Happy New Year, 2023
Royal Oak School DECEMBER NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 10, 2023
Dear Royal Oak Families,
Dear Royal Oak Families,
Happy 2023!
I hope your holiday break has been everything you hoped for and needed- full of family time,
recouping, wonderful time outside and making new memories. The two weeks was full of
excitement weather-wise, and I hope you stayed safe and warm during the “once in a generation”
storm that made it’s appearance on our last day of school!
We have so much to look back on fondly from our last month of the year- a record turnout for our
Parade day and Holiday Social at the Elltoft’s, an incredible holiday performance with students
showcasing new musical skills and our school wide trip to the Shaw Festival performance of “A
Christmas Carol.
The year was also capped with report cards that were sent home on December 23. These reports are detailed and deeply considered by each of the Royal Oak staff so that we may showcase and share the amazing achievements of your children this term. Ahead, a full term 2 of learning, progress and new units and explorations that will build upon the foundations of term 1!
As we look to the January calendar, Clubs begin on January 16, and you will receive email
confirmation in the week ahead for the clubs your children signed up for. These are planned to offer new activities to students and also to foster new skills and engagement- please let us know if you have any suggestions for term 3 as we hope to include as many children and interests as possible, and please email jackaw@royaloakschool.ca if you missed sign up and would like to join. We will do our best to accommodate.
You will notice in our January newsletter a new section called “Help us Improve”. This is an
anonymous google form where you can share any suggestions you have to make your child’s
schooling experience better. From field trip or club suggestions, to scheduling or policy, we want to hear from you. Our school philosophy is rooted in continual reflection and improvement, for
students and staff, and we would love to implement the ideas of our community to know we are
reaching and meeting your expectations as often as possible.
January brings a feeling of renewal, and I hope each of you feels renewed energy and inspired
moving into 2023- we truly do at Royal Oak!
See you soon...3 more sleeps!
Julia
Julia Murray, Head of School
Looking Back at December 2022...
ROCS WINTER CONCERT
The Royal Oak students really out did themselves, showcasing their wonderful singing voices, musical instrument playing and performance skills at our Winter Concert on Wednesday, December 14th. The Old Courthouse was the perfect venue for this spectacular presentation that welcomed so many of our Royal Oak parents, friends and community partners. Thank
you to all the people who made this night so perfect. Ms. Mackin, our school’s Kindergarten and Music teacher, did a fantastic job getting the students ready for this night- thank you for all your hard work. We had some wonderful donations of food and drinks from our Royal Oak families: Brigitte and Mikael Dia, Brittany Janzen, Trudy Bowslaugh (The Frosted Cupcake), Donald Ziraldo (Ziraldo Wines), Robin Ridesic (The Exchange Brewery) and The Budapest Bakery. The next Royal Oak performance will be the musical “Alice in Wonderland”, set to premiere Wednesday, May 17th.
Shaw Festival's "A Christmas Carol", A BIG HIT!
On Friday, December 16th, the Royal Oak students were lucky enough to participate in workshops
presented by the Shaw festival. The Kindergarten to Grade 3 students were treated to a puppet making and storytelling workshop, while the Grade 4 to 8 students learned about the backstage experience for the Shaw workers and what actors at the Shaw do when not on stage. The students then went to seethe sold out performance of “A Christmas Carol” at the King George Theatre, meeting the cast after.
A memorable workshop and performance experience with our neighbours and community partners, the Shaw Festival.
Duke's Holiday Drive for Niagara Pets Alive Update:
We would like to thank everyone that donated to Pets Alive Niagara in Duke’s name. He will be joining Ayla K. for lunch in the Grade 7/8 room and will be playing with her and Vivian H. at recess. These two students brought in the most pet donations in the school- well done! Thank you again for all the contributions to this very important organization that helps pets in need.
Help Us Improve!
Our most important stakeholders are our students and families. Help us improve by sharing any
suggestion (big or small) here with us using this anonymous google form:
Thank you in advance for taking the time and remember, Administration is always here to discuss
anything you feel would help us improve.
ROCS Students Field Trip to Pumphouse Art Exhibition
Before the break, ROCS students, with the help of Ms. Bigda and Mr. W, submitted
some beautiful art works to the Niagara Pumphouse Art Centre that were displayed in
their gallery. On Thursday, January 12th, all students from Kindergarten to Grade8 will
walk to the Pumphouse to see all the submissions from our students and others from
the region. If you would like to learn more about this fantastic event, please see the links
below.
NOTL Local Art Exhibit Article
ClubsBegin Monday,January 16th
Just a reminder that clubs will start on Monday, January 16th. We have some great offerings this Winter term:
● Cocoa Club
● Comic Book Club
● Cyberlegends Coding and Online Safety Club
● Spanish Club
● French Club
● Lego Club
● Creative Club
● Break Dancing Club
Whole year clubs, such as Choir and Homework Club can also be joined by emailing with Ms.
Dennis and Ms. McMackin. Please look out for the email coming from the club lead teacher to
tell you of other details your child might need about the club that they joined.
Holiday Fun at ROCS
A Look Ahead at ROCS
Offerings in the Community
PD Days for NON-Royal Oak Students-
Share with your friends!
Dear Royal Oak Parent/s,
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas holiday with your children! It was great seeing many of you at the Christmas Parade and Winter Showcase, and I hope you're all excited about the New Year!
I would love to offer you all a FREE week of training at my F45 fitness studio in Virgil!
We offer fun & fast 45 minute, group fitness classes, in a HITT circuit style format for all ages and levels. Each class has two Personal Trainers to help modify the exercises to meet your individual needs. You'll never do the same workout twice and it's a supportive and fun environment.
F45 is an Australian franchise and there are over 2,800 studios world wide. There are studios all over Canada and we've brought one to your doorstep, so please come in and see what all the excitement is about!
If you're interested in improving your fitness and overall wellbeing, in a fun & fast fashion, then you must try us out!
These classes are fun, led by experienced professionals and get results!
We hope to see you in the studio soon!
Jack AW
