“Collaborate , Bel ieve , Succeed”

MISSION Royal Orchard Middle School

will foster an

environment that values

mutual respect, lifelong

learning and diversity. We

celebrate staff, students and

community

VISION Royal Orchard Middle School

will cultivate a

collaborative professional

learning community:

Staff, students, parents

and community strive for

Excellence in the 4 A’s

Engagement and a

celebration of

Diversity and

Student Success

77 Royal Orchard Drive Brampton, Ontario

L6X 4M4

Phone: 905-455-3760 Fax: 905-455-0178

ARRIVAL, LUNCH and DISMISSAL TIMES CORE VALUES

Respect

Honesty

Responsibility

Perseverance

Empathy

SCHOOL TIMES Morning bell: 8:25 a.m.

School begins: 8:35 a.m.

Lunch hour: 11:15 am-12: 15 pm

Dismissal: 2:35 p.m.

Please visit our school website:

http://schools.peelschools.org/1483/Pages/default.aspx

Twitter

@Royal_Orchard

PRINCIPAL

Mr. Kervin White

VICE-PRINCIPAL

Mrs. M. Martin

OFFICE MANAGER

Mrs. D. Guglietti

SUPERINTENDENT OF

SCHOOLS

Mr. J. de Freitas 905-451-2862

TRUSTEE

Mr. David Green

WELL-BEING SYMPOSIUM-APRIL 4 AT ROMS The Royal Orchard Climate Committee in conjunction with the School Council

will be hosting a Well-Being Symposium on April 4th at 6:30 p.m. Our

guest speaker is Dean Huyck who will deliver an important message about well-

being. There will be a number of community organizations present with displays

for your information after Dean Huyck’s presentation. All parents and community

members are invited.

ATTENDANCE

To report your child’s absence, please call this number and follow the prompts:

1-855-209-6155

SCHOOLCASHONLINE You are invited to pay for PIZZA orders online using SchoolCashOnline:

To order pizza for the months of April, May and June go to:

http://www.peelschools.schoolcashonline.com

Orders must be placed by March 26, 2017

Page 2

KISS AND RIDE

Please pick up and drop off your child in the Kiss and Ride lane and follow these instructions for safety and

efficiency.

Please stay in the right hand lane.

Pull your car forward as far as possible.in the lane.

ROMS staff will help direct you. .

Let’s keep working together for a safe year!

SCHOOL COUNCIL Please join us for our School Council Symposium on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at 6:30

p.m. Learn about well-being and the resources in our community.

Welcome to everyone!

DATES TO REMEMBER

March 1 Student Led Black History Month Assembly

March 6 The last day for Counting On You . (Counting On You classes for Numeracy and

Literacy for Grade 7 and 8 students will resume in the fall.)

March 8 Dance Showcase at Living Arts Centre

March 9 Spring Dance

March 12-16 March Break (no school)

March 22 Boys’ Basketball Tournament

March 23 Student of the Month assembly

March 30 Good Friday (no school)

April 2 Easter Monday (no school)

April 4 Well-Being Symposium at ROMS

WE CLUB

The WE Club is organizing a coin drive as part of their WE CREATE CHANGE Initiative. Their goal is to

raise money to buy goats for families in Africa. The students from our Royal Orchard WE Club will be

going to classes starting the end of March to speak to students about the importance of supporting families in

developing nations. When families have access to the resources to meet their basic needs, they no longer

have to choose between water or food, or school or medicine. Small change can create big impact!

DANCE SHOWCASE Team-2018

The Dance Showcase Team is performing at the Living Arts Centre on March 8th. Their dance “Stressed Out”

is an interpretation of the stress and overwhelming feelings that some students feel at school when completing

assignments, projects, and homework. Our students have worked very hard throughout the past couple months

working collaboratively and creatively together, and we are very proud of all their achievements. We will be

performing for the Royal Orchard community in May during the Spring Concert.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH ROMS kicked off Black History Month with The Toronto Children’s Concert Choir. TC3 rocked the building

with Afro-Caribbean drumming and dance. The TC3 choir also shared their soulful voices with us as they per-

formed a number of beautiful and spiritual songs. ROMS students are reminded that ‘their PRESENT is a gift.

Open it and help shape your future! Treat one another like FAMILY.

Congratulations to all the participants of our Black History Month Assembly and all those who contributed to

Black History Month through, art, drama, dance, writing, music, presentations and announcements!

ParentConnect

Online parent portal to access important student information

The Peel District School Board is excited to announce the launch of ParentConnect, an online parent portal to access important stu-dent information. The pilot program was introduced at select schools and phased in to all Peel schools on Feb. 23, 2018.

What is ParentConnect?

ParentConnect is a safe and secure website, created by the Peel District School Board, that acts as a single point to stay informed and to access all electronic services provided to Peel board parents and legal guardians. The parent-friendly website will allow you to:

view school-based alerts and information

access real time absence reporting

view current and historic elementary report card information

get up-to-date busing information

review secondary school credit history and diploma status

and more

To learn more about the benefits of ParentConnect, visit our school website or www.peelschools.org/parentconnect

Important changes coming to SafeArrival system in May 2018 The Peel District School Board is currently using the SafeArrival system by Synervoice Technologies. As Synervoice has been sold to West Communications, there will be slight changes to our SafeArrival system and how you will report your child’s ab-sence from school. The phone number to report your child’s absence will stay the same, but there are a few other changes. Beginning May 14, 2018, all elementary school parents/guardians need to report their child’s full-day absences, late arrivals and/or early departures from school via our new School Messenger SafeArrival system.

The phone number will stay the same: 1-855-209-6155

Website has changed to: go.schoolmessenger.ca

Download a new app: School Messenger App (from Google or Apple) (please be sure to delete the old Safe Arrival app after May 11)

Please continue to use our current Synervoice system until Friday, May 11, 2018. The new School Messenger SafeArrival will be live on Monday, May 14, 2018. Important to note: The transition to a new company and system will require parents to set up a new account with School Messenger SafeArrival as data will not be transferred from the old system to the new. More information on how and when to set-up your new ac-count will be coming in the next month.

Build Happiness External factors often only have a partial influence on our level of happiness. Promotions, new relationships and lucky lottery wins give only a temporary boost to happiness before we return to our baseline. Sustained happiness takes work. Listed here are a few exercise ideas that, when practiced frequently, can build habits of happi-ness. Journal About Gratitude Every night write down three good things about your day. They don’t have to be major. They might be as simple as a good meal, talking to a friend, or getting through something difficult. Say, “Thank You” Keep your eyes open throughout the day for reasons to say “thanks”. Try to notice and recognize the actions that people do, such as a coworker who works hard or a friend who seems willing to listen. Take a Gratitude Walk Go for a walk and make a special effort to appreciate your surroundings. You might notice the smell of flowers, a pretty build-ing, or a soothing breeze. Spend a few minutes focusing on each of your senses (sight, hearing, taste and touch) to find new things you may not have noticed.

It's time to register children born in 2014 for kindergarten We inspire success, confidence and hope in each student…and it all starts in kindergarten! If your child was born in 2014, he or she can start kindergarten in September 2018. You can register your child at any time during regular school hours—just visit the school he/she will be attending to register. What you will need to bring to registration

Proof of child's age (one of the following)

Canadian birth certificate Canadian passport citizenship card/certificate Permanent Resident Card confirmation of permanent residence work permit refugee permit

Proof of address (one of the following)

Ontario driver's license utility bill bank statement/client slip (directly from financial institution) credit card statement federal government forms (e.g. Social Insurance Number, Service Canada documents) purchase agreement

Proof of custody – children must live with their parent(s) unless provided documentation supports an alternate living arrange-ment Proof of immunization – proof that your child has been immunized/vaccinated

Prevent the flu. It's in your hands. Hand washing is the most important way to prevent the spread of infection. Always wash your hands with soap and water when they are dirty. Clean your hands before:

i. touching your eyes, nose or mouth

ii. touching/preparing food or drinks

iii. eating or drinking

iv. caring for someone in your home who can easily get sick (baby, elderly or someone who has an unhealthy immune system) first aid

Clean your hands after:

i. touching pets or other animals

ii. touching raw meat, particularly chicken

iii. touching surfaces such as a railing or grocery cart

iv. touching money

v. touching objects sick people have touched

vi. touching blood or body fluids such as urine, vomit or feces

vii. contact with those who have a cold, the flu, diarrhea or virus of any kind

viii. changing diapers

ix. wiping your own or a child's nose

x. sneezing or coughing

xi. using a facial tissue

xii. using the washroom

xiii. removing gloves

xiv.cleaning

gardening

What to do when you cough or sneeze:

i. cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve

ii. put used tissues in the wastebasket clean your hands with soap and water or a hand sanitizer For more information call Peel Health at 905-799-7700 or visit www.peelregion.ca/flu.

Using social media safely

With the growing number of social media sites, it is no surprise that social media is the most common form of com-munication for children and teenagers. Posts, status updates, comments, instant messages, video uploads, tweets and texts have become a regular part of their lives. While there are many positive benefits to using social media, in-cluding staying connected with friends and expressing your interests, students must be cautious in their use of these networks. Among the most popular social media platforms used are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and Whatsapp Messenger. Many of these platforms are free and are available on smartphones and other electronic de-vices. These platforms are easy to navigate and often allow information to be shared instantly, not only with friends, but with strangers. On social media, it is important to remember that the world is watching. Here are some tips, provided by the Canadian Safe School Network and GetSafeOnline.org, to keep your children safe and help them make smart choices when using social media: Set some boundaries for your child before they get their first ‘connected device’ (mobile, tablet, laptop or games con-

sole). Once they have it, it can be more difficult to change the way they use it or the settings. Have a conversation about what is appropriate online behaviour and what actions could have huge repercussions

that could damage their reputation and be harmful to others. Talk to your child about the kind of websites they look at. Encourage them to speak to you if they come across some-

thing they find worrying or upsetting on websites, games or social media. Discuss with your child what is safe and appropriate to post and share online. Written comments, photos and videos

all form part of their ‘digital footprint’ and could be seen by anyone and available on the internet forever, even if it is subsequently deleted.

Explain to your child that being online doesn’t give them anonymity or protection, and that they shouldn’t do any-thing online that they wouldn’t do face-to-face. Users should only accept people they know in order to protect themselves from spammers, strangers and others who may be using social networking sites to commit crimes.

Unlike when they’re meeting someone face-to-face, children don’t always know who they’re actually ‘talking’ to online, even if they think they do. Tell your children they must never email, chat, or text with strangers, and it’s never okay to meet a stranger in the real world.

Ensure your children set their privacy settings appropriately. Take the time to learn how privacy settings work on your children’s favourite sites, and teach them how to control their privacy.

Tell your children never to share personal and private information with anyone online. This includes, but is not lim-ited to, his or her full name, age, birth date, address, phone number, social insurance number, credit card infor-mation and parents’ full names.

Limit the amount of time that your children spend on social media platforms and talk about the importance of healthy and appropriate use of technology.

Parent resources help you support your child’s learning At the Peel District School Board, our mission is to inspire success, confidence and hope in each child. There is no doubt that families play a vital role in helping us achieve this goal. As our partner in education, we hope you'll stay connected to your child's learning throughout his or her entire school experience. Visit www.peelschools.org/parents/helpyourchild to explore all resources available to parents. There you will find easy-to-navigate buttons that connect families to tip sheets and web pages on a number of differ-ent topics, including math, homework, special education, EQAO and mental health.