Important Dates: December 1-15 – Food Drive (See p. 2) December 14– Holiday Concert @ 1:00 and 6:45pm. Food Donations are welcomed. December 23 – January 7 Winter Break January 8

th–School Re-opens!

Pizza Days December 1

st 8

th, 15

th, 22

nd

January 12th, 18

th, 26

th

February 1st, 15th, 23

rd

Chess Lessons begin Jan.18

Administrators’ Message

A big thank-you to all of our families who attended our Parent Teacher

Interviews. We cannot tell you how important it is to conference with your child and

their teacher in order to support them in setting and fulfilling their academic goals for

the year. Our students and teachers are always thrilled to share their successes with

you.

We would also like to take this opportunity to invite you to our Holiday

Concert which is to be held on the afternoon and evening of Thursday,

December 14th at 1:00 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. respectively. At this time, Mazo’s

Choir, Intermediate Band and Stage Bands will be performing. Our Primary Division

will be having concerts (2 nights in February) this school year. Dates will be

announced in January.

As we prepare ourselves for this joyous season, it warms our hearts to see

our students actively working to help those who are less fortunate in our

community. At Mazo we are striving to bring this month’s character trait of empathy

to life by encouraging students and families to participate in our Holiday Food Drive.

Empathy means 'the ability to understand and share the feelings of another’.

It is important that during the holiday season and throughout the year, that we help

children to understand what it means to be empathetic – to understand how

someone else may be feeling, or to understand another’s point of view. Donating

some time to a Food Bank or listening deeply when someone is speaking are ways

we can help children develop empathy, but also to be appreciative of what they have:

good health, loving families, safe homes, the first snow fall, as examples.

We wish all of our Mazo community a peaceful and joyous Holiday Season,

and a very happy New Year!

M. O’Reilly et Mme Mell

We will be Continuing our Skating Program this winter. Please see the schedule on page 3.

MAZOVILLE NEWS December 2017

Principal: Michael O’Reilly Phone: 905-836-1032 Vice-Principal: Karen Mell Superintendent: Dianne Hawkins Web site: www.mazodelaroche.ps.yrdsb.ca Trustee: Martin Van Beek

Twitter: @mdlrps Email: mazo.de.la.roche.ps@yrdsb.ca

French Immersion Information Night and Registration for Students Entering Grade 1 in September

An information session for the French Immersion (FI) program will take place in the Mazo de la Roche school library on January 18, 2018 at 7 p.m.

FI registration for Grade 1 students starting in September will begin January 19, 2018 at the Mazo de la Roche school office and ends in February.

Parents or guardians of Senior Kindergarten students entering Grade 1 in 2018, and wishing to enroll in the FI Program, can visit or call their child’s current school office and request an Office Index Card - short version. The Office Index Card must be signed by the Principal of the home school. Parents or guardians then take this form, along with one piece of identification showing their address to Mazo de la Roche to register between January 19 and February 9, 2018.

Grade 1 French Immersion Registration for students attending the following schools will be accepted at Mazo de la Roche PS: Armitage Village PS, Bogart PS, Glen Cedar PS, J.L.R. Bell PS, Meadowbrook PS, Robert Munsch PS, Prince Charles PS, Rogers PS, Stonehaven PS, Stuart Scott PS.

The Hour of Code

As in previous years, Mazo de la Roche will be marking Computer Science Education Week, in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906). The 2017 Computer Science Education Week will be December 4-10.

Throughout that week, and through the month of December, students will be participating in The Hour of Code. This "event" started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts.

At Mazo, we believe that every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path. That said, students are fortunate to tinker with coding each and every day within the Learning Commons. They look forward to programming devices such as Ozobot, BlueBot, Dash, Dot, Sphero, MakeyMakey, Mindstorms, and so much more.

Interested in participating at home? Check out the various FREE Hour of Code tutorials, available through CODE.ORG: https://code.org/learn

FOOD DRIVE For the month of December, we will continue our quest to give back to the community. We will be having a Food Drive from December 1 – 15 and all items collected will be donated to the Newmarket Pantry. This is an opportunity to help our children understand how we can help those around us. Food items must be non-perishable and nut-free. Some of the most needed items include: juice boxes, canned stew or chili, jam, nut-safe school snacks, toiletry items (soap, shampoo, toothpaste), and baby food.

In the spirit of Giving Parents please send in any used batteries for the ‘Me to We Foundation’. The proceeds from the battery collection will go toward helping sick children around the world.

The FRENCH Scholastic Book Fair was a roaring success! Thank

you for promoting a love of reading, and supporting this important literary event. Your support is key in helping us obtain new books and resources for our library and classrooms. Total sales were just shy of $8 200, which includes over $4 500 in new books for the Mazo library collection, as well as the Literacy Room and classrooms! A VERY special thank you to our incredible volunteers: Mme Biglands, Mme Park, Liv in Mme Boddy’s class and Mme Madeley’s mom… without you, the book fair would not have been as great a success! The winner of the fair draw was Teagan in Mme Johnson’s class. She has won $25 in Scholastic books for her family, as well as $25 in books for her classroom.

Date Grade(s) Time Ice Pad

Tues Dec 12 2 10-11 Bobby Forhan

Tues Dec 19 4 9-10 Bobby Forhan

Tues Dec 19 1 10-11 Bobby Forhan

Wed Dec 20 5 9-10 Pfaff

Wed Dec 20 3 10:30-11:30 Pfaff

Thurs Dec 21 6 9-10 Hyundai

Fri Dec 22 7&8 1-2 Bobby Forhan

Tues Jan 23 2 10-11 Honda

Tues Mar 6 6 9-10 Honda

Tues Mar 6 5 10:30-11:30 Pfaff

Fri Mar 9 4 9-10 Bobby Forhan

Fri Mar 9 1 10-11 Bobby Forhan

Fri Mar 9 3 10:30-11:30 Hyundai

Fri Mar 9 7&8 1-2 Bobby Forhan

Parents and Guardians are Welcome to Join us! If you would like to attend or volunteer for our skating trips, please be advised that we will need a valid Police Vulnerable Sector

Screening Check issued by York Region Police. The Police Vulnerable Sector Check (PVSC) provides the screening of

individuals who intend to volunteer with our students. Once completed, they remain valid for a number of years.

Message

Skating Dates for Grades 1-8

2017-2018

Newmarket Parks and Recreation Department offers 8 week sessions for volleyball and basketball for ages 8-12. Registration for the next session starts at 6:30 am on December 6th at Newmarket.ca online or in person at the Magna Centre.

Lost and Found

Mazo families please take note that any items in the lost and found that remain unclaimed by December 8th will be donated to charity.

Indoor Recess and Student Illness All students are expected to go outside for recess except during extreme weather conditions. In this case, an administrator will call for an indoor recess. We often receive requests from parents asking us to keep their children indoors during recess because they are not feeling well. We do not have indoor supervision for these students. Generally speaking, if a child is well enough to be at school, then they are well enough to go outside for recess. Please make sure your children are dressed properly for our invigorating Canadian winter days. It’s a good idea for students to bring extra pants and socks in case they get wet while enjoying snow activities.

From Our Trustee – Martin Van Beek

In November, about 1,000 students, staff members and community partners came together from across the Board to form a Ring of Peace and stand together against hate, discrimination and intolerance. The student speakers at the event shared meaningful messages about the importance of feeling welcome, valued and respected. At York Region District School Board, we are committed to listening to the voices of our students and communities. We will continue working with our school communities to ensure our schools provide safe, welcoming and inclusive environments for everyone. Last month, our annual Quest conference brought together educators from across Ontario, Canada and around the world to share, learn and discuss how to foster well-being in schools. Some of the themes covered included equity and inclusivity, and safe and caring environments. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about some of the positive things happening in our own schools and other districts. In recent months, we have had several international visitors come to our system and schools to learn more about the work in our system to support student achievement and well-being, including Qatar, the Netherlands, Texas and the United Kingdom. We are pleased to have these opportunities to continue highlighting and sharing the great things happening in our schools thanks to our outstanding students, staff members, families and community partners. Your engagement makes a difference in our schools and I encourage you to continue getting involved in the life of your child’s school. As we enter the holiday season, I am once again impressed by the generosity of our school communities and our students’ commitment to helping others. Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful start to 2018.

Special Guest Speaker Cathy Dendy

Topic: Is your child struggling in school?

Is your child struggling in school? Has the teacher said that maybe he is “not trying,”

“distracted,” or “disappointing?” Or is it her behavior? Is your child being accused of

being "lazy," “disruptive” or “disobedient?”

Are you feeling overwhelmed and not sure how to help your child now that the school

has identified a problem? Do you feel pressure to hire a tutor?

As a parent or guardian, it is challenging to know what to do when the school contacts

you with a problem. You ...want to help your child but you want to know if the school

has made a mistake or is doing enough for your child. You probably also have some

strong emotions – sadness, frustration, fear. Does the burden to solve the problem feel

like it’s being handed to you?

Next Meeting: Monday, December 11, 2017