WITS/LEADS Program at Bayshore P.S.

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1 WITS/LEADS Program at Bayshore P.S. The WITS Primary Program teaches children in Kindergarten to Grade 3: to make safe and positive choices when faced with peer conflict. The WITS acronym - Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, and Seek help - provides a common language that children and the adults in their environments can use to talk about and respond to peer victimization. LEADS is a more grown-up version of WITS for students in Grades 4 to 6. The LEADS Program teaches five problemsolving strategies to help children deal with conflict and keep safe: Look and listen, Explore points of view, Act, Did it work? and Seek help.

2 Newsletter # 2 October 2012 Jeff Gervais Principal Debra Jackson Vice-Principal Heather Beaudry Office Administrator Louise Giannakos School Office Assistant Bill Bayer Chief Custodian Beshir Nakishbanki Multicultural Liaison Officer ext 2014 (Wednesday & Friday) School Information 145 Woodridge Cres. Nepean, Ontario K2B 7T2 Tel Fax Attendance Line (24 hours) (Press 1) School Website: Board Website: School Hours: 8:40 a.m. 3:10 p.m. Bayshore P.S. Mission: Learning, Playing, Growing Together Principal s Message I would like to thank parents for your patience and understanding during the recent reorganization of our school. As you are aware, our school enrolment was not as high as predicted resulting in the loss of one class. As a result of these changes a grade 3/4 class and a grade 4/5 class were created. Another change is that Ms. Hall is no longer teaching her grade 1 class. We are sad to see Ms. Hall leave, but we hope that she will be back as an occasional teacher very soon! During the past month, students and staff have participated in three different fire drills to ensure that everyone understands how to safely evacuate the school in the case of a fire. On Wednesday, October 10, students and staff practiced a lockdown with the help of the Ottawa Police Service. A lockdown is necessary if there was ever a threat to the safety of students and staff inside or outside of the school. During a lockdown, students and staff are required to be out of sight and quiet in the classroom. Everyone did a very good job during our practice on Wednesday. School Council is organizing their first Pizza Day on Friday, October 12. Selling pizza is our biggest fundraiser. Money raised goes towards enhancing the learning environment for students at Bayshore P.S. Money is used to purchase technology, send children on field trips or have interesting and educational presentations come to the school. School Council Co-Chairs Cheryl Cooper and Afsha Shaikh are looking for parents to volunteer on Pizza day. If you are interested please contact them (information is below) or leave a message in the office. On Friday, staff at Bayshore PS participated in training about an anti-bullying program that Bayshore PS will be piloting called the W.I.T.S./L.E.A.D.S. Program. The WITS Programs bring together schools, families and communities to help elementary school children deal with bullying and peer victimization and to encourage adults to respond to children's requests for help. Attached to this newsletter is information about the program. All staff in the school will be using the program and you will begin to hear your children refer to it. I encourage you to use the same strategies and language at home. I am very excited about the implementation of this program. There will be an information session for parents in the future so that you can find out more about the program. Friday, October 12 Tuesday, October 23 Tuesday, October 23 Important Dates Dictionary For Life - Grade 3 Students School Council Meeting Grade 4 & 5 No More Bullies Presentation Monday, October 29 & October 30 Dental Screening (JK, SK, Gr. 2, Gr. 4, and Gr. 5) Thursday, November 1 Thursday, November 8 Friday, November 9 Thursday, November 15 Friday, November 16 Photo Re-take day/class Photos Progress Reports go home Remembrance Day Parent/Teacher Interviews (evening) Parent/Teacher Interviews (morning) Contacting your School Council Council Co-Chairs: Cheryl Cooper & Afsha Shaikh Phone: extension parents@bayshoreps.ca Mail: leave a message in the main office

3 WITS/LEADS Anti-Bullying Program WHAT IS IT? We are creating a responsive community for the prevention of peer victimization in our school by implimenting the WITS Program as part of an OCDSB initiative and pilot program. Research says that we have to bring the community together if we want to deal with bullying; developing social skills or positive character traits alone is not enough. WITS is a parrellel program whose premise and basis can be applied with other approaches. The WITS Programs bring together schools, families and communities to help elementary school children deal with bullying and peer victimization and to encourage adults to respond to children's requests for help. WITS has two components: the WITS Primary Program (Kindergarten - Grade 3) and the WITS LEADS Program (Grades 4-6). The WITS Primary Program teaches children in Kindergarten to Grade 3: to make safe and positive choices when faced with peer conflict. The WITS acronym - Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, and Seek help - provides a common language that children and the adults in their environments can use to talk about and respond to peer victimization. LEADS is a more grown-up version of WITS: is designed for students in Grades 4 to 6. The LEADS Program teaches five problem-solving strategies to help children deal with conflict and keep safe: Look and listen, Explore points of view, Act, Did it work? and Seek help. Parent Partners: Although the WITS Programs start at school, parents have an important role to play. Talking about WITS at home teaches children to apply these strategies beyond the school walls. Community Partners: Community leaders, including emergency services personnel (e.g. police officers, firefighters, paramedics), university or high school athletes, elders and other community role models interested in preventing peer victimization also play an important role in the WITS Programs. NO MORE BULLIES On Tuesday, October 23, grade 4 and 5 students will be attending a Magic 100 presentation called No More Bullies. The Minto recreation center is hosting the event showing that everyone in the community cares about stopping bullying. Arts Recognition Award for Integration of Arts In September, the Advisory Committee on the Arts of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announced that Bayshore P.S staff won the Arts Recognition Award for Elementary Integration of Arts for Bayshore staff were nominated for their collaborative spirit, enthusiasm and hard work towards creating a learning environment at Bayshore P.S. in which the Arts are celebrated. Last year staff worked on many innovative and new initiatives, such as the Art Show and the Talent Show, Choir, and many teachers integrated and promoted the arts into other subjects. Well done Bayshore Staff! Enclosed is a picture of some staff who attended the ceremony to receive the award. Pizza Day School Council has begun organizing their Pizza day fundraiser. The first Pizza Day will be on Friday, October 12th. Order forms were sent home last week. Will you child be absent from school? Parents are asked to telephone the school before 8:35 a.m. on any day(s) when your child(ren) will be away from school. A message may be left on the school s telephone answering machine at any time. Student Lates Parents - we need your help! We continue to see many students arriving late to school. Students who are late are missing out on very important learning! It is very important that students are at school for 8:30 a.m. so that they can line up with their class outside and enter the school with their classmates. Students who do arrive late to school must first come to the office to obtain an admit slip before proceeding to class. Student Photographs Photograph day was on September 27 th, If your child missed photo day or if you are not satisfied with your photographs, re-take day is on Tuesday, November 1 st. We will also have class photos taken on this day.

4 Terry Fox Run On Friday, September 28, students from JK to Grade 5 participated in the Terry Fox Run in memory of Terry Fox and students raised $200. Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer and forced to have his right leg amputated above the knee in 1977.While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Terry was quoted as saying, It s one thing to run across Canada, but now, people are really going to know what cancer is. ( (In the photo above Mr. Young and some students are enjoying the terry Fox Run) Dictionary4Life Presentation On Friday, October 12th the Rotary Club of West Ottawa volunteers donated dictionaries to all grade 3 students. The initiative is called Dictionary4Life. All grade 3 students who receive the dictionary can keep it at home and use as a tool at school and with family and friends. For more information visit: Ottawa Safety Council On Tuesday, October 9, students in JK to Grade 5 participated in a pedestrian safety presentation. Students learned some very important lessons about being safe while walking in the neighbourhood. Children learned that they must always use a crosswalk when crossing the street (for example in front of the school). Students also learned 5 steps on how to be safe when crossing the road. The 5 steps to safety are included on this page. I encourage you to review these safety steps with all of your children. On November 2 and 3, Bayshore Shopping Center will be hosting an Art show to help promote pedestrian safety in the community. Students at Bayshore will be participating and student art work will be displayed at the Shopping Center. Information about the Safety Art Show will be sent home soon. Dental Screening (JK, SK, Gr. 2, Gr. 4, and Gr. 5) Every year, many children miss school because of dental problems. The good news is Ottawa Public Health dental hygienists screen over 40,000 children every year at school. They look for those in need of dental care and help families get the care they need. The dental screening done at school does not replace regular check-ups at the dentist. Children can develop dental problems that parents may not know about. Lucy Charbonneau, a registered dental hygienist from Ottawa Public Health, will provide a dental screening using a tongue depressor and non-latex gloves on October 29 & 30, Only children identified as having dental needs will bring home a form with next steps. This is offered in accordance with the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport, Mandatory Health Programs under the Health Protection and Promotion Act. Questions concerning the collection and use of this information should be directed to the Supervisor of Dental Health Promotion, Ottawa Public Health, Merivale Rd., Ottawa, ON, tel.: ext Student Accident Insurance Student accident insurance is available for purchase, on a voluntary basis, through Reliable Life Insurance Company. Forms can either be picked up from the school office or downloaded at or you may apply online at The OCDSB encourages all parents/guardians to consider purchasing this insurance. Coverage options, range from $13.00/year to $31.00/year. This coverage is for the entire calendar year and also applies outside of school hours. If you have any questions, please call Binks Insurance Brokers directly at

5 Pizza Volunteers Volunteers Commitment: about 30 minutes on Friday s to hand out Pizza to classrooms. Volunteers should arrive at 10:55 a.m. in order to have pizza delivered in time for first nutrition break. If you think you can help please fill out the volunteer form and return to your child s teacher.