May Newsletter
Principal's Message
Hello Parents and Caregivers,
It is always wonderful to have an opportunity to connect with you.
Spring is finally here, or should I say sort of here, but regardless it is much better than all of the snow The playground has a new fresh energy. The play equipment is being actively used each day and the sandboxes are back to life.
Children's Mental Health Week in May 2025 runs from May 5th to May 11th. This year's theme is "Voices Unheard, Stories Told: Centering the Diversity of Ontario's Infants, Children & Youth," with National Child and Youth Mental Health Day on May 7th. The week aims to raise awareness about children's mental health needs, reduce stigma, and promote access to culturally safe and community-based mental health services. To learn more about this important week visit: Children's Mental Health Week
The Avon Maitland District School Board has three foundational pillars: iAM Prepared, iAM Engaged and iAM Well. The focus on Children’s Mental Health connects to the iAM Well pillar. It is an important week, however at Brookside Public School we work on students’ mental health and well-being all year long. We do this in a number of ways, for example we have implemented the Zones of Regulation (Zones of Regulation) and we have implemented the Social Thinking program (Social Thinking). These programs are used across the AMDSB.
At Brookside we are working on increasingly implementing The Umbrella Project. It teaches 18 essential skills to help children “handle life’s rain”. To learn more please check out The Umbrella Project.
This month we are going to celebrate McHappy Day, SK vision screening will take place, students are looking forward to our annual track and field event, grade 6s will complete the junior EQAO assessment and our grade 8s will be off to their trip and that is just a few of the happenings in our busy and wonderful school.
I remain grateful for the opportunity to lead the learning at Brookside Public School. I am positioned to do this well because of the terrific students, the caring staff, and because of you too, the parents and caregivers who do the right thing.
As always please call the school or email me at: [email protected] if you have any concerns, questions, or ideas. Communication is key.
Respectfully,
Angela Cowley
Principal
Brookside Public School
Children's Mental Health Week May 5-9 2025
Let's all wear Green on Wednesday May 7th as a symbol of solidarity and awareness of mental wellness concerns. During Children’s Mental Health Week May 5-9, 2025 students across the district will engage in this year’s theme, #UnmaskingMentalHealth: There’s more to me.
People who struggle with mental health challenges may feel compelled to hide the degree to which they are struggling – much like wearing a mask – to protect themselves from judgement and discrimination. As a result, we do not always know who in our community is struggling because we may be seeing their mask. This year’s theme reminds us that by reducing mental health stigma and embracing vulnerability, we can foster environments where people feel comfortable to remove their masks thereby fostering a stronger sense of connection and decreased isolation.
In recent months, School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) launched By Your Side – a new parent/caregiver online resource hub. Caregivers are encouraged to check-out the resources, tool kit, and upcoming webinars to help foster and promote their child(ren)’s mental health and well-being. On May 7th SMHO will offer a virtual session, Recognizing signs of substance use and addictive behaviours, click here to register.
Board, are pleased to present “What Parents Need to Know”, with Dr. Richard Zayed. This webinar will discuss the critical role caregivers play in children’s development, focus on the key ingredients needed for healthy caregiving, and will provide tips that caregivers can begin using today
Click link to view poster: May 7, 2025 Caregiver Poster
Additionally, we encourage you to take a moment to review the resources listed below:
How Do You Know if You Should Be Concerned
Noticing Mental Health Concerns For Your Child
How to Talk With Your Child When You Fell Concerned
AMDSB-Community Mental Health & Well-Being Supports
Coping Strategies for At Home Mental Health & Well Being Supports
McHappy Day at Brookside
We are sharing with you that our school is holding a McHappy Day in memory of one of our beloved students. This special day is meant to honor her life, bring our school community together, and celebrate the kindness and joy she brought to those around her. We will be holding our McHappy Day on Tuesday May 13th. In order to have the donation be counted for McHappy Day we will present the cheque to Goderich McDonalds on the actual day of McHappy Day which is Thursday May 8th.
As well, this is an opportunity for Brookside Public School to participate in an important fundraiser, Ronald McDonald House Charities. Many families in our school community have benefited from having this home away from home when a family member was ill.
As part of McHappy Day, every student will receive one Chicken Nugget Happy Meal with a Chocolate Milk for $6.20 from McDonald's. We would like to have all students to be included with no financial burden to any family. To ensure all students can participate, we are kindly accepting donations to help cover the cost of meals—especially for those students who may not be in a position to pay. Any amount is appreciated and will go directly towards providing meals for the students (much like our holiday meal in December).
Food Orders
May 27th Mr. Sub Day will be available to purchase on School Cash Online Monday May 5th and will close Wednesday May 21st.
Pizza and Milk will be available to purchase on School Cash Online from Monday May 5th and will close on May 20th. We are only going to hold the last Pizza days on June 5th and 6th as your child(ren)’s year end field trips are starting to be booked. Please be mindful of your child(ren)'s year end field trips in June on those two dates if your child(ren) do happen to have field trips booked on those dates please try to avoid ordering for those dates. The last day of milk will be on June 20th.
No Late Orders will be accepted.
School Council
Please join us for our next School Council meeting on Tuesday May 13, 2025 at 6:30pm.
The month of May is the gateway to summer.
April had its ups and down but we sure made the best of it. The new swings are installed, including the accessible swing, and now we are waiting for the area to be filled with surfacing (wood fibre chips) so the students can take full advantage of our finished phase 2 of our playground enrichment plan. That said, we are happy to let everyone know that we got another generous grant from the ACW township in form of 'in kind work'. The township employees did an incredible job with the ground preparation for the swings (phase 2). We applied for a Capital & Community Partnership Grant to help us with phase 3 to this project. It is the installation of a new large structure! The in-kind work will be for preparing the site; it will significantly help us financially. And yes, the equipment is not here, and it doesn't even have a date yet, but we are inching closer to our goal and are hopeful to get it going soon.
We would like to thank Hannah DeBruyn for organizing another fantastic games night at our school. She did an amazing job. With the help of the 'parents reaching out grant' we were able to purchase snacks, crafts and many new games which are now at school for students to enjoy. A big thank you to all the volunteers who made this event another success - thank you for the fun.
At our April meeting we were able to announce a new treasurer. Thank you Nikki Freiburger for stepping up; we know you are going to do an excellent job.
May is also track and field month. On May 15th we will have our friendly competition again. School council will be selling drinks and snacks at the event.
And we are in the midst of planning another great summer party on June 7th again. It will be a Block Party this year with lots of returning parts from last year like Touch the Truck, Pie Auction and our 50/50 draw. Tickets will be available to purchase in the office at the school with Ms. Cook, Vicky Black and the day of the Block Party. Tickets will be sold for $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00 We are going to see a few new things and are looking forward to another fun filled day with lots of smiling faces. If you are interested in volunteering, or to purchase 50/50 tickets please reach out to Vicky Black or any of the school council executives. There are only 2 months to go for this school year - let's make them some to remember.
Vicky Black email: [email protected]
Brookside Public School
School Council
Sports and Intramural
Mr.Beddow and Mrs.McDonald accompanied our Senior Girls and Boys basketball teams who recently represented Brookside School at CHSS. Both teams showcased not only their talent and determination on the court but also the true spirit of sportsmanship throughout the event. Their hard work and dedication were evident in every play, and their respectful conduct towards opponents, referees, and teammates alike reflected the core values we hold at Brookside. A big thank you to our coaches, Congratulations to all our players—you’ve made our school proud!
EQAO
Each year all students in grades 3 and all students in grade 6, across Ontario, participate in the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) assessment. If you would like to learn more visit: EQAO.
EQAO Dates for Grade 6 Students:
May 27, May 28, May 29, May 30, May 31
EQAO Dates for Grade 3 Students
June 3, June 4, June 5, June 10, June 11
Jump Rope For Heart
Brookside Public School is thrilled to join the "Jump Rope for Heart" initiative this year! Students will explore enjoyable methods to engage in physical activity, adopt healthy habits, and gain knowledge about supporting others, all while raising funds to combat heart disease and stroke. The event will take place on Friday, May 23, 2024 where students will partake in various skipping activities and have the opportunity to contribute $2 on the day of the event.
Kick off Video You tube link: Kick Off Video 2025
May Calendar of Events
May 1- Classroom School Photos with Edge
May 2- PA Day No School
May 5- June Pizza Milk available on School Cash Online-May 27th Mr.Sub Day available on School Cash Online
May 7- Wear Green for Children's Mental Health Week
May 9- Spirit Day-Country & Western/Camo Day
May 11- Parent,Guardian & Caregivers Day
May 13- McHappy Day at Brookside
May 14- SK Vision Screening
May 15- Brookside's Track and Field-Rain Date May 16th
May 16- Spirit Day-Wear your Brookside Bulldog Gear
May 19- Victoria Day- No School
May 21- June Pizza & Milk Closes on School Cash Online, May 27th Sub Day Closes on School Cash Online
May 23- Jump Rope For Heart
May 27- First Ride for our new Kinders Sept 2025-Starting in the gymnasium at 9:30am
May 27- Mr. Sub Day
Save the Dates:
Wednesday June 3, 2025- Regional Track & Field at GDCI- Rain Date Thursday June 4th
Friday June 6, 2025- PA DAY-No School
Tuesday June 17, 2025- District Track & Field at GDCI- Rain Date Wednesday June 18th
Friday June 20, 2025- Grade 8 Graduation starting at 7:00pm in the Brookside Gym.
Tuesday June 24, 2025- Report Cards Go Home
Thursday June 26, 2025- Last Day Of School