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Shaw PS News http://schools.peelschools.org/1489/Pages/default.aspx

April 2019

Principal’s Message: Signs of Spring are beginning to appear. The ice hills are melting, the weather is warming, our Grade 8 students are preparing for high school and looking forward to the next steps in their educational journeys and our next class of kindergarten students is registering to begin their school journey. In April, we celebrate Education Week from April 8th to April 12th . The theme for this year’s week long events is “We Inspire”. This is a very busy week for Shaw.

Monday, April 8, the Grade 4-8 students will see “Robin Hood”, presented by Duffle Bag Theatre.

Wednesday, April 10, we will celebrate Day of Pink. Everyone is encouraged to wear PINK. There will also be a Day of Pink Lollipop Fundraiser.

Thursday April 11th, the Spring Concert will be held.

Monday April 15th, our students from kindergarten to Grade 3 will watch the Duffle Bag theatre presentation “The Three Musketeers”.

Thursday April 25th is our Annual Community Potluck Dinner at 6:30 p.m. A flyer will be sent home shortly and you are encouraged to join us.

We want to thank the community for their generous support of our Me to We Club initiative “Socks for the Streets”. We collected 2045 pairs of socks. WAY TO GO SHAW FAMILIES! Thank you to all the families and teachers who supported the Socks for the Streets Drive. OFIP Tutoring is now completed. A special thank you to all our teachers who stayed after school to teach and reinforce skills and to our parents who supported their children and encouraged them to participate in the after school OFIP Tutoring program. This year EQAO Testing will be held from May 21st until June 1st. Our teachers for grades 3 and 6 are working hard to help our Shaw students be

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well prepared for the EQAO testing. If your child is in either grade 3 or 6, please avoid taking booking appointments or vacations during this time. Specific dates for grade 3 and 6 testing will be sent home. Please note that schools are closed for Good Friday, April 19th and for Easter Monday, April 22nd. Happy Easter Weekend to Everyone. Classes will resume on Tuesday April 23rd.

We look forward to seeing you during Education Week. Sincerely, Aamer Zuberi Principal (Acting) Shaw P.S.

“Socks for the Streets” – Shaw Public School 1st Annual Sock Drive

Socks for the Streets Fundraiser This year our ‘Me to We Club’ wanted to run a fundraiser. Their idea was to collect socks for the homeless. This started “Socks for the Streets.” When it began it was set for two weeks, and later was extended another week, up until March Break, due to continued donations still coming in. Through the generosity of

our parent community, students and staff, we raised 2045 pairs of socks. These socks will be given to a Canadian charitable organization know as ‘Socks 4 the Souls Canada’. It is located in Toronto. They will distribute it to shelters; drop in centers, Out of the Cold programs and other organizations that help the homeless. Socks are the most needed item and least donated item of clothing. The organization was very impressed being that it

was our first fundraiser for socks. We would like to extend a great big thank to everyone for making this initiative an amazing success!

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Next School Council Meeting Date is May 16th at 6:30.

Guidance News

On March 27th The Grade 7 and 8 girls where given the opportunity to attend the Girls Leadership Conference: Building a Network of Female Support Around Girls In Our Community, at Sandalwood Heights S.S. The conference was able to bring all of Sandalwood’s feeder schools together

for a day of learning and female empowerment. The day started with a presentation from the keynote speaker, Vanessa Craft about the “Just ASK” inititive, which brings groups of students together to drive change in their school communities. The day continued with a number of workshops that students could choose from to further their learning.

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OFIP Tutoring

OFIP tutoring for our Grade 3 students came to an exciting end on March 28, 2019. This year, numeracy was the focus during 20 action-packed tutoring sessions that took place twice a week with great Shaw staff! Students worked hard with their tutors to identify different problem-solving strategies to apply to a wide-variety of word problems. A big thank you goes out to the dedicated group of teachers that provided tutoring services – Miss Cosgrave, Miss Bennett, Mrs. Fernando, Ms Cliff and Mrs. Farrugia. Thank you to parents who supported their children's participation in these sessions!

This is a picture of the dedicated Shaw OFIP tutoring groups hard at work!

Asian Heritage Month

May is Asian Heritage Month, a time to acknowledge the long and rich history of Asian Canadians and their contributions to Canada. It provides an opportunity for Shaw students to reflect on and celebrate the contributions of Canadians of Asian heritage to the growth and prosperity of Canada. Shaw is celebrating Asian Heritage Month showcasing Asian food, clothing, games and dances through various activities throughout the month. The funds raised through Henna Day and Samosa Day are used to invite presenters to the school with a focus on Asian Heritage. Teachers are inviting parent volunteers (with updated Criminal Record checks) to support our fundraising efforts by appling henna during the Henna workshops. All students and families are invited to participate in the following activities. Thursday, April 25: (6:00-7:30 pm)—Cultural Community Potluck Tuesday, May 7: (NB 1 & 2)—Henna Workshop ($ 1 for one side of a hand), a letter will be sent home for parent consent Thursday, May 16: (NB 1) - Samosa Day, $ 1 each Friday, May 17: Ancient Toys and Games workshop (Kindergarten-Grade 4)

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Friday, May 31: Cultural Heritage/Dress Day

Celebrate Administrative Professionals’ Day Wednesday, April 24, 2019 Peel schools will pay tribute to administrative professionals on Administrative Professionals’ Day on April 24, 2019. The day will be celebrated with special activities and events that provide teachers, students and parents an opportunity to thank the administrative staff who help support student success each and every day.

The Peel board appreciates the important job administrative staff do each school day and April 24 provides an opportunity to give these individuals the recognition they deserve

Did you know that 1 in 5 students in Peel Region face barriers related to poverty that prevent them from fully participating in school.

In partnership with the Peel District School Board, the Peel Learning Foundation was created to enable Peel board students to achieve personal excellence by providing resources to help them overcome barriers.

In its first year, the foundation will support Peel board students through:

Student Emergency Needs program Depending on the need, the foundation will support individual students with food and clothing, medical supplies, eyeglasses and transportation costs, or where there is an emergency situation that requires a compassionate response.

Student Backpack program The foundation will provide backpacks filled with school supplies that students need to fully participate in regular classroom work. The backpacks will be provided to students in need in a respectful and confidential manner. They are tailored for students in kindergarten to grade 3, grades 4 to 8, and grades 9 to 12.

Individuals or organizations who are interested in learning more about and supporting the foundation can visit www.PeelLearningFoundation.org. You can also follow the foundation on Twitter (@PeelLearningFDN) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/PeelLearningFDN), and use the hashtag #CreateHope to join the conversation.

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This Month in Shaw Athletics …

March Madness took over Shaw Public school as all four basketball teams prepared and

took part in their divisional tournaments. After weather cancelled both of the senior girls and boys basketball tournaments in February the Shaw senior girls’ tournament was rescheduled for March 7th. Alongside coaches Mrs. Carrasco-Rodriguez and Mrs. Sangha, the Shaw senior girls travelled to Tribune Drive Public School for their tournament and played hard and represented Shaw well by putting forth their best effort. Great effort girls. The Shaw senior boys had to wait for March 19th for their divisional tournament and the extra practise time with coach Mr.

Partynski helped further prepare them. The Shaw senior boys enjoyed 3 straight wins in their round robin play including a buzzer beater victory over Castlemore PS. After a first place finish in the round robin the Shaw Hawks had a bye to the semi-finals and a rematch with Castlemore PS. The Storm got their revenge against the Shaw Hawks. Despite their disappointment the Shaw senior boys rebounded to capture the bronze medals in a dominating third place match. We are proud of your resiliency, Shaw boys. After some practise completion against each other, the junior boys and girls both travelled to Sandalwood Heights Secondary School for their divisional tournaments in the final week of March. Under the direction of coaches Ms. Bennett and Mrs. Quigley, the Shaw junior girls were up first and tasted immediate success with an 18-10 victory in their first game. The Shaw Hawks finished the round robin in second place in their division and moved on to their quarter-final match. The Shaw junior girls fought hard but lost a close 1-point game. We are proud of the tenacity that each of the junior girls showed. Finally, the junior boys basketball team faced some tough competition as they were well undersized throughout their tournament. Coach Mr. Partynski, said they did put forth a good effort and were eager to learn and develop. Good job boys.

Next up the Shaw girls and boys ball hockey teams recently completed their tryouts and the teams were selected. The girls coaches Mrs. Parmar-Goorah and Mrs. Quigley and boys coach Mr. Partynski now begin the task of developing skills and strategies and preparing for their first game action. On the intramural scene, there are plenty of cheers and active bodies in the gym on Mondays at nutrition break as the grade 1’s and 2’s continue to enjoy Asteroids. The grade 3’s continue to develop tbheir throwing and catching skills with their intramural,

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Ultimate Chicken. The grade 4/5 floor hockey champion Oilers cemented themselves in Shaw PS history as they took on the Shaw Staff All-Stars. The Oilers got out to a hot start with a 2 to 0 lead but eventually succumbed to the mighty Staff All-Stars. A great time was had by all including all the fans that came out to cheer on their friends and teachers. The grade 4/5’s now await the beginning of their next intramural, continuous soccer cricket. The grade 6 Speedball season is underway with 2 close matches in the first 2 weeks. Finally, the grade 7/8 intramural, tchoukball is set to begin this week now that the gym becomes free during nutrition break on Fridays.

Stay tuned to the announcements and follow me, Mr. Partynski on Twitter for more news and information from the world of Physical Education and Athletics - @mrpartynski.

YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE INVITED TO A COMMUNITY EVENT

COMING SOON ! Welcome to X POWER, an interactive experience that

focuses on building POWERFUL relationships through discovering inner power and developing conflict resolution skills. X Power uses Martial Arts inspired activities that include Tai Chi & Karate! You and your family are invited to enjoy the X Power experience and learn about building POWERFUL relationships! Date: May 2, 2019 Location: Shaw Public School Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m

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Peel Board celebrates public education during Education Week – April 8

to 12 Peel public schools will host hundreds of special activities and events to celebrate Education Week 2019. To give schools plenty of time to hold activities, this celebration of education will be held from April 8 to 12. The theme for this year's focus on education is We Inspire.

In addition to inviting parents and community residents to visit their classrooms during the week, Peel schools are hosting open houses, plays/musicals, s torytelling, environmental activities, awards assemblies,

talent shows and much more.

One of the highlights of Education Week is the presentation of Awards of Excellence and Education Champion. The award recipients are students, volunteers, staff and community partners who have made outstanding contributions to public education in Peel. The awards will be presented to 34 deserving recipients at the Showcase of Excellence ceremony on Monday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the boardroom, HJA Brown Education Centre, 5650 Hurontario St., Mississauga.

More than 1,000 individuals will also be honoured during Education Week with Awards of Distinction for their contributions to their school or workplace.

Spring Concert – School of Rock Thursday April 11th Performances 9:50 am and 6:30 pm To celebrate spring, Shaw is excited to present our annual Spring Concert “School of Rock” on Thursday, April 11th. This is going to be an evening full of rocking performances by some of our classes and our very renowned Shaw Band directed by Mr. Fernetich. Shaw Students and teachers are working tirelessly to put the show together. To accommodate the seating in the gym, two performances are being offered. The morning show at 9:50 am will be enjoyed by our students. An evening show at 6:30 will be offered for parents. All families are invited and encouraged to attend the show. Classes performing at the concert:

Grade 2: Mrs. Quigley & Mrs. Fernando Mrs. Wilkie and Mr. Lolli

Grade 3 & 4: Mrs. Sran and Mrs. Kaur, Directed by Mr. Fernetich and Ms. Hunter

Grade 5: Mrs. Rodriguez Ms Bennett

Shaw Band: Mr. Fernetich

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Using social media safely

With the growing number of social media sites, it is no surprise that social media is the most common form of communication for children and teenagers. Posts, status updates, comments, instant messages, video uploads, tweets and texts have become a regular part of their lives. While there are many positive benefits to using social media, including staying connected with friends and expressing your interests, students must be cautious in their use of these networks. Among the most popular social media platforms used are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and Whatsapp Messenger. Many of these platforms are free and are available on smartphones and other electronic devices. These platforms are easy to navigate and often allow information to be shared instantly, not only with friends, but with strangers. On social media, it is important to remember that the world is watching. Here are some tips, provided by the Canadian Safe School Network and GetSafeOnline.org, to keep your children safe and help them make smart choices when using social media:

Set some boundaries for your child before they get their first ‘connected device’ (mobile, tablet, laptop or games console). Once they have it, it can be more difficult to change the way they use it or the settings.

Have a conversation about what is appropriate online behaviour and what actions could have huge repercussions that could damage their reputation and be harmful to others.

Talk to your child about the kind of websites they look at. Encourage them to speak to you if they come across something they find worrying or upsetting on websites, games or social media.

Discuss with your child what is safe and appropriate to post and share online. Written comments, photos and videos all form part of their ‘digital footprint’ and could be seen by anyone and available on the internet forever, even if it is subsequently deleted.

Explain to your child that being online doesn’t give them anonymity or protection, and that they shouldn’t do anything online that they wouldn’t do face-to-face. Users should only accept people they know in order to protect themselves from spammers, strangers and others who may be using social networking sites to commit crimes.

Unlike when they’re meeting someone face-to-face, children don’t always know who they’re actually ‘talking’ to online, even if they think they do. Tell your children they must never email, chat, or text with strangers, and it’s never okay to meet a stranger in the real world.

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Ensure your children set their privacy settings appropriately. Take the time to learn how privacy settings work on your children’s favourite sites, and teach them how to control their privacy.

Tell your children never to share personal and private information with anyone online. This includes, but is not limited to, his or her full name, age, birth date, address, phone number, social insurance number, credit card information and parents’ full names.

Limit the amount of time that your children spend on social media platforms and talk about the importance of healthy and appropriate use of technology.

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

April is Earth Month

Earth Month encompasses the international celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 2019. 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

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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

ParentConnect

Online parent portal to access important student information

Last year, the Peel District School Board launched ParentConnect, an online parent portal to access important student information.

What is ParentConnect?

ParentConnect is a safe and secure website, created by the Peel District School Board, that acts as a single point to stay informed and to access all electronic services provided to Peel board parents and legal guardians. The parent-friendly website will allow you to:

view school-based alerts and information access real time absence reporting view current and historic elementary report card information get up-to-date busing information review secondary school credit history and diploma status and more

To learn more about the benefits of ParentConnect, visit our school website or www.peelschools.org/parentconnect

What is Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)?

Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is a legislated committee that makes recommendations to the board on matters affecting the education programs and services for students with special needs. SEAC meets monthly during the school year and consists of three trustees and representatives from organizations within Peel. An important focus for SEAC members is to bring forward the views of their organizations and assist parents in navigating the school system. You can reach out to your trustees or the appropriate organization to discuss any matters regarding special education or join us at one of our monthly meetings. All meetings are open to the public and includes a set time for questions from the community.

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For more information about SEAC and the meeting schedule visit, http://peelschools.org/parents/specialed/specedac/Pages/default.aspx

Get ready Shaw Public School to make healthy beverage choices! Our school is participating in the Healthy Beverage Challenge. Through this challenge, our school is taking action to create awareness on the benefits of drinking tap water. Teachers will be awarding students in their class points for reusable bottles filled with tap water. A reusable bottle is a beverage container for water, plain milk, or fortified soy beverage to be used over and over again. Up to two reusable bottles may be counted per student during each challenge check, providing they contain different beverages (i.e. one for water, and one for a beverage such as milk). Please note: Reusing disposable plastic/glass bottles will not count for points, as Health Canada does not recommend reusing these bottles for daily use. Bottles should be washed daily in warm, soapy water, rinsed and left to air-dry upside down. The bottles can also be washed in a dishwasher, taking care to separate the cap from the bottle. Families can prepare for the challenge by ensuring students bring one or more reusable bottle filled with tap water to school daily. Together, we can reduce a large amount of sugar intake that comes from pop and fruit drinks, and create a healthier community!