Contact Information: Phone: 905-887-1543 Email: Castlemore.ps@yrdsb.ca Fax: 905-887-3849 Website: http://castlemore.ps.yrdsb.ca/ Address: 256 Ridgecrest Rd., Markham, ON, L6C 2R5

Principal Gwendolyn Emmerson Vice-Principal Heather Purcell School Trustee Billy Pang (647) 461-9965 Superintendent of Schools - Erik Khilji (905) 940-7800

CASTLEMORE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSCASTLEMORE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSCASTLEMORE PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWS

May 5 Math Night for Parents

May 6 PA Day - No School

May 12 6:30 School Council Meeting

6:45 New Kindergarten Welcome Session

May 18 6 pm Arts Night

May 19 LAST Pizza Day

May 23 Victoria Day - No School

May 24 LAST Sub Day

May 27 LAST Milk Day

June 2 5 - 8 p.m. - FUN FAIR

June 3 PA Day - No School

Full Newsletter Available Online

(www.yrdsb.ca/schools/castlemore.ps)

In this issue:

Pg. 2 - Grade 8 Graduation

Pg. 3 & 4 - Junior Boys/Girls Basketball

Pg. 5 - Music Festival

Pg. 6 /7- Wellness Week

A MESSAGE FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM…

It is hard to believe that we only have two months left in the 2015/2016 school year. The weather is getting warmer and soon it will begin to feel like summer. At school, we will con-tinue to be very focused on curriculum expectations right through to the end of the school year. With the warmer weather and longer days, it is important to encourage a balance be-tween homework completion and outside play at home. Children need 60 minutes of heart pumping activity each day to be healthy. This activity helps children to improve their fitness, grow strong and do better in school. Reducing the amount of screen time will give children enough time to play outside, complete their homework and read every night. A balance be-tween work and play will help support the health and well-being of all of our students. The City of Markham in collaboration with York Region schools have been working hard to make the roads around every school safe. The City of Markham has restricted the parking on the streets near the school during drop off and pick up times. Due to these restrictions and the volume of cars in our “Kiss and Ride”, we are strongly encouraging students to walk to school. Walking to school provides many benefits and supports both our Healthy Schools and Eco Schools initiatives. In the final two months of school, we will be promoting walking to school during assemblies, announcements and initiatives. Please consider walking in-stead of driving your children to school. If you must drive, we ask that you use the desig-nated Kiss and Ride area, follow all the signs around the school, and aim to arrive at school around 8:15 a.m. If you choose to drive your children to school, please be patient and cour-teous to pedestrians, other drivers, busses, and the staff who supervise the Kiss n' Ride. We know that working together we can ensure that all of our students are safe as they arrive at school and home at the end of the day. Gwen Emmerson and Heather Purcell

May 2016

2

GRADE 8

GRADUATION

Will be on Thursday, June 23rd, 2016.

Mark your calendars and

watch for further information!

3

JUNIOR GIRLS BASKETBALL . . . .

In the months of February and March, hopeful girls in grades 4, 5 and 6 competed against each other for a spot on the junior girls basketball team. After weeks of showcasing their skills and talents, over several tryouts, 13 highly skilled players were chosen to represent Castlemore. The girls showed up to practice motivated and hungry to learn to be the best of the best. In April, the girls took their show on the road, competing against rival schools like Stonebridge, Beckett Farms and Lincoln Alexander. They demonstrated determination, teamwork and “sportswomanship” lead-ing to many victories at their away games. At their final Area Tournament, their hard work was put to the test. Although the team was short a few players, the girls pulled together and kept many of their games within a few points. The season was an exciting one, and it was the first time many girls had even played competitively in such a tournament! Congratulations to Risha, Christine, Melanie, Tia, Esha, Hilary, Charlotte, Isabella, Natalie, Sabrina, Bethany, Jessica and Emily on an outstanding season. Go Ti-gers! G. Thamotharan

4

JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL

On Monday, April 18th, the Junior Boys Basketball Team attended the Area basketball meet. After winning their 1st game, Castlemore faced a tough opponent in their 2nd game winning by only 2 points. This test created a spark in the team resulting in wins for the next two games and allowing them to finish the round robin at a perfect 4-0. It was then off to the Semi-final game. Their opponent was Laurier and the boys were triumphant al-lowing them the opportunity to play in the championship game. Playing against John McRae, the boys faced a strong team, but were triumphant winning 18-11. Congratulations go out to Anmol, Ashwin, Rahim, Owen, Brandon, Darren, Joey, Gajan, Kavin, Alexander, Akash and Aiden. On May 4th, we will travel to Aurora to compete in the Regional tournament. We hope to be just as successful there. Go Tigers! J. Hatt

5

Get Ready for Castlemore’s FUN FAIR

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

By: Parent Council

My name is Caroline, and I’m a member of the Senior Choir at CPS! On April 5, we participated in the Music Alive Festival at the Cosmo Music Hall. This is a non-competitive program for choirs from different schools who all share the same love for singing. We are very fortunate to have the tal-ented Ms. Michelyn Wright as our adjudicator. Within moments of stepping onto the stage, she had us smiling and bellowing from our diaphragm (making music of course!) Along with the Senior Choir, there were two other schools who sang beautifully and skillfully. It was a great experience, full of music as well as fun! We were awarded a Gold Standing and invited to the National Music Festival. We can’t wait to share our music with you soon!

As well, on April 20, our Junior Singers, Jazz band and Grade 6, 7 and 8 bands participated in the MA@School Festival, in which an adjudicator comes to your school. We were fortunate to have Ms. Brenda Uchimaru work with each group, and she was very informative, helpful and fun! All partici-pants performed to the best of their ability, had fun listening to the other groups, and working with the adjudicator. Each group was awarded a certificate and some of our groups were even invited to perform at the National Music Festival in May – What an honour! Well done Castlemore! Mrs. Sci-berras and Mrs. Colley are very proud of each of you!

6

An Update From the Eco Team:

April was a very busy month for Castlemore and the Eco Team! Earth

Day was celebrated on Friday, April 22, 2016, and Castlemore dedicated the

week to eco-themed events that would create awareness about environ-

mental issues, and help students think of ways that we can all do our part to

help the environment. Earth Week started with Meatless Monday, a day that was dedicated to

students bringing meat-free lunches to school. Tuesday we celebrated Trashless

Tuesday, and we discovered that we could go a whole day without producing

trash! Walking Wednesday of Earth Week was a great success! Students walked

to and from school, and also participated in a community walk during morning

recess. Eco Team and Healthy Schools members gave out stickers to students

who participated in this challenge. On Think Green Thursday, classes went

throughout the community to help get rid of trash that had been littering the

ground. Friday we celebrated Earth Day with Lights Out Canada, and joined

the many schools throughout the country that dimmed and shut off lights for

the day to reduce energy consumption! Overall the week was a great success! Students from all grades did their

part to help consider their impact on the environment, and made strides to

have a positive effect on the environment for the week. Mrs. Kalmbach and

Mrs. Cunningham’s Grade 1 class won the Earth Week Challenge by having the

most students in their class participate in each Earth Week event! The Eco Team

would like to extend a special congratulations to them! Castlemore and the Eco Team would also like to thank all the families

and students for making the effort to think about their lunch choices through-

out the week, and for organizing walks to and from school. Everyone came to-

gether to do their part, and it made Earth Week 2016 a great success! Con-

gratulations, and thank you all again! Sincerely, Castlemore’s Eco Team

7

8

WELLNESS WEEK AT CASTLEMORE

9

PROVINCIAL ASSESSMENT FOR GRADE 3 AND GRADE 6 STUDENTS (EQAO)

All students in grades 3 and 6 will be participating in the 2015/16 Provincial Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics this Spring. Grade 3s will participate May 31 – June 2 Grade 6s will participate May 25 - 27 Please ensure your children are at school these dates.

LAST DAY FOR PIZZA / SUB LUNCH

LAST Pizza LAST Sub

May 17 May 24

SEPTEMBER REGISTRATION

Registration has already started for new students entering the Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) program and grades 1-8. Please come in as soon as possible to register your child. If you know of friends or new neighbours who have children who are planning to attend Castlemore P.S. in September, please urge them to come in and register. When registering, please bring with you: Child’s Statement of Live Birth / Birth Certificate Proof of citizenship or Landed Immigrant Card (including parents) Proof of residency - 2 pieces (MPAC / tax bill or purchase/lease

agreement, property insurance and driver’s license with new ad-dress)

10

TENTATIVE CLASS ORGANIZATION FOR THE 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR

MOVING AWAY OR TRANSFERRING SCHOOLS?

If you are moving out of our school area, please complete the form below and return it to the School as soon as possible. My child(ren), __________________________________________________(name(s), who is/are in grade(s) ______ (current grade), will not be attending Castlemore Public School in September, 2016. We will be moving to _______________________________________________ (name of new school, if known). Be sure to register at your new school as soon as possible to ensure there is space for your child. Parent/Guardian Signature_______________________________________ Date ____________________________

As we organize for next year, our staff will make every effort to place students in the best learning environment for each child to be successful. We take into account Ministry and Board guidelines, individual needs, academic achieve-ment, emotional and social development, behaviours, gender balance, English Language Learner and Special Educa-tion needs, and work habits. We appreciate that parents/guardians have valuable information to share with us in this regard. Teachers have the benefit of knowing the children they are currently working with and we rely on their professional decisions. If how-ever, you have information or suggestions, which will assist us in making appropriate placement, please write a brief note to the teacher and the principal before May 13th, 2016. Rather than suggesting a teacher, please indicate the learning style or classroom structure, which you feel would be the most appropriate for your child’s success. When teachers along with school administration get together to create new class lists, we will use this information to help make our final decisions. Requests will be accommodated only where the placement will enhance student learning. As always the final decision for the placement of all students at Castlemore P.S. rests with the Principal, in consultation with teaching staff and parents. We ask that you have confi-dence in the professional judgment of your child’s teacher and the school administration in making the best possible choice for your child next year.

LOST AND FOUND REMINDER

Our lost and found continues to be an active location (outside Room 113, main floor).

We encourage you to ask your children to check for their missing belongings and feel

free to check the Lost and Found when you are in the school. Labels work wonders

and are certainly worth the time to ensure your child’s belongings find their way

home.

11

12

13

14