October 15th, 2017

It is time to dig out the warm clothing! There have been a few surprise cool days for our students this past week. We have suggested to many students to drop by the lost and found to find that lost hoodie or jacket. Our Leadership team will be organizing, folding and displaying clothing for students to pick up. On Friday, Oct. 20th, we will pack the left-overs and share these items with two of our WRDSB partner schools in Kitchener. It’s good to know that these ‘lost’ items will be sent to a good home!

We continue to keep up a busy pace here at MJ. Alongside digging into the learning agenda, your children are involved in many activities. Students are able to keep track of these activities as events are announced each morning as well as recorded on the white board in the front hall. A picture of the white board is tweeted out each Monday so that parents can also support with a home reminder.

Mary Johnston Memorial Food Bank Fun Run – Wednesday, Oct 18-  Let’s hope that the weather cooperates for our annual fun run. Our food has been packed up and counted and is ready for pick-up. Students in Mme. McManus’ class did an excellent job encouraging food donations. Please join on Wednesday as we run and celebrate Mary Johnston.

Terry Fox Celebration – You can imagine the excitement at our Terry Fox celebration this past Friday. Mme Underhill,  Mme Saulnier, Mrs. T-P and Mrs. Bileski all kissed a very smelly fish! The best deal of the day was to take a pie to the face; at least the taste was great.  Thanks to our good sports Mrs. Lago, Mme McManus, Mrs. Ball and Miss Flowers for taking a pie to the face! You should have seen the smiles on the faces of the students who had the honour of getting this job done! The crowd then went wild to find out who was getting a head shave! Mrs. Bileski was able to talk her way out of the situation, leaving Mr. Kraft and Mr. Howard; who are sporting a great new look! It was a wonderful show of school spirit with everyone leaving the gym with a giant smile. Thank you again to our amazing community for helping to raise $4000 for cancer research. Check out the Twitter feed for some great pictures @mjpwrdsb.

QSP Magazine Fundraising – This fundraiser comes to a close this Wednesday, Oct. 18. Please return envelopes to school or complete your fundraising online at QSP.ca. Fundraising helps us to add items such as equipment for the gym, PALS outdoor equipment, technology and more. Thanks so much for participating. Remember that you may oder online at any time during the year.

Student Safety – Keeping our students safe is our top priority, this means that we keep track of all visitors to the school and the surrounding property.  For visitors to the school; we ask that you always enter through the front door and proceed to the office. Please don’t enter the building as students are exiting. We often come across community members who visit our property during school hours; young families playing on the playground, people walking their dogs and even elderly people on a walk, resting on our school benches. Please do not be offended when we ask you to exit the property as all unknown adults are potential strangers to our students. Any type of suspicious activity/persons is always reported to the office, which then contacts our School Resource Police officer, CST Andre Johnson.

Internet Safety – Internet safety is just as paramount as physical safety. Our students are taught how to be digital citizens who use technology as a tool for learning.  As we know, the content on the internet is vast and the goal is always to ensure that students are not able to access inappropriate material.  The WRDSB has many filters that protect the user from this material. YouTube is a favourite site for many students; however, we want you to be aware that not all content on YouTube is completely filtered. A Board committee, composed of staff and parents, is examining this application to determine further filtering measures.  Students are cautioned to use this site only when instructed and for a specific purpose.

We all want to ensure that our students stay safe online.  Adult supervision of student access about the use of technology continues to play an important role in ensuring online safety and in cultivating digital citizenship. Home conversations and supervision help us to partner with families to ensure the safety of our children. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher.