Roland Michener Public School 100 Penfield Drive, Kanata, ON, K2K 1M2 March 2012 Tel:

1. Roland Michener Public School 100 Penfield Drive, Kanata, ON, K2K 1M2 March 2012 Tel: 592-2126 Fax: 592-3254 C. Laine, Principal J. Bennett, Superintendent C. Curry, Trustee B. Hall, Office Administrator A. McClure, Office Assistant M. Morrow, Chief Custodian Principal’s Message We’ve been very busy here at RMPS focusing on our learning goals in literacy and numeracy.We’ve had 100’s day, a Valentine’s cake raffle, Scientists in the School, ski/snowboard/skating days, an authors visit and lots of exciting learning days in February and March as we have embarked upon our new School Improvement Planning cycle. Our SIPSA goals focus on geometry and measurement in math and we have welcomed our Instructional Coach Kristi Gervais to support our teaching and learning around our School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (SIPSA). As a staff, we are looking for different ways to meet the needs of our 21st century learners. I wish to thank our dedicated staff for their efforts to learn about critical thinking, inquiry and creativity! As you know, March is a time when we start to plan for opening day in September. By now, all students who are planning to attend either the Middle or Early French Immersion programs have registered at WEJ or here at RMPS. According to the ARC recommendations, Roland Michener will continue to offer JK-6 English programs and SK Early French Immersion. The final recommendations from Trustees will be available after the Board meeting to be held April 24th, 2012 Thanks to parents for your positive feedback about our new electronic communications, newsletter and website. Please keep those comments coming so we can better serve you and your families. Thanks to Arlene our Office Assistant for all of her efforts in this area. The school website is located at http://rolandmichenerps.ocdsb.ca/index.phpand we invite you to take a few minutes and have a walkthrough. March Break is rapidly approaching (March 12– 16) so at this time I would like to thank you for your ongoing support. Our partnership is key to your child’s overall success. Have a restful, safe and fun-filled March break. Cassia Laine

2. Resilience in Kids Resilience is being able to bounce back from problems or adapt to change. It allows you to cope when things are not going well. It helps you manage life events in a healthy way. To build resilience: Reach out to people who can help you. Deal with feelings as they occur so they do not overwhelm you. Use skills to help you solve problems. Keep a hopeful outlook. To help kids build resilience parents can: Talk with them during meals. Help them with homework. Ask them how they are feeling. Be positive. Remind them of their good qualities. Take time to notice the things they enjoy. For more information contact Ottawa Public Health at 613-580-6744 orottawa.ca/health. Cyber Safety Children use computers for completing homework assignments, playing games and chatting with their friends. It is recommended that you keep the computer in a location where parents or guardians can monitor Internet activity. Children should be instructed to choose a safe username that does not include personal information and one that is gender neutral. Here are some important safety tips to share with your children: 1) Ensure children send photographs only with parental permission. 2) Encourage children to tell you if they are being harassed or bullied in computer messages. 3) Be sure children do not reveal personal information e.g. name, age, school name or phone number. 4) Prohibit chat room activity unless child is monitored. 5) Get to know your child’s online friends just as you would his or her other friends. PLAY BALL!  Register for Little League! The Kanata Little League Baseball Association is a non-profit organization that operates programs for children ages 4 to 18 in the communities of Kanata, Stittsville, Richmond, and Munster Hamlet.  Online registration for the 2012 season is now open by visiting our website at kllba.ca.  You can also visit kllba.ca for more information about our programs or for more details regarding our upcoming walk-in registration session.  Registration ends April 14th so don't delay! Late registrations will be subject to availability. Sports Action... RMPS brings home the SILVER! Congratulations and to the junior volleyball teams! The boys came first in their pool and second overall taking home the silver medal at the interschool volleyball tournament held at Glen Cairn Public School. The girls also came first in their pool, which advanced them to the semi-finals. They finished second overall taking home a silver medal. Well done! It should be noted that our RMPS athletes displayed outstanding sportsmanship, effort and team play throughout the games as well as dedication and commitment to our practices. Job well done!! Special thanks to parent volunteer drivers.Special thanks to Mme Schuster for coaching.

3. We need your help! As you know children love this time of year with the mud and puddles. As the conditions on the yard get very wet and will soon be muddy, although we remind students to stay out of puddles and mud; they still manage to find a way to get wet! We are asking that parents wash snowsuits, mitts etc. Primary students should also have a change of clothes, especially socks and mitts, at school to change into should they get wet at recess. Even though we have finished skating for the season we are looking for donations of skates (sizes 13-4) and hockey helmets so that all of our students can participate in this fun and healthy exercise. Thanks for your attention to these requests. MAD Update ROAR Our Sens raffle and spirit day was a huge success! Congratulations to Victor Yang in winning the grand prize of 4 tickets to see the Ottawa Senators play the New Jersey Devils later this month. Many thanks to our Roland Michener community for your generous donations to our raffle. In total, we raised $500 towards Shannen's Dream, a worthwhile cause helping to create safe and decent schools in our First Nations and Inuit communities. Thank you to all who participated for your support!. Congratulations to Keegan B who won the RMPS Spelling Bee! Way to spell Keegan! RMPS Recognizes Earth Hour Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 31st at 8:30-9:30 pm to show their support for action on climate change. In support of this action, RMPS will turn off all non-essential lights and computers on Friday March 30thth from 2-3pm. This will be an opportunity to plan for alternatives to the computer and opportunities for reducing the use of lights. We can make a difference! http://wwf.ca/earthhour

4. School Council News QSP Magazine On-line orders Just a reminder that on-line QSP Magazine Subscription orders are still being accepted. Simply go to www.QSP.ca and enter our Group # 10693 to view the on-line catalogue and place your order. There are over 600 magazines to choose from with savings of up to 80% off newsstand prices. Magazines make great gifts and help raise funds for our school. THANK-YOU… all so much for your donations to the Valentine’s Day Cake Raffle. It was an exciting fun-filled day for all those involved. We had a wonderful display and variety of cakes, cupcakes and cookies for the kids to choose from. An amazing 63 items in total were donated for this year’s raffle. Thank you to the many generous families that took the time and effort to donate items for our raffle. We had more ‘winners’ than ever this year thanks to your donations. We wish to give a special thank you to the parent and grandparent volunteers that came in to help out. Your time and dedication were so greatly appreciated and you truly helped make this event the success it was. Also, thank you to the wonderful staff for your help and support for this and the many school events throughout the year. This year’s raffle generated a total profit of $462. These funds will be used by the school council for the enhancement of our children’s education. Thank you for your support! School Council

5. Kinder News Feb 8th, 2012, our school enjoyed a winter walk. We got fresh air and exercise while traveling together in the snow behind our school. The 100th Day of school was celebrated with various math centres, terrific stories and lots of enthusiasm. Our Kindergarten Winter Play Day was held on March 2nd.  Our fantastic volunteers made the day memorable for all. Activities included parachute games, a hockey challenge and snowshoeing. • Important Dates to Remember • March • 12-16 March Break (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS) • 19 Gr.3/4 Harris to Swim to Survive • Pizza Day • 26 Gr.3/4 Harris to Swim to Survive • Grades 1-3 to MacSkimming • 29 Pizza Day • 30 Earth Hour participation– students to turn off lights and computers between 2:00 - 3:00 pm • EARTH HOUR 8:30-9:30 pm • April • Pizza Day • Good Friday (no school for students) • Easter Monday (no school for students) • 10 School Council meeting – 6:30 pm in staff room • 12 Pizza Day