December at ROCS

December 20, 2024

Dear Royal Oak Families,

Hanukkah Sameach! Shabe Yalda Mobarak! Happy Winter Solstice! Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy New Year!

And just like that, the first term of the school year is behind us. It has been wonderful, busy, full of growth and accomplishment, and these fast paced 3.5 months end just in time for much needed rest.

As we look ahead to 2025, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our amazing teachers and staff here at Royal Oak. From the first weeks of August until the last moment today, our teachers have arrived early, left late, and dedicated their whole hearts as well as efforts to creating welcoming, nurturing and challenging classroom environments. In the new year, three of our classrooms will be in new locations, and this too has required extra commitments of time and energy from staff as we prepare for fresh spaces to welcome our students back in 2025. Ms. McMackin, Ms. A, and Ms. C’s Early Years Classroom is moving to our French wing, where our biggest and most energetic class will have more space to spread their wings and move between learning environments. Madame Chaudoreille’s French room will relocate to the Primary classroom spaces, and Ms. Robin and the Primary Class will move into a brighter, larger space in the former Early Years room. These changes allow us to welcome more students to these growing cohorts, and accommodate the learning environments our students need to grow and thrive! 

In the update below, you will see news of:

• A Staffing update

• Memories of the past three weeks including our amazing NOTL parade day and more!

• Re-enrolment deadline update

• Winter Camp Final Sign-up

• Term 2 Club Sign up

• January Calendar

From the Royal Oak Staff to your families, we wish you a holiday that is just the right balance between festive merriment and quiet, restorative relaxation. We look forward to seeing you all back on Monday, January 8, 2025.

Happy Holidays!

Warmly,

Julia

Royal Oak’s Holiday Performance

This year’s holiday performance was one to remember. The whole school was transported to different regions of the world to discover their unique ways of celebrating the holidays. Early Years danced with maracas, Primary and Primary Junior sang about Chinese New Year (Gung Hay Fat Choy!), Junior Middle learned about the German tradition of finding a pickle for Christmas gifts and Upper Middle sang and danced about Kwanzaa. The staff even got into the spirit by singing about Hanukkah. So many delightful smiles and laughs made for one unforgettable night. Thank you to Ms. McMackin for all her hard work in getting our ROCS students ready for the performance.

NOTL Christmas Parade

It was a beautiful Saturday for the NOTL Christmas parade. ROCS had a great turn out of staff and students who walked and rode on the Whoville float. It turned out to be the best float in the parade in our opinion, but we might be a bit biased! Special thank you again to Stephane Aubin, David Clemmer and Doug Cunningham, our Float driver, for doing so much work to allow for our magical day!

Royal Oak Re-enrollment for 2025/2026

With the beginning of the 2025 school year, the Admin team turns our minds to preparing for 2025/2026. Our updated tuition schedule is available now on our website and includes a modest increase to tuition which helps us to continue to grow, expand and also keep pace with inflation. We require each family's intention for re-enrollment to be shared with us by March 30, 2025, and our re-enrollment form will be sent out early February. This form, along with your deposit, holds your child's space in our programs for the following year. Families that receive FAST (Financial Aid Scholarship for Tuition) are required to submit their applications by NO LATER than March 1. 2025. Any families that do not submit by this time are not guaranteed subsidy. 

Saying Goodbye to Ms. Rouse!

Pierrette Rouse, whom we have been incredibly lucky to work with for the past year and a half, will be moving on from Royal Oak in January. She joined us to fill Ms. Satran's position when she went on maternity leave last fall and will be returning to the public system for her final 18 months before she retires. 

Laureen Dennis will be taking over this position and brings her 21 years of teaching experience, as well as deep knowledge of each of our learners to the role. She has been missing the special one-on-one time with children that hands-on teaching provides and is thrilled to be able to step in to support our learners. Laureen has been shadowing Ms. Rouse this week and will be with her next week as well, learning the ins and outs of each child's specific programming and academic needs.

Each child's individual programming will remain the same within the Special Education program, but we welcome any questions you may have - don't hesitate to reach out!

YWCA Toy Donations

Thank you to all of our wonderful ROCS families that contributed to the YMCA toy drive this year. Thanks to you, we were able to give a bin full of new unwrapped toys that will be used to brighten many faces on Christmas morning.

ROCS Winter Camp

Winter Camp spots are still open for December 30, 31, January 2 and 3. Please email camps@royaloakschool.ca for more information or use the application form here to enroll: Google Form 

The Middle School students were treated to a performance of My Fair Lady at the Shaw festival this past Wednesday. It was a wonderful experience for all and the students very much enjoyed it.

A New Local Lunch for 2025 - Avo & Co

We are pleased to include another new local business to our Local Lunch offerings in 2025, Avo & Co! Avo & Co is a healthy food restaurant offering fresh poke bowls, soups, salads and sandwiches. Please see the menu sample below and look forward to some delicious new options for lunches next year! Our first Avo & Co lunch will be on January 9, 2025.

Upcoming Winter Clubs

Winter Clubs will start on January 20th and run until March 6. Please see the sign up link below: https://forms.gle/EkPfZQf8Lo3mRgpSA 

Many of these club ideas come directly from the students who shared their wishes for Winter Clubs.

As always, Homework Club and Drama rehearsal will also be running. Homework Club for Primary and Primary Junior will now be on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Homework Club for Junior Middle and Upper Middle will be offered one day a week on Wednesdays afterschool. Drama rehearsals will continue to take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Lunch.

Winter Season Reminders

Health and Illness: 

We wanted to pass along some important updates for the weeks ahead as we navigate winter weather once again, and also the respiratory viruses that come along with the season.  Absentee rates have been incredibly high over the last few weeks and using every layer of protection we have at our disposal is the best way to navigate a very difficult cold and flu season ahead. 

Washing hands, coughing or sneezing into sleeves and keeping personal space in and out of the classroom is always enforced, and we will carefully monitor students for symptoms at school and ask that all families continue to keep children home if they are sick. If children are visibly sick at school or have a fever, we will send them home to allow the child time to rest and recover, and to protect others in the classroom.

School Closures/Inclement Weather:

 As we move into January  and the wintery weather, we want to remind families that Royal Oak's policy on potential snow days is to open if we can safely ask our families and staff to navigate the roads. We check Niagara Regional Police reports on road conditions, speak with staff members by 6:00 am who come from areas like Welland and Port Colborne and also watch the weather reports closely.  With that said, if Royal Oak needs to close for a snow day due to unsafe road and weather conditions, you will receive a full school email and Toddle by 6:45am, alerting you to the closure. On the first day of a closure, we will have a true "Snow Day" with no online school operating. If inclement weather goes beyond one day, we will activate online learning and use Toddle for remote lessons, and your child's classroom teacher will be in touch the evening before to share the plan.

Save the Dates:

ROCS Winter Break- Monday, December 23rd to January 3rd, 2025

ROCS Winter Break Day Camp- December 30, 31, January 2, 3

ROCS Open House- Friday, January 17th, 9am to 11:30am

Winter Club Term- January 20th to March 3rd

ROCS PD day- Friday, February 14th

Seussical the Musical - Friday, February 28th

Calling all business owners! Royal Oak is offering advertising space in the program for our upcoming production of Seussical the Musical Jr! Advertising slots are being sold for the following prices: 1/4 page for $20, 1/2 page for $30, or full page for $50. If you, or anyone you know might be interested in advertising a local business, please reach out to Ms. McMackin (kristamcmackin@royaloakschool.ca) to arrange this. All money goes directly back into supporting our school community.

January 2025

If you're looking for something fun to do with the family on New Years Eve!