Principal: Mike Dzis Office Manager: Jody Heltner Superintendent: Soni Gill Trustee: Nokha Dakroub

Happy Last Day of School Miller’s Grove Family!

Congratulations to all our students, families, and staff for a collaborative partnership to ensure learning continued during the school closure. Special congratulations to our grade 6 students who are moving onto Edenwood Middle School, which means they are a little over half-way to graduating Meadowvale Secondary School in 2026. We are so proud of you and wish you all the best! We extend our best wishes to students who are moving to new schools in September. Good luck! We thank our School Council members as well as the parents who attended our meetings regularly throughout the year, ensuring that everyone’s voice was heard, providing valuable input into our decisions and guiding our planning for continued school success. A huge thank you to our School Council members: Catherine Gould, Chaiti Banerjee, Susan Kimberley, Erin Reid, Melissa White, our teacher representative Jane Armstrong, and our student voice representatives Manit, Shaily and Zoha. Thank you for successfully applying to grants to promote school success. Thank you for supporting our school programs and for providing special opportunities to enrich the learning experiences of our students and families, such as enriched nutritious snacks, Book Fair coupons, Rocks & Rings, the Chromebooks, and many more. Please see the annual report included in this newsletter. The School Council has been an exceptional support to the growth and wellness of all our students! On behalf of all families, thank you so much! I would like to thank Mrs. Tam and Mrs. Kimbereley who oversaw Pizza Days and Nutritious Snacks for our students throughout the school year. Thank you to the team of parents who have helped out on our pizza and nutritious snack days including Mrs. Godfrey, Mrs. Chapman, Mrs. Oraschuk, Mr. Krziyzek, Mrs. Aliyari and Mrs. McKendry.

We would like to thank you, our Miller’s Grove family and community, for supporting us and participating in our activities. We thank you for being supportive during very unprecedented times with our distance learning. It was not the spring we imagined, but you rose to the occasion, and it shows, and we appreciate it, #geckostrong. Thank you to our school team, who did an exceptional job during unusual times. Our educators developed safe and welcoming online learning spaces, our office manager kept our communication open and positive energy flowing on Twitter, and our custodial team ensured that the school met new health protocols so we could distribute technology, staff could access learning resources, and families could pick up of student belongings. They have already started on clean-up for the fall. We are aware of the changing financial situation of many of our families, so we developed a plan. In consultation with the school council and staff, we plan to spread out collection of funds, be conscious when and how often monies are collected and provide a way to support those who may no longer be able to afford. At the same time, we strive to maintain the excellent enhancements our community expects from its school. Please see the plan included in this newsletter. I hope you join us for our year-end assembly and join me in celebrating our community collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, continuous improvement, and commitment to equity and social justice. I wish you a safe and happy summer. Let’s get ready to change the world! Mr. M. Dzis

Miller’s Grove Public School We care, we share, we learn

6325 Miller’s Grove, Mississauga, ON L5N 3K2 905-824-3275

http://millersgrove.peelschools.org

@millersgroveps

June 2020 Newsletter

Graduation On Thursday, June 18th, our grade six graduates and their families participated in our graduation celebrations. A virtual presentation was shown in the morning and remained available for viewing through the class Brightspace platform for parents and students unable to log in during the morning. The slideshow included baby pictures and current pictures of each graduate. Each graduate also shared their favourite moment, something about themselves, and how they plan to change the world. The students selected a peer to include students’ voices (available on our Twitter account), and Mr. Dzis, Mrs. Restivo and Mrs. Haeney also shared words for the graduates. It culminated with a slideshow of the year’s photos. The class also had a Google Meets live discussion in the afternoon, which was very boisterous indeed! This week, graduates pick up special Gecko Graduation 2020 T-Shirts, a Graduation Certificate including students’ names or initials, and families took pictures. Thank you Mrs. Haeney for coordinating these events for the students. Thank you also to our parent volunteers Ms. Gould and Ms. Lucas, as well as Mrs. Heltner, Mrs. Leadbeater, Mrs. Roser, and all the students and staff who contributed.

Adieu and Welcome We would like to extend our sincere thanks and best wishes to the following staff who will be moving on to new challenges and experiences including: Ms. Den Houdyker, Ms. Joshua, Mrs. Mekael, Ms. Qamheiah, Mr. Paul, and Mrs. Leadbeater. We extend a warm Miller’s Grove welcome to the following staff who will be joining us for the 2020-21 school year. Welcome to Ms. Catnafio (Drama/Dance and Health Teacher), Ms. Gaudreau (Physical Education and French), Ms. Panasar (Teaching Assistant), Ms. Pingert (Teaching Assistant) Mr. Kapoor (now full-time Behavioural Teaching Assistant). Mr. Dzis will also be hiring an afternoon behavioural teaching assistant and a part-time music teacher.

We are a Certified EcoSchool Congratualtion to Ms Tymkow and her EcoTeam

Things To Remember…

Are you moving? If you are moving out of the Miller’s Grove area over the summer, please notify the office in writing as soon as possible. You can send an email to millersgrove.ps@peelsb.com

Report Cards The Peel District School Board emailed report cards on Wednesday, June 24th to student email accounts. Individual Education Plans (e.g., special education programming, identified gifted) were also emailed to those accounts. If you have been experiencing difficulties, you have been asked to reach out to your child’s teacher.

See you in September… Our school and office will be closed for the summer. The office will re-open Thursday, August 27th, 2020, 8:00 am-3:00 pm. Please check the school website, http://millersgrove.peelschools.org, and the Peel Board website, www.peelschools.org for registration information, updates on school openings in September, or any other general information you may need. Please share with any family or friends who are new to Ontario or Peel School Board to please contact Peel’s We Welcome The World Centres 905-366-8791. It is open through the summer and the sooner they call them the better! Bussing information will be available in the last week of August. You will need your child’s OEN number, found on the top of children’s report cards. Go to www.stopr.ca to check bussing updates and eligibility. We wish you a fun, safe, healthy summer and look forward to seeing you when we can all be together again!

Budgeting and Fund Raising ~ Proactive Planning

With the changing situation due to the pandemic, we are increasingly aware of the financial stresses experienced by some families. We are responding in stragegic ways. First, we refunded pizza orders and unspent student activity fees as soon as we could. These funds are usually budgeted for student activities during the same school year. As many families now need every dollar and students are graduating or moving, we made the early decision to issue refunds. Other spring fundraising was cancelled - thus net revenues were lower than expected. Secondly, we are proactively developing a collections calendar. This calendar includes when we collect money/items for student activities, field trips, pizza, popcorn, charities and school events and fundraisers. After receiving advice and input from the school council and staff, we are working to ensure:

We continue to offer high quality, inclusive and fun learning experiences for all students

Money collected by the school will be spread out to reflect current family budget situations. We will be especially mindful to avoid collecting in December.

Total collections are reduced. For example, we will prioritize formal/planned external charity collection support to three charities next year (One local agency, one national charity and one global cause). For other charities, we will support awareness and offer online donation links but not collect money from all children. Student-initiated social justice activities will not be impacted.

The school continues to seek efficiencies. These will include continued reduction of paper communication, and donations and all expenditure areas will be examined. For example, attached to the email with this newsletter is an electronic copy of next year’s parent handbook. It will be shared electronically and posted on the school website. It will no longer be sent home in printed form. This action will save approximately $100. Some of these pages are included in the student agenda (grades 3-6). One of our junior classes will pilot not using an agenda, and that cost savings will be passed along to that class. We will monitor this for the following year.

Thirdly, as suggested at the school council and supported by staff, when the $25.00 student fee is collected in the fall, there will also be an option to make a tax-deductible donation to cover costs for families no longer be able to cover these costs. We will offer this opportunity for a donation of $25.00 or more each time we collect monies. Families no longer able to afford student fees, field trips, pizza, etc., will be able to self-identify to the principal, and

their costs will be subsidized through a discretionary fund. Families able and willing to donate will receive charitable donation tax receipts knowing that their contribution supports families at our school. We will continue this model as long as it is sustainable. Mr. Dzis will update the school council of the status of the discretionary account to ensure transparency and allow him to seek further advice and support if funding is not sustainable. Fourth, we are seeking volunteers to help the school extend its revenue base beyond our families. For example, some local schools have made events such as Open House cost-neutral be securing sponsorship from local realtors. Other companies donate to organizations of their employees’ choice, and others have grants available. School board protocols make accepting gifts of products or services challenging; however, we can provide charitable tax receipts to companies making financial contributions. Please ask if your employer, or corporate partners if they would be willing to support the school financially. Also, if you be willing to support the school council efforts to seek sponsors for our events, please email Mr. Dzis, Michael.dzis@peelsb.com. The school budget is about $48,000.00 annually. Most of the budget expenditures are fixed for classroom resources, photocopier rental, etc. Other amounts are for set grants (outdoor education, parent communication, etc.), which due to school closure, will be reclaimed by the grant source. Most classes are allocated about $400-$450 per year. Teachers often extensively purchase out of personal pocket to supplement these resources. School council (pizza and fundraising) efforts significantly increase the school revenue and enhance student experiences. For example, the $6,000.00 contribution toward Chromebooks right before the school closures reflected about a 12% increase in the total school budget. All of those new Chromebooks were placed in students’ hands throughout the school closure. By the end of this school year, most of the school budget was spent or is being reclaimed by the grant source (e.g., The Outdoor Education Grant allocated toward our skating trip which was not able to occur in March). The school finished the year in the black with about $2,000.00 being rolled over to the next school year. This under-expenditure (savings/surplus) was the result of the school closure. Mr. Dzis will be able to add this surplus to our 2020-2021 budget. We will continue to align budgets to reflect the goals and priorities of the school. These goals are set by a school shared leadership team together with consultation with school staff and school council, and in alignment with board and ministry priorities. As we strive to improve continuously, we are proactive so that together we can enhance learning and empower our children and community to change the world.

Dear Miller’s Grove Families and Community Members, We hope that you have had an enjoyable year at Miller’s Grove and we are very thankful for your support of our School Council throughout the 2019-2020 school year. The School Council is a group of parents, staff and community members focused on promoting student achievement and enhancing the learning environment. By making recommendations directly to our Principal and school board, council members can make a real difference in our school and community. The School Council provides feedback each year to the school board regarding budget for the upcoming school year, and completes an annual Principal Profile, highlighting strengths of the school, suggestions for improvement, and the skills and qualities which our community values in a Principal. Internally, the School Council funds initiatives to support student learning and to build community within our school. The School Council held 6 meetings throughout the 2019-2020 school year – the October 2nd, November 6th, December 4th and February 5th meetings were held in the school library, and the May 6th and June 3rd meetings were held virtually using Microsoft Teams. Topics of discussion included school events and fundraising initiatives, distribution of Council funds, along with generating ideas to build community engagement. This year, we recognized and celebrated the retirement of our former Principal, Mrs. Layla Restivo in January 2020, along with welcoming our incoming Principal, Mr. Michael Dzis in February 2020. For our May 6th and June 3rd meetings, we were thrilled to be joined by three Grade 6 student representatives, who added invaluable student perspective and insight to our discussions. The fundraising events hosted by School Council this year included weekly pizza sales, a holiday bake sale, and a Terra Cotta cookie sale. Funds raised supported the following events/initiatives in our school this year: Bubbleology presentation at the Fall BBQ, Rocks & Rings indoor curling activity, nutritious snacks, $3 Book Fair coupon for each student, the purchase of 20 Chrome

Books, and Osobots/Dash & Dot Robots for the Kindergarten classes. An application for the annual PRO Grant to support parental engagement within the school was submitted and approved for the amount of $500. We had planned to use this grant to host an interactive family robotics/coding evening as part of Education Week in April 2020; we are hopeful that this grant will be available to use for this purpose during the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, we applied for and received $1000 in funding from the Metro Green Apple School Program, which helped cover some of the costs of providing nutritious fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to students throughout the year.

We wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the many individuals who volunteered their time to contribute to the success of School Council this year:

2019-2020 Miller’s Grove School Council Membership Parent Members Chaiti Banerjee Rachel Ennis Catherine Gould Susan Kimberley (Co-chair, Fundraising) Janet Lem Mahjabeen Mustofa (Co-chair) Erin Reid (Treasurer) Melissa White (Secretary)

Teacher Representative Jane Armstrong Grade 6 Student Representatives Manit Shailey Zoha Principals Layla Restivo Michael Dzis

All school council meetings are open to the public and we encourage input from everyone in our school community. It is important that School Council is inclusive and reflective of our entire school community. We hope that you will consider joining School Council or attending our meetings during the 2020-2021 school year. Sincerely, Susan Kimberley, Co-Chair Mahjabeen Mustofa, Co-Chair

Miller’s Grove P.S. School Council 2019-2020 Annual Report