March / April 2013 - Le Phare Elementary School

1965 Naskapi Drive • Gloucester • ON • K1J 8M9 • Telephone: (613)744-2597 • Fax: (613)744-1215
Principal: Christine Camus-Shepley School Council Co-Chair: Lisa Larose/(613)/744-6090
Administrative Designate: Patricia Stogran
School Council Co-Chair: Cristiane Doherty/(613)748-0646
Office Administrator: Nancy White Superintendent of Schools: Ron Séguin (613)596-8211
Office Assistant: Tammy Caldwell Trustee: David Moen (613)745-1305
Custodian: Alain Hubert OCDSB Office: (613)721-1820 Web Site: www.ocdsb.ca
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Newsletter #4 March/April 2010
Principal’s Message
I hope you all had a wonderful March Break!
With term two coming to an end, I’m amazed at just how fast
the time went by! Much has been done to get where we are,
and much yet to do to get where we are going – the end of a
successful school year.
My sincere thanks to staff and students for all their hard work
during second term, most especially to our parents/guardians
and school community. We so very much appreciate all that
you’ve done and all that you do.
January/February saw a very busy time both here at school
and in world events from the disaster in Haiti to the
Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Your ongoing support, generous
contributions and donations were much appreciated - we are
very proud of our Le Phare Elementary School Community.
Congratulations - BRAVO CANADA!!
SCHOOL ORGINAZATION for 2010-2011
As we start planning for next year, and to be better organized,
we would ask that you please inform the office,
as soon as possible, if you will be moving or perhaps
registering at LePhare for kindergarten for September 2010.
This will help us tremendously with our preparations for
September, especially transportation arrangements and can
have an impact on our staffing, so please inform the office as
soon as possible. Should there be any special requests for
class placements next year, we ask that you please submit
them in writing to the office by April 1, 2010. They will be
taken into consideration but not necessarily implemented.
May we ask that you please extend our invitation to anyone
who might be looking for a new school to stop by for a visit.
We can help them determine their designated school(s) and
provide information on our French Immersion Program. A
reminder that Le Phare E.S. is the French Immersion Centre
for Carson Grove E.S.
Following please find items of importance and interest. Should
you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact
the school at any time.
From the Office
It is essential that we keep our student records up to date and
ask that you please inform the office promptly of any changes
to phone numbers, addresses, health concerns or custody
issues. For any questions or concerns, please call the office.
Medical Concerns
Please keep the office informed and up to date on any medical
conditions and or concerns. If you want the office to store and
administer long-term prescription medications, it is mandatory
to get your doctor to complete and sign the form available
from the school office. These forms go into a medical log
which must be updated annually at the start of every school
year. This applies as well to students who have severe
allergies and must use an Epi-pen. Medication will be
administered to the students upon receipt of the completed
forms, signed by the doctor. This also applies to short-term
prescription medication. As we approach the end of this
school year, may we remind parents/guardians to pick up any
medication kept here and request the necessary forms for
completion and submission in September.
School Handouts
Your support in checking your child’s schoolbag and agenda
routinely for important communication is so very much
appreciated. As more and more of us use the web, we are
presently updating our school website for yet another means of
communicating our school information, monthly calendars,
newsletters, bulletins and special events.

Transportation
Hopefully we won’t have to face any late winter or early
spring snow storms. If school buses are cancelled due to
inclement weather conditions, the Ottawa Student
Transportation Authority will have it announced on our local
radio stations, early enough for you to make important
decisions.
Channel 6(“A” Ottawa) has excellent coverage of school bus
cancellations on their website – www.atv.ca/ottawa.
May we remind you that if buses are cancelled, they are
cancelled for the day. If the school remains open, students
who are dropped off in the morning will have to be picked up
at dismissal time. Attendance is still monitored on these days
and we ask that you please call the school if your child, bus
student or walker, will not be attending.
To help control the volume and keep traffic flowing when
dropping off and picking up students, we suggest you park
your vehicle in the parking lot if disembarking to physically
bring your child into the playground. To help better control
the volume, signs have been posted on this side of the street in
front of the school to allow parents to drop off. Please pull up
to the curb and avoid parking on the grass.
We ask students to exercise extreme caution and use the
sidewalk when entering and leaving the school during those
peak times. Also, please note that there are signs in the bus
lane to indicate that no traffic is allowed during these peak
times. Your ongoing support and attention is vital and much
appreciated.
Health, Safety & Security
As Winter leaves and Spring arrives, there is a tendency to
shed clothing. Please take the time to label clothing and
advise your children to check the lost and found on occasion
for missing items. May we advise that students layer and
dress accordingly and remember to wear the appropriate boots.
As the yard melts it becomes wet and mucky, so students need
to remember to stay out of these areas to help keep them dry
and comfortable during class time, as well as keeping both
them and our building clean. An extra pair of socks and pants
kept in the school bag can be most helpful. Donations of
gently used clothing are always welcome and put to good use.
With the days getting longer and the weather warming up it is
natural for students to be out after school enjoying the fresh
air. Please remember that we are getting ready to head into
third term and solidify our learning for this year. You may
hear, “I finished my work at school today” and that definitely
deserves some praise, however getting enough rest to tackle
the next day is key as well. With the right amount of sleep our
brains work better, and our bodies are able to stay healthier.
Attendance: We continue to monitor student attendance
carefully and ask that you inform the office of any absences or
if your child will be late. This information will be passed on
to the teacher. Should your child be returning or leaving
school throughout the day, it is important that he/she check in
at the office to sign in or sign out. May we ask that you please
allow yourself sufficient time to sign your child out for any
appointments.
Early Departures: We try to avoid interrupting valuable
teaching time with calls into classes with messages from home
to request students be notified of after school arrangements, or
reminders of appointments. We ask that you make such
arrangements with your child in the morning, and include a
note in the agenda to avoid confusion. Students are asked to
pass along this information to their teachers at the beginning
of the day. They should try to remember to meet parents in
the office at the appropriate time if they are to leave early –
hopefully without that reminder from the office when parents
arrive to sign them out. Parents, please wait for your child in
the office rather than going into the school to collect them.
We must remind you that all visitors are required to sign in at
the office before you enter the school.
Visitors/Volunteers: With everyone’s co-operation, schools
work to provide a safe learning environment for children. It is
board practice that schools have a visitor sign in and
identification process to help in this regard. All classroom
visits and food contributions should be pre-arranged with the
teacher. Please make signing our visitor/volunteer book and
wearing an identification tag a priority.
Medical Alert: There are several students who have severe
and life threatening allergies. We thank you for providing safe
and nut free lunches, snacks and other food items that you
may provide for various events throughout the year. Any
questions and/or concerns, please contact the office.
Flu Season: It is that time of year again when we often see flu
bugs from fevers, sick stomachs and other communicable
diseases. To prevent further complications, may we suggest
you keep your child home a day for observation. Children are
often encouraged to try going to school and end up having to
make arrangements to go home.
Please ensure your alternate arrangements are current.
Head Lice: Parents/Guardians are reminded to check their
child’s hair for head lice on a routine bases as it can show up
at any time.
Head lice are common in school-aged children, but anyone
can get them. These small insects can crawl from person to
person by direct head to head contact and most commonly
cause itching. Parents should check their children’s hair
weekly for head lice. Look for nits (eggs) of head lice. Nits
look like dandruff, but they cannot be shaken or flicked off the
hair. They are found on the hair very close to the scalp. If
you see lice or nits, notify the school and treat your child. The
school may want to follow up with a prevention plan. Ottawa
Public Health recommends that the first of the two required
treatments be done before your child returns to school. Teach
your child to protect himself/herself from getting head lice by
avoiding sharing combs, brushes, hair accessories or helmets;
tie back long hair in a braid or ponytail; keep hats, mittens,
and scarves in the sleeve of your child’s coat. For more
information on the prevention and treatment of head lice, call

the Ottawa Public Health information line at 613-580-6744 or
visit ottawa.ca/health.
Field Trips: When your child brings home a field trip
permission form for your signature, there is usually enough
turn around time built in for those forms to be returned on
time. Board policy requires we collect the original form with
your signature; a handwritten note is not sufficient for our
records. Our office staff is very busy in the mornings, dealing
with arrivals, bus issues, parents/guest teachers needing
information/direction, morning announcements, etc. They
simply do not have time to fax copies to parents for last
minute signatures when a form has not been returned on time.
Students are responsible for ensuring their parents sign the
forms as soon as they are brought home. Unfortunately, if
there is no signed form, the student will be required to stay at
school and will be given an alternate assignment. We thank
you for your cooperation in this matter.
DATES TO REMEMBER
(*Denotes no classes for students)
Mar. 12/10
Term two ends
Mar. 15-19/10 inclusive* No classes for students
Apr. 2/10*
Good Friday – school closed
Apr. 5/10*
Easter Monday – school closed
Apr. 12/10
Report Cards go home
May 10/10(6:30-7:30pm) Kindergarten Parent Info Night
May 25/10*
Victoria Day – school closed
May 29/10 (Saturday) Le Phare Plant & Yard Sale
June 15/10
Le Phare School BBQ 5–8 pm
June 22/10
Grade Fives at Carleton University
June 23/10
Grade Five Leaving Ceremony
June 24/10
Year End Assembly
June 25/10
Last day of classes for students
June 28/10*
P.A. Day – no classes
Sept. 7/10
First Day of School
School Events/Activities
Environment Club
Under the direction of Mme Martin, the environment club
continues to meet on a regular basis to ensure our school is
doing everything it can for a greener environment both here
and at home.
Hearts for Haiti
Under the direction of Mme Pavlou, Mme Girard and Mme
Arner, this event saw us bring in just over $1,900.00 in
donations. It was so nice to see this wonderful display of
hearts on the road map to Haiti in our Gallery. The response
board wide and beyond was overwhelming – MERCI –
BRAVO!
Friendship Week
Under the direction of Mme Arner, students participated in a
hands on awareness activity during Friendship Week. They
were asked to share and commit to an act of kindness daily,
such as a compliment or gesture to help. Students placed cut
outs of their hands with the deeds for display on a beautiful
rainbow just outside the library for everyone to see daily.
Students will be doing posters for display at the Rothwell
Senior’s Residence.
The Great Big Crunch!
What an a-peeling way to spend the day!
Because March is Nutrition Month, and to help promote good
health and local growers, it was decided that every school in
Canada would participate in the GREAT BIG CRUCH! On
March 11, 2010, every student across Canada was given an
apple to bite into. Our students thoroughly enjoyed this event
as Suzanne De Abreu, Co-ordinator of our School Nutrition
Program, led the count down to the GREAT BIG CRUCH!
We would like to thank Suzanne and our parent volunteers for
their work in obtaining and preparing the apples for
distribution. MERCI BEAUCOUP!
Volleyball
Under the direction of Mme Bacile and Mr. Nowiski, the girls
and boys volleyball teams did an amazing job at their
tournaments in January. Our girls came away in first place
and our boys in second. BRAVO!
A special thanks to our parent volunteers for being there to
help support and transport the teams.
Good News!
We are pleased to acknowledge student achievements that
occur outside our school setting. If you have items for this
column, please send a written note to the office explaining the
details.
COMMUNITY NEWS
(From time to time, the school is asked to distribute
information about activities in the community that may be of
interest to some parents/students, for example, summer camps,
gymnastic clubs, sports groups, etc. The information is
provided for your consideration only and should not be viewed
as an endorsement by the school or staff of any particular
organization or activity. These announcements are included,
when space permits.)
Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario
We were fortunate enough to have members of the Heart &
Stroke Foundation visit our school in February to promote
their new SPARK program geared at making our children
aware of good choices and bad choices towards a better
lifestyle. Which tomorrow shall we choose – say YES to
Spark Together for Healthy Kids at heartandstroke.ca/spark
arTech camps
For more information on the coolest March Break and
Summer Camps, call 1-877-530-3177 or visit
www.ARTECHCAMPS.COM
Canadian Red Cross Children’s Safety Programs
Should your child(ren) be interested in taking a Babysitter
Course or People Savers Course on weekends, please call
613-560-7220ext249 or visit www.redcross.ca

OTTAWA PUBLIC HEALTH
Mandatory School Dental Screening for All Kindergarten and
Grade 2 Students
A registered dental hygienist from the Ottawa Public Health
will provide a visual dental screening on April 27, 2010. The
dental screening will consist of individual screening by a
registered dental hygienist using a tongue depressor and nonlatex
gloves. Children identified as having urgent dental
needs will bring home a notification form. Follow-up school
visits by the dental hygienist for individual children may be
required. This does not replace a dental examination from a
dentist. All children should visit their dentist for regular
dental checkups. This is offered to parents in accordance with
the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion, Mandatory Health
Programs under the HEALTH PROCTECTION AND
PROMOTION ACT.
Personal information recorded in the course of the assessments
is collected under the authority of section 5 of the Health
Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.h.7 and will be
used for the purpose of dental assessment, treatment and oral
hygiene instruction, and for statistical purposes. Questions
concerning the collection and use of this information should
be directed to the Dental Administrator, Dental Services
Division, at 400-1580 Merivale Rd, Ottawa, telephone 613-
580-6744 ext 23511