JUNE 2014 YEAR-END NEWSLETTER
June is a very busy month with a variety of activities. We honoured our RUPS volunteers at a luncheon with our staff, and our grade 3 students completed their EQAO testing. Year-end activities for students willincludePlay Day, Track and Field, Junior Speech Showcase and Talent Show. Our Grade 5 Celebration of Achievement will be held on Wednesday, June 25th at 9:30 a.m. At this assembly, the following awards will be presented:Citizenship Award, Proficiency Award, Valedictorian, Principal’s Award, Ryan Gillen Memorial Award and Holly Smart Award of Merit. Our year-end assembly is on Thursday, June 26th at 1:15 p.m.(please note change of time from June calendar), and will include the presentation of the Fay Rush Award,as well as a farewell to the staff who are leaving Ray Underhill. The recipients of all our awards have been working hard through all their school years to be active participants, to achieve to the best of their ability, and to be positive role models for their peers. They should be extremely proud of this special recognition.
Each year at this time, teachers have an opportunity to interview and seek positions at other schools. We are sad to be saying goodbye to Mrs. Henshaw, Mrs. Hickey and Ms. Suleman. Mrs. Henshaw, who has accepted a position teaching Phys. Ed. at Settler’s Green Public School, has been teaching grades 4 and 5 at Ray Underhill for the past 6 years. We will miss her dedication to her students and her involvement in extra-curricular activities and team sports. Mrs. Hickeyhas taught grades 2 and 3 at Ray Underhill since 2010. She will also be teaching at Settler’s Green in September. Her enthusiasm for teaching and positive attitude will be missed by her students and colleagues. Ms. Suleman joined Ray Underhill in October of this year and has done a fantastic job teaching grade 4. She is excited about her new full-time position at McBride P.S. in the fall. I know the community joins me in wishing Mrs. Henshaw, Mrs. Hickey and Ms. Suleman continued success in their future teaching careers.
We must also say goodbye to two Early Childhood Educators. Mrs. Ganeshraj and Mrs. Nguyen have provided excellent support to the teachers and students in KF3 and KF4 respectively. Mrs. Ganeshraj will be working at James Potter P.S., and Mrs. Nguyen will be working at McKinnon P.S. next year. We will miss their caring ways and wish them all the best as they leave the RUPS learning community.
In addition, we would like to thank Mr. Earl for the excellent job he has done as our Kindergarten teaching assistant since December. Special thanks to Ms. McCaig who has been a Lunchroom Supervisor at Ray Underhill for many years – you will be missed!!
We will be adding a few new members to the RUPS staff. We welcome Mrs. Woloszanskyj (Grade 4), Ms. Gunn (Grade 4/5), Mrs. Cole (.5 Phys. Ed.) and Miss Rietman (Teaching Assistant). Ms. Craig, who joined our staff recently, will continue at Ray Underhill in September as a Behavioural Teaching Assistant. We are very pleased to have them joining our staff and we know that you will welcome them to the RUPS team.
Your child’stentative class placement for Septemberwill be included in his/her report card on June 25th. Also included will be information regarding Ray Underhill’s new Facebook and Twitter accounts. With today’s technology, we will be offering parents and students many ways to keep up-to-date with school news!! You can follow us on Twitter@RUPSRockets and like us on Facebook ( You can also receive automatic updates by subscribing to our school’s website.
Good luck to our grade 5 students as they leave Ray Underhill to attend Dolphin and other middle schools. Best wishes also to any students who are moving this summer and will not be returning to Ray Underhill in September. Please keep up the good work habits and positive attitude that have been fostered at RUPS.
I would like to extend a thank you to Mrs. Markou and Mrs. Robertson, co-chairs of the School Council, as well as all School Council members, for their dedication and valuable contribution to Ray Underhill. The entire staff and student body appreciate the tremendous ongoing support provided by School Council members. We hope that current and new members will consider working on our School Council next year.
Similar to last year, School Council will be collecting a school activityfeeasa means of raising money instead of fundraising activities. A letter will go home in the fall requesting that families donate a specified amount to the school to help cover the cost of special performances/presentations, and to subsidize field trips for our students. Student agendas for grades 1-5 will be made available for purchase the first week of school.
Congratulations in advance to the students who will receive the Positive Attitude Award at our June Character Assemblies on June 20th ... and don’t forget to wear your Heritage clothing/colours on June 20th. Thanks once again to Mrs. Paiva who created amazing bulletin boards for all of our awards assemblies this year!!
Our school hours will remain the same for next year (9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.)
Entry Bell8:55Lunch12:15 - 1:15
AM Recess10:40-10:55PM Recess 2:35-2:50
Kindergarten students have lunch between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., and their outdoor play times vary from day to day. Students are not allowed to take food outside at recess time. Instead, class time is provided in the morning and afternoon for students to eat a snack. We continue to encourage parents to send healthy snacks to school.
The calendar for the 2014-2015 school yearhas been approved and is attached. Ray Underhill will continue to operate on a 5-day cycle; the cycle-day calendar will be sent home in September.
In keeping with our ecological practices, we will continue to post our newsletter on-line. A double-sided page with highlights of the newsletter’s contents on one side and the monthly calendar on the reverse will be sent home each month, directing parents to our school website for full access to the RUPS newsletter and Board articles.
The school office closes on Friday, June 27th at 4:00 p.m. and re-opens on Monday, August 25th. Parents may check busing information online @ last week of August, or come to the school to check busing schedulesbetween Wednesday, August 27th and Friday, August 29th. The Peel Board recently approved a reduction in the distance requirement for grade 1 students to 1.0 km. Students are now eligible for busing if they live more than the following distances from school: Kindergarten, Grade 1 1.0 km
Grades 2, 3, 41.6 km
Grade 52.0 km
Some students are also eligible for busing due to “hazards” (all students south of Britannia Road; all students east of the Credit River). Bus tags will be given to eligible students on the first day of school.
For families who support the Old Britannia Schoolhouse, there is a Strawberry Social on June 25th and “Lemonade on the Lawn” on July 15th. Whatever your plans for July and August, we wish all Ray Underhill families a safe and relaxing summer, and look forward to seeing you back at school on Tuesday, September 2,2014.
Sincerely,
P. Dodson
P. Dodson
Principal