PLOWMAN’S PARK P.S.
5940 Montevideo Road
Mississauga, ON L5N 3J5
905-821-4973 Attendance: call 1-855-209-6155 before 8:45am
SCHOOL WEBSITE
TWITTER: Plowman’s Park P.S. @PlowmansPS2016
Partners in learning: Working together today for a global tomorrow.
Respect Safety Peace
September 2017
Principal’s Message
I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome Plowman’s families back after the summer and welcome our new families that have joined us I hope everyone had an amazing summer filled with family and fun!
Last week’s start-up was the best I have ever experienced – students, staff, and our community created, contributed to, and enjoyed a positive and welcoming atmosphere. I want to thank our custodians and office staff for the incredible job they did to get our school ready and get everything organized for a smooth first week. I want to thank our staff for the thought, time, enthusiasm, and energy that they put into getting their classrooms and learning environments ready for our students.
There are so many exciting things happening at and coming to Plowman’s! Our LEGO Wall has been created over the summer and is ready for students to use – we are asking for any LEGO donations to support our students building and learning. We have been adopted by Indigo Erin Mills through the Adopt-A-School Program from September 16th - October 8th. Donations both in-store and online for Plowman’s Park will be accepted during this time period. Donators in-store will receive a bookmark decorated by a Plowman’s student with their donation as well as the opportunity to post their name on the donation wall at Indigo Erin Mills. There will be a letter sent out to families to explain more of the program. ‘Welcome Wednesdays’ are coming in October when parents are invited into school from 9-10 am one Wednesday a month to discuss a variety of topics – stay tuned
In September, we are looking forward to our Terry Fox Walk/Run on September 22nd and hope to raise money with our Toonies For Terry. We will also be having our first Houses activity on September 29th for students.
As you know, Re-organization day is on September 26th and there is no school for students on that day. If Plowman’s will be re-organizing its classes, families will receive a letter to indicate if their child(ren) have been placed into a different class for the school year. The newly created classes are established at the Board level ensuring that all classes in the Board meet the Ministry mandates for class size.
Please join us on Twitter at @PlowmansPS2016
Welcome back to the 2017-2018 school year at Plowman’s Park P.S. We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead! We are off to a great start and we welcome all our new families and look forward to working as partners in learning with you.We wish you and your family a wonderful start to a great new school year! Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or the office if we can be of any assistance.
This year we extend a warm welcome to new staff members!
Sandra Brito, TA
Rose Brown, Sp. Ed. Planning Time
Chelsea Carney, Gr. 2
Kerri-Ann Chirrey, ISSP
Monika Grewal, Grade 5/6
Roberta Heino, Grade 1
Arshi Ikram – LTO Gr. 4 and French
Ashley Overgaard, Grade 4 and French
Jane Prophet, Grade 4 and ESL
Shaista Rabab, DECE
Katie Spurgiasz, Music
Christian Stepien, Grade 1
Erica Tutte, ESL
We have sucha great team at Plowman’s Park and we have been fortunate to continue this excellence with the addition of these staff members.
SCHOOL HOURS
School instructional time for students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 begins at 8:45 a.m., with the entry bell ringing at 8:40 a.m. It is important for students to settle quickly into their morning routines so that every minute can be used effectively, thus maximizing student learning.
We like all students to have entered the building and be in their classrooms by 8:45 am sharp, ready for announcements for the day. An ideal arrival time is between 8:30-8:40 am. Thank you for supporting our school in this and meeting our goal of achieving MAXIMUM LEARNING TIME FOR ALL! Our school day ends at 3:15 pm. To avoid disruptions to classes and missed instructional time, please do not pick up your child before dismissal time. Students who must be picked up early throughout the day for appointments will be called to the officeONCE THE PARENT ARRIVES.
REPORTING ABSENCES:
All parents/guardians need to report their children’s full-day absences, late arrivals and/or early departures from school via theautomated SafeArrivalphone number at
1-855-209-6155, online at pdsb.schoolconnects.com, or by downloading the mobile app for Apple and Android devices. For absences longer than 5 consecutive school days, please contact the school office.Parents MUST remain on the line until they receive a confirmation number otherwise the system will not register the absence and the system will contact you until reached. Absences must be report BEFORE 8:45 AM on the date of the absence. Magnets containing the new phone number were sent home inside the report card envelope in June. Please contact the school if you require a magnet.
Parents who have not already created a login can visit pdsb.schoolconnects.com and choose CREATE LOGIN to create your account and receive login credentials that can be used online or with the mobile app. Parents need to have a cell phone that is capable of receiving text messages to complete the setup process. The cell phone number must be on file with the school. All three options are available 24 hours a day.
There is no longer an absence reporting phone line at school. If you have any questions or require any assistance, contact the school directly.
PLEASE DO NOT WAIT FOR THE SYSTEM TO CALL YOU! This creates additional workload for our office staff and delays ensuring all students are accounted for. Please take the time to report your child’s absence in advance. Thank you.
Pay school fees online—register today!
The Peel District School Board is excited to announce that your child’s school now offers a new, preferred method of payment for all school fees. School Cash Online is a safe and secure form of online payment that allows you to pay for your child’s school items, like field trips and pizza days, from your computer or smartphone using eCheck, Visa or MasterCard.
Register now
By registering, you’ll have the ability to:
- Keep track of your children’s school item and activity fees
- Check account history
- Print or view receipts
- Make donations to school fundraisers online and instantly receive a tax receipt
- Pay for school fees with the click of a button
For more information and to register, visit If you have any questions, please contact the school directly.
SCHOOL DRIVEWAY
The driveway at the front of the school is a FIRE ROUTE as well as our bus
loading/unloading zone. Parents are asked not to park at the front of the school.
Instead, please park at the church parking lot when coming into the school. Cars parked in the fire route are subject to a ticket from the City of Mississauga. Thank you for your cooperation.
STUDENT LUNCHES:
Our lunch hour takes place from 12:00 – 12:30 pm followed by supervised outdoor recess
from 12:30 – 1:00 pm. If you are dropping off lunch for your child, please ensure that you have it to the office BEFORE 12:00 p.m. Please remember to pack the necessary cutlery in your child’s lunch. Students will not be called to the office prior to 12:00 to pick up their lunch.
NO SCENTS IS GOOD SENSE:
Plowman’s Park is a scent free building. All staff, students, and visitors at Plowman's Park
are asked to contribute to a healthy indoor air environment by not using perfumes, colognes or
other scented products when coming into the school.
SAFETY FOR STUDENTS WITH SEVERE ALLERGIES
The Peel District School Board works hard to ensure students with severe allergies are safe at school. If your child has anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction to a food, insect bites or medication, please contact the office. A copy of the Peel Board's Anaphylaxis Guideline is available at:
We have a number of students and staff at our school with severe or life-threatening allergies to peanuts, nuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish, and fish. We ask that you help by choosing lunches and snacks for your child that are sensitive to common food allergies. If a food label reads "May contain nuts or peanuts" please do not send this item to school. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school office.
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION OF PEEL REGION
STOPR Web Site information for Bus Transportation
The STOPR web site is available to you 24 hours per day, 7 days per week at: Telephone contact: (905) 890-6000
Our web site is your source for the most up to date transportation information such as bus delays and cancellations as well it can provide you with important information such as “what school do I attend” and “am I eligible for transportation”. In addition, from our web site you can also access important school bus safety information as well as “Transportation Procedures”, “Forms”, Courtesy Seats” and “frequently asked questions concerning student transportation”.
Parents can also access their children’s bus route information and details through the web site by clicking on the “Your Child’s Busing Information” tab located on the main page. You will need your child’s Ontario Educational Number (OEN), home address, school and grade in order to retrieve your child’s bus information from the web site.
Parents can sign-up to receive automatic e-mail notifications of delays or cancellations for their children’s bus run. Parents should go to and click on the “bus delays and cancellations” link and then click “subscriptions” to sign-up for this service.
SAFE SCHOOL WELCOME AND SCHOOL VISITORS
As part of the Safe School Welcome, all outside doors including the front entrance of the school are locked during the school day. ALL Volunteers and Visitors MUST enter through the front door, sign in at the main office and pick up a Visitor pass prior to proceeding to the classrooms. These passes alert staff and students that you have checked in at the office. These measures help us to identify anyone who may be a stranger or intruder within the school. If you are visiting our school please enter the school through the front doors and come to the main office to sign in.
KISS AND RIDE & PARKING LOT
Please use the Kiss and Ride lane and continue to cycle through until your students are at the 'Pickup Point' identified by a staff member in an orange vest. Please do not park in the rear parking lot between 3:20-3:40 pm. Please note that buses are the only vehicles which are permitted to use the front of the school for drop off.
Since we are a “walking community” we have a large majority of our parents who walk to school with their children and pick them up at the end of the day by walking to school. Walking families are asked to please continue to wait outside of the building and use the back of the school or the west side to meet your child. Please do not walk through the vehicle lanes used for the Kiss and Ride program.
If you are dropping off Kindergarten students, please park at the Church on the West side and walk with your child to the Kindergarten area.
Join us and FOLLOW US on Twitter @PlowmansPS2016 to get updates and see pictures of the great activities happening at Plowman’s Park as well as to find out about upcoming events. Also, you can find many of our staff on Twitter and what they are doing in their classrooms through @PlowmansPS2016.
PETS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY
We are asking your assistance in keeping your pets off school property. Some of our students suffer allergies to pets and this will help ensure the health and safety of all students and staff. Thank you.
AGENDAS
This year all students in Grades one through six will receive agendas. The agenda helps to provide a framework for organization and work completion: two key components of the foundation for good learning. Please encourage your child to share the agenda with you daily. The agenda is also a way to communicate with your child's teacher on a regular basis. Working together is the key to student success.
FRIDAY FOLDERS
We do our best to keep parents informed about activities, curriculum, special events, safety issues, etc. that affect our students and the community. We will continue to use the Friday Folder program this year to send home important information to parents. School and Board communication will be sent home on Fridays only (with the exception of more urgent items which may be periodically sent home on other days). Please also see our school website for an online newsletter:
WE ARE BUCKET FILLERS AT PLOWMAN’S PARK!
We all carry an invisible bucket. This bucket contains our feelings. When our bucket is full, we feel great; when it’s empty, we feel empty. A bucket filler is someone who says or does nice things for other people. By doing this, they are filling other people’s buckets and filling their own bucket at the same time. We continue to promote the Peel Character Attributes of caring, honesty, inclusivity, respect, cooperation, and responsibility through our Bucket Filling and monthly Character Assemblies.
SCHOOL COUNCIL
The School Council is an advisory committee which serves our school and the students of Plowman's Park. The School Council meetings are open to all parents. School Council nomination forms for elected positions are due by Wednesday, September 13th, 2017. Our first School Council meeting will be on Wednesday, October 18th at 6:30 pm in the Library.
NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY
Welcome back! If you found a library book over the summer, please return it to our library. We welcome all late returns. If you are new to Plowman's, we can also return it for you to your previous school in Peel. Any BLOCKS in June will continue this school year until they are resolved. A notice has been sent home with students who continue to have aBLOCK on their account due to overdue books from last year. Students will be participating in orientation classes over the next few weeks followed by the borrowing of books. The loan period is two weeks. Books that go home should be kept in a safe place, away from food, pets and little ones. The Scholastic Book Fair arrives Friday, September 29 just in time for ourOpen House on Wednesday, October 4th. We invite you to share in this celebration of books and reading with us. Did you know that for every $10 you spend at the Book Fair, up to $6 goes back to our school? Mark your calendars for some great shopping!
NEWS FROM MS. SPURGIASZ IN THE MUSIC ROOM
Welcome back to Music! I am so excited for the year ahead. It has been so great meeting and getting to know the wonderful students at Plowman's Park. As the year continues, stay tuned for News from the Music Room so that you do not miss a beat!
NEWS FROM MRS. PIECH IN THE GYM
Having fun, being physically active at Plowman’s Park Public School!
I am enthusiastically looking forward to another exciting year at Plowman’s Park. My goal is to make the gym an active, safe and fun environment for all.
Students in grades 3 to 6 are asked to come prepared for physical education classes with a change of clothes. Good hygiene practices will be reinforced by having students change out of their regular clothing and into a t-shirt and shorts (or sweat pants). Don’t forget to label your child’s clothing to prevent clothing mix ups.
Clean indoor running shoes are the most important item to keep your child safe in the gym. Kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2 students will not be changing their clothing but are asked to come prepared with running shoes. Please consider having running shoes as your child’s indoor shoes. Crocks, sandals, flip flops or any shoe that does not have a closed toe are not appropriate for the gym.
Intramurals
We will begin the year with Soccer intramurals for students in grades 3 – 6.
*The grade 3 and 4 games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
*The grade 5 and 6 games are on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Students are not required to change due to the limited time available but all students will need appropriate running shoes to participate safely. Games will begin at approximately 12:30 pm after the students have eaten their lunch. Students will be assigned to a team. The teams and order of games will be posted on the gym bulletin board and in the classrooms. Games will also be announced every morning during announcements. Students are encouraged to listen to announcements and check the gym bulletin board for upcoming intramurals and events.
We also continue to have Plowman’s Parkgym bags available. The gym bags are $5. Please see Mrs. Piech in the gym if you are interested. The gym bags are great to have for Phys. Ed. class, field trips and school teams.