Davisville Public School - September Newsletter 2017 - 2018 43 Millwood Rd, Toronto, ON M4S 1J6 | Phone: 416-393-0570

http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/davisville | Twitter: @DavisvillePS

"Even if I don't finish, we need others to continue. It's got to keep going." -Terry Fox On Thursday September 29th our entire school participated in our annual Terry Fox Run. Students showed their courage by wearing “I am running for _______” stickers to honour all those who have struggled or are struggling to fight cancer. Our goal this year is to raise $2000 dollars…stay tuned for more details to see if we reached our goal. We are so proud of our entire community: parents, staff and students, who worked together to raise awareness about courage order to help others. If you would like to read more about Terry Fox’s story, here are some books that we recommend: Primary/ Junior: Terry Fox: A Story of Hope by Maxine Trottier (Scholastic) Primary/Junior: Terry Fox: His Story by Leslie Scrivener (McClleland and Stewart) Primary: Value of Facing a Challenge: The Story of Terry Fox by Ann Donegan Johnson (Value Communications)

The month of September has

been extremely busy! Our

students, parents and staff

participated in many important

activities and events that have

continued to build and

strengthen our community.

Here are some highlights that

we will showcase this month.

In this issue:

Terry Fox Run

Orange Shirt Day

Cross Country

Visit to Vaughan Road

Academy

School Council Meeting

Grade 3 Results

Grade 6 Results

Snack Program

Safety Assembly

Rules and Routines at a

glance

Character Education

October 6th PA Day

French Immersion Night :

some important changes

Developing student voice

at Davisville

School Cash Online

Important Dates

Terry Fox Run

On Friday September 30th, our students and staff honoured the legacy of residential schools by wearing orange t-shirts. The idea of the orange t-shirt comes from Phyllis Webstad who was six-years-old when the new orange shirt she excitedly chose for her first day of school was stripped off her back. She never saw it again. It was the early '70s and Webstad was the third generation of her family to attend St. Joseph Residential School in Williams Lake B.C. Through daily announcements, some of our Grade 6 students explained the importance of understanding the residential school experience that in many cases has left generations of indigenous families and communities struggling to cope with trauma and a loss of identity. At our school, we remembered the Phyllis Webstad’s motto: “Every child matters.” If you would like more information about

this important event, check out the link:

http://www.orangeshirtday.org/

On Friday September 30th, our amazing cross-country runners participated in TDSB’s Cross-Country Meet at Ashbridge’s Bay. Despite the rain and cold, our students displayed true grit and determination. We are very proud of our runners whose perseverance to finish the course and cross the finish line was clearly visible. Thank you to staff and parents for supporting our runners during early morning and lunchtime practices. We look forward to another great meet next year!

Cross Country Meet

A Sea of Orange for Orange Shirt Day

On Wednesday September 20th, a group of parents went on a fieldtrip to Vaughan Road Academy, the site that will serve our community while our new school is being built. The field trip was a great way for parents to experience a bus ride to the school and also visit the classrooms, cafeteria, gyms and libraries. We want to thank the organizer of the tour, Mr. Tom Schloessin, Architectural Coordinator from the TDSB. We were also fortunate to have Linda Campoli from TDSB’s Transportation Department to answer questions about bussing. Superintendent Ian Allison and Trustee Shelley Laskin were also there to guide our visit and answer questions. Recommendation to move to Vaughan Road was passed unanimously at Budget and Finance Committee on September 27th and is now going to be voted on at board on October 18th. A special thank you to our community members for attending our Community meeting on September 26th. We value the questions expressed by the community. We will continue to work together to meet the needs of our students. A huge thank you to our parent volunteer Ms. Tanya Murdoch for the VRA tour video

https://vimeo.com/tmurdoch/schooltour

On Wednesday September 27th, Davisville’s first Council Meeting happened in our school gym. It was great to see so many parents and families come out for our very first meeting. Items discussed were our school’s re-organization plans and procedures, Fall fundraising, school safety and our EQAO results. We can be very proud of our school’s results that surpassed provincial and board results: Grade 3 Results Reading: 84% (provincial: 75%; board: 74%) Writing: 84% (provincial: 73%; board: 75%) Mathematics: 79% (provincial: 62%; board: 65%) Grade 6 Results: Reading: 86% (provincial 81%; board 81%) Writing: 86% (provincial: 79%; board: 81%) Mathematics: 74% (provincial: 50%; board: 54%)

For more information and an in-depth analysis about Davisville’s EQAO results, please check the link below: https://eqaoweb.eqao.com/eqaoweborgprofile/profile.aspx?_Mident=2935&Lang=E

School Council Meeting

Our Visit to Vaughan Road Academy

We are so excited to have Chris our Snack Man back at Davisville! Chris and our wonderful team of volunteers have been working hard to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables, crackers and cheese, white and chocolate milk and other goodies to our students. We really appreciate the great work that our volunteers do to make this program happen every day!

Footwear, for safety reasons running shoes, should be worn at all times. (No bare feet, flip flops or winter boots)

Lunchroom & Snack Routines:

Children with allergies must only eat food that they have brought in from home unless it is packaged, clearly labeled and approved by parents. Children should place food on napkin or paper rather than in direct contact with desk.

Children must not trade or share food (or containers and utensils).

All children are encouraged to wash hands before and after eating.

Children with allergies should sit in close proximity to the lunchroom supervisor. The supervisor/s will monitor younger children to ensure that their immediate environment is free of allergens, and that food is not being traded.

Snack Program

Safety Assembly

Earlier this month we had two important assemblies about school safety. Some of our amazing student leaders, Ella, Chloe, Nolan and Parker hosted the assembly. Here are some highlights of that assembly; (please take the time to review some of these points with your child to ensure safety): Rules for use for the Adventure Playscape

Keep your hands free, and food or toys away from the playground.

Let yourself down safely rather than jumping down from the equipment.

Go down the slides on your bottom, feet first, head up.

One person at a time on the slide, glide bar or climbing wall.

Keep your hands and feet away from others.

Walk at all times when using the structure. Students must not play tag on the playscape or on the woodchips.

Our fabulous snack team

At Davisville, we celebrate a character trait each month; the month of September is all about RESPECT. Through daily announcements, shared stories and monthly assemblies starting in October, we will continue to discuss the importance of showing character. October’s character trait is responsibility. Here are some books worth checking out about responsibility: All Ages: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Kindergarten/Primary: David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon Junior/Intermediate: A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara

We wish to bring you up to date on a significant change to the French Immersion Parent/Guardian Information Night procedure this year. Based on feedback from FI Principals and upon consultation with central staff and the FSL Advisory Committee, it has been decided that this year the French Immersion Parent/Guardian Information evenings will NO LONGER be held at individual schools. Rather, the information evenings will be held at specific area secondary schools across the system hosted by the French as a Second Language Department. This change is intended to streamline the communication process, reinforce the message that families are applying to a program and not to a particular school, and to ensure that we can support all 73 of our SK French Immersion sites. The secondary schools have been selected to ensure reasonable access across the system (location/parking/TTC where possible); 11 different dates/locations have been chosen. The secondary sites selected are not French Immersion sites thus keeping the focus of the evening on the French Immersion program rather than a school or school pathway. Please stay tuned for dates and locations.

French Immersion Night:

Some Important Changes

Character Education

October 6th

PA Day

Please note that Friday October 6th will be a board wide PA day. On this day, there is no school for students. Our staff will be at school to do some work around collaborative inquiries, analysing EQAO results and looking at ways to enhance teaching practice. On October 6th, our lunchroom supervisors will also receive some training and support in terms of lunchroom routines and student safety. Monday October 9th is Thanksgiving; we will see everyone back at school on Tuesday October 10th.

Grade 6 Students in M Bell's class are putting student voice and leadership into play this year with 3 upcoming initiatives for all students, run by students! PALS (Playground Activity Leaders in Schools) is making its return to morning recess this fall, on Mondays and Wednesdays to help promote inclusive games for all. Students know that everyone should be included, and will be inviting anyone and everyone to join in the fun. A great way to meet others, and to feel good about recess! Junior Math Baseball will be starting this winter to develop some team spirit while developing essential math facts in a fun and friendly atmosphere. Junior students from 4-6 will be invited to sign-up and be placed on a team; to encourage one another through a baseball style World Series of Math! Peer Tutoring Centre will also open later this winter and offer all students from Grades 1-6 the chance to seek support from our student leaders. Sign-ups will take place to match students with tutors over lunch hours, so that they can feel more confident about the work they do in school Please stay tuned for more details... Grade 6 students couldn't be more excited to give back to our school!

Council meetings: Nov 2 Dec 5 Jan 16 Feb 22

March 27 May 3

June 12

Pizza Oct 13

Nov 3, 16, 30 Dec 8, 22

Jan 18 Feb 2, 15 Mar 2, 23 April 6, 20 May 4, 18 June 1, 15

Important Dates

Developing Student Voice at

Davisville

We are almost there……

85.62 % of our Davisville families have already registered for School Cash Online. We request the remaining 14.38 % parents to register on School Cash Online. Davisville PS will be using this system proactively. Parents who have not yet registered are therefore requested to do so. Thank you for your cooperation! To register for School Cash Online, please visit https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com select “Get Started Today” and complete the three registration steps. If you have questions about the registration process or using School Cash Online,

please select the “Get Help” option on the top of School Cash Online web page. You

can also contact the 24x7 School Cash Online Parent Help Desk at 1-866-961-1803

and parenthelp@schoolcashonline.com.

School Cash Online

Principal: Shona Farrelly Vice Principal: Cecile Robertson

Superintendent: Ian Allison Trustee: Shelley Laskin

TDSB Website: http://www.tdsb.on.ca

Twitter: @DavisvillePS