Feb 24, 2025
Good afternoon RCPS families,
This month we honour and celebrate Black History, Black Brilliance and Black Futures. In recognition of this month and beyond February, staff have been teaching and educating students with important lessons and discussions in the classroom including some of the following:
Nonfiction texts on Black Canadians (Jean Augustine, Anne Clare Cools, Lincoln Alexander)
Learning about the incredible contributions of Black individuals in areas like the arts, science, politics, sports and more. We are celebrating their achievements, honoring their legacy, and reflecting on the lasting impact they continue to have on our world. Our culminating project will be a Black Brilliance biography banner, we will also be asking primary and junior students to come and view them to share our knowledge and teach others about these individuals
Students are researching and creating a short slideshow about a Black individual who has made an impact in history, science, sports, literature, activism, or the arts, and then presenting it to the class (like how they hear on the announcements)
Watched Hidden Figures (a movie celebrating Black Brilliance) while also sharing stories of discrimination and racism, then had a class discussion plus formal questions for students to answer focusing on prejudice and discrimination.
Students are researching and creating their own biography on a Black Canadian focusing on their story, legacy and challenges they have faced.
For French we are exploring many Black French musicians through Manie Musicale this month and into next month. We are looking at the French communities, musical achievements and messages of their songs throughout the unit.
Through our Student Voice group students have created posters and done announcements on inspiring Black trailblazers.
We have a great visible display of Black leaders from A-Z that all grade 8 students researched and displayed on the hallways. Resources on Black Heritage, Black Brilliance & Black Futures Month have been shared with staff and have reinforced that this work must happen throughout the school year, not just in February.
As a staff, we have been Stop the Hate by Dr. ABC and Dr. Swartz and implementing follow up lessons in the classroom. Stop the Hate for Goodness Sake shows teachers how to confront racism and disrupt discrimination in order to deepen students' understanding of social justice, diversity, and equity. We are in the process of planning a presentation on Stop the Hate for parents and staff. More information will follow on the date and time of this event tentatively scheduled for April. We have also planned a presentation for students about black history and anti-black racism scheduled in March. More details to be confirmed as we continue the learning journey.
Winter Carnival Mon, Feb 24th: With all the snow this winter, we couldn't resist having a Winter Carnival this year. Students in Kindergarten - Grade 6 participated in a variety of fun activities like an ice cube hunt, scooter hockey, snow sculptures, mini stick hockey, snowball targets, and a snowshoe scavenger hunt. Thanks to Ms. Soper and Mrs. Benstead for planning this great activity and event. Thanks to the parents for making hot chocolate.
Tuesday, Feb 25th: Virtual school council meeting 6:30-7:30. Please email Bianca Chambers at biancawarkus@gmail.com if you would like to attend virtually.
Student Vote 2025 Tuesday, Feb 25: Mr. Agro has enrolled our school in an exciting initiative to participate in a mock election. Civix is an organization that helps schools run student elections that mirror Federal/Provincial elections in local ridings nation-wide. They provide all the materials (official-looking ballots, ballot boxes) plus educational resources to help teachers introduce concepts and facilitate discussions in class. All students in grades 4-8 will participate in the mock election to learn about the election process.
Intermediate basketball tournament Wednesday, Feb 26th: RCPS will be hosting the boys basketball tournament in our gym and the girls will be attending Ecole Guelph Lake. Thanks to Mr. Agro for coaching the boys team and Mr. Power for coaching the girls team.
Gr 6 Trip to Camp Brebeuf rescheduled to Friday, Feb 28th.
A reminder, our pizza day is on Thursday, Feb 27th. We also had our grade 7 Metis presentations rescheduled for Feb 19th.
Kindness Campaign: This week, our student voice team will be launching a ‘kindness campaign’ from Feb 19th until March 6th. All students will be introduced to the kindness campaign through announcements and a presentation created by a few students in the Student voice club to encourage ALL students to demonstrate kindness through their actions and words. Each class will receive a kindness jar to fill with pompoms encouraging each child to find ways to demonstrate kindness. Student voice hopes to build connection through kindness, spread positivity and joy, and foster a sense of community through this initiative. Please brainstorm a few ideas with your children at home. All classes will have an opportunity to think about ways to demonstrate kindness in class.
New Guelph Secondary School Boundary Review:
On September 17, 2024, Trustees approved the initiation of the boundary review process in accordance with the Board’s School Boundary Review Policy 320 to establish a Grade 9-12 Regular Track attendance area boundary for the New Guelph Secondary School for the 2026-27 school year due to high schools being over capacity. Some options have Rockwood students continuing to attend John F Ross, and some have them at the new school.
Please find attached Guelph Secondary School Optiosn Report.pdf . Two open houses to present the information to the school communities and gather feedback are being scheduled for the following dates and times:
Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at Centennial CVI
Thursday, March 6, 2025, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at John F. Ross CVI
Notices for the public information sessions will be communicated in advance of the sessions. Further, a survey will be posted online to receive feedback on the boundary options.
The meetings can also be viewed on vimeo where staff discuss the rational for each of the options they have proposed. Please see link https://vimeo.com/user/117903427/folder/5347858?isPrivate=false
Have a great week!