Principal: Mrs. D. Perrott Vice-Principals: Ms. Stegeman, Mme J. Cournoyer-White

Superintendent: Mr. M. Logue Trustees: Stan Cameron, Will Davies

SouthFields Village Public School 110 Learmont Avenue, Caledon, ON L7C 3R1

905-843-3281

April 2019 Newsletter

Upcoming Dates to Remember Tuesday, April 2 Wear Blue for Autism Awareness Thursday, April 4 School Council meeting (6:30pm – Learning X) Friday, April 5 “Cat in the Hat Goes to Trial” play for Grades 4-6 Monday, April 8 Education Week Event: Makerspace Monday Tuesday, April 9 Education Week Event: Take a Breath Tuesday

Spring Photo Day (Sibling Photos) Wednesday, April 10 Education Week Event: Day of Pink Thursday, April 11 Education Week Event: Totally Litterless Lunch Thursday

The Grunch Evening Performances (tickets required for admission) Friday, April 12 Education Week Event: Friends don’t let Friends read alone Friday Education Week Closing Assembly (9am) Thursday, April 18 Jump Rope for Heart Kick-Off Assembly (9am) April 19-22 Easter Weekend – No School on Friday or Monday Wednesday, April 24 Earth Week Event – Walk to School Wednesday Thursday, April 25 Earth Week Event – Let’s think about our trash! Thursday, April 25 CLAW Inclusive Assembly (8:50am) Friday, April 26 Earth Week Event – Fresh Air Friday *Every Wednesday* Pizza Day (thank you to our parent volunteers!) *Every Friday* Lunch Lady Lunches

Day of Pink “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed, that’s all who ever have.” –Margaret Mead Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 is the International Day of Pink. A day when communities across the province, across the country and across the world unite to embrace diversity and raise awareness to stop discrimination in all its forms, including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. Please join us in encouraging your child to wear as much pink as possible on April 10th, because it takes a village to stand up to bullying. “Equity and inclusion is something that all Peel schools teach throughout the year and discuss with students daily—it is embedded in everything we do,” says Peter Joshua, Director of Education. “Day of Pink is just one more way for us to ensure students and staff learn, work and develop in environments that are safe, equitable, inclusive, respectful and nurturing for all.” Day of Pink began when a high school student in Cambridge, Nova Scotia, was bullied with homophobic language because he wore a pink shirt to school. The next day, hundreds of students at his school stood up to bullying and wore pink to school to show their support for equity and inclusion. Education Week Another year of learning at SFV, means another reason to celebrate. This year’s annual Education Week will take place from April 8th to 12th. Please see below for the exciting events that we have planned to showcase the SFV spirit.

Monday – Maker Mindspace Monday Classes will team up with their buddy class to find an overlap in their respective Science curricula to inspire purposeful exploration in an empowering makerspace environment. Tuesday – Take a Breath Tuesday Classes will be invited to participate in a variety of mindfulness activities that foster self-regulation and relaxation. Wednesday – Day of Pink How you can help: Your child is invited to come to school decked out in pink to advocate for a kind and safe environment, free of stereotypes and discrimination. Students with the most spirit will be recognized! Thursday – Totally Litterless Thursday How you can help: Students are asked to bring a totally litterless lunch on Thursday. By packing your lunch and snacks in reusable containers, you can ensure that you have no garbage to add to the trash bins! Friday – Friends Don’t Let Friends Read Alone Friday How you can help: Your child is invited to come to school in their pajamas with their favourite book and stuffed animal or dress as their favourite storybook character for a “Snuggle up and Read” period when can take on literacy-themed activities and rediscover a love for reading. Introduction to Kindergarten program Come play with us and help prepare your child for a smooth transition into Kindergarten. Our Introduction to the Kindergarten Program is for children entering Junior Kindergarten in September. It will begin on Tuesday April 16th from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The program will take place every Tuesday for 6 weeks and ends on May 21st. Visit us so you and your child have a chance to explore the classroom environment, meet our team of educators, and make some new friends before starting school in September. Please note that children need to be accompanied by an adult during this program. For more information, please call us at 905-843-3281 and ask for Mrs. Girardi. Award of Excellence and Award of Distinction Recipients SouthFields Village is excited to share that we are honouring ten members of our school community as part of Education Week for their outstanding contributions. The Award of Distinction is presented to recipients for their above-and-beyond contributions to student success at their school. We are happy to share that the following people have received the Award of Distinction this year. Parent volunteers were honoured at our March CLAW assembly and teachers will be honoured at our Education Week Closing Assembly on Friday, April 12

Rhonda Gelowitz - Parent Volunteer Sarah Shaw-Graham – Special Education/ESL Teacher Sarah Chatterton - Parent Volunteer Karitsa Tye – Grade Six French Immersion Teacher Linda Murray - Parent Volunteer Kaylin Nauta – Grade One French Immersion Teacher Alissa Johnston - Community Volunteer

The Award of Excellence recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary, significant contributions to student success at their schools and to public education in Peel. Only 30 award recipients are selected in the entire board, so it is amazing that three of these thirty individuals work at SouthFields Village! In addition to being honoured at school on Friday, April 12, they will also be honoured at the Central Board Office during the Showcase of Excellence on Monday, April 15.

Linda Janesiwskyj – Behavioural Teaching Assistant Seema Poddar – Core French and FI Music Teacher Kirstin Schwass – Physical Education Teacher

School Council Our next School Council meeting is scheduled on Thursday, April 4 at 6:30pm. All parents are welcome to attend! If your child(ren) require babysitting, please email Jennifer.Stegeman@peelsb.com so we can secure the appropriate number of babysitters. L2L Buddies Licensed to Learn (L2L) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping students achieve success. A group of Grade 8 students participated in training in the fall to become L2L tutors. These students worked with Grade 2 buddies over the past few months, developing leadership skills, while fostering positive learning by reading and playing games together. The Grade 8 students involved proved to be dedicated and caring mentors. A celebration was held at the end of the session and a fun time was had by all! Are you moving this summer?? If you are moving over the summer and will not be with us in September, please let the office know as soon as possible. We will be sad to see you go, but this information is essential as we begin to plan for the 2019-2020 school year. You can come in to the office and inform us of the move or email susy.girardi@peelsb.com Ens Up Running Club/Mississauga MaraFun The Ens Up Running Club is named in memory of Mme Ens, our friend and colleague who passed away suddenly in May 2017. As a finisher in multiple half marathons, Mme Ens regularly came out to run with our students and encourage them to run for better health. Mme Ens licence plate was “Ens Up”. Mme Ens would be pleased to see so many students and staff members running the sidewalks of our parking lot every Nutrition Break A. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to run or walk/run. Students who are registered for the Mississauga MaraFun are expected to run with us every day. MaraFun students who are involved in other activities at that time are asked to speak to Mrs. Schwass and arrange to complete an alternative run or activity for the day. Don’t forget the MaraFun is on Sunday, May 5th. More information on how to get there and where you can park will be communicated closer to that date. Jump Rope for Heart What: Our Jump Rope for Heart kick-off assembly When: Thursday, April 18 Where: SFV gym Who: All SFV students and staff (guests welcome) will be wowed by our Jump Rope Demo team What: All students will learn how to fundraise online or using envelopes. Students can earn awesome prizes!!! In addition to earned prizes, students will get a ticket to put in a draw to win the prize of their choice. For every $10.00 raised, students will earn one ticket. Why: SouthFields Village is proud to be one of the top fundraising schools in Peel and we are continuing to show our community spirit to help the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Envelopes will be sent home on April 18th. Please remember that all envelopes must be returned to the teacher, even if they are empty. Envelopes will be due on May 18th, our Jump Rope for Heart event day. Peel board celebrates public education during Education Week – April 8 to 12 Peel public schools will host hundreds of special activities and events to celebrate Education Week 2019. To give schools plenty of time to hold activities, this celebration of education will be held from April 8 to 12. The theme for this year's focus on education is We Inspire. One of the highlights of Education Week is the presentation of Awards of Excellence and Education Champion. The award recipients are students, volunteers, staff and community partners who have made outstanding contributions to public education in Peel. The awards will be presented to 34 deserving recipients at the Showcase of Excellence ceremony on Monday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the boardroom, HJA Brown Education Centre, 5650 Hurontario St.,

Mississauga. More than 1,000 individuals will also be honoured during Education Week with Awards of Distinction for their contributions to their school or workplace. April - Earth Month On behalf of the Eco team, we would like to thank everyone for sending their child with a reusable water bottle on Friday, March 22nd. The Great Gulp was a great success and as a school we had a chance to reflect on the importance of clean water and think about how we can try our best to preserve it! This year, at SouthFields Village, we will be celebrating Earth Week from April 22nd – 26th. This is one of the most celebrated environmental events worldwide and we invite your child to participate in eco related activities throughout the week to celebrate our Earth and our environment! Here is how you can support at home: Wednesday, April 24: The Green Team encourages you and your child to walk to school! Stay tuned, there will be prizes for the class with the most walkers. So let’s get those feet walking! Thursday, April 25: Let’s think about our trash! Can we reduce our amount of garbage? YES! We will challenge our students to think of how they turn a recyclable item into an object that can benefit our environment! Friday, April 26: What better way to kick off Friday than with fresh air? On April 26th, we will celebrate Fresh Air Friday by heading outside for our daily dose of physical activity. Thank you for your ongoing support in helping SouthFields Village to maintain Platinum status as an Eco School! Financial Constraints for School Activities It continues to be important to ensure that students don’t miss out on opportunities because of situations beyond their family’s control. If your child is not able to participate in a school excursion or in-school activity due to financial constraints, please contact your child’s teacher or a member of the office team. Celebrate Administrative Professionals’ Day: Wednesday, April 24, 2019 Peel schools will pay tribute to administrative professionals on Administrative Professionals’ Day on April 24, 2019. The day will be celebrated with special activities and events that provide teachers, students and parents an opportunity to thank the administrative staff who help support student success each and every day. The Peel board appreciates the important job administrative staff do each school day and April 24 provides an opportunity to give these individuals the recognition they deserve. What is Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is a legislated committee that makes recommendations to the board on matters affecting the education programs and services for students with special needs. SEAC meets monthly during the school year and consists of three trustees and representatives from organizations within Peel. An important focus for SEAC members is to bring forward the views of their organizations and assist parents in navigating the school system. You can reach out to your trustees or the appropriate organization to discuss any matters regarding special education or join us at one of our monthly meetings. All meetings are open to the public and includes a set time for questions from the community. For more information about SEAC and the meeting schedule visit, http://peelschools.org/parents/specialed/specedac/Pages/default.aspx ParentConnect: Online parent portal to access important student information Last year, the Peel District School Board launched ParentConnect, an online parent portal to access important student information. ParentConnect is a safe and secure website, created by the Peel District School Board, that acts as a single point to stay informed and to access all electronic services provided to Peel board parents and legal guardians. The parent-friendly website will allow you to: • view school-based alerts and information • access real time absence reporting • view current and historic elementary report card information • get up-to-date busing information

• review secondary school credit history and diploma status To learn more about the benefits of ParentConnect, visit our school website or www.peelschools.org/parentconnect Offence Declaration required for returning volunteers Parents play an important role in the development and education of their children and in the success of the school community. At SouthFields Village Public School, 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 have been mailed home in February. Peel Learning Foundation aims to create hopeful tomorrows for Peel board students In partnership with the Peel District School Board, the foundation was created to enable Peel board students to achieve personal excellence by providing resources to help them overcome barriers. In its first year, the foundation will support Peel board students through: • Student Emergency Needs program Depending on the need, the foundation will support individual students with food and clothing, medical supplies, eyeglasses and transportation costs, or where there is an emergency situation that requires a compassionate response. • Student Backpack program The foundation will provide backpacks filled with school supplies that students need to fully participate in regular classroom work. The backpacks will be provided to students in need in a respectful and confidential manner. They are tailored for students in kindergarten to grade 3, grades 4 to 8, and grades 9 to 12. Individuals or organizations who are interested in learning more about and supporting the foundation can visit www.PeelLearningFoundation.org. They can also follow the foundation on Twitter and Facebook and use the hashtag #CreateHope to join the conversation. Using social media safely With the growing number of social media sites, it is no surprise that social media is the most common form of communication for children and teenagers. Posts, status updates, comments, instant messages, video uploads, tweets and texts have become a regular part of their lives. While there are many positive benefits to using social media, including staying connected with friends and expressing your interests, students must be cautious in their use of these networks. Among the most popular social media platforms used are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and Whatsapp Messenger. Many of these platforms are free and are available on smartphones and other electronic devices. These platforms are easy to navigate and often allow information to be shared instantly, not only with friends, but with strangers. On social media, it is important to remember that the world is watching. Here are some tips, provided by the Canadian Safe School Network and GetSafeOnline.org, to keep your children safe and help them make smart choices when using social media: • Set some boundaries for your child before they get their first ‘connected device’ (mobile, tablet, laptop or games console). Once they have it, it can be more difficult to change the way they use it or the settings. • Have a conversation about what is appropriate online behaviour and what actions could have huge repercussions that could damage their reputation and be harmful to others. • Talk to your child about the kind of websites they look at. Encourage them to speak to you if they come across something they find worrying or upsetting on websites, games or social media. • Discuss with your child what is safe and appropriate to post and share online. Written comments, photos and videos all form part of their ‘digital footprint’ and could be seen by anyone and available on the internet forever, even if it is subsequently deleted.

• Explain to your child that being online doesn’t give them anonymity or protection, and that they shouldn’t do anything online that they wouldn’t do face-to-face. Users should only accept people they know in order to protect themselves from spammers, strangers and others who may be using social networking sites to commit crimes. • Unlike when they’re meeting someone face-to-face, children don’t always know who they’re actually ‘talking’ to online, even if they think they do. Tell your children they must never email, chat, or text with strangers, and it’s never okay to meet a stranger in the real world. • Ensure your children set their privacy settings appropriately. Take the time to learn how privacy settings work on your children’s favourite sites, and teach them how to control their privacy. • Tell your children never to share personal and private information with anyone online. This includes, but is not limited to, his or her full name, age, birth date, address, phone number, social insurance number, credit card information and parents’ full names. • Limit the amount of time that your children spend on social media platforms and talk about the importance of healthy and appropriate use of technology. Keeping children safe in and around storm sewers, waterways Rising and fast moving water in lakes, ponds and creeks is increasingly likely during spring. Children playing in and around storm sewers and watercourses, entering storm sewers through the outfalls, and entering storm sewers through access covers is dangerous. The following information will help keep children safe: • water flows in storm sewers and watercourses are unpredictable and may change quickly • toxic gases may be present in and around storm sewers and watercourses • access is restricted, making rescue attempts more difficult • tragic falls could take place Please review this information with your children and let them know how dangerous storms sewers and waterways are. COOPERATION Celebration held on Friday March 29, 2019: The following poem was written by a SFV student named Sharmi which was shared on Friday March 29, 2019 at the Climate Assembly celebrating Cooperation.

Cooperation

Cooperation involves a lot of collaboration and dedication.

It requires concentration when

you search for information or you're learning numeration.

Cooperation needs your contribution,

and your participation.

Cooperation needs team work, because team work makes the dream work,

even when you're doing artwork or homework.

Cooperation usually ends up in

friendship, and maybe you could learn some leadership.

by Sharmi