Weather Watch:
All students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 are expected to go out for every recess unless the Principal or Vice Principal decides that weather conditions are so poor that it would be detrimental for them to be outdoors. Students are to come to school ready for winter and prepared to be outdoors up to 40 minutes after lunch. We always monitor the weather and, in extreme conditions e.g. wind chill; we keep the students indoors or shorten the recess breaks.
We often receive requests from parents asking us to keep their children indoors during recess times because they are not feeling well. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff or facilities to supervise students who are sick or still recovering from an illness. Students with heavy colds, etc., which are serious enough to prevent them from participating in physical education, recesses or other outdoor activities, should remain at home until their condition improves. This will likely benefit the students concerned and prevent the spread of this illness to others.
Please make sure that your children are dressed properly for our invigorating winter days. It is advisable for students to bring extra pants and socks. A change is often necessary due to the wet and cold weather of the winter months. To avoid adding to our clothing collection in the Lost and Found, please be sure to label all articles of clothing. You can take advantage of our Mabel’s Labels campaign to help with this. Boots, hats, mitts/gloves, scarves, and snow pants for the younger children will help make recess an enjoyable time.
School Reminders:
- students should not be arriving prior to 8:15am since there is NO supervision
- if any of your contact information (i.e., phone number, email address, home address) has changed please inform the office as soon as possible
- please continue to pack a lunch for your child this week. Our hot lunch program will resume on February 5th. Please log into your SchoolCash Online account to order.
- parents/guardians/caregivers should not park in the school parking lot, this is for staff parking only
- please park in the designated city parking areas on the surrounding streets to help with student safety
- please do NOT send your child to school if they are sick or feeling unwell
- students should not be bringing sports equipment from home to play with at recess (e.g., basketballs – the school has equipment that the students are able to use. Please note that for safety reasons, students are not allowed to use balls outside during tarmac only recesses.
Registration News:
- Arts@Baythorn
- for students currently in grade 4 or 5
- registration/application process begins on Monday, January 15th and ends on January 29th, 2024.
- Please visit their website for more information and to register/apply: http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/baythorn.ps/arts/Pages/Information—Application-Process.aspx
- French Immersion
- for students in Year 2 (Senior) Kindergarten
- registration will run from January 19th – February 5th, 2024.
- An in-person information session will be offered at Victoria Square P.S. on January 18, 2024 at 7 p.m.
- Please visit the following page on the YRDSB website to register: https://www2.yrdsb.ca/schools-programs/school-programs/french-second-language/french-immersion-registration
- Kindergarten Registration (for September 2024)
- Registration for Kindergarten begins on January 19th.
- Please visit the YRDSB website for more information and to register https://www2.yrdsb.ca/schools-programs/elementary-school/kindergarten
Hot Lunches – Resume February 5, 2024
Please ensure that you place your orders through SchoolCash Online before January 21st. Options are as follows:
- Monday – BarBurrito (until June 10)
- Tuesday (morning recess) – Booster Juice (until June 11)
- Tuesday – Mother’s Deli (until June 11)
- Thursday – Boston Pizza (until June 13)
- Friday – Little Duck (until June 14)
Lincoln Store Card
In preparation for the resumption of popcorn sales, nut-free cookies and other products, please ensure that you order a Lincoln Store Card through SchoolCash Online by January 18th. These sales support our grade 8 graduating class. Cash will NO LONGER BE ACCEPTED. Only those students who have purchased a punch card will be allowed to have a snack item from the LAPS store. Please see SchoolCash Online for further details.
From your School Council
School Council Meeting: Wednesday, January 15th.
Feel free to join us at our School Council meeting this Wednesday, January 15th from 7:00-8:00 pm in the school library.
Movie Night
Please join us at our next LAPS School council event – movie night! Refreshments will be available for purchase. Help us choose what movie we will be playing. Survey closes January 15, 2024.
Please note, this is not a drop-off event. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. NO food from home may be brought in. Save the date for the our upcoming movie nights.
Don’t forget to vote before the end of the day on Monday, January 15th for your choice of movie!! The winning movie will be the one with the highest number of votes.
K- Grade 3: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 – vote for your choice of movie below by January 15th, 2024.
Grades 4-8: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 – vote for your choice of movie below by January 15th, 2024.
LAPS Musical – The High Seas – February 28 & 29th, 6:30 p.m.
Order your tickets now for this year’s musical, “The High Seas”. Tickets available to order NOW on SchoolCash Online for $5.25. Ordering available until February 22, 2024. Don’t miss out!
Lunch Supervision
We are looking for 2 additional School Lunch Assistants. If you are interested in supporting the supervision of students during the lunch hour (12:20 pm – 1:20 pm) please email the school at lincoln.alexander.ps@yrdsb.ca. This is a paid position.
Warm in Winter
We have some wonderful donations that have come to the office over the past few weeks and appreciate the generosity and caring of our school community. We will continue to collect new winter clothing that would fit elementary-aged children in need. Hats, mittens, gloves, socks, scarves, coats, snow pants, etc., may be dropped off at the office.
January is Tamil Heritage Month
The following is taken from https://tamilheritagemonth.com/about-us/ :
Tamil Heritage Month, started in 2010, aims to celebrate the history of Canada’s Tamil community and its contribution to the social, cultural, political and economic strength of Canada. While recognizing our accomplishments and tracing our roots, Tamil Heritage Month will provide opportunities to celebrate Tamils’ history in Canada as well. In addition, this month will actively celebrate Tamil heritage and rejuvenate Tamil culture in Canada.
The objectives of the Tamil Heritage Month are five-fold:
- To celebrate the richness of the Tamil language and literature
- To celebrate the traditions, arts, and culture of Tamils around the world
- To educate Canadians of all backgrounds about the language, traditions and history of the Tamil people
- To highlight the achievements of Tamils in various fields both in the past and the present
- To advance the growth and prosperity of Tamils
The month of January was chosen as the Tamil Heritage Month for a number of reasons. The Pongal festival, the most important and widely-celebrated festival amongst Tamils around the world, falls in the middle of the month. Pongal is both a time of thanksgiving for the blessings of a past year and a time to look forward to the start of a new year. The first month of the Tamil calendar, Thai, begins in the middle of January.
P.A. Days – January 19 & February 2
As per Ministry requirements, here is the plan for the P.A. Day taking place on January 19, 2024:
Length: Full Day
Topic: Report Card Preparation, Reporting to Parents, Ongoing Communication
Entity Hosting: All Elementary Schools
Presenter(s)/Facilitator(s): Teacher/DECE
Description:
Full Day of Professional activities focused on reporting to parents and ongoing communication regarding student achievement and well-being.
As per Ministry requirements, here is the plan for the P.A. Day taking place on February 2, 2024:
Length: Half Day – AM
Topic: Violence Prevention Training on Student Safety and Violent Incident Prevention
Entity Hosting: All Elementary Schools
Presenter(s)/Facilitator(s): Online module developed by Board staff, facilitated by Administration.
Description:
Staff will be engaging in learning related to:
- developing relationships and identity-affirming working and learning environments;
- identifying warning signs that a person’s behaviour may be escalating;
- responding to escalations using specific strategies;
- exploring case studies;
- following reporting procedures; and
- accessing support and resources.
Length: Half Day – PM
Topic: Literacy/Mathematics Instructional Strategies
Entity Hosting: All Elementary Schools
Presenter(s)/Facilitator(s): Teacher/DECE
Description:
Staff will engage in self-directed learning to support instructional strategies including areas of literacy and mathematics.
The Lincoln Link 