February 2011 Ryerson P.S.

749 Grand Valley Drive

Atte nd an ce Li ne : 519 -570 -812 3 X 3 726 S cho ol Li ne 519 -653 -5532

Principal: Mr. Peter Berndt Office Manger: Mrs. Sandra Spurgeon

School Council President: Mrs. Amy Willard-Brown

Principal’s Message Special Dates

We have just turned the corner of the school year and have
now passed the half way point. It is hard to believe that
we have come so far, but we have already been learning Feb 3 Character Education Assembly:
for 5 months in our new school! As well, classes have Key of Integrity
celebrated the 100th day of school in many fun and
exciting ways! Feb 4 Intramural Basketball Championship

Over the past few weeks we have welcomed our new Feb 7 Junior Ski/ Snowboard Club Trip
Office Manager, Mrs. Sandra Spurgeon to Ryerson. Mrs.
Spurgeon is an experienced secretary within our board for Feb 9 1st N.B. Gateway Lunch
many years and has most recently been the Office
Manager at Courtland Public School in Kitchener. She is Feb 9 School Council @ 6:45 pm
happy to be making her new place of work here at
Ryerson and to now also to be working in her hometown. Feb 11 1st Term Report Cards go home for
She has been extremely busy trying to learn people’s Kindergarten to Grade 6
names, school routines and how to cheer for the Leafs!
When you happen to be in the school, please be sure to Feb 14 Happy Valentine’s Day
introduce yourself.
Feb 14 Junior Ski/ Snowboard Club Trip
Mrs. Fowler, one of our kindergarten teachers, left last
week on maternity leave. We will let everyone know as Feb 16 School Wide Winter Carnival
soon as baby Fowler is born. We welcome Mrs. Lana
Gjertsen to Room 18 in Mrs. Fowlers place. Mrs. Feb 16 & 17 Kindergarten Registration
Gjerstsen is an experienced teacher and recent new mom
herself and we are very fortunate to have her join our staff. Feb 17 Me to We Day @ the Aud

Another new item to mention is the fact that you will Feb 21 Family Day – No School
receive your child’s new provincial report on Friday,
February 11. Teachers have been working extremely hard Feb 23 1st N.B. Gateway Lunch
this past month gathering data and writing comments. I
am sure you will find them much more detailed and Feb 25 Spirit Day – Favourite Jersey Day
personal than previous reports you have received in other
years. March 4 Character Education Assembly

This is a short month, and one that contains a special March 9 School Council @ 6:45 pm
Family Day Holiday. Enjoy the day and the last run of
winter, before we head into spring. March 12- 20 March Break – No School

Sincerely,
Mr. Peter Berndt
 Character Education
Message from School Council
In January, the focus of our Character
Education Program at Ryerson was
Thanks to everyone who came out for the Winterhawk’s
SPEAK WITH GOOD PURPOSE. We
game on January 29th. It was great to see a number of new
would like to recognize the Students of the
families in the Ryerson community out at the game. It is
Month for December, who did an excellent
always nice to see people outside the school environment
job demonstrating “SPEAK WITH GOOD
and get to know each other better! This event has the
PURPOSE” as well as the other keys:
double benefit of supporting both our school and our
Mrs. Fowler (JK/SK): Sumeet G
community hockey team as well. The added bonus for the
Mrs. Haefling (JK/SK): Taylor W
evening was getting to see a great win by the Winterhaws!
Mrs. Mielen (JK/SK): Megan B
Looking ahead, we are currently planning our spring Craft
Mrs. Edgell (JK/SK): Harris N
Sale. If you or anyone that you know might be interested
Mrs. Kewley (Gr. 1): Elizabeth P
in being a vendor, please pass along the insert in the
Miss Bates (Gr.1): Kaiden K
newsletter which contains all the details. Applications for
Mrs. McKinnon (Gr. 1/2): Aymon Khatam
vendors can be picked up from the school office. For
Mrs. Fox (Gr.2): Tyler O
those that aren’t crafty, mark April 30th on your calendar
Mr. Wells (Gr. 2/3): Makenzie L
as the day to visit our craft sale and take care of your
Miss McMullen (Gr.3): Julia M.
Mother’s Day shopping.
Miss Kiefer (Gr.3): Emilyn F
Mrs. Doerner (Gr.4/5): Janney T
Remember, coming out to support events at our school lets
Ms. Piraino-Crandon (Gr. 4): Hayden H.
our children know that that their school and their
Ms. Bates (Gr.5): Alex G
education is important to us. It helps to develop the sense
Mr. Grant (Gr.6): Kaial K
of community that fosters learning. It also helps raise
Ms. Gill (Gillville): Austin R
funds for the school which help us to enhance our
Miss Nichol (Enrichment): Kim P
children’s learning and make Ryerson an even better
The Focus Key for February is “INTEGRITY”, which is
school to attend. Current fundraising efforts will help to
speaking honestly and kindly to others, and taking
offset the cost of end of year class trips as well as work
responsibility for your words.
towards projects to enhance our new school property.
Ski & Snowboard Club
Trinity Community Tables
The Ryerson Ski & Snowboard club had it’s first outing
on January 31st. Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Kewley, Miss McMullen,
Room 10,11,12,13 and Portable 2 helped create placemats
Miss Bates & Ms. Kiefer enjoyed watching as the grade 5
for the Trinity Community Tables Christmas Dinner back
and 6 skiers and snowboarders faced personal challenges
in December. We just received the following thank you
and improving their skills. It was an awesome trip, and we
and wanted to share.
are excited for our next outings on February 7th and 14th.
Dear Children at Ryerson
Kindergarten Registration
We wanted to thank you all so much for the beautiful
placemats you made for our Christmas dinner at the It is hard to believe that we are already starting to plan for
Trinity Community Table. Our Guest really admired them next school year, but the first process for this in every
and was so surprised at all the work you did. Indeed many school is to register NEW kindergarten students, and that
if them were thrilled to take them away with them. One is happening this month! If you have a child who was
gentleman said it was the only decoration he would have born in 2007, now is the time to have them registered to
in his room. join us at Ryerson for this coming September. Our
official registration days will be during the afternoon and
I hope you all have a happy new year and that you worked evening of February 16th and the morning of February
very hard at your studies. 17th.

Thanks again Please make a call to the school to set up a registration

Marilyn Parkinson-Crump meeting time where we can collect the information we
require about your child so that we can start to make plans
to welcome them for the coming school year. If you
know of a neighbour who does not have an older child
already at Ryerson and will not receive this information,
please pass this information along to them so that they too
can register their child on the appropriate days.

IBA Action - It's Fantastic!
By Mr. Grant, Ms. Nichol, and Ms. Bates
Since December and ending
today, February 3rd, a junior
intramural league has been
happening open to all junior
boys and girls: the IBA (Indian
Basketball Association). The
league had over 80 junior
participants divided into 5
teams: the Mercury, Fever,
Shock, Mystics and Storm. Each
team played one another once in a round-robin schedule,
and then there was a semi-final between the 1st and 4th
place teams, and the 2nd and 3rd place team. The league
was so well balanced, that the league points finished 6, 5,
4, 3, and 2, with 3 ties and many games ending in a 2
point difference. After all this, it comes down to the IBA
championship today between the #1 seeded Shock and the
#2 seeded Mystics. These games are all followed by some
thrilling announcements over the P.A. lead by Mr. Berndt,
where game highlights are read with enthusiasm and
students gain a "sporty" nickname to distinguish their
skills.
The benefits of intramurals are numerous, ranging from
increasing the physical activity level of our kids to
improving their sense of self-esteem and self worth. The
goal is to provide numerous sports and leagues throughout
the year, getting more juniors active and engaged in
organized physical activities. Looking forward to a great
season, and more fun to come throughout the year.
Report Cards – Friday February 11
All classes from Kindergarten to grade 6 will receive their
report cards on Friday, February 11. For Kindergarten,
this will be their first report card of the year. For grades 1
to 6 this will be their second. The look and the format of
the report cards will be a bit different than in the past, but
for grades 1 to 6 will contain specific grade levels for each
subject area and some very parent and student friendly
language describing what was taught and how each child
is progressing in that area. We look forward to
communicating with you in this new format.
There is no formal parent-teacher interview time
scheduled like there was during the first reporting period
in the fall. However, if you wish to discuss any aspects of
the report with your child’s teacher, you
are welcome to contact the teacher and
either discuss the concern on the phone,
through email or arrange a meeting time
to do so.
A third report card will follow at the end of June that will
use the same format as the one coming home in February.
Kids Korner: What’s Up at Ryerson!
By The Leadership Club
Over the last month the leadership club has been involved
in two big missions: PALS and DPA. First, we have been
very busy running PALS every Tuesday and Thursday,
giving primary students the chance to play cooperative
and fun games outside during nutrition break. We have
played awesome games like; Steal the Bacon, Snowman
Says, and Cross Canada. On Tuesday, February 1, we also
had our PALS Penguin VIP party. We watched The
Pebble And The Penguin and ate popcorn. Way to go
PALS penguins!
Leadership Club has also been
creating fun and energetic dance
routines to teach to all the classes who
come to DPA (daily physical
activity). The dance routines have
easy dance moves for everyone to
understand and have fun with. Some
of the songs we have taught our
school are “We No Speak
Americano”, “Down”, and “I Gotta
Feeling”.
Our school has been given a limited number of tickets to
WE Day at the Kitchener Auditorium. It is an event that
inspires children to make a difference in the world. Many
important people such as Al Gore and The Barenaked
Ladies are coming to speak and perform. The eight
Leadership Club members and Miss Nichol are very
excited about going to this exciting event on February
17th!
We will have more news updates in the Kids Korner next
month, so stay tuned!
“O Canada” at the Winterhawks
Game
Nineteen fantastic Grade 4, 5, and 6
students sang “O Canada” at the Cambridge Winterhawks
Game on Saturday January 29, 2011 at the Galt arena.
These students did a FANTASTIC job!
Two weeks prior to this event, sixteen Grade 4 members
of the Junior Choir created a brand new “O Canada”
recording for Ryerson. These students did an amazing job
and the recording is spectacular.
Congratulations to the students who helped create the
recording and to those who sang at the Winterhawks
game! Well done Raptors!
French Carnival
Just a reminder that the carnival is
coming to Ryerson. The date has
been switched to Wednesday
February 16th. Please remember to
send your child to school on the 16th
with a warm winter coat, snow pants,
a hat, a good pair of mittens and a
scarf to ensure they stay warm at the outdoor activities. If
you have any questions please contact Mme. Pedersen.
Joyeux Carnival
Parent Technology Support:
http://www.teachparentstech.org/watch
This is a fantastic website that offers very short video
tutorials for most computer applications. You can get help
with basic functions such as taking screen shots and
creating strong passwords as well as concepts like blogs,
transferring files between computers, changing your email
address, and URL shortening. We hope this site might be
helpful in some way, either for you or use with family
members.
School Newsletter Update:
We are beginning to use Scribd to embed our newsletters
on our school website. We are hoping that this method of
viewing our school newsletters will be better for families.
By visiting our new link, you can view, enlarge, download
and print our monthly newsletters straight from the web
page - no more opening or downloading pdf files! Thank
you for continuing to check in on our site and follow our
learning as it's occurring this year!
http://rye.wrdsb.on.ca/School%20Newsletters
Kodaly Choir
Twenty-five main list choir
members and six alternate
singers form our Kodaly
Choir at Ryerson Public
School for this year. These
singers rehearse faithfully during nutrition & recess breaks
on Days 4 and 5 to learn 18 different songs in 2 or 3 parts.
In addition, they practice their music at home and listen to
their choir CD. These singers will join 500 singers from
other schools across the region in the Kodaly Festival
Concert on Wednesday May 4 at the Centre in the Square.
This is a very exciting experience for our Ryerson
Raptors. Keep up the great work!
Inclement Weather
Mr. Berndt
A reminder to you that if the weather becomes so
inclement that bussing transportation is cancelled that our
school will still remain open. Only in very extreme
situations will the school board close our school totally.
Listen carefully to local radio stations during the morning
of a winter storm to determine if bussing is cancelled and
if we are open or not.
Bus cancellations only mean that
transportation in not provided that
day, morning or after school.
Ryerson will remain open for
instruction for those students who
are in attendance on such days.
Calling in Student Attendance
Just a reminder that our attendance line is 24 hours. Please
call 519-570-8123 x 3726 to report a student absence and
not our school line. You call use this line even if the
school is open.
ECO-CLUB
HERE IS WHAT WE'RE UP TO....
We are:
-making signs to improve useage of the blue bins
-making announcements, schedules for improving
composting
-preparing for reducing garbage with a lunch program
-monitoring green bins to make sure that they're being
used correctly
-writing news for school newsletters like this one
We meet once a month (over 100 strong!) and our four
teams meet more often. Our teams are: Blue Bin Team,
Green Bin Team, Newletter Team, Lunch Program Team.