BIKE TO SCHOOL WEEK

From May 28 to June 1, 2018 Huron and other schools, public health offices, municipalities, regions and non-government organizations across the province will be celebrating Bike to School Week. We are encouraging students to walk and roll to school, and the Eco Team is sharing news about the benefits of active transportation. We hope your family will talk about ways to be active and eco-friendly in moving about. If a student bikes or rolls to school (even part of the way) next week, we would love to celebrate it! Please send any photographs of your child(ren)/family cycling to school to diana.willstork@tdsb.on.ca (one of our Eco teachers) with the subject line “Bike” and the student’s/family’s name. We are planning to post pictures on our “Bike of Fame” wall. A photograph of this wall will be part of our “evidence” in an application for more bike racks that we are submitting to T.D.S.B. EcoSchools this June. Thank you for your support of this Eco initiative!

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING

Our next School Council Meeting will be happening on Tuesday May 29th, 2018 at 6:00pm. Babysitting and pizza will be available for children – all parents/caregivers are welcome to attend the meeting and be a part of the discussions.

PICNIC FOR THE ARTS – WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!

We can’t run the Picnic without our stellar volunteers. We need 150 and only have 50 so far…Please help! VOLUNTEER ONE HOUR AT THE EVENT! If each family takes a one-hour shift, we won’t have to ask anymore. Sign up NOW! Click this online sign-up link – we’ve made it really easy for you to make the Picnic a success: http://www.volunteersignup. org/BY7XF
*Older siblings/Huron alumni/high schoolers are welcome to volunteer – we can sign for community hours*
Questions? Send an email to: huron.volunteer@gmail.com

PICNIC FOR THE ARTS – ONLINE AUCTION ITEMS NEEDED

This year, our Auction is going ONLINE! We want to give everyone the chance to enjoy all the fun activities at the Picnic without worrying about making that last bid in the Gym. But since lots of money raised comes from the Auction, we really need everyone’s help to get donated items. Huron’s “Ask Letter” is attached below — print it out and bring it to your local business. Where you shop, dine out, have coffee, pamper yourself, take the kids…anywhere! If we each got one item donated, it would be our best Auction ever! Questions? Contact our Auction Leader, Heidi McDonald: heidimcdee@yahoo.ca Donations are due by JUNE 4.

PARKING

As we all know, our parking lot is very small and often does not have enough space for staff and visitors to the school. We are asking for the community’s support in NOT using the parking lot as a drop-off/pick-up spot for your vehicles. On several occasions recently staff have had to wait, drive around the block and in some cases pay for parking for the day, only to come back to the lot and find spaces that were only temporarily occupied while someone was being dropped off. Please leave our limited parking spaces open and available for staff. For everyone to think about – rather than just increase the congestion of vehicles on the street (which we also recognize as being problematic) perhaps as a community, especially being a Platinum Level Eco-School, we could think about solutions such as dropping off a couple of blocks away and allowing for a little walk to school, or is it really necessary to drive in the first place? Alternative methods of coming to school are something we can all think about as we try and reduce our carbon footprint.

LOST AND FOUND

Our collection of Lost and Found items has reached epic quantities…please remember to check our Lost and Found structure in the front foyer frequently and take home items that belong to you. A reminder also that ALL ITEMS in Lost and Found will be donated to a charity at the end of the school year so please make sure that all items are claimed.

KINDERGARTEN SPRING CONCERT

Kindergarten families, friends and relatives, make sure your calendars are marked for Thursday May 24th – our Kindergarten Spring Concert! The concert will be starting at 6:00pm and all Kindergarten students will be performing with their classes. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday night.

HURON EARTH HOUR

Our Huron Earth Hour for May is going to be held on Friday May 25th from 2:20-3:20pm. As part of our commitment to being a Platinum Level Eco-School, this is an opportunity for our school community, every month, to focus on ways we can reduce our energy consumption. We turn off as many lights as we can and power down/turn off as many electronics as possible. Classrooms use this time for discussions and planning. We would encourage Huron families to think about engaging in similar activities at home as well.

BIKE TO SCHOOL WEEK

Bike to School Week is a celebration of active transportation and biking and builds on the success of Bike Month. Schools participate in Bike to School Week by encouraging their students to walk and roll to school, and by promoting the benefits of active transportation (walking) and biking. This year, Bike to School Week is happening at Huron and in the TDSB from May 28th – June 1st, 2018.

PICNIC FOR THE ARTS – ONLINE AUCTION

This year, our Auction is going ONLINE! We want to give everyone the chance to enjoy all the fun activities at the Picnic without worrying about making that last bid in the Gym. Since lots of money raised comes from the Auction, we really need everyone’s help to get donated items. Huron’s “Ask Letter” is attached — print it out and take it to your local businesses…Where you shop, dine out, have coffee, pamper yourself, take the kids…anywhere! If we each got one item donated, it would be our best Auction ever! Questions? Contact our Auction Leader, Heidi McDonald: heidimcdee@yahoo.ca
Donations are due by JUNE 4, 2018.

LOST AND FOUND

Our collection of Lost and Found items is reaching epic quantities…please remember to check our Lost and Found structure in the front foyer frequently and take home items that belong to you. A reminder also that ALL ITEMS in Lost and Found will be donated to a charity at the end of the school year so please make sure that all items are claimed.

COFFEE HOUSE

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone on Thursday May 17th, beginning at 6:00pm for Huron’s first COFFEE HOUSE. This is a wonderful opportunity for families within our Huron School community to come and socialize, have a coffee if you want, and listen to some ‘home grown’ entertainment. Come for 15 minutes or an hour – come for as long as you’re able, from 6:00-8:00pm. See you on Thursday. (Just a reminder that children must be accompanied by an adult.)

BIKE TO SCHOOL WEEK

Bike to School Week (http://www.bikemonth.ca/getting-started) is a celebration of active transportation and biking and builds on the success of Bike Month (http://www.bikemonth.ca/news). Schools participate in Bike to School Week by encouraging their students to walk and roll to school, and by promoting the benefits of active transportation (walking) and biking. This year, Bike to School Week is happening at Huron and in the TDSB from May 28th – June 1st, 2018.

SUNSENSE

We are starting a new initiative at Huron called SunSense. It was created by the Canadian Cancer Society to increase awareness about sun safety. From now until the end of June most days will have high to very high UV ratings between 11:00am and 3:00pm. Although it is often recommended that children stay out of the sun during these times, we know that’s not possible, so the emphasis is on sun protection such as seeking shade, sunscreen, sun hat and long sleeve shirts. This is a good reminder to adults as well. You will see SunSense posters around the school (and one is attached for your reference) and teachers will be speaking to their classes about this issue. It is important that students come to school with sunscreen on in the morning, and bring some with them to apply before going outside. It is also recommended that students wear a wide brim hat, sun glasses and long sleeves.

Some key information to keep in mind:

- 80% of sun exposure occurs before the age of 18 years old

- One bad sun burn before the age of 18 doubles your chances of Melanoma later in life

If you would like more information see the following links:

http://newfamilyrule.com (great resource about making sun protection a new family rule. Just like we make sure children are dressed for cold weather, we need to make sun protection a new rule)

http://dcmf.ca

http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/reduce-cancer-risk/make-healthy-choices/be-sun-safe/skin-cancer-facts/?region=on

Thanks for your support with this.

DROP-OFF/PICK-UP ‘PARKING’

As we all know, our parking lot is very small and often does not have enough space for staff and visitors to the school. We are asking for the community’s support in NOT using the parking lot as a drop-off/pick-up spot for your vehicles. On several occasions recently staff have had to wait, drive around the block and in some cases pay for parking for the day, only to come back to the lot and find spaces that were only temporarily occupied while someone was being dropped off. Please leave our limited parking spaces open and available for staff. For everyone to think about – rather than just increase the congestion of vehicles on the street (which we also recognize as being problematic) perhaps as a community, especially being a Platinum Level Eco-School, we could think about solutions such as dropping off a couple of blocks away and allowing for a little walk to school, or is it really necessary to drive in the first place? Alternative methods of coming to school are something we can all think about as we try and reduce our carbon footprint. Also a reminder that the SCHOOL BUS LOADING/UNLOADING area must always be kept free from vehicles! Please do not stop your car in this area during the times indicated on the signs.

ENTRY INTO THE SCHOOL IN THE MORNINGS

A reminder to everyone that unless students need to come into the office in the morning, all students and their families should walk around directly to the schoolyard and be prepared to meet classes when the bell rings. Students and their families should not be coming into the school unless there is a reason to do so. Families please be conscious of the fact that the office is a very busy place in the mornings and it’s not always possible for us to answer the buzzer immediately when it rings. Please support Ms. Vallely with this and let’s try and reduce the number of people coming into the building unnecessarily. Of course no changes for families coming to Superfriends in the morning.

MUSIC MONDAY

Launched in 2005 by The Coalition for Music Education, Music Monday is the world’s largest single event dedicated to raising awareness for music education. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students, educators, and music makers participate in a simultaneous nationwide concert performance of an original song written by a Canadian artist. It is a full day of celebration, always on the first Monday of May. In 2018, Music Monday will happen on May 7th. Students, community groups, musicians and artists across the country joined their voices to sing the Music Monday anthem ‘Sing it together’. For more information about Music Monday please visit: https://www.musicmonday.ca

We are encouraging all parents/caregivers to come and join us for our Music Monday celebration on May 7th. We’ll start as soon as lunch finishes (at approximately 1:00pm) gathering in the basketball court area (we’ll move into the gym if the weather doesn’t cooperate). Come and hear our choirs and our band and join in the singing of the Music Monday Anthem (the words and music can be found on the website: https://www.musicmonday.ca/anthem-sing-it-together/ and of course the Huron School Song will round out our celebration. Please feel free to invite family and friends – Music Monday is definitely a community event!

TRACK and FIELD

Unfortunately Mother Nature has not been on our side when it comes to our Track and Field season this year. Our first meet, the South Conference Qualifiers, is going to be held on Thursday May 10th however, due to our prolonged poor weather in April, we weren’t able to nearly as many practices as we might have liked. None the less, our Track and Field athletes have been working hard and our team has been selected. Students selected to compete next Thursday received their permission forms on Friday – please make sure that form is returned to the school as soon as possible. Weather permitting, please find attached the schedule of practices that we’re hoping to have over the next few days, in advance of the Track and Field meet on Thursday. Please note that as TDSB has changed their policies, only students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 will have the opportunity to attend the Track and Field meet this year and spaces in each Track and Field event are limited so therefore selected athletes have been offered the opportunity to attend the meet.

LOST AND FOUND

The amount of clothing and other stuff in Lost and Found increased dramatically last week, as outdoor clothing was removed when the students got hot playing outside…and then frequently not reclaimed! We already have an enormous collection of ‘stuff’ in Lost and Found …please remember to check our Lost and Found structure in the front foyer frequently and take home items that belong to you. Remember too that food containers left unclaimed after several days in Lost Found will be thrown out when they start to become ‘science experiments’. And especially now with warmer temperatures, that happens faster.