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The Trailblazer Monthly NewsletterDecember 2018

Message from the Administration

Welcome to the month of December! The weather has definitely turned cooler and we have had our first snowfalls of the season. A reminder to please ensure that your children are properly come to school dressed for the weather—this means boots/outdoor shoes, gloves, coats, snow pants, hats/toques and mittens. We appreciate your support with this!

Our previous month included many incredible activities and a great opportunity for our parents to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss their progress. We wanted to take the opportunity to thank Ms. Maricar and her team for putting together our Remembrance Day Ceremony this year. It was great to see some of our parents join us at our assembly. Our Grade 7 class also had the opportunity to visit the Ontario Science Centre to learn how to code, design and create their own robotic creation. It was a unique learning experience for our students. Another great learning opportunity for Military Trail students was the Grade 6 Outdoor Education trip to SOES Kearney. They departed with nervous anticipation and returned with many stories to tell.

This month will not disappoint. We are currently in the process of planning our Winter Concert, themed “Light Up The Night,” which will offer the support of Mr. Chavez who is training our students in Latin drumming. Mr. Chavez will be at Military Trail for a number of weeks to offer many of our students the opportunity to try a new instrument. December also will see many initiatives continuing, such as, The Military Trail Boys’ and Girls’ Club Mentorship program, Playground PAL and soon to come Intramurals. Also, our WE club and ECO club continue to provide our students with education in the area of environmental concerns and mental health and wellness. On Wednesday December 5th, 2018 our students will participate in Mental Health and Wellness Day activities that promote healthy active lifestyles and wellness strategies that our students can carry with them into high school and beyond.

With our staff we are engaging in deliberate and focussed work to lead school improvement at Military Trail, both academically and socially. We appreciate your continued support as we work to making growing Military Trail into a school that we are all extremely proud of, and which supports our students to maximize their potential.

PA Day Friday Dec 7, 2018

Mr. Shaikh (Principal) and Mr. Lalonde (Vice Principal)

Upcoming Dates in

December: December 5th – Mental Health and Wellness Day

December 5th – Tea and Talk “Kids Have Stress Too” Parent Discussion series @ 9:00am in the Staff Room

December 7th – PA Day – No School for Students

December 17th – Winter Concert “Light Up The Night” @ 6pm

December 17th – MADD presentation for the grade 7 and 8’s

December 24th to January 4th – Holiday Break

Light Up The Night

The Military Trail Winter Concert will take place on Monday, December 17th at 6:00pm.  Light Up The Night, will feature repertoire that acknowledges various communities, cultures and religious beliefs from around the world.  The purpose of these performances is to encourage all members (both participants and the audience) to experience a sense of

community, peace, friendship and unity.  The concert will feature rhythms from around the world, and we are pleased to have Mr. Rodrigo Chavez with us.  Mr. Chavez, who is originally from South America, has studied music around the world and uses music as language to bring people together and to create a sense of healing for others.  Military Trail has enjoyed working with him in the past, and we are grateful to have him with us this school year as we prepare for our Winter Concert.  We invite all parents, friends, and community members to enjoy this experience on December 17th, 2018 at 6:00pm.

Weekly ActivitiesMonday:

Boys and Girls Club Mentoring Program @ 11:30am

Playground PALs @ AM recess

Tuesday:

Choir Practice @ 11:30am

Wednesday:

Playground PALs @ AM recess

Thursday:

Me to We @ 11:30am

Friday:

Playground PALs @ AM recess

Character Trait of the Month - EmpathyThe following students received this month’s Character Trait of the Month Certificate for Empathy.

Kindergarten/Primary Classes

Mrs. McGimpsey: Grace James, Syrai Walker-GittensMrs. Burton: Chase Free, Michael JacquardMrs. Figueroa: Emaan Popal, Sainthavi ThiruvarudselvanMrs. Majchzak: Ranim AL Zoubi, Avilon BhattaMrs. Hestick: Oumou Bah, Taleen Al KhateebMrs. Jacob:  Katelyn De Abrou, Latchiya BaskaranMrs. Theiv : Ibrahim Hassan, Srikkaar KMrs. Ghabour: Aroush, AliyaMrs. Maricar: Jayden Barrack, Helen HailuMr. Herbert: Alexander Chintaman, Theshan Ninthakaran               Mr. Murphy: Isac Ajakaye, Ayaan UsmanMs. Alexander: Siham Om Saed

Junior-Intermediate

Mrs. Storrod: Leora Leela Renu, Kaytheesvara KarunagtharanMs. Giza: Kerlon Bailey Shallow, Victoria KimMr. Deslandes: Tahnoun Chowdhury, Brianna LivingstoneMr. Sharma: Nevaeh Joudry, Sharujan ThiruvarudselvanMs.Dickie: Olivia Maxwell, Nabiha NoorMr. Johnson/ Ms. Nelson: Jaquan, NilancikaMs. Suthaparan ( french class): Isabella Angela IshmaelMs. Pellett: Yanique Smith, Adrien Sira      Ms. Khan: Ahmad Zanbouaa, Twaha AhmedMs. Jackman: Moaz Nema, Ilexiah ShillingfordMr. Gad: Hiba Mund, Nijat NijatMr. Johnston: Vanshik Patel, Nayab GullMr. Johnson: Gabbrielle PrendergastMs. Nelson’s French Class: Maram Al MohammadMs. Levy Music:  Brianna Livingstone

The character trait for the month of December is Kindness and Caring.

Military Trail Boys’ and Girls’ Club

New to our school this year is the implementation of Military Trail’s own Boys’ and Girls’ Club. This club provides our Grade 6, 7 and 8 students with leadership opportunities throughout the school. Our student leaders came up with a motto that represents their work in the school. These students have been trained in Mentorship and the Playground PAL program offered by Toronto Public Health. Some of our student leaders mentor

younger students in grades 1-3 and spend a lunch our every week building their relationships with their mentees. Some of our other students are providing and monitoring student playground games during recess to provide our students with a variety of fun games teaching sportsmanship and fair play. Coming soon, our student leaders will organize and implement an Intramural program that allows students to participate in a variety of games in the gym to earn points for their assigned team. We are very proud of the efforts of our student leaders and all the responsibilities they take on.

Big Brother, Big Sisters of Toronto (Go Girls Club)

For the past eight weeks, Military Trail had been granted to opportunity to have The Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Toronto offer the Go Girls- Healthy Body, Healthy Minds program to female intermediate students.  This was a great opportunity for students to participate in programming that focused on developing effective communication and leadership skills, hosted by community volunteers.  Students participated on a weekly basis in character building activities, which included self-esteem, developing positive group dynamics, exploring boundaries, and maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle.  These sessions were

beneficial in encouraging our female students to feel good about themselves and find meaningful ways to work through and overcome gender stereotypes. Military Trail hopes to continue to provide these meaningful experiences for our students through community programs.

Santa’s ShopIt is that time of year again! Santa Shop will take place on Wednesday, December 19th, 2018. As you may know, Santa Shop is an opportunity for students in Grades 1 to 3 to purchase gifts for their loved ones. The cost is $5.00. Sales go towards fundraising efforts for our Primary Division. We are looking forward another successful year.

Mrs. Figueroa and Mr. Murphy

Student Mental Health and Wellness Day

The MTPS Student Mental Health and Wellness Day will take place on Wednesday, December 5th, 2018. The Mental Health and Wellness Committee have planned an afternoon of engaging workshops for students across all grades. The focus of this day is to provide students will tools and strategies to deal with their feelings of stress and anxiety. The workshops will also encourage students to practice being mindful and will promote self-regulation.

In November, the Eco-Team conducted our first waste audit of the year where we sorted the waste in the lunchroom to see how well Military Trail students are sorting their waste from their lunches. The results showed that much of our waste was mixed up in the wrong bins! Our December campaign will be promoting putting waste in the right place and even better, packing a waste-free lunch by using reusable food and drink containers! The Eco-Team will be hosting a giveaway contest at the Winter Concert on Monday, December 17th, where 3 families have the opportunity to win a waste-free lunch kit! The first 100 families to arrive at the concert will receive a ticket to be entered into the draw! Hope to see you there!

CommunicationWe at Military Trail believe that consistent communication between the school and home is an important aspect of school life. We want to establish this communication to bring to you all the wonderful things that are happening at the school. We would eventually like to send our monthly newsletter and important dates for upcoming events to you through email to ensure you are well informed. If you would like to receive your communications through email in the future please complete and send the bottom portion of this form to the school and we can add it to our database.

Please cut off this portion and return to the school

Student Name________________________ Parent/Guardian Name ____________________

Teacher__________________ Email Address ______________________________________