Secord E.S. The Toronto District School Board

June 9, 2014

Principal: Lisa Moser 416-396-2450

Vice-Principal: Anastasia Poulis 416-396-2450

Superintendent: Vicky Branco 416-396-9196

Trustee: Sheila Cary-Meagher 416-395-8413

IMPORTANT DATES

June 11: Spring Concert #2

June 18: Welcome to Grade 1 5:45 p.m.

June 19: Volunteer Tea 2:00 p.m.

June 24: Grade 5 Recognition 1:00 p.m.

June 24: School Council 6:30 p.m.

June 26: Sharing Assembly a.m.

June 26: Report Cards go Home

June 27: Last Day of School

SPECIAL DAYS IN JUNE

4‐5 Shavuot (Judaism)

5 World Environment Day (UN)

20 World Refugee Day (UN)

20‐29 Gay Pride Week: World Pride

21 National Aboriginal Day (Canada)

21 Solstice – Litha (Wicca)

24 St‐Jean‐Baptiste Day (Quebec and

Francophone Culture)

28 Ramadan (Islam)

WELCOME TO GRADE ONE

We will again be hosting a special event for

SK parents, on June 18 at 5:45 p.m. Many

students transitioning to grade one from

kindergarten do experience some difficulty

with the changes – from half day to full,

from a small yard to a large playground,

from lunch at home to our school

lunchroom, and for the different academic

expectations that begin in grade one. For

this reason we are hoping that our

“Welcome to Grade One” will help to

bridge this transition. Students and parents

will rotate for activities in the grade one

classrooms, will meet the teachers, and will

have an opportunity to find out more about

grade one at Secord!

WOW!! WE’RE GOLD!!

This year, Secord applied for Eco Schools status for the

very first time. We felt sure we had met the criteria for

the Bronze level, and some of us thought we even had

some chance for a Silver. We are very proud to

announce that through the superb efforts of our Eco-

team and all of the Secord community, we achieved

GOLD certification. This is a great achievement for a

first year EcoSchool! Well done!

CHARACTER FOCUS FOR JUNE

The Character Focus for June is “Perseverance”.

SAFE AND POSITIVE SPACES AT SECORD

All schools in the TDSB are required to have a

“Positive Space” program. At Secord, these are

designated spaces in our school (rooms 303 and 110)

that are welcoming inclusive spaces which welcome,

affirm and support all students. The teachers who run

these spaces are members of our Caring and Safe

Schools Team. They play the role of a caring "block

parent" at our school and are a resource to staff looking

for ways to make classrooms more inclusive, affirming

and positive.

The Positive Spaces rooms in Secord affirm and

demonstrate commitment to the idea that our school

community is enriched and enlivened by the diversity of

each individual in the school community, increase

visibility and contribute to the development of positive

and supportive people and spaces for all people,

increase awareness, affirmation and education around

healthy and safe relationships.

The Safe and Positive spaces at Secord are open to all

students who have questions about safety (in all of its

forms). There are resources to browse and staff on hand

to help answer questions.

The spaces are open from 11:15 – 11:40 in Room 110

and 3:15 – 4:00 in Room 303, Monday to Friday.

Thank you to Ms. Van Dyke and Ms. Carey for making

this happen!

VOLUNTEER TEA

The Volunteer Tea is our opportunity to say

“Thank You!” to all the many volunteers who

help out at Secord. We look forward to seeing

our many volunteers on June 19th

at 2:00 p.m.

Invitations have been sent out to individuals. For

those parents and community members who

might not be able to make it to the Tea, please

accept our deepest appreciation for your

volunteer time during this past school year.

SECORD

NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Thank you to everyone who participated in our

Nutrition Programs! We look forward to

continuing with Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack

next year. Please remember, we do need some

new parent volunteers to help next year!

A big thank-you to all the parents who helped

out this year! The Snack program will run until

June 20th

. The Lunch program will continue

until the last day of school. Donations are still

welcome.

ROOTS OF EMPATHY: BABY NEEDED! We have secured funding again for this

wonderful program. However, we need to find a

baby! The commitment for the parent is about 45

minutes once a month, to visit a class with their

baby. There is an instructor to run the program

and there is no special preparation needed for the

parent. Ideally, this baby will be born in June,

2014 so that when we start in late September

2014 the baby is 3-4 months old. Please speak to

Ms. Moser in the school office if you are

interested in participating!

SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 2014– 2015

Teaching assignments are in place for next year; we

will be welcoming several new teachers to the

Secord team. We also say “good-bye” to Ms.

Jackson, who is retiring, Ms. Farrell, who will be

transferring to a new position, lunch supervisor,

Mrs. Groome, who is retiring, and Ms. Kosczyszyn

who will be on a 4/5 leave for next year. Also

“good-bye” to our LTO’s, Ms. Wyman and Mr.

Leenamkwong.

Next year’s staffing organization:

JK/SK

M. Kouremenos,

A. Cheatley, H. Weinstock,

K. McNulty, L. Callister,

J. Wymer, K. Timpany

Grade 1 and 1/2 L. Milliere; A. Romaneh,

H. Thompson, L. McComb,

T. Julier (LTO),

K. MacFadyen

Grades 2 and 2/3 D. Cornwall,

M. Andreou, H. Roberts,

S. Kitney

Grade 3, 3/4 C. McPhee, S. Wong,

H. Madones, J. Lobo

Grades 4, 4/5, 5 C. MacKenzie (LTO),

R. Colangelo (LTO),

G. Kinley, D. Ramdass,

Y. Cheng

Reading Recovery K. Jensen, C. Moore

Drama/Dance C. Moore, TBA

Music A. Spencer; M. Rowe;

P. Fraser

Phys. Ed. N. Whitley; J. Kuuter

Library N. Pan

ESL J. May; A. Rombough

Sp. Ed. Autism C. Roberts, D. Soo Lum

Sp. Ed. MID T. Taggert, R. Clark

Sp. Ed. HSP and

Resource

J. Van Dyke, M. Carey,

J. Fraser (MART)