October, 2015

Shirley Street Junior Public School Principal: Sheena Matheson

Principal’s Message:

• Principal’s Message • Halloween Parade • Cross Country • Movie Night • Terry Fox  The Bully and the Beanstalk  Remembrance Day  Officer Berridge visits

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Movie Night under the Stars on Sept. 19th. Thanks also to all who came to our Curriculum Night on October 1st. We are pleased to report that our iPad initiative has been extended to grade 2. We have 10 iPads for grade 2 so far and will have a full class set soon. Mr. Welsh is taking the lead for this initiative. When the weather was warm we kept the door to the school yard open till 4:00 for parents and children enjoying the playground. However, we cannot keep the door propped open with cold weather and without staff supervision. Thank you for understanding. Unfortunately, we’ve noticed a lot of dog poop in our Kindergarten and main school playground. Dogs are not allowed in these school play areas. Our Kindergarten students all made posters asking people to pick up after their dogs. A couple of signs were chosen to go on to wooden plaques designed by parent, neighbour, and artisan Lubo!

Cross Country Ms. Bennett, Ms. Turco and Mr. Porter have been taking lunch times and after school times to run with our Cross Country team. Congratulations to all the students on our cross country team who ran at Ashbridges Park on October 8th. We pleased to note that Gabriel Irving, advanced to the Conference Finals on October 16th!

The Shirley Street Story/ October 2015

Bake Sale for Syrian Refugees (Red Cross) Thank you to all who sent in baked goods for our fundraising bake sale for Syrian Refugees and to all who sent money in with your child. Some people who couldn’t bake also gave us generous donations. Thank you also to our grade 5 and 6 students who helped with the organization of the bake sale by making posters and running the sales. They were: Katrina Mei, Hanna To, Ashley Wu, Poinyan He, Kate Hodgson and Addie Dawson-Anthony. The TDSB is partnering with the Canadian Red Cross for this initiative and the money was picked up and deposited by PACE Credit Union. We’re proud to say that our Bake Sale raised $590.00!

Character Education

Every month we learn about a new Character Attribute. This month Mr. Harris’ class (room 204) has done a wonderful bulletin board with posters and messages about Respect and Responsibility. You can check it out – it’s the bulletin board next to the gym entrance.

Here’s what some of the grade 3s had to say: Responsibility: Doing what you’re told, like doing your chores (Gabriel) …When I clean up after myself (Heyam). …When you look out for your sister (Ryan) Taking care of our room (Tyler) Respect: Treat others the way you want to be treated (Sadie) Be nice to others (Margarida) Listen to the person that is speaking (Nicole) Let people play when they want to (Kasra) Helping others in need – no excluding (Jacob) …When someone is hurt you should help (Emilia) Share with people (Rim)

Hallowe’en Parade

38 Shirley Street Toronto, Ontario e: M6K 1S9 416-39370 Phone: Fax: 416-393-9270 416-393-9274 Fax: Principal: 416-393-9274 Demitra Zervas Principal: Office Administrator: Sheena Matheson Biljana Svilaric

We plan to have our annual Halloween Parade on Friday, October 30th weather permitting. We will all gather in the gym after lunch, review safety rules and then parade outside in the neighbourhood starting on Shirley St. going up Brock and along Dundas and then back on ST. Clarens. Students not participating will engage in supervised fun activities in room 106.

Office Administrator: Superintendent: Man Biljana Svilaric

Trustee: Superintendent: Maria Rodriguez Curtis Ennis on.ca

Remembrance Day

Trustee: Marit Stiles Toronto District School Board Website: www.tdsb.on.ca

Lest We Forget We will have a Remembrance Day ceremony just after the first recess (10:40 a.m.) in the gym on Wednesday, November 11th. Parents and guardians are welcome to attend.

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Mark your calendar!

Oct. 29 – School Photo Retake Day Oct. 30 – Halloween Parade (Shirley St.) Halloween Dance (City View) Nov. 11 – Remembrance Day Nov. 13 – PA day – no school for students Dec. 14 – 1:00 pm Duffle bag Theatre performance - gym Dec. 21- Jan. 1 – Christmas Break Jan. 22 – PA Day Feb. 12 – PA Day Feb. 16 – Family Day! March 14-18 – March Break Mar. 25 – Good Friday – No school Mar. 28 – Easter Monday – No school

DISMISSAL Parents picking up children should be at the school only five minutes before the dismissal bell in order to maintain an uninterrupted learning environment and to ensure the safety of all students. In the interest of safety, parents are asked to meet siblings and other children that they pick up in the schoolyard. Having parents in the hallways and outside the classrooms is not appropriate. Parents and caregivers are reminded that supervised dismissal time for students at the end of the school day is from 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. If a student is not picked up by 3:45 p.m. in the school yard, the supervisor will bring the student to the office where a call will be made to arrange for pickup of the student. The school office closes at 4:00 p.m.

ALLERGIES / SHARING FOOD Shirley St. PS is an allergen aware school. There are children in attendance who suffer from severe and life threatening allergies to certain foods, such as peanuts or other nut products (this includes Nutella). Please let the school know if your child has a new allergy. Please remind your child to refrain from sharing snacks and lunches. Students with ANAPHYLAXIS must carry an EPI-PEN with them at all times as well as having a second EPI-PEN stored at the school office. Parents/ Guardians will be given a form: TDSB REQUEST AND CONSENT FOR ADMINISTRATION OF INJECTION OF MEDICATION IN AN EMERGENCY which is to be completed by the parent/guardian as well as the child’s doctor. An EMERGENCY ALLERGY ALERT FORM EPI-PEN ONLY will be completed with the student’s photo and placed on the Medical Alert Board in the office, staff room and student’s classroom.

VISITORS TO THE SCHOOL All visitors (including parents) must report to the office prior to proceeding to classes. For security and safety reasons, access to the school is available through the front doors only to the school. Please ring the bell to gain access to the school. Please advise the office of any strangers around the school. All volunteers must have a police check. All service providers must be approved by the school board.

BIRTHDAYS Birthdays are announced over the P.A. and noted in individual classrooms as well. Sending something for your child’s birthday for the class is not necessary; however, if you wish to do so, we encourage non-food items (e.g., pencils, erasers, stickers, etc.). With caution, any food treat to be shared from home must be pre-approved by the teacher and must be certified peanut-free by the manufacturer.

ADMINISTERING OF MEDICATION Please be advised that a student is only allowed to take medication with the “Request and Consent for the Administration of Prescribed Medication” TDSB forms approved and signed by the prescribing doctor. These forms are printed by the office. Once these forms are completed and handed into the office, along with the medication, the child will be allowed to self-administer the medication while administration supervises. The child needs to be taught

at home how to take the medication while under supervision. No staff member is allowed to administer medication. All medication is to be kept in the office at all times. Please note that without any doctor authorized TDSB forms, no medication can be administered.

PEDICULOSIS – HEAD LICE TIPS FOR TREATMENT & PREVENTION Please read the following information for facts and tips regarding Pediculosis. The most obvious sign of head lice is scratching. PREVENTION to stop the spread of lice, we ask that you monitor and check your child’s head periodically. a tip to prevent lice from spreading on girls’ hair is for girls to wear their hair up in a bun, a ponytail or a braid. Hair spray on the braid or ponytail is a common tip. rinsing with vinegar after washing your child’s hair is another common tip. TREATMENT to check your child’s head, part the hair in sections and look for small grey or brown insects, slightly larger than a pin-head. Lice lay tiny silvery white eggs called nits. Nits can be found over the entire head but are most common behind the ears and in the nape of the neck. They stick to the hair shaft. If your child has head lice, please make sure that the office is aware so that a notice can be sent home to the other classmates to have their parents check their hair. Rest assured the student’s name will always remain anonymous. available at most drug stores. once treated, remove the nits using the special comb that is included in the kit daily over several weeks. The child should be treated and free of head lice before returning to school.

Getting a Richer Answer When You Ask Your Child, “How Was Your Day?” Tired of getting the same old answers whenever you ask your child how their day at school went? Here are two articles that might make answering the age-old question a little more interesting. My favourite question from these

lists…Who would you like to play with at recess that you've never played with before? http://parent.co/30-questions-to-ask-your-kid-instead-of-how-was-yourday/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-evans/25-ways-to-ask-your-kids-sohow-was-school-today-without-asking-them-so-how-was-schooltoday_b_5738338.html

INCLEMENT WEATHER

During cold or inclement weather please send your child to school only a few minutes before the bell rings, so that they will not have to stand out in the rain or cold for long periods of time. Students will be kept inside on days in which the weather/wind chill factor is significantly cold or raining. Such decisions are made individually respecting local weather conditions.

PERMISSION TO LEAVE SCHOOL

If your child is required to leave school (before normal dismissal times) a note, which is dated and signed by the parent stating the reason for early dismissal, should be presented to the teacher before the student is permitted to leave. A “sign-out” book is located in the office and all persons picking up students or students with written parental permission leaving early must complete the sign-out information before leaving the school. Parents who send friends, neighbours or relatives to pick up their children must inform the school in advance of changes.