Hello to our Vimy Ridge Families,  

Spring weather in Ottawa can be fickle, hopefully the weekend will be great for getting outside. There are many wonderful spring events happening at Vimy. Learning is evident as we walk through the halls and visit classes. 

We are having an issue with water bottles being used as squirt bottles. If your child has a water bottle that squirts, please keep it at home. We understand that having water at school is important especially as we move into the warmer months. Please make sure your child has a water bottle that can be used to drink from not as a squirt bottle. The most popular water bottle that causes this problem is the green Gatorade bottles.

On Wednesday, May 7, students at Vimy Ridge Public School celebrated Spring Walk to School Day, an event that encourages students to start their day with some fresh air by walking or wheeling to school! Students were greeted by a special guest, Councillor Desroches, and Phyz, a friendly mascot that encourages kids to be active. The students had smiles on their faces as music played in the yard and they walked and danced around the school yard with Phyz. 

The event promoted active transportation and its many benefits, including improved health, safety, air quality, and building a sense of community and lifelong active transportation habits. 72% of students biked or walked all or part of the way to school on Spring Walk Day. This is an amazing increase of 30% more than those who walked to school on Winter Walk Day! We look forward to celebrating more walk to school day events next school year!

We learned this week that Mr Thorp will be leaving Vimy Ridge at the end of this school year. He is heading to Kars on The Rideau Public School, in the village of Kars, just south of Manotick. A school much like ours this year, we wish him all the best as he goes to a new adventure. Please be sure to say good-bye the next time you see him. Both Ms Walker and Ms Campbell will continue next year as our school principal and vice-principal.

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From our Parent Council - Calling All Young Entrepreneurs – End of Year Event Opportunity!

Dear VRPS Families,

We are excited to announce that our End of Year Celebration will take place on Thursday June 19th from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM! It’s a time to come together as a school community, celebrate another amazing year, and enjoy an evening of fun, connection, and creativity.

As part of this event, we are thrilled to offer a special opportunity for our young entrepreneurs! If your child has a product or small business idea — from handmade crafts, art, or baked goods to slime, jewelry, or lemonade — this is their chance to become a vendor and showcase their talents.

We will be providing tables and chairs for all participants. Space is limited, so if your child is interested in being a vendor, please let us know by Friday, May 2nd by emailing vrps.chair@gmail.com.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you and support our students’ creativity and entrepreneurial spirit!

Warm regards,
VRPS Parent Council 

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Dear Vimy Families,

We are excited to share that the Parent Council will be hosting a Staff Appreciation Breakfast on Friday May 23rd 2025, to recognize and thank our dedicated teachers and school staff for their hard work, care, and commitment throughout the school year. This special breakfast is our way of showing gratitude for everything they do each day to support and inspire our children.

We are kindly asking for donations of breakfast items, beverages, or supplies to help make this event a success. Whether it’s a tray of muffins, a jug of juice, or a box of napkins—every contribution makes a difference.

If you are able to contribute, please sign up using the link below:

Staff Appreciation Sign Up Sheet

Thank you for helping us celebrate the incredible staff who care for our students every single day. Your support means the world!

With appreciation,

Vimy Ridge Parent Council

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An important message from OSTA:

Messaging to Parents/Caregivers:

Ottawa Student Transportation (OSTA) has implemented an opt-out process to enhance bus routing and transportation planning for the 2025-2026 school year.

If your child(ren) will not require school bus transportation next school year, please complete the electronic opt-out form to inform OSTA that a seat is not needed. This will help optimize services and minimize disruptions. Requests for reinstated service can be made anytime through OSTA’s Transportation Issues Form, and is subject to availability and eligibility.

The opt-out form is now available on OSTA’s website. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2025

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Here is a calendar for FREE Dental Screening.

We continue to remind students to put their phones and earbuds away. Some of our students have been reminded multiple times, and for some we will be calling parents to help remind their students and/or ask that phones be left at home. Phones, and other devices, are to be off and out of sight during the school day, including recess, nutrition break and getting on the school bus. Leaving the phone off, or at home is a successful way to manage this distraction.

As per PR 622 IT - Appropriate Use of Information Technology (Students), The District will not accept liability for loss, theft, or damage to any Personal Mobile Device while on District property, except where it can be shown that such loss was due to negligence on the part of the District.

A reminder to families that the school day ends at 3:45 pm and it makes for better learning and less interruptions when students do not leave early.  We understand that appointments are unavoidable and so when you need to pick kids up early, please notify the classroom teacher and the office the morning of. If you know of an appointment sooner than the day of, please let the teacher and office know as soon as possible. Notice to the teacher and office is greatly appreciated. This makes it easier for the teacher and the office to have your child ready for you. We ask that all early pickups happen before 3:00 as some classes have outdoor DPA or are getting ready for end of day routines and it may be difficult to locate students.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Sandra Walker, Andrew Thorp and Jannah Campbell

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As we shared, we will be having 3 leaving ceremonies in June. We have set our dates for the 3 leaving ceremonies. All of our leaving ceremonies will be held in the gym. UPDATE: Tickets will be coming home next week and sign-up will be online.

Grade 8 - Wednesday, June 25 at 1 PM

Grade 7 - Thursday, June 26 at 9:30 AM

Grade 6 - Thursday, June 26 at 12:30 PM

Idling. When you are dropping off or picking up your child(ren), we ask that you follow the City of Ottawa's bylaws to help keep the air around our school clean. The Idling Control By-law limits the time that a vehicle can idle when someone is in the vehicle:

• Maximum of three minutes per hour when it is between 0 °C and 27 °C outside
• Maximum of 10 minutes per hour when it is colder than 0 °C or hotter than 27 °C outside

Respect for all. For the past few years we have focused on learning about the impact of hateful speech and racist comments. We appreciate your support in this continued learning. Unfortunately, examples of this type of conduct are easy to find on social media outlets. Racist, homophobic and hate language is not acceptable at school. Vimy Ridge is proud of our diversity, and wants to celebrate each and every individual. We are grateful for all your support.

Outdoor play includes playing safely. This includes being careful in the mud, puddles and on the pavement. When playing soccer at school slide tackling should not be part of our soccer games. The professional players we all watch make slide tackles look easy, which also includes a lot of training and practice. At school slide tackles are dangerous and should not be part of a school game.

Breakfast Program. Our Breakfast program is now serving over 70 students each school day! Children who walk are welcome to come to the servery starting at 8:45. If your child is on a bus they can come when they get to school. We are looking for volunteers to help with the Breakfast program. Please email andrew.thorp@ocdsb.ca if you are able to help.

No Food Sharing. A reminder that Vimy Ridge has a “no food sharing” policy in our classes. We have too many allergies at Vimy Ridge for this to be done safely. Sharing candy, treats and other snacks also presents an equity issue between students. Please remind your students to eat the food provided by their family and not to share with other students in class.