March 27, 2026

It has been lovely to be back at school with the students and staff! A reminder that the Easter Long weekend is coming up on Friday April 4th to Monday April 6th (students returning to school on Tuesday). As well, our Recognition Assembly date was moved to March 31st. A reminder as well to check out the DSBN website under the eFlyers, where you will find community events and programs your children may be interested in. Finally, don’t forget to pick up your chocolate orders! They have arrived and are available in the office. If you have shared the link with friends or family, please check for their items as well when you come to pick up. 

Breakfast Program

Niagara Nutrition Partners has sponsored a Breakfast Program for Gracefield. This is a government sponsored program, as the Ministry of Education wants every school to have some type of nutrition program by the end of this school year.

We have opted for a Breakfast Cart Program. Each morning when the entry bell rings, there will be a cart with a choice of grab and go breakfast type items available at no cost to the kids. Some examples of items would be: a muffin or a yogurt tube; a Quaker Bar or a cheese string. The students can choose one item from each category (e.g., grain, dairy). Please note that the food items are school safe, and some are also egg/dairy free (vegan) - so if you have specific questions please reach out to me directly so we can go over the food order and ingredients together. Our kindergarten and Grade 1 classes will have a separate bin sent with the breakfast items as they both start their day outdoors. We are in our first week and it will take a while for us to sort out supply and demand, so please ask your student to be patient if items run out. The menu will also change each day, so assure them if they don’t like Tuesday’s choice, there will be a different option the next day. Thank you to Niagara Nutrition Partners for providing the generous funding for this program. The students were so excited to be able to grab a breakfast bite this week!

World Autism Day is April 2nd

This year, our school is excited to participate in Autism Ontario’s Celebrate the Spectrum campaign for World Autism Day! World Autism Day is an important day across Canada, as it helps us learn about the challenges and successes of autistic people. It’s also a chance to come together: families, schools, communities, and leaders; to make Ontario a more welcoming and inclusive place for everyone. Let’s work together to celebrate diversity, support one another, and help everyone feel like they belong. Students and staff are encouraged to wear tie dye or bright colours in recognition of World Autism day next Thursday. You can support Autism Ontario by clicking HERE to make a direct donation to their organization. Choose Gracefield to contribute as a school community member. 

School Council Events - Please join us!

More details to follow next week, and sign up will be on School Cash at the beginning of April for the Internet Safety Parent Presentation and Watering Can Workshop. 

The End-of-Year Fun Fair event will feature fun games, a tasty food truck, and a special appearance from our local fire department (hopefully), who will bring their fire truck for kids to explore and a fun sprinkler spray! It promises to be a fantastic way to celebrate together before the summer. Stay tuned for more details!

Student Registrations and Organization for 2026/27 School Year

In order to assist us with making the best decisions possible with respect to class organization and student placements for Gracefield Public School for the 2026/2027 school year, we would appreciate it if you would let the office know if your family is planning to move in the next few months. We thank you in advance for keeping us informed! In addition, if there is any input you have for 2026/27 class placement, please email me directly. When building classes, we can keep family input in mind, but we cannot always accommodate all requests, especially at a small school like Gracefield, where there is often only one choice moving forward in grade. However, sharing information about your child’s learning style or past relationship struggles or strengths can help them move into their new classroom community with support from their new teacher, regardless of placement. School and classroom organization begins in May, so sharing this information with us now is very helpful for our planning for next year!

Exciting Fundraiser Update!

We are thrilled to share the final numbers from our recent fundraiser! Thanks to your incredible support and enthusiasm, we’ve achieved some fantastic results.

From our Purdy’s chocolate sales, we raised a wonderful profit of $1,366.61! Your sweet tooth certainly paid off!

Additionally, our efforts with the COBS Bread at Ridley Square were equally impressive, with 172 cards sold and an approximate profit of $1990.50! That’s a lot of fresh bread to enjoy! 

A heartfelt thank you to each of you for your participation and dedication. Together, we’re making a real difference for Gracefield children.

Finally, thank you for the contributions to our Valentine’s Day fundraiser. Together you supported Gracefield with 402.70 in donations. 

New Ministry of Education Volunteer Requirements

As previously shared, the Ministry of Education has introduced updated police record check requirements, and all school volunteers must have a current police record check on file. In the meantime, please make sure you have completed and submitted your School Volunteer Offence Declaration.

Save the Date

Please take a moment to add the dates below to your calendar - I have updated the important dates to include up to the last day of school, events/activities that are currently scheduled. There are a few new dates as well! You can also check out the calendar on the school website for dates such as trips and PD days, and your food day information will be found on that calendar. You go to https://gracefield.dsbn.org/ and click on School Calendar (Yellow Square). The Friday message is also posted there, in the purple square that says School Newsletter. 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Di Roma

Principal

New Dates Added! Please read to the end.