In the mood

This has been a crazy week.  The weather has been brutal.  I've been up at 5:30am every morning expecting the possibility of a snow day (click here for all that entails), I have a bad cold, my own kids have been home for 2 days because of snow days at their school, blah, blah, blah etc.

So, I came into school not particularly in a holiday spirit at all.  Even my licorice tea didn't lift the gloom as I looked at the pile on my desk....

Then, I went to the gym for the carol sing and just listened.  Those little voices filled the soul and lifted my spirits completely.  What a sweet sound.

My favourite part is the wee girl infront of me who changed the words to familiar carols.
For Silent Night "radiant beams from thy holy face...," she sang "radiant TEAMS in thy holy RACE." 
Makes sense.
Made me smile.

Merry Christmas.

Snow Days????

I have been asked several times this week about snow days.  Who decides?  What factors are considered? etc.

So here is the process for Eastdale, and my thoughts (note that these are MY thoughts, not those of other teachers, schools or the board....)

First I get up at 5:30am if it's a potential snowday (as opposed to my usual 6am, when I hit "snooze" twice...)
I check the weather forecast, MTO road information and First Class (our board email system).
I wait for John C. from Newry Coach to call me as he runs the bus that comes to  Eastdale.  John is usually out driving around at 5:30am checking the weather and road conditions.  He has an accurate picture of what it is really like.  John tells me if he will be cancelling the bus routes.

Then I talk to the principals at Listowel Central and at LDSS.  We decide together what will be best for our staff and students.  If we don't have enough staff able to make it into the schools, then we will close.  We also don't want children walking to school on icy roads/sidewalks or in blinding snowstorms. 

Once the principals have decided what is best, the notice gets posted on the ourschoolbuses.ca website and radio stations pick it up from there.  I start a phone chain to call staff, and call the Before School program.  Then I post to the First Class site for staff and the board, and I post to the Eastdale Twitter account (this shows up on the school website). We try really hard to have all of this in place before 6:15am, but sometimes it just isn't possible.  I also try to listen to the radio to make sure that the accurate message gets across the airwaves.

After all the notifications have gone out, I make myself a cup of tea and I pray that everyone who needs to get the message gets it.  I always worry that there will be a staff member driving on treaturous roads, or a little person waiting in the cold for a bus, or a wee one trudging through the snow to a closed school.  These are the moments I wish I lived in Florida, because the worry about "my people" is great.

When my own kids wake up to a snowday, they are overjoyed.  What fun, a SNOW Day!  I tend to appreciate that time seems to "stop" for the day, but it doesn't come easily or without much thought and deliberation.

If you have any questions, give me a call....

Mrs. B

Movember

So Mr. Uhler, Mr. Bracken and Mr. Webster grew crazy beards and moustaches for the month of November for the Prostate Cancer fundraiser known as Movember.  They were really good sports and put up with much teasing (and itchy faces, I'm told).

Students voted with coins to decide which moustache style they wanted the teachers to sport. 

So Mr. Uhler went from this....

to this.

This is the Colonel Sanders look.











Mr. Bracken and Mr. Webster were camera shy!

Thanks for your support, Eastdale.  $187.46 was raised for Prostate Cancer research.

Honesty

I had the pleasure of first recess yard duty this morning.  When it's a nice sunny day, such as today, I love being outside with the kids.  (On a not so sunny day, I cannot say the same.) 

Today I had 3 different children come to me with toys they had found on the yard.  It would have been easy to tuck a dinky car or a Littlest Pet Shop kitten into a pocket and claim ownership, but these little ones wanted to make sure the right owners got their toys back.  Their names are going up on our character board for "honesty."

...made a nice day, even nicer.  I'm so proud of these little ones!

This week at Eastdale

Tuesday, November 22 --
YFC volleyball second recess
Jr. Volleyball tournament in Milverton. 

Wednesday, November 23 --
Me to We assembly 1:50pm

Thursday, November 24 --
Primary Teachers' PLC meeting -- focus on Open Response answers (Reading and Writing)

Stand Up

Today we begin our Stand Up campaign.  This is the pledge our students will take:

This is for me
My friends today
and my friends tomorrow.
I think being mean stinks!
I won't watch someone get picked on
Because I am a do something person
Not a do nothing person.

I care
I can help change things
I can be a  leader

In my world there are no bullies allowed.

Bullying is bad
Bullying bites
Bullying bothers me.

I know sticking up for someone is the right thing to do

My name is _____
And I won't stand by

I will stand up.

The hockey players

Last night was our very successful, first-ever, family spaghetti dinner fundraiser at Diana Sweets.  The Jr. B Cyclones were our servers.

I have to say how very, very impressed I was with these young men.  Often, I think, "hockey players" have a bad reputation.  These, gentlemen, however, were amazing to work with and to watch.  They donated any tips they received back to the donation box.  No one asked them to do that.  They also took it upon themselves to clear tables, and chat with customers.  No one asked them to do that either.  One Jr. B. found out it was a boy's birthday and he arranged his teammates to sing "Happy Birthday." 

The night was a great success, due in large part to the participation of these hockey players.

I am so proud that they represent our school and our town.

Thank you, Cyclones!

K

PS.  Friday night is Eastdale night at the Cyclones game.  Eastdale dhildren get free admission, parents are half price.    See you there!

Anti-bullying week

Next week is Anti-bullying week across the board, and across the country.

The following activities have been planned at Eastdale to raise awareness.

1.  All week students and staff will be doing Random Acts of Kindness. 
2.  Tuesday we STAND UP.  Students will sign a pledge that promises they will stand up against bullying.  They'll also be displaying their belief that we need to stand up for ourselves and others by writing "Stand up" on their hands.
3.  Friday is Pink and Blue Day.  Pink is symbolic of the anti-bullying movement.  It started several years ago when a male student was teased for wearing a pink shirt.  The next day several students who had overheard the bullying chose to wear pink shirts in support of the boy.  The pink shirt movement has gone global since then.
Blue is the colour of the UN Peacekeeping forces.  It's the colour of peace.

Join us as we Stand Up and stand together.

K

Why whiskers?

Our three male teachers -- Mr. Uhler, Mr. Bracken and Mr. Webster are participating in Movember, a cancer fundraiser supporting research for prostate cancer.

You can be certain that they will receive a great deal of teasing from the rest of the staff.... perhaps I'll get some photos???

Here are the details that Team Eastdale sent me:

This Movember, the month formerly known as November I’ve decided to donate my face to raising awareness about prostate cancer.  My donation and commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.

I’m doing this because 4,400 men die of prostate cancer in Canada each year and one in six men will be diagnosed during his lifetime.

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to Prostate Cancer Canada.

To help, you can either:

*  Click this link http://ca.movember.com/mospace/1095270/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account

* Write a cheque payable to Prostate Cancer Canada, referencing my name or Registration Number 1095270 and mailing it to: Prostate Cance r Canada, Suite 306 145 Front Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 1E3, Canada.  

All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit: http://ca.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs.

Thank you in advance for helping me to support men’s health.


Cheers.
K

Spaghetti Supper

You have probably heard that we have been warned the playground equipment is on it's last legs.  Usually the life span is 15 years, and we are just past that, I believe.  Our fundraising goal is $85000.  I know, that sounds like a huge amount of money. Our school council did quite a bit of research to come up with that number.  When you consider excavation of the site, base and then the equipment itself, it sure doesn't take long to add up!  We also wanted to be sure to include elements in our design that appeal to all ages, so there will essentially be two parts.  I'm sure all the kids will play on both, but we've got sections geared more for our smaller children and some neat movement and taller items for the "big" kids. 

We've been busy applying for grants; we'll be approaching the Town, and service clubs for assistance, as well as soliciting individual donations. 

Our Fun Fair got us started. The next School Council event is the Spaghetti Supper.  It will be at Diana Sweets on Wednesday, November 10 from 5-8pm.  The cost is simply by donation at the door.  Members of the Jr. B. Cylcones will be serving.  We're hold a bake sale at the same time, so we welcome any baking you can donate (nut free, please). Bring your friends!

Join us on November 10.  See you there.  I'll be the one in the apron with sauce slopped on my collar!

K

What's up this week...

Monday, November 1 --
*Progress Reports go home.  This is a  new format. You don't need sign or return anything to the school this time. 

Tuesday, November 2 --
*Magazine kick-off assembly at noon.
*YFC intramural volleyball for Grades 4-6 in the gym during second break.
*Staff meeting after school
*School Council meeting from 6:30-7:30pm at  Eastdale.  Babysitting is provided.  The Regional School council (councils from Wallace, Central, Elma, Mornington, Milverton, and LDSS) meets from 7:30-8:29pm in Mr. Webster's room.  If you want to come to our council meeting, but don't want to stay for the Regional meeting, that's fine (you can "sneak out," no problem!)

Thursday, November 4 --
*Primary teachers meet for first Professional Learning Community (PLC) time.
*Evening interviews 4-8pm

Friday, November 5 --
*PA Day -- interviews

And all week, we'll all be fighting the effects of too much candy (myself included!)

Welcome

Welcome to the new Eastdale Eagle Blog.
I am hoping this site provides useful information for parents.
Sometimes it seems that a month between newsletters is too long, and there are day to day things that I'd like to be able to share. We have much to brag about at Eastdale, and this is my latest attempt to do so. The opinions expressed here are mine (although I do hope there are staff members and students who share them!).
I can't promise there will be posts every day (no matter how great my intentions), but I hope you will learn something, be inspired, or perhaps be reassured by the posts you see here.

Keep flying.
K