On the evening of September 29, 2022 we hosted our first School Council meeting of the year.  Elections were held at the meeting and Jessica Kline was elected as chair, Zia Mahmoudzadeh was elected as treasurer and Sheree Shapiro was elected as secretary.  Other elected executive members include Ali Hosseinian, Shira Young and Guy Zur. Two vacant seats on the School Council remain.

We wanted to thank all the parents who attended yesterday’s meeting, and we encourage everyone to consider becoming involved in School Council –you needn’t be an elected member of the School Council to get involved. For more information on the School Council, don’t hesitate to contact the School Council chair or other members.  All parents and guardians are welcome to attend meetings at any time.  We have set (tentative) dates for subsequent meetings as follows: November 3, December 8, February 2 and April 27.  All School Council meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the school library.

We look forward to working with you to support our students!

We are encouraging all students and staff at Rosedale Heights P.S. to wear an orange shirt to school on Friday September 30th.

September 30th is Gchi Piitendaagoziwag Binoojiinyag, Every Child Matters, Orange Shirt Day. In July  2021, the Federal government passed legislation to make this date a Federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The Orange Shirt Day movement started in 2013 to highlight the pain and suffering of thousands of Indigenous children who were sent to residential school throughout the last century.  The colour of the shirt is connected to the experience of Phyllis Webstad who was sent to Cariboo Residential School near Williams Lake, BC, in 1973.  Six-years old at the time, Phyllis went to her first day of school wearing a new bright orange shirt. New clothes were a rare thing for the young girl, who was being raised by her grandmother.  However, upon arriving at the school, she was forced to remove her orange shirt and wear the school’s institutional uniform instead.

The orange shirt has gone on to become a symbol of a national movement that recognizes the suffering of Indigenous children at residential schools across the country and to show a renewed commitment to ensure that Every Child Matters.

Across the York Region District School Board, staff and students will wear orange shirts on September 30th in the spirit of Reconciliation and to stand in solidarity with survivors and all those impacted by residential schools.

We look forward to seeing the community at our 2022-2023
Curriculum Night Meet and Greet on Thursday October 6th.

We wanted to remind our community that our first School Council meeting and elections will be held on Thursday, September 29th at 7:00 p.m. in the school library.  School Councils provide valuable advice and support on school matters and help to strengthen the important relationship between schools, parents, guardians and their communities.

Those wishing to serve on the School Council as chair or co-chair, secretary, treasurer, or as an executive member need to complete a School Council Nomination Form (linked here or contained within the School Start-Up Package that was sent home).  School Council Nomination Forms should be returned to the office prior to the first School Council meeting.  Those seeking a position must be in attendance at the first meeting.  It is expected that School Council Executive members attend all regularly scheduled School Council meetings and events. Please note that there can be many parents and guardians who consistently attend School Council Meetings and strongly support the work of the School Council who are not executive members.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend and support the work of the school.

We look forward to working with the School Council this year!

We would like to share with our community information about an upcoming Triple P Parenting Webinar: The Power of Positive Parenting.  The virtual session will cover areas including creating a safe and positive environment; using assertive discipline; having realistic expectations; taking care of yourself as a parent, and; available resources and supports in the community.  Parents, grandparents and caregivers are all welcome to attend.

This session will be held on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m..  There is no cost to participate but registration is required.  Please view the linked flyer for more details.

On September 1st 1980, Terry Fox was forced to abandon his run across Canada in Thunder Bay Ontario, when the cancer that had taken his leg returned, spreading to his lungs.  Refusing to be defeated, he charged Canadians with continuing his quest.  “Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue.  It’s got to keep going.”

While it seemed that Terry Fox’s dream of raising $1 for every Canadian was in jeopardy, the nation responded.  The CTV network organized a telethon in support of Terry’s cause and helped raise over ten million dollars.  By February of 1981 the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope fund eclipsed twenty-four million dollars, the (then) national population.  Less than five months later, Terry would lose his battle to cancer.  He was 22 years old.

Though forty-two years have passed since the original Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox is honoured and recognized across Canada and internationally for his heroic quest to eradicate cancer and his trailblazing attitudes toward disability.  With more than three-quarters of a billion dollars raised in Terry’s name to date, schools across Canada honour him by participating in an annual school event.  This year, the National School Run will be held on Friday, September 23 2022.  Given this is a P.A. Day in York Region, Rosedale Heights will be holding its school run on Tuesday, October 4^th, 2022.

Over Rosedale Heights Public School’s twenty years of participating in the annual event, the school has raised an incredible amount–$48,609.16–and we’re hoping to continue this year.  Please help our fundraising efforts in one of two ways.  Donations in the name of the school can easily be made online, directly to the Terry Fox Foundation at our school-specific link https://schools.terryfox.ca/10499 simply by clicking on the ‘Donate’ button. Alternatively, pledge forms will also be sent home with students next week.  Any donation, whether online or returned to the school with the pledge form, is appreciated.  Our community will continue to contribute in an important way to the ongoing effort to eradicate cancer in our lifetime. 

Conquering cancer is a challenging but especially worthwhile goal.  Terry never gave up.  “I am not a quitter – that means not giving up on things you hold close to your heart, be it people you care about or dreams for yourself and a better world. It means believing in the possible and committing to it.”  This year, we will work together to honour Terry’s commitment to never quitting.

We thank you for your support.

We’d like to share with our community that our first School Council meeting and elections will be held on Thursday, September 29th at 7:00 p.m. in the school library.  School Councils provide valuable advice and support on school matters and help to strengthen the important relationship between schools, parents, guardians and their communities.

Those wishing to serve on the School Council as chair or co-chair, secretary, treasurer, or as an executive member need to complete a School Council Nomination Form (linked here or contained within the School Start-Up Package that was sent home).  School Council Nomination Forms should be returned to the office prior to the first School Council meeting.  Those seeking a position must be in attendance at the first meeting.  It is expected that School Council Executive members attend all regularly scheduled School Council meetings and events. Please note that there can be many parents and guardians who consistently attend School Council Meetings and strongly support the work of the School Council who are not executive members.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend and support the work of the school.

We look forward to working with the School Council this year!

If you’re new to the York Region District School Board or have not yet set up an Edsby account, you will receive an invitation to do so.  Edsby is an intuitive, cloud-based platform that allows families to engage with the school in various ways, including enabling parents to report student absences or to schedule a Parent-Teacher Interview in November.

If your already have an Edsby account, there’s nothing you need to do.  If you do not have an Edsby account, please anticipate an email with instructions on activating your account. Additional details can be found in this Welcome to Edsby flyer. If you require any assistance with setting up your account, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

Our thanks for your support.

Did you know that the Indigenous Languages and International Languages Program provides students and families with the opportunity to read, write and speak a new language or maintain an existing language with over 20 languages to choose from?  This year, both online and face-to-face options are available. Registration for the 2022-2023 school year is now available through Edsby. For more details, see the informational flyer.

Research shows that speaking more than one language has many cognitive benefits and may:

• Deepen cultural awareness
• Enhance communication with people from diverse backgrounds
• Improve memory and concentration
• enhance decision-making and multi-tasking skills
• open future employment opportunities

Please visit the Indigenous Languages and International Languages website for the most up to date information on registration and program delivery.

Welcome … and welcome back!  We hope that everyone has had a wonderful and safe summer.  September is now about upon us, and our return to school is now just around the corner!

On Tuesday September 6, families will receive emails with their child(ren)’s homeroom teacher(s).  The school year begins on the following day, Wednesday September 7, 2022.  Students are asked to congregate at the rear of the school on the tarmac from 8:15 a.m. where they will be met by the staff.  Teacher’s names will be affixed onto chairs on the tarmac, and students will be asked to line up in rows in front of their respective teachers.  The entry tarmac door will be the same door students will use to exit the building at the end of the day.  On the first day, Kindergarten students are asked to proceed to the Kindergarten enclosure on the South side of the school.  On the first day only, students in JK (Year 1) attend for only one block of the day, as follows:

• JK (Year 1) students with surnames beginning with A-L will attend from 10:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.
• JK (Year 1) students with surnames M-Z will attend from 1:10 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.

Please note, there is no busing for JK (Year 1) students on that first day.  

Please be advised that school starts at 8:30 a.m. sharp, our lunch hour will be 12:10 p.m. – 1:10 p.m. and the scheduled end time is 2:50 p.m. for all grades.

We wish to share with the community that over this past week alone, we have registered more than 30 new students to the school.  To this end, the organization on the first day of school is a tentative organization and given enrollment changes it is highly likely we will need reorganize our current classes at the end of September.

As always, we encourage our parents and guardians and their child(ren) to walk to school or park lawfully on one of the adjacent streets and walk to school.  For parents dropping students off, please do so in our Kiss and Ride area, taking note of the bus drop off zone.  Expectedly, traffic is very busy at entry and dismissal times and we ask that everyone be especially mindful in their driving in the interest of our collective safety.  Please be reminded not to park in the staff parking lot.

If your child is taking the bus you can now go to net.schoolbuscity.com to find out their busing information.  Please have your child know if they are taking the bus home at the end of the day and review this with them, including details about their bus number. 

We wish you and your family a wonderful long weekend.  We look forward to seeing you on September 7, 2022.  Welcome back!