Sept. 4, 2008

As we begin the new school year, I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome all our students back, with a special welcome to students who are new to our school. I hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable summer.

Schools are always busy places. To help run the school as smoothly as possible, I am including some comments and suggestions in this first newsletter of the year.

New staff members and staff changes. We have a few changes in staff this year. We would like to welcome Ms. Amy Kelly and Ms. Gail MacKenzie.

Report Cards

The school will be using a district-wide report card for grades one to grade six this year. In grade 7 & 8 marks will be given in each subject area.

Student Information/Consent Form.

Please check carefully and make any necessary changes. It is very important to have the correct civic address (911) for your child. Please sign the form and return it to the homeroom teacher as soon as possible. All forms must be returned and signed. Thank you in advance. These forms will be sent home in the near fututre.

Meet-The-Teacher Night

Please set aside Thursday, September 18th from 6:30 -8:00 for our “Meet-The-Teacher Night.” All parents are encouraged to meet with their children’s teacher to discuss expectations for the year, routines, homework, etc.

Milk Program

Our milk program will continue this year at $.40 a container for white milk and $.65 for chocolate. The white milk will have blue tickets and the chocolate milk tokens will be brown. We encourage the purchase of our milk tokens on Mondays for a week or longer, e.g. lots of 10 ($4.00 or $6.50). This helps with making change. Just a reminder, the old saying “You are what you eat” is never more true than with children. We strongly suggest that you not give your children “junk food” for snacks or lunch.

SOUTHERN KINGS CONSOLIDATED PEANUT BUTTER FREE.

S.K.C. is a peanut/peanut butter free building and this, of course, will include the time the students are on the buses. This is being done to support children in the school who have a severe peanut allergy. We appreciate your support in this matter when preparing your child’s lunches and snacks for school. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact the school.

Medical Issues with Students

If your child has any medical problems which might require special attention, please contact the school immediately. Administration of medicine of any kind may only occur with the written permission of the parent and the doctor. Forms for administering medication are available at the school. If your child has any medical issues that would be affected by Phys. Ed. classes or extracurricular programs, we would also like to know.

Computer/Internet Forms

New students to S.K.C. and all grade 4 students will be given Computer/Internet forms to be filled out. Please read the document closely and go over it with your child. Students in grades 1, 2, 3 require Parental signature and grade 4 students will require both students’ and parents’ signatures. For students returning to Southern Kings, we should have a copy of this form in our files. Teachers will reissue forms if we do not have it.

Our school has an excellent web site www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings. This site is updated on a regular basis with information about our school events. From time to time we have student pictures on our site. We never identify the students nor put personal information about them. As well we sometimes put results of contests, games, etc. on our site with names but no pictures. If for any reason you do not want your son/daughter’s photo/or name on our website, please send a note to child’s home room teacher as soon as possible.

Student Attendance

If your son or daughter plans to leave school early, we require a dated, signed note, or a phone call. It is important to indicate on the note the time of the pick up and who is picking the child up.

Footwear, Clothing, Personal Items

Students should have all clothing and lunch containers, etc. marked with their names. We encourage students to use recyclable or reusable, non-breakable containers and wrappers for lunches. We also require that students wear sneakers whenever they participate in Phys. Ed. activities in the gym for safety reasons. We also encourage students to wear proper gym clothing.

Text Book Care

Proper care of student textbooks is always an issue in schools. These are supplied to the students free of charge through the Dept. of Ed. Students who either lose textbooks or destroy textbooks may be charged for their replacement. We will be identifying each textbook with a stick-on number code. We ask you to encourage your son/daughter to take proper care of their textbooks.

Student Use of Telephone

Students will be allowed to use the school telephone only when absolutely necessary. Any telephone messages for students will be delivered to the student as soon as possible. We prefer not to call a student out of class for a telephone call unless it’s an emergency.

School Pictures

Jostens will be here on Wednesday, Sept. 17th. Possibly the 18th if the photographer needs more time.

This year the photographer will be using the proof program. This is a change from last year where pictures came automatically. You will be able to order your own package after you select the proof.

Homeroom teachers will be distributing a one page brochure to students that has to be completed and returned with your child on the day the photos are taken.

School Rules

We do have a very reasonable and workable set of rules at the school for student behavior. The rules are designed to ensure your child has a safe, nurturing environment in which to learn. These rules are explained and discussed with your child during the first few days of school. We encourage you to discuss the rules with your child. A copy of this will be given to each student within the next few weeks.

If any issues should arise over the school year with your child, we hope you will contact the school as soon as possible. Often early intervention can eliminate unnecessary concerns. As always, your child’s education is truly a joint effort between school and your home. We need your continued support to help us give your child the best opportunity for a happy and productive year.

Fund-raising

An important part of our school’s fund-raising includes a Chocolate Bar Drive. This drive will begin shortly. Students in grades 4-8 will be asked to sell the bars. If you do not want your son/daughter to sell bars for the school, please send a note to your home room teacher indicating so. Those students who take bars home will be responsible for returning the money and/or bars they do not sell. As an incentive, we do offer prizes to each grade level for our sellers. Thanks for your consideration as it is an important fund-raiser for the school.

Environmental Friendly Light Bulbs are available at a cost of $10.00 for a box of six light bulbs.

Safety Note: Re: Parking Lot and Busses.

We are asking parents, when dropping off or picking up students, to park behind the busses. If for some reason you must park closer to the school, please avoid our bus drop-off and pick-up times: 8:25-8:35 a.m. and 2:30-2:40 p.m. Our students also use the parking lot for recess so it is important that you park behind the yellow line during this time. Times for recess are 10:30 - 10:45 a.m. and 11:45 - 12:10 p.m.

Visitors to the school are asked to use the main entrance and report to the office.

Home & School will hold its first meeting of the 2008/2009 school year on Tuesday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Tuesday, September 23 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Lori Johnston, Continuing Education will present a workshop, “Homework Without Tears.” Southern Kings Home & School encourages parents to attend this interesting and useful workshop to help get your school year off to a positive beginning. Please RSVP to Teresa MacKinnon at 962-4355.

Lunch Program Schedule

The tokens will be going on sale in the library on Monday, September 8 and every Monday after that, they are sold in $.50 or $1.00 tokens.

September 12 - Corn on the Cob $1.00 Ice Cream $ .50

September 19 - Hot Dogs $1.00 Frozen Yogurt Tubes $ .50

September 26 - Subway $3.00 Ice Cream $ .50

October 10 - Kraft Dinner $1.00 Frozen Yogurt Tubes $ .50

October 17 - Grilled Cheese $1.50 Ice Cream $ .50

October 31 - Spaghetti (Plain) $1.50 Spaghetti (with sauce) $2.00 Frozen Yogurt Tubes $ .50

November 14 - Baked Potatoes $1.00 Ice Cream $ .50

November 21 - Chili and Nachos $2.50 Frozen Yogurt Tubes .50

November 28 - Subway $3.00 Ice Cream $ .50

December 5 - Chicken Noodle Soup $2.50 Frozen Yogurt Tubes $ .50

December 12 - Pizza $1.50 Garlic Fingers $1.00 Caesar Salad $1.50 Ice Cream $ .50

If anyone is interested in volunteering an hour and a half on Fridays with the lunch program, please contact: Tracy MacKay @962–2361 or Royelle MacKay @ 962-4381

Atlantic Fitness East will be offering Red Cross group swimming lessons beginning on September 6th for infants to adults. Visit online at www.fitness east.ca or call 838-3047 for more information.

Childrens’ Fitness classes: A variety of children’s fitness program will begin in Montague, Morell and Souris starting in September at Atlantic Fitness East. Call for further information at the number indicated above.

Girl Guides National Registration Week will be from September 13 to 21. The Girl Guides will hold a Taste of Guiding - Provincial Registration Rally on September 13 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Stratford Town Hall to help kick off Registration Week.

If you would like more information about registration week, or would like to know how you can get involved in Guiding as an adult, please contact them at 894-4936, tool free at 1-800-565-8111, or by e-mail at joinnow@girlguides.pe.ca.

Speed Skate PEI will be holding registration at the Charlottetown Civic Centre on Saturday, September 13, 2008 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Open to both male and female skaters of all levels from : Learn to Skate, Learn to Speed Skate, Development, Recreational, and Competitive. Skaters who have participated in other ice sports are welcome to join. For more information on various programs and fees, please check their website: www.speedskatepei.ca or e-mail vp@speedskatepei.ca.

Cub Registration will be held on Friday, September 12 at Murray Harbour North Hall, Rte. #17 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Beaver Registration will be held on Monday, September 15 at the Church of Christ in Montague.

A handout with further information will be given to Grades3, 4, 5 students.

Student Accident Insurance

The Department of Education has purchased basic accident coverage for all students in Grades 1 to 12. Coverage is provided for students at school, at community based learning activities (school sport events, co-op placement, field trips) and while traveling to and from school and community-based school activities.

Healthy Eating Tip for September.

Summer time is over for another year. It’s now time for kids to go back to school. Start the school year off right with healthy and creative lunch ideas. Here are some helpful tips from the Healthy Eating Alliance.

• Make sure those drink boxes say 100% fruit juice NOT drink. If it’s a punch, cocktail, drink or blend it has a lot more sugar and fewer nutrients than a juice.

• Sports drinks are for athletes who exercise a lot, not for children. They contain a lot of sugar and salt, as well as unneeded calories.

• Freeze five juice boxes on Sunday night. Pack one each day and they will keep lunches cold and will be refreshing at lunchtime.

• Get kids involved in packing their lunch. They are the ones who are going to eat it so make sure to get their input.

• Pack foods they like. Things like cereal, raw or cooked vegetables, eggs or anything that is nutritious and they like, try to find a way to put it in their lunch

Thank you for your cooperation. We are looking forward to a productive and successful 2008-2009 school year.

Paul MacDonald, Principal