November Newsletter - Royal Oak Community School |
Friday November 29, 2024
Dear Royal Oak Families
A very fast month is behind us here at ROCS, and the Holiday Season is all of a sudden here! Despite a shortened month of school, we have had a wonderful and busy three weeks, full of academic celebrations like Parent Teacher Interviews and Report Cards, and outreach, like our Grade 8 student, Masha, so beautifully representing Royal Oak at the NOTL Town Remembrance Day gathering.
As we move into the last month of 2024, we look ahead to Holiday Traditions. Pinecone, our Elf on the Shelf, will likely return to the halls of Royal Oak on Monday! We relish the joy the students take each morning in finding him and reading his notes. We also look forward to our yearly Musical showcase on December 12 at the Community Centre, and hope to see you there! This year’s performance will take us on a journey to different parts of the world to learn about their unique traditions and songs of the holidays. Our students have been working hard and we are thrilled to share it with you.
We are also participating in the NOTL Christmas Parade this year, and are fortunate enough to have a Float that the students will be part of decorating and can travel on during the December 14th parade. The theme will continue our immersion in this year’s musical, “Seussical”, and be a “Who-ville Christmas’! Over the next few weeks, and with parent volunteers, Stephane and David and Shannon at the helm, we look forward to bringing our school spirit to life through our float. You will see a sign up for the parade below so we know to expect you and can ensure a robust attendance on this special day.
Our Newsletter at a glance, includes:
Final call for Camp Wenonah sign up
The Royal Oak Toy Drive for the Niagara YWCA Women’s Shelter- please donate!
Last call to sign up for our “Date Night” babysitting at the school to get ahead of your holiday shopping
Royal Oak’s Henry of Pelham and Exchange Brewery Fundraiser- Please consider purchasing
A Welcome to our Brock Teacher Candidates
Enjoy the last weekend of November and I look forward to spending moments of the season with each of you in the month ahead!
Warm regards,
Julia Murray, Head of School
 BEAUTIFYING ROCS!!! The month of November began with a wonderful workshop for our Primary Junior, Junior Middle and Upper Middle classes presented by the Horticultural Society of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Students were shown how to clean up and plant for the Spring growing season. Students removed dead annual plants, cut back perennials, mulched garden beds, composted garden waste, and protected sensitive plants for winter. This hands-on experience teaches students about the garden lifecycle. This opportunity allows students to share in the expertise of the Horticultural Society members, and contributes to environmental education at the school and within the community. It's an excellent chance to foster a love for gardening and environmental stewardship among students. The Horticultural Society will be back in the Spring to lead students in soil preparation and testing, selecting pollinator- friendly plants, setting up irrigation systems and creating garden layouts that will involve the surrounding gardens. We are very excited for this opportunity and look forward to beautifying our school further. |
REMEMBRANCE DAY 2024 |
Remembrance Day at ROCS was held a little differently this year. Since the school was closed for the November Break, we were not able to attend the yearly NOTL ceremony at the cenotaph. Instead, the students welcomed Diane Rose, a local veteran and speaker, who spoke to us about her life and experiences. She brought her Service Dog, Nick, with her who was happy to show the students what she does and how she helps Diane with her day to day living.
We are also very proud of Upper Middle student Mariia Yevtushenko, who represented Royal Oak Community School by reading the poem, In Flanders Fields by Dr. John McCree at the Royal Canadian Legion’s Remembrance Day Ceremony at the NOTL Cenotaph on November 11th. She read with confidence and poise during the ceremony that had a large audience. Well Done, Mariia!
ART GALLERY WORKSHOP
On November 21st, the students were visited by members of the Niagara Falls Art Gallery who taught students all about different types of art and how to create beautiful pieces. Classes, painted, drew and got their hands dirty, learning the fine details of different art mediums. Thank you to Ms. Nyenhuis for organizing these workshops.
Royal Oak Character Award Winners for November
November’s character trait focused on COURAGE; courage to persevere through difficult times to show one’s true strength of character .
Congratulations to the November winners:
Early Years: Alayna H.
Primary: Athena L.
Primary Junior: Frankie A.C.
Junior Middle: Gabriel M.
Upper Middle: Olive P.
NOVEMBER CLASSROOM UPDATES |
EARLY YEARS
We have had such a fun November in Early Years! In Literacy, we’ve continued learning about our Letters of the Week, working through Literacy centres, small group reading lessons, and discussing syllables. We’ve also continued our daily Heggerty lessons, where we are learning to listen to words and identify if they rhyme, what sound they hear at the beginning and end, breaking words into syllables, and much more. In Math, we wrapped up our Numbers unit, learned about probability, and talked about different 2D shapes. In Inquiry, the kids learned about natural and man-made objects, the four seasons, and we've just started learning about different winter holidays around the world!
LOOKING AHEAD IN EARLY YEARS: We are so excited to share that our classroom community is going to be growing in the New Year. To accommodate six new Early Years students, we are going to be moving classroom spaces over the Winter Break! Stay tuned for pictures of our new space, and we can't wait to see all of the children's reactions when we return in January!
PRIMARY
November has been a productive month in Primary. The focus in Math this month has been Number and Number Sense. Students have been learning about place value, ordering and comparing numbers. We began the unit with counting and grouping our pumpkin seeds from our pumpkin carving unit, then learned about Pirate Numbers and finally, we used this knowledge to represent numbers using base ten blocks and standard form. During Inquiry, the Primary students discovered the importance of Remembrance Day within Canada. With the help of Ms. D, each student was actively engaged in creating a unique painting of poppies using cotton balls and cardboard as painting tools. Within this unit, each student planned, constructed and reflected upon a box that they could use to send a special item to a soldier (from A Bear in War by Stephanie Innes and Harry Endrulat). Literacy has seen the introduction of a novel study and the inclusion of the LLI Reading program to improve reading fluency, comprehension and sight word recognition. Writers Workshop has also continued this month, with students learning how to add more details to their writing and to use time words to make smooth transitions from one idea to another. Primary has also had some fun with the Upper/Middle class this month. Four friends from the Upper/Middle classroom visit our classroom twice a week to have lunch with the Primary students and share some laughs. We also spent time with these ‘big’ friends during our walk to the NOTL Public Library and while we were at this special place in the community. Finally, the month ended with a fantastic visit from the Niagara Falls Art Gallery. Ms. Deborah guided the primary students in the drawing and painting of a fox in a winter scene. All of the students produced a wonderful final product while learning about colour mixing to produce various colours. We are looking forward to what the last month of the year will bring to our classroom!!! Maybe some changes…..???
PRIMARY JUNIOR
November has been a busy and exciting month! The students have been working hard and showing creativity and curiosity in everything we’ve done. Here are some highlights:
We enjoyed a wonderful trip to the library, exploring books and learning about all the resources available. A special art lesson with the Niagara Art Gallery inspired students to create beautiful, imaginative artwork.
In Math, we’ve been diving into multiplication and division, building arrays and working toward mastering the traditional multiplication algorithm. Our array cities project was a hit, blending art and math into amazing creations!
In Literacy, students honed their spelling, comprehension, and persuasive writing skills, crafting compelling arguments in a fun donut debate that showcased their creativity and reasoning.
For Inquiry, we explored communities in Canada 200 years ago, learning about settlers and First Nations groups. Thoughtful discussions highlighted the challenges and connections of the past.
In Art, we captured the magic of winter with stunning winter scapes using cool colors and blending techniques.
We’re also thrilled to welcome Ms. D into our classroom this week! She will be sharing her lovely presence and supporting our learning until the winter break.
Finally, our class is so close to earning their next reward for all their hard work, kindness, and teamwork—we can’t wait to celebrate soon!
Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to more exciting learning in December!
JUNIOR MIDDLE
Happy November, everyone! While this short month flew by, the Junior Middle class did not miss an opportunity to learn and grow. This month, we continued to tackle challenges and explore!
In math, we have finally wrapped up our extensive Number Sense unit on comparing whole numbers, decimals, and fractions. The class successfully placed all these numbers on a number line to order them from least to greatest. They all have converted decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals to help them better understand their value. If you ever need a decimal expert, this is the group to ask! Next up, Data management followed by multiplication!
Our Rocks and Minerals unit is finally beginning to come to a close. This term, we have dove into the world of rocks and minerals while exploring their creation and classification. This group has been able to identify different types of rocks and minerals based on their appearance. They can classify the rock based on where it was found! To help further our knowledge, we had a visit from the Niagara Art Gallery to teach us about fossils through clay sculptures. The class made a dinosaur footprint that was jam-packed with different fossilized items such as bone, bugs, and even a megalodon tooth! Now that we have a firm knowledge of rocks and minerals, the students are moving on to the final stage of the unit which is about the preservation and conservation of rocks and minerals. This learning will be displayed in our final art showcase on Thursday, December 19, 2024.
While the students enjoy learning, the highlight of this month was the introduction of the newest member of our classroom - the class Hermit Crab! This hermit crab was a gift from Ms. Julia to replace our beloved class fish, Stewart. The class has been enjoying learning about the hermit crab and enjoying his constant switching of shells! The biggest debate is the name. There are so many good names for a hermit crab that the class will be taking it up to a school-wide poll in connection to our data management unit! Stay tuned for the grand unveiling!
UPPER MIDDLE
Another month has flown by in the Upper Middle classroom! November has been a very busy month. Our class participated in many enriching experiences outside the classroom as well as within. In class we have spent this month exploring angles in math, we have begun learning about the history of Canada and its beginnings and as we returned from the November break begun our next novel study The Maze Runner written by James Dashner. Students will get the opportunity to draw connections between the novel and our inquiry unit and reflect on what goes into building a thriving society. Our class has begun a leadership role in our school by joining our lower school during lunch time as lunchroom monitors.
Our class has also had the opportunity to engage in the community in the form of volunteer experiences and extra-curricular activities. This month the Upper Middle class had the opportunity of working alongside the Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticulture Society during a gardening workshop where students were able to learn about the importance of preparing our gardens for the winter to ensure growth come spring and how soil can be affected when it is not properly cared for. Our students also had the opportunity of working with Community Crew to prepare lunches for students in throughout Niagara and learn about food insecurity. The Niagara Falls Art Gallery visited our classroom this month to host an art workshop where students created space scapes and bring to life some of the celestial objects they learned about in our recent space unit. Students learned about perspective, techniques used when working with pastels and different colour pallets. To end November Upper Middle students along with Junior Middle friends traveled to Wheatley school to participate a volleyball game where students were able to practice good sportsmanship, volleyball skills and friendly competition.
As we move into December there are many more exciting activities to come as we near the end of 2024. Stay tuned!
ROYAL OAK VOLLEYBALL GAME VS. WHEATLEY SCHOOL |
Royal Oak’s Junior Middle and Upper Middle class made our way to Wheatley School this Tuesday, November 26, to play a fun, exhibition game of volleyball with our friends at Wheatley. Students at Royal Oak had the opportunity to hone their skills this past fall with Ms. Castelli in Volleyball Club, and had a blast on the courts, showing off their abilities and fine tuning their skills.
These exhibition games are a very important opportunity for our students to be exposed to competitive sport, new activities and to build confidence for sport. We are SO proud of their efforts and performance. Our next Wheatley games will be in Badminton in the spring.
Upper Middle Community Crew Helpers
“Community Crew” is an amazing Niagara charity that provides nutritious lunches to over 4500 food insecure children across the region each week.
Ms. Julia, Ms. Castelli and the Upper Middle students spent the morning on November 7 at Central Community Church joining “Community Crew”, and learning a little more about the effects of hunger on children in Niagara. Our students were AMAZING and worked diligently to build, pack and ship lunches to 33 different schools in the DSBN with the greatest needs. These opportunities for learning with our hands and in our community are very important to help our students learn about the realities that many families face in our community. Caring for others, taking action and being part of a solution through volunteerism are values we believe in and actively teach each day here at the school.
HOLIDAY PERFORMANCE
Thursday Dec 12, 2024 @ 6:00pm
Get ready to celebrate December traditions as we go 'round the world on stage! We are going to teach you about the special preparations for Chinese New Year, Germany's St. Nicholas Day tradition of a hidden pickle in the Tannenbaum, the seven principles of Kwanzaa from African ancestors, the miracle and lights of Jewish Hanukkah, the festive atmosphere of Mexico's Las Posadas and Christmas Canada-style! Our Royal Oak School Winter Concert is on Thursday, December 12th, at the NOTL Community Centre from 6 to 7:30pm. Students will be practicing during the day at the Community Centre and pick-up will be there at 3:40pm. All students are required to be back at the location for 5:30 pm at the latest. Concessions will be sold in the auditorium as usual to help offset the price of the room rental. We are looking for donations of drinks (wine, beer and soft drinks), goodies and baked goods. Please reach out to Ms. Dennis if you are able to contribute for the night. All classes and students will be participating in the show directed by Ms. McMackin.
RSVP with ticket numbers is required, please use the form below to indicate your attendance and the number of tickets you would like! Holiday Concert RSVP
LAST CALL "Date Night" Babysitting at Royal Oak |
Twice a year, Royal Oak teachers provide a “Date Night Out” to Royal Oak families to support special, “adult-only” times of year! The first of these will occur on December 6 from 5:00-9:00 pm at the school to provide some Holiday Shopping time for our families, child free! The cost per child is $40 or $60 for siblings, and includes dinner. Please sign up for this Date Night babysitting by emailing admin@royaloakschool.ca! The sign up will close on December 2 for planning purposes. Keep your eyes open for our second date night to be released for a Valentine’s Day night out!
NOTL CHRISTMAS PARADE - Saturday December 14
This year, ROCS will participate in the NOTL Christmas Parade in style. Thanks to Merritt and Malcolm's grandfather, Doug Cunningham, we will travel this year's parade route via float! Our theme is ”Christmas in Who-ville”, following our "Seussical" musical this year and parent volunteers Stephane, David and Shannon are hoping for help in the days leading up to the parade. Please email admin@royaloakschool.ca if you would like to help and please ensure you RSVP if you plan to attend here: Christmas Parade RSVP
YWCA TOY DONATIONS
Royal Oak is collecting new and wrapped toys for the YWCA Women's shelter to help Niagara's most vulnerable celebrate a happy holiday this season. Please consider donation to spread the joy amongst our community this season!
Royal Oak’s “Fun-draiser” HOP and the Exchange Brewery
Royal Oak has partnered with two amazing local establishments, The Exchange Brewery and Henry of Pelham Winery, to boost fundraising for our school.
As the holidays grow nearer, we are asking our families who host or frequently are hosted, to consider purchasing any wine or beer for events or dinner parties through the organizations and links below.
An amazing 20% of all purchases will be gifted back to the school!
These purchases, which are a regular purchase for many of us throughout the holiday season, can help the school tremendously throughout November and December and all profits will be used to support student bursaries, new programming and special events here at ROCS. Deliveries of orders made before November 27 will be dropped at the school on December 2, and those after that date will be delivered by December 16.
We have also be sending out an email to each of our families today with the information provided here so you can easily forward the fundraiser to any family or friends you know who could help support this fundraising initiative.
Please consider raising a glass this season with The Exchange Brewery and/or Henry of Pelham to help Royal Oak!
Please use the link below to order your wine and be sure to use the code, ROYAL, at checkout to send your 20% donation directly to Royal Oak!
The Exchange Brewery's delicious and wide array or beers for the season are included in this amazing fundraiser and can be ordered by emailing and sending in the completed spreadsheet below.
WINTER SEASON REMINDERS |
We wanted to pass along some important updates for the weeks ahead as we navigate winter weather once again, and also the respiratory viruses that come along with the season. Absentee rates have been incredibly high over the last few weeks and using every layer of protection we have at our disposal is the best way to navigate a very difficult cold and flu season ahead.
Washing hands, coughing or sneezing into sleeves and keeping personal space in and out of the classroom is always enforced, and we will carefully monitor students for symptoms at school and ask that all families continue to keep children home if they are sick.
As we move into January and the wintery weather, we want to remind families that Royal Oak's policy on these potential snow days is to open if we can safely ask our families and staff to navigate the roads. We check Niagara Regional Police reports on road conditions, speak with staff members by 6:00 am who come from areas like Welland and Port Colborne and also watch the weather reports closely. With that said, if Royal Oak needs to close for a snow day due to unsafe road and weather conditions, you will receive a full school email and Toddle by 6:45am, alerting you to the closure. On the first day of a closure, we will have a true "Snow Day" with no online school operating. If inclement weather goes beyond one day, we will activate online learning and use Toddle for remote lessons, and your child's classroom teacher will be in touch the evening before to share the plan.
Brock Teacher Candidates at Royal Oak
Royal Oak has worked closely with Brock University for the past four years, mentoring students in the Faculty of Education in their Teacher Education Program. We take great pride in sharing the craft of teaching with these future educators, and are happy to welcome two Brock Teacher Candidates (TC’s) over the next few weeks, and again after the holidays.
Shannon Hamilton is placed in the French classroom, and will work with each of our children to assist in their French learning, and James Witt, will be assisting in the Primary classroom. Please be sure to say hello and help them feel welcome in the ROCS community!
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
For the second year in a row, ROCS hosted the Scholastic Book Fair in our front lobby. Students were thrilled to check out the collection of books and school supplies that were sent. The school gets a portion of the proceeds of the purchases that are made to buy books for our classrooms and the library. A big thank you to Ms. Robin and Ms. Dennis for organizing such a fantastic event.
ATTENTION: No Aftercare on Tuesday December 17! |
We wanted to give as much advance notice as possible that there will be no aftercare running on Tuesday, December 17. The staff will be taking part in a special staff meeting that requires all faculty to attend, and we ask that you arrange back up care for this one afternoon.
UPCOMING AT ROCS : SAVE THE DATES
Parent Date Night/ Movie Night - Friday, December 6th , 5 to 9pm
ROCS Winter Concert- Thursday, December 12th , 6 to 7:30pm
NOTL Christmas Parade- Saturday, December 14th @ 10am
ROCS Pizza/PJ/Movie Day- Friday, December 20th
ROCS Winter Break- Monday, December 23rd to January 3rd, 2025
ROCS Winter Break Day Camp- December 30, 31, January 2, 3
Winter Club Term January 20th to March 3rd
ROCS PD day- Friday, February 14th
Seussical the Musical - Friday, February 28th
DECEMBER 2024 |
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