We look forward

to a great June full of

learning and celebration.

Teachers and students are now working to

complete their term two learning. Teach-

ers are beginning to work on Term 2 report

cards and prepare for the end of the year

celebrations.

As a school, we are planning and

preparing for next year and the consolida-

tion of Princess Margaret and Battlefield

Schools. We are beginning to look at class

organizations for next year and teacher

placements. Please remember that we

work very hard to find the best placement

for all of our students considering the aca-

demic, social and emotional needs of all

the students.

The staff has be reflecting on the

things we do at Princess Margaret and are

prioritizing our needs and goals for next

year. We will be sharing our school or-

ganization for September in our end of

June Newsletter.

The School Council

continues to work hard

to make Princess Mar-

garet School the best it

can be.

Our School Council is

wrapping up another

great year. There ef-

forts and support has

been greatly appreci-

ated by the staff and

students.

Please join

us in

thanking the

School Council

for all of their

efforts this year.

Thank you to all the

Council Members

Volunteers Needed

Our Breakfast Club is looking for some volunteers. If you can help one morn-ing a month we would greatly ap-preciate it.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

SCHOOL COUNCIL

D I S T R I C T S C H O O L D I S T R I C T S C H O O L D I S T R I C T S C H O O L D I S T R I C T S C H O O L

B O A R D O F N I A G A R AB O A R D O F N I A G A R AB O A R D O F N I A G A R AB O A R D O F N I A G A R A

PRINCESS MARGARET

PUBLIC SCHOOL

http://www.dsbn.edu.on.ca/Schools/PrincessM/

J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 1 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1 0

TRUSTEE Kevin Maves Tel: 905-356-6165 DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION W. Hoshizaki Tel: 905-641-1550 SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Cam Hathaway Tel: 905-641-1550 TRANSPORTATION Heather Kyle Tel: 905-346-0302 Principal Todd Halliday Secretary Sharon Harriman Tel: 905-354-2333 Fax: 905-354-2413 E-Mail: Todd.Halliday@ DSBN.edu.on.ca PRM@DSBN.edu.on.ca

Primary Class Sizes 2

Library News 2

Upcoming Events 2

Students of the

Month

3

EQAO Testing 4

Lockdown Drills 6

Energizing Education 6

Calendar 7

Sun Safety 3

Dress Code 5

Track and Field 5

Voracious Reading 4

Proportional

Reasoning

5

P A G E 2

Stay Connected @ Our Library

UPCOMING EVENTS

PRIMARY CLASS SIZE CAPS For the 2011/12 school year, each board is ex-pected to demonstrate that: • 90% of its Gr. 1 -

Gr. 3 classes av-erage 20 or fewer students

• up to 10% of its Gr. 1 - Gr. 3 classes have 21 - 23 students

• Gr. 3/4 combined classes will have no more than 23

students • no primary classes

will have more than 23 students.

• Early Learning Pro-grams ( Full Day Kindergarten classes) are a blend of JK and SK students and are not capped

Princess Margaret will be organizing our pri-mary classes to meet

Grade 8

Graduation

June 27, 2010

JUNE 6-8

OTTAWA TRIP

JUNE 10

PD DAY

JUNE 27

REPORT CARDS

GO HOME

LAST DAY DAY OF

CLASSES

JUNE 29, 2011

FIRST DAY OF

CLASSES

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

looking!! This summer, stay connected with our Library! Students have enjoyed many of the links through our Destiny home page such as Tumble-books, Bitstrips for Schools and Daniel Cook. You can also browse our catalog or recommend books! Log on to destiny.dsbn.edu.on.ca

then choose Princess Mar-garet. You can also access our Library through our school website (dsbn.org then Schools and School Websites). Also, don't forget to visit the Public Library over the summer to keep up on some great reading!!

Please be sure that you have returned all library books by Friday June 3rd. It is impor-tant to get all books back as we start merging our Library with books coming from Bat-tlefield. If a book is lost, there is a $7 replacement cost. If we find the book later, you will be refunded the charge. We prefer to have the book back, so keep

these standards. If our registration num-bers change during the summer or in September we may be re-organizing our Primary classes. We do not make changes without careful considera-tion. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

P A G E 3

CONGRATULATIONS

TO

OUR

STUDENTS

WITH

COURAGE

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Each month Princess Margaret School will be recognizing one character trait. This month we recognized COURAGE. In JUNE, we will be recognizing students who demonstrate all of the character traits.

SUN SAFETY

The Canadian Dermatology Association's Na-tional Sun Awareness Week happens. June 6-12th. Following these SunSense guidelines will help

you protect yourself and your family from the

sun.

• Reduce exposure to the sun when its rays

are most intense between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

or when the UV Index is 3 or more.

• Enjoy places that include shade, and in open

areas such as beaches, bring an umbrella to

create your own shade.

• Slip on lightweight, tightly woven, loose-

fitting clothing to cover your arms and legs.

• Slap on a wide-brimmed hat that covers

your head, face, ears and neck. Hats without

a wide brim, such as baseball caps, do not

give enough protection.

• Wear sunglasses with UVA and UVB pro-

tection.

• Slop on a sunscreen with SPF #15 or

higher – if you will be outside for most of

the day, use SPF #30.

• Apply sunscreen generously and follow

the instructions on the sunscreen label for

directions on reapplication.

• In your sun protection plan, cover up,

wearing a hat and sunglasses, along with

sunscreen to protect yourself from the

sun’s rays.

• Keep babies out of the direct sun.

Read more: http://www.cancer.ca/ontario/

about%20us/od-mark%20your%20calendar/

national%20sun%20awareness%20week.aspx?

sc_lang=en#ixzz1Nm1SF2rl

EQAO TESTING

P A G E 4 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1 0

The Ministry of

Education and Training

has informed schools and

school boards that the

EQAO tests will be held

May 30 through June 9,

2011.

Teachers have been

meeting to plan and organ-

ize for the testing process.

We invite parents of the

grade 3 and grade 6 stu-

dents to contact the school

for more information re-

garding their particular

child. Once completed,

test booklets are sent away

to be marked. Results are

made available in the fall.

Some of the class and

recess schedules will be

altered slightly to allow

the grade 3’s and 6’s

proper class time to com-

plete the tests. Remember

that children perform better

on tests when they are well

rested and well nourished.

Also, please avoid

making appointments for the

students during these times!

How can you help your child with this strategy at home? 1. Encourage your child to read more at home. Start by adding a few minutes to their regular reading time and go from there. 2. Model this strategy for your child by taking out a book of your own and reading. 3. Have your child show you what he/she is read-ing. Ask the following questions: Does this book interest you? Are you able to read most of the words? Do you understand what you are reading? Your child should be able to say “yes” to all

three questions if he/she is reading a good book to improve fluency and become a voracious reader. 4. Find a genre or style of book your child is in-terested in. Visit the li-brary or bookstore to provide more books or stories in this area of interest. Tapping into a reader’s interests cre-ates voracious readers. Thank you for your con-tinued support at home! Ideas and strategies are taken from : The CAFE Book, written by Gail Boushey & Joan Moser

Fluency is the ability to read, speak, or write smoothly and with ex-pression. The best way to become a fluent reader is through read-ing. The amount a child reads has a huge impact on their success in be-coming a fluent reader. The strategy of vora-cious reading is one used with students to increase vocabulary and fluency. Students are taught that vora-cious means to do a lot of something and still want more of it. They know that by reading, reading, and more read-ing, they will become smooth readers that are enjoyable to listen to. This will lead to in-creased comprehension and broadened vocabu-laries.

V O R A C I O U S R E A D I N G

Encourage your child to read more at home

P A G E 5

DRESS CODE REMINDER

P R O P O R T I O N A L R E A S O N I N G

TRACK AND FIELD Congratulations to all students who partici-pated in a successful Track and Field Day at Princess Margaret on May 10th. Princess Margaret sent 60 athletes to Oakes Park on Friday, May 17th to participate in the Regional Track and Field Meet. Stu-

dents who finished in the top three at Oakes Park have qualified for the Dis-trict Meet in St. Ca-tharines on June 13th. Way to go Pan-thers!

• Twice a number is really big. What do you know about the original number?

• Cameron has 7 coins that he says have a value of 17 cents. What could the coins be?

Junior/Intermediate

• Choose two fractions less than five. One should be really big and the other

Try these questions to help children get a sense of the size of the numbers. Primary/Junior

• Choose two whole numbers less than 100. One should be really big and the other pretty small. Tell how many of the small numbers it would take to make the big one. How do you know?

pretty small. Tell how many of one fraction it takes to make the other one. How do you know?

• How many 2’s are in 30? How many 3’s are in 45? How can this be? Ex-plain.

• A store is having a sale. Is it more helpful for you to know that an item is $10.00 off or 10% off?

*From Math Gains: Propor-tional Reasoning

sleeves or straps that have a

three finger thickness and

they need to cover the mid-

section/abdomen.

Undergarments should not

be exposed.

Make sure shorts and skirts

are an appropriate length to

wear to school. (Standing

with arms at your side the

length of shorts and skirts

should extend beyond your

fingertips)

Hats and sunglasses are

appropriate for recess time

but are not to be worn in-

side the school.

Please take the

time to review

these guidelines

with your child

(ren). We appre-

ciate your sup-

port in maintain-

ing our school dress code.

With the warmer weather

upon us, the topic of appro-

priate clothing has been

raised. We have gone over

the dress code with all of

our students and continue

to remind them of the

guidelines.

T-shirts should be free of

inappropriate language or

pictures. No see through or

loose mesh tops.

Tops need to either have

LOCKDOWN DRILLS

P A G E 6 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1 0

The DSBN has taken steps to ensure your child’s safety while in school. Each school has developed emer-gency preparedness plans that outline steps that staff and students will take in the event of an emer-gency. All DSBN schools have Safe School Plans that con-tain information on Lock-down, Hold and Secure and Shelter in Place. The spe-

cifics of each plan differ according to unique circum-stances for each location. A response to a situation will differ based on the specif-ics of that situation. The flexibility of the plan is the key to the success of the response. Princess Margaret School will be participating in a safety drill that is meant to further enhance the pro-tection of our students and

staff. This procedure is called a lockdown. The purpose of the lock-down drill is to practice safely securing students and staff within the school in the event of a potentially dangerous incident sur-rounding the school or within the school itself. If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact the school.

by building some new schools, consolidating some schools, renovating some schools and closing some schools. At their most recent meeting, Trustees passed a Facilities Planning report which examines how to provide optimal learning spaces for students by initiating three phases of accommodation reviews beginning in Septem-ber, 2011. Phase one accom-modation reviews will undertake an in-depth study of central and south St. Catharines and Thorold secondary schools as well as elementary schools in Fort Erie. Over the coming months, Board staff will begin to assemble an Accommodation Review Com-mittee (ARC) for the two re-views. Each committee will un-dertake an in-depth study of the school planning areas and pro-vide recommendations that will

help guide Trustees in their de-cision making. Each ARC will include a business community member and/or a municipal rep-resentative, parents, a trustee, and DSBN staff. All ARC meet-ings will be open to the public, and the public will also have an opportunity to provide feedback during specially scheduled pub-lic meetings. Moving forward, our goal is to continue serving students with excellent programs. The accom-modation review process will ensure that funding is spent on enriching the educational oppor-tunities for students

The full report, along with

information about accom-

modation reviews is

available at www.dsbn.org/

During the 2009/10 school year, the DSBN engaged in a system-wide review of our school build-ings which enabled trustees to gain an overview of how our fa-cilities are being used, and to identify potential areas for growth and revitalization in the future. The majority of school boards throughout Ontario are facing the challenge of declining enrol-ment because of changing demographics. Parents are hav-ing fewer children later in life, which reduces the number of students starting Kindergarten each year. One way school boards can ad-dress the issues of declining enrolment and aging facilities is through accommodation re-views. Through this process, education can be rejuvenated

PLANNING TODAY TO ENERGIZE EDUCATION TOMORROW