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cation. (from: http://
www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/
parents/involvement/ )
One way to be involved at
school is to attend our
monthly Parent Council meet-
ings. As a school council
member, you can help your
council discover new and
exciting ways to contribute to
the education of students in
our school.
Welcome to Markham Gate-
way P.S. We look forward to
a great year of learning ahead
for all of our students, and
encourage all of our families
to be actively involved in our
school.
Parent engagement matters.
Study after study has shown
us that student achievement
improves when parents play
an active role in their chil-
dren's education, and that
good schools become even
better schools when parents
are involved. It is recognized
that parent engagement is a
key factor in the enhancement
of student achievement and
well-being.
Students are more likely to be
motivated, to earn higher
grades, to have better behav-
iour and social skills, and to
continue their education to a
higher level when their parents
are actively engaged in sup-
porting their success at school.
It is equally important to recog-
nize that parent involvement
takes many forms.
serving on school councils
and Parent Involvement Com-
mittees (PICs)
volunteering for field trips
and school activities
making sure there is a
quiet place set aside to do
homework,
helping with homework
meeting with teachers talking to your child about their
day at school. These are all examples of en-
gaged parents, they are all con-
tributing to their children's edu-
Across Ontario, schools work towards achieving EcoSchools certification. EcoSchools cer-tification provides a rigorous province-wide set of criteria that assess achievement of environmentally responsible actions and environmental learning. Engagement in Eco-Schools reflects a school com-munity’s commitment to the
environment. There are 4 levels of EcoSchools certification: bronze, silver, gold and plati-num. At MGPS, we have worked hard to achieve a Bronze Certification, and we are now going to challenge ourselves to go for gold! Over the next few weeks we will establish our EcoTeam and begin the work. Using the
guidelines, we will work to reduce waste, conserve en-ergy, green our grounds, and foster environmental leader-ship within our school com-munity. We invite parents to be a part of our team. If you are interested , please con-tact the school, we need your help if we are going to achieve our goal.
Next Parent Council
October 24
6:00—7:00 pm in the Library
See you there!
Council Executive 2013
Lisa Volpe-Brehaspatt—Chair
Ratna Muralitharan—Treasurer
Elaine Bernard—Secretary
Principal’s Message
Parent Involvement Leads To Student Success
Going for Gold!
MGPS Newsletter
F O L L O W U S O N T W I T T E R @ M A R K H A M G A T E W A Y
I M P O R T A N T D A T E S
Oct 2—Student Council Speeches and
Elections
Oct 8—Area Cross Country Meet
Oct 11—PA Day, no school for stu-
dents
Oct 14—Thanksgiving holiday, school
closed
Oct 17—Regional Cross Country
Finals
Oct 21-26—Celebrate Character
Community Week
Oct 21-27—Waste Reduction Week
Oct 24—Parent Council Meeting
Oct 28—Theatre Performance of
“Wired” for Grades 5-8 in gym
Oct 31—Pizza Lunch & Halloween
Primary Parade of Costumes
H O L I D A Y S &
O B S E R V A N C E S
Oct 5 Navaratri
Oct 6—World Communion Day
Oct 14—Thanksgiving, Day of Haj
(Day of Arafat)
Oct 15—Eid-ul-Adha
Oct 20—The Birth of the Bab
Oct 24—Pavarana
Oct 25—Kathina
Oct 31—Samhain
Navarati is a nine day celebration.
This festival marks the victory of good
over evil.
Eid-ul-Adha is celebrated in Muslim
communities throughout the world. It is
a time marked by special prayers and
many Muslims gather for special prayer
services. Many people also visit family
and friends, exchange greetings and
gifts. Eid-ul-Adha is also a time for
forgiveness and compassion, and is also
know as the Festival if Sacrifice. Families
make donations to the poor and needy
as an act of thanksgiving for God’s
forgiveness. and
Home of the Titans
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 3
P A G E 2 M G P S N E W S L E T T E R
Message from our Trustee
I am very pleased to welcome our new and
returning families as we start another school
year. I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoy-
able summer, and feel refreshed and energized.
There is a lot to look forward to in the first few months of
school, and I hope you will find an opportunity to get involved in
some way. Partnerships with families are essential, not only to
student achievement and well-being, but also to creating a posi-
tive, caring and supportive school environment in which students
can thrive.
There are many ways you can get involved and support your
child’s education from communicating with your child’s teacher
and asking your child about what they are learning to volunteer-
ing in the school or participating in the school council.
Thanks to your support and the hard work and commitment of
our staff, students, families and community partners, we continue
to be one of the top performing school boards in Ontario.
As an elected trustee and an advocate for high quality public
education, I am committed to ensuring the highest quality public
education possible for our students and their families. In the
coming year, we will continue our focus on the priorities set out
in our Multi-Year Plan: student achievement and well-being, the
delivery of effective and appropriate educational programs and
the responsible stewardship of Board resources.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact
me by email at Juanita.nathan@yrdsb.edu.on.ca or by phone at
416-885-3479. If you would like to be kept informed about vari-
ous initiatives or topics that relates to your child’s education and
well being, please send me your email address and I would be
happy to keep in touch with you on a regular basis.
I hope you have a great start to the school year and wish you all
the best for 2013-14.
Juanita Nathan
Trustee | York Region District School Board – Area 4
Town of Markham – Ward 7&8
416 885 3479 Juanita.Nathan@yrdsb.edu.on.ca
A Message from Our Trustee
Please sign up for our E Newsletter at the school website,
www.markhamgateway.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca. You will have to
click on the “Subscribe to our Mail List”
button on the homepage of the web-
site. When you click on it, you will be
prompted with further directions. You
can unsubscribe at any time. We will NOT distribute your email
to any other lists.
It is a new system this year so you will have to sign up again
even if you received them last year through your email. When
you sign up, you will receive a notification with a link that will
take you to our website so your inbox will not be filled with the
newsletter itself.
You can also get our newsletter from the school website if you
don’t have your own email. Please support us in our effort to
reduce paper from the school and keep our school GREEN!
Sign up for our E Newsletter!
Markham Gateway has created a Twitter account for families
to follow and get the latest about upcoming events, important
news items, and to read about the great things going on in our
school.
Follow Us on Twitter at:
@MarkhamGateway
Follow Markham Gateway on Twitter
Pizza Lunch Dates for 2013/14
October 31 Last Thursday of the Month
November 28
December 19
January 31
February 27
March 27
April 24
May 29 and June 19
Character Awards for September—Respect CourageFairnessHonestyInitiativeOptimismPerseveranceRespectResponsibilityIntegrityEmpathy
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a certificate to recognize their efforts in demonstration Respect within
our school community. Each month we will recognize students’ efforts to model our monthly character traits. Mustafa S., Yaser A.,
Ricky S., Alyssa N., Shara B., Shazim F., Zain M., Ammarah A., Sarah C., Kavisan R., Eshal A., Tusher S., Arani R., Nithyan S.,
Shyana P., Sarah M., Alex H., Shivani T., Athavan Y., Anesh T., Haarini S., Mutaza S., Sabeeh A., Sana A., Abrar K., Pravya P.,
Joel B., Julia R., Maham K., Erwin Z., Andy G., Zulfa O., Harjaap B., Thayanika R., Inthuja S., Joellyne E., Shiv M., Aatikah T.
P A G E 3 M G P S N E W S L E T T E R
It’s time to remind children about being safe in our community.
With the start of another school year, it’s a good time for parents to remind children about personal safety. Here's what children need to know:
Their name, age, telephone number, address, city and province. This can be done through rhyme or song.
How to contact their parents at any time, by memorizing cell or work numbers.
How and under what circumstances to call 911.
To never approach or enter a stranger's vehicle. A responsi-ble adult would never ask a child for directions or any other question for that matter.
Make sure they know they have a right to say "no" to an adult, especially when the adult is asking them to do something they have been taught is wrong or feels uncomfortable. Re-minding children of this right is important because children are taught from a young age to respect adults.
To always tell parents where they will be and to never enter someone's home without their parent's permission.
If home alone, never admit it when answering the phone. Never answer a knock at the door or speak through it. Adults can be very persuasive. Teach your child to call you if there is a knock at the door and if they fear for their safety, teach them to call 911. Make sure they know that police officers are there to help them and would not get mad if it were a false alarm.
If they think they are being followed or are in danger they should run home or to a public place. If someone grabs them, they should try to get away, yelling and screaming while doing so. It is important to play in safe areas, never take shortcuts and stick with a buddy whenever possible. It is never too early or too late to teach children the importance of personal safety. Common sense, communication and consis-tency are the keys. Remind children to alert a responsible adult if something strange happens that makes them feel uncomfort-able. Remember, crime prevention is everyone's responsibility. For more information on this subject, visit www.yrp.ca.
Safety Counts!
It has been wonderful to welcome so
many new and returning
families to the Markham Gateway Par-
enting and Family Literacy Centre in
September. At the Markham Gateway
PFLC, families can play, learn, sing,
and read together with Carlene, the
new Parent Worker.
One of the favourite activities each day is the time that families
spend making a nutritious snack together. This snack includes a
fruit or vegetable, a protein like cheese or humus and a carbohy-
drate like crackers or bread. Once a week, we even try cooking
together - making things like apple crisp, and yogurt parfaits.
We hope you will be able to join us any time between
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday to Friday in Room 127.
There is no registration and no cost for the program.
Parent Worker: Carlene Nembhard
Open: Every school day between 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
No cost or registration required. Snacks are provided for
the children
Positive Parenting TIP
Cooking is a wonderful way to spend positive time with our
children. According to the dieticians at
York Region Public Health:
“Kids that plan, shop, cook and eat with their families en-
joy benefits that go beyond nutrition. Families that eat meals and snacks together usually eat more vegetables
and fruit, drink less pop and eat less junk food. Children also tend to have more self-confidence and stronger lan-
guage skills and teens are less likely to engage in risky
behaviours.“ For young children, cooking helps them to learn new words and
concepts needed for reading. They can develop their small
muscle strength and coordination needed for writing and they
can learn important problem solving and measuring skills
needed for math.
For more information about how you can
“Cook Up Some Fun” in your home, please
go to
http://www.york.ca/nutrition and click on
Parent Family Literacy Center (PFLC)
Community Board
Check out our Community and Parent Informa-tion bulletin board outside our office for ongoing news and information around resources within our school community and Markham / York Re-gion.
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