PRINCIPAL S CORNER V ALLEY FARM P.S. N EWS

Transcription

1 Come Grow With Us! February 2016 V ALLEY FARM P.S. N EWS PRINCIPAL S CORNER We welcome the month of February - with hearts and warm fuzzies. Term 1 Report Cards have gone home. Please take some time to look at the achievements your child has made and suggestions for next steps in the learning process. Our staff strives to maintain a great home and school communication either through the use of the agenda, personal phone call or through various technological mediums. Our School Improvement Team met, analyzed various sources of data to determine our school goals. Our school wide focus is 21 st century math and inquiry based learning and technology. Interactive performance boards/walls are in the classrooms, highlighted with learning goals, co-constructed success criteria, pockets of help tickets to make learning engaging for our students and a source for obtaining strategies. Students can use exemplars on the boards/walls to bump up their work to the next level. We have invested in Raz Kids, Tumble Books - great at home reading resources. Please ask your child s teacher for the log in and passwords for these sites. Some of our students use the Reading Academy Program at school. Contact Us! Valley Farm Public School 1615 Pepperwood Gate Pickering, Ontario L1X 2K5 Phone: Fax: valleyfarmps@ddsb.ca Mrs. F. Gurdin Principal Mrs. E. Ferris Vice-Principal Mrs. R. Martin Office Administrator Every year, Canadians are invited to take part in the festivities that commemorate the legacy of Black History month. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of the people of African origin who have helped make Canada the multicultural and diverse society it is today. During Black History month, Valley Farm students will be participating in a variety of activities, such as morning announcements, videos, presentations by students and research and readings on the achievements of past and present Black citizens. Honourable Lincoln Alexander received recognition for his service in the Canadian Armed Forces in WWII, had a successful law career., advocating for children s, tenure as Minister of Labour, and as Ontario s first African-Canadian Governor General in January 21 st was declared the recognition of Lincoln Alexander Day. Extra curricular activities that are being offered include Intermediate Basketball, Junior Boys and Girls Basketball, folk dancing, ski club, Primary craft club, Leadership, Student Council, and chess club. Congratulations Valley Farm, another way to keep our students engaged! Mr. Brownson and Mr. Orr are looking forward to starting the Robotics club. February is also the Chinese New Year. We will be celebrating the Year of the Monkey. Happy New Year! Mrs. K. Shehan Administrative Ass t February is also the Chinese New Year. We will be celebrating the Year of the Monkey. This is the most important festivity for the Chinese. Happy New Year!

2 Valley Farm P.S. News Page 2 REPORT CARDS First term report cards will go home Thursday, February 11th. Please contact your child s teacher before this date if you have any concerns. STORKLAND MISSION STATEMENT Congratulations to Ms. Moon who has given birth to a healthy baby boy. Mrs. Worwood will be going on maternity leave at the end of February. MARCH BREAK While it s still a long way off, we would like to remind you of the Winter Break dates. Students will be dismissed on Friday, March 11, 2016 at our regular dismissal time of 3:00 p.m. Schools are closed for the Winter Break from March 14 through March 18. Students return to school on Monday, March 21, PINK SHIRT DAY On February 24, 2016, all students are encouraged to wear a pink item of clothing in support of anti-bullying. The idea of wearing the pink shirt came from a rural school in Nova Scotia where a grade 9 student was being teased by many students. A group of students wanted to show support for the grade 9 student and decided to wear a pink shirt. Before long, the entire school will be wearing a pink shirt to show support and to promote inclusion. Pink Shirts will be sold in the front hallway every morning recess until February 24th. Shirts are $10 each. Get yours today! Valley Farm Public School will engage students, parents and staff in a culture of learning that advances a shared responsibility for academic achievement, individual excellence and a respect for diversity and community.

3 Valley Farm P.S. News Page 3 LATE ARRIVALS As mentioned in previous newsletters, many students are arriving late each morning. This creates a major disruption to morning classroom routine. As well, students are missing opening exercises including important daily announcements. In an attempt to reduce the number of lates, detentions will be given to any student who is late (other than for scheduled appointments) for numerous times each month. Thank you to those parents who have already been calling to report your child being late. We also ask our parents to help organize your child the night before. This minimizes the need for phone requests throughout the day. If backpacks and lunches are packed the night before - this helps the mornings go faster. FEB. 20 WORLD SOCIAL JUSTICE DAY Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. As DDSB we uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability. February 20 was proclaimed as World Social Justice Day in The observance of World Day of Social Justice should support efforts of the community in poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for all. Let is strive to build a world of social justice where all people can live and work in freedom, dignity and equality. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

4 Valley Farm P.S. News Page 4 EQAO TESTING The annual EQAO dates for the province wide tests for students in grades 3 will be coming up on May 24th May 27th The dates for the grade 6 testing will take place on May 31-June 3, We ask all parents/guardians of children involved in the testing to ensure their child arrives to school well rested, well fed and prepared to give their best performance. Even one child who misses the test can and will adversely affect the results. Please do not schedule vacations, dental/medical appointments, etc. during this time. Your co-operation is highly appreciated. Parents can visit the EQAO s website at GRADE 3:

5 Valley Farm P.S. News Page 5 CHESS CLUB From the Chess corner: Chess club has started at Valley Farm! And with it, we have beginners learning to play for the first time and other students with quite a bit of experience. We do play for fun but the competitiveness does intensify with the experienced players. If your child still wishes to join, we play once a week during lunch. It's your move, Mr. Benrubi and Mr. Orr INDOOR SOCCER

6 Valley Farm P.S. News Page 6 DATES TO REMEMBER FEBRUARY: 3 Milkshake Day 4 Hot Dog Day 11 Report Cards go home 10 Ski Day 11, 18, 25 Pizza Day 14 Valentine s Day 15 National Flag Day of Canada 15 Family Day (School Closed) 20 World Day of Social Justice 23 SCC Meeting at 6:30 24 Pink Shirt Day MARCH: March Break (School Closed) DURHAM DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Success in learning to meet the challenges of the future. DURHAM DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Success in learning to meet the challenges of the future. Superintendent of Education, John Legere Legere_john@durham.edu.on.ca Administrative Officer, Eleanor McIntosh Mcintosh_eleanor@durham.edu.on.ca Trustee Chris Braney, braney_chris@durham.edu.on.ca Trustee Paul Crawford, crawford_paul@durham.edu.on.ca New P.A. Day to take place April 8, 2016 All Durham District School Board (DDSB) schools will have a newly designated Professional Activity Day (P.A. Day) on Friday, April 8, This additional PA Day was mandated by the Ministry of Education on December 18, 2015 and applies to all DDSB schools and calendars. All DDSB schools will be closed to students on April 8, On this day, DDSB teachers will participate in professional development on provincial education priorities identified by the Minister of Education. DDSB Child