Mountain Ash Public School

January 2015

Principal’s Message

As we wrap up the year of 2014 (and likely many gifts too!) it brings a time where we can pause and feel good about what we have accomplished this year, and begin to set new goals for 2015. As a school we have come together and grown as we take advantage of all of the benefits of welcoming our students Kindergarten to Grade 8. Our recent winter concerts are great examples of this!

Our mission at Mountain Ash Public School strives to inspire students to choose the path that leads to awesome. In Kindergarten this may look like your child exploring learning in an inquiry environment, and in Grade 8 it may take more of a literal path, in that students are aligning their academic strengths with selecting courses from their High School (Sandalwood Heights).

As we look to 2015 as a school, and at each grade level, we are working hard to improve our students understanding and communication in numeracy. Feel free to ask your children to share their understandings and/or justify how they came up with their answer using mathematical vocabulary!

Finally, on behalf of the all the staff at Mountain Ash P.S. enjoy this holiday season doing the things that bring you and your family happiness. Have a safe holiday and we will see you in the 2015!

Sincerely,

Mr. C. CooperPrincipal

 Principal:Craig Cooper

 Vice Principal:Brian Rasmusson

 Superintendent:Pat Noble

 School Trustee: Jagdeep Mann

MondayJanuary 5th, 2015

Pizza Days at Mountain Ash!This month pizza days will occur on January 8th,

January 15th, January 22nd and January 29thPizza has been pre-ordered by students and students cannot purchase slices at school. Pizza will arrive for consumption during second nutrition break, so please pack snacks and drinks for your child that day. February orders need to be submitted by January 27th 2015. Thank You!

Green Club News

Members of the Grade 6-8 Green Team, and some Grade 3 & 4 classes took part in a recycling holiday craft on Wed. Dec. 17. Our community partner, Brampton Clean City, had students turn something unwanted into something new by making one a kind coasters out of the pages of old magazines. All students had fun jumping right in to learn how to make this craft and the results were very colourful. It was a great way to extend our 3 R’s education (reduce, reuse, recycle) and students learned how to extend a product’s life cycle by making a fun craft!

Brampton Clean City will be back on January 7 and 8 , 2015 to do 3R’s Workshop with all students in the school. While connecting curriculum based programming to waste management education, the 3R’s workshop is dedicated to encouraging students to make critical choices about altering

the waste each person creates on a daily basis. Students are educated on ways to reduce waste through the messages of ‘reduce’, ‘reuse’ and ‘recycle’. Students are given alternative solutions to decrease waste accumulation, and learn to identify harmful products that enter landfills.

Senior Girls Volleyball Team The Senior Girls volleyball team played outstanding in the South Fields volleyball Tournament December 2nd.  The team played 12 very competitive games winning 8 games and brought home the Bronze medal! The girls displayed an excellent level of skill as well as outstanding sportsmanship, all while having fun.  Congratulations to Adelaide, Chantel, Victoria, Taijah, Morgan, Avleen, Gurman, Adrianna, Nadia, Sanghavi and Jaskiran for their amazing accomplishment and Mountain Ash spirit.

MASH’s 2014 Lego Robotics Team was amazing and we had a lot of fun at the tournament at Tomken Road Middle School. The team believed the best part was programming the robot, Bob. The team had to build, design and program Bob to complete a series of missions. The team faced difficult challenges including a community learning mission where the robot was to lift a key from a Lego structure. The team worked very hard on the robot and completing certain missions to earn them a good place in the tournament. They attempted to complete 6 missions in total. Mash’s robotics competition team made up of Amar, Arshdeep, Ethan, Gurkirt, Jasanjot, Mehakdeep, Sarvin, Maulik, Zena and Krisha.

Reading BuddiesThe Grade 4’s and the Kindergarten classes (K1 and K2) have been working together on many activities and projects this term. In addition to our Grade 4’s reading to their buddies, they have created pic collages on the iPads about their books together. They have also done a Christmas craft where they helped them to decorate an ornament for their parents. Recently, they surveyed their Kindergarten buddies for a Math/Data Management project. It’s a pleasure to see how well they work together and how this program benefits both the Kindergartens and the Grade 4’s.

Community Outreach

The Me to We Team would like to say a HUGE thank you to Mountain Ash students, their families, staff and our community for their contributions to our holiday “Adopt a Family Campaign”. Through all of your support and donations we were able to provide food, gifts and clothing to four families in Brampton. A special thank you to goes to our local community partners which include Sobey's, Shoppers Drug Mart, Fortinos, No Frills, and Mark's Works Warehouse.

Junior Intermediate and Primary

Winterfest Highlights

We are very proud of all of the Kindergarten and primary students who participated in Winterfest this year. The students worked extremely hard practising and getting ready to perform in front of their friends and family. Thanks to everyone who came to the shows, it is was wonderful to see so much support for our primary students. Sorry we were unable to provide photos of Junior /Intermediate concert at the time of print.

The Toyshop Cast

The Primary Choir

K1 and K2

K3 and K5

It's time to register children born in 2011 for kindergarten

 Register at Mountain Ash Public School on Feb. 2, 3, 4 & 5

 We inspire success, confidence and hope in each student…and it all starts in kindergarten! If your child was born in 2011, he or she can start kindergarten in September 2015.  Registration will be held at our school from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 2, 3, 4 and 5 and from 5 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 5 What you will need to bring to registration

Proof of child's age:Canadian birth certificate Canadian passport citizenship card/certificate Permanent Resident Card confirmation of permanent residence work permit refugee permit

 Proof of addres:Ontario driver's licenseutility bill bank statement/client slip (directly from financial institution) credit card statement federal government forms (e.g. Social Insurance Number, Service Canada documents) purchase agreement

Proof of custody – children must live with their parent(s) unless provided documentation supports an alternate living arrangement

Proof of immunization – proof that your child has been immunized/vaccinated Extended-day program for kindergarten students Families have the option of enrolling their child in before and after-school programs developed by the Ministry of Education to complement the full-day kindergarten program. These programs are run by qualified, experienced staff from our childcare partners. At registration, we will ask families to tell us whether they are interested in the extended-day programs. The programs can only run if there is enough interest among families.  Important information about immunizationIn order to attend school in Ontario, your child must have an up-to-date immunization record. When you register your child for school, you will provide copy of your child's immunization record and the school will send it to Peel Health. After registration, keeping your child's records up to date is your responsibility. Peel Health reviews immunization records regularly. Students who are not completely immunized and do not have a valid exemption may not be allowed to attend school.  

Regional Programs for Grade 6 and 7-September 2015

For more information, please explore the makingmyway.ca site. It explains programs, shares other opportunities and includes important dates. Ms. Matson, Mountain Ash’s Guidance teacher may also be helpful. She can be reached at 905-793-7595 ext 219

Grade 8s- On the MoveOur grade 8 students have been busy selecting schools, filling out applications and selecting courses! The process is early but allows time to make good decisions. If you have a grade eight student and you have concerns about the course selection process, please speak with Ms. Matson at 905-793-7595 ext. 219.

Grade to Enter Program School Specialty Program Parent’s Night Application Deadlines

6 Royal Orchard Middle School Actively in MotionRegional Sports Program

January 12, 2015 Jan. 13 to Feb. 6, 2015

6 Morning Star Middle School Arts and Technology Jan. 22, 2015 - 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 23 to Feb. 6, 2015

6 or 7 Earnscliffe Senior Public School

School of the Arts Jan. 15, 2015 Jan. 16 to Feb. 6, 2015

6 WG Davis Senior Public School

International Baccalaureate Jan. 20, 2015, 7 p.m. at the Mississauga Convention Centre, 75 Derry Rd. W. in Mississauga

Jan. 21 to Feb. 6, 2015

6 Macville Public School Science and Technology Program Jan. 22, 2015, 7 p.m., Humberview Secondary School,

Jan. 23 to Feb.2015

6 Williams Parkway Senior Public School

International Business & Technology Program

Jan. 13, 2015 - 6 p.m. Jan. 14 to Feb. 6, 2015

7 Sir John A. Macdonald Sr. P.S.

Extended French Program Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 at Sir John AJan. 15, 2015 - 7 to 8 p.m at HJA Brown Education Centre

Friday, Jan. 30, 2015 at 4 p.m.

On November 25, 2014 the grade eights were treated to the Junior Achievement program. Three volunteers were invited into the school to present the program,

Economics for Success. Students enjoyed the day completing activities that would help them make future decisions and learning how the choices they make can positively impact their future dreams, aspirations and outcomes. Mountain Ash would like to thank our volunteers for presenting such

useful information to our grade eight students. JANUARY 2015 Attendance Line:

905-793-7595 – Press #4

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 2XMAS HOLIDAY

4 5 6 7Scientists in the School

8

Pizza Day

9 Twin Day

11 12 13 14 15 Pizza DayUnderstanding the Progress Report 6pm-7pm _ Kindergarten

16

18 19PA DAY

No school

20 21 22Pizza DayGrade 8 Grad PhotoUnderstanding your child’s report cardGrade 1 -8 6- 7pm

23Purple & Blue Day

25 26 27 28 29

Pizza Day

30Character Assembly