Dear Families;
We've had a couple busy weeks at Winston with a successful Meet the
Our group of fifty-five dedicated cross country runners made us all proud as they did their very best at the Fort Henry cross country race on Oct. 16th! They showed grit, perseverance and determination and all need to be commended! Eleven of our runners earned top spots to continue to the District level meet on October 22nd at Fort Henry. Big congratulations to the following:
Atom Girls: Scarlett, Olivia B, Nora, Pia and Tess
Atom Boys: Ryan K
Bantam Girls: Lottie, Robyn and Zoe
Bantam Boys: Finn, Jackson
A special thank you to Ms. Koebel for all her hours of coaching with this group! Congratulations team!
Students and staff did a great job with two practice fire drills last week. Everyone reacted quickly and calmly and were out of the building in under 3 minutes. We will have another 'surprise' drill next week along with a lockdown procedure drill.
Thank you for being an important part of your child's education. We appreciate your partnership. Here's to a great fall week ahead.
Yours in Partnership and Education,
Joanne Borges, Principal
Volleyball Intramurals!
We have had a great deal of interest for our junior volleyball teams. We will be running intramurals so everyone will get a chance to play! There will be enough players to run 4 intramural teams at lunch recess throughout the months of October and November and possibly into December. There will be a junior volleyball tournament sometime in November (date TBD). We will select a tournament team after observing our co-ed intramurals and 1 after school practice each. After October 20th, students will know whether they will be on the tournament team. Everyone is invited to continue play intramurals at lunch during the school day.
GIRLS - Tuesday October 14th, 2025 (3:30-4:45)
BOYS -Monday October 20th, 2025 (3:30-4:45)
A few notes:
- Players cannot attend an after school practice without returning a SIGNED permission form (below)
- Players are expected to come to practice with appropriate athletic attire including running shoes and a refillable water bottle.
- Knee pads are not mandatory, but many players like to wear them.
- As part of the team, players will arrive to practice on time and use encouraging words and actions towards their teammates and coaches.
- Players are ambassadors of Winston Churchill PS, representing our school community, therefore their actions and words on and off the court should reflect this.
- The junior volleyball rules have changed to triple ball which is a 4 on 4 style of play with smaller court dimensions and more playing time for everyone
- Players rotate on serve with no other substitutions.
Further details with finalized teams, the tournament date and fees will be available soon. Please be assured that no child will be denied access to extra curricular activities due to lack of access to funds
Inclusive Playground Project
We continue to fundraise and collect donations for a large scale Inclusive Playground Project at Winston. If you wish to donate through our Charitable Trust Fund, you may do so HERE. Tax receipts are generated through LDSB. We appreciate your contributions in helping us achieve our goal for our school and community.
Limestone District School Board - Help Shape Our Accessibility Plan
The Limestone District School Board is committed to fostering accessibility and in
Your input will help ensure our goals reflect the diverse needs and lived experiences across our school communities. Please visit bit.ly/LDSB2025-2029AccessibilityPlan to provide input. The survey is open until November 10, 2025
Parent Council NEWS!
Our next parent council meeting is Tuesday, October 21st. Please consider coming!
The Council is looking to increase engagement in their Parent Council and would love for you to consider attending some meetings, or volunteering for some events, if you are able. Council is actively seeking a person to fill the position of Chair. Parent Council is a wonderful support and resource for our school and we appreciate all they do to support students, programming, staff and families. Questions for council can be sent to wcps.council@gmail.com
Congratulations to our 2025-2026 Executive Parent Council Members
Chair - To Be Determined - if you or someone you know would like to serve as council chair, please contact the office or parent council.
Secretary - Priscila Cabrera
Treasurer and Inclusive Education Coordinator - Michael Tkautz
Fundraising and Event Coordinator - Jessica Colgrave
Community Representative - Ben Eby
HOT LUNCHES
Our hot lunch program run by Parent Council. Orders are placed at through LunchBox at www.lunchboxorders.net and orders for the following week are due on Sunday at noon (no late orders). Lunch deliveries are Tuesday-Friday at our second nutritional break (1:05-1:25) Council has set up the following options:
- Tony’s on Tuesdays (subs, wraps, chicken fingers)
- Paradiso pasta Wednesdays
- Dominos Pizza Thursdays
- Edo Japan Fridays.
Click here for a full Lunch Box Guide on how to order. How to Order Guide
A HUGE thank you to our Parent Council for setting up this service for kids and families. If there is someone who would like to volunteer to meet lunches here to help with distribution, please contact council at wcps.council@gmail.com
Up and Coming Parent Council Meeting Dates
Meetings are on Tuesdays at 7:00pm in the school library.
Oct 21; Nov 18; Jan 20; Feb 24; Mar 24; Apr 21; May 19; Jun 16
SCHOOL SAFETY
Please Close the Gates
We encourage families to drop children off at the school gates, rather than coming onto the school yard in the morning. For the safety of students, we are trying to ensure that the gates remain closed. If you do need to be on the yard, please ensure you close the gate (Earl Street Gate and McDonnell Street gate) when you leave.
SAFE ARRIVAL, School Messenger and School Day
Please continue to call in to Safe Arrival, or mark your students' late/absent in the Safe Arrival App to ensure that you don't get unwanted phone calls. The system will automatically call out if you have not marked your student as being away/late. Current contact information is necessary to ensure you get school emails/texts/calls and aren't missing out. Please call the office so that our Office Administrator can update your information as needed - thank you. Information for Safe Arrival, School Messenger and School Day (online payment and permissions) is below. .
Coming Up for the next Two Weeks
Monday, October 20th - Day 2
Tuesday, October 21st - Day 3
ECE appreciation Day! We appreciate you Ms. Hawley and Ms. Samas!
Wednesday, October 22nd (Day 4)
Fort Henry Districts! Our 11 runners are going to make us so proud!
Bus Driver appreciation day!
Thursday, October 23rd (Day 5)
- Walking trip - Grade 5/6 Koebel
Friday, October 24th (Day 1)
- Eco Club
- Bulldog Day! Wear your school colours!
Monday, October 27th (Day 2)
Tuesday, October 28th (Day 3)
- WISE - grade 5/6
Wednesday, October 29th (Day 4)
- WISE - grade 4
Thursday, October 30th (Day 5)
Friday, October 31st (Day 1)
- Orange and Black Day!
- Kinder walking trip - both classes
Looking Ahead....
November
11th - Remembrance Day
13th - Progress Reports go home
17th - Grande Theatre - primary
20th - Gould Lake - Powers, Gladstone
25th - Bus safety presentations
26th - Picture Day retake
Ontario Ministry of Education Human Development and Sexual Health Information
As part of LDSB's commitment to ongoing transparency and communication with families, please follow the link to Form 325-D on the LDSB website. It outlines the Human Development and Sexual Health curriculum expectations for Grades 1-8. Families can request to have their child or children exempted from instruction related to Human Development and Sexual Health expectations by completing and returning an exemption form for each child (Form 325-B) five school days before the start of instruction. Prior to instruction, your child's classroom teacher will inform parents/guardians when the expectations related to the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations in Strand D will be covered. For a more detailed overview of this process, please refer to Administrative Procedure 325: Exemption From Human Development and Sexual Health Instruction (listed under the Policies and Procedures section of the LDSB website), or contact the school.
Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations by Grade
Please find below a list of Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations by Grade as outlined in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Health and Physical Education, 2019. The Ministry of Education provides additional information about Human Development and Sexual Health on its website at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health.html
Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations by Grade
Request for Exemption from Instruction in Human Development & Sexual Health
Classroom teachers will be sending home a letter (Form 235-A). Form 325-A is a formal notification to families indicating when instruction related to Human Development and Sexual Health will occur.
Daily Schedule
Time | Activity/learning block |
|---|---|
8:45 to 9:05 a.m. | Supervision on the yard |
9:05 a.m. | Bell rings, students enter the school |
9:05 to 10:45 a.m. | First instructional block |
10:45 to 11:05 a.m. | First nutrition break |
11:05 to 11:25 a.m. | Recess |
11:25 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. | Second instructional block |
1:05 to 1:25 p.m. | Second nutrition break |
1:25 to 1:45 p.m. | Recess |
1:45 to 3:25 p.m. | Third instructional block |
3:25 p.m. | Dismissal |
How Can I get Information From the School?
LDSB schools and school board use School Messenger to send key messages, alerts, and general communication to families. Winston uses this platform and will continue to use our Bulldog Family Bulletin to provide updates to families. This newsletters are where we will share school-specific information and highlights of student work and events in the building and is generated on our school website. This newsletter is also sent out via School Messenger so that you receive it in your in-box (sign up for alerts - email or text).
SchoolMessenger App: Download the SchoolMessenger App to stay connected. Use your mobile device to download and install the free SchoolMessenger blue app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, the SchoolMessenger website portal, or from within the LDSB mobile app. *New families will be able to create their account after the first day of attendance.
The first time you use the app, you must select Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account.
School Day Online Payments and Permissions
We are paperless and cashless at Winston. We use the platform School Day for online payments (field trips, milkshake days, etc) and for digital permission slip signatures. ALL families are required to sign up using their child's individual match key that will be provided within the first weeks of school. Please direct families to the office if they are having trouble signing up or registering with School Day.
See Yourself in Limestone – Student Census Survey
Limestone is committed to creating safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments for all students. To help us better understand how students’ identities and experiences relate to their achievement and well-being, we are launching our second See Yourself in Limestone Student Census Survey this fall.
The census is a voluntary and confidential survey for students in Grades 4 to 12, running from November 24 to 28, 2025. It gathers information about students’ identities and their experiences at school. This data is then paired with academic information to help us understand what school is like for different groups of students.
Important information for families:
· The survey is optional.
· Responses are confidential and students can skip any questions they do not wish to answer.
· Students will complete the survey during class time.
· Students who do not participate will be provided with an alternative activity.
Families who do not want their student(s) to complete the survey must contact their school principal by Friday, November 14, 2025. Opting out means the student will not receive the survey in their e-mail inbox.
By better understanding students’ identities and experiences, we can remove barriers and better support students in accessing what they need to succeed.
Learn more about the Student Census and how it supports equity in Limestone: limestone.on.ca/student_census
2025-2026 LDSB School Year Calendar
A PDF version of the 2025-2026 School Year Calendar is available online.
Allergen Awareness - Nut-Free School
Thank you for packing nut-free snacks! Please communicate with teachers before sending any treats in for your student's class.
Bus Requests are Through Triboard.ca
Most children in our community are within walking distance to our school and we encourage active transportation (biking, walking, scooter). Bike racks are located on the grass outside the gate of the main playground. Please encourage children to NOT cut through the parking lot as this is a busy place in the mornings and after school. Children who are out of school boundary are not guaranteed busing and families should arrange for drop off at 9:05 am and pick up at 3:25 pm. There is no supervision on the yard after 3:25 so it is important that pick ups are punctual. Morning supervision begins at 8:45am.
