CHRISTMAS IN THE MEADOWS REMINDERS....

CHRISTMAS IN THE MEADOWS REMINDERS....
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
FOOD DRIVE / RAFFLE: For every food item you donate to the Food Drive you will recieve a ticket to put your name on and then you can put it in the bag of the raffle items you want. We have some great prizes this year...including 2 Play Passes for Jungle Oasis! Drop off will be in the front hall....Raffle tables will be in the gym.
PHOTO'S WITH SANTA: $5.00 per picture..includes a 5x7 Photo in a Christmas frame and the picture emailed to you for you to do what you want with it. You can sign up for a time slot beginning at 6:30 p.m. Picture taking will begin at 7:00 p.m. Photo's will Santa will be held in Mrs. Neal's (waiting room) & Mrs Popovic's (Photo room) classrooms.
CAROLLING CHOIR: In the gym. We have approximately 50 kids who will lead us in some fun, festive carols beginning at 6:45 approx. Children in the choir are encouarged to wear a Christmas type hat.
THE GRINCH: Mr V's class will be presenting their play "The Grinch" in the gym at 7:30 p.m.
BOOK FAIR: Will be happening in the library.
SANTA: Will arrive in the gym at approx. 6:35 to greet and mingle for a few moments before he heads down to the Photo Shop.
CHRISTMAS MOVIES: will take place in Mrs. Davis's resource room.
CRAFTS WITH THE ELVES: Will take place in Santa's Workshop (aka: Mrs. Borman's classroom)
COOKIES WITH MRS. CLAUS: Will take place in Mrs. T's room.
REFRESHMENTS: The drinks you pre-ordered & 2 Cookies will be available in the back of the gym.

LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU TOMORROW!

What's Happening....

We're looking forward to a great night on Thursday at our Parent Connection Event.  There is still room if you are interested in learning more about UG2GO and Homework Help.  Just email us to let us know you are coming.  Thanks!

CHRISTMAS IN THE MEADOWS green information forms are due back on Thursday.  We are still in need of a lot more packages of Nut Free Cookies.  Any donations are greatly appreciated!  Drop them off in the office or in the box underneath the School Council Bulletin board (as of Thursday).

Lunchtime Help Needed.

We are looking for one or two more parent/grandparent helpers on two of our food days (Pasta & Hot dog) to help prep the kindergarten classes so that their lunch transition goes smoother.  Here are the dates & times we are needing people:

Wednesdays,  12:00 - 12:30 p.m.

December 4, 18
January 15, 29
February 12, 26
March 19
April 2, 16, 30
May 14, 28
June 11

If you are able to help, please email Barb White @ barbwhite.cmessc@hotmail.com

Parent Connection Night RSVP Due back

Just a reminder that the Parent Connection Night RSVP is due back tomorrow - Wednesday.  If you want to wait till after you've had your parent/teacher interview, to see if it would be a good idea for you to come, just email barbwhite.cmessc@hotmail.com and let her know.

It's going to be a great night of discovering how we can best use these great internet tools to help our children during their education years here at CMES.

MacMillan Fundraiser

We are in our final few days of our MacMillan Fundraisers.  Your order sheet and money is due on Tuesday.  Let's do all we can to make this a great fundraiser!  We have lots of important needs for the coming school year and it is our fundraisers that make it possible for us to meet those needs!

Important Note Concerning November School Newsletter Parent Climate Survey

Mrs. Crandall realized that the wrong code was printed in the November School Newsletter for the Parent Climate survey that was sent home today.  Please take special note of the correct code:  

CMES school code for parents is:  8-ABW-145-J

HELP!!!!

HELP....Our Food Days Coordinator, Nancy Turner, is looking for mom's (dad's) who would be willing to help her on Wednesday mornings on our Pasta and Hotdog days to help get everything prepped and cooked. If you would be interested, please email us at barbwhite.cmessc@hotmail.com us. 

This is becoming an URGENT need. Food days cannot happen without volunteers. If you are unable to help but you know of someone who could...please pass on this information. 

She could really use one more person to help her tomorrow with Pasta day.  November 6th.

Fall Fundraiser Has Begun!

JUST IN TIME

FOR ALL YOUR HOLIDAY BAKING NEEDS!

MacMillan’s Gourmet Frozen Foods

MacMillan’s offers a line of Peanut Free, Sugar Free, Gluten Free and Kosher products along with their   regular treats.  There is definitely something for everyone!

Many people are familiar with MacMillan’s products...but if you are not, why not check them out at www.macmillans.ca and see why they make such a great choice for a school fundraiser!

Campaign Start Date:  Friday, November 1

Campaign End Date:  Tuesday, November 12

**orders WILL NOT be accepted after Tuesday, November 12

** Please return order form along with payment in the envelope attached.

**Be sure to indicate your child’s name and teacher in the space provided.

Order Pick-Up Date:  Friday, November 29th

 Incentive Program:

Individual: The top seller, in each division, will earn a $25.00  gift card of their choosing.    (Kindergarten, Primary, Junior and Intermediate)

Class: The class (school wide) with the most participation will earn $50.00 to go towards either a class party or something to enhance their classroom for the coming year.

 If you have any questions, please email either Barb White or Lorrie Wren.

Thank You, ☺

in advance, for your ongoing support of our school council’s efforts

to help make CMES the best place to be for our children!

 

 

 

We've Got A Facebook Page!

We have set up a Facebook Page to help parents keep up to date on the events and needs of School Council.  You can "Like" us at CMES Parent Connection.

Please Note:   This is strictly an information page.  If you need to connect with us concerning anything posted on the page, please do so by either sending a message or emailing us directly.  Any comments that may get on will be removed.

Kid's Helping Kid's - SNACKS FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES

During the week of October 28—31st the School Council will be hosting a special “Food Drive” for the Orangeville Food Bank. We want to collect as many Snacks for School Lunches as we can. We have set our goal at “3000 days of Snacks”...which equals approx. 400 boxes/packages/items of snack type foods. For every box/item that students bring in, they will receive a “treat” from the School Council.

We will have a table set up on the back tarmack every morning, Monday—Thursday, to collect snack items and to hand out the treats. We will also have a display in the front foyer indicating how close we are to reaching our goal. We will also post the results, daily, on our new FACEBOOK page—CMES Parent Connection. Make sure to “like” us so you can see the results!

Technical Difficulties

Please note that our blog site is experiencing technical difficulties and we have been having issues updating some information. We hope to have this fixed soon!

Highlights from the October 7 School Council Meeting

At the school council meeting on October 7, goals were set for this school year. For the 2013/2014 school year, council has decided that these will be their goals:

-Council will support teacher wish lists in order to enhance the school experience for our children. This includes academic, art and athletic support.
-Council will support the evolving needs of technology.
-Council will continue to raise its profile through effective communication.
-Council will identify opportunities to enhance the outdoor space of the school.

Council also discussed EQAO results, set meeting norms and continued to work on the 2013/14 budget. The parking lot issues were discussed and options for alternative parking will be sent out in a communication to parents. The minutes of this meeting will be posted on the school website once they are approved at the November council meeting. Please contact any council member if you have any issues that you would like discussed at an upcoming meeting. The next council meeting will be NOVEMBER 11 @3:15pm in the library.

NEWS!

Your School Council executive for the 2013 - 2014 School year is:
Barb White:  Chair
Krystal Martin:  Secretary
Lorrie Wren:  Treasurer

At our September meeting the consensus was to keep our meetings at 3:15 p.m.  The day of the meeting has changed to the 2nd Monday of each month with the exception of October and March when it will be held on the 1st Monday of the month.  We would encourage any parents who are able to join us to do so.  If you are unable to be there at 3:15 p.m., please come when you can.  If you are unable to attend at that time, which we recognize many parents can't, we will be offering 3 Parent Connection/Advisory meetings throughout the year that will be held in the evening.  One in the Fall, Winter and Spring.  More information will follow.

This week the October Newsletter will be coming home.  Take some time to read through it so you are kept current on what is happening.

We are looking for people who would be interested in being part of any of the following teams.  Feel free to email Barb White at barbwhite.cmessc@hotmail.com for more information.

Special Events Team
Parent Connection/Advisory Team
Fundraising Team
Food Days Team
Graduation Team
School Council Team

ALSO....to any of our GRADE 8 PARENTS....if your child would be interested in helping to provide child care during our School Council meetings, would you please email the above address and let me know.  We are looking for 3 students who would be interested.  having the Babysitting course would be an asset.  They are given a gift card of their choice each month for their work.  Our first meeting is next Monday, October 7, 3:15 - 5:15 p.m.

June 2013 Survey - RESULTS

Below you will find the basic results of our June 2013 School Council survey results.  We are endeavouring to take these results and find ways to improve the overall effectiveness of our School Council.

 

School Council

1. Every school in the Upper Grand District School Board is expected to have a school council.  The purpose of a School Council is to improve student achievement and enhance the accountability of the education system to parents. The current School Council meetings are held on the first Monday of the month in the library at 3:15.

When would you prefer to attend meetings?
	16	After School
	24	Evening			57 answered
	17	No preference

 

2. What day of the week are you available to attend a Council meeting? Choose all that apply.
	48%	Monday
	43%	Tuesday
	29%	Wednesday			56 answered 1 skipped
	27%	Thursday
	27%	Friday
	25%	Not available
3. Please answer yes or no to the following questions.							56 answered 1 skipped
									Yes		No
	Do you feel council kept you informed of what we were up to?								93%		7%
	Did you use the orange folder provided by School Council in September for keeping school correspondence?								41%		59%
4. What is your preferred method of receiving our newsletter? Choose all that apply. 57 answered
	21%	School Council Blog - cmesfamily.blogspot.com
	96%	Email
	9%	School Website
	21%	Paper copy
	0	other:___________________
5. I would be interested in attending an information session on the following topic(s): choose all that apply.
			55 answered 2 skipped
	35%	Homework				35%	Bullying
	29%	Literacy/Language				36%	Use of technology
	33%	Numeracy/Mathematics				31%	Parenting strategies
	33%	Reading				25%	None of the above
	7%	Other, please specify: 4 responses
6. I/We are not currently involved in School Council because..... Choose all that apply.  48 answered 9 skipped
	0	Uncomfortable in education environment
	4%	Do not feel welcomed
	69%	Meeting conflicts with work schedule
	40%	Other activities at the same time
	2%	School council does not meet my needs
	17%	no interest in being involved at this time
	10%	Other , please specify:
Food Days, Fundraising, and Special Events
This year we offered the following options for food days: Pizza, Pasta, Hot Dog, Pita Pit, Popcorn, Cookie, Milk, Juice. Our fundraising initiatives were: Meet the Teacher BBQ, Food days, Dieleman Giftware, Vesey's Bulbs & Lovable Labels. We were proud to host three Special Events: Anxiety workshop for parents,  Christmas in the Meadows, Springtime in the Meadows.
7.  Please answer yes or no to the following questions.   55 answered 2 skipped
									Y		N
Did you like the selection of food days offered?									91%		9%
Were the food day prices reasonable?									93%		7%
We currently issue the food forms in blocks of 3 months, 3 times a year.  Would you like that to be reduced to be issued only 2 months at a time, 4 times a year?									38%		62%
Were you able to participate in at least one of our fundraisers?									85%		15%
Were you happy with the selection of fundraising programs?									81%		19%
Do you feel there were too may fundraisers?									30%		70%
Did your family attend any of the special events planned by School Council?									78%		22%
8. What hinders you from participating in Food Days?  Choose all that apply.  32 answered 25 skipped
	28%	Price
	37%	Selection
	3%	I'd just rather make my child's lunch myself
	63%	Other: