Spring at Royal Oak! April 2026

Dear Royal Oak Families,

As we move fully into the energy and renewal of spring, I am delighted to share that our re-enrollment process is now largely wrapped up. We are incredibly grateful for the continued trust you place in our school, and for the strong sense of community that defines Royal Oak. With next year’s cohort taking shape, our team is already deeply engaged in thoughtful planning—considering class structures, staffing, and programming enhancements that will allow us to continue delivering the highly individualized, experiential education that makes our school so special. There is a genuine sense of excitement and momentum building as we look ahead.

Though we welcome back all our classroom teachers, we are saying “see you later” to Ms. Paris, who is returning to the classroom to extend her own education next year! Paris will continue to volunteer in our classrooms, supply teach when possible, and also be a lead staff member in our Summer Academy as she has done in past years. We are thrilled to welcome a new Physical Education teacher to our staff to replace Ms. Paris, and Rosaly Petriello will be joining us as our full time Physical Education teacher and Early Childhood Educator in the Early Years class. Please read more below about her amazing professional accomplishments, both athletic and academic!

Across our classrooms, this season has inspired rich, interconnected learning centered on nature, biodiversity, and plant life. Students are exploring these themes through inquiry, observation, and hands-on experiences that bring science and environmental stewardship to life. Whether studying our local ecosystems, planting seedlings, or documenting seasonal changes, our learners are developing both academic understanding and a deep appreciation for the natural world. This work will soon extend beyond the classroom as we prepare for immersive local experiences, including visits to the Tulip Farm, and the launch of a Niagara-on-the-Lake garden in partnership with United Way and Niagara College. These opportunities allow students to engage meaningfully with their community while contributing to something lasting and impactful.

Our commitment to experiential, place-based learning continues with an upcoming full-day field trip to Brock University as part of their PALS (Physical Activity and Learning Sessions) program. This initiative is designed to integrate movement with academic learning, supporting cognitive development, well-being, and engagement. Students benefit from access to university facilities, mentorship from teacher candidates, and thoughtfully designed programming that reinforces both literacy and numeracy through active participation. Experiences like these not only deepen learning but also help students envision themselves as future learners within broader educational communities.

As we approach the end of the academic year, students will also participate in CAT-5 academic assessments throughout May. These assessments provide valuable insight into student growth across key areas of learning and help inform our instructional planning. We look forward to discussing the full comprehensive picture of each child’s progress, during our upcoming Parent-Teacher Interviews on May 14 and 15. Online sign up links have been shared by classroom teachers, and we look forward to these important meetings to share the incredible growth of your children at Royal Oak this year.

As always, we are grateful for your partnership and look forward to continuing this journey together through a vibrant and inspiring final term.

Warm regards,

Julia

Julia Murray, Head of School

Good bye Paris, welcome Rosaly Petrielli!

Paris has been an incredible addition to the Royal Oak teaching team, leading our clubs, extracurriculars and physical education programming with energy and creativity. She will be greatly missed, though we know she will never be too far away.

We are so excited to welcome Rosaly to our faculty team. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she earned a full Division I soccer scholarship, and completed her degree in Early Childhood Education. Following her time with the "Crimson Tide", she worked for 12 years as an Early Childhood Educator with the Niagara Catholic District School Board. Inspired to further her impact in the classroom, she pursued a Bachelor of Education at Brock University, specializing in the Primary/Junior divisions.

In addition to her work in education, she is the founder of RP Skills Training, a soccer development program dedicated to enhancing athletes’ technical skills, game understanding, and overall performance. Through this program, she works with a variety of clubs, teams, and individual players to support their growth and success in the sport of soccer.

Working with children, both in the classroom and on the field, is Rosaly's passion, and we can't wait for your children to experience this passion!

Important Reminders & Information

It is the time of year for the ROCS BIG Community Bake Sale! This is the 4th year for this event that raises money for students to attend Camp Wenonah and Week Without Walls. Each student that volunteers will get a portion of the money raised to use towards the trips. In the past, we have raised more than $2500 from the event. Come out Saturday, May 9th anytime between 9am to 3pm and please share widely with family and friends!

If you haven't already, please complete this form to volunteer or donate baked goods.

Pizza Party

We are excited to host a Pizza Party fundraiser for Camp Wenonah! Sign your child up for 3 hours of fun from 4-7pm on Thursday, May 14th. Remember, this is affordable babysitting during your parent-teacher conferences! The party includes a trip to memorial park for games, dinner and an art activity. Cost is $25/student.

Thank you to David Clemmer and Stephane Aubin for donating the party!

SIGN UP HERE

ROCS Summer Academy Still Has Spots Available!

Keep learning going all summer long at ROCS Summer Academy! Our program offers a fun, engaging environment where students going into JK-Grade 3 continue to build skills, stay curious, and grow in confidence—without it feeling like school. Give your child a summer experience that goes beyond camp—one that supports their development, nurtures their interests, and sets them up for success. New families and those who refer them get a 10% discount on one week of camp, so please spread the word! Spots are limited (and filling quickly)—don’t miss out! Register HERE!

Did you know? Niagara Health Offers Free Eye Exams

See the message below for information about how to get an annual free eye exam for your child.

The links for more information are below:

1. Eye doctor near you (https://optom.on.ca/find/)

2. Vision Health - Niagara Region, Ontario

(https://www.niagararegion.ca/health/schools/vision-screening.aspx)

Signing up for National Music Camp of Canada Supports Royal Oak & You Get a Discount

Royal Oak is proud to be part of the National Music Camp of Canada’s School Partnership Program. The more students who register from our school, the greater the savings for each family—and the more financial support our music program receives!

National Music Camp is a week-long experience for students completing Grades 3–8, offering a wide range of programs including band, strings, beginner instruments (winds, brass, percussion, strings, and guitar), Suzuki strings, classical and acoustic guitar, musical theatre, jazz band, ukulele, and drumline.

Students with at least one year of experience can join band, orchestra, Suzuki strings, or junior jazz, while beginners are welcome in programs such as musical theatre, beginner instruments, guitar, ukulele, and drumline—no prior experience required.

Please reach out to Mrs.Hill if you have any questions about NMC, and to let her know if you register your child in order for us to receive the cutback for our program , and for you to receive your discount. Students must be registered by June 1st to receive the incentives. For more information, you can also check out www.nationalmusiccamp.com

Attention Soccer Fanatics!

2 opportunities for soccer camps this summer:

RP Skills Summer Camp

Our amazing new Phys. Ed. teacher, Rosaly Petriello, offers summer clinics for soccer enthusiasts. It will be at Fairhaven Park in St. Catharines near Martindale Road and First St. Louth. The first week is sold out, but there is still space in the other weeks.

Call the number below to inquire!

NOTL Soccer Club Registration

Niagara-on-the-Lake Soccer Club’s 2026 Summer Season registration is now open and will remain available until May 8. If you’re interested in having your child(ren) participate, the season begins on May 23 and runs through the end of August.

The season will begin with an Opening Festival on Saturday, May 23, featuring complimentary player and goalkeeper development sessions. A BBQ will also be available for families.

For more information and to register, please visit www.notlsoccer.ca

Spring Fun at Royal Oak!

The Chateau Affair Raised $7000

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the organizers of The Chateau Affair fundraiser on March 28th, for creating such a memorable and meaningful evening in support of our school. Special thanks to Sarah Schoepfer for her incredible dedication and enthusiasm in leading the organization of this event. Thank you to Jillian, Heather, Ana, Jen, Robin, and Syreeta for helping bring this event to life, and of course, to our brilliant in-house actors, Mrs. Hill and Ms N! We are thrilled to share that, together, we raised $7000 in support of our bursary fund, offering support to any family that wishes to join our school but doesn't have the financial means. We are equally grateful to all the parents and our community who attended and contributed; your presence and generosity continue to strengthen our community and make a lasting impact.

Royal Oak Character Award Winners for April

On April 24th, ROCS students were treated to a wonderful and collaborative school assembly celebrating those students who have displayed our character traits for March and April, Respect and Responsibility. Skits and presentations were performed by the Early Years and Junior Middle Classes, while Ms. Julia connected these traits to Earth Day - discussing the the responsibility and respect needed for our environment. With a musical performance of "R E S P E C T" by the Early Years and the Junior Middle sharing actions that demonstrate responsibility, it was a amazing afternoon. Congratulations to all our class character award winners for March and April!

Early Years: Oskar F. & Ava Q.

Primary 1: Emmett B, Malcolm H. & Robert L.

Primary 2: Angus L. & Athena L.

Junior Middle: Jack F. & Emi B.

Upper Middle: Seren K. & Grayson K.

Lots of Fun Inside Our Classrooms in March and April

Middle School

What an exciting and energetic couple of months it’s been in the Middle School wing! Our classrooms have been full of hands-on learning, lively discussions, creative problem-solving, and focused engagement. With just two months left in the school year, we’ve also been making the most of the warmer weather and sunshine—bringing fresh energy into our days!

Junior Middle

The Junior Middle class has been buzzing with curiosity as we explored the Human Body through an integrated approach combining Technology, Science, Math, and Language. Students wrapped up their study of the digestive and circulatory systems in creative and memorable ways. From building marble runs to model how food moves through the digestive system, to performing “heart operations” where they solved math problems to remove blockages in jelly hearts, learning truly came to life! To conclude the unit, students wrote thoughtful final essays on a body system of their choice. We proudly celebrated their hard work with a special “graduation” from the Royal Oak School of Medicine (ROSM)! It has been wonderful to see their curiosity grow, especially around how we can keep our bodies healthy. Looking ahead, the class is diving into States of Matter—paired with an exciting Harry Potter novel study!

In Mathematics, students have been developing their understanding of measurement, applying their skills in meaningful ways such as measuring bandages for real-world scenarios. They’ve explored length, angles, area, and perimeter, and have especially enjoyed using hands-on tools like LEGO to bring their learning to life. This unit will continue into May as students deepen their understanding.

The Junior Middle Language Arts classes have been busy with writing book reports and learning about proper report writing. Students researched and wrote about the human body systems that they learned about in Science this past month. Students have also been reading the book “Restart” by Gordan Korman, and focusing on character studies for the book.

Our Social Studies class has been learning about the impact of Canadian imports and exports and how Canada competes on a global scale. We will continue learning about Canada and its relationship with other countries, and how our country shows its global responsibility.

Upper Middle

The Upper Middle class has been looking toward the future by exploring sustainable building practices across Canada. From British Columbia to Quebec, students investigated how communities are designing more environmentally friendly structures. They wrapped up their Form, Function, and Design of Structures unit by examining ergonomics and how thoughtful design supports people’s needs. As a fun and creative challenge, students designed ergonomic chairs for dolls—showcasing both innovation and practical thinking!

Now, the class is transitioning into a new Science unit on Pure Substances and Mixtures. In Mathematics, students have been making great progress—wrapping up measurement and moving into patterning and algebra. They are currently learning how to balance equations and use pattern rules to predict future terms, building strong foundations for more advanced mathematical thinking.

The Upper Middle Language class is busy with our novel study, “Life As We Knew It”. The students are focusing on story comprehension and thinking deeply about character impacts and story arcs. They will be moving onto Canadian literature for the month May.

In History & Geography, students are looking at the history of migration into Canada and North America. The class is learning about how immigration to Canada was key to opening up and settling the west, and will end the year looking at modern immigration to Canada and how it helped to shape today's population.

It’s been a fantastic stretch of learning, creativity, and growth—and we’re looking forward to finishing the year just as strong!

Primary 2/3

What an exciting month April has been! With the weather warming up and nature in bloom, everyday has been filled with amazing opportunities and growing minds. Primary 2 has been busy with lots of hands-on learning and creative projects.

In Language, we have been exploring non-fiction writing. Looking at various examples in connection with our inquiry unit regarding plants and animals. Students have been working very hard in creating their own non-fiction texts as well. Researching and writing about their favorite animals and the habitat in which it lives. Primary 2 has also been doing an exceptional job at our daily Heggery practice. Students are engaged and are demonstrating a great understanding of various prefixes, suffixes, and base words.

In Math, Primary 2 dove into Data Management and Probability this month. Learning about various types of graphs, how to interpret data, and how to collect data. As a culminating project, students worked to collect, organize, and interpret data that would help them run a hypothetical pet business. We also explored probability! Using likelihood terms to make predictions and understanding the difference between theoretical probability and experimental probability through math stories and running our own probability experiments. We also have been talking about what equal means. Students have used multiple forms of media to understand what equal means and how to apply it to their mathematical thinking.

This month, Primary 2 has been learning about the life cycle of plants and parts of plants including what chlorophyll is, pollination, photosynthesis, and seed dispersal. At the beginning of the month we germinated lima beans. Being able to watch them sprout and transfer them to pots has been a great hands-on learning experience for students as we were able to see each stage of a plant's life cycle in real time.

April has been a month jam packed with learning and great hands-on educational experiences for students. I am excited to continue this momentum in May with many more opportunities to build on our learning..

Primary 1/2

It is amazing to realize that we are so close to the end of the year! What an incredible year I have had with the children. We have all learned so much and will continue to keep learning right up to the last day of school.

March and April have been extremely busy and productive months in Primary. The students who entered the doors on the first day of school are now independent, capable students who demonstrate an eagerness and willingness to engage in meaningful learning experiences each and every day. These two months have seen the students complete activities in our Our Water, Our Life unit. Students were given the opportunity to design and construct a water filtration system, which they tested with melted snow water, and to use the scientific method to see the effects of oil spills on birds and mammals.

They are currently learning about Energy in our Lives. To understand sound energy, students built a guitar from a tissue box, which they have enjoyed ‘playing’ for their classmates. In order to realize the importance of sun energy in plant growth, the Primary students have been busy observing and recording the changes in two plants, one in sunlight and one in the dark. Some unexpected observations have been recorded and students have hypothesized about our results.

Our Literacy lessons have been filled with ample opportunities to read in small group settings and write meaningful texts. One of the best experiences in Primary is the reading of the classic tale of Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Students are always eager to listen to the next chapter of this novel and orally answer comprehension questions to test their knowledge of the text. Relating the events of Charlotte, Wilbur and all of the characters to their real life experience has been the focus of Journal Writing in the month of April.

The students have also been learning about the difference between non-fiction and fiction writing. The children have learned about the features found in non-fiction texts and the importance of these features to locate specific information and clarify understanding of new concepts. They will be using this knowledge to complete a research project about an animal of their choice, focusing on the animal's growth and changes.

Data collection, graph construction and data analysis have been the focus of our math lessons this month. Students developed a question of interest, surveyed their classmates, and created a bar graph and pictograph. Our class learned so much about our peers, including their favourite winter Olympic sports, favourite breakfast foods, favourite snakes and favourite forest animals. Math centres have become an important part of our math lessons, with students eagerly engaging in fact fluency activities, hands-on games with a partner and small-group teacher time on specific math concepts. Moving forward, students will be exploring concepts in measurement, fractions and multiplication/division.

In physical education with Ms. Paris, the Primary students completed a unit of Artistic Gymnastics, where they refined their jumping, landing, and coordination , and are now moving into a unit of Volleyball. In French class with Madame, Primary 1 students studied spring themed vocabulary, while working on their reading skills, pronunciation and recognition of phonemes.

So much learning is still planned, right to the end of the year!!

Early Years

Happy April, everyone! I truly hope you’re enjoying spring as much as we are in Early Years! This is one of my favourite times of the year!

There has been a lot happening in our class since the last monthly update. In Literacy, we have continued talking about word families using the short vowel sounds. We’ve also continued our daily Heggerty lessons. These have started including words with 4 sounds and encoding words (where the students are given letter sounds and they need to identify which letter makes each sound to spell and sound out words on the board). Finally, we’ve been working on the parts of a sentence and learning how to write them.

In Math, we started the month learning about comparing numbers, where the students had to determine larger and smaller numbers. Then, we learned about the different types of coins we have in Canadian money. Currently, we’re exploring 3D shapes and finding them in the world around us! In Inquiry, we’ve been learning all about nature. We started by talking about plant and insect life cycles. The end of the month brought lessons about Earth Day and how we can take care of the planet. Next we'll be diving into the different categories of animals.

The final stretch of the year will be jam-packed with exciting activities and field trips! We'll have a trip to Brock University for their PALS Program, the United Way garden at Niagara College to plant beans, engage in a Wilderness Activity about pollinators, and also head to Niagara's Safety Village. Not to mention Week Without Walls, which is sure to be a highlight of the year! I can't wait!

May Save the Dates

We have a busy month ahead of us! Check the dates and the calendar below for important dates.

May 4th: Tulip Farm Field Trip. Watch Toddle for pick-up information.

May 8th: PALS Brock University Trip. Watch Toddle for drop-off information

May 9th: ROCS Big Community Bake Sale, fundraising for Camp.

May 14th: Pizza Party

May 14/15th: Parent/Teacher conferences

May 15th: PD Day

May 29th: Dress Down/Pizza Day and field trip

June 1st: Camp Wenonah and Week Without Walls begin!