South Oaks School

Have you ever heard of rage-baiting? Your child quite possibly has. "Rage-bait" was named Oxford University Press's "Word of the Year" for 2025. I had no idea about this, until my interaction with some students which started to raise questions for me about why they were responding in extremely disrespectful ways, when very simple requests were made (i.e. put your lunch away).

The idea of Rage-baiting definitely appears to have started online. Influencers would post offensive content, with the purpose of increasing their number of followers. The Webster dictionary defines Rage-baiting as; inflammatory content posted online for the purpose of gaining ad revenue through clicks, but it can also refer to trolling behavior, in which someone says or posts something offensive simply for the enjoyment of eliciting a strong reaction.

Since many people (including myself until recently) are not aware of this practice, I thought it was worth mentioning. Now that I know about it, I notice when students try it. The other day, I was talking with a student about his negative actions and the student ignores me and tries to redirect me to another topic. I said, "I want you to stop rage-baiting me". The student looked very surprised and said, "How do YOU know what rage baiting is?" On another occasion two students were involved in a fight, so we were discussing why this happened. Without any prompting, one student said to the other student, "I am sorry for rage-baiting you". That was a surprise to me and it made me think that probably many kids are aware of this concept. It appears to be the adults that are not aware and this can be problematic.

I was reading the other day that it could be possible that rage-baiting is the new form of bullying. It might appear more subtle than our traditional understanding of bullying. It could look like students playing a sport and one student keeps saying to another student, "You're out", until the other student becomes so upset that they start a physical fight. Or, perhaps a parent asks their child to do a simple task and the child simply says, "No". These simple responses promote upset in the receiver.

I don't know a lot about rage-baiting yet, but I can see that it is happening. It makes sense that what originated as an online practice, has made it way into our real life relationships. We will continue learning more about this and how we can teach students to be more respectful. In the meantime, I wanted to share this with all parents, to keep you informed to the best of my ability. As adults, we can't afford to be drawn in by rage-baiting.

Thanks,

Dale Martens - Principal

Nov 3-4: Lifetouch photo day for all students - a schedule will be sent

Nov 10: Remembrance Day Assemblies: K-Grade 3 @ 9:15, Grades 4-6 @ 11:00 - parents welcome

Nov 11: Remembrance Day - NO CLASSES

Nov 12: Community Health Clinic in AM

Nov 13: PAC Cookies & Coffee fundraiser ends - all order forms & money must be in by today

Nov 13: End of Term 1

Nov 16: Admin/PD Day - NO CLASSES

Nov 17: Hearing Screening for Kindergarten & Grade 1

Nov 23: Grades 1-6 Report Cards on Parent Portal at 4 pm

Nov 25: Community Health Clinic

Nov 26: Parent / Teacher Meetings - book an appointment in Parent Portal

Wednesday, Nov 4 - Day 6

9:10 KLW-2

9:45 KDR-2

10:10 4KL

10:35 5TR

11:00 4/5SM

LUNCH

12:40 5MF

1:05 6KR

1:30 4AP

1:55 6IA

2:20 6CY

We will hold two separate Remembrance Day services on Nov. 10 in our gym. The K-3 service will begin at 9:15 am. The gr. 4-6 service will begin at 11:00 am. Parents are welcome to join us, of course.

On Thursday, Nov 26, parents will have the opportunity to meet with their child's teacher in person. We will set up meeting times in the Parent Portal and any parent who feels the need to meet with their child's teacher can sign up for a 10 minute meeting to touch base with the teacher. If you have any trouble signing up, please call the office for assistance. We will start the appointments at 4:10 pm. You will be notified when Parent Portal is ready to accept appointments.

If Nov. 26 doesn't work for you, please contact your child's teacher to arrange an alternate way to connect. Or, if you feel that you have sufficient communication with the teacher already and things are going well for your child, it is not crucial to meet at this time.

South Oaks School is partnering with Grunthal Community Christmas this year to make this season special for all kids. During the month of November, we will be collecting new, unwrapped gifts for children of any age (up to 17 years old) at the school. The recommended value of a gift is $25.00. If you are in a position to donate some toys/gifts for kids this season, please drop them off at the office when you are able. Toys will be picked up at South Oaks on Dec. 3. Thanks for your generosity during this Christmas season.

Green Valley School's Winter Wear Share Evenings will be held on Wednesday, November 4th and Thursday, November 12th, from 4:00-7:00 p.m. in the GVS school library. Families are welcome to come find warm items for the season. If you can’t make it that evening, please call the school at 204-434-6415 to arrange another time.

Thanks to the community members who have donated items to keep our families warm this winter!

● All kindergarten students

● All grade 1 students

● All other/new students, at Teachers’ request

The screening is provided by a trained technician. If your child is flagged for a potential hearing concern, then they would participate in a second round of screening in December at our school. If that is the case, we will let you know in advance.

Were you in foster care in Manitoba between 2005 and 2019? If so, you may be eligible to receive money from the Children’s Special Allowance Settlement.

The deadline to submit a claim is January 5, 2027. There is no cost to apply. For more information or help applying, call 1 844 947 7101, email info@csasettlement.com, or visit csasettlement.com.

Head Lice - As mentioned in the parent handbook, it is requested that children's heads be checked periodically for lice. If at all suspicious, call the school immediately, so we can take the necessary precautions to prevent the lice from spreading. If live lice are found, children must be treated with specific lice shampoo. Once the child is treated, they are able to return to school. Children will then be checked when re-entering school.

Remember that having lice is not a cleanliness issue. Anyone can be in contact with lice, either at school, at a sports complex, or even trying on headgear in a store. Please also note that lice combs should be used in addition to the recommended shampoo to deal with lice. Once the lice shampoo has been used, a lice comb, such as the LiceMeister or the Nit Free Terminator, will help get rid of the rest of the head lice that may remain. If you have any questions or concerns, call our Public Health Nurse, Nicole Marques, at 204-346-7013.

Email: southoaks@hsd.ca
Website: southoaks.hsd.ca
Location: 202 Southwood Street, Grunthal, MB, Canada
Phone: 204-434-6165
Twitter: @SouthOaksHSD