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H    MESTEAD PS?

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT

Homestead Public School 99 Fletchers Creek Blvd. Brampton, ON L6X 4T7 (905) 874-4142 homestead.peelschools.org

@Homestead_PS

Theresa Longlade Principal Angelo Cariati Daniel Elias Vice-Principals Christine Lucchesi Office Manager Kevin Beson Head Custodian Mashela Samadi Settlement Counsellor David Green Trustee, Ward 1 Jeff deFreitas Superintendent

Building together for student success.

Important Dates

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Top Dog Friday, Feb. 1

8:30 AM

Dental Screening Monday, Feb. 4 -

Thursday, Feb. 14

Cycle 3 Food Orders Open Mon. Feb. 4

Sweater Day

School Council Thu. Feb. 7

PA Day/No School

for Students Friday, Feb. 8

Friendship Grams

for Sale Monday, Feb. 11 -

Wed. Feb. 13

Cycle 3 Food Orders Close Wed. Feb. 13

January happenings at Homestead!

Congrats to our EcoSchools winners!

Homestead featured on CBC's The National!

Ready to eat and grown indoors at

Homestead!

Did you get your wish?

Duane

Gibson visits Thursday, Feb. 14

Have a Heart Day Thursday, Feb. 14

Family Day

Monday, Feb. 18

Cycle 3 Food Orders begin

Week of Feb. 18

Jungle Sport begins!

Tuesday, Feb. 19

Parents at Play (K Classes)

Friday, Feb. 22

Books & Bites Tuesday, Feb. 26

2:00 PM

Dance-a-Thon Friday, Mar. 8

Winter collaborations!

HOMESTEAD P.S.

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The latest updates...

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News from the Library Learning Commons

We are so proud to announce the arrival of our Friendship Bench that was gifted to Homestead by the organization Kill it With Kindness. Homestead staff provide so many wonderful initiatives to our students like classroom representatives, SWAT leaders, Pizza helpers, Eco Club Husky Helpers, Library Secret Service helpers, Student ambassadors, athletic clubs and teams, Me to We, Annual Food Drive, CAS 5 Days of Giving, The Terry Fox Run, Jump Rope for Heart, Toronto Argonauts Huddle Up group, Forest of Reading program and so many more that Kill it With Kindness awarded us with a Friendship bench. You may have seen the special on CBC's The National last month. We are excited to expand our initiatives to even more students. Last month in the LLC we worked with the Grade 3 team on First Nations, Metis and Inuit Structures, their importance and connected it with a field trip to Crawford Lake. All classes then completed an inquiry in the LLC about one of the structures and then built those structures. See our @HomesteadLLC Twitter account for pictures. We also completed a Structures and Community Roles and Responsibilities unit with the Grade 1 team. Their creative inventions were amazing! This month our Grades 3-5 students are reading and recording their Silver Birch books on their passports to qualify for prizes and ballots for a spot on the Peel Boards Forest of Reading Celebration in May. Our K-2 students have been working in the LLC on the Blue Spruce books combined with an activity or technology. So far, we love A Better Tree Fort and I Love Sharks – visit our Twitter account to see the many creations! Thank you again to our School Council for funding this year’s Forest of Reading books for all students at Homestead! 

February is Black History Month and our character trait is Caring. We have many great events happening in the LLC. Come in the LLC and check out our Black History Month book display and some activity ideas. We will be selling Friendship Grams that staff and students can purchase for 25 cents each or 5/$1.00 in the LLC from February 11-13th. All Friendship gram treats will be handed out to students on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. Have a Heart Day is February 14th!  Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation event that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the services they need to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are. Homestead staff and students are invited to the LLC to create heart postcards to send to our MP’s and Prime Minister. AND, back by popular demand is Books & Bites! On February 26th at 2pm you and your family members are invited to come to the LLC to read with your child and have a bite. 

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The latest updates...

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Offence Declarations for School Volunteers

Parents play an important role in the development and education of their children and in the success of the school community. At Homestead we welcome and encourage the participation of parents and community members, and are grateful for the countless hours our volunteers contribute throughout the school year. To volunteer at our school, you must complete a short interview and a criminal record check. A criminal record check is required for all school volunteers in Ontario. Even if you want to accompany your child on a field trip, you need this record check. Once you have completed the process, you are on file with the Peel District School Board as being a school volunteer.  All returning volunteers will receive an Offence Declaration form that must be filled out and returned to the board office each year. Completing the Offence Declaration will ensure that you can continue volunteering in the next school year.  Forms will be mailed home this month. Recently before the Winter break, the SafeArrival system, provided by School Messenger, experienced problems reporting absences through the App and website. While School Messenger works diligently to fix any technical issues, parents/guardians are reminded that absences can always be reported by calling the School Messenger toll-free number 1-855-209-6155 even when the App and website are inaccessible.  Over the course of February, our classroom teachers will be released in small groups to work intensively with our Instructional Coach and their In-School Support Program and English Language Learner teacher colleagues to engage in co-planning using Learning Maps. A learning map is a planning, assessment and evaluation tool. This will support educators and students for Term 2. This practice aligns with our focus of Empowering Modern Learners by finding opportunities to enhance Models of Learning and Informative Assessment. 

Bus cancellations and closing schools due to bad weather

During the winter months, we may need to cancel buses or close schools because of inclement weather. Information regarding details of cancellations or closures will be announced on radio, television stations and will also be available on Twitter @Peelschools, Facebook at www.facebook.com/peelschools, www.peelschools.org and www.stopr.ca or by calling 905-890-1010 or 1-800-668-1146. One of the following messages will be announced: Peel District School Board buses are cancelled This means that schools remain open for students and staff, but buses are cancelled. Bus cancellations could occur in all or parts of municipalities. Buses will remain cancelled all day. All activities that require busing will also be cancelled. Permits, night school classes, child care and other activities in schools will operate as usual. All Peel District School Board schools and board offices are closed This means that all schools and Peel board offices are closed to students and staff. All activities in schools and board offices are also cancelled, including child care, night school and permits. All evening programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are cancelled This means that all activities in schools and Peel board offices are cancelled, including continuing education courses and events. The buildings will be closed. All weekend programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are cancelled This means that all activities in schools and Peel board offices are cancelled, including continuing education courses and events. The buildings will be closed. 

School Success update

How to report absences when School Messenger is experiencing technical issues

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The latest updates...

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Huskies Breakfast Club

The Hungry Huskies Breakfast club offers a free, healthy breakfast to students 5 days per week!   Breakfast club opens at 8:05 a.m. each day, serving an average of 50 students per day and almost 1000 servings every month!  We are thankful to have so many volunteers on staff who set up and serve breakfast to students every day.   We are grateful to receive cereal donations from General Mills and funding from the Ministry of Children and Community Services, with the support of the YMCA of Greater Toronto; however, this does not cover all of our costs.   We appreciate all cash donations provided by parents and community partners to keep this much needed program in operation.  If you are able to help out with any cash donation, please go to schools cash online to contribute, or drop off your donation to our front office.   Any amount is greatly appreciated.  Thank you!  Madame Gibson and her shopkeepers are ready to serve! Many items are available for sale.  Grades 4 & 5: Monday, Wednesday, Friday Nutrition Break D (1:00 PM) Grades 1, 2, 3: Tuesday Nutrition Break C (12:40 PM) 

EcoSchools Update

2019 has blown in some very cold weather! Let’s celebrate this cold weather with National Sweater Day on Thursday, February 7.  Mr. Beson will turn down the heat to save energy for the day so wear a nice, warm sweater. We are asking our Homestead community to turn down the heat in their homes as well and wear a sweater to save energy. In February the Husky Helpers will continue to educate our students about the importance of energy conservation and begin “spot checks” looking for classes who forget to “power down”. Our next Walk to School Wednesday will be February 21, 2019. Remember to bundle up and walk to school, take the bus or carpool with your friends. These three transportation methods will help reduce the amount of vehicle exhaust decreasing the amount of air pollution. Just a reminder to our Homestead community that you can help reduce air pollution  by turning off your vehicle in the parking lot rather than idling. Let’s make Homestead and Idle Free zone!

Homestead School Store

HOMESTEAD P.S.

Have a child or children born in 2015? You can register your child for kindergarten at any time— complete the registration forms one at www.peelschools.org/kindergarten and visit the school your child will be attending next school year during regular school hours to complete your registration. For more information, visit www.peelschools.org/kindergarten All parents/guardians of elementary students need to report their children's absences or late arrivals from school via our automated School Messenger SafeArrival system. Use one of the following methods to set-up your new SafeArrival account. Please ensure the number and email address that you are using to report your child’s absences are those that we have on file at the school. SchoolMessenger app (free) 1. Download the SchoolMessenger app 2. Tap Sign Up to create your account Web and Mobile Web:  go.schoolmessenger.ca 1. Go to the above website 2. Click Sign Up to create your account Interactive Toll-free Phone 1. Call the toll-free number:  1-855-209-6155 2. Listen to and follow the instructions to report an absence If your child’s absence is not reported in advance, the automated notification system will contact you and will provide an opportunity to verify the absence. 

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Coming up at Homestead...

In December 1995, the House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month, following a motion introduced by the first black Canadian woman elected to Parliament, the Honourable Jean Augustine. During Black History Month, students, staff and parents from across Peel will participate in a number of activities that promote the understanding of the many contributions made by black Canadians. As you know, Mr. Sub lunches are available on Tuesdays and pizza is available on Thursdays. These are ordered in cycles at several points throughout the school year. In order to provide families with more opportunities to place food orders for Mr. Sub and pizza, we will be transitioning to shorter ordering cycles. Cash orders are accepted in the office or you can use SchoolCashOnline.  Here are the new cycle dates: • Cycle 3: February 19 - March 28 • Cycle 4: April 2 - April 30 • Cycle 5: May 2 - May 30 • Cycle 6: June 4 - June 27 Note that orders from The Lunch Lady (delivered Wednesdays) can be placed at any time and are not payable to the school. Reminders will be sent home using Communicate, SchoolCashOnline, our website and Twitter. 

Time for School!

Homestead Puts the Spotlight on Black Heritage Kindergarten Registration

Changes to Food Cycles

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 -  FRIDAY, MARCH 1

HOMESTEAD P.S.

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Coming up at Homestead...

For Kindergarten Families

Thursday, May 9, 2019

DANCE-A-THONFriday, March 8, 2019

Stay tuned for details!