Summer Institute Program

Looking for summer learning and fun activities for students entering Senior Kindergarten to Grade 8? Summer Institute offers academic, recreational and athletic programs and activities with intentional links to the Ontario Curriculum. 

The program runs for five weeks during July and August. It is offered at 10 school sites around York Region. 

For more information on dates, programs and locations, please visit the Summer Institute webpage on www.yrdsb.ca.

Registration is now open.  Families can register online.

Never Forget a Pizza Day Again

The Spring Pizza Day session begins this week … but sometimes Pizza Days can be confusing! Please find all the forthcoming Pizza Days below, in one easy infographic. Better still, print yourself a copy at home for your fridge, and you won’t miss another Pizza Day through the end of the year.

Thank you for supporting our school Pizza Day program!

World Down Syndrome Day

World Down Syndrome Day is held annually on March 21st, a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012 and the Province of Ontario since 2016.

March 21st falls on the Tuesday immediately following March Break. At Rosedale Heights P.S. we will recognize World Down Syndrome Day in support of generating awareness and promoting a positive image of people with Down syndrome as being valuable community members, focusing on abilities. The theme this year is With Us Not For Us. One of the ways we are going to recognize World Down Syndrome Day is by encouraging all students and staff to wear mismatched socks for the day as part of a world-wide theme about loving differences. The #LotsOfSocks campaign exists to raise awareness of Down syndrome. All students and staff need to do is choose some mismatched socks that are going to get noticed. On Tuesday, March 21st we encourage all our students and staff to ‘rock their socks’ for the joy of diversity! For more information about Down syndrome visit the Down Syndrome Association of Ontario and the Down Syndrome Association of York Region.

Planning Ahead Together

Rosedale Heights P.S. has already begun planning for the 2023-2024 school year.  In many respects, the work we do now is especially important, because our accuracy with anticipated enrollment helps us better plan, and optimistically, minimizes the need to move students across classes (‘reorganize’) in September.  We are asking you for your help!

First and foremost, if you know you will be moving out of the area in the months ahead or you know your child will be attending a different school next year, please let the office know as soon as possible, to help us be accurate with our enrollment estimates.  Similarly, if you have a child who will be joining us at the school for the first time in junior kindergarten (or any other grade) and you have yet to register, we would kindly ask you to do so at your earliest convenience.  And if you meet someone moving into the community, or have a neighbour with kindergarten-aged children, please encourage them to register sooner rather than later!  To update any information or get the registration process started, simply email the school at rosedale.ps@yrdsb.ca.

We aim to be as meticulous as possible in our preparations for next year, so we thank everyone in our community in advance for their support with our school planning.

Upcoming Presentations for Parents and Guardians

We would like to share with our community information about various upcoming presentations for parents and guardians.

Fostering Your Child’s Emotional Resilience will be offered in both Cantonese (on February 27th) and Mandarin (on March 6th), focusing on key strategies of how parents can encourage their child to express their feelings. Virtual meeting links will be provided upon registration. For more information, see the linked flyer.

A Three-Part Parenting Program will be offered in Farsi and Dari focusing on fostering positive relationships with children, regulating emotions, and social media and parenting concerns. Virtual meeting links will be provided upon registration. For more information, see the linked flyer.

Pink Shirt Day

Next Wednesday –February 22nd, 2023—is Pink Shirt Day. The origins of this day trace back to 2007, when Nova Scotia secondary students David Shepherd and Travis Price saw a grade nine student being bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school. In an effort to stand up for the student, they purchased 50 pink shirts and distributed them to other students, who wore them in solidarity. Since David and Travis’ act of kindness in 2007, the spirit of their effort has grown each year. Over the past number of years, people in almost 180 countries shared their support of Pink Shirt Day through social media posts and donations. (For more information, visit the official website for Pink Shirt Day.)

Pink Shirt Day emphasizes the importance of lifting each other up. “Today our diversity is becoming more visible than ever as people continue to embrace their cultures, identities, and true selves in more open and direct ways; making the need to Lift Each Other Up and have greater acceptance, respect, and inclusion for everyone so important.”

Please encourage your child to wear a Pink Shirt to school on February 22, 2023. Let’s us engage in kindness and stand up to bullying next Wednesday, and every day.

Kid’s Kitchen: Convenience Lunches for Families

Tired of making lunches?  Our School Council is excited to share that Kid’s Kitchen school lunch program will be launching starting Monday, February 27th, with hot lunches available to order for Mondays and Tuesdays.

Kid’s Kitchen is a family owned and operated business that serves nutritious meals to elementary school children throughout York Region and the Toronto area.  They take care of everything, from preparing customized menus and taking orders, to making the meals and delivering them directly to the school.

Program details:

  • A la carte menu with a variety of entrees, side items, & snacks
  • Everything from wraps to pasta to chicken teriyaki
  • Secure & flexible ordering
  • Allergy management
  • New combos offered every month
  • Menu developed in consultation with a Registered Dietician & compiles with the Ontario Government Food & Beverage policy

Ordering is easy!  Online orders can be placed up until 10:00 a.m. the previous business day.  For more details on setting up your Kid’s Kitchen account, see the flyer and visit the Kid’s Kitchen website.

Please note: If the school buses are cancelled due to inclement weather and the schools are open Kid’s Kitchen lunches will still be delivered, unless cancelled by the family.  See Kid’s Kitchen’s Inclement Weather Information for more details.

We hope you and your children enjoy this convenient service for families.

Sweater and Winter Walk Day

The Rosedale Heights P.S. Eco Team is preparing for Sweater and Winter Walk Day.

This Wednesday, February 8th is Sweater and Winter Walk Day at Rosedale Heights P.S. During this eco-initiative, the school heating will be temporarily lowered by 2°C, and students, visitors, and staff are encouraged to bring an extra sweater or warm layer to school. Please ensure that your child comes to school prepared for a slightly cooler classroom temperature and to go for a walk that day in the period before lunch.

According to the Government of Canada, the “global temperature continues to rise; each of the last three decades has been successively warmer than any preceding decade since the 1850s. Global average sea level has risen about 20 cm since 1900 due to expansion of warming ocean waters and the addition of water to the ocean from melting land ice.”

Importantly, “the top thing you can do to help fight Climate Change is to reduce your energy use.” Ways to reduce this include lowering your thermostat by 1 or 2°C, turning off lights and appliances when not in use, and using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances where possible.

For more information on ways to reduce your energy use visit the Government of Canada webpage at https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange.html.

Also visit the David Suzuki Foundation’s Top 10 Ways you can stop climate change at https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-can-stop-climate-change/.

We thank you for your support and we continue to learn about reducing our carbon footprint.