March 2015

Importance of 5 minutes One of our goals is for each class/student to start instruction as close to 8:05 am as possible. In order for this to be successful, we need to have students at school by this time. If students miss 5 minutes of instruction each day because of late arrivals that adds up to 900 minutes of instructional time in a year or 15 hours of class time. 5 minutes can make a difference. Please help to ensure that students are at school by 8:05 am. Supervision starts at 7:50 am. There are few cars in the drop-off area from 7:50 am to 7:55 am. Thanks for your support.

York Region District School Board Student Surveys In order to provide information for Board and School planning, York Region District School Board students in Grades 5 to 12 will be invited to participate in a school survey. The survey, which is anonymous and confidential, will be conducted from April 7 to May 15, 2015 and will take place at school. The information from this survey will be used to identify areas to be addressed, monitor progress and plan strategies to support student achievement and well-being. Aligned with Board priorities, the survey will address topics including equity and inclusion, school safety, learning environment, student well-being and other priorities. If you have questions, please contact the school office.

York Region District School Board School Climate Survey for Parents Key Findings

In May and June 2014, parents were invited to complete a questionnaire to collect per-ception data about their child’s school environment and learning. The survey addressed topics including equity and inclusion, school safety, learning environment, student well-being and parent engagement. More than 14,000 parents participated in the survey. Overall, parents tended to have positive perceptions of school safety, the learning envi-ronment at their child’s school, and reported that the school environment was welcoming, equitable and inclusive. Parent responses indicated some areas for attention, specifically in areas related to parent engagement, the provision of information related to mental health supports and community agencies and services, and the steps taken by the school to prevent and address bullying. Thank you to all who participated. Information gathered from this survey will support school and Board planning processes.

YRDSB app is available in the app store!

SCHOOL COUNCIL CORNER

We are looking for volunteers to assist with the following School Council initiatives: Staff Appreciation Luncheon—Wednesday, April 22nd Much Music Video Dance—Thursday, June 4th Fitness Day—Tuesday, June 23rd (rain date is Wednesday, June 24th)

Please contact schoolcouncil.samchapmanps@gmail.com if you can help out. We really appreciate it!

Carnaval came to Sam Chapman P.S. the week of February 23rd! It couldn’t happen without the enthusiastic efforts of our won-derful parent volunteers (who made hot chocolate and pancakes for all the stu-dents), School Council and our staff. Indoor games took place due to the cold but it didn’t stop the fun! Some grade 1 students were overheard singing some of the songs after the events! It was a wonderful cultural ex-perience for the students to be immersed in. Special thanks go to Mr. Knoll & Mme Cross for organizing this week-long event and to Eggsmart at 5990 16th Ave (at Markham Rd.) for generously donating the pancake batter!

Happy Nutrition Month! Children spend more time at school than anywhere else. It’s very important that we ensure they’re getting the right amounts of the right vitamins and minerals to ensure they have enough energy throughout the day.

Information © Dairy Farmers of Canada. For more information about Nutrition Month: www.dietitians.ca/nutritionmonth www.nutritionmonth.ca Stay warm and stay healthy! - Your student nurse at Sam Chapman

Students in Grades 4 through 8 are being given a unique opportunity to participate in a Math contest thanks to the support of School Council funds.

The Mathematica Centrum Contest will be held on Wednesday April 15, 2015. This test has been taken by more than one million students over the past 26 years. For each contest, the students scor-

ing over the national average will receive certificates of distinction, while all other stu-dents will receive certificates of participation. A medal (or medals) will be awarded to the champion(s) of each school. National plaques will be awarded to schools ranked in the first, second, and third places in Canada. Provincial plaques will be awarded to school provincial champions. Students who rank in the first, second, and third place in Canada will receive a medal resembling the Fields medal (the medal awarded to the greatest mathematicians in the world) that will have the student's name inscribed on the back. Provincial champions will receive the same medal. Furthermore, each student par-ticipating in the Pythagoras, Euler and Lagrange contests who gets a perfect score will receive a US$250 merit scholarship to attend the international MathPath camp. As well, both national and provincial honour rolls for the best students and schools will be pub-lished online in June. Teachers will administer the test on April 15th, 2015 and will collect all responses. All response forms are corrected at the Centre. The confidential results of students, along with certificates and medals, will be mailed to the schools by the end of May. Plaques will be mailed by mid June.

Parents can start preparing their child/children for the contests by accessing the link be-low. Free Preparatory tests and Detailed solutions for 2007 to 2014 are currently avail-able for public access. http://mathematica.ca/eng/preparatory.htm

How can I help my child in math?

A simple hands-on guide from the Ontario Ministry of Education for parents of K to grade 6.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/parentGuideNumEn.pdf

School Bus Cancellation Notice

To ensure the safety of students, school bus service may be cancelled due to inclement weather, extreme temperatures and/or poor road conditions. In these cases, parents and students should develop alternate care/transportation arrangements. Since some busing schedules begin by 7:00 am, cancellation decisions must be made by 6:00am to allow time to communicate this message to bus drivers. Cancellation decisions will only be made af-ter thorough consultation with the Safety Officers of school bus companies servicing York Region and are based on several factors including precipitation, air temperature, road conditions and weather forecast.

Please note the following;

A decision to cancel school bus service will be region-wide meaning all school buses, vans and taxis will not operate.

When bus service is cancelled all school tests and/or examinations will be cancelled and resched-uled.

Student trips involving the use of school buses will also be cancelled. School bus routes may be cancelled when severe weather may not be affecting all municipalities in

York Region. Both the YRDSB and YCDSB operate many regional educational programs. Students at-tending these programs are transported over large attendance areas encompassing several municipal boundaries. This limits the ability to cancel bus service using a municipality or zone methodology.

Unless otherwise stated, schools will remain open and parents can make arrangements to transport their children to and from school even if school bus service is cancelled. If buses are cancelled in the morn-ing, they will not operate in the afternoon. Therefore students transported to school by parents will require the same transportation home.

Parents, students and school staff are asked to access the fol-lowing radio and television stations after 6:00 a.m. to receive bus cancellation information: (Please do not call the school to enquire about buses but

please DO call the school to let us know if your child won’t be attending)

A bus cancellation message will also be available at www.schoolbuscity.com and by calling 1-877-330-3001, or by following the YRDSB and YCDSB on twitter.

RADIO

590 AM 640 AM 680 AM 860 AM 1010 AM 1050 AM 1540 AM 1580 AM 88.5 FM 89.9 FM 92.5 FM 93.1 FM 94.9 FM 95.9 FM 97.3 FM 98.1 FM 99.1 FM 99.9 FM 101.1 FM 102.1 FM 104.5 FM 100.7 FM 107.1 FM

TELEVISION CITY TV CTV Barrie

CTV Toronto

CP24 GLOBAL NEWS

STAYING INDOORS WHILE ILL Students who are ill should stay home until they are well enough to participate in all school activities. This includes recess, physical education and outdoor activities. There is no supervision available for stu-dents to stay inside during recess because they are not feeling well. Please see YRDSB’s Guide to the School Year for fur-ther details.

APPROPRIATE OUTDOOR WEAR

Please be sure that your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor activi-ties. Please send an extra pair of pants, mitts and socks in case children be-come too wet from outdoor play. Please

be sure to mark all clothing with your child’s name. Our lost and found boxes are located just down the hall from the main office. Please feel free to come and look through these boxes for missing items.

SAFE ARRIVAL PROGRAM

Through a directive from the Ministry of Education and Training, all School Boards

are to implement a safe arrival program in their schools. The York Region District

School Board has been working very closely with the York Regional Police to ensure

the safety of our students.

The safe arrival program at Sam Chapman P.S. depends on parents to notify the

office in the event of their child’s late arrival or absence. All parents and guardians

are reminded to please call the school (905) 472-8374 and leave a message if your

child is going to be absent or late. Please leave your child’s name (spell if helpful),

teacher’s name and the reason for the absence. This phone operates 24 hours a day so

please call the moment you know that your child will be absent or late.

If a student is not in school and the school office has not received notification from

the parents, the school will take the following steps:

Step One: Call the student’s home. If there is no answer the school will,

Step Two: Call the parents at work and cell phone. If there is no response the school will,

Step Three: Call the emergency contact person. If the contact person cannot be reached and/or

does not know where the student is then

Step Four:

The school will notify the York Regional Police that a child is missing and they

will investigate.

Student Absence—Please call the Office ASAP (24hr answering machine)

for every student absence and/or late.

905-472-8374

STUDENT SAFETY IS OUR #1 PRIORITY

STUDENT DROP OFF & PICK UP:

We encourage all of our students to walk to school where possible or take the bus to and from

school where eligible. We have approximately 10 buses that come into and go out of the school

every day. It is critical that we follow the procedures outlined below to avoid putting students

in danger.

KISS and RIDE:

We ask those parents who drive their children to drop them off on Alfred Paterson Drive (‘Kiss

and Ride’) where we will have a teacher on duty from 7:50am - 8:05am who will direct the stu-

dents to the safe area behind the school. We only allow children to exit the vehicles from the

right-hand lane, beside the curb. Exiting on the driver side of the vehicle potentially puts them in

harms way with passing traffic. The left lane is only used once your child has entered or exited

the vehicle and you are ready to drive away. Please have students ready to exit the car on their

own with their bags. When you enter the Kiss and Ride lane, please pull your vehicle up as far as

possible to allow for other vehicles to enter. There is absolutely NO PARKING in the Kiss and

Ride lane. If you need to walk your child into school then please park on the street. Please do not

drop your child off on Delray Drive as it is not supervised.

STAFF PARKING LOT:

Please do not enter the staff parking lot until after 8:05 am.

BUS LOOP:

Please note the bus loop is for buses ONLY (no cars may enter)

TEACHER SUPERVISION:

Teacher supervision is available outside in the morning from 7:50am—8:05am There is also school

bus supervision from 2:35pm—2:50pm. Please do not drop off your child prior to 7:50am as

there is no supervision. If you are picking up your child after school, please be here by 2:35pm. It

is also important to be at your child’s bus stop early. If an emergency happens, please inform us

and we will have your child wait for you in the office. Please make sure that the office is notified

of any last minute changes in your child’s pick- up routine. On rainy days, students enter the

school from the rear entrance and wait in their designated hallway.

If you require any information on bussing, please visit the website at www.schoolbuscity.com

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our children safe!

EXTRA CLOTHES PLEASE!

Please send your child to school

with an EXTRA SET of season appro-

priate clothing (pants, tops, socks, shoes,

etc) As the season changes, the weather

can be wet and we often have students

who slip or fall into mud or puddles and

require a change of clothes.

BIRTHDAYS!

A birthday is a special event. At Sam Chapman P.S. we

announce all birthdays over the PA during morning announcements. As

many of our students have severe food allergies, intolerances and

dietary restrictions we ask that you do not send in any food with

your child. Also, in an effort to eliminate any issues of inequity, we

ask that you do not send in any loot bags or gifts for the class.

Instead, we would like to suggest that you donate a French book to

the classroom library so that all children may enjoy the gift. We will

label the book with your child’s name and it will remain in the class for

all to enjoy!!

Thank you!

Sam Chapman’s Milk Bag Project

Sam Chapman’s Milk Bag Project is a story of how

people come together to create something beautiful from common milk

bags. Please collect your exterior milk bags and send them to school

with your child. We will collect them all and bring them to a recycling

depot where they will be woven into mats for use in impoverished areas.

We reduce waste by keeping the plastic out of landfills and help those in

need. A win/win!

Now that’s what being a Chapman Champion is all about!!

If your child forgets their lunch, homework,

shoes, etc. please put a note on the item with

your child’s name on it and leave the item on

the table outside the Office. We are not able

to interrupt the class to let them know you

have brought these things in for them. All stu-

dents should know to check this table for forgotten items.

Please remind them of this procedure.

Your cooperation is appreciated!

Student Medications

Please remember that students are NOT

allowed to administer their own medication (pills, asthma in-

halers, cough syrup, etc)

This precaution is there to avoid the medicine getting into the

hands of another child.

Please bring any medication to the office and complete the

required form allowing us to track and administer as required.

STAFF LIST 2014 - 2015

Grade Level Teacher Room Voicemail

1A Dhunna, Daisy 105 1058

1B McDonough, Erika 106 1068

1C Mouannes, Julie 103 1038

1D Pletsch, Stefanie 113 1138

1E Renton, Tanya 104 1048

1F Sinevici, Anca 108 1088

1G Ah Teck, Jean Claude 112 1128

2A Chu, Jennifer 202 2028

2B Nicholson, Nancy 217 2178

2C Brabender, Trista 220 2208

2D Kaba, Khadija 203 2038

2E Bucci, Paola 216 2168

2F Martial, Katherine 221 2218

2G Larocque, Claudette 218 2188

3A Cere-Williams, Karine 110 1108

3B El-Geries, Wassim 213 2138

3C Demers, Andrea 212 2128

3D Rankine, Nicole 219 2198

3E Saunders, Caroline 109 1098

4A Lam, Derek P6 326

4B Lam, Gillian P5 325

4C Gonsalves, Neeta P4 324

5A Knoll, Michael P1 321

5B Langdon, Stephanie P2 322

5C Rahman, Samena P3 323

6A Argento, Silvana 209 2098

6B Jonker, Tanya 211 2118

7A Hoekstra, Hajnalka 208 2088

7B Johnson, Karen 207 2078

8A Hung, David 206 2068

8B Gerred, Kate 204 2048

Prep Konate, Dramane 229 2298

Prep Cross, Anne 229 2298

Library + Prep Kapp, Maret 526 5268

Art + Prep Najarian, Nanig 210 2108

Music + Prep Macchione, Michael 119 1198

Sert + Prep Robinson, Marla 215 2158

Phys Ed + Prep Roy, Mike 134 1348

Phys Ed + Prep Mahmood, Amjad 134 1348

Child Youth Worker Glenister, Kirsty Library Office

Principal Joyce, Deborah 501 5018

Vice Principal Walters, Karl 502 5028

EOAA Canner, Lori 500 5008

Secretary A Donnelly, Kathleen 505 5058

Lead Caretaker Sutherland, Jeremy 525 5258

Caretakers Dalvin Ong, Eric Mignardi, 116

Macklin House Before/After 110

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Tuesdays— pizza orders

Thursdays— Cookies ($1) & Popcorn ($2) cash sales

— Sushi/Sub/Pasta orders

—————————————————————————————————————————-

Mar 9 — Field Trip — Gr 5 to ROM

Mar 11 — Gr 8 Area Dance

Mar 13 — PA Day — NO SCHOOL

Mar 16—20 — March Break — NO SCHOOL

Mar 26 — Gr 2 Fire Dept visit

Mar 27 — Spirit Day — Crazy hair

Mar 30 — Apr 2 — Scholastic French Book Fair

Special: Buy 2 books Get 3rd free (equal or lesser value)

Mar 31 — Field Trip — Vivian Outdoor Centre — Mme Chu/ Mme Kaba

****Kids Kitchen will be closed for the March Break, ie. March 16-20 inclusive.

Online orders can still be placed as usual - up until 10am the day before (Friday for Monday).

They will re-open on Monday, March 23rd.

Community Resources Telehealth Ontario: 1-866-797-0000 (Free & confidential access to a Registered Nurse; offering health advice and general health information 24/7) Ontario Mental Health Helpline: 1-866-531-2600 (Provides information about counseling services in your community) Children’s Mental Health Ontario: www.kidsmentalhealth.ca/ (also available in French) Kids Help Line: 1-800-668-6868 (if you are under 20) York Support Services Network: 310-2673 or Cell 905-953-5412 (if you are over 20) York Region Centre for Community Safety: 905-836-7601 Ext 101 or www.yrccs.ca Blue Door Shelters: 1-888-554-5525 or www.bluedoorshelters.ca offering assistance in finding permanent housing, accommodation and food York Region Food Network: 905-841-3101 or www.yrfn.ca Blue Hills Child and Family Centre: 1-866-536-7608 offering services for students with emotional/social/behavioural needs