GEARY GAZETTE
At Geary Elementary Community School: “We C.A.R.E.”	October 4th, 2016	http://geary.nbed.nb.ca

School Photos

Harvey Studios will be at our school on October 25th to take student photos. You will be able to select your own background with this year’s package. Photos will be taken from Headstart to grade 5. All Headstart students will attend on this date. If children are sick there will be retakes.

Home and School

The first meeting of the Geary Home and School Association was held last Wednesday, September 28th at 6:00 p.m. At this meeting, the Executive for 2015-2016 was determined:

President - Wallace Carr

Vice President – Matthew Robinson

Secretary – Erynn Dready

Treasurer - Leola Langille

There will be a team of parents working in collaboration to coordinate hot lunch. The first Hot Lunch order is due on Tuesday, October 4th, 2016. Late orders cannot be accepted. We are still looking for volunteers willing to prepare and serve meals to our students. The first hot lunch order will be served on Tuesday, October 11th. If you can help, please call and leave your name with Debbie West, our school administrative assistant at 357-4071. Thanks!

The next Home and School meeting will be

held on Wednesday, October 19, 2016.

Scholastic Book Fair

Monday, October 17 - At 1:00 p.m. - set up book fair in the Music room (3 persons required).
Tuesday, October 18th - 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Viewing times for teachers and their classroom children (2 persons required).
Wednesday, October 19th - 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Viewing times for teachers and their classroom children (2 persons required).
From 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Fair is open to the public for purchasing books (3 persons required)
Thursday, October 20th - 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Children can purchase books (2 persons required). At 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Fair is open to the public for purchasing books (4 to 6 persons required).
Friday, October 21st - 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Book Fair is open to the public for purchasing books (3 persons required). Tear down & Pack up 12:00 -3:00.

Please let Wallace Carr know if you are

available to help out and at what times. As you can see it takes a lot of volunteer time to make this event successful.

H & S Halloween Dance

This dance is hosted by your Home and School Association. Children may wear a costume and will receive a loot bag.

Who: Geary K-5 students

What: Halloween Pre-Teen Dance

When: Friday, October 28th

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Where: School gym

Cost: $3.00

Start working on your costume as this dance is always a well-supervised and well attended event! It should be fantastic! Parents of children 5 and under are requested to remain at the dance with their child.

Student Drop Off

Supervision of your children

Begins @ 8:20am.

Please do not drop your child off before this time. This does not apply to children in the Before School Care Program.

If you have to drop your child off, please do not enter the bus drop off zone. Drive past the busses in the left lane and park your vehicle in the drop off zone. “No stopping” has been painted on the pavement to reinforce that this is a drive thru lane. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. We want to keep your children safe.

Safe Schools Week

Dear Parent/Guardian:

We want you to be aware that Geary Elementary Community School has made many preparations to deal effectively with emergency situations that could occur in or around the school while classes are in session. During the week of October 17th – 21st we will practice safety protocols.

While we hope that a natural disaster or other serious incident never occurs, our goal is to be prepared for any potential emergency. At all times, our first priority is to protect all students and staff from harm.

In order for our emergency-response plans to be effective, we depend on the cooperation and assistance of many people, such as the police and the fire department. We also depend on you, as parents, to support our disaster-response efforts. Your cooperation is vital to help us protect the safety and welfare of all children and school employees.

Therefore in an emergency, we ask parents to observe the following:

1. Do not telephone the school. We understand and respect your concern, but it is essential that the telephone system be available for emergency communications.

2. Tune your radio to local stations for emergency announcements and status reports.

3. Do not come to the school until instructed to do so. It may be necessary to keep the streets and parking lot clear for emergency vehicles. If evacuation is required, students will walk to their Evacuation Site – the Geary Baptist Church.

4. A “Command Center” will be set up at the Geary Lion’s Club for parents to receive information in the event of an emergency.

5. Talk to your children and emphasize how important it is for them to follow instructions from their teachers and school officials during any emergency.

6. Carefully read all information you receive from the school. You may receive updates about our safety procedures from time to time.

Practicing safety routines is important for children. We have already completed a couple of fire drills and children know where their “Muster or gathering point” is. In the weeks ahead, the children will learn about bus evacuation, school evacuation, lock-down and hold and secure routines.

We are proud that Geary Elementary Community School is a safe school, and we are doing everything possible to keep it that way. We appreciate your cooperation and support. If you have any questions about this letter or other aspects of our safety procedures, please contact Bonnie Worrall at 357-4071.

Terry Fox Run

On Monday, September 26th our students participated in the Terry Fox Run/Walk. Our goal was to raise a dollar for every student and staff member in the school. In the end we donated $262.00. Thank you for helping us make Terry’s dream come true. This money was donated to Cancer Research. We really can make a difference in the world around us. Congratulations and thank you.

Kindergarten Registration

Registration for the 2017 – 2018 school year will be held on October 11th – 14th, 2016. Registration can be completed in the GECS school office. Mrs. West will be accepting registrations from 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and again from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Make sure you bring a birth certificate, Medicare card and record of immunization. It is good to register early so that your child can be included in learning opportunities prior to entering Kindergarten. Transition to kindergarten is an important process and your child should be part of this!

PSSC

The Parent School Support Committee will meet on Wednesday evening, October 5th at 6:30 p.m. Thankfully, many of the members of last year’s PSSC have offered to continue. This committee must consist of a minimum of five members and several parents put their names forward at Meet the Teacher night. We will vote on the new executive at the first meeting. We will also establish dates for future meetings at our first gathering. Parents are always welcome to attend any and all meetings.

WITS and Zones of Regulation

Did you know that we are a WITS and Zones of Regulation school? These programs help teach skills for problem solving and self-regulation. When children are given the skills to solve their own problems and to calm their bodies and minds, they feel empowered and confident.

WITS stands for Walk Away, Ignore, Talk it Out and Seek Help. These strategies will be taught and reinforced through a variety of different learning opportunities throughout the school year and use community members to help reinforce and support the learnings and program.

The Zones of Regulation program teaches children about their emotions and provides the skills necessary for children to adjust their level of alertness and direct how emotions are revealed behaviorally in socially appropriate ways.

There are four zones that your child will learn about and that describe how our brains and bodies feel.

BLUE Zone – A person in this zone may feel their body running slow, such as when they are tired, sick, sad or bored.

GREEN Zone – Like a green light, when a person is in the green zone, their body is “good to go”. The body is feeling happy, calm and focused.

YELLOW Zone – This zone describes when a person starts to lose control, such as when they are frustrated, anxious, worried, silly or surprised. It is important that caution is used in this zone.

RED Zone – This zone is for extreme emotions such as anger, terror and aggression. When a person is in this zone, they are out of control and have trouble making good decisions.

Ask your children to tell you about The Zones of Regulation and WITS and how he/she can use the strategies from these programs at home and school.

Karyn Hamilton (Guidance)

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day!

Thank you to Breakfast Club of Canada, NB Breakfast for Learning, NB Egg Producers and of course all our amazing Volunteers who rise up early in order to feed our students. Breakfast is offered FIVE mornings a week, with a selection of grains, dairy, fruit/vegetables and protein. This is a Universal program which is FREE for all students. We are always looking for extra Volunteers (2 hours per shift) who love to have their buckets filled with the smiles of our students.

Choir

Mrs. Crowhurst and Mr. MacTavish have once again started our grade 3-5 Choir. If you are here on a Friday morning, you just might hear a group of angels singing! Every year we take our choir to the music festival, often with outstanding results. Our students in Geary can really sing!

Drama Club

Drama Club will begin on Wednesday at lunch recess. Mr. MacTavish and Madame Peters are so excited to introduce the students to this year’s musical. We will let them tell you all about it.

Cross Country Club

The OEC Cross Country Meet for grades 3-5 will take place on Friday, October 14th at the LeRoy Washburn Field (Turf Field) starting at 1:15 p.m. There will be six races at grade level and by gender with no limit to the amount of participants. Parents will be asked to transport their children to this event. Our club will be practicing at lunch recess to prepare for this event.

Getting Enough ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ’s

How much sleep is enough for children to function at their best? Typically, school-aged children need between 10−12 hours and teens need 8−10 hours of sleep each night. Every child’s sleep habits are different. Some need a lot of sleep while others can function on much less. Good sleep habits start at birth. It can be common for school-aged children to not get enough sleep with the increase in evening activities, later bedtimes, and homework. Signs that your child may not be getting enough sleep include changes in their mood (irritability, cranky, getting frustrated or upset easily), behaviour (non-compliance and hyperactivity), and cognitive ability (problems with attention, memory, decision making, etc.).

Tips to help your child sleep well:

Sleep Schedule. Bedtime and wake-up time should be about the same time every day.

Bedtime Routine. Have a 20 to 30-minute bedtime routine that is the same every night.

Bedroom. Comfortable, quiet, and dark.

Snack. A light snack (such as milk and low-fat cheese) before bed is a good idea.

Screen Time. Keep the television out of the bedroom (TV, computer game playing, and other stimulating activities at bedtime can cause sleep problems). Limit cell phone use before bed. Cell phones should be turned off and not in the bedroom at bedtime.

Caffeine. Your child should avoid caffeine for at least 6 to 8 hours before bedtime. Caffeine can be found in many types of soda, coffee, iced tea, and chocolate.

Evening Activities. The hour before bed should be a quiet time.

Naps. Very long naps or too many naps should be avoided (can affect nighttime sleeping).

Set Limits. Be clear on what time lights are off and how many stories you will read.

http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/healthy_sleep_for_your_baby_and_child

http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/sleep-in-school-aged-childen

Anglophone West School District – Healthy Learners Program

A call for volunteer reading tutors in local schools!

Are you looking to share your love of reading and get involved in your community? Elementary Literacy Inc. is a not-for-profit charitable organization with the mission to work closely with educators, parents and communities for increasing literacy rates across New Brunswick. To support this effort, Elementary Literacy Inc. offers the Elementary Literacy Friends Program (Elf) in Anglophone schools across NB.

The Elf Program is a one-on-one reading achievement program matching trained community volunteers with grade 2 children who require additional reading practice. The volunteer commitment is one hour, twice a week for ten weeks. Volunteer sessions take place in the school at the end of the day.

Geary Elementary Community School are looking for volunteers! If you are interested in becoming an Elf volunteer can register online at elfnb.com or call 1-855-898-2533. Visit us online for more information about the program and other ways to help!

Hand Washing, the BEST Germ Buster!

Germs are everywhere and are so small that we cannot see them. Keeping our hands clean is one of the BEST ways to stop the spread of germs and stay healthy. Hand washing is easy to learn, cheap and allows children and adults to take an active role in their own health. Hand washing can be fun and entertaining for kids and, once they learn how to properly wash their hands, they can encourage their parents and siblings to wash their hands too.

When to wash your hands:

• Before eating and cooking

• Before and after taking care of someone who is sick

• Before and after doing first aid (treating a cut or wound)

• After using the bathroom

• After touching garbage, cleaning around the house

• After handling pet food/treats or their waste

• After touching animals (including family pets)

• After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing

• After being outside (playing, gardening, walking the dog, etc.

How to wash your hands:

• Wet your hands in warm water. Make sure water is not too hot for little hands.

• Lather your hands with soap by rubbing them together. Remember to lather the back of yourhands, between your fingers and under your nails.

• Scrub your hands for about 20 seconds. Time yourself by humming the Birthday song from beginning to end twice.

• Rinse your hands under clean, running water.

• Dry your hands with a clean towel.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/diseases-maladies/hands-mains-eng.php

http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/

Anglophone West School District, Healthy Learners Program

Please post on your fridge

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Tuesday October 4th	Hot Lunch Orders due
Tuesday, October 4th	Epi-Pen Training for staff @ 3:45 p.m.
Wednesday, October 5th	PSSC Meeting – 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 6th	Professional Learning- NO SCHOOL for student
Friday, Oct. 7th	Professional Learning- NO SCHOOL for student
Monday, October 10th	Happy Thanksgiving! NO SCHOOL for student
Tuesday, October 11th	Special book presentation to grades 3-5. Hot Lunch begins
October 11-14	Registration for Kindergarten 2017-2018
Friday, October 14	Cross Country Meet Leroy Washburn Field 1:15
October 17-21	Safe Schools Week Please reassure your children that we are practicing emergency routines
October 17-21	Scholastic Book Fair
Wednesday, October 19th	Home and School Meeting 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 25th	PICTURE DAY Harvey Studios
Friday, October 28th	Halloween Dance for students – $3.00 Sponsored by H & S in the school gym. Canteen available
Monday, October 31st	Orange & Black Day- details to follow
Thursday, November 3rd	Remembrance Day Service @ 11:00 a.m. Parents are welcome to attend. Our Veterans will be present.
Friday, November 11th	Remembrance Day No School for Students

Please refer to the following website for information about Hot Lunch, Parent Pages, Upcoming events etc…

http://geary.nbed.nb.ca