This is Your Wake Up Call

This is your wake up call Cameron Street!  This year, the nation wide AVIVA Community Fund Campaign will kick off right here at our school.  CTV's CANADA AM will broadcast live on location Wednesday September 26 from Cameron Street Public School!  We are so excited and we want you here to celebrate the amazing and on going improvements to our school thanks to you and the AVIVA Community Fund.  The $90,000.00 from AVIVA that our school received continues to help us revitalize our school yard to include a community vegetable garden, natural play areas in our east yard, beautiful gardens, walkways and of course our outdoor classroom.  Areas of our tarmac are now a little more colourful with painted games, symbols and designs for students to enjoy.  This will featured and celebrated.  WE NEED ALL CAMERON STREET FAMILIES to join us throughout the broadcast from 6 AM to 9 AM WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26.  Our doors will be open to the community.  Our school is the stage and you are our audience on this day.  On national television, CANADA AM will feature our staff, students and our school revitalization project improvements made possible by the support of the community and the AVIVA Community Fund.  Activities will take place in our gym and as daylight breaks and weather permits, CANADA AM will also set scenes with staff, students and families at our community vegetable garden, the outdoor classroom on the front , east yard play and garden area as well as our  second outdoor classroom - featuring the outdoor theatre and outdoor chalkboard - in the front yard.  YOUR PRESENCE and AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION is what we need.  Bring your friends and family to our day in the spotlight on national television as we welcome AVIVA and CTV's CANADA AM to CAMERON.  Be ready to have fun.  Be ready to cheer.  Be ready to celebrate.  This is your wake up call!

Welcome Back

Welcome back to another exciting year at Cameron Street Public School.  We welcome Mrs. Senick, our Vice Principal.  Mrs. Senick will be teaching in our Learning Centre.  Mrs. Mathews is teaching at our school this year while Mr. Irion is on a leave of absence.  In our Grade 8 class, we are happy to have Miss Fedorco.  Mrs. Millington is a new Educational Assistant at our school.  As new families to our neighbourhood continue to register and enrol at Cameron Street, I remind everyone that schedules and class placements are always subject to change.  If and when changes occur, we will inform our families.  We appreciate your support and understanding.

Walk the Walk...Talk the Talk

Thank you to Mr. Potter, Mr. Durie, Miss Kitchener and to our Grade 7 and 8 students who participated in the walk and rally in support of Children's Mental Health Week - yesterday morning on the track and field at CCI.  We were joined by other students within our Collingwood family of elementary and secondary schools.  We were reminded that a positive attitude, healthy relationships with others, good nutrition and physical activity are good for our bodies, our minds and our emotional health and well being.  Connor's message told us that there is always a positive solution to problem situations, circumstances and issues in our lives.  It is our reaction and our response that matters the most.  Statistics suggest that one in five children are affected by some type of mental health issue.  Issues can have a wide range and a significant impact on our children and their families.  The walk and the rally yesterday can help us to break down barriers to mental health concerns and help us to celebrate positive mental health and emotional well being by engaging in a safe, active and healthy lifestyle that includes kind and considerate people who always show they care no matter what.

Happy Earth Day

Thank you to Lisa and the staff at Elephant Thoughts for inviting our school to a 'documentary short' film festival this week at the Gayety Theatre.  Each short film in the festival had a very important message about our environment and ways people can affect change.

Next week, Cameron Street staff and students will 'pitch in' for our community.  Staff members and students will volunteer their time to do a 'clean sweep' of our school yard and within our immediate neighbourhood.

In advance of this Sunday.  Happy Earth Day.

Upcoming Events for Parents and Educators

The SCDSB has two events planned for parents and educators.  Monday April 2, 2012 from 2 pm to 7 pm at the Education Centre (1170 Highway 26 Midhurst), the SCDSB will host "Planning Transitions for Students with Special Needs".  For more information, you are invited to visit http://www.scdsb.on.ca/ - select Programs and Services - Special Education - Upcoming Events.

Saturday April 21, the SCDSB and the Parent Involvement Committee invites you to the Circle of Learning.  This event promises to be a very informative and enlightening day!

Circle of Learning Conference 2012

Keynote Presentations:
   •  Dr. Karyn Gordon, Author - "Lost in Translation"   •  Annie Kidder, People for Education - "Parents as Partners"

Workshops (attendees will have the opportunity to select 3 of 4 workshops):
   •  A - Reading and Writing in the 21st Century
   •  B - Healthy Schools + Healthy Families = Health Kids
   •  C - Math Homework - Help!
   •  D - Technology and Character Development in the 21st Century

Conference Agenda:

8:30 - 9:00	Childcare Drop off / Registration / Refreshments
9:00 - 9:15	Welcome and Introductions
9:15 - 10:15	Keynote Speaker   •  Dr. Karyn Gordon, Author - "Lost in Translation"
10:20 - 11:05 & 11:10 - 11:55	Workshops   •  A - Reading and Writing in the 21st Century    •  B - Healthy Schools + Healthy Families = Health Kids    •  C - Math Homework - Help!    •  D - Technology and Character Development in the 21st Century
11:55 - 12:30	Lunch Break
12:30 - 1:15	Workshops
1:20 - 2:10	Keynote Speaker   •  Annie Kidder, People for Education - "Parents as Partners"
2:15 - 2:45	Panel Questions and Answers   •  PIC Members, SCDSB Staff, Breakout Facilitators, Annie Kidder
2:45	Closing Comments
3:00	Childcare Pickup

Cameron Cares about Health and Nutrition

Our Cameron Street SNAC (School Nutrition Action Committee) has worked to plan an exciting week before March Break.  We care about our health and nutrition.  The following activities are planned.  In addition, we welcome Fit2Dance to Cameron Street next Friday afternoon.  Mrs. Mathews has organized dance lessons for our students.  Throughout the month, our SNAC Kids (student members of our team) have worked with members of the Grade 12 Hospitality Class to prepare and soup that we have served as an afternoon SNAC shack menu item.  Hot soup has been a big hit!

Door Decorating

-          teachers and students are asked to decorate classroom doors at the beginning of the week.  Your display should show what healthy lunches and snacks means to your class.

-          Doors will be judged throughout the week and the winning class will be announced on Friday

Milk Moustache

-          SNAC members will be coming around on both breaks on Tuesday March 6^th to take pictures of students and staff with a milk moustache that will be displayed on the screen scape

Great Big Crunch

-          Thursday March 8^th @ 2:30 – Apples will be delivered to your rooms.  Please wait for the announcement to begin the crunch.

Catch a Healthy Eater

-          SNAC members will be handing out ballots to staff and students who are caught eating healthy fruits and vegetables throughout the week.

-          Ballots will be deposited in the box in the office and the winners will be drawn on Friday March 9^th.

Cameron Cares

This month, our commit to character goal is to demonstrate care and concern for others.  We can achieve this goal in many ways.  We show kindness toward each other. We demonstrate respect and a sense of responsibility in our actions.  We are peaceful and polite.  As members of Cameron Comet teams, young athletes show care and concern for other student athletes and we are safe and appropriate at practices and at games.  At our school, we thank our custodians Mr. Fifield, Mr. McQueen and Mrs. Penwarden (who works with us a few hours each week) for the care and concern they show at our school.  As a team, we work together to make our school a safe and supportive place to be.  This week, the SCDSB recognizes our custodians.  It is Custodian Appreciate Week.  Today, specifically, is GRAY SHIRT DAY.  We invited to proudly wear the colours that our custodians wear each and every day at school - GRAY shirts and some of us are wearing blue pants!  Our student leaders have messaged about GRAY SHIRT day to students as well as staff. 

AVIVA Community Fund comes to Cameron

Well, we did it!  We have won $90,000.00 thanks to the AVIVA Community Fund.  Our project plan to revitalize our playground has been awarded an incredible amount of money to support our vision.  We are extremely pleased and so proud of our school community.  Thank you to our staff, our school council, our students, family members and friends literally world wide who voted for our cause.  Thank you to our Mayor, our Town Council Members, our SCDSB family of schools, community partners, including the local media, who shared our message and actively championed our community cause.  We recognize the tireless efforts of many individuals.  In particular, we thank Cameron Street parent Deb Shackell and the Playground Task Group for creating and submitting the project plan to AVIVA for consideration and for keeping us on track in terms of the process.  Also, we thank Cameron Street Parent Jen Nichol for her messages and social media relations throughout the AVIVA Community Fund campaign.  A proud day today, for sure!

Congratulations Blackhawks

Recently, the Collingwood Blackhawks Major Atom A hockey team traveled to Ottawa where the team scored the Bell Capital Cup.  We are proud of the team which includes some Cameron star students Tyler Karl (dad Bill is the team manager) and Tyler Fish (dad Mark is the team trainer).  Well done boys and what a way to welcome the new year!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to our Cameron Street family - to our staff, our students and our parents.  I hope that you are enjoying the holiday and I look forward to seeing you next week.  We are back to school Monday morning!  Congratulations to Jen Nichol, one of our parents and member of our school council.  Jen will receive the Order of Collingwood this Sunday at the Mayor's New Year's Levee.  We are proud of Jen and her accomplishments.  Congratulations.

Mr. Giffen