Together in Education Family Update
February 8-12
Lancaster Drive Public School and Parent Council
Email: lancd@limestone.on.ca
Website: http://lancaster.limestone.on.ca
Location: 1020 Lancaster Drive, Kingston, ON, Canada
Phone: (613)634-0470
Twitter: @LancasterPSLDSB
OUR GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE BEGINS THIS WEEK!
We used the Periodic Table of Canadian Black History as a way to launch into learning stories and legacies that are so important
This class is setting sights ahead, creating individual goals to work towards before Family Day. Workout hours, making a family dinner, reading goals, skating time on outdoor rinks
Setting up our next inter-school challenge - intermediates are signed up and ready to compete in the shooting challenge. Pushing for personal bests!
This class has been doing their own planning for some kindness initiatives...I think we may see some inukshuks in our future ; )
The arrival of packing snow is always a delight on the school yard, creations began before the school day had even started!
We begin our Kindness Challenge with this Kindness tree...it will soon be blooming with messages of kindness, caught being kind moments, and pledges of kindness from students
Dear Lancaster Families
We begin our GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE this week. Students have created a Kindness Tree in our front foyer that will help us begin. This week students and staff will put extra emphasis on kindness; what it means, ways to express it, how it feels to give and receive, how we can commit to it in our daily actions, and celebrate it when we see it. We will use daily announcements to ask some prompting questions and share some stories of kindness. While students are not bringing traditional Valentine's cards and treats from home, many classes are finding unique ways to share messages of friendship and kindness. We hope to continue with our challenge in the coming weeks and fill our tree up along the way! Let's dig in and be Kindness Ambassadors Lions, we can't wait : )
Monday: What if we practice positivity?
Tuesday: What if we serve others, how does kindness feel?
Wednesday: What if we don’t judge others by how they look?
Thursday: What if we stand up for one another?
Friday: What if we have no excuses?
See the video in this newsletter and consider how your family could participate in the kindness challenge. Feel free to send stories or pictures to us at lancd@limestone.on.ca or tag us on Twitter @LancasterPSLDSB
Your Lancaster Team
Upcoming Dates:
February 1-28 ~ Black History Month
February 8-12 ~ Kindness Challenge begins @ Lancaster
Monday, February 8 ~ Gould Lake Visits - Smith and Sheriff
Wednesday, Feb 10 ~ Virtual Book Fair begins!
Thursday, Feb 11 ~ Spirit DAY: Team up for Kindness - wear your favourite Jersey day!
Friday, February 12 ~ Chinese New Year
Monday, February 15th ~ Family Day - no school
Wednesday, February 17 ~ I Read Canadian Day! (WHITE AND RED SPIRIT DAY)
Wednesday, February 17 ~ Term One Reports Cards go home
Wednesday, February 24 ~ PINK SHIRT DAY
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR IS HERE!
The Scholastic Virtual Book Fair opens on Wednesday, February 10 and runs through Wednesday February 17! Find your books at the link below:
https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5155386
- FREE shipping on orders over $40 at all times, FREE shipping on all orders between 6-8pm on Wednesdays (Feb 10 and Feb 17 for our fair)
- Orders ship to your home address (Scholastic's goal is delivery within 48 hours)
- Your support of the Book Fair helps Lancaster earn rewards for towards classroom materials, equipment and supplies that benefit all our students
Follow @BookDps on Twitter for more information, or the Lancaster Drive Public School Advisory Council page on Facebook for further details.
School Year Calendar 2021-2022 Stakeholder Survey
Planning for the 2021-2022 school year has begun and the Limestone District School Board is seeking feedback from families on the proposed 2021-2022 school-year calendar.
The calendar is prepared in consultation with the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board stakeholders, as we share busing.
Families in our district are invited to take a few minutes to provide input via an online survey.
If families would prefer a paper version of the survey, please contact your school and a hard copy will be provided.
The survey is open for responses until Friday, February 12, 2021.
Your input is important to us and we appreciate your time in submitting your comments.
For more information, please visit the school year calendar page on the LDSB website which also provides a link to the Ministry of Education website.
New deadlines for opting in/opting out
As we shared in January, the Limestone District School Board is offering families one final opportunity to opt students in or out of their current learning model to accommodate their individual needs and personal circumstances.
Elementary families wishing to move students in Kindergarten to Grade 8 from in-person learning to LDSB Virtual School must contact their current school. Elementary families wishing to move from LDSB Virtual School back to in-person learning must notify the in-person school they would normally attend. Any elementary family looking to change their student’s learning model must do so before 4 p.m., Friday, February 19, 2021. Once schools determine staffing needs, and if space is available, approved changes would take effect during the week of Monday March 8, 2021.
Secondary families with students in Grades 9 to 12 wishing to make a change should do so before the end/beginning of each block/octomester by contacting their home school. Students cannot change once a block/octomester has begun. A list of block/octomester dates is available on the board website. Students will be transferred if space is available.
We will accommodate moves between models of learning if there is available space in the class/school. While we will try to accommodate all requests, it is important to note that due to class-size limits, students moving from virtual learning to in-person learning may not be accommodated in their home school. Families will be notified of any transfer outside their student’s home school before a change is made. Where space is not available, students may be placed on a wait list. Families who are currently on the wait list will be accommodated first.
Provided space is available, we will do our best to accommodate families to the maximum extent possible.
Thank you for your continued patience.
KFL&A Public Health Immunization Announcement
KFL&A Public Health will be postponing the enforcement of the Immunization of School Pupils Act for this school year and will not implement suspension actions this spring. Nevertheless, we ask that parents report any required vaccine(s) that a student has already received by the proposed deadline of February 18th, 2021.
Students missing vaccines, can see their regular health care provider as soon as possible and then update their record with KFL&A Public Health.
Students without a health card or doctor can book an appointment to receive free vaccines at KFL&A Public Health clinics. Go to //kflaph.ca/Appointments to book an appointment.
We recognize this may be a stressful time however we encourage families to provide the requested information due to the heightened importance of protecting against vaccine preventable disease outbreaks in our school communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government Support for Learners
The Government of Ontario is providing one-time funding for parents to help offset costs during the 2020-2021 school year. Eligible parents or guardians will receive a one-time payment of:
- $200 for each student up to age 12
- $250 for each student or youth up to age 21 with special needs
- NEW $200 for student age 13 to Grade 12 including students who are in secondary school that are over age 18
Applications open on Monday, January 11, 2021. The deadline to apply is February 8, 2021. Learn more on the government’s Support for Learners webpage liked below.
Accessing Communication Tools
Learn how to:
- Set up a SchoolMessenger App account: set up your account, review your contact information and communication preferences, join teacher-instant messaging groups, and view all your alerts and messages in one place. Watch the video tutorial.
- Use the Communicate broadcast tool: choose how you will receive alerts including how to opt-in for text messaging. Watch the video tutorial.
- Use the Board mobile app: how to choose your schools, see your messages and report and review student absences. Watch the video tutorial.
Subscribe to school calendars: receive email alerts or download calendars or individual events to your personal calendar