YOU CAN FIND

THE FULL THORNDALE NEWSLETTER ON OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE

Thinking. Learning. Creating.

Thorndale School Hours

Morning Entry: 9:00 a.m. Nutrition Break 1: 11:00 a.m. K Nutrition Break 1: 11:40 a.m. Nutrition Break 2: 1:20 p.m. K Nutrition Break 2: 2:00 p.m. Afternoon Dismissal: 3:20 p.m.

March 2014

Principal: Ms. L. Adams Thorndale Public School Vice Principal: Mrs. R. Tulsi 133 Thorndale Rd., Brampton, L6P 1K5 Superintendent: Mrs. P. Daws Phone: 905-913-1490 Trustee: Ms. H. Malhi Phone: 905-913-0429 (Attendance Line)

HTTP://SCHOOLS.PEELSCHOOLS.ORG/1440

Olympics

Thorndale kicked off their Olympic Games with a jaw dropping opening ceremonies that united students and teachers to compete for their teams over the next two weeks. Emotions ran high as students sang their team cheers and watched as the Olympic cauldron was lit to kick off the games. Over the last two weeks the Red, Yellow, Blue, Black, and Green teams have been competing in a variety of Olympic style events to earn points for their teams. These events included Curling, Hockey, Skating, Slalom Skiing, Biathlon, Skeleton, Freestyle Skiing, and Ski Jumping.

Volleyball

Over the past two months, the grade 4 and 5 boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams practised hard for a chance to test their volleyball skills against other Brampton schools at Walnut Grove Public School on Friday February 14th, 2014. Both teams represented Thorndale well by displaying sportsmanship, a positive attitude, and a great effort. We would like to congratulate the Thorndale Volleyball teams and wish them luck at their next tournament in March. Go Thorndale!

March Character Attribute Inclusion

“Inclusion is a sense of belonging, about feeling respected, valued for who you are” - Buyie Masuku

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

2 3

4 Silver Birch Tapping

5 Pizza Day

6 Kindergarten & Grade 1 concert

7 Ministry Day

No School

8

9 10 Spring Break

11 Spring Break

12 Spring Break

13 Spring Break

14 Spring Break

15

16 17 Back to school St. Patrick’s Day

18 19 Pizza Day Family Literacy Program March 19 - May 14 6:00-8:00 pm

20 Academic Awards Assembly Chai & Chat 5:30 – 6:30 pm

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22

23 24

25

26 Pizza Day

27

28

29

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31

Thinking. Learning. Creating.

MARCH

2014 CALENDAR

THINGS TO DO THIS MONTH:

KISS AND RIDE DO PULL UP TO THE CURB

MOVE UP AS CLOSE TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE AS POSSIBLE

STAY IN YOUR CAR

HAVE CHILDREN ENTER AND EXIT THE CAR FROM THE CURB-SIDE DOOR

LEAVE AS SOON AS YOUR CHILD HAS ENTERED/EXITED THE CAR

FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF THE SUPERVISING SCHOOL STAFF

THROUGHLY CHECK FOR ON-COMING TRAFFIC/PEDESTRIANS BEFORE PULLING OUT

KEEP YOUR CHILD’S SEATBELT ON UNTIL THE CAR COMES TO A COMPLETE STOP

ALLOW THE WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE BUS THE RIGHT OF WAY

DON’T

LEAVE YOUR CAR

LEAVE LARGE GAPS BETWEEN CARS

BLOCK THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC

DOUBLE PARK

HAVE YOUR CHILDREN WALK INTO THE LANE OF MOVING TRAFFIC

DRIVE THROUGH THE BUS LANES

Scientists in School

On February 7th the grade 5 students had “Scientists in School” in their classes. The students had fun as they learned. Here is what the students of 5AN have to say: “ We learned about forces in structures. The presenters first told us about compression and tension. We also had a group challenge. The challenge was to make a structure with newspapers and masking tape that could hold the grade 5 Math text books. All the groups had great structures. When we were done we presented and tested how many books each structure could hold. We had fun and learned by experimenting. It was great fun as we worked together in groups.” Way to go Grade Fives!

Grade 2 Science Fair

As a culminating activity for the Animal Growth and Characteristics Unit in Grade Two, the students from 2JA, 2MB and 2MP hosted a Science Fair in their portables during the week of February 3rd. The students had completed an open-faced cube diorama about a specific animal that they chose to learn more about. The students used their Art skills to create a realistic 3D model of their animal out of plasticine and created a background using information that they learned about their animal's habitat. The students worked very hard to learn about their animals and because of this, they were able to answer questions and have detailed conversations with the visitors about what they learned. Students from Kindergarten all the way to Grade Four visited the Science Fair and were very impressed what they saw.

Please be advised that during the winter months, inclement weather may cause disruption of bus transportation and regular school operations. A decision to cancel school transportation and/or to close schools is usually made by 6:00 am and will be announced on the radio and television stations identified below. Please forward this information to your school community. Thank you. VIRGIN RADIO FM99.9 CHUM AM1050 CJCL AM590 CJBC (FR) AM860 CHFI FM98.1 EZ ROCK FM97.3 CFTR AM680 CFRB AM1010 FM Z103.5 FM93.1 CFNY FM102.1/AM640 CHIN FM100.7/AM1540 CBC FM99.1 CBC99.1 CITYPULSE GLOBAL NEWS CTV

Listen Up, Thorndale! Book Fair Provides 40 Brand-New Headsets to

Make Learning in the Lab More Accessible! Thorndale’s computer lab is a busy place where a wide variety of learning experiences take place every day. Some of these learning experiences include programs that feature audio components. This can be a rather noisy and distracting challenge when students use these programs at the same time. Thanks to credit raised through Thorndale’s Scholastic Book Fairs, each computer in the lab now has its own headset. When families, students, and staff make purchases from the fair, the school earns credit. With such generous support of our book fairs, the library used $1000 of this credit to provide high-quality headsets for students to access

Chai and Chat at Thorndale Hello Parents! Thank you for making Thorndale’s first “Chai and Chat” evening a success in November. We enjoyed meeting you and valued your suggestions. Thorndale would like to welcome you to another evening of “Chai and Chat.” We have planned an

exciting evening for you on March 20th, 5:30—6:30 pm. We would like to extend this

invitation to all grandparents, uncles and aunts.

Looking forward to seeing you on March 20th at 5:30 pm evening.

Book Fair Success!

Thank you, Thorndale Community, for supporting our Winter Book Fair 2014!

Thanks to the support of our school community, Thorndale has earned approximately $3100 in credit from this Book Fair and will be able to use this credit for books and learning resources.

Conference helps parents 'make a difference in literacy and beyond'

Make a difference in literacy and beyond – practical ways parents can boost learning is on Saturday, March 29, 2014 at Mississauga Secondary School in Mississauga. This free learning event is open to Peel parents of students at all grade levels. Choose from more than 40 practical workshops designed to help you help your child succeed in school purchase educational materials from exhibitors receive a free lunch, giveaways and more.

Registration closes March 7, 2014 Stay up-to-date! Conference and registration information is available in the "Parents" section of www.peelschools.org/parents/literacyconference/ Event sponsors include:

March 7th, 2014, is an unpaid day for all permanent teaching staff There is no school on this day

As you know from our school year calendar, March 7th, 2014, is a Ministry Designated Day. Students will not be at school on this day. Traditionally, school staff participate in professional learning activities on these days. However, the Ministry of Education has designated March 7th as an unpaid day for some staff and a professional development day for others. Based on new provincial legislation, permanent teachers, both elementary and secondary, will take March 7th as an unpaid day and are not required to be at work on that day. March 7th is a regular, paid work day for all other Peel board staff members and many will participate in professional learning offered through the board on this day. In some cases, principals and vice-principals will choose to take this day as an unpaid day and will also not be present in their schools. In other cases, administrators will choose to take an unpaid day at another time and will be at school on March 7th.

2014 March Break Maple Syrup Days at the Jack Smythe Field Centre

Open House March 12 - 15 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Enjoy the beauty and wonder of nature as Spring blossoms. Jack Smythe Field Centre offers an exceptional family experience with a visit to its Maple Syrup Bush. Join in on an authentic Canadian tradition. For a number of years the Peel Field Centres have invited the public for an awe-inspiring visit to our outstanding Maple Sugar Bush during the March Break. Individuals and families are invited to get involved as Spring comes to life. Help empty sap buckets, tap trees or sample some freshly made maple syrup as we celebrate the new syrup season. Take a hike along our tranquil trails and feed the friendly chickadees by hand. A teepee and early settler site will also be set up to show how syrup was collected and produced in centuries past. Use pioneer tools or listen to an Aboriginal tale around the campfires. No visit would be complete without a trip to the sugar shack where the sap is boiling and clouds of sweet smelling steam billow out of the chimney. Learn how modern day syrup operations are conducted with an industrial evaporator and tap line system. Have a taste of the freshly made syrup. It's going to be sweet! The cost is $5.00/adult and $4.00/child 12 and under. Lunch will be available for purchase. It will include: hot chocolate, cookies and hotdogs for you to roast over an open fire. Please note that all payments are “cash” only. For more information, please contact the Jack Smythe Field Centre at 1-905-877-7771. Directions to Jack Smythe Field Centre, 14592 Winston Churchill Blvd., Terra Cotta: North on Mississauga Rd, Left on King Street (You will see Credit View P.S. on your left), Right on Winston Churchill Blvd (You will pass the Terra Cotta Conservation Area on your left) to the top of the hill and left into the Jack Smythe site.

Our Report to the Community

Everything we do is designed to help students learn and do well in school. To support this, Thorndale P.S. has developed a school success plan to help students achieve to the best of their ability. This Report to the Community communicates our progress and helps us celebrate our many successes with our learning community. The report, including EQAO and report card data, is available under the ‘About Us’ section of our school website. You can also visit www.reportcardforstudentsuccess.org to learn about the strategic plan for the Peel board as a whole.

Peel board receives donation of 250 defibrillators to place in all schools and worksites Thanks to a gracious donation from The Mikey Network, all Peel board schools and worksites will soon be equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)—a medical device used to treat individuals experiencing cardiac arrest. The initiative began in January 2014 and is expected to be completed by December 2016. Approximately seven defibrillators will be placed in Peel board buildings each month, for a total of 250 new defibrillators.