January Ryerson P.S.

749 Grand Valley Drive

2011

Attendance Line: 519-570-8123 X 3726 School Line 519-

653-5532
Principal: Mr. Peter Berndt Office Manger: Mrs.
Brenda Johnson

School Council President: Mrs. Amy Willard-Brown

Principal’s Message Special Dates

Happy New Year and welcome to 2011! It is always good Jan 12 1st NB Gateway Lunch
to have some change take place and being away from the
normal routine of school has seemed to have refreshed Jan 12 School Council @ 6:45 pm
both students and staff as I look around the school. It has
been one of the busiest fall terms of school I can ever Jan 13 Our last day with our secretary,
remember and it is nice to see everyone quickly settling in Mrs. Johnson and our custodian
to an already established routine during this first week Mrs. Collins
back.
Jan 13 1st NB Pizza Lunch
Please continue to actively be involved in what your child
is learning each day by checking over the mail bag or Jan 14 PD Day – No school
planner that comes to you. Reading over this material,
signing to indicate you have reviewed it and discussing Jan 19 Gr. 1-6 Skating
the learning that took place that day with your child are
key parts to encourage a positive educational experience Jan 21 1st NB Pizza Lunch
for your child. These are simple things to do, but they
have significant results. Jan 26 1st NB Gateway Lunch
It was an odd feeling to have left a school surrounded by Jan 26 Gr. 1-6 Skating
snow banks prior to the holidays, and to return to grass
fields. This change of weather has seen many of our Jan 28 1st NB Pizza Lunch
students come to school without boots, or other winter
wear. Now that the snow is back with us, please help Jan 29 Ryerson’s Cambridge Winterhawk night –
ensure that your child is properly dressed for outdoor play Plan for your whole family to attend!
in the snow.
Feb 2 PD Day - No School
As was mentioned in last month’s newsletter, Mrs.
Johnson, our Head Secretary, will retire on January 13 and Feb 3 Character Education Assembly
Mrs. Collins our Head Custodian will be moving to
Preston High School. Our school will definitely feel the Feb 9 School Council @ 6:45 pm
loss of these two key and valuable members. On behalf of
all the staff, students and parents, I would like to wish Feb 11 1st Term Report Cards go home for
them all the best as they enter new chapters in their lives! Kindergarten to Grade 6
Sincerely, Feb 16 & 17 Kindergarten Registration
Mr. Peter Berndt

Feb 21 Family Day – No School
Holiday Concerts at Ryerson
December 15th and 16th were
exciting days at Ryerson Public
School as our students presented
2 FANTASTIC Holiday
Concerts! Our amazing
Kindergarten classes, Primary
Pod Choir, Primary Choir and
Junior Choir showcased their
fantastic singing voices. Room 4 shared a very
meaningful presentation of Holiday Celebrations around
the world. Rooms 3 and 5 demonstrated their singing and
dancing talents in an Israeli folk song and dance. Students
in Room 20 created a wonderful video presentation.
Room 1 and 2 students shared their dancing and acting
abilities in "The Great Holiday Dance-Off". Such
wonderful talent at Ryerson Public School! Thank to all
of the families and friends who came to enjoy these
amazing concerts! Congratulations to all of our Ryerson
Raptors!
IBA Action - It's Fantastic!
By Mr. Grant, Ms. Nichol, and Ms. Bates
For a five week period in December and January, a junior
intramural league has been created open to all junior boys
and girls: the IBA (Indian Basketball Association). The
league has over 80 junior participants divided into 5
teams: the Mercury, Fever, Shock, Mystics and Storm.
Each team will play one another once in a round-robin
schedule, and then there will be semi-finals between the
1st and 4th place teams, and the 2nd and 3rd place team.
After all this, there will be a championship game between
the winner of each semi-final. These games are all
followed by some thrilling announcements over the P.A.
lead by Mr. Berndt, where game highlights are read with
enthusiasm and students gain a "sporty" nickname to
distinguish their skills. The benefits of intramurals are
numerous, ranging from increasing the physical activity
level of our kids to improving their sense of self-esteem
and self worth. The goal is to provide numerous sports and
leagues throughout the year, getting
more juniors active and engaged in
organized physical activities. Looking
forward to a great season, and more
fun to come throughout the year.
French Carnival
We are thrilled to announce that Ryerson will be
hosting a French Carnival D'hiver on Thursday
February 24th 2011. Students will be learning
about the famous Quebec Carnival leading up to
that date in class. We ask that you send your
child to school on the 24th with a warm winter
coat, snow pants, a hat, a good pair of mittens
and a scarf to ensure they stay warm at the
outdoor activities. If you have any questions
please contact Mme. Pedersen. Joyeux Carnival!
Character Education
In December, the focus of our Character
Education Program at Ryerson was
FLEXIBILITY. We would like to recognize
the Students of the Month for December,
who did an excellent job demonstrating
“FLEXIBILITY” as well as the other keys:
Mrs. Fowler (JK/SK): Mackenzie L.
Mrs. Haefling (JK/SK): Davin C.
Mrs. Mielen (JK/SK): Kenzie F.
Mrs. Edgell (JK/SK): Haniya
Mrs. Kewley (Gr. 1): Paige O.
Miss Bates (Gr.1): Arzoo S.
Mrs. McKinnon (Gr. 1/2): Sameer M.
Mrs. Fox (Gr.2): Yina G.
Mr. Wells (Gr. 2/3): Briana B.
Miss McMullen (Gr.3): Keya P.
Miss Kiefer (Gr.3): Asher W.
Mrs. Doerner (Gr.4/5): Khoi N. and Navya R.
Ms. Piraino-Crandon (Gr. 4): Ryan G.
Ms. Bates (Gr.5): Lillie N.
Mr. Grant (Gr.6): Jaclyn M.
Ms. Gill (Gillville): Matthew C.
Miss Nichol (Enrichment): Laura S.
The Focus Key for January is “SPEAK WITH GOOD
PURPOSE”, which is speaking honestly and kindly to
others, and taking responsibility for your words.
Kids Korner: We love Candy Canes!
By The Leadership Club
Over the last month the leadership club has been involved
in two big missions: PALS and Candy Cane Elves. First,
we have been very busy running PALS every Tuesday and
Thursday, giving primaries the chance to play cooperative
games during outside nutrition break. We have played
some awesome games like Octopus, What Time Is It Mr.
Wolf, and Cross Canada. At the end of December, we also
had our first PALS Penguin VIP party. A PALS penguin
is picked every PALS day, and it is a primary that plays
properly and respectfully during our games. We celebrate
them by having a PALS VIP party, where all the PALS
penguins from the month are invited to the library for a
nutrition break to get some treats and watch a movie
together. Way to go all those kids that were PALS
penguins!
Leadership club was also involved in helping room 2 in
their Candy Cane Elves fundraiser. We were all selling
Candy Canes for 25 cents in order to raise money for
families in need over the holidays. We were able to raise
an amazing $386 with all the great support from our
students and community. Awesome job
Ryerson! Hopefully, we were able to
make a difference for some families who are less fortunate
over the holiday season. Until next month, bye bye!
Report Cards
With the recent provincial changes to the report cards for
grades 1 to 6 we will all find that the month of January
will be a very busy month for everyone. Students will
continue to be actively involved in their learning as they
complete assignments and tests. Teachers will be focused
on summarizing the data they have been collecting and
writing report cards.
All classes, from Kindergarten to grade 6 will receive their
report cards on Friday February 11. For Kindergarten,
this will be their first report card of the year. For grades 1
to 6 this will be their second. The look and the format of
the report cards will be a bit different than in the past, but
for grades 1 to 6 it will contain specific grade levels for
each subject area and some parent and student friendly
language describing what was taught and how each child
is progressing in that area. We look forward to
communicating with you in this new format. A third
report card will follow at the end of June that will use the
same format as the one coming home in February.
PD Days
There are 2 PD Days coming up within the next few
weeks: Friday January 14 and Wednesday February 2.
On January 14th, your child’s teachers will be focused on
working on the assessment of your child and in the
process of writing report cards. On February 2nd, we as a
staff will learn more in the areas of non-fiction writing,
the learning patterns and habits of boys within our
classrooms and developing more skills with the use of the
technology within our school to enhance our teaching.
Kindergarten Registration
It is hard to believe that we are already starting to plan for
next school year. The first step in this process in every
school is to register NEW kindergarten students, and that
is happening next month! If you have a child who was
born in 2007, now is the time to register him/her to join us
at Ryerson for this coming September. Our official
registration days will be during the afternoon and evening
of February 16th and the morning of February 17th.
Please make a call to the school to set up a registration
meeting time where we can collect the information we
require about your child so that we can start to make plans
to welcome them for the coming school year. If you
know of a neighbour who does not have an older child
already at Ryerson and will not
receive this information, please
pass this information along to
them so that they too can register their child on the
appropriate days.
Cambridge Winterhawks
Hey, hey, hey fans! Come join us
for some family fun with the
Cambridge Winterhawks on
January 29, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at
Galt Area. The Tickets are 6.00
each and Ryerson will be running
a school fundraisers for them. There is an extra bonus for
attending families; it’s Skate with the Hawks night. Bring
your skates because after the game you can throw them on
and skate around with the Hawks.
The top three sellers will receive prizes for selling the
most tickets!
For more information please contact Karen Spreitzer at
Karen.spreitzer@sympatico.ca
Thank you for your support
School Council
Message from School Council
On behalf of school council, I hope that you enjoyed a
wonderful holiday with your family. Now that we are into
January, it is back into routines and back to work. For
school council that means taking a look at how our events
went in the fall and looking ahead to projects that we are
working on. Thanks to all the families that supported our
fall DFS fundraiser. We were able to raise money that
will be used for things such as increasing the number of
books in our home reading program and bussing for
events such as the upcoming skating.
The next School Council event is the Ryerson
Winterhawk’s night. This is a great evening where
Ryerson families take over a section at the Winterhawk’s
game and cheer on our hometown team. Watch for
upcoming information about how to order your tickets so
that your family can join us at this fun event.
Looking ahead, Ryerson will be hosting a spring Craft
Sale on April 30th. We are looking for vendors for this
sale. For more information, contact Amy Willard-Brown
at amy_willard-brown@wrdsb.on.ca or 519-622-1810.
 Parenting with Passion
2011 Winter Programs
Parenting Your Baby (0-2 years)
Welcoming to parenting! Share with other parents as you
explore your new role. Discuss parenting styles, positive
communication, and the importance of parental self-care
and skills that will build a strong relationship with your
child. This workshop id for parents of children 0-2 years
of age.
Mill Courtland Community Centre
216 Mill Street, Kitchener
Tuesday, Jan 18-Feb. 22
9:30 am – 11:30 am
Register online at kwcouncelling.com/eventlist
Parenting Your School Aged Child
Controlling the Volcano Within 8 Weeks
Many parents feel angry sometimes. Children feel angry
too! Join other parents and learn how to recognize your
own anger patterns, model healthier ways of expressing
anger and teach children to manage their emotions in
effective ways that will last a lifetime!.
K-W Counselling Services
480 Charles Street East, Kitchener
Tuesdays, Feb. 8- Apr 5
6:00-7:30 pm
Discipline by design 6 Weeks
Self-esteem, effective communication, and discipline
are the
building blocks of a rewarding parenting experience.
Learn to set realistic expectations/limits, encourage
cooperation, and stimulate responsibility and
independence. Design a parenting style that deepens
your relationship with your child now and for the
future.
Queen Elizabeth School
191 Hoffman Street, Kitchener
Wednesdays, Jan. 19 – Feb. 23
7:00-9:30pm
Call to Register 519-884-0000
Multicultural Parenting Groups
Learn ways to improve communication, discipline,
self-esteem and more! Join other parents to share the
challenges of maintaining your culture while parenting
children in Canada.
Mandarin - Raising Successful
Children in Two
Cultures 6 weeks
Grand River Chinese School at
Resurrection High School
455 University Avenue West, Kitchener
Saturdays, Jan. 22 – Mar. 5
9:45-11:45 am Note: No Class Feb. 19
Parenting programs available in Polish, Portuguese,
Somali, your specific needs. Arabic, Spanish, Chinese,
Hindu, Urdu, Punjabi, Sinhali, Tamil, Serbo-Croation as
requested. If you have an identified group of parents,
let us know and we can arrange programs that meet
Call to register 519-884-0000
Sharpen Your Parenting Skills in a
Day
The Heart of Parenting One Day
Workshop
Every parent knows the importance of equipping
children with
the intellectual skills they need to succeed in school
and in life. But children also need to master their
emotions. This workshop will provide the opportunity
to:
• Understand the consequences of failing to learn the
basics
of emotional intelligence.
• Assess your current emotional coaching style.
• Learn the steps of emotion coaching so that you can
raise
an emotionally intelligent child.
K-W Counselling Services
480 Charles Street East, Kitchener
Friday, Feb. 11
9:00 am-4:00 pm
Register Online at kwcouncelling.com/eventlist
Temper Taming:
Just for Kids!
Anger is a powerful emotion. Sometimes it’s hard to
control, and sometimes it becomes destructive. But,
properly understood and managed, anger can be healthy
and constructive. These groups provide a ‘tool kit’ of
strategies for successful problem solving. Children also
learn about ‘triggers’, relaxation and positive
communication. Note: parents and children are required to
meet with group leaders before acceptance into the group.
K-W Counselling Services
480 Charles Street East,
Kitchener
Primary (6-8 years)
Tuesdays, Feb. 8- Apr 5
6:00-7:30 pm
Junior (9-11 years)
Tuesdays, Feb. 8- Apr 5
6:00-7:30 pm

Teen (12-14 years)

Wednesdays, Feb. 9 – Apr. 6