October 2019
Principal’s Message:
Thank you all for your supporting such a wonderful start to the school year. We look forward to working together to build relationships and strengthen our school community to provide a rewarding year for your child(ren).
In order to help you stay connected with the school, please ensure that your email address that you provided is active. In addition, you can follow us on Twitter (@MapleGrove_PS) for text version reminders, and follow us on Instagram (@MapleGrove_PS) to see pictures throughout the year. Lastly, please don’t forget to view our School Calendar for upcoming dates and events.
Best Regards,
Principal M. McKenize Wells
School Council
We will have our first school council meeting on Monday October 7th at 7:00pm. We will meet in the library. If you would like to be a voting member on the council, please make sure you fill out the nomination form attached to this email before you attend the meeting.
PIC Conference
The annual HDSB Parent Involvement Committee Concerence will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at Garth Webb Secondary School from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. All are welcome!
Pizza & Pita Programs
Pizza is offered every Thursday at Maple Grove, and is an optional program for students. However, all orders must be done online by September 29th at School Cash Online to ensure delivery for the first week. If students would like to participate in the Pita program it is offered every Monday. All orders must be done online by Oct 3rd for an Oct 7th start. Please contact the office if you are having difficulty logging in online to pay.
Newcomer’s Welcome
Are you new to Maple Grove? Within the last 8 months? We would like to host you in our library on Tuesday, October 15th at 9:30am. You will get to know other parents who are new to our school, and will have the opportunity to learn about Maple Grove and about report cards and student-led conferences in Ontario. We hope to see you there. No RSVP is required.
Sharing Assembly
Our October Sharing Assembly will be held onTuesday, October 29th at 9:30 am. Parents are welcome to attend. We will be recognizing students with Golden Griffin certificates. The parents/guardians of students who will be receiving certificates will be contacted in advance of the assembly by their teacher.
Police Checks
All parents who volunteer in our schools will need a Police Vulnerable Sector Search. You can get this by going to the Police Headquarters, and it does take several weeks. However, you can now also apply online (http://www.policesolutions.ca/checks/services/halton/index.php) and we are told that they process is much shorter. Although many of you work during the day, and wouldn’t typically volunteer, we encourage all parents to get this police check in their first year at Maple Grove, as there may be special events that parents are requested to come into the classroom to work with their child, especially in the younger grades. Once you have submitted your Police Check to Maple Grove, you do not need to do it again, although you will have to sign the Offence Declaration each September. Thank you for taking care of this. Please bring your Police check and/or offence declaration to the main office once you receive it.
Picture Day
Picture day will take place on Monday, October 28th. We will begin with our primary grades first.
Grade 8 Quebec Trip Parent Information Session
This year we will again be offering a Grade 8 Trip to Quebec City. We will be holding an information session on Wednesday, October 23rd from 6-7 pm in the gymnasium. We encourage the parents of all Grade 8 students to attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity, as a representative from the tour company will be on hand to give a presentation and to answer your questions.
Grade 8 Graduation
This year our Grade 8 Graduation will be held on Thursday, June 25th. Please mark this date on your calendar! The reception will begin at 5:30, followed by the ceremony at 6:00 and the student dinner/dance from 7-10 pm.
Days of Significance:
- Islamic Heritage Month
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- Women’s History Month
- Oct. 1 Rosh Hashanah (Judaism)
- Oct. 8-9 Yom Kippur (Judaism)
- Oct. 27 Diwali (Hinduism and Jainism)
- Oct. 30 Birth of Baha’u’llah
Crazy Shirt Day
On October 4th we will have Crazy Shirt Day! This is a special Spirit Day especially selected by our Principal and Vice-Principal of the Day winners, Alfred Sun and Teresa Sang. We look forward to seeing everyone in crazy and colourful shirts!
Halloween Parade
On October 31st, we will have our annual Halloween Parade. Students are welcome to dress in Orange and Black, or a simple costume for the first two periods of the day. At lunch, students will be expected to change out of their costumes (but can stay in orange and black). We will also have a parade through the school during period 1 for our Kindergarten-Grade 6 students beginning at approximately 9:30 am. Parents are welcome to join us in the gymnasium for the parade, additional details will follow closer to the time. Grade 7 and 8 students will participate by lining the halls for the parade. Please do not send your child to school with any masks or weapon replica items. Thank you for sending a change of clothes for your child to put on after the parade. Please remember that as per HDSB policy, students are not permitted to bring snacks or treats to school to share with their peers. If you wish to send a Halloween treat, please consider sending items such as pencils, erasers etc.
We Scare Hunger
Throughout the month of October, students from Me 2 We will be collecting Non-Perishable food items. Please help out those who are in need right here in Halton!
Code of Conduct
Please see the links below to view our Code of Conduct and contact the office if you have any questions.
Parking
Please remember that parking is not permitted in our school parking lot. If possible, please consider having your children take the bus, walk, or bike their bike to school. If you do need to drive your child, please use our Kiss N Ride, park at Oakville Trafalgar High School, or drop off on Albion Avenue.
School Bus
Please ensure that you have signed up for notifications from Halton Transportation so that you will be informed of any bus delays.
October PD Day
There will be no school on Friday, October 11th. Staff will be engaged in learning that supports Ministry of Education initiatives for mathematics.
Athletics
Intermediate Intramurals have begin with class vs class Dodgeball and then move on to Soccer Baseball. All students in Grade 7 and 8s are encouraged to take part in these fun games.
Thank you to all the boys and girls who tried out for the Boys and Girls Volleyball teams, as you showed great interest towards the sport. Good luck to both teams as they begin their season.
Good luck to our Co-ed Flag Football team as they take part in tournaments this month.
VEX Robotics
Stay tuned for the 2019 season! Interest forms will be available to students once tournament dates for the fall/winter have been announced. This club is open for grades 7 & 8 students. Students will build with the VEX EDR platform and learn how to code using EasyC. Please listen for announcements.
Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code is a computer science program that works to inspire, educate and equip girls with the computing skills needed to pursue 21st Century opportunities. This is not a drop-in club. Students who join, will need to dedicate their time each week. Girls Who Code will run 2nd breaks on Monday’s. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, October 16th, which is a Monday schedule. Listen to announcements for information leading up to our first meeting.
Library Learning Commons
It was so nice to welcome all the students back into the Library Learning Commons (LLC) space during our orientations! Classes have explored our print collection, databases, collaborated in some Breakout EDU games and explored with some of the great robots and innovation resources we have at Maple Grove.
Thank you for the many responses to volunteer in our LLC this year! I appreciate everyone’s willingness to lend a helping hand!
Save the date for our Book Fair- Monday, November 25th to Thursday, November 28th. Helping hands and volunteers are always welcome! If you're able to lend us some of your time, we would be grateful! Please email Mrs Scully: scullyi@hdsb.ca