May Newsletter - Naahii Ridge Public School

Education Week
May 2015 Newsletter
During the first week of May, the 4th through the 8th, the
Lambton Kent District School Board is celebrating
Education Week. The theme this year is “Every Student,
Every Day.” This week is designed for family, friends and
community members to see all the great work and
programs which run in our schools each and every day.
Here at Naahii Ridge, we have extremely hard working
staffs that ensure that the educational, social and
physical needs of the students are met each day. The
learning environment in our school is positive and
conducive to each student achieving their very best.
Mad For Learning
The Parent Involvement Committee held their annual
event on April 8th. In total, there were roughly 100
students who attended the various stations with their
parents. A few of the favourite stations were the fire
truck, the life-sized cow which could be milked and the
Mad Science demonstrations. Numerous prizes were
donated for the event, including backpacks, a tote filled
with activities for outdoor and indoor play, a bicycle,
and the grand prize was an iPad mini and $50 iTunes gift
card.
Flower Fundraiser
Again this spring, Naahii students sold plants from the
local grower, Flowerbed Greenhouses, as our spring
fundraiser.
Orders will arrive to the school on Friday, May 8th, 2015
between 12 and 5 pm.
Any volunteers who can help with distribution would be
greatly appreciated.
Classroom Changes
Students and staff worked extremely hard during the
week of April 13th to the 17th to relocate into their new
classroom locations. Currently, our Junior Wing has
been emptied, except the Learning Resource Centre and
the Delaware Language Room. Construction will begin
any day now on the Best Start Daycare Hub in the
former Junior Wing. The junior classes have now
moved into the middle corridor. In order to
accommodate the junior classes, some of the primary
classes relocated to the Primary Wing. Madame Kerr
and Madame Tscharke are now using their new office
space in the library instead of their classroom.
This is a reminder to all parents that when you visit the
school, you must check in at the office with a staff
member. Once you have been directed to your child’s
classroom, you may proceed down the hall, but not
until you have been given permission. This ensures that
we are aware of all visitors in the school at all times and
it allows us to keep our students and staff safe.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made the moves
easy and successful, and with as little stress as possible.
Talent Show
Our students have been rehearsing and perfecting their
acts under the direction of Mrs. Sheppy and Mrs.
Fleming. The talent show will take place at noon on
Tuesday, May 5th in our gymnasium. Family and friends
are invited to attend.
We thank these teachers for spending their time giving
these students an opportunity to perform in front of
their peers, their family and their friends.
Jump Rope for Heart
School Council
On Monday, April 27th, there was an assembly and
special performance by the Skipping Club. This
assembly was designed to begin the Heart and Stroke
fundraising campaign in our school. Students have
received pledge forms to take home. Over the
following two weeks, students are asked to collect
pledges from friends, family and neighbours to support
this very valuable organization in our community.
The next School Council meeting is scheduled for
Tuesday, May 12th at 6:30 pm. All parents, guardians
and caretakers are encouraged to attend the meetings.
These meetings are a way for parents to stay informed
about the recent and upcoming events that occur at
your child’s school. Topics will include discussing the
JK/SK playground construction plan, Track and Field
Day, year end trips and celebrations.
On May 8th, the school-wide Jump Rope for Heart event
will take place where the students will hopefully have
good weather to get outside and skip. Prizes and
incentives are given to those who collect the most
pledges.
Chef à l’école
Pitch In Week
During the week of April 20th to April 24th, students at
Naahii Ridge participated in the Municipality of
Chatham-Kent Pitch In Week. Students worked around
the school yard and on some municipal property to pick
up garbage and make the area much nicer for the
community to use. We would like to thank Madame
Kerr for organizing the materials and the work areas.
Many hands make for light work.
EQAO
Each spring, the Grade 3 and 6 students throughout the
province write a standardized test. The test involves
reading, writing and mathematics components. To help
the students be successful in their writing, we ask that
parents of these students ensure their children are
attending each day and the distractions to the schedule
be kept to a minimum.
Grade 3 students will begin writing on Monday, May
25th and conclude by Friday, May 29th. Grade 6 students
will write the following week, beginning Monday, June
1st and concluding by Friday, June 5th. Please ensure
that you do not have appointments scheduled during
this time where students would be absent from regular
instructional time. We appreciate your assistance with
this request.
Naahii Ridge French students hosted "Chef à l'école" on
April 29th. Grades 3-6 participated in making a yummy
chocolate lava cake. Chef Susanne gave all directions in
French, and each student had an assigned task to
make the cakes. French music and spoons were played
during our baking and the students also washed their
dishes and cleaned up. While the cakes were baking,
Susanne told the students a wonderful story about how
and why the French came to Canada many years ago as
fur traders. We then enjoyed the yummy cakes with a
chocolate chai tea beverage. The students had lots of
fun in an authentic French language setting.
Many thanks to our parent volunteers and to all staff
who helped to make this day a success!
Concussion Policy
The LKDSB has done some work recently around injuries
and concussions in particular. There has been a policy
developed and a procedure which needs to be followed
very closely when a student receives an injury which
could potentially be a concussion. The LKDSB is hoping
that by instituting this policy, students will be more
successful in their return to programming following an
accident.
For more information about the policy, please visit
www.lkdsb.net, Parents, Concussion Protocal.
Explanation Writing
Upcoming Workshops
Beginning April 20th, students will be working on their
fourth writing form of the year. Explanation writing will
be taught by teachers in all grades, JK through Grade 6.
With the assistance of their teachers, students will build
anchor chards and other charts for reference to use
throughout the course of their writing periods. These
charts help the students to remember what is expected
of them as their teacher evaluates their writing.
Explanation writing is very important when the writer is
trying to give details about the way things work or the
reason behind something. Explanation writing can
often be found in non-fiction books, on websites, in
newspapers and magazine articles.
The LKDSB is offering a very interesting workshop in the
coming weeks. The workshop is open for parents to
attend. Tim Molyneaux and Laurie McCarthy are board
staff who have coordinated the workshop titled “A look
into the ASD mind.” The presenter is Chris Molyneaux,
an adult with ASD who has successfully gone from nonverbal communication to becoming an honours student
at Humber College. Chris will share his experiences
from his school days, both good and bad. As well, he
will share how music has influenced his life in a positive
manner. The date for this event is Thursday, May 7th,
2015 at the Chatham Regional Education Centre, from
4-5 pm. Please contact the school for further details.
Track and Field
The date for Track and Field has been set for May 25th,
2015. The events will be taking place for students
Grade 4 through Grade 8 at CKSS in Chatham. We will
need volunteers to run the events in order for the day
to be successful. We are asking that any parents or
older siblings who are dedicated and capable of running
an event for the duration of the day please contact the
school to sign up.
As well, food and snack will again be provided by the
Optimists. More details about pricing will come in the
May Newsletter.