3789 Website: rck.rcdsb.on.ca Twitter: @RockwoodSchool Facebook: Parents of Rockwood Public School

On Monday, December 10 and Tues-day, December 11, Rockwood is of-fering a Holiday Gift Shop where students can purchase items, have them tagged and wrapped for Christ-mas. Prices start at $1. There will be a variety of items to purchase; however, there will be no opportuni-ty to re-order popular items. Classes will be scheduled to shop in the big gym and items will be placed in sealed gift bags with name tags placed on the bag so that they can go home and be placed under the tree. Students are not obligated to pur-chase items.

Rockwood Staff Gift Campaign Christmas is a time for giving and sharing. While Rockwood’s teaching and support staff are always appreciative of gifts, we recognize the needs of our community as well. We ask that if you are in the spirit of giving, to consider a donation, in lieu of a gift, to The Canadian Cancer Society. With nearly 1 in 2 Canadians expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, your support is more important than ever. Every dollar raised will help fund the most promis-ing cancer research, advocate for policies that protect the health of Canadians and provide vital support services to patients and their families. Donations can be made online through Rockwood’s SchoolCash, starting next week. Seasons Greetings!

Join us for our Christmas Concerts

students will be performing on

Monday, December 17 grades 1 - 3 (incl. Ackman Gr 3/4, Seegmiller 1s)

Tuesday, December 18 grades 4 - 8

Dress rehearsals are 2:15 each day

Students are asked to arrive at 6pm and the concerts will begin at 6:30

Admission is by donation

Bake sale/refreshments on night of the 18th

Upcoming Events:

Dec 4,7,11,14,18—Gr 5 swimming

Dec 3—MADD presentation Gr 7,8

Dec 3—Create Your Own Xmas Sign 5:30-9:30

Dec 3,4,5—Dental Screening JK/SK, Gr 2

Dec 7—Hibernation / PJ Day

Dec 10,11—Holiday Gift Shop

Dec 13—Holiday Winter Concert Opeongo HS

performers

Dec 14—Red & Green Day

Dec 14—JK/SK Christmas Sing Along 2:30

Dec 17—Santa Hat Day

Dec 17—Xmas Concert grades 1-3 (see to the left)

Dec 18—Dress Like Your Favorite Holiday Character

Dec 18—Xmas Concert grades 4-8 (see to the left)

Dec 19—FREE Pizza and Milk (signup on SchoolCash)

Dec 19—Christmas Shirt Day

Dec 20—Dress Like a Candy Cane

Dec 24-Jan 4—Xmas break

Kindergarten classes Sing Along on Dec 14 2:30-3:00

FOOD DRIVE

Wow! Over 700 food items and $445

were donated to the Society of Saint

Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen!! We

are so proud of what our school can

accomplish when we work together!

Way to go Rockwood!

VOLLEYBALL

The Grade 8 Girls Volleyball team successfully were crowned

the West Division Volleyball Champions on November 22,

2018. The girls played over 10 games of volleyball to win that

title. This earned the team one of the six coveted spots in the

County Tournament of Champions the following week at

Champlain Discovery. Mrs. Gauthier and Mme McDonald were

incredibly proud of the Lady Ravens and thank each of the

ladies for a terrific season. The team members were: Reese,

Hilary, Miranda, Nadia, Avery, Bailey, Olivia, Haley, Brooke,

Maddy, Lily, Amelia and Isabella

On November 29 our grade 7 girls travelled to Valour for their tournament.

Throughout the day the team displayed excellent teamwork and ended up with a

record of 5 wins and 2 losses. Team members are Ruby, Bryn, Zoe, Jaxon, Lily,

Megan, Naomi, Ainsleigh, Mollie, Grace, Pascale, and Bethany. Your coach,

Mrs. Peever, is super proud of all of your efforts!

Our Grade 8 boys team had their tournament on November 21 at Bishop. The

team showed a lot of sportsmanship and class, won 3 out of 5 games, and tried

their very best. Team players: Ben A, Austin C, Noah J, Bryce M, Isaac M,

Emmitt R, Aiden B, Austin “Ref” L, Aiden M

Coaches Mr. Phelan and Mr. Gagne

The Grade 7 boys went to their tournament on November 26 at Mackenzie. Great

effort boys.

Team members: Landon N, Landon M, Hunter M, Ethan G, Josh R, Logan R,

Isaac D, Devon F, Connor M, Alex H, Zach J. Coach Mme. Melanson

This is Ms. Buelow's grade 7 class at

Rockwood Public School, we're competing in

the CBC Music Class Challenge! Please check

it out and give us a thumbs up on the video!

Please also share! #CBCMusicClass

See https://www.youtube.com/

attribution_link?a=u1nQDZqRwIs&u=%

2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrxKeRWPkyfA%

26feature%

3Dshare&fbclid=IwAR24gGiZk5d6_Fzvo97tEoqLrk9FOdfqWgbmZjhzFSs9x4jGYA0CFQsdvsU

Rockwood is a rural school just outside of Pembroke, in eastern Ontario. Home to 425 students from kindergarten to grade 8. The

Rockwood Raven Singers are some of the grade 7 students in Ms Buelow's class. They are a kind, caring, adventurous, and

hilarious group of youth, who are incredibly dedicated to making our school, our Country and our planet a better place to be. For

more information about the Canadian Music Class Challenge please visit: http://cbcmusic.ca/musicclass

YEARBOOK! YEARBOOK!

Volunteers and students will soon begin develop-

ing Rockwood’s yearbook . Students’ first name

and last name will be used in this year’s book.

Please remember to inform the office, if you have-

n’t already, if you do not wish your child’s pic-

ture/name to be published in our yearbook.

Yearbooks are $20 each for soft cover and $30 for

hard cover. To order go to Picaboo http://

rockwoodyearbooks.picaboo.com. You can also

personalize your yearbook, if you wish.

A notice will come home shortly, and will also be

posted on our website under News.

WEBSITE rck.rcdsb.on.ca

Please visit our website for all kinds of items:

quick peek monthly calendar (bottom left)

full calendar

News (please subscribe to receive an email

when News is posted)

Newsletters

School Council minutes

pictures

and much much more

Follow us on Twitter @RockwoodSchool

Join our closed Facebook group Parents of Rock-

wood Public School

Popcorn for Sale online!!

Every Wednesday at 1st break $1

Green Holiday Tips: Keep your child‘s art and use it instead of wrapping paper.

If you choose to wrap gifts in wrapping paper, please consider

purchasing paper that is recyclable and avoid the shiny foil type.

Reuse old gift bags, tissue and ribbons and turn old cards into

tags. In some countries gifts are presented in fancy fabric

squares, which are tied and reused. Why not start this tradition

with your family and friends?

Kudos to all of our milk helpers, bus helpers, lunch room monitors, Terra Novas, and Echo readers who

give their time to help others!

Thank you to everyone for helping with the Ministry‘s

Safe Arrival plan by calling in when your child is absent.

Remember, the answering machine is on the job 24 hours

a day, 7 days a week at 613-732-3789. If you are making

alternate pick-up arrangements for your child, please send

a note in your child‘s agenda or call the office before 2:30

p.m.

Tips for Parents to help your children succeed

at school Read to your child at an early age.

Check homework every night.

Be available for your child.

Let your child know you are listening.

Respond in a way your child will hear. Create a home environment that encourages learn-

ing.

Establish daily routines for your child.

Show an interest in your child‘s schoolwork.

Limit TV viewing and computer use for non- edu-

cational purposes.

Volunteer at your child‘s school.

Adapted from OAPCE– Ontario Association of Parents in

Catholic Education– www.oapce.on.ca

Parents are reminded that school starts at 9:25, and to ensure

children arrive on time. Please do not drop your children off

earlier than 9:05 as there is no one to supervise them until

that time. Student dismissal is at 3:45. Students are to be

dropped off and picked up at the main office foyer; students

and staff beyond the main office only please. If you are pick-

ing up your child, please arrive within 10 minutes of this time

(doors will be unlocked from 3:30 on). Also, please call with

change of dismissal arrangements before 2:30 pm. We

strongly stress, to prevent class interruptions, that all students

remain at school until the end of instructional time 3:45

pm, including JK/SK students.

ROCKWOOD FUNDRAISER MINI-PEEL CARDS - DEADLINE EXTENDED!!!

These coupon cards make great stocking stuffers and gifts while supporting local businesses! Over $450 in

savings with just one card! Each card contains the following coupons that can be used up until December 31, 2019…

Cards are $20 and MUST be paid using School Cash online! ALL ORDERS ARE DUE DECEMBER 11th!

ALL PROFITS, $10/card, WILL GO TOWARDS CLASS TRIPS AND SCHOOL WIDE ACTIVITIES!

For every 5 cards sold per family, the family name will be entered into a draw to win one of two $50 gift card (locally your choice). Previously sold cards qualify as well!

FREE Pizza and Milk on Wednesday,

December 19

We have enough Pizza points accumulated to

offer a free pizza day and we will also provide

milk.

On SchoolCash, please sign up for 1 or 2

slices of pizza and/or white or chocolate milk,

due Dec 11.

ONLINE PAYMENTS FOR STUDENT ITEMS FOR ROCKWOOD PS!

For safety and efficiency reasons, the Renfrew Country District School Board would like to reduce: the amount of Cash &

Cheques being brought to our schools by students, and the amount of classroom time being spent collecting fees. Rockwood PS

has moved towards having most items payable online only. Please register! Then you will begin to receive email notifications

regarding upcoming events/fees involving your child(ren) which are available to purchase online such as monthly milk and piz-

za/sub orders, field trips, agendas, fundraisers, breakfast club donations, Terry Fox, and more. Some expenses may not be of-

fered for online payment due to their complex nature.

Here’s how:

To access simple instructions and other information click on Online Payment (School Cash) on our website rck.rcdsb.on.ca

Register at https://rcdsb.schoolcashonline.com

Operation Snowsuit was created so that ALL children could stay warm and dry even when living in low in-come families. With the weather turning colder we are now up and running with our Operation Snowsuit campaign.

Rockwood is collecting donations of new or gently used Snowsuits, snow pants, winter jack-ets, snow boots, hats and waterproof gloves. Items must be clean and in good repair as CPAN does not have the ability to clean or re-pair, and will only give to others what we would put on our own children. So please look through your closets and donate if you have items described.

Save our Landfills !!

We collect household batteries and Crayola markers; and milk bags. Containers are in front entrance.

The white milk bags (that hold three clear bags) are recycled into MATS for children. It takes 150 bags and approximately 12

hours to make one sleeping mat for a child. These mats can make a big difference in the life of someone who otherwise would

simply sleep on the ground. A wonderful group of ladies creates them and Smitty's Home Hardware ships the mats free of

charge to where they are required! When donating please make sure bags are dry and when possible folded flat. Lizzie’s grand-

ma thanks you and says "KEEP THEM COMING" See pictures and videos on our Facebook page.

Staff on recess supervision always monitor the cold temperatures and the comfort and safety of stu-dents. Please dress your children for the weather– hats, mittens, scarves, snow pants and BOOTS! We would encourage you to mark items with the child’s name so we can identify lost items of cloth-ing. It is important that children have outdoor playtime even for short periods. It is always recom-mended that young children carry extra clothing in their backpack. Thanks so much!

Rockwood PS is very lucky to be able to offer both a Breakfast Club and Snack program to our students. This wouldn’t be possible without our School Support Counsellor, Mr. Gagne who runs the Breakfast Club, and Mrs. Morgan and her volunteers who offer the Snack program. Whether a student missed their breakfast at home or need a little more in their tummy before they start the day, students are most welcome to join Mr. Gagne in his room between 9:05 – 9:20. Also, in each classroom there is available for both nutrition breaks a snack bin for those children who are extra hungry and/or their lunch kit becomes empty. PLEASE remind your children that they are encouraged to visit the Breakfast Room and/or dip into the snack bins.

Renfrew County Food for Learning Student Nutrition Program (SNP) provides funding for food and

ongoing support to schools and community organizations who run healthy breakfast, snack and lunch programs

for the children and youth living in Renfrew County. Nourishment programs are available to all students,

regardless of socio-economic status. This universality ensures that the program is non-stigmatizing and that

students feel welcome and comfortable. Children and youth who are well nourished are less tired, concentrate

better and are better prepared to participate in academic and physical activities. Helping student get the

nourishment they need to succeed supports healthy development, contributes to prevention of diet related

health concerns and promotes healthy lifestyles.

http://uclc.ca/student-nutrition/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UCLCNutrition/

Rockwood students would like to say to our program teachers and volunteers for your time and

loving hands in providing us with healthy meals, to Food for Learning, and to those parents who have made money and

food donations.

Guitar Lessons offered on Tuesdays at Rockwood, combining computer technol-ogy with musical instruments. Some openings still available. Contact Ron at fretlightteacher@outlook.com 613-735-6243 or 613-401-6243

Royal Canadian Legion—Branch 72—Remembrance Day Poster and Poem Winners

We have some very talented students here at Rockwood.

Poster winners: 1st Rose M (poster not shown as it goes on to ‘zone’ level), 2nd Ella C and Liam C, 3rd Reagan E

Poem winners: 1st Logan R (advances to ‘zone’ level), 2nd Ainsleigh M, 3rd Jaxon W

Shown are winners pictured with their teacher Ms. Buelow, and Branch 72 member Laurette Halliday

Check out Branch 72 Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Pembrokelegion/