Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

March 2016

Norman Ingram Principal Office Administrator Norman Ingram School Co Chairs Megan Cooper Beverly Castellano Ruth Kenny / Robert Hashimoto stellano Ruth Kenny / Robert Hashimoto

Pizza Order Forms Due 2

nd

Popcorn Day ($1) 4th

Pizza Lunch (second round) 10

th

TDSB Earth Hour 2:00 – 3:00 pm 11th

March Break (no school) 14

th – 18

th

Earth Hour 8:30 – 9:30 pm 19th

Coin Challenge Mar 21

st – Apr 1

st

Start of Used Clothing Drive 21st

Good Friday (no school) 25

th

Easter Monday (no school) 28th

School Council Meeting 7 p.m. 29

th

Sub Lunch (second round) 30th

Last Day of Coin Challenge 1st

Popcorn Day ($1) 8

th

International Day of Pink 13th

Pizza Lunch 14

th

PA Day (no school for students) 15th

Pickup Day - Used Clothing Drive 21

st

Earth Day/Community Clean-up 22nd

Sub Lunch 27th

ECO Invention Convention 28

th

Fun and exciting events have been happening since my January newsletter. Students have enjoyed OOZAKAZOO, Popcorn Days, Pizza and Sub Lunches, 100th Day activities, the Grade 5 Bonanza, magic carpet rides on our snowy hill, field trips outside of the school, and of course, the engaging learning experiences that teachers provide every day. Parents have been updated on student progress through Provincial Report Cards and personal interviews, and had a chance to spend Family Day with their children. Teachers have been released for Professional Development during the school day to delve into the creative use of technology and ways to incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) into their teaching. Our School Council organized a parent presentation by Paul Davis on Social Networking and Internet Safety, which provided valuable information and opened some eyes! Your council members continue to work on everybody’s behalf to enhance the learning environment and support student success. Thank-you, parents, for your part in making exciting things happen at Norman Ingram. We couldn’t do what

we do without your help!

IMPORTANT DATES

APRIL 2016

FROM THE PRINCIPAL IMPORTANT DATES

MARCH 2016

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

During January we focused on Teamwork, and February’s focus was Fairness. In each class students voted on award winners; fellow students who exemplified these positive character traits. We’d like to congratulate the January winners. (February winners have not yet been chosen at the time of print.)

Ms. Lussier – Evan Oliver

Ms. Reyes – Nathan Woodyatt

Ms. Mirebrahimi – Jason Fan

Ms. Panela – Nikola Kraincanic

Ms. Gulian – Brodie Sellors

Ms. Lam – Lauren MacInnis

Mr. Whittington – Thomas Blazek

During March we will focus on HONESTY. You can help! Here are some suggestions: Projects to do together:

• Watch TV shows or movies. Talk about the ways in which the characters were honest or dishonest with each other.

• Read the story entitled The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and discuss the importance of being honest.

Encouraging honesty in your child: • Give your child opportunities to tell the truth. • Make sure that you explain to your child that

you always want the truth, even though he or she may be afraid that you might be angry.

• Encourage and praise your child when he or she is honest.

• Model honesty by returning lost items.

This is a reminder to parents and caregivers that when you drop

your kindergarten

child off for school, you must go directly to the playground and ensure that your child is handed off to an adult in charge. We have had cases where parents drop children outside the front doors, instructing them to go to the playground, and this is totally unsafe. Please work with us to keep your children safe and secure at school. Thank-you.

Hello from Ruth Kenny and Robert Hashimoto! We hope you have had a smooth transition into the second half of the school year.

On February 1st

, as the result of a PRO (Parents Reaching Out) grant initiated by Danielle Conway, guest speaker Paul Davis gave an eye-opening and at times unnerving talk on social networking safety. No doubt everyone in attendance left with plans to change how they managed their own connectivity, and with the strong intent to monitor technology use by their children. It was a successful evening and we are grateful to have heard Mr. Davis’s message. We have two quick suggestions for those of you who did not attend:

1. Do not publicly post your date of birth on your Facebook account

2. Put a Band-Aid over the camera on your computer or laptop when it is not in use!

As mentioned in the last newsletter, Alison Anderson has created a clear and concise Sign Up Genius page with a summary of the teachers’ wish list for classroom items. SEE THE LAST PAGE OF THIS NEWSLETTER FOR DETAILS! Many of the items are things we have around our homes that are not being used anymore, and others are small and not costly. It’s a great opportunity to coordinate with other parents in your child’s class and contribute as a group. Be sure to note upcoming events. PIZZA ORDER FORMS ARE DUE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2

nd. Ms. Panela’s class will

host Popcorn Day on Friday, March 4th

. The next pizza lunch is Thursday, March 10

th, and the next sub lunch is

March 30th

. Please join us on Tuesday, March 29th

at 7:00 p.m. for our Parent Council meeting. We’re always happy to see new faces and hear new ideas.

Our fabulous NORMAN INGRAM SPIRIT WEAR is available now! Go to the link below and check out the terrific branded clothing, as well as additional “swag”. https://store.mydownloadportal.com/norman

It is now time to turn our attention to the year-end Barbeque scheduled for Friday, June 17

th. That is only 108

days away for those of you who are counting. We certainly are! Vanessa Tudos is our fearless leader again this year and we all remember and appreciate the great job she did in 2014. Our kickoff meeting is at 7:00 tonight, March 1

st at

the big table in the back of Panera Bread. Please join us if you are interested in getting involved. We are open to any ideas, suggestions or concerns. There is a lot to do and there are many different ways to help out with the event from now until the day of. Volunteering is a lot of fun, and a great way to meet others in the school community!

Cheers and thanks again!

CHARACTER EDUCATION

JK/SK Dropoff

School council news

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

Here are some quick snapshots of learning opportunities occurring in a few classes these days:

The Grade 5’s are in the midst of using their knowledge of geometry, cardinal direction, and measurement to plan and design 3D Geometric Mars Colonies. We are beginning an exciting computer coding program called SCRATCH, and we just finished a very entertaining class badminton tournament. We have also been secretly working on something very special for the Spring. It’s big ... really big! Grade 4 Social Studies in Action As part of our Early Society inquiry, our class visited the ROM early in February. We had loads of fun learning about ancient history through all of the hands-on activities at the workshop, and by studying a wide variety of artifacts at the exhibits. Our trip to the ROM took us back to the ancient worlds of China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and we discovered some amazing facts about these societies. Stay tuned for our upcoming Rocks and Minerals STEM inquiry project.

ESL students have been learning about adjectives, synonyms and antonyms in order to build our vocabularies. We will be using what we have learned over the past few weeks to do some descriptive writing about our past or present communities.

In Kindergarten news, students have been exploring the literary works of Robert Munsch in preparation for a field trip to the Solar Stage Theatre, where we’ll see a captivating series of plays by the author. Based on our author study, students have created their own paper airplanes, discovered the different elements of a great story, and made unique pieces of art that resemble the pigs from the Robert Munsch story, "Pigs".

Room 208 has just completed debut and encore presentations of a play entitled "Losers Weepers" for Ms. Lussier and Ms. Reyes’s classes. In addition to continuing with our regular studies into soil, algebra and living in our urban community of Don Mills, we have begun conversations about how we stay mentally healthy and prepare for EQAO. We are determined to show how it is the best, most fun experience ever because we get to share ideas and do our best learning together. And then, of course, celebrate the completion of the bonding process together. Yay!

In Ms. Mirebrahimi’s class we have been learning about many types of poems, like haiku, cinquain, diamante, word poems and even a spelling bee poem! We learned that poems can help us to express our feelings and imagination. As an example, here is a diamante poem:

Mom. Loving, helpful, kind.

Helps me when I’m upset or blue.

I’m very thankful for her. Mom.

(by Madelyn)

What’s Happening, you may ask?

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

Well, on February 19th Mr. Whittington and Ms. Innocente joined a group of nearly 350 elementary school teachers from the Toronto District School Board at U of T Engineering to learn how computer coding can help them teach everything from mathematics to literacy.

Teachers were given an introduction to Scratch, a visual coding tool created by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. They learned that through a simple drag-and-drop interface, users can create animations, games and even program simple robots to perform tasks. Ms. Innocente has already introduced our students to coding through the “Hour of Code,” but this learning will open new doors! Antonio Santos, Central Coordinating Principal for STEM K-12 (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) with the Toronto District School Board, says that the goal is to integrate digital literacy across the curriculum. “We want all students to be exposed to this. Learning about coding, robotics, and the engineering design process will help them be creative, be innovative and collaborate with others,” he says. “Partnering with U of T Engineering helps validate the work we’re doing, and allows us to scale it up to reach hundreds of teachers in a short time frame.” The coding workshops were taught by engineering undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines. “My biggest passion outside of technology itself is seeing other people get excited about technology in the same way that I do,” says Adam-Jeremy Chan (Year 4 ElecE) one of the workshop’s instructors. “When you teach someone how to use coding to solve a problem, you get to hear their ideas and their perspective. Often, you discover new approaches you might never have come across yourself.”

This partnership with U of T Engineering builds on a recognition that digital science is relevant not just to engineers and scientists, but to writers, graphic artists, musicians and those in all fields of endeavour. We look forward to hearing more about coding, and to seeing some of the results here at school! (quotes taken from U of T Engineering News, Friday, February 19th, 2016)

Cold and flu season is upon us and many students are falling ill. Please make sure your child has been 24-hours-symptom-free (of vomiting, diarrhea, sore

throat or fever) before sending him/her back to school. If prescribed antibiotics, please ensure your child has taken them for 24 hours before returning to school. We are unable to dispense medications

at school without a signed form from a physician, so please do not send cough syrups or other medications with your child unless you have a signed medical form (Form 536F). All medications that do come to school must be kept in the office at all times. If your child is not well enough to go outside at recess breaks, please keep him/her home until he/she is feeling better. And remember! Hand-washing is the best way to stop the spread of infections.

Norman Ingram has reached “commercial operation,” meaning that the solar panels on both our upper and lower roofs are live and producing clean energy. Our photovoltaic (PV) solar array is an energy generation facility that produces electricity from the sun’s energy. The PV solar array produces direct current (DC) electricity, which behaves differently from the alternating current (AC) electricity in the outlets in your home, but which contributes to the electricity grid and generates a little income for the TDSB (not Norman Ingram specifically, unfortunately!)

And what are the teachers up to?

Staying healthy

Solar panels

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

GYM A gentle reminder to parents to check your child's indoor shoes for size and laces. We are past the midpoint of our school year, and some students are noticing that their shoes don't fit like they did in September. Many laces are shredded too, which can pose a serious safety risk in the gym, and makes running a challenge. Thanks for taking the time to do this quick check!

In Gym, our Grade 1's have spent much of January and February playing all sorts of cooperative games to develop their play and social skills. We are learning about the importance of making eye contact with each other in the games we play, taking turns, sharing equipment, playing fairly, using kind words and being team players. Our favourite cooperative game is called Ice Floes! Ask your little 'penguins' about it tonight!

Our Grade 2's and 3's have been learning the fundamental movements and skills of Badminton! It has been an exciting month as we have been learning how to serve, rally with a partner, shuffle, lunge, pivot, and reach, all the while remembering to aim our racquet head at our target! Phew! It sure gets the heart rate going!

Coming up, we'll move into Circuits to develop our gross motor skills, strength, endurance, as well as to increase our level of cardiovascular fitness. Our Circuit unit will also aim to develop life skills and traits such as goal-setting, perseverance, self-discipline, and integrity, all of which when practiced regularly, lead to success!

MUSIC We are desperately in need of some Kleenex boxes because noses are running on a daily basis! If you are able to help in this regard by sending a box or two, it would be most appreciated by ALL noses in Room 105, a.k.a., the Music Room!

In Music, our Kinders continue to enjoy learning poems and chants like "Button Factory," and "Great Big Cat." We also play many hand clapping games, and move around the classroom in a variety of ways, all the while keeping the beat! We love to perform partner songs, switching partners

every time we sing up a key! Our favourite partner song this month is "Hey There Friend." Our latest movement activity involved coloured scarves and rain-bow ribbons. All of our

kinder classes, including friends from DK, had the opportunity to move and explore the many ways they could use their ribbons and scarves while listening to Georges Bizet's "Les Toreadors!" This musical movement activity was thrilling for us, and many students smiled, cheered and clapped for their friends during performances.

Ms. Lussier’s and Ms. Reyes’s students are learning to express themselves through music, visual and language arts. In January they were introduced to Antonio Vivaldi’s famous composition "The Four Seasons." We listened to Vivaldi's "Winter," then identified the tempo, dynamics and orchestral instruments used in the piece. After a second hearing, students pictured and then drew themselves in a winter scene. Many students imagined themselves with their family skiing, building snowmen, or skating outdoors, and the results are wonderful! We have also been identifying steady sounds in our environment. We've found that a kitchen timer, windshield wipers, a dripping faucet, and walking feet all keep a beat! Can you find any more?

The Grade 2's in Mrs. Mirebrahimi's class have been developing their musical ears with solfège exercises using hand signs, and applying all the tools and techniques of musicianship. They are sounding more and more in tune as each week passes! Our latest song "Ham and Eggs" has been an absolute hit! Please ask your child to sing this silly camp song for you, and I promise, you won't be dis-appointed! Our Grade 2's recently wrapped up their Family of Instruments Unit, and many children achieved excellent results on their final test. Congratulations Grade 2's! Keep up the hard work! Moving forward, we will be learning about Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf."

The Grade 3's in Ms. Gulian's and Ms. Panela's classes have just completed a partner project, classifying orchestral instruments by means of production. Great debates were heard in the music room about which instruments could be plucked, strummed, rubbed, and so on! The children will soon be wrapping up their study of percussion instruments, and should be able to identify which are definite or indefinite, and label these instruments by their sounds. We will then head into our recorder unit, focusing on 5 notes this year, B, A, G, C, D. Students will be expected to arrive with their recorder, music folder and agenda to each music class so that they can achieve success with recorder practice, organization, and communication.

Our Grade 4's and 5's have already begun their recorder units and are now doing a fine job of coming prepared to Music class with all items required. Keep up the good work, juniors! The Grade 4's will be learning traditional folk songs on the recorder, while our 5's will jazz things up and learn how to improvise! This is an exciting time for our 5's because they get to share their variations each class. I'd like to commend Kurt, Kaya, Evan and Matthew A. for being our first four to take a risk and improvise on the spot! Keep on noodling! Thanks to parents for your ongoing support and encouragement.

The Pasqua post

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

Both our Primary and Junior choirs are up and running after a January hiatus, enthusiastically preparing for our Spring performance. In addition, our Junior Choir may have an opportunity to visit and sing for local seniors at Revera in April. Information will follow after the March Break. Choir parents, please encourage your children to practice regularly at home, because knowing the lyrics is an important step in great singing. Rehearsals are much smoother and more effective when children know their words and we can start to really make music together! Thanks for supporting your child’s choice to join a choir as an extra-curricular activity!

The library has been buzzing with activity!

As part of our ongoing school focus on inquiry-based learning, the library continues to be the hub for collaborative programming between myself and classroom teachers! I am thrilled to see students using technology and research skills to make sense of the world around them. Our kindies are enjoying the Blue Spruce picture book selections for 2016 and continue to explore our interactive “magic shelves” as well as our library computer lab. Our grade one students are inquiring into their local community. The grade two students are diving into simple machines, while the grade threes are using Google Earth and a flipped classroom model to take a closer look at living and working in Ontario. The library was temporarily transformed into a MakerSpace as the grade four students created diorama advertisements for their favourite picture books. They are now using online resources to investigate rocks and minerals in their everyday lives. The grade five students engaged in a media literacy investigation focused on hard copy and digital newspapers. Most of the articles were STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) related and one of the culminating activities was a Q & A webcast with Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield. They also had the

opportunity to participate in a “Water for the World” workshop hosted by Engineers Without Borders as part of National Engineering Month. Students investigated issues around global access to clean water. Currently, they are learning to use Scratch (coding software) as one type of medium to explain their learning in various curriculum areas.

I am very excited about our partnership with the Toronto Public Library. In conjunction with Scott Robins, the children's librarian at the Don Mills Library, we continue to offer Norman Ingram students some incredible opportunities. On May 9th, our grade 1, 2 and 3 students will walk over to meet Canadian author Vikki VanSickle who will share her new picture book, If I Had a Gryphon. On April 7th, our grade fours and fives will meet Canadian storyteller Kim Kilpatrick who will share humorous and insightful stories about growing up blind.

A gentle reminder as we approach March Break regarding overdue or lost library books. Please return books as soon as possible or contribute to repurchasing them ($5.00 for soft cover books/$10 for hardcover books).

Happy reading!

All TDSB schools will have a newly designated P.A. Day on Friday, April 15, 2016. This additional P.A. Day has been mandated by the Ministry of Education as a result of provincial labour negotiations. All TDSB schools will be closed to students on Friday, April 15, 2016. On this day, teachers will be taking part in professional development on provincial education priorities identified by the Minister of Education.

Most Before-and-After School Programs will offer full-day care for children currently registered in their program on the P.A. Day. Parents/Guardians are encouraged to speak to their local child care provider for further details.

library News

Choir update from Mrs. pasqua

Additional pa day

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

Spring will be here soon and we have lots planned for the next couple of months.

Earth Hour is just around the corner. This year, the official worldwide Earth Hour is Saturday, March 19

th from 8:30

p.m. to 9:30 p.m. TDSB will be involved in this event; however, we will participate on Friday, March 11

th from

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. As an Eco School, we feel it is important to participate in this event and do our part. During this hour, our school will turn off all classroom lights and computers. We will also not use any coffee makers, photocopiers, and even electric pencil sharpeners! We hope you will support Earth Hour with your family on March 19

th. The World Wildlife Fund is the

group organizing this wonderful event and they have more information at http://wwf.ca/earthhour/ Remember, it is only for an hour!

On Friday, April 22nd

at 1:30 pm we will have our annual park clean-up. Students are asked to bring a plastic grocery bag to help collect garbage. Gloves will be provided. We recommend students bring rubber boots, as the fields and grass areas might be muddy.

Once again we are putting our Norman Ingram students to an eco-challenge! Students will have the opportunity to bring in an eco invention on April 28

th. All inventors will

display their creations in the gym from 9:20-11:30 am. Students from all classes will have a chance to view all pieces of work. Parents are also welcome to visit our Eco Gallery until 11:30 am. Each inventor will be asked ahead of time to complete a question sheet about their creation. More information about this event will be sent home before March Break.

On Saturday, May 14

th from 9 am – 2 pm we will be having

our second annual Community Garden Clean-up Day. We are looking for Norman Ingram families to come and help work in our Footprint and Butterfly gardens on that day. These gardens take hours of maintenance, and we would love some help, even just an hour. It is sure to be a fun day playing in the soil. Bring your garden gloves! To sign-up, please click here: http://goo.gl/Zjzdm3 For the months of May and June, Norman Ingram students are encouraged to participate in our “Walk to School Wednesdays.” Students will be recognized at the end of the year for their efforts. During the week of May 30

th to June 3

rd, we will participate

in Bike to School Week. At the end of the week, students will be recognized for their efforts. This year we want to help our local community and we have partnered with Bank & Vogue Ltd to hold a used clothing

drive starting after March Break. Information will be sent home to parents before the March break explaining what can and cannot be brought in. Our goal is to collect 600 garbage bags!

We continue to collect bottle caps of all sizes and colours. Our plan is to collect as many as possible and turn them into an art installation we can be proud of. By collecting these bottle caps we are also preventing them from ending up in our landfills. Thank-you for supporting all of our ECO initiatives!

Go Green, Stay Green!

The Norman Ingram Falcons are finishing up another fun and successful winter season of athletics. Ms. Campbell and Ms. Striewe had the girls up bright and early every Tuesday and Thursday to hone their volleyball skills. They worked hard and had an impressive showing in their first tournament, taking 2nd place in the pool. The girls then moved on to play Dallington in their semi-final match. They bumped, set and served with style, but in the end, just couldn't get by their opposition. Great season girls!

The grade 4’s and 5’s had a three-month 3-on-3 basketball league at lunch recess. The 48-game season came to an exciting end on Championship Day. All 6 teams of boys and girls played off in an afternoon mini tournament with a very surprising result. The Warriors and Rockets finished last and second last in the regular season, but thanks to some amazing play both teams found their way to the championship finals. In the end, Thomas Blazek guided his Warriors to the championship, scoring an un-believable 62 points over 3 games. Well done everyone!

Our boys’ basketball team has been practicing hard since November in preparation for their division 1 season. The boys played well at their first tournament and came within a single basket of taking first in their pool. They are on to the North Conference Championship with a trip to the TDESAA City Championship on the line. Good luck boys! Go Falcons!

The winter season will wrap up just before March Break, but we will be right back at it again soon. Ms Lussier will start up ultimate frisbee in April and Soccer will begin as soon as we can get out on that field!

sports News

eco News

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

February was a very busy month in the Diagnostic Kindergarten room. First of all, we had to say goodbye to one of our veteran students Timothy, as he moved to a new program. We miss him dearly, but hear is doing quite well in his new placement – bittersweet for sure.

We also celebrated Qasem’s birthday, complete with party favours and goodies for all the students. Of course, one of the highlights of the month was celebrating Valentine’s Day. All six of our students made Valentine’s bags,

exchanged cards, and lovingly worked on crafts for their families.

In our last newsletter I mentioned that our class would be embracing winter. Let’s just say we have embraced whatever small amounts of snow Mother Nature decided to sprinkle on our playground. Oftentimes,

our outdoor play was more muddy than snowy, but we made the best of it. We did manage to hit the hills for some sledding this month, which all of the students loved.

Towards the end of the month our class started to talk about jungle animals. They enjoyed playing with the animal figurines in the sensory bin, playing in our

“jungle vet” area, and dressing up like jungle animals. To top off our month, Xavier, Qasem and Jordan joined the other kindergarten classes,

along with Ms. Striewe and Jordan’s mom, for a field trip to Solar Stage to see some Robert Munsch plays. They were so excited to hop on the bus! We look forward to seeing what March brings – whether it be snow or something else.

Trustee Gerri Gershon has two upcoming events to share with parents. These are great opportunities to get involved in your child’s education. Mark your calendars!

1. A Special Education Parent Forum will be held on Monday, March 7th, 6:45 pm to 9 pm at Thorncliffe Park Public School.

2. Register today for the 2016 TDSB Parents as Partners Conference. This year, the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC), Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), Mental Health and Well-Being Parent Partnership Committee and Model Schools for Inner Cities' Parent Academies have partnered to bring one inclusive conference to the Allstream Centre on Saturday, April 16, 2016. For more information and to register, please visit www.parentsaspartners.ca. All parents/guardians of TDSB students are welcome. Register today as space is limited! Trustee Gershon is available to respond to concerns or questions from parents. She is hoping to attend our March 29th School Council meeting, but if you can’t attend that event, she can be contacted at 416-395-3408 or by e-mail at gerri.gershon@tdsb.on.ca

tdsbCREATES is a system-wide celebration of dance, drama, media arts, and visual arts culminating in a festival which takes place April 1 to May 1, 2016 in schools, communities, galleries, and performing arts venues around the city of Toronto. Students, teachers, and artists will come together as a community to create, celebrate, and learn together.

Our superintendent, Tracy Hayhurst, has chosen our grade 4 and 5 classes to be part of this exciting journey! Ms. Lam and Mr. Whittington will be working with a dramatic artist, and are in the process of establishing dates for their collaboration. Through this partnership, our students and teachers will explore their personal perspectives and connections with others and the world around them. They will be encouraged to say something powerful and meaningful through the vehicle of drama. We are very excited to see the results of this exciting venture! Stay tuned . . .

Parents as partners

Tales from DK

Tdsb creates arts festival

Norman Ingram Public School 50 Duncairn Road, Toronto On M3B 1C8 416-395-2720 School Superintendent: Tracy Hayhurst 416-396-9174 School Trustee: Gerri Gershon 416-395-3408

One of the best parts of living in our community is the variety of activities we can enjoy in our parks and public spaces all year round. With spring and March Break around the corner and the days getting longer, students may be spending more time outside. This is a good time to remind everyone to take extra care in enjoying all the outdoors can offer. As you know, we are fortunate to have a number of safety measures, programs, and policies that contribute to a safe and caring school. However, most incidents happen away from school and outside school hours. All parents, students and staff are reminded of the need to be aware and alert at all times, even in the most ordinary and everyday routines. Our staff regularly speak to students about how to stay safe. I know that you too will want to help ensure our community is as safe as possible. Here are some tips that you may find helpful when discussing safety with your child: always walk with a buddy to and from school

always tell your parents where you are

never accept gifts from strangers and never approach or enter a stranger's car

if a car is following you, change directions and run

when help is needed, go to the nearest store or school, the home of a friend or run towards a group of people or a parent with children

know your name, address and phone number

know that police officers are friends and can help you

tell your parents or teacher whenever someone treats you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe; TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.

Our staff members also periodically review street and traffic safety with our students. We ask that you reinforce these safety messages with your children as well. Below is a list of tips that might be helpful to review: stop, look, and listen for traffic

only cross at corners and crosswalks

never run into the street

obey crossing signals

walk on sidewalks

where there are no sidewalks, walk as far away from traffic as possible facing traffic

For those who drive, please take extra care on the roads, especially in areas where children might be present. Keep school contact information up-to-date, including cell and business numbers. It's important for our staff to have this information to know who to contact in case of emergency. Working together, we can make this community even safer for our children.

Our School Council recognizes that the school budget does not always extend to items on a “wish list” as opposed to a “must have list.” To that end, a Norman Ingram parent, Alison Anderson, has turned our teacher wish list into something you can help out with!

We are putting the word out to our Norman Ingram Families and requesting donations of New or Gently Used items which will be put to good use in our classrooms.

We are hoping that many of the smaller items on the list are things which may be found around your homes, waiting to be re-purposed. We have also included items that could be purchased new should you wish to contribute in that way. If you are able to participate - please complete the Sign Up Genius and drop off your new and gently used classroom items to the Main Office. Mrs. Cooper will ensure that they get to the proper place! If you purchase any items over $25.00, you will be eligible for a tax receipt, which can be obtained by bringing a copy of your receipt to the Main Office and completing the required documentation. Thank you in advance for your support and generosity! If you have any questions please contact Alison Anderson at alison.anderson@rogers.com.

Here is the link – please check it out! You will have to sign-up to use the Sign-Up Genius, but you are only doing so to use the program, not to be a member. Your information will not be shared.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4da4a722

a4f58-norman

Working together for a safer community

Please consider donating an item on the

“Teacher Wish List”