Watt`s Happening! - Watt Public School

Watt’s Happening!
January 2014
Watt Public School
2794 Hwy 141, Ullswater
RR#1 Utterson, ON P0B 1M0
Phone 705-769-3643
Fax 705-769-3762
Principal: Sharon Stahls
Muskoka Lakes Trustee: Louise Clodd
Superintendent: Kevin Cutler
Secretary: Cheryl Evans
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents and Friends:
Happy New Year!
Welcome back to another month at Watt P.S. I
hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with
family, friends and surprises. Thank you to the
many parents, relatives and friends who attended
our Holiday Celebration. I hope you enjoyed
yourselves. Mother Nature seems to be hitting us
this year with snow and more snow which has meant
a lot more shoveling for all of us. On a positive note
all this snow will allow for excellent snow shoeing, xcountry skiing and tobogganing here at Watt P.S.
We are encouraging all students to come to school
dressed appropriately for outdoor activities.
While we were away Miss Sion did an excellent
job getting the building ready for us. We would like
to encourage all students to please make sure they
have indoor shoes. The next few months will go by
very quickly and I have already spoken to the
students about being focused and working hard
during instructional time here at school. Parents are
encouraged to continue to communicate with your
child’s classroom teacher regarding homework and
daily activities.
We would like to welcome back Mrs. Veitch who
will be looking after are grade 3/4 class until she
goes on maternity leave the end of February. I know
the students are excited about having her back in
the building. We are just finishing up our intramural
basketball program and will be starting intramural
volleyball for our grade 6, 7, 8 students. Our cross
country ski program is set to go and students will be
practicing at 2nd Nutrition Break. This is for students
from grade 1-8. Thank you to Mrs. Wilson and Mrs.
Smith for organizing the equipment and running the
practices. Our skating rink is ready to go thanks to
the efforts of Stan Sutey and Paul Fry who came
during the Christmas Holidays to start flooding with
the help of the Windermere Fire Department. With
all the snow and colder temperatures we will be able
to have the crazy carpet hill open during 1st nutrition
break and the skating rink will be open during the 2nd
nutrition break. Please remember that a permission
form needs to be filled out for skating and a hockey
or ski helmet is a must. The permission form is pink
and will be sent home with this newsletter.
Our Parent Council will be hosting our 3rd Annual
Watt Winterfest on Wed. Jan. 29th from 6:00 – 7:30.
A great night to come with your child and skate,
snow shoe, play broomball and meet other parents
around a roaring fire with hot chocolate. We are
hoping to see as many parents as possible.
A big shout out to those parents who were able to
come and help give our log cabin some TLC before
the snow began to fly. In the spring some more
projects for the cabin have been slated so if you
would like to help out please give us a call. More
info will come out as to the time and date.
Have a great January. Feel free to stop by the
office if you are in the school and say hi.

Sharon Stahls
Proud Principal
EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY, SUCCESS!
SCHOOL MISSION: Academic Skills—We connect learning to the real world at Watt Public School. We encourage higher level thinking with an
emphasis on the process of learning. We aim to create an environment where students can solve problems, be creative and challenge themselves.
Social Skills—We promote an understanding and appreciation of the rights and responsibilities of all members of the Watt community. Life Skills—
We encourage healthy lifestyle choices at Watt Public School which will lead to a well balanced adult life.
Parent Corner To Parents from Parents
Happy New Year! We hope everyone had an enjoyable
Christmas break. First of all we want to say congratulations to Cheryl Hollows for being the first to email the
new Watt Parent Council Gmail account. She gained
house points for both Emily and Caroline! That email
address again is [email protected]
Please email us anytime if you have a question you need
answered or have an idea you want the council to know
about.
Council has many events planned for the rest of the
school year, so make sure you mark them on the calendar as they are announced! The first is the annual Watt
Winterfest on Wednesday January 29th from 6:00—7:30.
There will be tobogganing, skating, snowshoeing and
hot chocolate for all. Remember to lug a mug! We also
wanted to remind you about the Soapbox Derby happening again this spring. If you haven’t started planning
your racer, January is the perfect month to start!
Our next council meeting is Monday January 13th at
7:00pm; hope to see lots of you there!
Have a great January everyone!
Cross Country Skiing
For a number of years the cross country ski program has
been run by parent volunteers. They size the students
with the appropriate boots and skis and run practices,
usually 4 days per week. Again this year, Cecile Wilson
and Diane Smith have agreed to work with students who
are interested. Each week there will be 2 practices for our
primary/junior students and 2 practices for our junior/
intermediate students; all will take place at 2nd recess.
In addition those students who are interested and have
been attending practices on a regular basis will have the
opportunity to attend 2 races; one on February 7th, the
second on February 28th. Please watch for more information to come home later in the month about participating in the races.
Diane & Cecile are also looking for additional volunteers
to help with the practices. CROSS COUNTRY SKI EXPERIENCE NOT NECESSARY! Especially when running practices
for our younger students help is needed to tie ski boots &
to help get skis on. These parents will soon see their
youngest graduate from Watt & they would like some of
our new parents to get involved. Please contact Diane,
Cecile or the school office if you ‘re willing to help out.
Please
Visit
our
call
school
769-3643
website
Ext.often
501 when
at http://wat.tldsb.on.ca/
your child is absent from school.
A heartfelt thank you to those dads
who came out to lend a hand with our
log cabin back in November!
Pictured L to R—Sean Beane, Ray Hermann, Mike Fishleigh, Jason Eberle, Stan
Sutey, Nigel Wilson (on the roof). Missing from photo Lance Postma
Battle of the Books
‘BOB’ is underway at Watt P.S. Teams of 4 registered before the Christmas break and have been
busy reading from
the prescribed book lists.
It’s not too late for your son
or daughter to register for
a team.
Here are the titles for
this year’s competition.
Ontario Early Years Dinner
Program at Raymond Hall
Are you tired at the end of the day and
would really just like to relax and have some
FUN with your kids?
Why not come out and do just that and also
enjoy a nutritious sit down dinner while you
are there.
This Ontario Early Years Dinner Program
is open to any family (parents and/or
caregivers) with at least one child
aged 0 to 6 years.
Junior
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by
Tuesdays
5 pm to 7:30 pm
J.K. Rowling
Hannah and the Spindle Whorl by
Please make your reservation today.
Call Barb at
705-645-3027 or 1-800-461-7404
Transportation may be available
Carol Anne Shaw
Howl ! By Karen Hood Caddy
Skellig by David Almond
Catboy by Eric Walters
Hunter by Eric Walters
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
Upcoming Dates & Information
Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
Terror at Turtle Mountain by Penny Draper

Intermediate
No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis
The Tiffin by Mahtab Narsimhan
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

The Enclave by Ann Aguirre
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman
Philbrick



Between Heaven and Earth by Eric Walters

Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Timber Wolf by Caroline Pignat

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Please call 769-3643 when your child is absent from school.
Included with this newsletter is a pink
skating permission form. Please return
to school ASAP if you allow your child
to skate at school. One permission
form per family.
January 13th Parent Council Meeting
January 21st Grade 8 Parent & Student
Information Night at BMLSS
January 29th Watt Winterfest
January 30th PA Day
February 14th Report Cards come home
February 17th Family Day
March 7th PA Day
March 10th to 14th March Break
Please
Visit
our
call
school
769-3643
website
Ext.often
501 when
at http://wat.tldsb.on.ca/
your child is absent from school.