March 2017

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Perth Avenue Public School

14 Ruskin Avenue,

Toronto, ON

M6P 3P8

Tel: 416 393-1410

Fax: 416 393-1403

Principal’s Report

PERTH PULSE

We are officially into the second and final term of learning. February has proven to be busy with

lots of school wide activities. In February we recognized African Heritage Month and Chinese Her-

itage month. Did you know this year is the year of the Rooster? We had a wonderful assembly on

February 6 with parents Chidi and Erica who brought “My Roots Foundation” to our school. Children

enjoyed drumming, dancing and storytelling. Also during this past month, we turned our library into

a museum showcasing African Inventors. All students got to tour the museum and learn more about

the important contributions of African inventors to our present day.

The Aboriginal Art Mural to be installed outside the library is almost complete. Thank you for the

kindergarten students who provided images and ideas into the murals. Thanks to our Grades 5/6’s

who painted and brought to life the mural alongside Philip Cote. This mural started in January and it

has been quite the labour of love. Details around the final installation are forthcoming

Our student editors are back on Perth Pulse this month. Please enjoy student written articles

throughout this edition. Thank you students for letting your “student voice” come out and be heard.

Thank you for all your support during the Red Noses Campaign. Perth raised $288.55 towards To-

ronto Foundation for Student Success.

Have a wonderful March Break everyone!

Yours in partnership,

Andrea McPherson,

Proud Principal, Perth Ave JPS

You’re invited to our annual Parents as Partners Conference! Registration is open.

The Parents as Partners Conference 2017 is on Saturday, April 1 and all parents are

welcome!

This free conference – planned by parents, for parents – includes a variety of work-

shops and resources that will help any parent support their child in their achievement

and well-being at school and at home.

Keynote speakers include John Malloy, Director of Education at the TDSB, and Itah

Sadu, an award-winning storyteller and author.

Transportation, childcare, lunch and translators are all provided.

www.parentsaspartners.ca for more information

TDSB Parents as Partners Conference—April 1

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 1 and 8—Junior Ski

Trip to Earl Bales

March 7 and 8—Artsfest

March 8—The Big Crunch

@ 2:30 recess

March 13-17—March

Break

March 20—Primary Drum-

ming program begins

March 23—Perth and St.

Luigi Lockdown drill @

9:30 am

March 28—Birds of a

Feather Play

March 29-31—Grades 5/6

to Island Natural Science

School

March 29—Jump Rope for

Heart Assembly

March 31—Pizza and

School Spirit Day—

Stuffie Day

School Spirit Day—February 24—HAT day

Page 2

Check out these fun photos from Hat Day. Hats off to great school spirit!

Student Wellness Assembly Our Wellness Leaders in Room 211 prepared a slide show and presented some skits to the students at Perth on Valen-

tine’s Day to promote positive self image and respect for each other.

In February Room 109 made musical instruments.

First we painted paper towel rolls red and blue. Then we sealed one end with tape. We poured rice into one end of the tube using a funnel so the rice would not spill when we poured it. The last step we sealed the end of the tube with more tape to keep the rice inside the tube. We made music by shaking the tube. When we shook it using one hand the sound was different than when we shook it using two hands, one hand at either end of the tube. We played the instruments alone and then together. We made a band or an orchestra. We created rhythms when we played together; one beat was followed by two beats.

Pag e PERTH PULSE

News from Room 109

Caution—Artists Working—Important Work in Progress

Work continued into the month of February for our Aboriginal Mural Project at Perth. It is almost complete! After

March Break, the murals will be permanently installed outside the library walls. We are very proud of our students

for their hard work in making this project come true.

The children in rooms 101, 107 and 207 braved the cold February weather on their field trip to Warren Park Outdoor

Education. Check out the photos (even though in some photos it is hard to find the camoflagued students!).

Rooms 101 107 and 207 at Warren Park Outdoor Education

Page 4

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2017 is the year of the rooster. In chinese mythology, a beast called Nian would storm through villages and feast on villagers. One night, an old man appeared when the villagers were in hiding and claimed to get revenge on the beast. He decorated the village with red lanterns and fire crackers. When the villagers returned the next day, they were shocked to discover the fact that the village was well preserved. Assuming the man was a deity, the villagers learned than Nian was afraid of the colour red and loud noises. When the new year arrives, the villagers would wear red clothes, hang lanterns and scare away the beast with ceremonies. The Nian was eventually caught by a monk named Hongjun Laozu and became the Laozu’s mountain. Chinese Lunar New Year begins at the new moon that falls between January 21 and February 20. Along with the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac, there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The twelve animals include the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In 1967 during the Cultural Revolution, official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China. During chinese celebration, people would give and receive red envelopes with money sealed inside that is usually an even amount. Gifts would also be exchanged on this particular holiday. Traditionally, the festival was a time to honor deities and ancestors. Red diamond shaped characters would be hanged on the entrances of homes for luck.

The Year of Rooster by Jessica in Room 211

Page 5 PERTH PULSE

Celebrating African Heritage at Perth Ave JPS

February is African Heritage Month. Children enjoyed an interactive assembly and welcomed

My Roots Foundation for drumming, dancing and storytelling. We also hosted an African Inven-

tors Museum in our Library. Children also learned and appreciated African Heritage through

various classroom activities.

Junior Basketball Team at Perth

“Go Perth Go!” On Monday, February 13 2017, the Perth Panthers basketball team went over to Carleton Village to join them and others schools for a Basketball tournament. When we got there we went over the rules and strategies, and guess what the first rule was...HAVE FUN, and that’s exactly what we did. Here we were all on the same team and cheering for each other, it was a blast! It was an amazing experience being able to run up and down the court passing to each other and shooting getting some points. Perth and Carleton weren't the only school there, Blake, Eglinton and King Edward were there too! We were able to talk to each other and watch our fellow team mates play! The first game it was us vs Carleton, their team was great! Ours was too. Carleton had months of practice compared to Perth which had about a month of practice. The second game was against King Edward their defence skills were amazing as well as ours. We lost again but we still had hope in winning one game (hopefully). Guess what? Luck kicked in, when we play our last game against Blank and the score was 0-4. We might have got to happy and excited because soon it was like 6-4. We started to lose hope again and the score was 32-8! We didn’t end up winning any games but at least we followed rule number one, HAVE FUN!

Written by: EmmaD. & Lillian (Room 211)

Page 7 PERTH PULSE

African Heritage Month

The ancestor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Organization for the Study of Negro Life announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week." This week was chosen because it synchronized with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February

14, both of which dates Black communities had celebrated together since the 19th century

Negro is a member of a black group of people who are originally native to Africa or south of the Sahara. A Negro refers to a person’s black heritage or appearance. The word negro means “black” in Spanish and Portuguese. “Negro” replaces the word “coloured” because that was

classified as the most “polite” term.

"If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” -Carter G. Woodson. In 1995, politician, Jean Augustine, representing The Liberal Party in Canada's House of Com-

mons, officially recognized February as Black History Month and honored Black Canadians.

Jean Augustine Carter G. Woodson

Check out this Year’s Fun Fair—Save the Date

Perth Avenue Jr Public presents

Power Struggles and Anxiety-Help Reduce Both

in Your Home

Wednesday April 5 2017

6:30 – 8:00 PM, 14 Ruskin Ave

Too many power struggles in our home create anxiety

for our kids. And for us!

Learn what power struggles are all about, why they are so stressful and what we can do about them.

Get easy tools to equip your children to navigate their anxi-eties and lay the groundwork for their self-confidence, resil-

ience and success.

On Thursday, February 2nd Rooms 201 and 205 went to the Roy Thompson Hall to hear the Victoria Scholars Choral

Ensemble. Roy Thompson Hall looks like a funnel-shaped glass structure. It was especially designed for the best

quality sound in music. To some of us, it looked like a small building outside but inside the auditorium we were sur-

prised how big it was.

When we were walking into Roy Thompson Hall there was a wall made out of mirrors on the outside of the auditori-

um. We saw refreshment bars in the foyer around the auditorium. We looked for shapes in this public building and

we saw rectangular prisms in stairs going up and down and on the walls. The lights were circles and the hand railings

were like long cylinders. The rows of 9 seats were curved round the stage like a semi-circle. We sat in the balcony

for a good view. Across from us was the choir loft.

There were 16 singers on the stage lead by the conductor. They were accompanied by a piano or an organ. They

performed different kinds of music. The first part was chant music and sounded like a funeral. There was a very

dramatic piece played by the organ with loud chords from the Baroque period. In some songs, the voices harmo-

nized or sang counter-part music. In one song the music went from high to low and quiet (soft) to loud. In the last

part, they sang modern songs with the cello. They closed the concert with the Beatles’ song of “Yesterday”.

After the concert we walked around and saw the entrance to the choir loft. We saw Glen Gould’s grand piano. He

was a famous Canadian pianist. Outside the building we saw the Canadian walk of Fame that had stars with the

names of renowned artists from film, stage, and television.

The art centre was not the only sight we saw. We took a bus along the Gardiner Expressway. We saw all sorts of

buildings like houses, tall condominiums, the Canadian National Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium, Roger’s Centre, the Hockey

Hall of Fame, lots of cars and two mounted police on horses, statues, a plane landing at Billy Bishop Airport, and

parks by Lake Ontario. The bus driver was very good driving through the busy, narrow streets.

We had a wonderful day! Thank you to Mrs. Dueck for making the arrangements.