Newsletter #18 - 1/16/26

JR Henderson Weekly Update #18 - January 16th, 2026

Good afternoon Henderson Families,

Happy Friday, Henderson Families! Despite all the snow, Henderson students have been eagerly using the yard, getting shovels moving and enjoying the weather. In classes, learning continues. We have a lot of details to share this week about the events happening in our community.

Dressing for the Weather
As the weather fluctuates between icy and melty, our yard can be slushy. Please ensure that students have dry mitts and boots to start the day and consider extras if your child often comes home wet. We also ALWAYS have extra coats, snow pants, hats, etc. If you require a snowsuit, accessories or a backup pair to leave at school, just let us know at jrhen@limestone.on.ca

Save The Date - Spring Concert!
We know it's months away but we are going to be honest, we are already excited! The dates for our Spring Concert are:
Tuesday April 14th - Kindergarten concert
Wednesday April 15th - Grade 1 to 3 Spring concert
Thursday April 16th - Grade 4 to 8 Spring concert
Concerts will take place at 2pm in our gym. As we are a large school, we have three separate days for this event. We will remind families closer to the dates.

Kindergarten Registration
It's already that time of the year! We are delighted to let families know that our Kindergarten registration process is underway for 2026/2027. See here for more information. Please spread the word about the great things happening at Henderson. We saw increased Kinder enrolment last year and want to keep this going!

Friday January 23rd - Backwards/Inside Out Day
Coming soon - another fun and silly Spirit Day! On Friday January 23rd, we will be celebrating Backward/Inside Out Day. Backwards and inside clothing is welcome. We can't wait to share the laughs with you.

On Mondays, we wear Green :)
We love showing Hawk Pride! On Mondays - yes, every single Monday - we encourage Hawks to wear green. Staff love to participate too. It doesn't have to be official gear - any green will do but if you're looking for Henderson Hawk gear, see here: https://specialtytrophies.ca/jrhendersonpublicschool/

Vaccinations through KFLA Southeast
KFLA Southeast (formally Public Health) have opened several appointment slots at their clinic on January 30, during the PA day, for students who require routine vaccinations. These appointments will help ensure students remain up to date and avoid suspension in April. See below for more information:

Term 2 Staffing Changes
As part of planned leaves, we have three staff who are off for Term 2. We have concluded the hiring process and let individual classes know but we would like to let the community know of some staff updates. While we will miss these Henderson teachers this term, we wish them every success and look forward to see them back in September.

• Mrs. Lisa Sinclair (on leave) - Ms. Brooke Moretti Term 2 English Kindergarten teacher
• Mme Kelly Sedore (on leave) - M. Mitch Leger Term 2 French Grade 2 Teacher
• Mme Elisabeth Beaulieu (on leave) - Mme Teagan Robertson Term 2 Grade 3 Teacher
  

Basketball Extracurricular Update
Basketball season for grades 4-8 underway! We have many teams beginning tryouts this week and next. This season, the tournaments for seniors are in February. Players will hear more information about teams and tournaments in the coming week from their coaches and on the announcements. Mme A. MacKay, Mme Barkley, Mme Elliott, Mrs. Seiveright and Mr. Morrison are all excited about the upcoming basketball season! Go Hawks!

Southeast Public Health Resources
As this winter continues to see an increase in respiratory illness, Southeast Public Health has provided us with the following posters for circulation to help reduce the spread of illness. We also encourage an increase of handwashing at home, in public settings and at school.

Grade 5 through 8 Full Day Learning Conference
We are pleased to announce that we are planning a full-day learning workshop for our Grade 5 through 8 students, in recognition of some key areas of skill development that we want to support. The workshop, called Respect in Action, will be held all day on Monday January 26th right here at JR Henderson. The workshop will be planned by our Belong and Believe Club, will involve a rotation of centres, guest speakers and learning to help students understand that leadership, respect, and belonging are demonstrated through everyday actions. By exploring humility, authenticity, and respect, students will be encouraged to reflect on how their words and choices impact others and how they can contribute positively to a safe, inclusive, and supportive school community. We look forward to providing more updates about this exciting workshop later in the month.

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. If you have questions, please email jrhschoolcouncil@gmail.com

School Council 
The next School Council meeting is on Wednesday January 28th 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. Finally, School Council minutes can be found here.

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