Term two is in full swing, and many activities have kept our students en-gaged while at school. We celebrated 100 Days at Brooklin Village, and the recognition of Pink Shirt Day and Black History Month was a success.

A productive hum has been noted in the classrooms as a result of the prep-aration and planning teachers have done during their Building Collabora-tive Inquiry sessions and common planning times. Students are actively engaged in their learning, as our fo-cus remains on implementing rich tasks to promote student learning. We are proud of the efforts teachers have made to deepen their implementation of guided group practices, the three-part math lesson, interactive math boards and inquiry-based learning. Ask your children at home not what he/she did at school, but what did he/she learned that day, and how do they they now when they are successful (Learning Goals and Success Crite-ria).

We are over half way through the school year now: let’s help our chil-dren to continue to be positive, to be proactive and to pursue excellence in everything they do. Research contin-ues to prove that student success is enhanced when the school and home work collaboratively. Together we can make a difference!

A good night’s sleep can help your child stay alert in class and behave better - and that means he/she will learn more. Try these tips for a well-rested child:

1. Set a regular bedtime so your child is used to going to sleep at the same time each night. Establish a comfort-ing routine (eg., bath, story, lights out) to help him/her wind down. Note: Elementary school children need 9–11 hours of sleep a night.

2. Tell your child it’s okay if he/she doesn’t fall asleep right away. In-stead, suggest that he/she get cozy and rest until he/she feels tired. Idea: Talk about what to do if he/she can’t

fall asleep (eg., focus on some-thing pleasant, play a silent word game such as thinking of a food or an ani-mal that starts with each letter of the alphabet).

On behalf of the staff of Brooklin Village, I would like to extend our warm wishes for a wonderful March Break. Spend time together enjoying some relaxing time and not worrying about school work. We will see all our tremendous Brooklin Village stu-dents and their smiling faces on Mon-day, March 21st ready to tackle the remaining part of the year, and begin to work at reaching the goals they have set for themselves.

Brian Bradley

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

VOLUM E 1, ISSUE 7

M ARCH 2016

Brooklin Village P.S

Newsletter

DURHAM DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

25 Selkirk Dr., Whitby, ON L1M 2L5 Ph: (905) 655-8959 Fax: (905) 655-9426

http://www.ddsb.ca/school/brooklinvillage

brooklinvillage_ps@durham.edu.on.ca

We hope you have a relaxing time with your families over the Easter Weekend. The school will be closed on Good Friday (Friday, March 25th, 2016) and on Easter Monday (Monday, March 28th, 2016). What a great time to spend together getting some things done around the house.

EASTER WEEKEND - MARCH 25th-28th

We hope you have an enjoyable March Break. Our students are dismissed at regular time (3:30 pm) on FRIDAY, MARCH 11th, 2016 and return to school for 9:00 am on MONDAY, MARCH 21st, 2016.

MARCH BREAK - MARCH 12th-20th

TOGETHER WE WILL EMPOWER ONE ANOTHER TO PURSUE OUR GOALS AND DREAMS

VOLUM E 1, ISSUE 7 Page 2

At Brooklin Village, we say “Bullying Stops Here”. Annually, schools around Canada are sending the message that bullying is not tolerated. At BVPS, the students and staff are standing behind this message as well. We created our very own “sea of pink” on February 24th to support the statement that “Bullying Stops Here”! Students were involved in a variety of activities in their classrooms.

PINK SHIRT DAY

4 R’s of Bullying Prevention

1. Recognize—to discern what is & what is not bullying

2. Refuse—to accept bullying be-haviour

3. Report—to a trusted adult or Kids Help Phone

Behaviour Expectations

We care about each other

We respect each other

We see each other

Definition of Bullying

It is a deliberate act

There is an intent to harm

It is usually persistent over time

Earth Hour is a world wide event cre-ated by the World Wildlife Federa-tion and held towards the end of March annually since 2007. Earth Hour encourages all of us to turn off non-essential lights to raise aware-

ness about the need to take action on climate change. Brooklin Village will participate in a school-wide Earth Hour from 10:45 am to 11:45 pm on Friday March 11th. We will turn off lights and computers and take part in

ARE YOU READY FOR EARTH HOUR? activities that do not require the use of electricity. We en-courage you to par-ticipate at home with your family on March 19th at 8:30 pm.

Brooklin Village P.S Page 3

As outlined in the Ministry of Education’s PPM 145, Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour, each school must complete an anonymous School Climate Survey of their Gr. 4-8 students, staff and parents every 2 years.

The purpose of the School Climate Surveys is to gather data on how safe and accepted students feel at their school. This data can then be utilized by our Safe and Ac-cepting Schools Team to assist us make decisions in creat-ing, maintaining, and improving safe and caring learning environments for all our students. It will used to develop a Safety Action Plan, and to create a SMART goal within the Community, Culture and Caring pillar of our school plan.

We encourage you to provide your opinions and feedback to better assist us at improving Brooklin Village. If you are unable to access the survey at home, computers will

be provided to parents at the school. Please contact the office to arrange a time to complete the sur-vey at Brooklin Village. Your input is much appreciated.

Respondents are allowed to go back to previous pages in the survey to make changes if needed, but once the survey has been submitted by clicking on “DONE”, there can be no re-entry to the survey. Please remember to click “DONE” to submit your responses. It is recommended you do NOT ‘X’ out of the survey as responses may be lost. When the survey has been submitted correctly, the webpage will redirect to the www.ddsb.ca

The survey for parents can be found on our website as well as at

http://fluidsurveys.com/s/443brooklinvillage_schclim_par2016/

Links will be open until March 24th, 2016.

SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEY

high school teacher, human rights ac-tivist, and was the Equity and Diversity Officer for 5 years for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic D.S.B. He is also the au-thor of 3 books with one being “Why Are All The Taxi Driver’s …?” Par-ents are encouraged to find a copy of this book to share with your children as it does a wonderful job unpacking com-monly held stereotypes.

At Brooklin Village, we celebrated Black History Month during all of February. Students have had opportunities to learn about the contributions of people of African and Caribbean descent, and also to value and appreciate equity, diversity, and inclusion in all that we are and do.

I have had the pleasure of hearing Chris D’Souza present a couple of times about stereotypes and promoting the elimination of discrimination. He is a

CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH

certain - it will not come by doing workbook exercises or wearing but-tons that say, “I’m OK.” According to Stanley Coopersmith, a well-known authority on developing self-esteem in children, there are 6 ele-ments (3 key words are listed in bold type below) that are important for building children to demonstrate con-fidence and self-respect:

1. Help your child to feel significant to important people in their life.

2. Help your child develop compe-tence in many areas of life. All chil-dren need to perform well on tasks that are important to them.

3. Recognize your child’s accom-

plishments.

4. Help your child set realistic goals for him/herself. Unrealistic goals tear down self-esteem and confidence in children.

5. Help your child develop power and control over their life, an essential skill for building confidence in chil-dren.

6. Communicate with love and sup-port. Smile and be interested, look your child in the eye, keep the dis-tance between you close.

If we reinforce these six elements, we will be on our way to raising children who demonstrate confidence in all areas of their lives.

One of the best gifts that we can give our children is a sense of self-respect and confidence. If your child respects himself/herself and has confidence, he/she will be less likely to be swayed by peer pressure. If he/she feels confident, it will be much easier to say no when faced with situations that go against his/her values. The courage to speak up and stand out occurs naturally when our children are confident and have a high regard for the dignity of their own character.

How can we, as educators and as par-ents, help our children develop confi-dence? Donna Habernicht, a profes-sor of Educational and Counseling Psychology, states the one thing is

BUILDING CONFIDENCE - AN ANTIDOTE TO BULLYING

VOLUM E 1, ISSUE 7 Page 4

that your children are only communicating with “real-life” friends or relatives that are known both to you and to your child.

When online, children and teens are reminded to:

Never arrange to meet someone they’ve met online without parent permission

Never give out personal infor-mation including contact and location information such as ad-dresses or phone numbers

Never share passwords with friends

Always speak to a trusted adult if cyberbullying occurs

For more information to keep your child safe online we recommend the following websites: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/internet-safety-tips-for-elementary-school-kids

http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents

Who Are Your Child’s Facebook Friends?

Though Facebook’s Terms of Service do not allow children under the age of 13 to register for their own Facebook ac-count, some children have reg-istered with Facebook without their parent’s knowledge or permission.

As pre-teens are naturally curious, impulsive, and still developing the ability to make informed decisions, open social platforms such as Facebook can increase risks such as a loss of privacy, online bullying, contact with un-known adults, exposure to inappropriate photos and video, and identity theft. Naturally trusting, children do not al-ways understand that online predators can easily assume the identity of a similarly aged child simply by uploading any child’s photo to their profile and pretending to be a “friend”.

We urge all parents to closely monitor their child’s use of online open social media applications such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, MySpace or Instagram. Please ensure

INTERNET/SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY

The Inter-mediate Boys Bas-ketball Team had a spectacular season. De-spite having a slow start, the boys

pulled together, improved a lot, and

went on a long winning streak.

They played in the Brooklin High School Tournament and made it to the Semi-Finals. In our Area Playdowns, the Bulldogs put up a great fight, and made it to the Crosso-vers, where they ultimately lost to a very tough team by 5 points.

Congratulations to Junior C., Jack W, Jordan B., Jack W., Josh B., Mishal C., Simon C., Isaac S., Alex F., Alex

INTERMEDIATE BOYS BASKETBALL M., Robb S., and Max L.

Mme Chapman and the team would also like to thank all of the parents who drove us to games and supported us, as well as Hunter G. and Jade S. for scorekeeping all of our home games. Special mention to Mr. Liu, for all that he did at the beginning and end of the season.

The coaching of Mme Chapman is much appreciated.

Hard work, perseverance, and deter-mination. Those are the things that made the Intermediate Girls Basket-ball Team successful. The girls wrapped up their season last week when the competed in the Durham Region Round of 24 Playoffs. Way to go Bulldogs!

The girls had an excellent season this year! The girls worked so well to-gether on and off the court, and im-proved tremendously as the season progressed. Each player contributed

to the success of the team, and as in-dividuals they all improved their bas-ketball skills. The girls should be congratulated on their improvements, hard work, and how they represented Brooklin Village. Well done.

They played great at the Area Playdowns, finishing 3rd in our Area. Making it to the Top 24 in Durham is a big accomplishment!

Shout out to the following girls who put forth a lot of effort and had a

INTERMEDIATE GIRLS BASKETBALL great season: Val L., Kate G., Jessi-ca F., Nicole W., Mackie V., Riley C., Monique T., Shiobhon K., Shannon L., Cas-sie S., Calia F., Ella P., and Madi-son M. Way to play girls! Be proud of your accomplishments.

Thank you to Mrs. Buie for coaching the girls this year.

Brooklin Village P.S Page 5

CHARACTER EDUCATION - PERSEVERANCE

Overcome obstacles

Stick with it

Set reasonable, achievable goals

Don’t fear failure—learn from your mistakes

At home, you can sup-port your child’s under-

standing of these important character traits by:

Talking about times when members of the family demonstrate determination, initi-ative, or perseverance to accomplish a goal

Encouraging and praising your child when you see him/her sticking to a task even when it becomes difficult

This month the students at Brooklin Village will be talking about the various degrees of character that it takes to make your dreams come true.

In the Primary grades, we will look at deter-mination as the trait needed to stick to a focus. In the Junior grades, we will talk about initia-tive - the trait needed to begin a task even though it may be difficult and the outcome unknown. In the Intermediate grades, we will talk about perseverance - the trait needed to pursue an objective in spite of the need to overcome personal fears & even when confronted with failure.

Here are some tips to consider as students continue to work towards short-term & long-term goals:

Complete tasks that are important to you

OUR OPTIMISTIC STUDENTS

Perseverance is fail-ing nineteen times and succeeding the

twentieth.

Julie Andrews

As you start to think about “Spring Cleaning”, if you have any games/board games for young chil-dren, Mrs. Mitchell’s Associated Class would be more than well happy to accept them, and give them another home. This would greatly assist the students in developing both their language and math skills.

WANTED: GAMES/BOARD GAMES

The following students were recognized during our 4A Assembly (Academics, Athletics, Arts, Atti-tude). The focus for the Attitude Award was on consistently showing OPTIMISM during the month of January – our character trait focus.

Nico P.

Breanna C.

Emma P.

Nicole D.

Nick P.

Maitlin B.

Ben H.

Jocelyn G.

Sam W.

Liam P.

Brooke B.

Alexandrea R.

Story D.

Hadley F.

Carley P.

Finlay A.

Evan D.

Lauren S.

Hayden L.

Eadie L.

Jasmine B.

Marko Y.

Anna J.

Makenna H.

Jalé B.

Luke H.

Connor S.

Ava T.

Aryana D.

Hadley C.

Keira C.

Natalie B.

Cameron M.

Olivia C.

Emalee B.

Robb S.

Katie W.

Melisa H.

Eve M.

Lynna N.

Megan L.

Thivya A.

Sadie P.

Natasha M.

Malachi W.

Emilia F.

Mikaela F.

Makenna R.

Cassie A.

Jace D.

Arie V.

Isabella N.

Mason D.

London S.

Vasilios P.

Emily R.

Alexander D.

Claire M.

Brooklyn B.

Sophia G.

ACADEMICS ATHLETICS ARTS ATTITUDE

Isaac S.

Aeden M.

Jessica F.

Will M.

Madison M.

Matthew M.

Kobe F.

Marcus M.

Dylan C.

Ali-Ray H.

Jayla T.

Markus C.

Annalisa E-Z

Olivia P.

Gabrielle T.

Melanie S.

Jordyn G.

Avery F.

Aubrey L.

Keira H.

Meredith N.

Aidan H.

Evan C.

Jack C.

Gabriel N.

Noah M.

Spencer O.

Liam M.

Zachary S.

Marc S.

Tori A.

William S.

Jaak R.

Chantal A A

Gracie S.

Ashlyn T-B

Lochlan O.

Pearl P.

Sarah M.

Femi O.

Travis G.

Clarke L.

Safiyah D.

Sophia M.

Cooper E.

Callum H.

Austin D.

Kyle P.

London S-S

Rylan L.

Abigail S.

Logan H.

Chloe W.

Garrett G.

Tyler L.

Aarav M.

VOLUM E 1, ISSUE 7 Page 6

The following students will be recog-nized at our Marach 4A Assembly for having PERFECT Attendance (0 Ab-sences and 0 Lates) from September 2015 - January 2016:

Witzel - Owen M.

Powell - Maxwell L.

Balk - Melanie S.

Flewell - Niveka A.

Houston - Liam C.

Cummins - Grant B.

STUDENTS WITH PERFECT ATTENDANCE Wray - Megan L., Gabriel M.F.

Ballik - Lynna N., Nathan S.

Bellinger - Carter B.

STUDENT ILLNESS

them from participating in physical education, recesses or other outdoor activities, should re-main at home until their condition improves.

This will benefit the students concerned and prevent the spread of illness to others.

We often receive requests from parents asking us to keep their children indoors during recess times because they are not feeling well.

Unfortunately, we do not have the staff nor the facilities to supervise students who are sick or still recovering from an illness. Students with colds or illnesses which are serious enough to prevent

Do you know what day Thursday, February 5th was? It was

days of your child:

learning new things about them-selves and the world around them

sharing ideas

working cooperatively with peers and adults

problem solving

having fun with old and new friends

For you as a parent it meant days of:

lunches and snacks

the alarm clock ringing

getting your child to school on time even when we are all a little tired, grumpy and not feeling our best

watching your child grow, ma-ture and learn

CONGRATULATIONS, you are

ATTENDANCE MATTERS! now over half way through the school year and half way through the cold, snowy winter months. Remember to have a back-up plan for getting your child to school in the event of bad weather and dress accordingly. Stay healthy and attend school every day because …

ATTENDANCE MATTERS!

The following students will be recog-nized at our Marach 4A Assembly for having EXCELLENT Attendance (1 or fewer Absences and 1 or fewer Lates) from September 2015 - Janu-ary 2016:

O’Toole - Austin D.

Scott - Elli M.

Vandewalker - Reid L.

Boivin - Se-bastien P., Harish T.

Evans - Matthew M.

Witzel - Jale B., Abigail S.

Dixon - Eadie L.

McClellan - Twila B., Caleb B., Sathana T.

Powell - Aubrey L.

Munoz - Ervin N.

Sambrook - Maicen B-S, Annalisa E-Z, Evelyn S., MacKenzie S.

Houston - Asa N., Benjamin T.

Cummins - Lindsay H., April L., Ri-ley M., Angelina S.

Baker - Xavier K., Jacob N.

Wray - Cynthia S.

STUDENTS WITH EXCELLENT ATTENDANCE Ballik - Emma N.M., Gracie S., Mi-guel S., Devin W.

Holland - Suzy F.

Lamanna - Megan S.

A. Lee - Rachel C., Ayesha T.

Guimont - Shannon L.

Bellinger - Megan J.

DiSomma - Bela S.

Gibbons - Maggie G., Olivia O.

T. Ferguson - Sydney G.

Mallory - Spencer P., Nico P.

Mitchell - Isabella P.

Brooklin Village P.S Page 7

CELEBRATING MUSIC AT BROOKLIN VILLAGE

VOLUM E 1, ISSUE 7 Page 8

Students in Gr. 4-8 now have access to Office 365, an online environment where students work on and save assignments. As their documents are stored in the ‘Cloud’, students can access them no matter where they are as long as they have Internet access.

Students can work independently or can collaborate with their peers by ‘sharing’ documents. This new technology saves automatically so there is no more concern about ‘lost work’! This also means that students can ac-cess Word, Powepoint, Excel, One Note, and Sway quickly and easily in order to complete their assignments.

Teachers have just been introduced to O365 them-selves, and will incorporating its abilities into their practices. Ask your child to show you how to get online! Students access O365 through the Student Mo-bile Campus (the link is located on Brooklin Vil-lage’s webpage at top). Login with the student’s regular login + @ddsbstudent.ca.

OFFICE 365 (O365)

child has a wide range of experiences to talk about * Provide an example of good listen-ing and avoid responding with “Mmm” or “Just a minute” * Talk about topics of mutual interest (a family trip or shared experience) with the expectation that your child will listen and respond * Play board games and language games (I Spy or Snakes and Ladders) that encourage conversation and teach social skills, such as turn taking and winning versus losing * Make mealtimes talking times and

encourage all family members to par-ticipate * Teach your child to use the tele-phone * Ask your child to retell a story or explain a favourite part * Encourage your older child to listen and respond to others’ opinions. Sup-port your child in developing confidence to express his or her un-derstanding and thoughts. From Parents as Partners: Helping Your Child’s Literacy and Language

Development (First Steps)

Talking is one of the most important things we do in life. We get to know each other through talk. We share our thoughts and feelings through talk. We learn through talk. We teach through talk. We use talk to shape our ideas and reach into new worlds of experiences. How can I help my child with speak-ing and listening? * Involve your child in conversations, plans, and discussions * Talk about familiar things with your younger child and ensure your

ORAL LANGUAGE

JUST DANCE BVPS

Brooklin Village P.S Page 9

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Principal: Brian Bradley Vice-Principal: Denise Robinson Administrative Assistant: Karen Ballanger

Superintendent of Whitby/Safe Schools: John Bowyer Administrative Officer: Greg Island

Whitby Trustee: Kimberly Zeppieri (905) 668-7782 zeppieri_kimberly@durham.edu.on.ca

Whitby Trustee: Christine Winters (905) 430-6050 winters_christine@durham.edu.on.ca

HOW DO TEACHER’S DETERMINE MY CHILD’S GRADES?

left), rain and breakup of ice (if any remains) along rivers, streams, ponds and lakes. During this time of year we can expect higher, faster flowing water in most water areas. In addi-tion, slippery and unstable stream banks and extremely cold water tem-peratures can lead to very hazardous

This is an important reminder of the dangers that exist on local streams, rivers, ponds and lakes during the spring breakup.

Spring is quickly approaching and we look forward to warmer weather and being outdoors. The onset of spring will bring melting snow (of what’s

conditions close to any water body.

Please exercise caution around any water body over the next month and help make this a safe and enjoya-ble spring!

SPRING WATER DANGER

Teachers look at assignments, tests, exams, conferences, discussions, demonstrations, and projects for evidence that your child is learning the curriculum. This learning means more than just knowing the facts. Students must also show an understanding of what they are studying by communicating and applying what they have learned. They must also demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. All work is reviewed with special attention given to the quality of work at the end of a unit of study or term. Teachers do not simply calculate averages. As well as looking at tests or assignments, they also talk to and observe your child in the classroom to gather as much information as possible before making a decision on the final grade.

Growing Success, Ministry of Education of Ontario, www.ontario.ca/EDUparents

Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring a safe and

efficient parking lot before and after school.

Please respect the designated handicap parking spaces at

the front of the school for just those indi-

viduals who require the use of them. If you

are going to use one of the other visitor

parking spaces throughout the day, please

use caution as you pull into and exit one of

these spaces. Do not stop/park in the mid-

dle of the parking lot behind the parked

cars or along any of the sidewalk curbs. These areas need

to remain clear for both student safety and emergency

vehicle access. In addition, the area in front of the school

along Selkirk Dr.. is a No Parking Zone. The Durham

Regional Police & the Town of Whitby have been, and

will continue to be, visiting periodically to ensure this

area remains clear.

Just a reminder to please use our Kiss ‘n

Ride when dropping off your child(ren).

All children should be dropped off and

picked up at the west side of the school.

Continue to wait in your vehicle and have

child(ren) meet you in the Kiss ‘n Ride

area

Thank you for your co-operation in continuing to ensure

the safety of all our students & your children!

I can achieve anything in life that I desire to achieve. No one nor anything can stop me from achieving excellence. The only person that can stop me from achieving excellence …

IS ME - and I refuse to stop myself from achieving excellence.

Principal Bharuti Kafele

KISS ‘N RIDE & PARKING LOT SAFETY