Gordon Price School Community October Updates

Gordon Price October Updates

 Upcoming Dates

• October 13^th – Gr. 3-8 Cross Country Meet
• October 18^th – Meet the Teacher/Open House Event (4:00 – 5:30 pm)
• October 20^th – PD Day (No School for Students)
• October 31^st – Halloween Activities/Spirit Day
• November 3^rd – School Picture Day

I can hardly believe that our first month of school has come and gone, and we are already into the month of October. What a busy couple of months it has been! Some of our highlights include:

Terry Fox Fundraiser:  A huge thank you goes out to all of our students and staff for their efforts during our Terry Fox Run on September 22^nd. The energy and enthusiasm were amazing and showed our true school spirit. A big thanks goes to Ms. Clark for helping to organize and to the Grade 8 helpers for making announcements, setting up the course and helping with our Primary classes. With the many generous donations from our community, we were able to raise $4293.80 to donate to the Terry Fox Foundation for Cancer Research. Way to go Gordon Price!!!!

Pizza Days: Pizza sales will be taking place once again this year. Pizza pre-order forms for the time period of November 1 – December 20 will be coming home tomorrow. Please note only pre-orders will be accepted – students will not be able to purchase pizza on individual Wednesdays.

Order form, payment and/or “School Cash Online” payment is due back on or before Monday, October 23, 2023 (please send exact amount if paying by cash, as no change can be given at the school). 

Thanks in advance for supporting our school fundraising initiatives!

Sports Teams: Our students will be participating in HWDSB’s annual Cross-Country meet on Friday, October 13^th at Christie Conservation Area. We have 85 students attending – best of luck to all of our grades 3-8 runners! Volleyball practices and games are also taking place this month. Many thanks to our dedicated staff for taking the time to coach our various sports teams and provide our students with these valuable athletic opportunities!

Meet the Teacher/Open House Event: We are hosting a Meet the Teacher/Open House Event on Wednesday, October 18^th, 2023. Families are welcome to visit your child’s classroom and meet the school staff between 4:00-5:30 pm! 

Halloween Activities/Spirit Day: On Tuesday, October 31st, Gordon Price School will be celebrating Halloween by providing an opportunity for students and staff to wear costumes. This is also a spirit day at Gordon Price where students who are not wearing costumes can choose to wear orange and black or their favourite colour, instead. Throughout this day, various classrooms may also be engaging in some special activities, and our grades 6-8 students will also have the opportunity to attend a dance in our school gym.

Please note that:

• Students choosing to wear a costume should come to the school already wearing the costume and keep the costume on for the duration of the day. Please do not send costumes or make-up for students to apply at school. We do not have supervision or the facilities to assist with this. Students should come to school in costume if they are choosing to dress up.
• Student Costumes must be appropriate for school and must not include any weapons, must not impede vision, and must not contain any inappropriate images/offensive language, etc. NO weapons of any kind are to be sent to school (toy knives, guns, pitchforks, etc.).
• Students in JK—5 will be participating in a Halloween parade first thing in the morning. The parade will begin at 8:50 am and will run through the gym—parents are welcome to gather in the gym to watch as well!
• Masks can be worn during the parade as long as student’s visibility is not restricted. NO masks are to be worn outside for Nutrition Breaks, due to visibility concerns.
• NO pictures are to be taken or shared to social media during the parade, due to privacy concerns
• In addition to the parade and dance, teachers will be communicating information around any further individual classroom celebrations during this day, with families.
• If you are sending in treats, please ensure they are NUT FREE!
• Halloween is one of our “special days” and treats do NOT need to conform to ministry guidelines. That said, nutritious treats are gladly accepted! Please let your child’s classroom teacher know if you do not want your child accepting shared treats/snacks.

Below is a list of questions to consider if choosing and wearing a costume:

• Is my costume making fun of a group of people, their culture, religion and/or belief systems?
• Does my costume reinforce jokes and stereotypes about certain groups, cultures, religions and/or belief systems?
• Am I altering my skin color, facial/body features to make it like a particular race, ethnicity, or cultural group?
• Am I dressing up as a culture or borrowing from a religion that is not my own or is not part of my background?

Thanks in advance for helping to make this special day exciting and safe for all students and staff! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school.

School Council: Our next School Council Meeting is taking place on Tuesday, November 7^th at 6:30 pm in Gordon Price’s Library – all are welcome to attend. Hope to see you there!