The Crossroads Connection

[Pages:6]The Crossroads

Connection

School Newsletter December 2012

Crossroads Public School

Marian Reimer Friesen,

1350 Niagara Stone Road

Principal

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, L0S 1J0

Mike Herfst,

905-468-7793 crossroads.

A Note from the Principal ...

Vice-Principal

WHAT'S INSIDE...

* Note from the Principal

On Monday, December 3, members of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario began job action across the province of Ontario, including the DSBN.

* Dreambox is here! * NOTL Candlelight Stroll * What a team! * School Council Update * Home Show

The job action requires that teachers curtail certain activities, which impacts the following activities at Crossroads:

? Extra Curricular (i.e., clubs, teams, parade group) ? Excursions/Class Trips ? Evening Christmas Concert

* Mabel's Labels * Christmas Assembly * Mary's Cold * Volleyball Update

At this time, we would like to assure you that teachers will continue to work with your children in the classroom and student learning will not be affected. Our school will continue to be a safe place as teachers will also perform all normally scheduled supervision duties.

* Did you know that ...

* Movember

* Recess Project

* Shining Stars

* We Remember

* Word Q

* Tips to help your child with Math

We've Gone Green!

Check out the full December Newsletter

online at

crossroads. or

CrossroadsPublicScho

ol

The following activities should not be impacted at this time: ? Duffelbag Theatre presentation in our gym ? Lunch Lady, Milk and Pizza (already collected for the month of December and administered by office staff) ? School Assemblies during school hours (i.e., Christmas Assembly on December 21st at 11:30 a.m.) but no evening performances ? Snack Program and Recess Program (run by parent, student and Brock volunteers) ? Existing Fundraising Activities for Charitable Causes (i.e., Me2We support of Red Roof Retreat)

The DSBN remains committed to negotiating a responsible, fair and studentfocused agreement with our local chapter of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. We are also committed to open and ongoing communication with you during this time. The DSBN has established a website for you to find more information about the status of labour relations at the Board. You can find updates and a list of frequently asked questions by visiting and clicking on the "Negotiations Update" link.

We thank you for your support and understanding.

Marian Reimer Friesen, Principal

Page 2

Crossroads School Newsletter - December 2012

Dreambox is here!

Mr. Mike Herfst, Vice Principal

Crossroads has purchased DreamBox Learning's Math Program, an online, Intelligent Adaptive Learning(tm) program that helps all students achieve better, faster math proficiency. DreamBox is an online program there's no software to download! All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and Adobe Flash. Once your child is given their login, they can access DreamBox Learning from any computer, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using this link:

In the next few weeks, homeroom teachers are introducing the program to their class and a letter will be sent home with detailed start up instructions, including how to set up a parent account. This allows you to monitor your child's learning in the program. It is important to remember that Dreambox analyses student responses and changes the level of math challenges. Therefore, as tempting as it is, parents should not be `helping' answer questions as this disrupts your child's learning sequence and their results. Allow your child to work independently and be ready to celebrate their success!

Please note that DreamBox is currently based on American grade standards which vary from our curriculum in some areas. While the grade indicated may not be the one that your child is currently in, the program will continually adapt to your child's strengths and needs. If you have any questions about your child's progress, please do not hesitate to call your child's teacher or Mike Herfst, Vice Principal.

Candlelight Stroll

This year, one of our own Crossroads families, the Fandino-Cruz family, was selected to be the featured family in the NOTL Candlelight Stroll. It was a magical night for the family, staff and students!

Crossroads School Newsletter ? December 2012

Page 3

What a Team!

We are delighted that our entire Crossroads ELP Staff were selected to

receive the Niagara Early Learning and Child Care Award of Excellence

this year. A well deserved honour!

School Council Update

The Crossroads School Council met in November to discuss regular business and learn more about our 2011/2012 EQAO Results and the 2012/2013 School Improvement Plan.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Crossroads Learning Commons/Library. You are always welcome!

NEW from Mabel's Labels!

Holiday Return Address Labels

The 5th Annual

NOTL Home Show

Saturday, March 2nd, 2013

This is our School Council's biggest fundraiser of the year! Proceeds will go to the third phase of our Playground.

Mark your calendar and save the 1st and 2nd of March. We'll need lots of help before, during and after the event.

If you know any potential vendors, please invite them to visit the Crossroads Website (crossroads.) to download a

Vendor Information Package or email NOTLHomeShow@ for more details. Please

encourage them to act quickly, as space is limited.

These stylish labels for envelopes and packages are

available in three lovely, limited edition designs and

cost just $21 for 200!

Mabel's Labels also make unique, personalized gifts for everyone on your list and since every purchase contributes to our fundraiser, it's like giving twice!

Crossroads gets 20% commission when you shop at crossroadsps.mabel.ca

Thank you for your support!

Christmas Assembly

This year, our Crossroads Public School Christmas Assembly will be held on Friday, December 21st at 11:30 a.m. in our school gymnasium.

You are cordially invited to enjoy some songs of the season presented by our wonderful K-6 students, a guitar club performance, as well as carol singing and even a special visit from Santa!

Hope to see you there!

Page 4

Crossroads School Newsletter - December 2012

Did you know that...

Mary's Cold

* the Carey Family won our November Newsletter Draw.

Mary had a little cold, but wouldn't stay at home,

* our Character Trait for December is CARING.

And everywhere that Mary went, the cold was sure to roam.

It wandered into Mary's eyes and filled them full of tears. It jumped from there to Bobby's nose and thence to Jimmy's ears. It painted Anna's throat bright red, and swelled poor Jenny's head.

* the last day of school before the Winter Break is Friday, December 21st. Our first day back is Monday, January 7th, 2013.

Dora had a fever, and a cough put Jack to bed. The moral of this little tale is very quickly said Mary could have saved a lot of pain with just one day in bed!

* we are looking for more volunteers for our Snack Program! Do you know someone (i.e., grandparent, community member, parent) who

is able to volunteer for a few hours once a

month? Please have him/her call the office!

We could really use the help.

Junior Volleyball

Junior Volleyball season has begun. Best wishes to the girls Coach DeBrouwer & Coach Tompsett, and boys Coach Edmands & Coach Kent (with support of Troy Holochuck, Coner Newman, Connor Watson) and their teams:

Movember at Crossroads

Over $500 raised for Cancer Research and Treatment!

Girls Felicia Miele Sheridan Peters Logan Brown Brooklyn Clarke Emma Andres Tiana Holowchuk Hailey Rumsey Madison Berg Lexi Hale Zoe Phillips Julia Heikoop Leah Klassen Lauren Neufeld Kayleigh VanEgmond

Boys Matthew Gay Robbie Falk Tyson Hamlyn Sam Pynn Evan Clark Mike Weier Austin Belanger Ben McDonald Mikey Labonte Isaiah Carriere Tyler Jankinson Josh Frena Nick Lepp Colby Capra

Intermediate Volleyball

The Intermediate volleyball season came to an end this past week. Our athletes should be congratulated for an outstanding season. Coaches Reschke and Holowchuk are proud of the dedication, effort and improvement shown since the beginning the season. Both teams earned Crossroads our first DSBN plaques and silver medals! The boys team also captured the Area 4 Championship.

Way to go Coyotes!

The Recess Project

Skipping, chalking, ball hockey, octopus.... Several years ago, the Niagara Recess Project was started by a Brock University professor and several local educators. This initiative involves having "Recess Coaches" running play stations and organizing cooperative games. Brock students and our grades 5-8 generously volunteer as recess coaches ? and the changes over the last few years have been very positive! The recess coaches have been great role models for our primary students. They teach them new games and encourage compassion on the playground. Two project coordinators ? Erin and Elena ? are stationed at Crossroads Monday through Wednesday. Having this program also allows us to provide more equipment and supervision during recess. We have had much success, too, with guiding individual children through social challenges, so please don't hesitate to tell your teacher if your child can use some assistance. The project coordinators and Recess Coaches are there for them. For more information please "Like" us on Facebook: The Recess Project.

Crossroads School Newsletter ? December 2012

Crossroads Shining Stars

ELP Willms/Foley ELP Lisi/Thiessen ElP Bartel/Wotherspoon 1 Kent 1 DeBrouwer 1/ 2 McIlroy 2 Feletar

Logan Rossi Hudson Neufeld Cohen Alexander

Abbi Montney Evan Sawatzky Alexis Konkle

Riley Smith Sheldon Walker Keza Hiebert

Bryden Smith Rachel Wiens

Nathaniel Birdsey Elena Skruba

Courtney Burke Alex Dau Megan Hollemans

Evan Harlond Oliver Sibbald

2/3 Tompsett 3 Willms

3 Smith

4 Thorpe

`

Gertrude Schmitt Nickolas Unger

Chase Brunton Allison Dube Amaia Pobes

Madison Draayer Nathan Rawsthorne

Sebastian Birdsey Mary Boese Joshua Dau

4/5 O'Connor 5 Reschke 6 Edmands 6 McKay 7 MacEwen 7/8 Ho 8 Krake FSL Zoccoli

FSL Peters Arts Willms Andres

We Remember

Page 5

Keaton Boldt Abigail Hollemans Nathalie Quinn

Xavier Carr Helena Janzen James Tyas

Robbie Falk Sophia Miele Sam Pynn

Ferney Fandino Cruz Eva Laszlo Autumn Read

Xander Dyer Abby Johnstone Lisa Knelsen

Matthew Franko Sean Lemoine Cameron Brant

Tristen Capra Chris Friesen Matthew Puglisi

Grade 6 (Edmands) Ethan Seaver Tristan Alexander Maddi Rogers Kyle Gagnon

Breanna Stephen Abigail Hollemans Megan VanVliet

Keza Hiebert Maggie Forsyth Eli Bice

Jamie Rolph Caitlin Makins Excel Phillips Allison Dube

Page 6

Crossroads School Newsletter - December 2012

Word Q is a simple, yet effective writing tool for students of all ages. Some of the program features include built in word

prediction, text to speech reading as well as internet reading. The text reading feature is a valuable tool for not only assisting students with their writing and reading comprehension but also with editing and proofreading as documents can be highlighted and read aloud. This software is licensed by the Ministry of Education for DSBN staff and students to have for free at home. The Word Q product code must not be posted online or distributed to anyone that is not staff or immediate family of a DSBN student. This would be a violation of our software agreement. Word Q is available in both Windows and Mac versions.

How to Download At Home

Download directly from the Word Q website:

1. Go to m

2. On the homepage, click on "Free 30 day trial" button at top of screen.

3. On the next screen please select the "Windows" or "Mac" version you want to download. Also, at the bottom of this

screen, please select the "North American English" voices. (Heather & Ryan) Once the voice package is selected, click on

"Next."

4. This last screen is your download page ? Please click on the "Download" button to begin the install process.

After the download is complete, you can at any time add other voice packages ? (i.e. French Canadian Louise ? for those

students requiring French dictionaries) by following the link at the bottom of the website. This is the

only way to add the French voices. They are not available on the installation discs in the schools.

Important Note:

The trial that is downloaded is both the Word Q and Speak Q programs. When the 30 day trial is finished, you will be prompted

to enter a serial registration code.

The Word Q product code you will enter is 152-562809-224

Once the serial registration code is entered, the use of Word Q is unlimited. There is no license for the companion Speak Q

program.

How to Install from a Word Q CD

1. Please request a copy of the Word Q CD from the school.

2. Insert the CD into your computer CD drive and follow the download prompts.

3. You will be prompted for a Word Q product code. The code is 152-562809-224

4. Complete the install prompts. Please return the Word Q CD to the school.

Helpful Links

Word Q Homepage -

30 Day Trial - trial

Tutorials - resources/videos

Additional Language Pack - product-details/voice-download

TOP 10 TIPS TO HELP YOUR CHILD WITH MATH

1. Connect math to daily life ? Let them know the importance of math! Talk about how you use math in your day-to-day life (at the store, in your job, around the house).

2. Counting can be fun and entertaining ? Show them math can be fun! Sing songs (One, Two, Buckle my Shoe) and play games (card games, hopscotch, board games, Dominoes, chess).

3. Start Easy and Work up! ? For example, after they've got counting by 1s, talk about skip counting and count by 2s, then 5s and 10s. Don't jump ahead too fast.

4. Use household items for practice ? Practice adding and subtracting with objects from the house like spoons, pots and pans. 5. Tap into your child's curiosity ? Go on a number hunt in your house. 6. Talk about time ? Talk about seconds, minutes and hours, then count days and weeks. Ask them questions: How long until bedtime? How many "sleeps" until the weekend? 7. Practice mental math using coins ? Count money or have them show you how much an item costs and practice making

change for when they're at the store. 8. Play the estimating game ? Estimate measurements, distances, time and grocery bills and then compare to the actual. 9. Sports and math ? There is a lot of math in sports such as batting averages, points per game and save percentages (discuss

these as you watch the games or read the newspaper). 10. Computers + Math = Fun (there are lots of great computer games available to explore math). Check out Dreambox (see

article on page 2).

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