Special Education Advisory Committee

Give where you Live

Give Where You Live ​is a joint partnership between officers with the Belleville Police Service and local Ontario Provincial Police detachments, bringing together a renewed dedication to helping our local community, families and charitable organizations succeed.

The fall of 2017 during a two-week cycling event involving local police officers stops at approximately 30 local elementary schools, offering – as expected and anticipated – a dynamic, fun-filled school assembly and a positive message of hope to thousands of students across Hastings and Prince Edward counties.

Formerly Pedal for Hope Quinte, the team wanted to continue providing an incredible event for the Quinte region – but one thing over the years that was lacking from our program were tangible local benefits. That message was heard loud and clear from our schools, community and families we supported. So the team started moving down the road to establishing our own, original, program – Give Where You Live – in an effort to showcase to our community where any funds we raise are headed, but also to distinguish ourselves from perceptions of any links to other fundraising efforts in the province. To date, we have heard nothing but positive comments about our change – which is aimed at growing into more than a simple cycling fundraiser… we want to start a GWUL movement in Prince Edward and Hastings counties.

This year, as in the past SJAM is participating in both the Terry Fox Run and Give Where You Live.  You are welcome to donate where you see fit.  The Terry Fox run will take place on Thursday Sept 28^th, 2017.  We will have a donation jug set up in the front foyer.  Give Where You Live will arrive at SJAM on October 12^th, 2017-more details will follow.

October home school Connections

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Home School Connections

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New School Times

As many of you are aware, this past school year brought with it some changes at our school, including the ongoing Accommodation Review Process that concluded on June 19th. As a result, a number of processes have been delayed or are changing at Sir John A. Macdonald School.

If you have registered children for Kindergarten (year one/junior Kindergarten), there will be an orientation on the morning of Thursday, August 31st. At that time, you will have a chance to see the classroom in which your child will be learning and meet the Kindergarten teacher and early childhood educator. We will be making phone calls in the coming weeks to give you an exact time for this orientation, once our staffing has been finalized.
Students in grades seven and eight will now be part of the Centennial Secondary School community. One outcome of the ARC was that Centennial will be a 7-12 school, and Sir John A. Macdonald will be for students Kindergarten to grade six. Our intermediate students already experienced this shift this past year by attending school at CSS. During the last week of June, we were able to ensure the grade six class had a tour of the facility, and met their new principal, Ms. Sampson, and vice principal, Ms. Scaletta, as well as the teachers, Mr. Murphy (grade seven) and Mr. Mayock (grade eight). Further information for parents of intermediate students will be sent soon from both SJAM and CSS. An Open House is planned for Tuesday, August 29 from 4-6pm for students going into grade seven or eight and their families. We hope to see you there!

Also, we continue to work toward providing the best possible educational experience for students at Sir John A. Macdonald School. As a result, we will be changing our bell times slightly beginning in September to align more closely with CSS. In order to be able to work with families who have students at SJAM and CSS, and to ensure student safety through adequate supervision, our start time will be 8:30 in the morning, and the school day will end at 2:50 (a change of fifteen minutes). This is similar to other schools in our Board where secondary and elementary schools are situated in close proximity. Our school day will remain “balanced” with two nutrition breaks and recesses just as we have had in the past. Students at SJAM who are bused will receive revised bus pick-up/drop-off times late in August.

Lastly, staffing is being finalized this week and next and we will then work on class lists. Your child’s class placement will be available in the last week of August, beginning on Tuesday, August 29th. Our office will be open that week for new registrations from 9 am to 2pm Tuesday through Friday.

We anticipate a great school year ahead, and look forward to welcoming you on September 5th. We will send reminders about school times and other details via voicemails before school starts, and you are welcome to give us a call as well.