Newsletter #7 - 10/17/25

JR Henderson Weekly Update #7 - October 17th, 2025

Good afternoon Henderson Families,

As the leaves fall and the air grows crisp, our school community is buzzing with energy and excitement. This season brings not only beautiful changes outdoors but also a vibrant array of learning opportunities and events inside Henderson classrooms and halls. From hands-on projects to community celebrations, our students and staff are embracing the spirit of fall with curiosity, creativity, and connection. There are lots of updates in this week's newsletter - enjoy!

Spooky Fun!
Throughout the last week of October, we have some fun events on the horizon. Be sure to check out some spirit days below:

Cross Country Update
Congratulations to all the Cross Country runners who ran yesterday at Fort Henry. Mme Gallupe, Mrs. Sinclair, Mme J MacKay and Mme Martin are so proud of each and every one of you for your hard work, determination and for representing Henderson so well. We had some amazing team results:  

Bantam Girls finished 1st place: The team was Sydney Harrison, Jazmine Harrison, Grace Clarke, Sloane Morrison 

Bantam Boys finished in  2nd place : The team was Leo Bagg, Emmitt Dooher, Miles Garrison  and Dawson Eagles  

Atom Girls finished – 3rd Place: The team was Ruby Scott, Audrey Smith, Brielle Houston and Claire DeWolfe. 

We also had some amazing individual results. The following students finished in the top 30 and have qualified for Districts:  

·                Ruby S - 1st place 

·                Audrey S – 4th  

·                Brielle H - 10th  

·                Theodore S - 6th 

·                 Russell E - 21st 

·                Doug C - 24th 

·                Leo B - 2nd 

·                Emmitt D - 4th  

·                Miles G - 15th 

·                Dawson E - 16th 

·                Owen D - 20th 

·                Sydney H - 1st 

·                Jazmine H - 3rd 

·                Grace C - 8th 

·                Sloane M - 10th 

·                 Darian E - 11th 

·                Presley C - 14th 

·                Elle R - 17th 

·                Teddi W - 19th  

·                Zoe T - 26th 

Good Luck to all runners who will compete at the District Events next week!  

Experiential Learning project
All week, students in Lieberman, Martin, Morrison and Elliott’s classes have been participating in a hands-on sewing project. They have been sewing a drawstring bag using sewing machines to bring on their forthcoming land-based learning days at Lemoine Point and Auden Park. This project supports experiential learning goals, future pathways exploration and Ontario Youth Apprenticeship (OYAP) objectives. Throughout the week, students have been rotating through stations that also connect to curriculum expectations in Math, Language (English and French) and Phys Ed. It’s been a wonderful opportunity for students to develop practical skills, express their creativity, and gain confidence as they work on creating something of their own!

Breakfast Initiative
We are currently piloting a breakfast initiative at Henderson, in recognition that many students are coming to school without breakfast. Thanks to the support of The Food Sharing Project, we’ve been granted additional funding to expand our orders and make this program possible for all students. If your child would benefit from breakfast in the morning, please reach out to brennanka@limestone.on.ca to get more info.

Further, we’re also looking for parent volunteers who might be available to help with light prep in the mornings from 8:15 to 8:45am with their student (Grade 3+). If you’re interested in helping out or learning more, please reach out—we’d love to have you involved!

Concussion Protocol
If concussion paperwork is sent home with your student, kindly ensure this signed paperwork is returned the next day. If you happen to forget, please call the office or email the school with a photo of the paperwork at your earliest convenience.

Emergency Procedures
Throughout the next few weeks, we will be completing three fire drills, one hold and secure (normal operations inside of the school) and one lockdown. Prior to commencing a hold and secure or lockdown, we take a moment to discuss these drills in a child-friendly way, so students understand that the risk is low but practicing is part of our policy and preparation plan. We also invite police collaboration - in a supportive and capacity-building way - to ensure we are absolutely prepared in the unlikely event of an emergency situation. LDSB Emergency Procedures can be viewed here: https://www.limestone.on.ca/emergency-protocols and administration is happy to answer any questions parents/guardians may have.

Hawks Gear!
Did you know that Mondays at Henderson are Hawks Spirit Day? Every Monday, we encourage students and staff to wear green, yellow or Hawks gear as a way to show off our Hawk pride. If you're interested in buying Hawk gear, see here: https://specialtytrophies.ca/jrhendersonpublicschool/

Hot Lunch Reminder
As a reminder, if you haven't yet, be sure to order hot lunch through https://www.lunchboxorders.net. We are offering subs on Tuesdays and pizza on Thursdays. Money raised from hot lunch goes directly back into our school community to support athletics, learning materials, student initiatives and more. Orders are due Sunday at noon for the following week. Finally, if buses are cancelled because of the weather, hot lunch will be cancelled as well. Questions? Email Mark-  jrhschoolcouncil@gmail.com

School Council 
The next School Council meeting is on Wednesday November 19th from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. Free childcare will be available. Don’t forget - here’s the School Council email address: JRHSchoolCouncil@gmail.com School Council looks forward to hearing feedback and voices from all Henderson community members.

Have a great weekend, Hawks!

Mme Brennan, Mme Rodé and the JR Henderson Staff

2025-2026 LDSB School Year Calendar

A PDF version of the 2025-2026 School Year Calendar is available online.

School Day Schedule