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Important Dates Page 2

Students in Action Page 2

Arrival and Dismissal Page 3

High School Information Page 3

Gibson Gets Connected Page 4

School Council News Page 4

NOVEMBER 2015

Mrs. Claudia Fischer Principal

Miss P. Blais Administrative Assistant

Mrs. D. Leggieri Secretary

Phone: 905-832-1291 Fax: 905-832-5014

Mr. J. Pelletier Lead Caretaker

Mr. A. Apostol Caretaker

Mrs. Anna DeBartolo Trustee

905 850-5038

Mr. P. Valle Superintendent CEC West

905-764-6830

Victor Rocha and Antonella Culmone

School Council Co-Chairs

JAG Website:

www.josephagibson.ps. yrdsb.ca

Email

joseph.a.gibson.ps@yrdsb.ca

Inside This Issue…..

YORK REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

Administrator Message

During this past October, it was great to see our students come together to celebrate two school-wide events - the Terry Fox Walk and our annual Hallow-een Dance. On October 9th, we began our Terry Fox Walk with a presentation from a representative with the Terry Fox Organization; and then proceeded to walk around the perimeter of our school field – continuing the journey that Terry began 35 years ago. On Friday, October 30th, the members of our Student Council planned and organized a Halloween Dance and celebration for all of our students from kindergarten to Grade 8. Each class had an opportunity to engage in some daily physical activity and, in some cases, learn some new dance moves. We are so proud of our student leaders and their focus on cre-ating an inclusive school environment. We look forward to seeing them lead in many ways throughout the school year. November is shaping up to be a very busy month at school where teachers and students work closely together to set goals about future success and to com-municate current progress with parents. We will also have our annual Remem-brance Day Assembly on Wednesday, November 11th, 2015 at 10:40 am. This is a special time for our students to come together and recognize this sig-nificant date in our country. Feel free to join us for this assembly. During this month, we will also recognize and focus our efforts on anti-bullying during Bullying Awareness and Prevention week (November 16-20th). This will include student activities, daily announcements and a Gr. 6-8 presentation by our Youth Education Officer, Bill Arniel, on Social Media and Cyberbullying. Our focus at Gibson is always to improve student achievement. As a staff, we continue to work together to build our capacity in instructional strategies in or-der to meet the needs of all our students.

Claudia Fischer Principal claudia.fischer@yrdsb.ca

Friday, November 27, 2015 PA DAY—no school for students

@JosephAGibsonPS http://josephagibson.blogspot.ca/

Joseph A. Gibson P.S. Page 2

Important Dates

Nov. 10 Diwali

Nov. 11 Remembrance Day Assembly Nov. 16 Start of Anti-Bullying Awareness/Prevention

Week

Nov. 16 Social Media/ Cyberbully

ing Presentation Gr. 6-8

Nov. 17 Planning Department

Presentation—Gr. 7 and 8

Nov. 19 HOT CHOCOLATE DAY

($1 at lunch recess)

Nov. 20 Twin/Multiple SPIRIT Day (dress the same as a friend

or group of friends)

Nov. 23 School Council Meeting at

7 pm in the library

Nov. 27 PA Day

Students in Action

Weather Conditions and Busses

If the condition of the roads necessitates the cancellation of bus service, local radio stations will be informed as early as possible and will broadcast this information to the commu-nity. Please be advised that if buses are cancelled in the morning they will not run after school—regardless of the weather. Review your plans as to what your children will do in the event of late buses or cancellations. The following radio stations announce cancellations:

AM 640 AM 680 FM 88.5 FM 90.3 AM 1010 AM 1540 FM 92.5 FM 93.1 AM 1050 FM 99.9 FM 97.3 FM 98.1 AM 1530 FM 100.7 FM 104.5 FM 107.1 AM 590

Dress for the Weather

All our students will be expected to be outside be-fore, during and after school in all weather condi-tions (i.e., rain or shine, snow or heat). Students need to come to school dressed to play outside dur-ing recesses. Boots (for rain or snow), rain jackets, hats, mitts, scarves and snow pants will help make recess an enjoyable time. It is advisable for chil-dren to keep extra pants and socks at school in case they get wet. To avoid adding to our clothing collection in the Lost and Found Bin, please be sure to label all articles of clothing with your child’s name.

Cross Country Team—We had a terrific turnout for our school Cross Country Team this year. Congratulations to all of our athletes who attended the Area and Regional Meets. Thank you to our coaches—Mr. Hunte, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. vanGeest and Mlle. Zadarko for their time and commitment to the team. Announcement Team— If you are here first thing in the morning, you will have an op-portunity to hear our intermediate student announcers welcome our staff and students to a new day and do the morning announcements. Intermediate Volleyball Teams—Tryouts for the Intermediate Girls and Boys Volley-ball teams have taken place under the coaching of Mr. Mahoney and Ms. Jensen.

Joseph A. Gibson P.S. Page 3

Have you moved? Are you planning to move out of our school area? If so, please inform the office as soon as possible so that we en-sure all student information and documenta-tion is up to date.

Thank you in advance!

Moved or Planning to Move?

Arrival and Dismissal

This year’s Student Council is being run by Mrs. Abecassis, Mrs. Bender and Mrs. Benninger. Elections were held and congratulations to the following students:

PRESIDENT Karanvir U. CO-PRESIDENTS Fatima S. Janae M. TREASURER Jenna M. SECRETARY Chelsee P. SOCIAL FACILITATOR Nisha S.

Student Council has organized the following SPIRIT days this year. Mark your calendars with these special days. More information about each of the days will follow in future newsletters. Dec. 18 Pajama Day Jan. 22 Crazy Hat/Hair Day Feb. 24 Wear PINK (International Bully Awareness Day) Mar. 24 Beach Day Apr. 22 Earth Day May 20 Switcheroo/Career Day June 17 Flashback Friday

Spirit Days

Student Council 2015-16

Grade 8 students and their parents are invited to attend a high school information evening at Maple High School on Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 7 pm . Information will include:

Graduation Requirements Academic vs. Applied Courses

Course Selection There will also be an opportunity to speak with Subject representatives and view Curriculum re-sources. Mark the date in your calendar.

We are a busy school during arrival and dis-missal times and we ask all parents and guardians to please help us in keeping our students and staff safe during those times. If you are dropping or picking up your child at the front of the school, please remember to only park on Naylon St. west of Nether-ford, as busses need to be able to get in and out of our parking lot safely. If you are dropping or picking up your child at the back of the field on Gram St. please do not block the crosswalk; as this is the safest means for our students to cross the road. Thank you!

Maple High School Parent Information Evening

NEXT SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING:

Monday, November 23, 2015

Joseph A. Gibson P.S. Page 4

In our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, we are excited about this evolution in supporting school communication. It supports our ECO school efforts and will also ensure that you will receive information in a timely and consistent manner.

Parents can now follow us on Twitter @JosephAGibsonPS for immediate updates about school events and YRDSB reminders.

Or you can subscribe to the Joseph A. Gibson Blog http://josephagibson.blogspot.ca/

The Blog is a unique tool in which recently updated school information will automatically be sent to par-ents between 5 and 7 pm that same day. Parents can opt to subscribe to the blog (see the right hand

side of the blog page when you visit the site). The blog includes a translation feature which will translate anything posted in a selected language, links to various sites, permission forms and school information.

Visit or subscribe today and get connected!

Gibson is Connected!

Construction Update

We would like to say goodbye and send our well wishes to Mrs. Laura Charalambous as she be-gins her maternity leave. We wish her and her husband all the very best as they await the birth of their first baby. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Mr. Michael Tustin who will be filling in as the Long Term Occasional teacher for the Gr. 6/7 class until the end of June. It is also with sadness that we say goodbye to Mrs. Franca Leonardo as she moves on to a new role at Tommy Douglas Secondary School. Mrs. Leo-nardo has been an Educational Assistant at Joseph A. Gibson for the past four years supporting stu-dents in various capacities. She will be greatly missed by the parents, staff and students. We wish her all the best in her new position.

Goodbye and Welcome

The School Council’s Annual Fundraising Campaign Continues…

INVEST-IN-STUDENTS DONATION DRIVE

Our Drive ended on October 30th—HOWEVER, we have extended the date to November 6th. Thank you to all the families that already contributed. If you are still looking to donate, and need another donation letter, check the Gibson blog or pick up a copy of the Donation Drive form in the office or in the Parent In-formation Centre across from the office. Remember, it doesn’t matter the amount….every little bit helps!

HOT CHOCOLATE DAYS are back! With the cold months arriving, School Council is once again offering hot chocolate to students for $1 during lunch recess. This month’s Hot Chocolate day is November 19th. Don’t miss out!

This year’s construction at Gibson is close to completion. Over the summer and for the past couple of months, we have had two ac-cessible washrooms and two elevators in-stalled; new girls and boys change rooms and are in the process of completing the in-stallation of our fire separation doors on the second floor. Our school will continue to receive upgrades next summer with the installation of a kinder-garten enclosure, a new music room and two new resource rooms. Exciting changes to Joseph A. Gibson!

School Council News