Mr Rauser’s Message:
After our first month back at school, I am happy to report to you that our children and staff are settled and we have had an excellent month. As much as we all love summer, routines and structure are good for young and old. One of the things that I most love about working in schools is the adaptability and flexibility of young people. Those new, and old, to our school are playing, learning and laughing together as though they have been together for years. We still have work to do to make sure everyone feels fully and completely a part of our school community, but we are off to a good start. At 203 students, our population is small enough that we can get to know everybody (or at least we sure are trying!) but big enough that all children find someone who has similar interests to kindle a friendship.
On the academic side, our EQAO results have been released. In Primary, we saw gains in reading (60% of our students are@ Level 3 or 4), writing (85% of our students are @ Level 3 or 4), and mathematics (55% of our students at Level 3 or 4). In junior, we saw gains in writing (80% of our students @ Level 3 or 4). The number of students reaching the provincial standard dropped very slightly in junior reading (from 74 to 71% at Level 3 or 4). In Junior Mathematics – the sum of math work from Kindergarten to grade six – twenty-nine percent of our students were at standard. The EQAO assessment is one means of seeing what students know. Classroom teachers do many assessments over the course of a year in order to develop a thorough picture of what students do and do not know. The EQAO assessments are also an excellent way for us as teaching staff to figure out what areas we need to focus on in terms of improvement. In 2016/2017 Sprucedale Public School will be focusing on professional learning on improving instruction in mathematics.
Individual EQAO results will be coming home this week.
I encourage you to call, drop in, email me at any time if you have any questions, concerns or comments. If you wish to meet with your child’s teacher, it is better to make an appointment, simply because they have the responsibility for a full class of students each and every day.
Looking forward to a great year of learning,
Don
Proud Principal of Sprucedale Public School
School Council Report:
Here we are, the beginning of October, the start of fall and one month of the school year behind us already! I hope you and your family have been able to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we have had over the past few weeks!
Our fall fundraising packages went home last week. We are once again offering beautiful poinsettias from Warren Greenhouses, QSP, and fruits and veggies as part of the fresh from the farm initiative. The fresh from the farm orders must be returned to the school no later than Oct 12 in order to meet the program deadline for placing our school order.
We plan to run a winter fundraiser this year – Elmira Poultry – to raise some more funds for the purchase of our new playground. Watch for that in the January / February timeframe.
The old playground has been removed. We plan to have a new playground installed for the start of the 2017/8 school year. Fundraising is going well, we have raised $40,000 of our $100,000 goal. This is great but still a long way to go. Come out and support the Shakespeare community groups who are putting on a town dance on October 15 (with the band Thorn and Roses) at the pavilion (or hall if mother nature does not cooperate). Proceeds are going towards the purchase of the new playground!
Everyone is invited to come out to one or all of our meetings. School council is an excellent way to be involved in the school community, meet other Sprucedale parents, and to know about what and why things are happening at Sprucedale. Our meetings will be held the second Wednesday of each month unless indicated otherwise in the newsletter or via email. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, October 12th at 7:00 in the school library. Mark your calendar!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at .
Happy Thanksgiving!
Heather Johnston
School Council Chair
Shakespeare Community Fundraiser for Playground
Dance & Light Meal
Saturday October 15th – 8 p.m. until 1 a.m.
Live Music by Thorn and Roses
Age of Majority
Generously brought to you by: Shakespeare Optimist , Shakespeare Opti-Mrs., Shakespeare Firefighters Association, Shakespeare Community Athletic Association, Sprucedale Public School School Council, Shakespeare Men’s Club
Tickets available at Sprucedale Public School or at Aitkens Brewer Lumber.
Playground at Sprucedale PS.
Our playground for children five and older has now been removed because it no longer met current safety standards. It was about 19 years old. School Council, students, staff and our fabulous community supporters have been busy raising funds to install a new playground. We have already raised 40,000.
I have been asked how people can contribute to the Playground Fund. Playground donations can be made online at CanadaHelps http://bit.ly/SprucedalePLAY using VISA, Mastercard and American Express. You are also able to mail or drop off at the school a cheque payable to the Foundation for Education – Sprucedale Playground on Memo Line. Cash donations are also welcome in the office. Any donation of 20 dollars or more will receive a charitable donation receipt. Donations of 250 or more will receive print recognition and donations greater than 500 dollars will receive permanent on site recognition. You can also support the Playground fund by coming and kicking up your heels at the town dance on October 15th (with the band Thorn and Roses) at the pavillion (or hall if mother nature does not cooperate). This dance is for adults only. We may have a student event at which the children will be able to show their dance moves coming up soon. All proceeds are going to the Playground Fund.
Kindergarten Registration for September 2017:
Sprucedale’s Kindergarten Registration date is Tuesday, November 22.
Me To We Food Drive:
The Me to We group will be conducting a food drive from Wednesday, October 5th until Wednesday, November 2nd to support local food banks. Our goal is 500 non-perishable food items. Please consider supporting this worthwhile cause.
Halloween Food Drive:
The Shakespeare Men’s Club 6th Annual Halloween Food Drive will be held on Monday, October 31st, 2016. Take the “haunted tour” for plenty of tricks & treats, fun for all ages. Please bring a non-perishable food donation. This year we will be donating specific items to the Student Nutrition Program at Sprucedale P.S. These items include: low sugar granola bars, fruit cups, apple sauce, whole grain crackers, rice crackers, rice cakes, and any other healthy snack items for children. Other non-perishable food donations will be donated to the Tavistock Assistance Program (T.A.P) as well as the Stratford House of Blessing. The event will take place on 2204 Thompson Street, from 6pm until 10:30pm (regardless of the weather.) For more information or to donate, please contact Barry at 519-276-9849 or email[email protected]
Nothing Better Than Sand:
Thank you to the Johnston Family for filling up our sandboxes with fresh sand in August. The Johnston family had extra sand from a project and as a family personally filled our sand boxes. Our little ones have had a great time digging, burying and filling shoes and socks with sand.
Before and After School Survey:
“As part of an on-going commitment to make the school day as seamless as possible for our families, each family will be receiving an information sheet in mid-October regarding Before and After School care. Families interested in before or after school programs for their four and five year olds, and possibly older children in the upcoming school year, should complete an on-line survey by November 30, 2016. The link to the survey will be found on the Board website starting mid-October. We appreciate your assistance as we determine the feasibility of offering such programs. Should you require a paper copy, please contact the school after October 14th.”
Key Bible Club:
will be starting Tuesday, November 1st during the first nutrition break.
At Key Bible Clubs we share Biblical values that we believe will help give children a solid foundation for making wise choices that will last a lifetime.
It’s geared for children from grades 1 to 6. Each family must fill out a permission form granting approval for their child/children to participate. Forms will be available at the school office. Please return completed forms to the office prior to the first week of Key Bible.
Looking forward to seeing many old and new faces for a fun year of singing, bible stories and games.
For more detailed information please contact Bernice Wijnands at (519) 393-8129
Professional Activity Days
Friday, September 23, 2016
Friday, November 4, 2016
Friday, December 2, 2016
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Monday, May 8, 2017
Friday, June 9, 2017
Friday, June 30, 2017