January News

It hardly seems possible, but we are already a month into 2018.  The Ray Lewis Staff hope that our families enjoyed a great winter holiday and wish you all the best for the new year!

Life at RLES continues to be busy!  We have a whole host of activities happening that keep our students engaged and active during the school day.  Our intramural floorball league is heading into playoffs, our Knitting Club continues to create some wonderful creations, our intercollegiate basketball teams have started their season and our band and choir are getting ready for spring performances.  In addition to Checkers, Dance Club, Recycling, Social Justice, it is a busy time!

Our Student Council this year is a strong group of students who are eager to plan fun events to keep our school spirit strong.  Be sure to check the school calendar for the upcoming spirit days to recognize the upcoming Winter Olympics!  Give Student Council a follow on Twitter to keep up to date of all Student Council activities!  @rlstudentcounci 

Ray Lewis has recently struck a new committee….the Well Being Committee, whose focus will be on supporting the school goals of ensuring RLES is a safe and welcoming school for all staff and students.  Guided by the City of Hamilton and the HWDSB’s 5 Ways to Mental Well Being, activities will be planned to support the mental health of our school community.

RLES recently celebrated Family Literacy Day.  Staff signed up to be Guest Readers in classrooms they may not normally get into.  For example, some of Intermediate Teachers had the opportunity to visit Primary classrooms and share their favourite books.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Mrs. Foutris’ Grade 7 Language class and share “The Dot” by Peter Reynolds, to help tell the story of finding your passion and taking risks in your learning.  I also visited Mrs. Massie’s Grade 2 Classroom and read one of my favourites, “The Principal’s New Clothes” by Stephanie Calmenson, a twisted tale on “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.

Kindergarten Registration is right around the corner!  The registration period begins February 5th.  If your child is turning 4 or 5 prior to December 31, 2018, they are eligible to start Kindergarten.  Check out the HWDSB website for all the information you will need.  You are invited to come to the school for more information as well.

A reminder that Report Cards will be coming home on February 13th for students in Grades 1-8.  The Kindergarten Communication of Learning will be coming home on February 16th.  Please be sure to review these reports with your child and complete the confirmation form.  This is a great opportunity to speak to your child about what goals they will set for the final term.

Recently, our school was able to expand our collection of dual language books, printed in both English and in the languages of our school community. The new books will be available for students to check out of the Library Learning Commons and enjoy at home with parents, or for teachers to use during whole-class lessons. The books come in a range of topics, and include both fiction and nonfiction choices. Be sure to check one out! Languages available are: Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Pashto, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

Special thanks go out to the HWDSB Foundation for the generous donation that made this project possible!

Yours in Education,

Principal Moore