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May 2013 With the warm weather in April and May, we know spring is here, the season for renewal and new beginnings. During these two months, we had in-school and regional Speech Arts competitions; Police Officer presentations on safety to individual classes from Kindergarten to Grade 6; Funny Bamboo Music presentations for Primary and Junior classes; Community Clean-up Day; Famous author Kevin Sylvester presenting to students from Grade 1 to 6; Recognition Assemblies; Scientist-in-Schools programs; staffing and planning for next year, etc.. The highlights are the annual events, Sir Samuel B. Steele’s birthday celebration and Trek Day.

Friday May 3rd was a perfect day for Sam Steele birthday celebration and Trek Day. We celebrated Sir Samuel B. Steele’s birthday in the morning, and had the pleasure of having RCMP Constable Eskritt join us in the festivities. Constable Eskritt visited all classes in the morning and then walked with the students and staff in the community in the afternoon. It was a day full of energy, cooperation and joy. We were very pleased to have Constable David Eskritt, who first visited us in 2010, returning to our school.

A successful school wide excursion to the Ontario Science Centre took place on Friday, May 17. The buses and admission fees were paid for by the annual Trek Funds. On behalf of the staff, I would like to thank all the parents who have contributed to this year’s Trek fundraising event.

I would also like to thank all the staff and parents for helping us with all the events and activities. Your contributions and support are greatly appreciated.

During the months of May and June we are busy with the planning for the school year of 2013-14, which includes creating organizational structures, a staffing model, timetabling, classroom organizations and teaching assignments. Class placement is a complex, thoughtful and cooperative process that requires much time and effort. In addition to meeting Board and Ministry guidelines, decisions are made based on a number of criteria: balance of student abilities, social/emotional needs, learning styles, gender balance, and class size. In consultation with receiving and sending teachers, we strive to best meet the needs of all students to ensure balanced and cohesive classrooms. Thus, we would greatly appreciate it if you do not make request for a specific teacher. Additional information about your child's needs, in consideration of placement,

Sir Samuel B. Steele Jr. Public School

"131 Huntsmill Blvd, Scarborough, On. M1W 2Y2 Tel: (416) 396-6580 Fax: (416) 396-6582

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M. L. Lam, Principal

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may be directed to the teacher in writing. Requests must be program-specific only. Please also note that placements are not finalized until September of the next school year.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this process, please do not hesitate to call us.

FROM THE TDSB

ESL in the Summer

The TDSB offers a variety of free English classes to adults who are residents of Canada or are applying for residency. Join our summer session of English as a Second Language. Build your literacy and English language skills. Learn about your community and the services available. Prepare for further education, citizenship and language proficiency tests. Improve your conversation skills. Discover our bilingual programs, where English is taught with the help of other languages. Visit www.ESLtoronto.ca.

Summer Music Camps

There is still space in TDSB’s summer music camps! Enroll today and enrich your child’s vacation through one of our three unique programs – Summer Sounds, DownTown Strings and Toronto Summer Music Camps. TDSB offers these band, strings and orchestral experiences for students from grades 3-9.

Register today at www.tdsbsummercamps.ca.

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China Programs The TDSB is offering two summer programs in China in partnership with Qiaoban - Department of Culture and Education, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, People's Republic of China. Student Summer Camp in China provides students, 12-17 years of age, with an opportunity to experience life in China. For 15 days, from July 22-August 5, students will immerse themselves in Chinese culture and language in the cities of Dalian and Beijing. Participants must be of Chinese heritage or learning Chinese. For more information visit www.tdsbchinacamp.ca. 2013 Summer Tour for Families with Adopted Children from China offers families with children adopted from China the opportunity to explore Chinese culture and history firsthand. Participating families will travel to historic cities and sites, sample the cuisine, learn Mandarin, visit an elementary school and join in cultural exchange activities in local communities. This year’s tour runs from June 30-July 12.

For more information visit http://www.ileprograms.ca and select 2013 Summer Tour for Families with Adopted Children from China.

What will You Learn this Summer? Through our Learn4Life program, the TDSB offers general interest classes for adults at locations across the city. Join our summer taster series. Try a class for a few weeks before signing up for the full session in the fall. Pick up the guitar for campfire sing-a-longs. Build a Muskoka chair. Get a feel for Tai Chi. Take brush to canvas and paint a work of art. Registration opens on May 21. Visit www.learn4life.ca. Classes begin the week of July 2, 2013. TDSB Continuing Education is your partner in lifelong learning.

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Summer Programs for International Languages Elementary Open to all students from SK-Grade 8, International Languages Elementary summer programs

combine language learning with engaging cultural activities like games, songs, dance, storytelling and crafts. This year we are offering half-day programs in many languages and two full-day Mandarin camps. For program and registration information visit http://www.ileprograms.ca.

HAPPENING FROM AROUND OUR SCHOOL

Scientists-in-Schools Program

In May, the Scientists-in-Schools program visited the Kindergarten classes of Mrs. Hillier-Hu and Mrs. Tatsiopoulos. The

unit they studied was called “Backyard Bugs.” The students learned many new things about creatures such as insects and spiders in several different learning stations such as “Make an insect by learning its body parts” and the “Microscope”.

TDSB’s Urban Voices For the past several years, the TDSB has published an annual collection of art and poetry called Urban Voices. This year, over a thousand submissions were made and only about a hundred twenty winning entries successfully made it to this year’s Urban Voices book. Of these, one of our students, George Papadopoulos of Mrs. Azami’s class, wrote a very thoughtful poem, “TOGETHER”, which will make into this year’s edition.

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!!"#$%"&%'!!Together we were chained, shipped and bought.!We were forced to work, our pain we fought.

Together we were stripped of all our human rights. We cried and prayed in fright.

Together we bowed our heads in shame. It was the color of our skin they thought was to blame.

Together we kept our spirit alive through song and prayers. In our hearts we knew there would be an end to these nightmares.

Together we heard of Abraham’s 13th amendment. Abolishing slavery made a statement.

Together we cheered that we were finally free. We knew our sacrifice would go down in history.

Together through teamwork we fought for our right. So that our children could have a future so bright.

By: George Papadopoulos

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The 2013 Sam Steele Day and Trek Assembly On Friday, May 3, 2013 our school celebrated Sam Steele’s Birthday by having an assembly during which a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Constable David Eskritt visited our school, spoke about the RCMP and Sam Steele and helped cut the cake which was shared with our school’s Kindergarteners. In the afternoon, the entire school took part in our annual Trek under glorious weather. It must be noted that our annual Trek is our school’s main fundraising event, paying for a wide variety of events such as Scientists in Schools, Sammies, school buses, Arts assemblies and visitors, birthday ribbons and many other items. In addition, 10% of what we collect will go towards the Petriatric Clinic of The Scarborough Hospital’s Birchmount Campus for items like stickers, games and other items that will make the stay of children patients less unpleasant.

Constable David Eskritt with Mrs. Azami’s class

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Cooperation Raps

Mrs. Montanaro’s students worked cooperatively to write and perform a variety of raps. After these raps were written and edited, the students practised in order to share their very thoughtul projects during the April’s Recognition Assembly. Below are all of the raps, including the names of all the authors.

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Haiku poetry from Room 207

The grade 5 students in Mr. Kim’s, Mrs. Montanaro’s and Ms. Mirali’s made bridges in Science class.

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The students in Mrs. Rim’s class created booklet covers for their animal research project.

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Mrs. Flann’s grade 6 class combined Mathematics (symmetry) and Visual Arts in this Pizza Art display.

Mr. Kim’s grade 5 students used their knowledge about fractions to create this “yummy” looking display.

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Mrs. Ogden’s DD class has been studying the life cycle of frogs, butterflies and other animals.

Did you know that we have many Lego enthusiasts in our school? Thanks to Ms. DeClute, these young engineers have a showcase for their creations.

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The students in Mrs. Tatsiopoulos’ kindergarten class recently studied the life cycle of a butterfly.

They also studied the changes that happen in nature during Spring.

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What makes YOU happy? Well, Mrs. Hillier-Hu’s kindergarten students certainly know what makes THEM happy!

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After reading the poem “After The Rainbow” by Lois Ehlert, Mrs. Weiss’ and Mrs. Tanaka’s grade 1 and grade 2 students created some beautiful pieces of “M-ART” (Mathematics ART). As you can see, the focus of this activity is the study of symmetry.

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Inspired by the art of Vincent Van Gogh, the students in Mrs. Beckford’s class created art that used a variety of media such as watercolours and pastels.

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Mrs. Sarantakos’ students studied the work of the French Impressionist artist Camille Pissaro and his art style called pointillism. Pictured above is an example of one student’s work from this class that borrows from Pissaro’s style of painting.

School Website - Parent Resources

In preparation for this year’s EQAO tests (Grade 3 and Grade 6), parents may find it useful to access and use the resources provided by the Ministry of Education’s EQAO parent resources. The actual Student Assessment Booklets and Scoring Guides from 2003-2004 to 2011-2012 years are available for use online or after being printed (all these documents are in .pdf format).

To access these resources, go to http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/sirsamuelbsteele/, select the “PARENTS’ menu and pull down to “E.Q.A.O. Parent Resources”. Once you are on this page, scroll down until you have reached the section shown below. Select the year you want to examine and the grade level. Please note that parent resources area also available in 21 additional languages (please scroll down a bit further down on the “E.Q.A.O. Parent Resources” page to find them).

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News from the Library

On April 11, the famous Canadian author and illustrator Kevin Sylvester spoke to the students in grades 1 through 6. He shared many interesting stories about his most famous characters such as Neil Flambe. In addition to showing our

students how he writes and illustrates his books, he provided a lot of practical advice that our students will remember for a very long time. In the photo below, Kevin Sylvester is seen explaining the process of how he illustrates his books.