Lindsay Borden - Principal May & June, 2019 Hripsik Sarkissian - Vice Principal Edition 5

Dear Parents,

Park Lane

Public School 60 Park Lane Circle, M3C 2N2

http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/parklane

Dates to Remember:

June 27th – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

September

October

This June, we have seen such an improvement in the

students. After a long weekend, the students are smiling

and having a good time as we prepare for summer. Below

are pictures, taken this week, of the students

enjoying some time outdoors during their last week of

school.

We want to wish our graduating students, Daniel,

Muhammed, Stephanie, and Anthony all the best

and extend an invitation to return and visit any time.

As for the rest of our students, we hope they have a

great summer and look forward to seeing everyone

again on September 3rd.

Parents and Guardians,

I have really enjoyed my first year at Park Lane Public

School. Again, I can’t thank you enough for

welcoming me into the Park Lane family. I have seen a

dedication by the families and staff at Park Lane

Public School that I haven’t seen elsewhere. I was

fortunate to be able to accompany some of the

students on various field trips like Cross Country, Track

and Field, Forest Valley, and Swimming and have

enjoyed working with your children each and every

day.

This year, we started working with the students on

communication skills (making choices or initiating

requests using switches, eye gazing, PECs, or iPads). At

the beginning of the year, 50% of our students were

using some system for communication. At the end of

the year, 78% of the students are using a

communication system. Next Year, we will continue to

encourage communication throughout the students’

school day.

Principal’s Corner

(Dave J.)

On June 12th we had a special opportunity to recognize those students who made up Park Lane’s 2019

graduates. It was a day for families to come first and see their children honoured for their efforts and hard

work over the years.

It was also a day when we could reminisce of all the good times and experiences we’ve shared, as well as

remember and be proud of all the accomplishments of our graduates’ days at Park Lane.

With Trustee Rachel Chernos Lin, Superintendent Andrew Howard and Michael Fontein representing the

office of MP Rob Oliphant on hand to celebrate with us, the ceremony was truly a special one. Once again,

congratulations to our grads and all the best in future!

OUR TEAM IS HARD WORKING

OUR TEAM IS FUN TO WORK WITH

OUR TEAM IS CARING

OUR TEAM IS FULL OF FUN

OUR TEAM IS ONE FOR ALL

OUR TEAM IS # 1!

Room 9 Room 10

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 our school staff joined The Autism Walk. Jonita raised money for that event and was at the

walk. At Park Lane, on April 5th, room 10 hosted and celebrated Autism Awareness by wearing Blue clothing to

promote the event.

We all gathered in the gym in the afternoon and had some activities for the students.

Mrs. Schakolo one of our parents is very involved in this event. Year after year she comes to our school to celebrate

this special day with us. She also brought in a homemade delicious cake and other treats for our students and staff.

Mrs. Schakolo shared a story with the school about how she is supporting children with Autism in her Country of

Tajikistan by setting up a coffee shop for them to gain independence.

Every year, our school registers as a participant in Walk Now for Autism Speaks Canada. For more information,

please visit their website at www.autismspeak.ca. Please consider joining us next year!

A place where all are welcome and we work to do

what we can to ensure everyone has a positive

experience.

Favourite Activities: 1) Circle time - Our students gather together every

morning and start the day with circle time. It is an

engaging and educational 30 minutes that everyone

looks forward to!

2) Time outside - We spend time outside all year round.

Our room enjoys being outside in all weather!

3) Swimming - Our class loves our time in the water!

(Jonita

E.)

Room 9

`

(Gloria G.)

MAY 6th @ 1:00pm Launched in 2005 by The Coalition for Music

Education, Music Monday (celebrated annually on the first Monday of May) is the world’s largest single event

dedicated to raising awareness of music education.

Music Monday is a series of concerts performed in school music programs. The students and staff at Park Lane

are proud to have been part of this event since its inception, 15 years ago!

What makes Music Monday so amazing is that students from across Canada, from British Columbia to

Newfoundland, sing or play the theme song on the same day, at the exact same time! The idea is that we are

all united by one piece of music!

This year’s Music Monday song, composed by Canadian jazz

pianist, Oscar Peterson, was “Hymn to Freedom.” The lyrics

were written by Harriette Hamilton, who explained, “The

lyrics express the hope for Unity, Peace and Dignity for

mankind.

Bedford Park students opened our program, singing the

Music Monday song, “Hymn to Freedom.” Park Lane students

were then divided into three musical groups, playing

different percussion instruments, with a combination of

various rhythms. This was followed by staff translations in

Tagalog, French, Mandarin, Farsi, and Hebrew.

What a wonderful music event, shared among students from

Bedford Park & Park Lane! United by music, we succeeded

to demonstrate the vital role that music education plays in

the lives of us all!

On June 6th, both staff and students enjoyed a day in the sun. We experimented with differnet soaps to see which

makes the best bubbles. We cooled down with maiking our own icecream and even had some fun with friendly

animals stopping by. The playground was a place to have a game of golf and frisbee while others may have tried

their hand at creating a wall hanging and kitchen tool. The water sprinkler was a great way to cool off before

going home.

(Paula M.)

What better way to celebrate Jewish Heritage Month than with storytelling, a

musical concert and folk dancing!

On Friday morning, May 24th, Park Lane students gathered in the gym to be part

of an interactive story called, “Something from Nothing.” The staff performed the

speaking parts while students assisted in the telling, using various percussion

instruments. There were chimes, triangles, drums, bells, tambourines, xylophones,

rainsticks, stir xylophones, wood blocks, cabasas, ocean drums, hanging cymbals

and a vibraslap!

There were 3 students who had “solo” parts: Allan played the part of the

grandson - he was able to say several phrases and sing a repetitive musical verse.

Daniel was given the task of carrying a placard that had a message to be read

throughout the story – and it happened 5 times! Dylan ensured that the story was

“officially over” by carrying a placard, with staff assistance, that read, The End!

Student artwork was displayed on the wall, to accompany the story. Staff and

students had completed it earlier in the week, in preparation for the storytelling.

In the afternoon, there was a musical concert with popular Jewish folk tunes, in

Hebrew, Yiddish, and English, with our very own Sharon (itinerant music teacher).

She was accompanied by Jordan Klapman, her keyboard player. The program

ended with two dances: a traditional circle folk dance, adapted for students in

wheelchairs and line dance about Peace, danced by the staff.

In my opinion, there is nothing more enjoyable than learning about one’s culture

“through the Arts!”

May is Asian Heritage Month. With that in mind the Asian Heritage Committee at Park Lane organized school wide

activities to acknowledge and recognize the history, traditions and cultures of our from Asia or of Asian descent. It is

an occasion to recognize and celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Asian Canadians to

Canada and to acknowledge and enjoy the various Asian cultures.

Every year, the Asian heritage committee organizes activities that highlight the Asian culture, traditions, music, and

food. We use this time to celebrate diversity and equity. This year, students learned about Asian food, sports and

had a little bit of fun with the Bollywood music and dance. Each classroom also prepared a poster that reflects one

of the staff and students’ cultural backgrounds. The focus of the poster design was: “Our stories. Our voices. Our

Journey.”

The celebration began on Monday, May 27th in the gym with an introduction of the Asian contribution to Canadian

history and other activities that reflected the culture and traditions of various parts of Asia. The activities took place

in the morning and afternoon. The classes were divided into groups and were given various cooking activities, for

example, Rooms 1 and 7, made a Mango Lassi that represents Pakistan, Rooms 2 and 10, cooked fried rice to

represent China, Rooms 3 and 4, made a Cassava cake to represent Philippines, Rooms 5 and 6 made Dosa to

represent Sri Lanka and Rooms 8 and 9 made Pakora to represent India.

Staff and students also had dance performances with Bollywood music. Our Park Lane staff were amazing;

especially those who came up to present a group dance performance. Those performances created a very happy

and fulfilled environment. The staff and students cheered the dancers.

In the afternoon, Park Lane staff and students played an Indian traditional game Kabaddi. The staff and students

were very excited to play the game. They displayed very competitive demeanors. We played two rounds…the first

round was for the students which was modified and the second round was for the Park Lane Staff. Altogether,

Parklaners learned so much about Asian culture and tradition.

All students and staff from Park Lane

created an interactive visual gallery that

describes what Park Lane does to remain

Eco-friendly. All classes did an amazing job

with their posters! Some examples on these

posters include the use of mounted visuals

and tactile objects that relate to

gardening, turning off the lights, using cloth

bags instead of plastics, recycling properly,

waste free lunches and many more. Visuals

of students working have been

included with small descriptions of their

topics for further educational purposes.

In addition to our interactive visual gallery,

Park Lane has undergone a recycling

collection of dried out markers, pens, and

highlighters to have them properly

recycled at Staples. Our Experiential Team

of students were able to go from class to

class to collect these recyclable writing

instruments.

(Irene)

We have had an Integration Program with Grade 5 students from

Bedford Park School over the past 8 years.

The students arrive by TTC and spend an hour with Park Lane

students for 8 consecutive weeks. We host 3 Bedford Park classes,

one per term.

The rationale is to learn to communicate with one another and

develop a relationship, when participating in a variety of school

activities. We had 5 classroom teachers involved and each

teacher chose the activity for that particular week. Bedford Park

students had the opportunity to engage in art, paper making,

cooking, music, parachute play, dance, bowling, nature walks,

among others.

What a wonderful opportunity for the Bedford Park students to

share educational and recreational experiences with Park Lane

students! And it’s a terrific way to make a friend!

Here are some comments that the Bedford Park students shared

with us, to explain their experience at Park Lane School:

“You have taught me a lot of things about how everyone is

different and about equality.”

“I learned that even with disabilities, we are all the same but we

have different ways of communicating.”

“I learned that there are kids with disabilities but they still have the

same feelings.”

“I learned that no matter how you look, talk and see we are all

equal and should be treated equally.”

“Our time with you was awesome!”

“It was an amazing experience and I hope to come volunteer

when I’m older.”

(Gloria

G.)