Oakwood Public School 255 Omer Avenue, Port Colborne, L3C 3Z1

February 2017 Newsletter

Mr. P. Hawkey – Principal Mr. W. Hahn - Superintendent

Mrs. S. Quesnel - Secretary Mr. D. Schaubel – School Board Trustee

School Phone: 905-834-9732, Email: http://oakwood.dsbn.org

Message from the Principal

It’s hard to believe that February is already here, the half way

point in our school year. This is a particularly busy month with

lots of events scheduled including Kindergarten Open House,

Public Speaking presentations, Valentine’s Day Dance-a-Thon

and Pink Shirt day to name a few. For a complete list of events,

please visit our school website.

On February 10th, our staff will be sending home your child’s

Term 1 Report card. Please take a few moments to review the

report with your child and return the comment section to their

teacher. Our staff continues to work hard to provide great

educational experiences for our students. The focus is still to

provide our students will opportunities to solve problems in

Language, Social Studies, Science, French, the Arts and Math. Here's to hoping the groundhogs don’t see their shadow, and

with that the arrival of an early spring.

Mr. P. Hawkey

What’s Up…

February 2017

2-Kindergarten Open House—

10am-6pm

3-Grad Photos

3-Hot Dog Lunch

3-Chocolate Fundraiser begins

6-9 Public Speaking -in classes

9-Pizza Lunch

10-Report Cards sent home

14-Valentine’s Dance-a-thon

15-Public Speaking—Gym

16-Hamburger Lunch

17-PA Day-No Classes for

students

20-Family Day -School Closed

22-Pink Shirt Day

23-Pizza Lunch

28-Chocolate Fundraiser ends

March 2017

13-17 March Break

20-First day back from break

From the Eagles Nest…

We are busy preparing for our first Vendor Fair to be

held April 29 from 10:00 a.m.- 3:00p.m. The response

from vendors has been incredible! Please plan to attend this

event!

We have also teamed up with Harvey's to plan an ‘Oakwood night’

on Thursday, March 2nd. Harvey’s will make a donation to our

school based on sales from families that eat at Harvey's on this

day and mention that they are from Oakwood School.

Thanks to your support, we are once again able to cover the cost of

Scientists in the Classroom. We are also hoping to replace some of

the mats in the gym with this years proceeds.

Your continued support helps make Oakwood a great place for our

children to learn!

Our next meeting is

Tuesday February 28th at 6:30 p.m.

Everyone is welcomed to attend!

School Cash On-line

If you haven’t signed up already, we hope you will consider this easy and convenient way to pay for hot lunches,

school trips and special events, as well as permission forms etc.

Visit our school website and click on “School Cash Online”. There you’ll find more information about the system,

links to registration and support. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

Kids Are Sweet Enough Without Added Sugar

The Niagara Healthy Kids Community Challenge (www.healthykidsniagara.ca) has teamed up with communities across Ontario to launch the Water Does Wonders Pledge Campaign. Why Pledge? To be part of the solution! Kids are drinking way too many sugary drinks, which has a negative impact on their health, their teeth, and their minds. We can all help by making water easier to access and by not serving sugary drinks to children. By taking the pledge, you are affirming your commitment to improved health for our kids.

Sign the pledge at www.waterdoeswonders.ca!

If you choose to be recognized, your family will be featured on our Hall of Pledges. Your pledge will also help Niagara earn Top Community status on the Hall of Pledges.

Heritage Fair is coming….

Students in grades 4 - 8 will be completing their Heritage Fair project for Oakwood's Heritage Fair. The Heritage Fairs program is a learning initiative developed to in-crease public awareness and interest in Canadian history. It is non-competitive, how-ever some students will have the opportunity to showcase their projects at the DSBN Heritage Fair Display later in the month of April.

Display boards will be available for purchase through the school. Additional details will be shared with students in the coming weeks.

Eagles Baskeball Team

The Intermediate Boys Basketball team is prepar-

ing for their upcoming season. We wish them good

luck during their season. Team members include

Turner Clarke, Owen LaMarsh,

Damien Peterson, Eddie Wood,

Zach Seebach, Caleb Nault,

Jordan Denobriga, Bryce Hunter

and Kumar Joshi ! Go Eagles !

Chocolate Bar Fundraiser

Our chocolate bar fundraiser will begin

February 3rd. Permission forms will be sent

home January 30th. Please return the forms

before Feb 2nd. There are many excellent

prizes available to win including a 32 inch

flat screen television. Prize tickets are

awarded for selling a box. Each student who

participates and sells chocolate will receive a

10 inch chocolate Easter bunny for their

efforts. Additional information will be sent

shortly through their agenda and classroom

handouts. This is our most successful fund-

raiser each year and we hope once again to

raise a great deal of money

to put back towards giving

our students the resources

and experiences they re-

quire to support their

needs.

Dance-a-Thon

On February 14th, Valentines Day, our Student

Council is coordinating with the staff to provide all of

our students an opportunity to participate in our Dance

-A-Thon. Students will be bringing home pledge forms

to raise money for end of the year trips and activities.

Our goal is to raise $10 per child. There will be student

leaders present to get our young dancers engaged in

learning new dances while displaying their own crea-

tive dance moves! These pledge forms can be brought

back to school anytime before our dance. There will be a

concession stand with a variety of

snacks available for purchase.

More information to follow !

Public Speaking

Oakwood School values research

and public speaking. Once again,

our students in grades 4-8 will be

provided with the opportunity to in-

crease their confidence, while they orally present their

findings to their peers and teachers. This mini-unit

begins very shortly and will conclude February 15th.

Teachers have presented the parameters for their stu-

dents as they work through completing their task.

Oakwood School is always represented at the District

Level and we hope once again, we can prepare our

students to perform at their greatest potential. More

information to follow from your child's teacher.

Pink Shirt Day—February 22nd

Special Hot Dog Lunch

On Friday February 3rd, Mr. Wilson’s grade 7/8 class are

holding a special hot dog day with proceeds directed toward

their year end trip. This event will be cash orders only with

order forms going home to every student. It is important to

send your orders in by the due date.

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT

INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURES

There may be times during the school year where inclement weather or other situations could cause transporta-

tion cancellations or school closures.

At times when student transportation has been cancelled and schools remain open, the decision of whether or

not to have children in school on that day rests with the parent or guardian.

Should you decide not to send your child to school in the event that transportation is cancelled but schools

remain open, or if your child is ill or late, please ensure that you call your child’s school to inform them of

your child’s absence.

A key resource in any emergency is the DSBN Emergency Information form that you filled out at the beginning

of the school year. Please let the school know of any changes in contact information or procedures you wish to

be followed throughout the school year.

For secondary schools it may become necessary to cancel late buses. Notice will be provided via school announce-

ments and on the websites and subscription features by 11:30 a.m.

Information about transportation cancellations and school closures will be available as soon as it is available

through the following channels:

Websites:

http://www.dsbn.org/inclementweather/

www.nsts.ca

Subscription Features:

DSBN Facebook or Twitter

NSTS Transportation Delay or Cancellation Alerts

Phone:

Niagara Student Transportation Services 905-346-0290 Voice Auto Attendant

Radio Stations:

CKTB (610 AM) St. Catharines

CHRE (105.7 FM) St. Catharines

WAVE (94.7 FM) Hamilton CHTZ-FM (97.7 FM) St. Catharines

CKOC (1150 AM) Hamilton 2DayFM (105.1 FM) Niagara Falls/Fort

Erie

CHML (900 AM) Hamilton K-LITE-FM (102.9 FM) Hamilton

CHAM (820 AM) Hamilton GIANT FM (91.7 FM) Welland

Y-108(107.9) Hamilton