The month of May began with an invitation for Grade 7 and 8 parents/caregivers to learn more about Lincoln Alexander SS and life after Middle School. Students presented and did a terrific job of reassuring and addressing parental concerns. Our Grade 6-8 Girls participated in Hackergal; now to become an annual event at MSMS where girls are developing code and creating interactive stories/games on-line; thanks to Mr. Pungitore and Ms. Everett who worked with the students throughout the day.

The We Rise Together group of boys accompanied by Mr. White and Ms Bidaye attended a conference at the UTM Campus and heard inspirational speakers. We look forward to a celebratory luncheon Thursday June 21st beginning at 12:30 p.m. Mr. Pungitore also brought twenty Grade 7 students to Sheridan College to learn more about post-secondary opportunities and careers. We will consistently seek out these opportunities in the future for our students to think and focus upon career choices and secondary course selections.

Our Grade 8 students made their way to Quebec City with Mr. Janosi, Mr. Parry, Mr. Bunting, Ms Kaur, Mr. Miller and Ms Bondett. The students enjoyed a variety of experiences from Ste. Anne Basilica; Plains of Abraham; fresh baked bread and maple syrup; trip to the Sugar Shack; Montmercy Falls; walking the historic streets of Upper and Lower Quebec and life sharing a room in a hotel for 4 days and 3 nights. A huge thanks to the staff who arranged the trip and for the support of the school community for the fundraising efforts that helped to make the trip possible for the students. The students were TERRIFIC and can now see the many benefits of practising speaking the French language. Students that remained at school had the opportunity to experience Ezone and some cooking experiences with their teachers.

Sports teams were active for the month of May; Floor Hockey for Girls and Boys; FitSpirit at Downsview Park; Flag Football for Girls and Boys; Heart and Stroke kickoff assembly which was followed by a great day of cardio activities just this past Friday; many thanks to the coaches who made these events occur for the students.

EQAO began on May 24th where all of our Grade 6 students were writing the Junior Assessment each morning until the 31st of May. We are proud of their efforts and look forward to the results in September 2018. Thanks to the Lincoln leaders who provided the students with a fun activity day following the assessment where initiative tasks and cooperative games were organized for the students.

Some of our Grade 7 students attended Queen’s University for four days and stayed in residence and attended classes of the courses they selected. Ms Everett accompanied the students and the opportunity gave the students a real life connection to university life and the exposure to what is available for students to consider and plan for in the future. We hope this will become an annual event for our Grade 7 students in the coming years.

The month of June is half way over and the classes have been very busy with final assignments; exit interviews for the Grade 8s and preparing for trip week and finally Graduation. It is my intent to keep you as informed as possible; please don’t hesitate to contact the office with questions. Please follow us on twitter and you will get a sense of the great opportunities and learning that our students have had and will continue to have until the end of the school year. Please plan to attend the Awards Assembly on June 28th at 9:30.

Reflections From the Office

Supervision Begins at 8:45

Entry at 8:50

Lunch at 11:30-12:30

Dismissal at 3:00

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 1 - Indigenous Heritage Month Begins

–students attended the Indigenous Student

Conference at UTM

June 14 – Interact Rotary Awards for

students in ATP

June 18 – Grade 8 trip to Canada’s

Wonderland returning approximately 6:00;

Scientists in the School-Grade 6

June 19 – Grade 7 trip to the Movies

June 20 – Grade 8 trip to Playdium/Grade 7

trip to Wildwood Park/Grade 6 trip to the

Science Centre (all students back before

dismissal)final day to return $ for Grade 8

Verdi Banquet Hall dinner and dance

June 21– WRT Black Boys Group End of Year

Luncheon – Parents are welcome to attend;

Final School Council Meeting at 6:30-come

and join us and look towards involvement

for next year; Scientists in the School-Grade

6

June 22 – Final day for students to buy food

from the cafeteria; Grade 8 Grad. Rehearsal

(p.m);

June 25, 26, 27 – Jungle Sport in Gym for

students to learn about climbing and

developing upper body strength and have

fun; $8.00 per student for blocks of an hour

or more; please see note that went home

with all students; will also be posted online

June 26 – Grade 8 Graduation Ceremony and

dinner/dance at Verdi Banquet Hall

June 28 – Awards Assembly at 9:30 a.m. for

Grades 6 and 7; Last day of school for

students; final newsletter for the year for

Grades 6 and 7

June 29 – Professional Learning Day for

Teachers; School resumes on Sept.4, 2018

SSchool

s

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Morning Star Middle School

June Newsletter

3131 Morning Star Drive

Mississauga, ON L4T1X3

Phone: 905-677-0300 Fax: 905-677- 1320

Student Absence Line: 1-855-209-6155

Principal: Ms. P. Bondett

Vice Principal: Mrs. M. Francis

Office Manager: Ms. J. Ieraci

Office Assistant: Ms. P. Tiberio

Superintendent of Education: Mrs. P. Daws

School Trustee: Mr. R. Williams/C. Andrews

Settlement Worker: Ms. N. Dhami

School Council Chair: Mr. T. Solanki

Morningstarms.council@peelsb.com

Page 2 Morning Star Middle School

Arts and Technology – S.T.E.A.M Update:

The application period is now closed. For more information contact the school at (905) 677-0300 or visit

the Morning Star Middle School Website. We look forward to meeting our new students and their families in

September.

School Cash Online Update

Please sign up and begin to use the cash online system; no more money brought to school; permission

forms and consent done directly online. For more information please contact the school and visit the

school website. Use eCheck, Visa or Mastercard. Register now: In order to make an online payment, you

must register by visiting https://peelschools.schoolcashonline.com or your child’s school website and clicking the

School Cash Online button on the right side of the page. Hard copy notes will be distributed to families

that have not been registered for Cash Online.

School Success Update:

Staff and students are beginning to use our Makerspace in our Learning Commons with many innovative

projects and inquiries. Student leaders have demonstrated their abilities and acted as guides for teacher

learning as well. More updates to follow.

To keep up to date, follow us on Twitter @MorningStarMS, @PamBondett or @mrsmfrancis1. Please ask if

you have questions about joining Twitter!

Elementary School Messenger SafeArrival Attendance Program

Elementary parents are reminded to sign up for a Safe Arrival account in order to report a child's absence in a quick and easy manner. Set up your account by going to: go.schoolmessenger.ca and use the same email address the school has on file for you. You can also download the blue School Messenger App to your smartphone. If parents prefer not to set up an account, the toll-free number is always available for all families: 1-855-209-6155 A few things to note with our new system:

parents are encouraged to add the 1-855-209-6155 number to their Contacts (under PDSB or School Name) so the number can easily be identified when it calls

this new system will call once per child, therefore if you have three children absent at one time, you will receive three different phone calls

parents who set up an account can choose their preferences as to which numbers will be called

parents can report Late Arrivals by choosing the Report an Absence option first, then choosing Late Arrival in the sub-menu

As always, parents are encouraged to report absences in advance to the Safe Arrival system.

Page 3 Morning Star Middle School

40 hours to graduate – Start this summer

All students in Ontario secondary schools are required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of community involvement in order to obtain their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Students are encouraged to start accumulating community involvement hours in the summer before they enter grade 9. Research shows that early involvement in community service helps students build a spirit of civic responsibility which can be expanded as they move through secondary school. The community involvement component is an opportunity for students and parents to work together, independent of the school. With parent support, your teen is responsible for finding and completing 40 hours of community service. Parents should provide assistance to their teen in the selection of community involvement activities. Here’s how to get started:

Spend some time with your teen going through the list of eligible and ineligible activities by visiting

www.peelschools.org/students/40hours

View the volunteer opportunities posted at

www.peelschools.org/students/40hours/volunteerjobboard/

Summer activities that boost learning

Grades 5 to 8 Follow the news – As a family, choose an important news event to follow for a day or two. Ask each person to find as much information on the topic as possible – read newspapers, look at online news webpages, listen to the radio and watch TV news. Then talk about what everyone learned. Pro and con: what do you think? – Make a family game of discussing a special issue. For example, "Teenagers should be allowed to vote," or "There should never be any homework." Ask your children to think of all the reasons they can to support their views. Then ask them to think of reasons opposing their views. Which views are most convincing? For variety, assign family members to teams and have them prepare their arguments pro and con. Stretch, run, walk – Ask your child to do at least one kind of exercise every day. For example, run or walk briskly for 10 minutes. Walk, when possible, instead of driving, for any distance less than a mile. Have your child make a week-long exercise plan. Try to think of a modest reward for sticking to the plan and exercise with your child. Let your voice be heard – Promote good citizenship. Help your child write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper about an issue affecting children – for example, suggest that a bike path be built near the school or that a city event be planned for youngsters. Children are citizens, and their ideas are worth hearing.

Page 4 Morning Star Middle School

On the road again—how to keep your cyclist safe

Here are some tips you can review with your child to ensure bike season gets off to a great start: The right fit

children should be able to straddle the bike with both feet on the ground a bike that is too big or too small can be a safety hazard the helmet should fit—if it's too loose, it could fall off, if it's too tight, it's uncomfortable

Get noticed

a young child's bike should be equipped with a bell and reflector older riders should have a light and/or reflectors

Follow the rules

no riding on busy streets no riding at night stop for all STOP signs

Actions that cause injuries

driveway ride out—not stopping and looking both ways before entering the street running the stop sign turning without warning cycling in the dark following the leader—one child goes through a stop sign or misses a parked car but the second

cyclist doesn't