Principal’s Newsletter – November 30, 2018

Principal’s Message

On November 9th, Mr. Mason and the Adam Beck students led us in our Remembrance Day Assembly. The assembly was very moving as we honored all the veterans who have lost their lives and fought bravely for us. A special thanks to Mr. Mason, the junior choir, the drama club and our pianist Ms. W. Potter. We hope everyone who was able to make it to our assembly was as moved as we were.

Our Annual Holiday Celebration is this Saturday November 24th from 10 am -2pm. It was a very enjoyable time with free pancake breakfast, free arts and crafts, a pick up hockey game, a Christmas market and many other fun activities for boys and girls including a Sing Along with our wonderful choir members and Mr. Mason. Also, a special visitor came by to take photos and wish us a very Merry Christmas.

The holiday season is upon us as we gear up for the holiday season. We hope that all of you will be able to come out to our Holiday Concerts on Thursday December 20th . Please see the schedule below and the attached concert invitations for more details.

Please remember that the last day of school is Friday December 21st and first day back is Monday January 7th, 2019.

Please remember that there is no school for students on Friday December 7th, 2018.

All Adam Beck Students and Staff in Grades 1 – 6 invite you to join us for

Our ANNUAL WINTER CONCERTS,

celebrating our shared values of the season!

On  THURS., DECEMBER 20th, 2018  in the GYMNASIUM.

PRIMARY CONCERT – 6:30 p.m.   JUNIOR CONCERT – 7:40 p.m.

Please Note:  Kindergarten classes are not a part of these December concerts. Thanks!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

IMPORTANT Details for the Evening:

6:00 p.m. – School opens – Primary students can be dropped off at their classrooms;  parents proceed through the school to the gymnasium

6:30 – 7:15 – Primary Concert, featuring all Gr. 1, 1/2 and 2/3 classes and the Primary Choir

7:15 – 7:40 – Intermission – Primary students are picked up from their classes;   Junior students can be dropped off at their classes and parents proceed through the school to the gymnasium

7:40 – 8:15 – Junior Concert, featuring all Gr. 3/4 – 6 classes & the Junior Choir

PLEASE NOTE: Supervision is NOT being offered for students outside of their concert time (ie. Junior students can’t be in their classrooms during the Primary Concert).  Families with students in both the Primary and Junior divisions are welcome to attend both concerts and students can sit with their parents during their siblings concert.  Families with students in only one concert are invited to just attend their child’s concert.  Thank you for helping to make this busy evening run so smoothly!

Eco Team Field Trip

The Eco team took our first field trip on November 1st to the AGO. While there, we watched a series of short films as a part of the Planet in Focus film festival. After lunch, we had a tour of the Anthropocene exhibit, where we saw many photos which made us think about humans’ impact on the planet. As a result of our trip, we decided that our focus this year will be on reducing single use plastics. We are asking families to consider whether there are more sustainable options for packed lunches than using single use packaging, and to work together to reduce their use. Stay tuned for many more eco team initiatives throughout the year!

Eco- Team – Mme. Dunbar

Book Fair

BOOK FAIR SUCCESS!!

Thank you to all the students and parents who took the time to shop at our recent book fair! It was so great to see so many of you buying books. Your purchases also helped support our school library – it was a very successful event and the credit we earned from Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore (1,800.00 $)  means we can buy many, many great new books for the library. Hip hip hooray!

I know the teachers would also like to extend their thanks to everyone who purchased books as gifts for their classrooms – they are truly appreciated!

Finally, THANK YOU to all the parent volunteers who gave their time to help set-up, take down, tidy books, manage line-ups and sell at this year’s book fair – we couldn’t have done it without you! And an extra-special thank you to Sonya Buyting, our book fair parent chairperson; her detailed planning, hands-on organization and upbeat attitude have been central to making this event such a success for the past several years.

We’re looking for a new chairperson and lots more volunteers for next year – if you’re interested in helping spread the love of reading through our annual book fair, please email me [email protected].

Happy Reading,

Ms. Panova

 

Adopt-A-Family

Adam Beck School Council will once again be supporting families through Community Centre 55’s Adopt-a-Family program. There are many families in our community that will be in need over this holiday season and we hope to do our part in helping make the season a little brighter for them. We would like to thank everyone in advance for your generous support of this initiative. We have a “Giving Tree” outside of the school office and it is decorated with ornaments that have gift ideas for our Adopted Families. We will be supporting four families this year.

Our families are in need of not only toys but everything from kitchen necessities to clothing for the children, bedding and gift cards for groceries.

If you and your child(ren) would like to buy a gift, please take an ornament, buy the gift and return the gift (unwrapped) to the office, with the ornament attached, by Friday December 14th. That way the children will not receive multiple identical gifts. Please note, if your child takes an ornament home but you decide not to purchase the gift, then please remember to return the ornament to the tree.

As well, a donation box will be set up in the office to collect cash, Canadian Tire money and gift cards. Gift cards from stores that use point systems such as Shoppers Drug Mart can be purchased using your accumulated points. Please make sure to include “purchase receipts” for any gift cards in order to avoid any problems when using those cards.

Lastly don’t forget you can use Fundscrip to purchase gift cards, that way both our families and the school are supported.
Click on the link: http://www.fundscrip.com/ USE the code: 23TCSY
There will be 2 order deadline dates this year for Fundscrip:

1. Monday December 3rd for delivery on Friday December 7th.
2. Monday December 10th for delivery on Friday December 14th.

Thank you in advance for your generosity,

The Spirit Committee

If you have any questions please contact Amanda Wood or Melanie Chryssafis at adopt.a.family@adambeckcouncil.ca

 

 

 

Parents Taking Other Students Other Than Their Own For Lunch

Please remember that if you are making arrangements for the parent of another child to take your child out for lunch, we require a letter signed by you, the parent authorizing this, to be brought to the office and that individual needs to sign your child out for lunch. Please understand we are trying to maintain student safety and we need to be aware of these sorts of arrangements.

 

Lost & Found

A friendly reminder to the parents of our Kindergarten to Grade 6 students, particularly if your children stay for lunch to put on winter coats, snow pants, boots, mitts and hats. By taking some time at home to have your child develop these independent, self-help skills, they will feel more confident in getting themselves ready for outdoor play at recess time. Also, many children have similar outdoor clothes that make identifying their own belongings difficult. Labelling your child’s shoes, boots, coats etc. with his/her initials is helpful. Please send an indoor pair of shoes to be kept at school since all children must have shoes on at all times for safety.

All parents, if you are looking for missing belongings ie. Sweaters, shoes, pants, and jackets Please come by and check the Lost and Found located outside the Office.

Extra- Curricular Activities

The Adam Beck staff are an amazing and dedicated group of individuals who generously give up their own personal time to provide as much extra-curricular activities as possible for our students. Staff make students aware of various opportunities through announcements and recess or lunch meetings during the school day. Staff expect interested students to demonstrate initiative and responsibility by remembering to come out to meetings if they want to be part of these opportunities.

PJ Day & Holiday Sing-A-Long

Don’t forget that Friday December 21st is the last day before the winter break and we invite all students to wear their PJ’s for a fun filled and relaxed day.

 

Pediculosis (Head Lice)

We ask all Adam Beck Parents to report any cases of lice directly to the office and take the following precautions:

 

  1. Inspect your child’s hair and scalp frequently. The louse may be brown or greyish, with a flat, wingless body 2-3 mm in length with six legs.  The eggs may be yellow, brown, or white teardrop-shaped, are glued to the hair near the scalp and are called “nits”.  It is usually the eggs which are first noticed. 
  2. If your child complains of an itchy scalp, you should check for lice and/or nits. 
  3. If you discover your child has lice or nits, please notify the school right away and a Treatment Instruction sheet will be sent home. 
  4. Please note that if a child is found to have pediculosis, the parent or guardian will be required to keep the child at home until the child is free of all head lice and nits. 
  5. Upon returning to school after a case of head lice, parents must accompany their child to the office to be checked before they can be re-admitted to class. 
  6. Students will not be re-admitted unless they are all clear.                                                                                                                        

    Dressing for the Weather

 

In addition, we ask that all students have a pair of indoor and outdoor shoes at school. This is extremely important in case we have to suddenly evacuate all students must wear shoes at all times inside the school.

Provincial Consultation on Education Reform

Parents, students, educators and community members are invited to provide feedback on several areas of the province’s education system, including updating the Health and Physical Education curriculum and improving student performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Closing date is Dec. 15, 2018. To learn more and how you can participate, visit fortheparents.ca.

Continuing Education – Community Programs

Registration for Winter Learn4Life classes is now open. Keep up with your New Year’s fitness goals, learn a language, or even learn to tango! Take up a new sport, or even learn how to make your own jewellery. Classes begin Saturday, January 12, 2019.

Register at www.learn4life.ca.
Facebook.com/TDSBLearn4Life
@TDSB_ConEd

 

EARLY FRENCH IMMERSION 2019-2020

You have a choice to make about French programming
for your child.

Across
the TDSB, we offer two programs: Early French Immersion (SK entry) and Junior
Extended French (Gr.4 entry)

Senior
Kindergarten is the ONLY time your child can begin the Early French Immersion
program.

What is Early French Immersion?

Early French Immersion programs are designed for
students who do not speak French at home. The Early French Immersion program
provides the maximum French language experience available in our schools.

Early French Immersion begins in Senior
Kindergarten. All class activities are conducted in French until the end of
Grade 3 although some specialist subjects like Physical Education may be taught
in English.

English is introduced in Grade 4 for about one
hour per day and increases to half of the daily class time by Grade 6.

After Grade 8, students continue the French
Immersion program at designated secondary schools. Students who successfully
complete a minimum of 10 credits in French at the secondary school level are
eligible for a Certificate of Bilingual Studies in French.

To
find the French Immersion school for your area, please visit the following
website and enter the name of your English school in the designated search
window:

www.tdsb.on.ca/ElementarySchool/SchoolChoices/FrenchPrograms

*Catchments are based on the student’s home
address and may change in accordance with TDSB procedures.

A series of
public information evenings will be held across the TDSB to provide
parents/guardians the opportunity to learn further information about the French
Immersion program and the application process, and to ask questions of TDSB
staff. These meetings will be held at the following sites:

Location Date
Time George S Henry Academy 200 Graydon Hall Drive

October 30, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Etobicoke Collegiate Institute 86 Montgomery Road

November 1, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute 1550
Sandhurst Circle

November 6, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute 3663 Danforth
Avenue

November 12, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Central Technical School 725 Bathurst Street

November 14, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Forest Hill Collegiate Institute 730 Eglinton
Avenue West

November 19, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Northview Heights Secondary School 550 Finch Ave
West

November 20, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute 800
Greenwood Ave

November 22, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00 pm

Or join us online at a Virtual Information Evening
to learn the information about the French Immersion program and application
process or to ask questions via web chat.

On line Web Chat Date Time

Virtual Information Evening www.tdsb.on.ca November 7, 2018 7:00 pm -8:00
pm

Applications for the Early French Immersion Program

are completed online for
September 2019

Applications to the Early French Immersion program
are made the year your child is in Junior Kindergarten for entry in September
of Senior Kindergarten. It is an entirely online process. All communication
will be sent via the email address you provide. Please check this email
regularly.

Please visit the application site www.tdsb.on.ca/pars

✓ You will need your child’s date of birth and OEN (Ontario Education Number).

The OEN is a 9-digit number found on any report
card from the TDSB.

✓ For non-TDSB students, please select the “Non-TDSB Student” option and

follow the steps to generate an identification
number. You must then return to the PARS site and follow the application
procedure with this number.

✓ Please select Early French Immersion from the drop-down menu and complete

the application process.

On-time applicants will be
offered a placement online via the email address you have provided. You MUST
take action to accept this placement by the deadline requested when you are
offered a placement.

Offers of placement will be on-going through the
weeks and months following the close of the application period. Please check
your email regularly (including junk mail) and follow all instructions found
therein.

IMPORTANT
DATES: Application process opens: October 29, 2018

Deadline for applications:
November 26, 2018

Please
note: while every effort will be made to place students in the school
identified as their area Early French Immersion school, this is not always possible.
In cases where the number of applications in a given area is greater than the
number of spaces in the school, students may be redirected to schools with
available space.

Placements are made based on the
address you provide prior to the application deadline. If your address changes
between the application deadline and the fall of the SK year, there is no
guarantee of placement in your new area.

Applicants who have older siblings currently
enrolled in the program and who will be in attendance the following year have a
priority placement in that school.

Classes with fewer than 25 students may not open.

Important Dates:

Monday December 3 – Hanukah

Wednesday December 5 – Staff Appreciation

Friday   December 7 – P.A. Day – School Closed

Friday   December 14 – Rendezvous Café

Wednesday December 12 – Pizza Lunch & Staff Appreciation

Thursday December 20 – Holiday Concert

Friday December 21 – PJ & Stuffie Day (Spirit Day), Holiday – Sing-Along

Saturday December 22nd – Sunday January 6th – School Closed – Winter Holidays

 

 

Adam Beck Principal Newsletter – November 30 2018