Cedarwood Public School 399 Elson Street, Markham, ON L3S 4R8 (905) 294-5756

November 2013 Principal: Paul Battler Vice Principal: Fawzia Durrani

Superintendent: Rashmi Swarup (905) 940-7800 Trustee: Juanita Nathan (905) 471–2553

School Website: www.cedarwood.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca

School Council email: cedarwood.ps@yrdsb.edu.on.ca

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), October was a fun and active month for our students and staff. We had our Terry Fox Run, our cross country team participated in the area and regional meets, a grade 8 student team attended the ECOO conference in Niagara falls as workshop presenters, a grade 5 student team attended the Peace Tree Conference, and our Me to We Team organized a Scare Hunger food drive for a local food bank. We also had an “Orange Day” to help promote the concepts of equity and inclusiveness in our school community. Along with these activities, we also observed and learned about a variety of significant holidays and observances such as Navaratri, Eid-ul-Adha and Thanksgiving. All of the learning that has occurred from the activities and significant holidays and observances mentioned above, are helping us to develop the global mindedness of our students. Our goal, as stated in Ministry of Education’s School Effectiveness Framework, is to help our students develop “... a world view in which an individual perceives him or herself as connected to the world community and is aware of his or her responsibility for its members. It involves being literate about and respectful of the cultures with which one interacts... and to take action in order to not just learn about the world but to make a difference in the world.” We thank the many staff members and parents who have worked together with our students this month to help develop our collective global mindedness and we look forward to continuing these important learning opportunities as the year progresses! Kiss and Ride Update and Safe Arrival We would like to thank the many families who are putting the safety of our students before their individual convenience when dropping off or picking up their children each day. We still have some people however who are not supporting this goal. Please remember that all drivers using the kiss and ride are asked to make a “RIGHT TURN” out of the driveway and to then drive to Denison and turn left to get back to their homes. Making a 3-point turn just beyond the driveway, and then coming back towards the school, defeats the purpose of asking people to turn right. When there is too much traffic in front of the school it creates a situation where people can’t get in or out of the kiss and ride loop. Again, we thank everyone for supporting our Kiss and Ride Rules as they are designed to keep everyone safe. Walking to and from school each day continues to be encouraged as it really helps to alleviate traffic congestion, is better for the environment, and is also good daily exercise! Car Seat and Booster Seat Legislation On a related note in regard to traffic safety, please refer to the Ontario Highway Traffic Act section cited below concerning car and booster seats. We remind everyone that all children in Ontario, under the age of eight, must be strapped into a child seat or booster seat when travelling in a vehicle. Please be aware that we are obligated to notify the police if it is noticed that certain drivers are not complying with this law. We thank everyone in advance for making sure that the children in their vehicles are safe while being transported to and from home. This information is being shared in this newsletter to help those who may not be familiar with the traffic regulations in Ontario. Our goal as always, of course, is to help keep our children safe.

CANCER AWARENESS Finally, you will likely notice that some of the men on staff look a little hairier during the month of November. We will be participating in an event called “Movember” which will have the participating men grow moustaches with the intention to help raise awareness and research money for prostate cancer awareness and male mental health. The money raised by “Movember” supports the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of both prostate cancer and those males experiencing mental illness. Here are some statistics related to male mental health and prostate cancer:

· 1 in 5 men will experience a mental illness this year - 24,500 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone. · 4,300 men will die of the disease this year · 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime · Prostate cancer is the most common cancer to afflict Canadian

men. · Rates of prostate cancer in men are comparable to rates of breast

cancer in women. · The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing due to the aging of

the population. · Over 90% of prostate cancer cases are curable if detected and treated in their earliest stages. · The disease is a far greater threat for those with a family history of prostate cancer. · Prostate cancer is turning up in men in their 40’s · Prostate cancer develops as a result of dietary, environmental and hereditary factors but more

research is needed to identify its causes and prevent the disease · The disease has no symptoms in its earliest, most curable stage – so if you are 40 years old, they

recommend you talk to your doctor about a prostate examination, including a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test.

We look forward to the upcoming Progress Reports and the opportunity to discuss the progress of all of our students with their parents. Information regarding the upcoming parent-teacher conferences on the evening of Thursday, November 14th and Friday, November 15th will be coming home soon with our students. We hope the families who celebrated Diwali had a very happy celebration! Respectfully,

Mr. Paul Battler Ms. Fawzia Durrani

Principal Vice-Principal

Progrant Opportunity– Extended Library Hours Last year a proposal was submitted by our School Council through the Ministry of Education’s PRO (Parents Reaching Out) Grant Program that requested that the Cedarwood school library be accessible to the school community immediately after school on certain days of the week. We recently learned that the proposal was accepted and, in the near future, we are going to be able to keep the library open from 2:40 to 4:40 pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons for students in grades 5 to 8 to use independently, and for students in grades K to 4 to use if accompanied by an adult. It will be a great opportunity for our students to work on homework, use our technology, and check out books if desired. More specific details will be sent home in the near future. We will be hiring a person to facilitate the extended library hours on the days and time listed above. It is a paid position that will pay roughly $12 an hour. Individuals interested in applying for the job can drop a resume of interest off in the school office by Monday, November 11th. The job requires the following skills or requirements: strong oral and written English language skills, a comfort using technology, experience working with children, experience working in a library would also be advantageous. Please note that, as it is a paid position, the interested candidate would not be able to supervise his/her own children while working in the Extended Library Hours.

Front Door Policy All parents/guardians should be using the front door to enter and exit the school. Upon entry, please check in with the office. Thank you.

Photo Re-Takes On Wednesday, November 20, 2013 we will be having Photo Re-Take Day. If you missed our original photo day, or would like retakes of your child’s original photograph, this is the opportunity to have them taken.

Family Vacations If you are taking your child(ren) on a holiday of 5 or more days, the office has a form that must be completed. Please pick up a form from the office if you are planning a holiday. You may also send a note to your child’s teacher or directly to the office indicating your child’s name(s), the date(s) of absence and reason for the absence.

Electronic Devices and other items of personal value Students are reminded to leave all electronic devices and all other items of value at home unless invited to bring them by one of their teachers to support learning in the classroom. Game Boys, iPods, MP3 players, cell phones, etc. should not be brought to school. We would not want students to be upset if they were to lose something that is important to them. Recess breaks are a time for students to have the opportunities to engage in social play and other interactive activities.

Student Work Study Initiative Our school has been invited to participate in a study focussing on student learning in mathematics

(JK to Grade 6). This study is called the Student Work Study Initiative and is a partnership between the York Re-

gion District School Board (YRDSB) and the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat (LNS), a division of the Ministry of Education.

The YRDSB - Student Work Study Teacher Researcher, Joan Bullivant, will be in our school to observe student learning.

We look forward to being a part of this exciting research project.

Outdoor Recess All students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 are expected to go out for every recess unless the administration decides that weather conditions are so poor that it would be detrimental for them to be outdoors. Weather conditions are always monitored and in extreme conditions, (e.g. wind chill), we would keep the students indoors or shorten the time out- doors. We often receive requests from parents asking us to keep their children indoors during recess because they are not feeling well. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff or facilities to supervise students who are sick or still recovering from an illness. Students with heavy colds, etc., which are serious enough to prevent them from participating in physical activities, should remain at home until their condi-tion improves. This will benefit the students concerned and prevent the spread of illness to others. Please make sure that your children are dressed properly for our invigorating winter

days. It is advisable for students to bring extra pants and socks. A change is often necessary due to the wet and cold weather of the winter months. To avoid adding to our cloth-ing collection in the Lost and Found please be sure to label all articles of clothing. Boots, hats, mitts/gloves, scarves and snow pants for the younger children will help make recess an enjoyable time.

TERRY FOX RUN Our Terry Fox Run was a “run away” success! Although initially postponed due to poor weather conditions, our school run on October 18th was held under clear skies. Hundreds of students and staff took to the neighbourhood sidewalks where they ran, jogged, or walked to honour Terry’s memory, and to raise money for cancer research. Our school raised $1157.04! GREAT WORK CEDARWOOD!!!!!!

2013 CROSS COUNTRY

Cedarwood P.S. had a great turnout for cross-country running this year! We are proud of the 70 students who came out for practices twice a week and who competed hard in their individual races in the Area Cross-Country Meet at Mark-ham Fair Grounds. It is great to see so many stu-dents taking an interest in improving their per-sonal fitness levels. Special mention goes out to the small group of students who qualified for, and competed in, the Region Cross-Country Meet at Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area. Tyke Girls: Samira and Sabad S who placed 4th and 10th! Junior Boys: Faisal J, Akshayan B, Sharangan C, Pradeep R, and Reishaan K Intermediate Boys: Miethun R Senior Girls: Sairada B Congratulations to all the students who participated in cross-country this year. Way to go

Cheetahs!

 

 INFORMATION EVENING Bill Crothers Secondary School (BCSS) is a system‐wide school with a focus on healthy active living 

and sport. The school is open for Grade 9 to 12 students. Students and parents from across the region 

are invited to attend an information evening.  Information will be shared regarding the vision, mis‐

sion, schedule, programs, transfer policy and application process.  

 

All information sessions will occur at Bill Crothers Secondary School, 44 Main Street, Unionville, On‐

tario, L3R 2E4 from 7 – 8:30 in the cafeteria 

 

Wednesday, October 30th   – Students in the West & North Region 

 

Tuesday, November 5th   – Students in the East Region 

 

Thursday, November 7th  – Students in the Central Region 

 

Due to building capacity regulations, we request that only students and parents interested in attend‐

ing BCSS for the school year 2014 ‐ 2015, attend one of these evening. Parking is limited so we ask 

that parents carpool or park at the GO Station. Markham By‐law officers regularly enforce the park‐

ing regulations on school property. 

To ensure the safety of students, school bus service may be cancelled from time to time due to inclement weather, extreme temperatures and/or poor road conditions. In these cases, parents and students should develop alternate care/transportation arrangements. Since some busing schedules begin by 7:00 a.m., cancellation decisions must be made by 6:00 a.m. to allow time to communicate this message to bus drivers. Cancellation decisions will only be made after thorough con-sultation with the Safety Officers of school bus companies servicing York Region and are based on several fac-tors including precipitation, air temperature, road conditions and weather forecast. Please note the following; A decision to cancel school bus service will be region-wide meaning all school buses, vans and taxis will not operate. School bus routes may be cancelled when severe weather may not be affecting all municipalities in York Region. Both the YRDSB and YCDSB operate many regional educational programs. Students attending these programs are transported over large attendance areas encompassing several municipal boundaries. This limits the ability to cancel bus service using a municipality or zone methodology. Unless otherwise stated, schools will remain open and parents can make arrangements to transport their children to and from school even if school bus service is cancelled. If buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not operate in the afternoon. Therefore students transported to school by parents will require the same transportation home. Parents, students and school staff are asked to access the following radio and television stations after 6:00 a.m. to receive bus cancellation information: RADIO 590 AM 640 AM 680 AM 860 AM 1010 AM 1050 AM 1540 AM 1580 AM 88.5 FM 89.9 FM 92.5 FM 93.1 FM 94.9 FM 95.9 FM 97.3 FM 98.1 FM 99.1 FM 99.9 FM 101.1 FM 102.1 FM 104.5 FM 100.7 FM 107.1 FM TELEVISION CITY TV CTV Barrie CFTO TV CP24 GLOBAL NEWS A bus cancellation message will also be available at www.schoolbuscity.com and by calling 1-877-330-3001, or by following the YRDSB on twitter. Please note that school bus charters will not operate when home to school bus service is cancelled.

School Bus Cancellation Notice

November 2013

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

4 5 6 7 School Council Meet-ing—6:30 pm in li-brary

8

11 12 Progress Reports Go Home

13 14 A Friday on all school schedules Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences in Afternoon and Evening

15 P A DAY (no school) Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences in Morning

18 19 20 Picture Re-take Day

21 22

25 26 27 28 29

HERITAGE SCHOOL HOUSE On October 17, students from Mr. Nana and Ms. Colabawala's class visited the Heritage Schoolhouse to understand what school was like for students in pioneer times in Canada. The girls wore aprons, and the boys wore scarves around their neck. We were able to explore the one-room schoolhouse and role play pu-pils. We learned penmanship, spelling and multiplication were very important. It was interesting that we wrote using chalk on slate boards. Students in pioneer times would be punished using a strap! We had an enjoyable time, but we wouldn't want to be students in pioneer times for real! By. Arthika and Shailja, Grade 3C

Our trip to On Friday October 18th, the community class participated in the 2nd Annual Lieutenant Governors games. The students had so much fun participating in sledge hockey, basketball, zumba, obstacle courses and so much more. Thank you to Nithursha, Arathy, Nabiha and Carlos for supporting our students at the event. Everyone received metals recognizing them for their efforts.