September 27th, 2017

Hello Families!

It is hard to believe that the end of September is almost here! We have had an incredibly fabulous start to the school year here at MJ! So many things have already happened: first day opening exercises on the tarmac, first week assembly, coffee and Kleenex for our Kindergarten families, Me to We club, Running Club, PALS playground helpers, LIT (Leaders in Training), School Council and of course many rich learning experiences in each classroom!

We welcome our new families to MJ and hope that you feel comfortable and are now calling MJ home. The exciting news here has been all about the addition of a Kindergarten classroom. This new class will bring our numbers down, which will benefit all.

There are many ‘rules’ at school for students as well as adults!!! Here are a few really important reminders:

No Dogs on School Property WRDSB Policy

We have many families that are owners of beautiful pets.  We know it’s nice to take the dog for a walk as you drop-off or pick-up your child to and from school. However, it is the expectation that pet dogs are not on school property – especially at the beginning and end of the school day when there are several children walking and running about.  We have many students who are terrified of dogs, and the behaviour of a dog is never 100% predictable. If you are walking your dog to school, please do your kiss and drop from the edge of the property.

Service dogs are exempt from this expectation and would be clearly identified as a service dog, following WRDSB Procedure 2020. Thanks for ensuring all of our students are safe.

Parking Lot and Bus Zone

Please remember that the parking lot is for staff and volunteers only. Please park on a side street; better yet, have your student walk, bike or scooter to school!

Please, please, please do not park in the bus zone. There are two light standards with signs that clearly mark the bus zone. This is a no parking zone 24/7. The bylaw officer was here to give out this information during the first week of school.

Events  

SEPT 28, Terry Fox Run. Weather permitting; the Terry Fox Run will take place this Friday, September 29 at 2:30pm. Parents are welcome to join us for the run. We have set a big goal this year, $4000!!! If we reach this goal, students will watch various adults in the building: kiss a fish, shave their head or take a pie to the face!!!! YIKES!

OCT 4, MJ Memorial Food Bank Fun Run Our fun run takes place after school, starting around 4:00pm. Many schools from WRDSB join us in this run. If you are able to volunteer for this event, please call Mrs. Kieswetter at the office, 519-747-1620 to leave your email and we will send you details. Our pile of food that we have been collecting is growing!! Thank you for your donations, and keep them coming all the way until Oct. 4th. This Fun Run is extra special as it honours Mary Johnston who passed away in July. Mary loved to marshal the race, shouting out an energetic “GO” at the starting line. We will truly miss her.

QSP Fundraising This is one of our favourite fundraisers, as it is about READING! Keep an eye out for a package that will come home Oct. 5th after the kick-off assembly. Students will sell Magazines to family and friends, making profit for MJ and getting new reading material!

Pizza and Monday Lunch Keep an eye out for pizza order forms. They are going home this Friday! Exciting news from Elementary School Nutrition Services ESNS; families will be able to order on-line yummy lunches!!! Stay tuned.

Food Cautions:

We are a Peanut and nut butter free school.  Please do not send these items for lunch as we have many students with severe allergies.

Birthday Treats – we know that students love to celebrate birthdays; so much so that some families will send in huge sweet treats for the class. We ask you not to do this as there are so many allergies and we are bound to the Ministry of Educations Food and Beverage Policy http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/healthyschools/policy.html