Principal Update May 25

Hello,

Despite being a short week, a lot happened this week. We hosted out Kindergarten and grade 1 orientation, as well as an evening Cosmic Connection presentation. Ancaster Meadow sent a large contingent of energetic students to the Ancaster High Duathlon- Triathlon.  We also start EQAO testing for grade 3 and 6 students.

Next week, we continue EQAO testing and also have our grade 7 and 8 trip to Muskoka Woods.

Friday June 8th is a PA Day and there is no school for students that day. It is a good time to remind parents the the HWDSB school calendar is always available on the HWDSB web site. The calendar for 2018-2019 can be found at  https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018-2019-Elementary-Calendar.pdf

Is your Child in Kindergarten? Flyers went home recently regarding a research project from the City of Hamilton Public Health department. The survey can be accessed at  https://oursurvey.ca/kps

On Wednesday June 13, 2018 6-7:30pm Education Centre (20 Education Court) Dr. William Mahoney is a Developmental Pediatrician who has worked with children and families in the Hamilton area since 1981. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at McMaster University and works with the McMaster Autism Research Team (MacART). Dr. Mahoney works with children with developmental disabilities, language, learning, and attentional disorders. He will be joining us on June 13 for an in-depth discussion of ADHD. Dr. Mahoney will speak to what is known about why children have ADHD and share information about the treatment of this disorder. RSVP to [email protected] or 905.527.5092 x 2342

The HWDSB strives for effective communications with all families. One way that we communicate is through an automated phone service, as you will know from days when school is cancelled due to inclement weather or for attendance calls .This is a useful service when making large volumes of calls. However, we need to inform you that the company that provides this service is making changes that you may notice. As of May 29, 2018, HWDSB is being moved to a new phone platform that will make calls to all non-emergency contact numbers listed for a family. In the past, the service would stop making calls if it reached one parent for that student, for example. This means that you may receive duplicate calls from this automated system. This is something that HWDSB cannot resolve in the short-term but is working with the vendor on for a long-term solution. We understand that this may be a nuisance, but we do not recommend that families contact their school to remove phone numbers from their students’ information sheet. Doing this will make it more difficult to reach all HWDSB families in case of emergency.

Have a great weekend,

Simon Goodacre, Principal