is an important com-

ponent to finding

some of the answers

to these questions.

Then, creating a plan

to maximize future

success is an im-

portant part of every

child’s education.

Help your child set

realistic and attaina-

ble goals for the next

reporting period.

Outline ways in

which these goals

can be met, as well as

rewards and conse-

quences if they are

not. Type the

“official plan” and

post one copy in a

prominent house-

hold location, anoth-

er in your child’s

binder .

Involving your pre-

teen/teen in this pro-

cess provides him/

her with ownership

and makes the report

equally important to

both of you!

A very productive

Term One is quickly

coming to an end. In

fact, on Monday,

February 13th, par-

ents and guardians

can expect to receive

Reports at the end of

the day.

We have found that

when reports come

home it is often just

as stressful for par-

ents and guardians

as it is for the stu-

dents. As a parent, it

is important that you

know how to inter-

pret your child’s re-

port. Of course,

whether your child is

a high achiever who

needs more chal-

lenge or a struggling

student who needs

more help, it is im-

portant to discuss

your child’s success-

es and analyze any

areas that need ad-

dressing. In fact, we

believe that a Report

is not just the symbol

of the end of a term;

rather, it should rep-

resent the beginning

of a process.

When the Reports

arrive we strongly

suggest you begin

this process by first

focusing on the posi-

tive aspects of the

report—regardless of

the grades your child

brings home. Start-

ing on a positive note

shows your child that

you want to praise

their accomplish-

ments. Try to identi-

fy three positives.

The positive should

not just be about

marks it could mean

highlighting a strong

effort or a positive

Learning Skills com-

ment.

Of course, each re-

porting period marks

a new beginning to

set goals and reflect

on past work habits,

achievements and

challenges. The par-

ent-teacher interview

A d m i n i s t r a t o r s ’ M e s s a g e

Congratulations to the

following January Wil-

lowdale Aces:

January 13th:

Nicole M. (8A)

Gabriel B. (8B)

Wil

low

da

le M

idd

le S

ch

oo

l Toronto District School Board

F u t u r e A c e s

I s s u e 5 J a n u a r y 2 7 , 2 0 1 7

Willowdale M.S.

225 Senlac Road

North York,

Ontario

M2R 1P6

Tel: (416) 395-2970

Fax: (416) 395-2978

Kathy Gaziuk

Principal

Marcello Bozin

Vice-Principal

Lynn Britton

Office Admin

Laura Snider

Office Clerical

Anne-Marie

Stephen

Head Caretaker

Elizabeth Addo

Superintendent

Alexander

Brown

Trustee

January 19th:

Christina M.N. (8C)

Deek S. (8D)

January 27th:

Eun Gu K. (7/8F)

Evangeline C. (8E)

Eco Club’s Fun, Fit Fridays

For three weeks before the winter break, the Eco Club hosted a new event in the gym, which was wildly popular - Fun, Fit Fridays. During recess, students of all grades had an opportunity to come together to display their athletic skills, and a group of Eco Club members displayed their leadership's skills through organizing and refereeing the events on their own, with minimal teach-er aid.

Participating students had choice to play basketball, volleyball, or floor hockey. Every week, there were a limited number of students who could sign-up, and every week the spots were con-sistently filled. In addition, students stated that they enjoyed these activities, as it is difficult for them to play these outside in the cold, winter months. For them, Fun Fridays were a chance to promote and engage in healthy activity.

Although Fun Fridays will now be on hiatus due to Wintermurals, Eco Club is hoping to com-mence them again in April and May.

Alina P. 7/8F Student Writer

Eco Leadership Conference See article on the following page.

The Willowdale students who participated in the Eco Leadership Conference on January 24th were: Ariana. S. (7A), Tyler. R. (7A), Alex. B. (7A), Melanie. Y. (8C), and Natasha S. (8D).

Page 2

Eco Leadership Conference

My experience at the Middle Schools’ Eco Leadership Conference was really fun. When we first arrived, we had to go around the room and ask people questions like: “How do you host your Eco Week/Day?” and/or “What things should you do to make our environment more eco-friendly?” Afterwards, we saw a presentation about the local community (Downsview Park) and we were told about our schedule for the day. Next, we were divided into groups such as “Water” and “Sun”. (I was placed in the “Tree” group.)

Time to play!! The first activity that we played was about migration. If you don’t know what migra-tion is, well, migration is when animals who live in cold areas must travel to the warmer areas to survive. Their challenge is to survive the cold until they get to these warmer areas. Once there, they don’t have to worry about travelling again for a period of time. The way the game worked was that there were rubber platforms that the “migrators” had to step on. (In the game I was a Monarch Butterfly.) Those rubber plat-forms represented the habitats of the Monarch Butterflies. Throughout the game there were some chal-lenges. In order to succeed, the Monarch Butterflies had to work together to get to their destination. After playing the game, the instructor asked what could be done to help migrations. An obvious answer was to plant gardens in Mexico, Toronto, and other places where these “migrators” travel to. What we learned was how to cooperate with others, how the habitats’ of the butterflies work and how to be empathetic to-wards butterflies. We also discovered that many species are having a hard time migrating and just living their everyday lives.

When the first activity was over, the next activity took place. What I did was a facilitation work-shop. Some of you may not know what the term “facilitation” means. The word “facilitation” comes from the French root word “facile”. “Facile” means easy and simple. So, the facilitation workshop, in this case, was where members of each school wrote down things that the facilitators are doing and what they need-ed to know. To make this easier to understand, some examples of a facilitator are teachers, leaders and even friends. While brainstorming ideas with my group, we learned about: how to be a good facilitator; how to lead an activity; good leadership skills; and, how to apply them to our daily lives. In addition, we also learned how to be kind and respectful towards the group, and what to do and what not to do when being a facilitator.

The last activity was when the “Tree” group got together and each school led a game that was provided. The reason why the facilitation workshop was planned was so we could prepare to lead an ac-tivity. Other schools led their games and then we played their games. During the activities, the things that my group and I learned is that teaching is very hard when the instructions are difficult and/or unclear, it’s very hard to explain everything. It was really fun leading a group and demonstrating the rules of the activi-ty. Playing other activities was really fun also, as well as teaching us real-life events that even us as hu-mans, we need to be aware of in the world around us. Furthermore, we learned ways to help species do everyday things such as migrating and helping different species live out their lives. We learned that com-munication is the key to learning. Finally, when presenting we learned to be prepared to demonstrate our activities. It was really interested to try new things!

The Middle Schools’ Eco Leadership Conference (ELC) was really fun, interesting, amazing, and at the same time extremely educational. Before I went there, like, before the BIG day, I was super excited to attend an Eco Leadership Conference. Last year when Mr. Rawlins was talking about the ELC, I was so pumped up for that event but then, when he told us that it was only for students in Grade 7 and 8, I was very disappointed because I was only in Grade 6 last year. But now, I am really glad that I was able to go because I love eco-related activities. Overall, the ELC was really amusing, and I have learned many things that I will take and apply to my daily life.

Ariana. S 7A Student Writer

Page 3

Team Work

We may have all come on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Students who have mastered the skill of teamwork have a greater chance to adapt to diversity and conflict.

Teamwork is a sustainable skill that fosters confidence in or out of the school setting. Working as a team

to strive for a shared commonality may tackle complicated expectations in an non-threatening manner, as

the saying goes, ``many hands make light work``.

The cohesion of a team can also foster skills such as trust,

respect, communication and reflection. These fundamental

soft skills can promote vision and leadership, which are en-

ticing characteristic traits in the workplace. The ability to

communicate effectively through teamwork can advocate

and reframe ideas amiably in an intellectual and emotional

manner.

To help develop the character trait of team work in stu-

dents, one of the first strategies one can introduce to a stu-

dent is a team. The team can be either a sports or academic

team. The primary focus is to ensure the student is highly

motivated to participate in the team. The more the student is comfortable with the team, the less likelihood

the student will resist to participate and high probability the student is motivated to look at the commonali-

ties. Being a part of a team will help foster turn taking, and empathetic listening.

Empathetic listening helps promote awareness to diversity within a group. One can mentor the student to

respect the differences but focus on compromise and collaborate to establish a commonality. These two

interpersonal skills also lead to taking responsibility in time management and executive functioning. Allow

the student to challenge oneself to discount conflicting viewpoints and to stay disciplined and focus on a

compromise is a skill of resiliency. Resiliency is an important skill in learning how to adapt to stressors.

Be that as it may, the end result of it all is to have fun.

Mr. DeMedeiros

Willowdale Staff G4

Team Work is the TDSB Character Attribute for January...

“If you have an apple, and I have an apple, and we exchange apples,

then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea

and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” (George Bernard Shaw)

“Alone we can do so little ; together we can do so much.” (Helen Adams Keller)

Page 4

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN!!!

PARENT INFORMATION EVENING

Monday, January 30th

, 2017

6:00 – 6:45 p.m.

Willowdale MS Cafeteria (bottom floor)

225 Senlac Road

The evening is for parents and/or guardians only.

Page 5

Grade 5 Parents/Guardians

Need a last minute holiday gift idea?

The QSP site is still open 24/7. GIVE THE GIFT OF READING THIS YEAR!

Order a magazine subscription for someone this holiday season!

Simply go to www.QSP.ca enter ACCESS CODE 3680691 and start shopping. Re-

member, you can order a magazine for anyone who lives in Canada.

No line ups, no wrapping and one size fits all. It’s the gift that lasts all year long!

If you have questions, please contact QSP Customer Service at 1-800-667-2536.

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Thank you for your ongoing support!

Absentee Line: Please call the school if your child is

going to be absent or late arriving at

school. Our Safe Arrival Number is:

(416) 395-2973

This line is available 24

hours a day (every day)

to leave messages.

T o r o n t o D i s t r i c t

S c h o o l B o a r d

Upcoming

Community Events

Page 7

Please join us:

School Council

Meetings

The first meeting for the new year will be

Monday, February 27

Ward Forums

Trustee Alexander Brown will be hosting the following Ward Forums/Meetings:

March 23—Traffic Safety with Young Drivers of Canada

April 20—Special Education: Autism Services—What to Expect

May 25—Secondary Program Choices: Willowdale and Beyond

Everyone is welcome to attend!