March/April 2013

Ryerson P.S. 749 Grand Valley Drive

Attendance Line: 519-570-8123 X 3726

5532 Principal: Mrs. Deb Duncan Peacock Vice Principal: Mrs. Beverlie Stewart

School Line 519-653-

Head Secretary: Ms. Wendy Knowles Secretary: Mrs. Milivojevich

School Council President: Mrs. Amy Willard-Brown

Principals Message
The first few weeks at Ryerson have flown by and I am excited to say that it has been a wonderful experience so far. The students and staff have been very welcoming and I have had the opportunity to drop in and read to just about every class. The children are helping me remember names and are very forgiving when I have to ask them to tell me one more time! I am so impressed with the academic and social opportunities for learning that happen here at Ryerson. Many students have already come to read to me and I have received numerous notes and letters from Kindergarten to Grade 6 students. I have happily posted these on my new office bulletin board so I can share how much I value and respect the work they do. As I travel the halls I see so many examples of excellent student work posted and celebrated. Many students have also had opportunities this month to visit the Safety Village and the Outdoor Education Centres to broaden their understanding and experience. The Beachball Volleyball league has been in full swing for the juniors and the whole school has had a chance to audition for the up-coming talent show on April 18th. I hope to meet many families on the evening of the 18th and look forward to learning more about the very talented students at Ryerson! I have also had the pleasure of meeting with the Ryerson School Council and have been very impressed with the energy and dedication of this team. They are presently planning a Craft and Bake Sale on April 27th to raise funds for the school grounds. We hope that all Ryerson families will be able to attend. Thanks also to the many parents that I have had the chance to meet over the past few weeks. Your warm welcome has been much appreciated. My door is always open and I invite families dropping in to pass by and introduce yourselves. Happy Spring everyone! Sincerely, Mrs. D. Duncan-Peacock

Special Dates
April 10 April 12 April 13 School Council at 6:45 PM April Character Ed Assembly Key: Ownership PIC Healthy Students, Engaged Learners Conference at GCI Talent Show PD Day no school BVL Championship Game BVL Staff vs Gr. 6 Game Ryerson Craft and Bake Sale Grade 1 and Grade 4 to Safety Village

April 18 April 19 April 22 April 25 April 27 April 29

BVL Action it's Fannntastic!

Next Months Key is THIS IS IT: Make the most of each moment; Tell yourself Just do it!

Ryerson started another exciting intramural, Beachball Volleyball. This intramural is only open to junior students. There are over 80 people that have committed to play. All participants are divided into 8 teams and all teams play 3 games. The top teams will the play in the semi-finals. All games will be at 2nd nutrition break. These games are followed by some fantastic PA announcements lead by Mme Pedersen. The students who played hard will be recognized with a sporty nickname on the announcements. As usual, we will have the friendly staff vs Gr. 6 all-star game. Whats a season without it. The BVL games are lead by Ms Bates, Mrs. Roberge, Mr. Grant and Mme Pedersen. The reason that we have intramurals is so students can learn to cooperate with team-mates and get active. Good luck to all the teams and have a fun season! Written by: Iqra M., Gr. 5, Rm. 4

Ryerson's Got Talent

It's here! The second annual "Ryerson's Got Talent" show! It's official, Ryerson Raptors are very talented! We had 92 permission forms returned with approximately 60 groups auditioning. Students have now begun rehearsing for the show. Information will be coming home soon about how to buy tickets for this amazing show. Tickets will be $3.00 each, and 4 tickets for $10.00. The Leadership team is working hard on organizing the whole event. As part of their "Me to We" initiative, they decided that all funds raised would go towards relief initiatives in Uganda. Mr. Wells and Ms. L. Bates are travelling to Jinja, Uganda this July as part of a GIVE International group, and are excited to do as much as we can while there. "Ryerson's Got Talent" is Thursday, April the 18th at 6:00pm. So clear your schedules, come see the amazing talent, and support a very worthy cause. "Ryerson's Got Talent" - A show to show we care! PD DAY April 19, 2013
In the morning, Teachers and DECEs will be participating in professional learning on-site. We will be reviewing Diagnostic Assessment Tools and working together in our grade level learning teams. In the afternoon staff will be attending workshops or focusing on personal learning initiatives. Secretaries, EAs and CYWs will also be attending workshops during the day.

Character Education at Ryerson

The Students of the Month for February for the key of Failure Leads to Success were: Mira J. Rm 18., Ryan H. Rm 19., Maarifa H. Rm 16., Kaitlynn M. Rm 17., Ranit B. Rm 9., Gurshan A. Rm 13., Nikki R. Rm 12., Charlotte T. Rm 11., Emily R. Rm 10., Tanay P. P1., Hammad A. P2., Amanda B. P3., Trey L. Rm 4., Megan B. P5 & Hailey C. P5., Carter D. P6., Julia M. Rm 5., Esha S. Rm 4., Zain K. Rm 3., Aresha A. Rm 2., Max M. Rm 1., Andrew R.. Rm 20. Congratulations! The Students of the Month for March for the key of Ownership were: Reggie G., Rm 18, Kaleb B., Rm 19, Meriam R., Rm 16, Bronwyn A., Rm 17, Nabil C., Rm 9, Paige W., Rm 13, Rajdeep S., Rm 12, Bryson B., Rm 11, Caleb M. Rm 10, Venkat K., P. 1, Elise B., P.2, Safa A., P.3, Dante L, P. 4, Hana, Y., P. 5, Nabeel A. , P. 6, Asher W., Rm 5, Ismaeel A., Rm 4, Arhum M., Rm 3, Jana Y., Rm 2, Simon B., Rm 1, Shelby D., Rm 20. Congratulations to all!

Parent Survey
A Parent Survey has been posted on the school website. The questions are organized to gather information about four factors that help create your child's school climate: 1. Relationships 2. Teaching and Learning 3. Safety 4. School Environment This survey should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Please check it out and share your feedback!

Parents who would like to have additional aspects considered should submit this information, in writing, to Mrs. Duncan Peacock no later than May 18th. We will do our best to take into consideration any additional information that you may provide.

Twitter
Mrs. Stewart is on Twitter! You will now get up-to-date school news items and information through our new school Twitter feed. You do not need to have a Twitter account to read our tweets. You can read our Twitter feed as it can be viewed on our school website near the bottom of the welcome page. You can also go to: http://twitter.com/RyersonVP Happy Tweeting!

Planning for 2013-2014 begins!

Believe it or not, we are beginning to work on the organization of our classes for next year. There are two ways that you can help us: If you are planning to move between now and the beginning of September, please call Mrs. Knowles to let her know. When classes are formed for September, consideration is given too many factors. These factors include: The number of boys/girls in the class Academic performance Behaviour concerns Number of special needs students Combined grades Teaching style vs. learning style Social-emotional needs

Online Safety and Digital Citizenship Presentation

PHS School Council has arranged for a guest speaker from the Centre for Addiction Mental Health to present on the topics of Online Safety and Digital Citizenship. The presentation is scheduled for: 7 - 8:30 p.m. April 10, 2013 PHS Library - 550 Rose Ave, Cambridge, Please contact Preston High School at (519) 653-2367 for additional information.

NEW!!!
Pizza, Milk, Pitasand more!!

Parents/Guardians are able to order milk, pizza, pitas, and other healthy food items a selection of products on-line. Orders can be made for several months at a time through Elementary School Nutrition Services(ESNS). Please visit ESNS at http://www.esns.ca to register. Use access code: RYPS to begin ordering on-line!

. Ryerson has begun a more convenient and efficient method for you to order your childs healthy lunches.

School Council Update

Thanks to everyone that supported our recent DFS fundraiser. We were unable to go ahead with the Dance-a-thon in February, so we hope to make up some of the difference with this catalogue order. I apologize to those who had made a donation in the fall and indicated that they would prefer not to receive future fundraising information. We have had unanticipated challenges this year in terms of our fundraisers which have made this difficult. We are working to sort this out. However, if you made a donation, please feel free to ignore any information that comes home! If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Looking ahead our next event is the Gift and Craft Sale. This event will see vendors from around the region transforming the gym into an incredible display of handmade jewellery, clothing, soaps home dcor and gift baskets. Baked goods will also be available for sale. Please come out and support the vendors who have supported Ryerson through their registration for this event. DFS orders should be available for pick up at the Craft Sale as well. Please watch for further details closer to the event. Amy Willard-Brown School Council Chair ryersonschoolcouncil@hotmail.ca Have you read our newsletter? Please complete the questions on the tear-off and return to school by Friday, April 12th. Your tear-off will be put into a draw so that your child can win free Ryerson water bottle! Name: Class: Our family read the Ryerson Newsletter and we really liked: