April 2013

Birchbank Public School 3C's – Care, Courtesy and

Cooperation

52 Birchbank Rd. Brampton, L6T 1L7

Phone: (905) 793-7984 Fax: (905) 793-0100

Principal: M. Harnarine-Ali Vice Principal: K. Rocca Office Manager Karen Wallbank Office Assistant Loreen Noronha Superintendent Jan Courtin Trustees Beryl Ford David Green School Council Alicia Aziz —Chair Holly Spence—Co-Chair School website: http://schools.peelschools.org/1407

Board information on line: www.peel.edu.on.ca --------------————----------- SAFE ARRIVAL PROGRAM

Call (905) 793-7984

Please call when your child will be absent from school.

What’s

Inside ...

Stressed Kids:The Good, The Bad and How to Avoid The Ugly—Presentation Police Appreciation Week, May 5—11, 2013 Education Week At Birchbank School Council News Bucket Fillers for March 2013

Keeping Children Safe in And Around Storm Sewers, Waterways Earth Week, April 17—24, 2013 Help Us to Encourage and Enhance Parent Involvement in Peel Keep Your Child Safe Around Train Tracks

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Thanks to the many Grade 3 parents who took the time to attend our Grade 3 Parent EQAO Afternoon Information Session. This was a continuation of our presentation in October when I shared our EQAO results for 2012 at our School Council Meeting. Ms. Woelfle did an excellent presentation along with her Grade 3 planning team, Ms. Kissoon Singh and Ms. Watkin. As requested by parents, at the presentation, the Grade 3 Team will be sending out the power point presentation to all Grade 3 parents. The members on our School Council are working very hard to organize our Spring Fling. Reserve the date to spend a fun filled family morning on Saturday, June 1, @ 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This year, we are going to invite the families from Aloma, Clark and Balmoral to this exciting event. The personnel from Peel Fire Dept and Peel Police have confirmed their attendance. So far School Council have obtained donations from Marineland, Wild Water Kingdom, M&M Meats, two bikes (one junior and one primary) and a skate board, to name a few. Our students are also engaged in this event. At present, all the students are busy working on creating a poster that will be printed and shared with our community. We have designated prizes for the first, second, and third place contest winners. The teachers have integrated this activity into their art curriculum overall expectations. Mrs. Hughes, our Behaviour Teaching Assistant, has visited the classes giving students the expectations for the posters. Peel District School Board celebrates public education from April 15 to April 26. We will have an afternoon Open House. Parents are invited to come and visit their child’s classroom. After the classroom visits, parents will be invited to go to the gym for a stand-up performance of the Grade 3, 4, and 5 students. It is an opportunity for these students to share the recorder pieces that they have learned during class time. We have lots of activities planned for the Month of April such as: Jump Rope For Heart, Knights in the Classroom (Grade 4) and Rocks n’ Rings.

Con./… page 2

EQAO ASSESSMENT GRADE 3 Students in grade 3 will be participating in the Education Quality Accountability Assessment (EQAO) for the week of May 27 (a.m. & p.m.) The assessment will focus on reading, writing and mathematics (five strands). Please log on to www.eqao.com for more information about this testing.

EDUCATION WEEK AT BIRCHBANK Peel public schools will host hundreds of special activities and events to celebrate Education Week 2013. This celebration of education will be held for two weeks from April 15 to 26. The theme for this year's focus on education is Every smile tells a story. Education Week in Peel has always been an opportunity to invite our community to experience the wonderful accomplishments of our students and staff. There are so many amazing accomplishments within our school to showcase. We have a lot of great activities planned at Birchbank to celebrate.

PEEL SCHOOLS HONOUR POLICE OFFICERS

DURING POLICE APPRECIATION WEEK

The Peel District School Board will pay tribute to police officers by holding Police Appreciation Week from May 5 to 11, 2013. Peel students and staff will show their appreciation for the tremendous job being done by police to protect schools, homes and communities. Police Appreciation Week coincides with National Police Week. National Police Week pays tribute to the work of police officers across Canada. "The Peel Board appreciates the dedication and commitment of police officers who work to keep our schools and communities safe," says Janet McDougald, Peel Board chair. "Police Appreciation Week is our way of thanking officers who dedicate themselves to protecting our community. It's also a way to give these officers the special recognition they deserve." During this week, students, staff and parents in schools throughout Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga will honour the work of police officers and thank them for enhancing public safety and security.

IN RECOGNITION OF CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK Social Work Services of the PDSB presents: “Stressed Kids: The Good, The Bad and How to Avoid the Ugly” A free information forum for parents and educators on how to support children Including a mental health community agency resource fair Tuesday, May 7, 2013 HJA Brown Education Centre, Misissauga, ON 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Resource Fair 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. – Speaker (with Q & A period) Please R.S.V.P. to Rowena Kishan (905) 890-1010 Ext. 2314 rowena.kishan@peelsb.com

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE (con., from page 1) Thanks to School Council for their support in subsidizing Knights in the Classroom and for paying for Rocks n’ Rings. A great big thank you to Mrs. Hughes for taking on the leadership role in organizing Jump Rope For Heart for our school. Our staff and students are looking forward to spending time with you when you visit us for our afternoon open house on April 24, 2013. More information will be sent home at a later date and posted on our school’s website. Earth Week is also celebrated during the week of April 17-24. Students will be involved in many activities to celebrate and to discuss ways in which we can take care of our earth. Respecting and taking care of our environment is our responsibility so that our future generation can enjoy a clean, safe and beautiful planet. On April 26 in the afternoon, Birchbank students will be doing their part by participating in the Brampton Parks and Recreation Clean- Up initiative. Thanks to Ms. Woelfle for organizing this event for our school. Ms. Harnarine-Ali

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS Birchbank Spring Fling is fast approaching. Companies are donating wonderful prizes that we will raffle off. Students were busy creating bright and colourful Spring Fling posters and entering them into our contest. A challenge was presented to the whole school: If 200 posters were submitted by March 28th, then students would be able to take a shot at dunking Mrs. Hughes in the dunk tank. Did the school meet that challenge? Come out to Birchbank’s Spring Fling to find out!! Upcoming Events:

April 11th

- Frozen Yogurt Day. Our new flavour will be: Orange Creamsicle.

April 18th – Rocks n’ Rings Presentation on the sport of Curling. This will be an ALL day hands on experience for the students.

If you have any questions regarding our upcoming events, please contact the school. We greatly appreciate all your support. Without you, we would not be able to do all that we can for our students to ensure they have a memorable year!

BUCKET FILLERS FOR MARCH 2013 Congratulations to the following students for being Honest, Cooperative, Respectful, Responsible, Caring and Inclusive! Akeera, Noora—K, Mr. Heeley-Ray Keerthi, Lexi, Joel—K, Mrs. Pedro Maira, Jasjot—K, Ms. Flute Annabella, Amari—K, Mrs. Erwin Adaeze, Aliyah—Gr 1, Mrs. Podnar Gonzalo—Gr 1/2, Mrs. Kingissepp Ornella, Ethan L, Shabna—Gr 2, Ms. Godding Nancy—Gr 3, Ms. Watkin Cynthia, Sejal—Gr 2/3, Ms. Kissoon Singh Aliya, Manthira, Chalina, Dev -Gr 4, Mrs. Vriend Jordan, Prachi, Issa -Gr 4, Mrs. Vriend Elias, Alexia-Gr 4, Mrs. Vriend Lana, Bavneet, Manisha-Gr 4/5, Mr. Winter Siddu, Siddhant, Moosa, —Gr 5, Mr. Armeniakos Ms. Harnarine-Ali, Ms. Godding, Mrs. Erwin, Ms. Clarke, Mrs. Vriend, Ms. Kissoon Singh, Mrs. Kingissepp, Mr. Winter

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE IN AND AROUND

STORM SEWERS, WATERWAYS

Rising and fast moving water in lakes, ponds and creeks is increasingly likely during spring. Children playing in and around storm sewers and watercourses, entering storm sewers through the outfalls, and entering storm sewers through access covers is dangerous. The following information will help keep children safe: water flows in storm sewers and watercourses

are unpredictable and may change quickly toxic gases may be present in and around

storm sewers and watercourses access is restricted, making rescue attempts

difficult tragic falls could take place Please review this information with your children and let them know how dangerous storm sewers and waterways are.

EARTH WEEK—APRIL 17 TO 24, 2013 Earth Week encompasses the international celebration of Earth Day on April 22. This is the most celebrated environmental event worldwide. Initiated in 1970, this event has been considered the birth of the environmental movement. Each year, more than 6 million Canadians join 500 million people in over 180 countries in staging events and projects to address local environmental issues. In Canada, Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and even Earth Month to accommodate the profusion of events and projects. Here are some ways that you can celebrate earth week with your family:

create a backyard or schoolyard habitat

plant a garden or tree

start a recycling program at home

organize a carpooling campaign in your neighbourhood to reduce air pollution

pick up trash in your neighbourhood

read a book about an endangered species

make a visit to your local zoo, aquarium or museum

visit a local park, wildlife area or farm to provide a fun opportunity to learn about the environment and life

Birchbank Bulletin Calendar CHARACTER TRAITS FOR THIS MONTH ARE

Honesty and Responsibility

April 2013

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Easter Monday No School

2 Day 3

3 Day 4

4 Day 5

5 Day 1 Bistro Day; Jump Rope Kick-Off Assembly 1:00 p.m.

6

7 8 Day 2

9 Day 3

10 Day 4 Knights in the Classroom—Gr 4—11:45 a.m.; French Public Speaking Regional Finals; Day of Pink (wear pink)

11 Day 5 Frozen Yogurt Day 10:45 a.m.

12 Day 1 Bistro Day

13

14 15 Day 2

16 Day 3

17 Day 4

18 Day 5 Rocks n’ Rings Presentation

19 Day 1 Bistro Day; Jump Rope Event 1:00 p.m.

20

21 22 Day 2 Earth Day

23 Day 3

24 Day 4 Spring/Graduation Picture Day;

Open House—afternoon

25 Day 5

26 Day 1 Bistro Day; Monthly Assembly 8:45

a.m.; Park Cleanup (p.m.)

27

28 29 Day 2

30 Day 3

EDUCATION WEEK

EDUCATION WEEK

If I Was Principal For A Day by Siddhant

in Mr. Armeniakos’ Grade 5 class

The Fropits Short Story by Siddhu

in Mr. Armeniakos’ Grade 5 class

If I was principal for a day, I would ask parents if they would volunteer their time and enter the school and teach kids for the entire day. I would also arrange a gaming period so that kids could have fun playing games at school. This would increase their focus and their reflexes. At lunch, I would plan a pizza lunch for the whole school. During lunch recess, I would allow kids to go on the field without snow pants, since they have parents with them. At the end of the day, I would arrange a movie night for the whole school. That’s what I would do if I was principal for the day.

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Peter who was 9 years old. In his house, there was a door that was next to his back door. He often wondered what was behind the door, (it was always locked, of course). He longed to find the keys, and take a look at whatever it was behind the door. “Peter? Are you playing video games again?” asked Peter’s mom. “Yeah, mom.” Said Peter. “Go play outside! It’s a beautiful day outside,” exclaimed Peter’s mom. “Aw, ma.” said Peter as he disconnected his video game system. But, it wasn’t working. He went behind the T.V screen, but he found something on the ground. It was a pair of keys. When Peter saw the keys, his eyes widened up. He put the keys in his pocket, and went outside to play as his mom had insisted. When he finally came inside, he was tired. He had forgotten about the keys. “Peter, you left your ball outside.” said his mother. As Peter dragged himself outside, he didn’t realise he was going to the other door. (They looked quite similar). When the door didn’t open, he tried the keys in his pocket. It worked! But when he entered, the door behind him closed, and he was blinded by light. After the light died down, he was in a vast forest. The door behind him was locked again, and the keys weren’t working. He was greeted by a sign that said: WELCOME TO THE FROPITS He walked around for a while, until he was greeted by another person. “Hello, chap! Would you happen to know how to leave the Fropits?” he asked. “Um, no. I’m lost too.” replied Peter. “Oh. My name’s Scott.” “Mine is Peter.” They shook hands. “Hey, want to help me find The Keys?” asked Scott. “What are The Keys?” asked Peter. “The Keys will open The Door, and will send us back to where we came from.” “Oh. Okay, then. They had been looking for no more than 10 minutes, until an Asian tiger tried to attack them. They ran away, but while they were running, Scott jumped in a shrub, and hid from the tiger. Peter did no such thing. He saw a pair of keys in the tiger’s mouth. As they were running, Peter saw a stick on the ground. He picked it up, and threw it in the tiger. The tiger caught the stick, and fetched it back to Peter. As the tiger had the stick in his mouth, Peter took the keys from the now opened corner of the tiger’s mounth, and jumped in the shrub with Scott. Peter gazed at the keys in his hand. “You found them!” exclaimed Scott. The twosome walked to The Door, and said their goodbyes, and walked in. Once again, he was blinded by light. He found himself sitting in front of The Door. His mom was staring down at him. “Did you find your ball? asked Peter’s mom.

HELP US TO ENCOURAGE AND ENHANCE PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN PEEL Apply for a position on the board's Parent Involvement Committee Under the Ministry of Education's Parent Involvement Policy, all boards must have a committee comprised of a majority of parents that is directly linked to the director of education and trustees. The Peel board Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) meets regularly throughout the school year to review the board’s plans for parent involvement as they relate to parent, family and community engagement, and to make suggestions to schools, councils and the board regarding additional parent outreach. As mandated by the ministry, the purpose of Peel board's PIC is to: support, encourage, and enhance meaningful parental involvement within schools and across the district,

including, outreach to parents who find involvement more challenging work collaboratively with the school board to support student success seek out the advice and ideas of school councils, and other parents and partners as they plan and implement

strategies to involve more parents at the regional level develop strategies for enhancing parental engagement and outreach Membership is a majority of parents, reflecting the diversity of the parent community. Parent representatives will be required to serve two-year terms, beginning in September and ending in August. We are now in the process of inviting parents to apply for four positions on the committee. In early May, a selection sub-committee consisting of current parent and trustee members will review all parent applications and select representatives using the following Parent Member Selection Criteria as a guide: reflects the diversity of the community understands the importance of parent, family and community engagement has experience working with newcomers to Canada, Ontario or Peel has volunteer experience – including experience on school council has previous experience in Peel board parent involvement activities demonstrates advocacy and community development skills has a present level of involvement in the education system demonstrates a keen interest in public education For more information about the PIC and to download the application package, visit www.peelschools.org. Under the ‘Parents’ menu, select ‘Get Involved’, ‘Parent Involvement Committee’. Forms must be returned by Apr. 26, 2013.

KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE AROUND TRAIN TRACKS

Trains are often closer and moving faster than most motorists and pedestrians think they are. That's why all family members should be are aware of the importance of rail safety.

Safety steps for children

Playing on railway tracks and bridges is dangerous. Find safe, supervised and open areas (e.g. neighbourhood parks) to have fun.

The only way to safely cross a rail track is to use designated railway crossings. If you must cross railway tracks, for example on your way to and from school, stop, look and listen before

crossing. It is against the law to trespass on railway property. Safety steps for adults

Be prepared to stop at a highway/ railway crossing.

Listen for warning bells and whistles of an approaching train. Turn off, or turn down distracting fans, heaters, music/radios.

Obey the signals. Never attempt to drive under a gate as it is closing or around a closed gate. If the gate begins

to close while you’re underneath, keep moving ahead until you clear the crossing.

If a police officer or a member of the train crew is directing traffic at the crossing, obey their directions.

If your vehicle stalls on the tracks, get out quickly and away from the vehicle and tracks. Move in the direction

that the train is approaching from to avoid being hit by debris. Your vehicle will be swept forward by the momentum of the train.