9426 Wellington Rd. 124, R.R #2, Erin, Ontario N0B 1T0 Tel. 519.833.9621

Principal: Reena Anand Vice Principal: Amanda Myer Office Coordinator: Jodi McKenzie

Message from Admin We have a very busy month ahead with Remembrance

Day, progress reports, parent teacher interviews, anti

bullying week and a great speaker! N’oublions pas le Jour de Souvenir. Vous êtes invités à notre

cérémonie speciale. Remembrance Day ceremonies will

be held in our gym on November 11th at 10:30 a.m. Parents, guardians, grandparents, and veterans are invited to attend this important commemoration to

those who served our country and protected our

freedom. Poppies will be handed out prior to the

assembly. Voluntary donations for the poppies may

be handed in to classroom teachers on November 10th

and 11th. Thank you for remembering our past and present members of the Armed Forces and Peace

Corps.

Progress Reports

Gr 1-6 Progress reports will be coming home on

November 16th. The fall progress reports encourage

early and ongoing communication between you and your

child’s teacher and inform you how well your child is

developing the learning skills and work habits we know

are essential for success. The progress reports will

report on academic subjects, such as language, math,

social studies, science and technology, but instead of

assigning a grade or mark, it will tell you how well your

child is progressing: “very well”, “well” or “with

difficulty”. The progress reports will highlight

strengths and areas to improve and include comments

from your child’s teacher that are clear and

meaningful. If you have questions about your child’s

progress after reading the report, please contact your

child’s teacher. Parent teacher interviews will be held

to communicate progress for K-6.

Late Arrivals

Reminder to families that our school day starts at 8:50

A.M., if your child/children are arriving after this time

please have them stop in the office to get a late slip

before they proceed to class. If they need help

getting to class please let us know and we can escort

them or have a friend come and meet them. We ask

that parents stop at the office and not walk their child

through the halls. Thank you for helping to keep our

school safe.

JK French Immersion Registration Information Parents please be advised that our registration

process for French Immersion Junior Kindergarten

students is changing. There will be a parent’s

information session on November 30 from 6:30-

8:00pm in the gymnasium. A brief overview of the FDK

program will be provided, but we will be focused

primarily on the changes to the registration process

for JK FI for the 2017-18 school year. For more

information, please visit www.ugdsb.on.ca/jkfi

Parent/Teacher Interviews

The evening of Thursday, November 24th and all day

Friday, November 25th (PA Day) have been set aside

for parent/teacher interviews. All interviews are being

booked online again this year to make it more

accessible for parents booking interviews for more

than one child. The online system will open Nov 14th at

4pm and close Tues Nov 2nd at 10pm. A letter outlining

how to sign up for interviews will be sent home soon.

Lego Kits

We are looking for gently used Lego kits to be donated

to our school collection. If you have Lego that you

would like to donate, please drop it off at the school

office. Thank you!

Headphones

Families are encouraged to send a set of headphones

(labelled with your child’s name and teacher’s name) to

the school with their child/children to be used in the

classroom or the library while using technology. Having

access to their own headphones will drastically cut

down on the spread of head lice throughout our school.

Head Lice Here is our friendly annual head lice reminder. As you

are aware, having head lice is not an indicator of poor

hygiene – lice like clean hair best! They can happen to

anyone. If there was a report of head lice in your

child’s class, we will send home a head lice notice.

Please check your son/daughter’s hair regularly, and

contact the school if you discover your child has lice or

nits. If your child has head lice, please treat

them with a remedy from the pharmacy that kills

the live lice and then using a special comb or other

technique: remove all nits from the hair before the

child returns to school. Since no product can

effectively kill all nits, you will then still need to

check for nits and remove them from the hair every

day for 7-10 days at which time treatment is redone

with the pharmacy product. There is a woman who

lives near the Brisbane community who is available

to help with lice if you need assistance. Please

contact Theresa Harrod at 416 994-7921 for more

information and assistance.

Outdoor Recess It is getting chilly out and the snow will be here soon!

Please remember to assist your child in wearing the

proper clothing to school and label it. This

includes a warm jacket, hat, mitts and waterproof

footwear. Thanks for sending extra socks in your

child’s backpack just in case! All students are

expected to participate in outdoor recess, as this

important, active break aids concentration and

success in the classroom.

Inclement Weather and Transportation

When you hear the radio announcement, “All school

taxis and buses in Centre Wellington and the Town of

Erin will not be operating today”- your child’s bus or

taxi is cancelled and the school is open. Brisbane

remains open unless schools are cancelled.

Follow @STWDSTS for all updates on bus

cancellations.

During inclement weather, you can also listen to: Erin

Radio 88.1 FM; 1460 AM CJOY; 106.1 Magic FM;

Oldies 1090 AM; 99.1 FM CBC; 105.3 Kool FM;

Newstalk 570AM; 96.7 FM CHYM; or, watch

CKCO-TV.These stations will announce cancellations.

Bus cancellations are also reported on the

Board website after 6:30 a.m. at: www.ugdsb.on.ca

Cross Country Update Congratulations to our junior students who joined the

Brisbane Cross Country Running Team! These students

trained here at school during their lunch break and

their hard work and dedication to the team certainly

showed. On Tuesday, October 4th we travelled to

Guelph Lake to compete against 4 other schools. 16 of

our students placed in the top 10 in their division!

Special congratulations to; Abi and Chris for finishing

in first. Russell and Braeden for their second place

finishes and Monsif for his third place finish! Great

job team!

Fire Drills and Lockdown Drills

In the interest of student safety, the Upper Grand District School Board has directed all

schools to conduct 6 fire drills, 2 lockdown drills

and 1 tornado drill each school year.

Students have become quite accustomed to our

different drills, including the lockdown drill.

During our drill we strive to minimize anxiety by

reassuring students that the activity is a

“pretend” situation and we are only practicing just

like we do with fire drills and tornado drills.

Detailed drill procedures have been developed in

conjunction with our local police services and

provided to all schools as part of our emergency

procedures manual. Every teacher has a copy of

this manual and all emergency procedures are

reviewed throughout the year.

In a lockdown, students and staff are directed to

secure areas where doors can be locked and the

children are kept out of sight, such as a classroom.

If a student is not near their own classroom when

a lockdown is initiated, they will be welcomed into

the closest one. Please note that during a lockdown

drill no one will be allowed to enter or leave the

building, including visitors to the school. In the

event of a real lockdown, only emergency

responders (police etc.) will be allowed to enter

the building and no one may leave their secure area

until they receive an “all clear” from the

authorities.

Please remember to check in at the office prior to

going down to classrooms to ensure security and

safety.

Practicing these drills is just one more way that

helps us continue to ensure the safety of our staff

and students. For example, our visitor’s sign-in badge

system also helps maintain the security of our

building. Please always display your visitor’s

badge if you are anywhere in the school or on the

yard. If you have any questions or concerns,

we would be happy to discuss them with you.

School Council

Thank you to our dedicated parents for providing funds

to support our school programs. School Council is a

great way to be involved in the school community and

make a positive contribution to your child’s education.

Council meetings are held the second Tuesday of each

month. Our next meeting is Tues. Nov 8th in the

library at 7:15 and all parents are welcome. Children

are also welcome to come and bring a book or

technology.

Thank you for your support of the Fresh from the

Farm fundraiser. We raised approximately $1200 to go

toward school programs. Merci beaucoup! We will soon

be informed of the date when items can be picked up

from the school and let you know. If you would like to

help sort items when they arrive

Please contact our Fundraising Chair at

brisbanepsfundraising@gmail.com

Daylight Saving Time Ends

On Sunday November 6th, we return to Standard

Time. Remember to turn your clocks back that

morning and enjoy an extra hour of sleep!

Safe and Inclusive Schools/Anti- Bullying Campaigns As part of our Safe and Inclusive Schools/Anti-

bullying campaigns, we continue to educate students

about: respectful and responsible behaviour;

appropriate ways to deal with conflict; ways to surf

the Internet safely; how to protect themselves from

cyber-bullying; and, keeping their hands and feet to

themselves. Brisbane Public School’s Safe Equitable

and Inclusive School Plan is posted on our website.

We will also be recognizing Bullying Prevention Week

Nov 18th – 22nd, through in-school activities. We

have planned to have a speaker, Mr. Chris De Souza,

come in to speak to our students and staff about

bullying, equity and the importance of being inclusive

on Wednesday, November 30th. Fo r m o r e

i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t M r . D e s o u za , c l i c k o n

t h e f o l l o w i n g l i n k :

h t t p : / / w w w . c h r i s d s o u za . c a /

What can be done to stop bullying? Some important strategies in stopping bullying are:

providing good supervision for children; providing

effective consequences to bullies; using good

communication between teachers and parents;

providing all children opportunities to develop good

interpersonal skills; and creating a social context

which is supportive and inclusive, in which aggressive,

bully behaviour is not tolerated.

Students need to report issues to the supervisor or

teacher so that follow up can happen. If you are

hearing about concerns, please inform your child’s

teacher in order for follow up to occur.

What Can Parents Do if Their Children

are Being Bullied? 1. Ask the child directly. Often children do not wish

to tell their parents due to shame and/or fear that

bullies will retaliate if they tell. Look for signs such

as: fear of going to school, increased illness, lack of

friends and increased fearfulness.

2. Work with the school immediately to make sure

your child is safe and that monitoring at school is

going on. If the bullying is happening on the way to and

from school or on the bus, inform the school. If your

child is timid, and lacks friends, try to arrange for your

child to participate in positive social groups which meet

his or her interests. Developing your child's special

skills and confidence in the context of a positive

social group can be very helpful.

What to do if Your Child is Aggressive or

Bullies Others? Take the problem seriously. Children and youth who

bully others often get into serious trouble in later

life, and may receive criminal convictions. They may

have continuing trouble in their relationships with

others. Here are some things you can do to turn the

situation around.

1. Talk to your child, talk to his or her teachers and

administrator. Keep in mind that a bully may often try

to deny or minimize his or her behaviour.

2. Make it clear to your child that you will not

tolerate this kind of behaviour, and discuss with your

child the negative impact bullying has on the victims.

Do not accept explanations that "it was all in fun."

3. Increase your supervision of your child's activities

and whereabouts, and who they are associating with.

Spend time with your child, and set reasonable rules

for their activities.

4. Co-operate with the school in modifying your

child's aggressive behaviour. Frequent communication

with teachers and/or administrators is important to

find out how your child is doing in changing his or her

behaviour.

5. Praise the efforts your child makes toward non-

violent and responsible behaviour, as well as for

following home and school rules. Keep praising any

efforts the child makes.

6. If your child is viewing violent television shows,

including cartoons, and is playing violent video games,

this will increase violent and aggressive behaviour.

Change family and child's viewing and play patterns to

non-violent ones. Make sure that your child is not

seeing violence or fighting between members of his or

her family. Modelling of aggressive behaviour at home

can lead to violence by the child against others at

school and in later life.

7. Seek help from the classroom teacher, school

social worker, or children's mental health centre in

the community if you would like support in working

with your child.

Parent Education Night

On Tuesday, November 15th from 7:00-9:00 pm, Dr.

Leonard Sax will be presenting to parents about

resiliency – Beyond Resilience: Helping youre child to

become Unfragile. Please join us in the gym at

Brisbane Public School. More information about Dr.

Sax can be found by clicking on the following link:

www.leanardsax.com

Helping your child with difficult

situations Life is full of things that are hard to deal with.

Sometimes children need help in dealing with these

events. “Resiliency” is what helps adults and children to

“bounce back” from the difficult events in life. The

best way to help your child be more resilient is to

model the skills for them. Here are some ideas that

you can try:

1. Starting at birth, respond to baby’s smiles and

cooing by smiling and cooing back often.

2. Comfort your child when he or she is upset.

Hugs and a quiet voice can go a long way in

calming a child.

3. Teach your child to take deep breaths to calm

down when they are upset and then talk when

they are relaxed.

4. Help your child to see another way of looking

at things: “I know that you want to play with

that toy. Tom waited for the toy and now it is

his turn. He would be sad if you took it away.”

5. Instead of making your child say “sorry”, talk

about his or her feelings and the feelings of

the other person involved in the event.

6. At night when you put your child to bed ask

them to think of one positive thing that

happened to them that day. You could share

something too.

7. Point out your child’s strengths: “Hey you rode

that bike by yourself!”

8. Encourage your child to keep trying even if

something is hard.

9. Read positive, happy stories together.

10. Give your child lots of time to play. Help them

play with other children in a positive way.

If you would like more ideas and information on raising

a resilient child go to

http://www.reachinginreachingout.com/resources-

parents.htm

Lost and Found All lost and found items have been placed in the front

foyer of the school. Please take a few minutes to look

through these items to see if anything belongs to your

child/children.

Upcoming Events November

2nd Take your child to work day

3rd Picture Retake Day – AM only

6th Fall backward, time change

8th School Council Meeting

10th Grade 5/6 to River Run Center

11th Remembrance Day Assembly

15th Parent Presentation 7pm

16th Progress reports go home

24th Parent teacher interviews evening

25th PA Day Parent teacher interviews

30th Bully Prevention Speaker

December

14 Pasta lunch

21 Holiday Concert

22 Snow storm date- Concert

23 Last day before holidays

26-Jan 8 Winter Xmas holidays

January

1 Happy New Year!

9 School restarts

Pancake Lunch

Thank you to students, volunteers and parents for a

successful pancake lunch. The healthy snack program

is happy to report that approximately $2000 was

raised to support the program. Thank you to many

parents who provided extra donations to support the

snack program. There were 20 volunteers who helped

make 1000 pancakes in the morning! Merci!

Special Class Placement in UGDSB

Students who require special education programs and

services receive support through the classroom

teacher and the special education resource teacher at

their home schools. However, in some circumstances,

students can be referred to a special education class

placement where focused instruction in the area of

need is provided. These classes have smaller numbers

and can provide targeted instruction to meet student

needs. In elementary there are four specialized class

placements for the following exceptionalities: Learning

Disability, Mild Intellectual Disability/Language-based

Learning Disability, Developmental Disability

(Intellectual Disability), and Intellectually

Gifted. Students need to have a diagnosis of an

exceptionality before they can be eligible for class

placement, and parents and the school team should

feel like the placement would best meet the student’s

learning needs. Contact your school team if you would

like to have more information on special class

placement options.

Library Programs-Hillsburg

Here are a couple of programs that are being offered

at the Hillsburgh Branch, Wellington County Library

that may be of interest to our school families.

“Come Write In” at the Library! (All ages)

November is National Novel Writing Month and we’re a

“Come Write In” space! We’re here to support you in

your crazy, brave, and creative journey to 50 000

words in 30 days with sugar, caffeine, and writing

resources. Drop in.

PA DAY MOVIE Friday November 25, 2:30pm –

4:00pm

Be the first to see the DVD, Disney's PETE'S

DRAGON, at our pre-release viewing. Rated G. Please

register.

Hillsburgh Branch, Wellington County Library

98B Trafalgar Road

News from Brisbane Earth Heroes The month of October was a busy one for the Brisbane

Earth Heroes. Composting, Litterless Lunch and

Battery Recycling are all initiatives that are well

underway. The Gardening Team did a fantastic job

clearing out the weeds from the Butterfly Habitat and

mulching the soil. It will be ready for new plants that

support butterflies in the spring. The Local Species

Awareness team completed their first campaign of the

year.

The Local Species Awareness team focused on the Red

Eft stage of the Eastern Spotted Newt this month.

We chose this species because Brisbane’s schoolyard

is in the middle of their migratory route during the

autumn. Many students were lucky enough to spot the

bright orange Red Efts on October’s rainy mornings.

Our team created posters, announcements and

delivered presentations to teach the student body

about these amazing creatures and what to do if they

find them. The Red Eft is the juvenile terrestrial

stage of the Eastern Spotted Newt. They hatch from

eggs in the spring in a pond and live out the summer as

aquatic larvae. In the fall, they become bright orange

and terrestrial. Much like a monarch butterfly, the

orange colour warns predators not to eat them, as

their skin contains toxins. Once emerged from the

pond, they make their migration to a nearby forest,

where they live for the next few years under the

cover of leaf debris while feeding on juicy worms and

insects. Because their skin is so delicate, they can only

make the migration on rainy days. At the end of the

Red Eft stage, they migrate back to the same pond

and become olive-coloured aquatic adults who begin

the cycle all over again. The Local Species team taught

students to help the Red Efts by using sticks or leaves

to carefully place them in a bucket and take them to

the back of the field, releasing them under the fence

and into the forest. We learned not to touch them, as

their skin contains toxins and the oils in our skin are

harmful to them. During November, our team will be

moving on to a new, surprise species!

If you are interested in volunteering with any of our

initiatives, please contact the school.

Monthly Environmental Activities to help celebrate our planet

NOVEMBER 25TH IS BUY NOTHING DAY!

It is vital to teach our children to respect and take care of the

environment.

Celebrate Buy Nothing Day on November 25th!

Buy Nothing Day is an awareness day highlighting society’s

habit of buying too many things.

Founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave, “The first Buy Nothing

Day was organized in Canada in September 1992 as a day for

society to examine the issue of over-consumption. In 1997, it was

moved to ‘Black Friday’, which is one of the busiest shopping days

in the United States.” https://en.wikipedia.org

Repair, reduce, re-use, recycle – 4 R’s are best!

“It's time for a new kind of materialism, based on an economy of better, not more... that makes things

which last and can be repaired many times before being recycled, allowing us to share better the

surplus of stuff we already have, from furniture to tools, cars, fridges, clothes and food. ‘Repair,

reduce, re-use, recycle’, could be the basis of a new economic model.” https://www.theguardian.com

Some great ideas for your family on Buy Nothing Day!

Instead of shopping, enjoy a day in the great outdoors by walking trails or going to the park.

Recycle school supplies such as binders, workbooks, pens and pencils instead of buying new.

Donate clothes, books, toys and games your family does not need any more.

Think of things you can make or do for people as gifts without spending any money.

“Either way, there’s no doubt that going without buying anything for an entire day is quite a challenge in the

modern world, and will serve to make you think about what your life is really about.”

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/buy-nothing-day

Image from https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/buy-nothing-

day-2012-approaching-could-you-stop-spending-one-day

Talking About Mental Health November 2016 – Technology and

Video Games

Between checking text messages and playing the latest video game, how much time do you and your

children/youth spend on technology?

“Technology is not really the problem, the lack of balance is,” says Doriann Shapiro, Social Worker,

Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario (PGIO). “Because we are in a technological age, youth are often

also using tech for writing and research. But when they are totaling over seven hours a day, finding

balance between that is the challenge.”

“Problem video gaming has harmful effects on an individual’s social, occupational, family, school, and

psychological functioning,” says Lisa Pont, Social Worker, PGIO. “It can result in a loss of control,

withdrawal, and escape from difficult feelings.”

Here are some tips from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (www.camh.ca ) and Problem Gaming

Institute of Ontario (www.problemgambling.ca) that can help:

1. Consider how you use technology. You are modelling behaviours for your children/youth.

2. Before giving your children/youth access to technology, talk to them about safe use.

Communicate openly and honestly. Discuss possible effects and the dangers of using the Internet and

social media.

3. Talk to your children/youth about how to integrate technology into their lives in ways that

respect others. For example, some families have “no texting” rules during mealtimes and family

events.

4. Be aware of your children’s/youth’s Internet activities and what they access. Create rules that

both you and your child agree to, based on their age and past Internet use. You can also consider V-

chip technology for the TV, which can block access to programs and channels, and parental controls

for smartphones and computers.

5. Spend time learning about the Internet and video games popular with youth. Participate with your

children/youth in these activities. They are more likely to listen to you if they think you know what

you’re talking about.

6. Have your children/youth use a shared computer in an open area of your home where you can

monitor what they’re doing.

7. Help your children/youth lead balanced lives. Set limits around your children’s/youth’s use of

technology. Encourage them to take part in “offline” activities such as sports, music, drama and in-

person get-togethers with friends and family.

8. Help your children/youth set priorities. For example, doing homework comes before spending

time texting or playing video games.

9. Remember that you own the equipment (e.g., computer, cell phone) your children/youth are

using—or you’ve likely given them the money to buy it. If your children/youth are not using the

technology in ways that you approve, you have the authority to cut off access or control their use in

other ways (such as using a secret password to set the administrative rights on your home computer).

10. If you have seen signs that indicate your child/youth may be developing a problem from their

technology use, (such as: increased time playing/online, avoiding other activities including other

interests and school, sleep problems, poor hygiene, less time with friends/family, lying about their

gaming/internet use) talk with your child/youth about your concerns. You could also contact your

family physician to get guidance and support for the whole family.

Homewood Community Addiction Services provides support for youth and families with gaming

addictions: 519 836 5733.

Here are some useful resources.

Books:

My Parents Aren't Noobs by Michelle Nogueira and Anthea Helps

Sofa Boy by Scott Langteau

Doug Unplugged (book and DVD) by Dan Yaccarino and Chris Patton

Websites:

www.problemgambling.ca

www.camh.ca

Have a mentally healthy November!

Dr. Lynn Woodford is the Mental Health Lead for the Upper Grand District School Board.

Follow me on Twitter @drlynnwoodford.