October 3rd, 2017
Hello Keatsway Families!
It is hard to believe that September is over and that we are now into October! Where did the time go? We have had an incredibly fabulous start to the school year here at Keatsway! So many things have already happened: first day of meeting teachers and students on the tarmac, first week assembly, We Day, Terry Fox run, Safety Patrols, Lunch Helpers, Fundraising Assembly, Grade 6 Camp, School Council and of course many rich learning experiences in each classroom!
We welcome our new families to Keatsway and hope that you feel comfortable and are now calling Keatsway home. Being new myself, I am truly honoured to be the Principal of Keatsway! I am enjoying getting to know all the students and their families.
Reminders There are many ‘rules’ at school for students as well as adults!!! Here are a few really important reminders:
No Dogs on School Property WRDSB Policy
We have many families that are owners of beautiful pets. We know it’s nice to take the dog for a walk as you drop-off or pick-up your child to and from school. However, it is the expectation that pet dogs are not on school property – especially at the beginning and end of the school day when there are several children walking and running about. We have many students who are terrified of dogs, and the behaviour of a dog is never 100% predictable. If you are walking your dog to school, please do your kiss and drop from the edge of the property.
Service dogs are exempt from this expectation and would be clearly identified as a service dog, following WRDSB Procedure 2020. Thanks for ensuring all students are safe.
Parking Lot and Bus Zone
Please remember that the parking lot is for staff and volunteers only. Please park on a side street; better yet, have your student walk, bike or scooter to school! Please remember not to walk through the parking lot, please use the pathways at all times to avoid any accidents.
Please, please, please do not park in the bus zone, handicapped spot or pull into the driveway during school times. The bylaw officer was here to give out this information during the first week of school and has continued to make frequent visits.
Events OCT 19, Photo Day, individual photos will be taken this day. Information will be sent home shortly!
Pizza days are coming to Keatsway! Pizza lunches and special lunch days will begin following Thanksgiving. Ordering will be done via School Day, so save time and register your child, if you have not done so already. Volunteers are needed to ensure these lunches can be offered to students. To volunteer, please email keatswayschoolcouncil@gmail.com
Fundraising Keatsway School Council has partnered with the Lion’s Club of Kitchener to help them at their evening Oktoberfest events. We will be in charge of monitoring their parking lot at Queensmount Arena (1260 Queen’s Blvd, Kitchener) and directing traffic in the parking lot. In appreciation, the Lion’s Club will make a $1500 donation to our playground fund! To ensure the evening runs smoothly, we will need four adults to volunteer each of the evenings. We will meet in the Queensmount Arena parking lot at 6:30pm and will be done when the parking lot is full (by 9:30 at the latest). Safety vests and flashlights will be provided. If we can not guarantee the volunteers for this event, we will lose the opportunity and the funds, so please consider signing up for at least one evening http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508054ca5ab22a3f58-oktoberfest1
Fall Fundraising has begun! Students should have already received their Fresh From the Farm order forms. The deadline for these orders is Tuesday October 10th.
The heat wave has finally broken and our chocolate has arrived! Chocolate has gone home early this week with participating students. If you would still like to participate, or to receive additional cases to sell, please send a note in your child’s planner. We have extended the deadline for selling chocolate to Tuesday October 17th. Let’s all work together to raise money for Keatsway and win a GaGa Ball Pit!!
Food Cautions: We are a Peanut and nut butter free school. Please do not send these items for lunch as we have many students with severe allergies.
Birthday Treats – we know that students love to celebrate birthdays; so much so that some families will send in huge sweet treats for the class. We ask you not to do this as there are so many allergies and we are bound to the Ministry of Educations Food and Beverage Policy http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/healthyschools/policy.html
This information has been shared on our website https://kea.wrdsb.ca/ and on www.school-day.com. Everyone will receive a paper copy the first time. We ask that all families sign up for School Day as this is our primary mode of communication. If you need help or do not have a computer, please call the office, 519-886-1650
Thank you
P. Miller
Principal