W.R. Best
December 2023 Newsletter
Upcoming important dates at W.R. Best:
Dec. 1 – Junior Math Road Rally
Dec. 1 – Jr. Boys Volleyball game @ Johnson St.
Dec. 1-13 – Christmas Cheer Donations
Dec. 4 – Parents’ Night Out forms due
Dec. 4 – School Council Meeting 6pm
Dec. 5 – MacLaren Arts visits Mrs. Bax/Mrs. Centurione’s classes
Dec. 6 – Parents’ Night Out – Holiday Edition! 4:30-7:30pm
Dec. 7 – Jr. Girls Volleyball ZONES @ Shanty Bay
Dec. 8 – Kindergarten Holiday Performance 2-3pm
Dec. 10 – Chelsea Chocolates orders due
Dec. 11 – Field Trip – Gr. 2 to Simcoe County Museum
Dec. 11 – Picture Yourself @ Georgian College – Gr. 8s in Mrs. Flamino’s class
Dec. 13 – (Tentative) Jr. Girls Volleyball REGIONALS
Dec. 13 – Field Trip – Gr. 7/8 to Ontario Science Centre
Dec. 14 – Gr. 4 Outdoor Education program
Dec. 15 – Decades Day!
Dec. 19-20 – Chelsea Chocolate orders ready for pick-up
Dec. 20 – Gr. 1-4/5 Winter Concert 9:45am
Dec. 22 – Winter Wonderland Day!
Dec. 25-Jan. 5 – Christmas Break
Days of awareness: www.scdsb.on.ca/about/equity_and_inclusion.
Our school calendar: www.wrb.on.ca/calendar
Principal’s Message
Happy December! We are proud of our school spirit at WR Best! Last month we had our first ever “Anything but a Backpack” theme day, and student creativity and fun shone through. From luggage, to cat kennels, cake carriers to shopping carts – our student engagement in this day made it a huge success. This month, our theme day is Friday December 15th, and is “Decades Day.” Pick your favourite decade and dress up. We can’t wait to see your creativity on December 15th.
Our theme basket fundraiser once all donations were tallied was $3,292.00. Thank you families for your generosity, and thank you to our School Council for your support creating this fundraiser. All funds raised are for technology and field trips. Through the generosity of our community, we are able to discount all field trips by $10 for each student this year.
This month, we are pleased to share with our families two concerts. If you are a parent of a Kindergarten student, our Kindergarten concert is Friday December 8th at 2pm in our school gym. Our Grade 1 – 4/5 concert will be Wednesday December 20th at 9:45am. Classes included in this concert are: Mrs. Rowland, Mrs. Joslin, Mrs. Haughton, Mrs. McRob, Mrs. Knott, Mrs. Bax and Mrs. Centurione.
I would like to wish all our families a happy holiday season. It is a season rich in traditions and celebrations, and we wish each of you time together with family, peace, love and joy this holiday season.
Heidi Cameron Armstrong, Principal
Chelsea Chocolates
It’s time for our holiday fundraiser! We have once again partnered with our local chocolate shop, Chelsea Chocolates, in an effort to continue raising funds to support our students. Please see the following link for information and instructions: https://wrb.scdsb.on.ca/news/what_s_new/chelsea_chocolates_holiday_fundraiser_
Orders are due this Sunday, December 10th.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Parents’ Night Out – Holiday Edition!
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
Do you want to go holiday shopping or out for dinner with no children? Do you want a night to yourself to
relax and recharge? We can make it happen! Thank you to those families who have signed up – see you tomorrow!
The Grade 8 class is doing some fundraising over the course of the year to offset the cost of the grade 8
trip and graduation. One of our fundraising initiatives is going to be Parents' Night Out: Holiday Edition,
taking place on Wednesday, December 6th, 2023. The Grade 8’s (and teacher supervisors) have
graciously offered up their services to care for your children while you have a few hours to do whatever
you like! Students in grades K-5 are eligible to attend, and it will run from 4:30 pm- 7:30pm at W.R. Best
School. We will have many fun Holiday activities, crafts and games planned for your child(ren)! We will be
providing dinner and a drink for your children (pizza & juice box) to be served at 5:00 pm which is all
included in the cost. The cost is 25$ per student or 20$ per student if there are more than 2 students
attending in a family. Attendees are encouraged to wear their holiday pajamas and bring
slippers/indoor shoes.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
W.R. Best Grade 8 Students & Mrs. Flamino
Fundscrip Gift Card Fundraiser
We would love it if our W.R. Best families would consider supporting our FundScrip Gift Card Program for your holiday shopping this year. By purchasing gift cards for the Holiday season, your everyday expenses and presents for friends and loved ones will benefit our community. Each gift card purchased automatically includes a donation to W.R. Best.
It's easy to use, just head over to Fundscrip.com, click on “Support a Group”, enter invitation code 9U8E2G and click Search. Follow the steps to open an account and you are ready to purchase gift cards!
Thank you for supporting our school fundraiser!
Donating to our school
Did you know you can donate funds to support programs at our school, like Eat Well to Excel?
If you are interested in making an online donation, you will log into your School Cash Online account and click on the “Make a Donation” button to launch the donation portal. You will then be able to choose your gift amount, select our school, and an initiative that you would like to support. Donations received for the general Initiative will be allocated at the discretion of the principal based on the needs of the school. Lastly, you will have the option to send a message to the school board. Once you add it to your cart you can proceed to the cart and complete your transaction. Tax receipts are issued for donations regardless of denomination, upon completion of transaction. We thank you in advance for your support of our school!
Lunchbox
WR Best has lots of yummy options for ordering lunches throughout the week:
Mondays: Pasta
Tuesdays: Pizza
Wednesdays: Subway
Thursdays: Osmows
Fridays: Quesada
How to Order:
1. Go to your SchoolCashOnline account items page and click “ORDER NOW”.
2. Proceed with ordering your child’s lunch on the school’s ordering calendar by clicking on the blue date for the scheduled vendors.
3. All orders are submitted on the website and payment is processed on-line by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Debit MasterCard or Visa Debit. Visa and MasterCard prepaid cards are also accepted.
Things to Remember:
• Orders may be placed weekly, or in advance, for the full length of the program.
• The ordering deadline is Sunday at 12pm (NOON) for the upcoming delivery period.
• New orders will not be accepted after the Sunday deadline.
• If buses are cancelled due to inclement weather, and if there is a school closure, lunches will be cancelled and a credit will be issued within 3 business days.
Questions? Contact the Lunchbox Orders customer service team at 1-877-426-6860 or by e-mail at [email protected]
Christmas Cheer
It’s that most wonderful time of year when Barrie and District Christmas Cheer begins organizing for the upcoming holiday season. W.R. Best will help collect non-perishable food items, diapers, books, mitts/hats/scarves, Canadian Tire money and new unwrapped toys for distribution to families in our community who are in need. Donations can be placed under the tree in front of the office. We will be collecting items from Dec. 1st to the 13th.
These are the most needed food products. Please check expiry dates:
Canned Foods: Meats, fish, soups, spaghetti/tomato sauce, veggies, beans, corn, fruit, pork and beans, stews, spaghetti or ravioli, puddings, canned dinners.
Packaged Foods: (Please no glass containers!) Boxed cereal, pasta, spaghetti or rice, (boxed not bagged), macaroni & cheese dinners, cake, brownie, cookie or muffin mixes, jello and puddings, dry soups and meals, candy.
Thank you for all of your donations to help families in need this holiday season!
Giving Tuesday
Tuesday November 28th was Giving Tuesday. The student's in Mrs. Lavender's class sold candy canes. Together we raised $750 for RVH Cancer Centre and Sick Kids Foundation. Both charities are near and dear to the hearts of our class and we are so happy that we were able to donate to these charities.
Communication to families regarding inclement weather days
Inclement weather and bus cancellation information reminder
All information regarding cancelled buses in Simcoe County is posted on the Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium (SCSTC)’s bus information website at www.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca. Our school is in the CENTRAL zone. When buses are cancelled, schools remain open for student learning, unless otherwise noted. School staff are expected to plan for such emergencies in order to transition students who are unable to attend due to inclement weather, to their online platforms (Google Classroom and/or SCDSBhub [Brightspace by D2L]) and continue with academic programming. It is always a family decision whether or not it is safe for their child(ren) to leave for school under severe weather conditions.
The Consortium and bus operators try to make the decision to cancel school buses before 6 a.m. and make every effort to post announcements before 7 a.m. Inclement weather cancellations are effective for the whole day and buses cancelled in the morning will not run at the end of the day. You can follow the Consortium on Twitter @SCSTC_SchoolBus for bus cancellations and other information. You can also subscribe to receive bus delay notifications here: https://scstc.ca/Subscriptions/Login.aspx.
High school information events for Grade 8 students
Is your child starting Grade 9 next year? High school information events will take place in person this winter! Student leaders and staff at the school will give an overview of what’s new and what to expect. Learn about courses offered, as well as information about teams and clubs. Please visit the SCDSB website at www.scdsb.on.ca/secondary/planning_for_high_school to find details on your high school’s info night, and contact the school directly for more information.
Grade 1 French Immersion information
The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) offers French Immersion (FI) at select schools throughout Simcoe County beginning in Grade 1. The goal of the FI program is to enable students to communicate in French with a high level of proficiency, enabling them to function with ease in both French and English. Upon graduation from the program, students will communicate in French with confidence in a wide variety of real-life situations.
The SCDSB board-wide electronic applications for the Grade 1 FI program for all sites will open Friday, Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15. Entry into the FI program is determined through a digitally randomized lottery system. To learn more, visit the SCDSB website: https://www.scdsb.on.ca/cms/One.aspx?portalId=210982&pageId=12587752.
Join us! A learning series for parents/guardians with Pine River Institute
Mental health and well-being continues to be a key strategic priority within the SCDSB. We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Centre for Family Initiatives at Pine River Institute (CFI@PRI) to provide several curated learning sessions focused on student mental health and well-being to SCDSB families.
These webinars are specifically planned for parents/guardians and other caregivers during this school year.
Jan. 11, 2024 Sleep hygiene
Feb. 8, 2024 Self regulation for kids
Feb. 22, 2024 Self regulation for teens
March 28, 2024 Building parents' resiliency
April 18, 2024 Vaping, weed, and alcohol
We hope you save these dates in your calendar and join us for these learning opportunities. For more information and to register, please visit the SCDSB website: https://bit.ly/3jGaC74.
Pine River Institute is a live-in treatment centre and outdoor leadership experience for youth aged 13 to 19 struggling with addictive behaviours and often other mental health issues. Combining therapy with a fully-accredited education program, PRI reinforces the healthy life skills required for a successful future. CFI@PRI extends PRI’s knowledge, experience and evidence-informed treatment approach to families and care providers in the community to support youth mental wellness and prevent the need for more intensive interventions. Learn more about PRI by visiting their website at www.pineriverinstitute.com.
Parents’ Guide to Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting
Learn to navigate the world of assessment, evaluation, and reporting with this new guide for parents/guardians. Created to support parents’/guardians’ understanding of assessment, this guide was designed to effectively empower you to actively engage in your child's educational journey. The guide has been posted to the Simcoe County District School Board’s website and can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/2urcm2tm.
Subscribe to Community Connects!
The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) is excited to launch Community Connects, a new bimonthly newsletter for the SCDSB community. Our shared goal with this new tool is to keep our community partners and stakeholders informed while nurturing relationships that are built on accountability, trust, and transparency.
To learn more and subscribe, visit the Community Connects page on the SCDSB website: https://www.scdsb.on.ca/community/community_connects.
Subscribe to Kindergarten Connections!
Will your child be turning four in 2024? If so, the SCDSB invites you to Kindergarten Connections! This is a monthly enewsletter informing families of everything they need to know about preparing their child for school, as well as registering them for Kindergarten in the SCDSB. To learn more and subscribe, visit the Kindergarten page on the SCDSB website: www.scdsb.on.ca/elementary/planning_for_school/kindergarten.
EarlyON Child and Family Centres
The foundation for lifelong learning and health is built in the early years. EarlyON Child and Family Centres across Simcoe County offer programs for children prenatal to six years of age and their parents/guardians and caregivers. They offer access to play- and inquiry-based learning supported by How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s pedagogy for the early years, information on child development and developmental screening including Early Referral Identification Kits (ERIKs), parent/guardian education, referrals to community resources, nutrition information, and post-natal resources. Check with your local EarlyON provider: https://linktr.ee/earlyonsimcoe.
How is your infant, toddler, or preschool child developing?
Is your child meeting their milestones? Age-appropriate speech and language skills are critical to your child’s ability to read, write, and be successful in school as well as to their ability to engage with their peers. Free services are available to support you with your child’s development. Preschool speech and language programs are located across the County of Simcoe. Call 705-739-5696 or 1-800-675-1979 to complete a developmental screen. The earlier we work together the better!
Licensed Winter Break school-age child care programs
Child care programs for children in Kindergarten to Grade 6 are provided by independent, third-party child care operators in some SCDSB schools. To support your child care needs, some operators offer child care on PA days and holidays including over the Winter Break. Registration in advance is required.
Please contact the child care operator directly to discuss fees and to register. More information and contact numbers can be found by visiting: www.scdsb.on.ca/elementary/planning_for_school/childcare_before_after.
Programs available through the SCDSB’s Adult and Continuing Education Learning Centres
The Simcoe County District School Board’s Adult and Continuing Education department offers a variety of programming including day school, night school, summer school, correspondence, and co-op. Courses may be online, hybrid, or in-person and are based on sufficient enrollment. For current high school students, we offer travel for credit, summer school, and night school programs. For adults, we offer credit courses towards completion of an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) including credits granted for prior learning and experiences (PLAR). In support of many of the adult learners in our communities, we also offer non-credit classes in English as a second language (ESL) and literacy and essential skills (LES) both of which can support learners towards paths of employment, continued education, and citizenship. Please visit us at www.thelearningcentres.com to learn more.
School playground structures are closed for the winter
Every winter, school playground structures are closed. Students are made aware of this during school hours through announcements and staff reminders during breaks. This may not be well known throughout the community, despite signs indicating that playground structures are a winter hazard and are closed. The Canadian Standards Association regulations make recommendations for the depth of ground cover required to minimize injuries (e.g., sand, pea gravel or wood chips). These surfaces cannot be maintained when the ground freezes. Injuries from falling would be more significant on frozen ground. We strongly recommend that you do not allow your children to play on any structures while the ground is frozen.
Mental health strategy of the month - Emotion Charades
Well-being is a Strategic Priority in the Simcoe County District School Board, and our mental health and well-being department provides monthly strategies to support student and family well-being.
This month’s strategy is Emotion Charades. This practice helps students practice expressing emotions with their whole body and recognize body language and facial expressions in others. To practice Emotion Charades at home, on slips of paper, write or draw different feelings depending on the age of your child. For instance, happy, sad, angry, scared, worried, sleepy, frustrated, etc. Place the papers in a bowl/container.
Then:
- Decide who will go first. Have that person pick a piece of paper from the bowl.
- Have them read the feeling to themselves, or, if needed, help your child read the feeling.
- Now they will act out the feeling without words while the other players try to guess what it is.
- Once someone gets the right answer, it’s the next person’s turn to pick a piece of paper and act out the feeling.
This is a fun activity that everyone in the family can play!
Emotion Charades link to School Mental Health Ontario parent sheet: https://smho-smso.ca/online-resources/easy-and-fun-mental-health-activities-for-home/
Find more information to support your child's mental health here: https://smho-smso.ca/parents-and-caregivers/
Emotion Charades:
Elementary - https://smho-smso.ca/emhc/identification-and-management-of-emotions/recognizing/emotion-charades/
Secondary - https://smho-smso.ca/emhcsecondary/identification-and-management-of-emotions/recognizing/emotional-awareness/
Follow the Mental Health and Well-being social media accounts (@SCDSB_MHWB) to see how well-being is being supported in our schools.
Math @Home parent and caregiver series
It’s back! The SCDSB math team is pleased to offer three virtual sessions for parents and caregivers of SCDSB students. These sessions will focus on practical and fun ways to support children with their mathematics learning and engagement at home. The first 200 registrants will receive a Math @Home kit of resources to use at home. Participants must pre-register for each of the sessions.
Exploring the new SCDSB family math resources
Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, 7 to 8 p.m.
This session is for parents and caregivers. Join members of the SCDSB math team for a guided exploration of the new SCDSB family math resources. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the resources that are available to support their child’s math learning at home. The guided portion of the session will be 45 minutes in length. During the final 15 minutes, the math team will be available to answer questions about the resources available.
Tips for engaging in math conversations with your child @Home
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, 7 to 8 p.m.
This session is for parents and caregivers and will explore opportunities to discuss math with their child(ren) at home. Participants will learn about how events such as shopping, preparing food, engaging in a building project, or going for a walk can be used as a starting point for math conversations, and will receive prompts to get the discussion rolling. The guided portion of the session will be 45 minutes in length. During the final 15 minutes, the math team will be available to answer questions about the session.
Games to support your child’s math learning @Home
Thursday, April 4, 2024, 7 to 8 p.m.
This session is for parents, caregivers, and their children. Playing games at home is a great way to support child(ren)’s math development. In this session, several games will be explored, and participants will have the opportunity to try the games with their children during the session. The guided portion of the session will be 45 minutes in length followed by 15 additional minutes for further game play or to ask questions of our math facilitators. Bring your child(ren) and your math kit to this session!
Participants must pre-register for the sessions they wish to attend. Registered participants will receive a kit of hands-on resources that will be sent to the school indicated on the registration form. Use this link to register: https://bit.ly/24MathAtHome.
Head lice treatment and prevention
Anyone can get head lice. Having head lice does not mean a person is unclean or lives in a dirty home. While they are a nuisance, head lice do not spread disease or cause illness. Head lice spreads easily, especially where people are in close contact and are very common among school-aged children or children in childcare.
Head lice spreads through direct hair-to-hair contact or indirectly by sharing hats, combs, hairbrushes, and headphones. To help prevent the spread of head lice, it’s important to educate students about avoiding head-to-head contact and discourage sharing combs, hairbrushes, tuques, hats, or hair accessories.
Parents/guardians, caregivers, and families can visit https://www.simcoemuskokahealth.org/Topics/PP2B/RaisingChildren/YourGrowingChild/HeadLice for more information about head lice treatment and prevention. Or call Health Connection at 1-877-721-7520 to speak to a public health nurse.
Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Is bedtime stressing you out?
Kids need 10-12 hours of sleep every night but sometimes getting them to bed can be challenging. You can help create a regular sleep schedule for your child by setting a clear bedtime and sticking to the same time every night. Start getting ready an hour before bed; turn off the TV, computers, and phones. Spend quality time talking or reading stories to help them unwind. Agree on how many you’ll read before you start! Keep their room dark, cool, and quiet - a nightlight is fine. Remember, making sure your child gets enough rest will help improve their mood, behaviour, and ability to learn.
For more bedtime tips, contact Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 to speak with a public health nurse. Visit www.simcoemuskokahealth.org for more information.
Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Did you know it’s illegal to vape or smoke anywhere on school property, inside the school or outside within 20m of school property, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?
The law applies to everyone on school property, students, staff, and visitors. It also means it is illegal to vape or smoke on school athletic fields during afterhours activities or vape or smoke in school washrooms. There is a fine of $305for vaping or smoking on school property.
But why do youth vape at school? Vapes contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive drug. Nicotine addiction is extremely powerful, develops quickly, and youth may not realize they are addicted. Once addicted, they need nicotine regularly or they will experience withdrawal, making it hard to get through the school day. Help them take back control – there are supports to help youth quit! Talk to your child about vaping, they listen more than you think. Learn more at NotAnExperiment.ca/parents.
Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions is seeking compassionate and skilled professionals with specialized experience to apply to become foster care providers
The goal of this program is to meet the needs of youth through a therapeutically supported parenting approach within a structured environment, where they are supported and guided by a multi-disciplinary treatment team. The youth will remain, or become connected to, their family/kin/community whenever possible. Treatment services will be individualized based on the needs of the youth, and the knowledge of those who know the youth best in collaboration with community partners. This will allow youth to reside in a family-based setting and remain in their home community of Simcoe Muskoka, staying connected to important relationships and supports that may already be in place.
The homes approved under this strategy are designed to create clinically informed care plans that will support the youth directly, in addition to the continued support of their care providers. Youth will be supported by a multi-disciplinary team and will be available to implement and design parenting and support to address the needs of the youth.
Compensation packages will be offered to experienced foster care providers, as well as clinical support to both care providers and youth.
If you or someone you know is looking for more information or would like to apply, contact Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions by email at [email protected] or call 705-716.4664.
Information provided by Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions