Thursday, December 1, 2016

We had the pleasure of attending our Parent Council meeting on Monday night. Congratulations to Mrs. Needham and her committee for organizing our Social last Friday. We had a good time meeting each other, and the night raised around $13,000. Amazing job everyone! 

Ms. Kim updated the parents on our April Inquiry Night and about the process of student inquiry in the classroom. It is a tool used by teachers to engage their students in the learning process. In January, Mr. Ellerker will attend PC to talk about our monthly Well-Being activities.

Congratulations to the grade 8 students for completing their nutrition projects. They had the opportunity to share their learning at today's fair. Many of our older students, parents and staff got to visit and hear their presentations. Well done!

I've attached a link to Toronto Public Health regarding the Norovirus. If the school had an outbreak, we would be in contact with Public Health and you would be notified. Please read the information sheet on the link:

 http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=11462d6855e02410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

Friday is a Professional Activity Day, therefore there is no school. Have a great weekend.

December 2016 

4-Hour of Code Activities 
5-16-School Begins collecting for Stonegate Gift Baskets 
7-Grade 2s to Famous People Players; Some grade 4s to fitness class 
8th-Jr Boys' Vball Tourney 

14-Grade 1-5 Concert

15-Grade 6-8 Concert

16-Grade 7 and 8 MADD presentation

22-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
23-Last day before Break 

January 2017
9-School Begins

20-PA Day

February 2017

17-PA Day
20-Family Day

March 2017

13-17-March Break

April 2017

14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
22-Earth Day

May 2017

8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
22-Victoria Day

June 2017

9-PA Day

1. Co
   1. Complex problem solving        1.    Complex problem solving
   2. Coordinating with others        2.    Critical thinking
   3. People management            3.    Creativity
   4. Critical thinking                4.      People management
   5. Negotiation                        5.    Coordinating with others
   6. Quality control                    6.    Emotional Intelligence
   7. Service orientation                7.    Judgement/decision-making
   8. Judgment/decision-making        8.    Service orientation
   9. Active listening                    9.    Negotiation
   10. Creativity                        10    Cognitive flexibility
2. mplex problem solving        1.    Complex problem solving
3. Coordinating with others        2.    Critical thinking
4. People management            3.    Creativity
5. Critical thinking                4.      People management
6. Negotiation                        5.    Coordinating with others
7. Quality control                    6.    Emotional Intelligence
8. Service orientation                7.    Judgement/decision-making
9. Judgment/decision-making        8.    Service orientation
10. Active listening                    9.    Negotiat

Thursday, November 24, 2016

This week, Mrs. Norton and I had the opportunity to meet with our teachers in grade teams to work through an activity that focused on assessment. One of our goals is to continue to work together to share best practises in this area in order to always be improving student achievement. 

Don't forget that Parent Council is on Monday, November 21st at 7:00 in the library. During the meetings, we always focus on a curriculum area as part of my report. Next week, Ms. Kimm will speak to our upcoming Inquiry Fair. 

Don't forget to sign up for our Movie night on the 1st. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased on-line at http://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ . If you haven't already created an account, you'll have to do so to purchase tickets for school events and pay for field trips. 

We have a meeting next week regarding our Turf Project. So far, we are in stage 1 of the project-Approval. We are working with TDSB to create the design. Once we sign off on Stage 1, we will be ready to move forward with fundraising. During Stage 2, a Design Co-ordinator (TDSB staff) will organize a Topographic Survey (approximately $2000) and Architecture Plans to be completed before proceeding to tender. We are hoping to complete the project within a couple of years with Parent Council and the community support. 

A big thank you to Mrs. Heathe who has organized our Hour of Code Activities. Thanks also to Mrs. Decaria. 

Friday the 2nd is a PA Day. Staff will be involved with professional activities. 

Have a great weekend. 

November 2016 
28-Parent Council in library at 7:00 p.m.; Grade 1 Houseleauge  

29-Officer Rich visits grade 5 , 2 and 3
 30-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Grade 2 Houseleauge; Grade 8 Health Fair 

December 2016

1-Movie Night: Secret Life of Pets at 6:30 p.m.; Grade 3 Houseleauge 
2-PA Day
4-Hour of Code Activities 
5-16-School Begins collecting for Stonegate Gift Baskets 

14-Grade 1-5 Concert

15-Grade 6-8 Concert

16-Grade 7 and 8 MADD presentation

22-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
23-Last day before Break 

January 2017
9-School Begins

20-PA Day

February 2017

17-PA Day
20-Family Day

March 2017

13-17-March Break

April 2017

14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
22-Earth Day

May 2017

8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
22-Victoria Day

June 2017

9-PA Day

22 Division Toy Drive

I wanted to let you know that 22 Division is now accepting donations to their annual "Toy Drive". Please feel free to drop off an unwrapped toy at their front desk. Thanks for letting us know Officer Rich! 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

We'd like to thank Mr. Owen for donating the amazing trees to the school. They are beautiful and make the school yard look terrific! 

We had a beautiful Remembrance Day Assembly last Friday. Below are a few photos of our event. 

Please make sure you purchase your Social ticket at http://www.sagoto.com/lkspc/social.  Thanks to Mrs. Needham and her committee for organizing this event on November 25th.

Thank you for participating in our interviews this week. I found an article that may be useful when talking to your child about their progress reports: http://www.familyeducation.com/school/report-cards/talking-your-child-about-report-cards.  We do encourage you to praise your child's achievements, but it is not recommended to give rewards (i.e. money) for each "A". You want to praise children for the effort they put into their work and for their learning and understanding, not the letter or numerical grade they got. Students are going to feel like failures if they get a "B" another time. According to S. Bourgeois and J. Boberg (Oct 2016), token rewards reflect the message that there is no inherent value in the learning process.

I hope everyone continues to enjoy this lovely weather. Remember, Friday is a Professional Activity Day as interviews continue.

 

Thank you to Mr. Owen for the tree donation! 

Colour Guard

Grade 8 Remembrance Day Hosts 

Class Wreaths 

Grade 7 and 8 CBC Recording

November 2016 
21-Scientist in the School visit Ms. Furczon and Mrs. Olson; Grade 1 Houseleague
22-Scientist in the School visit Ms. Kim and Mrs. Younger 

Jr Boys' Championship 

23-Huddle Up Leadership Committee attends Rally at Nathan Phillips Square; Grade 6-8 House meeting at lunch; Grade 2 Houseleauge  

25-Parent Council Parent Social; Grade 3 Houseleauge 
28-Parent Council in library at 7:00 p.m.; Grade 1 Houseleauge  

29-Officer Rich visits grade 5 , 2 and 3
 30-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Grade 2 Houseleauge 

December 2016

1-Secret Life of Pets at 6:30 p.m.; Grade 3 Houseleauge 
2-PA Day
4-Hour of Code Activities 
5-16-School Begins collecting for Stonegate Gift Baskets 

14-Grade 1-5 Concert

15-Grade 6-8 Concert

16-Grade 7 and 8 MADD presentation

22-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
23-Last day before Break 

January 2017

9-School Begins
20-PA Day

February 2017

17-PA Day
20-Family Day

March 2017
13-17-March Break

April 2017

14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
22-Earth Day

May 2017

8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
22-Victoria Day

June 2017

9-PA Day

November 10, 2016

This week, our Girls Matter Club was honoured to have Mrs. Thomas (an LKS parent) speak about her career path moving through the entertainment industry of acting to being a Music Industry Executive. She shared her challenges, points of interest and the lessons that she has learned. She was very inspirational to a packed room of grade 6-8 students. Under the leadership of two grade 8 students, myself and Mrs. Taylor, the club will continue to provide experiences that focus on bringing an awareness of issues and concerns that girls may face at the local and global level. Great work everyone! 

Tomorrow, we will host our Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:30 a.m. I'd like to thank our grade 8 students who have played an integral role in the planning; Harry, Lauren, Doug, Jonah, Sophia, Emma, Claire and Paige. They have done an amazing job coordinating the different groups involved, creating the script and choosing passages. A special thanks to the students who are part of the Colour Guard; they are such an important part of the Remembrance Day tradition, and to Mrs. Barry and the grade three/four Choir. Thank you to Mr. Norton who will be playing throughout the assembly. 

This week, we started grade 1-3 Houseleague. Houseleague is a time when the students can get some exercise, make new friends and learn all about fair play. Thanks to the grade 8 co-ordinators; Doug, Meg, Madison, Robert, Damon, Jonah and Nick. 

For my final School Improvement Plan entry, the following is a summary of our Wellness and Safety Plan. Most of our goals are based on data collected from our last Climate Survey Report. 

Wellness
-Increase student, staff and parent awareness of positive well-being strategies 
-Students will be able to approach a safe, caring and trusting person when concerns arise
-Continue to use referral process and School Support Meetings to provide student and family support 
-Continue to use TDSB Homework Policy across the grades to reduce the amount of time spent on homework after school hours; with the intent of reducing student stress 

Safety
-Continue to develop safety awareness through partnerships with the Toronto Argonuts' Huddle Up for Success Program, Grade 6 Peer Mediators, and Officer Rich 
-Continue to promote safety in the classroom through TRIBES and teaching positive Growth Mindset strategies. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Enjoy this beautiful weather. 

November 2016 
13-18-Bullying Awareness Week 

14-Report Cards Go Home 
16-Grade 4-8 Author Visit 

18-PA Day
21-Scientist in the School visit Ms. Furczon and Mrs. Olson 
22-Scientist in the School visit Ms. Kim and Mrs. Younger 
23-Huddle Up Leadership Committee attends Rally at Nathan Phillips Square; Grade 6-8 House meeting at lunch 

25-Parent Council Parent Social 
28-Parent Council in library at 7:00 p.m. 

29-Officer Rich visits grade 5 , 2 and 3
 30-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 

December 2016

1-Secret Life of Pets at 6:30 p.m. 
2-PA Day
4-Hour of Code Activities 
5-16-School Begins collecting for Stonegate Gift Baskets 

14-Grade 1-5 Concert

15-Grade 6-8 Concert

16-Grade 7 and 8 MADD presentation

22-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
23-Last day before Break 

January 2017

9-School Begins
20-PA Day

February 2017

17-PA Day
20-Family Day

March 2017
13-17-March Break

April 2017

14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
22-Earth Day

May 2017

8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
22-Victoria Day

June 2017

9-PA Day

November 2, 2016

Last week, I spoke of our Equity goals under our School Improvement Plan. This week, I'd like to share our Literacy Student Achievement goals. Along with keeping your children safe, student achievement is our main mission. Every child at LKS can learn and our job is quite simple: we need to teach the curriculum so our students learn and show growth from September until they leave us in June. Every learner has the ability to grow academically, but that will look different for each of our students. Teachers need to program for each student so the best of the child is being teased out along the way. With that in mind, here is a summary of our literacy goals: 

-Each student will continue to show improvement in reading and writing based on our current assessment data
-All kindergarten students will meet reading expectations measured by our Board assessment
-Students will be engaged in higher level thinking skills as measured by the Ministry Achievement Chart
-Students who are identified with special learning needs, will successfully meet individual learning goals as set out in their IEPs 
-Teachers will provide diverse learning opportunities using an inquiry based approach to assess and evaluate Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, Communication and Application 


Don't forget to look at the Bulletin to book your Parent-Teacher Interview on-line. You'll need the code from the weekly Bulletin. The system will be open until the 8th. 

Please come to our screening of Secret Life of Pets on December 1st. Details of payment and ticket ordering will come to you next week. 

Thanks to all the grade 8 parents who came to our Grade 8 Information Night tonight. Transitioning into secondary school is an exciting but sometimes anxious time for families, so please stay in contact if you have questions. 

We continue to post links on our website that you may find helpful. Please go to our website on the side bar and look under Parent Resources. 

Have a great weekend everyone. 

November 2016

7-Bus Safety Presentations 

11-Remembrance Day at 10:30

 13-18-Bullying Awareness Week 

14-Report Cards Go Home 
16-Grade 4-8 Author Visit 

18-PA Day
21-Scientist in the School visit Ms. Furczon and Mrs. Olson 
22-Scientist in the School visit Ms. Kim and Mrs. Younger 

25-Parent Council Parent Social 
28-Parent Council in library at 7:00 p.m. 

29-Officer Rich visits grade 5 , 2 and 3
 30-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 

December 2016

2-PA Day

14-Grade 1-5 Concert

15-Grade 6-8 Concert

16-Grade 7 and 8 MADD presentation

22-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
23-Last day before Break 

January 2017

9-School Begins
20-PA Day

February 2017

17-PA Day
20-Family Day

March 2017
13-17-March Break

April 2017

14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
22-Earth Day

May 2017

8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
22-Victoria Day

June 2017

9-PA Day