Secord E.S. The Toronto District School Board

November 1, 2013

Principal: Lisa Moser 416-396-2450

Vice-Principal: Anastasia Poulis 416-396-2450

Superintendent: Vicky Branco 416-396-9196

Trustee: Sheila Cary-Meagher 416-395-8413

IMPORTANT DATES

November 6: Boys’ Literacy Workshops 1-3

and 6-8.

November 8: Newcomer Orientation 2:30 p.m.

in Room 206

November 11: Ward Council at Earl Beatty

7:00 p.m.

November 12: Reports go home

November 14: Picture re-takes

November 14: After school Parent-Teacher

Interviews

November 15: PA Day; Parent-Teacher

Interviews a.m.

November 18: Vision Screening

November 19: School Council 6:30 p.m.

November 27: Coffee, Tea, and Conversation

for parents in Room 112 1-3 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

November 29: Sharing Assembly a.m.

November 29: Movie Night

SPECIAL DAYS IN NOVEMBER

1 Samhain* (Wicca)

1‐5 Deepavali** (Hinduism)

3 Diwali** (Jain, Hinduism, and Sikhism)

4 Hijra – New Year** (Islam)

11 Remembrance Day (Canada)

12 Birth of Baha′u′llah* (Baha′i)

14 World Diabetes Day (WHO)

14 Ashura** (Islam)

16 Louis Riel Day (First Nations, Inuit, &

Métis)

17 Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib

(Sikhism)

17‐23 Bullying Awareness and Prevention

Week

20 Universal Children’s Day (UN)

20 International Transgender Day of

Remembrance

25 International Day for the Elimination of

Violence

Against Women (UN)

28‐Dec. 5 Hanukkah* (Judaism)

CHARACTER FOCUS FOR NOVEMBER The Character Focus for November is “Empathy”.

MOVIE NIGHT

Join the Secord Parent Council on Friday November

29th for a Movie Night. Enjoy a special pre-release

showing of "Despicable Me 2" before it is

available on DVD! There will be pizza (halal),

popcorn and drinks for sale. All proceeds

from Movie Night support school initiatives. Doors

open at 5:45 p.m. and the movie starts at 6:30

p.m.We hope to see you there!

LIBRARY HELPERS

Ms. Farrell has selected twenty-two grade 3-5

students for leadership positions at Secord as Library

Helpers. These students will be helping out in the

library once or twice a week at morning recess to

check in books, repair, re-shelf and other duties to

help make the Secord Library run more smoothly.

BOYS’ LITERACY WORKSHOP

We will be providing parents with an afternoon and

evening of learning about Boys’ Literacy. On

Wednesday, November 6th

from 1-3 p.m. in the

Library and again in the evening from 6 – 8 p.m. Ms.

Poulis will be leading these sessions along with Ms.

Carey.

NEWCOMER ORIENTATION

Ramanna Islam and Kelly Lee, our Settlement

Workers, together with our ESL teacher, Ms. May,

will be providing an information session for new

families to Canada. The focus of this session will be

an orientation to the Canadian education system,

report cards, and parent-teacher interviews.

November 8th

at 2:30 in room 206.

TDSB NEWCOMER MENTORING PROGRAM

We are pleased to be running the “Welcoming

Communities for TDSB Newcomer Youth and Kids

Program” again this year. New students to Canada

are matched with student leaders who serve as their

mentors. The group eats lunch together once a week

with the TDSB Host Facilitators and also participates

in an amazing table tennis program. Thanks to Ms.

May for helping to organize this program for Secord.

MUSIC THEATRE GLEE CLUB

This amazing club has started! The students meet

after school every Monday from 3:20 – 4:15. The

Musical Theatre Glee Club will work on scenes from

famous musicals such as Mary Poppins, Cats, Sound

of Music, Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, and

Annie. Students will also work on some pop songs.

Thanks to Ms. Spencer, Ms. MacFadyen and Ms. C.

Roberts, and our Ryerson Nursing student, Ryan, for

running this club!

ALLERGY ALERT

Parents, this is a reminder that we have many

students with life-threatening allergies to nuts.

Please do not send food containing any nuts or nut

products to school. Please do not send food for

birthdays as there may be students in the class or

vicinity with allergies. We thank you for your

support and cooperation in keeping our students safe

at school.

JUNIOR EXTENDED FRENCH PROCESS

All grade 3 students will be receiving application

packages for the Junior Extended French program

(JEF) grade 4 entry. The application process for JEF

is completely “on-line” opening on November 4th

and

closing on December 5th

. All on-time applicants will

be offered placement in the program. Further

information is available at:

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/ElementarySchool/SchoolChoi

ces/FrenchPrograms/ApplicationProcess/JuniorExten

dedFrench.aspx

SAFE AND POSITIVE SPACE

These are designated spaces in our school

(rooms 303 and 110) that are harassment-free

spaces which welcome, affirm and support all

people. “Positive Spaces” are inclusive

environments that challenge the patterns of

silence that may occur even in environments

with existing anti-discriminatory and inclusive

policies. The teachers who run these spaces are

members of our Caring and Safe Schools

Team. They play the role of a caring "block

parent" at our school and are a resource to staff

looking for ways to make classrooms more

inclusive, affirming and positive.

The Positive Spaces rooms in Secord affirm

and demonstrate commitment to the idea that

our school community is enriched and

enlivened by the diversity of each individual in

the school community, increase visibility and

contribute to the development of positive and

supportive people and spaces for all people,

increase awareness, affirmation and education

around healthy and safe relationships.

The Safe and Positive spaces at Secord are

open to all students who have questions about

safety (in all of its forms). There are resources

to browse and staff on hand to help answer

questions. The spaces are open from 11:15 –

11:40 in Room 110 and 3:15 – 4:00 in Room

303, Monday to Friday. Thank you to Ms. Van

Dyke and Ms. Carey for making this happen!

JUNIOR CHOIR

Junior Choir is for all grade 4 or 5 students

who love to sing or would like to improve their

singing voice and be part of a musical team.

The Choir will sing for Remembrance Day,

School Concerts and a Music Festival in the

spring.

Rehearsal days are Tuesday & Thursday, 11:40

- 12:00 in room 201.

Thanks to Mrs. Rowe for leading the choir!

banner will hang outside the

office.

MODEL SCHOOLS FOR INNER

CITIES

The Model Schools for Inner Cities

Program continues to partner with schools

to build student success and address

opportunity gaps in schools. Here are some

of the initiatives that are returning this year:

Innovative Teaching and Learning

This year, we continue our partnership with

the Ontario Science Centre. Students from

Model Schools will take part in programs

that present exciting and engaging ways of

learning science and technology. Students

also have the opportunity to make

connections between curriculum and the

larger world through learning activities that

build skills necessary for the 21st century

learning.

Support Services to Meet the Physical,

Social and Emotional Needs of Students

Hearing and Vision clinics are once again

offered in all Model Schools. Screening is

offered to all students who are new to the

country and students requiring immediate

attention. There are also free follow-up

services that follow.

School as the Heart of the Community

The Cluster Parent Academy provides an

opportunity for parents to collaborate with

other parents, educators, and community

members. During monthly Cluster Parent

Academy committee meetings, best

practices are shared and community

partnerships are strengthened in order to

increase accessibility to the latest research

in education for parents. Cluster Parent

Academy committee members take their

learning and relevant information to share

with their Parent Councils, parent body and

community members within their Model

School.

Model Schools will continue its

commitment to student success through

equity, inclusiveness and high expectations

throughout the 2013 – 2014 school year.

PALS: PLAYGROUND ACTIVITY LEADERS

Ms. Whitley and Mr. Kuuter have selected fifteen

students based on Secord Leader applications. They will

be trained by the public health nurse on school-yard

games and problem solving. They will be scheduled at

recess and lunch recess to run activities for children on

the yard.

PARENT ENGAGEMENT NEWS

Starting on November 27th

, we will be hosting a weekly

event on Wednesdays: “Coffee, Tea, and Conversation”

to be held in Room 112 at 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Our Community Partners will be hosting each week.

Community Settlement Worker: Duane Spencer

Public Health Nurse: Angela Anderson

Settlement Worker: Kelly Lee

The first topic for our Coffee, Tea, and Conversation on

November 27th

will be “How to Dress Your Child for

Winter”. On December 4th

, the topic will be “Setting Up

Routines.” The workshops will be repeated on the same

day in the evening at 6:00 p.m. Child-minding will be

provided.

SCHOOL-WIDE LICE CHECK

On Tuesday, November 5th

, we will be conducting a

school-wide lice check with the support of our Health

and Safety Nurse and our Ryerson student nurses. All

students will be checked for signs of nits or lice. Parent

information letters have been sent home with students.

VISION SCREENING

On Monday, November 18th

, all grade 5 students and all

newcomer students will have their vision screened in

Room 112 as part of the “Gift of Sight and Sound”

program through Model Schools for Inner Cities.

Information letters have been sent home with those

students who will be screened.