Principal’s Message

A special thank you to all of the friends and families who joined us at our Holiday concert in December. It was a sparkling success where

choir and junior division students shined like stars! The Triple Ps did an outstanding job at the café and the evening was an epic success! Before you know it we will be enjoying our choir and primary stu-dents for our spring concert.... stay warm until then! Your support

and participation in special events truly make Presteign the greatest place to be!

Friendly reminders as the weather gets a little more intense…

-Keep Dry! Students bringing an extra pair of socks to school in their backpacs everyday can help prevent un-

wanted soggy sock discomfort!

- Be Safe! When travelling around outside it is very im-portant to not rush or run during this weather. Even areas that have been salted can still be dangerous if

you are in a hurry.

- Play Safe! Remember playing in snowbanks can be dangerous if you are close to the street. Always think

of your surroundings and be sure you can’t slide off in-to unsafe places.

-Bundling Up For Recess! It is a great idea to always think of a wearing a hat. Heat escapes your body from

your head, so it is key to keep all that warmth in.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:

February 2016

2nd Dance A Thon Launch

4th Boys Basketball Tourney

Movie Night

5th Pizza Lunch

9th Report Cards Go Home

11th AntiBully Magic Show

PM Parent Interviews

12th PA DAY—Parent Interviews

15th Family Day

18th JK Registration

22nd Girls VolleyBall Tourney

24th Marlies Game

26th Dance A Thon 90’s Theme

27th PPP Science Centre Sleepover

What amazing, innovative and unique think-

ing is going on with the Elf on the Shelf in Room 1 with Ms. Toulis! First students kicked off their projects with “I wonder” questions

then answered “How could an elf travel to the North Pole”. With great ideas floating around students then began to plan and even had a meeting with their project manager! Like the

smartest engineers, students then explored problems the elf could face on his journeys be-fore they started making their blueprint plan “My Vehicle Design”. Like scientists they used

trial and error to get just right parts in just the right places! A big shout out to students and their use of technology because all vehicles

were assembled with reused and repurposed materials! Of course we won’t forget how they were such great mathematicians either; taking measurements and using spacing and propor-tions to help problem solve! What a surreal out

of this world example of creative genius!

An impressive collection of innovations from room 3 show students are thinking of how we can make change in our playground to make things more fair and show we truly care! Students ex-plored the issue of ableism and what it means for someone to not be able to access playground equipment the way others do or the way they would want to. Students brainstormed, designed,

problem solved and built prototypes of the playground resolutions they would love to see come to life. What a fantastic way to help promote change and awareness in the world. Level 4 thinking

takes learning in the class outside to the world and makes connections with real world issues! Way to go! Another awesome example of projects created with reusable and repurposed materials!

Happy New Year! Bonne année! As we begin our fresh start in 2016 it is so lovely to see students setting personal goals for themselves. Portable 3 students and Mme Preketes re-

flected on their goals and created these unique resolutions including everything from making healthier food choices to helping out with home responsibilities without being as-ked! Students have done a phenomenal job expressing what a huge impact they can tru-

ly make with their actions alone. Way to show nothing but your best..... maginifique!

The Toronto District School Board is pleased to welcome John Malloy as the Board’s new Director of Education.

John brings with him a wealth of experience in public education, having served as Director of Education for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and a Superintendent of Education with the York Region District

School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board. Most recently, John was an Assistant Deputy Minis-ter and Chief Student Achievement Officer with the Ontario Ministry of Education.

As Director, John’s key priorities include improving student achievement and well-being. He is focussed on in-

creasing student engagement, ensuring learning environments are supportive, and providing equitable access to

February is Kindergarten Registration Month

Kindergarten is the first step in a lifelong journey that will see your child learn, grow, and succeed at the Toronto District School Board. At the TDSB, we know early learn-ers learn best through doing; so our four and five year olds are introduced to math and science through play as part of k-12 STEM programming. To inspire a love for learning, kindergarten classrooms are bustling with inquiry and exploration through science activities, math games, art projects and more. Visit your local school during February to register. To attend Junior Kindergarten in September, children must turn four-years-old by De-cember 31. To register for Senior Kindergarten, children must be five-years-old by De-cember 31. All of our schools now offer Full-Day Kindergarten where students will attend Kinder-garten for the entire school day. This includes a morning and afternoon schedule and

PRESTEIGN ANNUAL TOY DRIVE

In December, our school held its annual New Toy Drive to assist the Neigh-bourhood Centre at Secord School. This organization is given names of fami-lies from Toronto Housing and from various charity groups and tries to make their Christmas a little better. As usual, we had an excellent response from our school community. Over the course of ten days a table outside the Office was piled high with toys. Another table was added and that table was piled high too. On December 10th, Mr. Cuthbertson and Mr. Patsopoulos took two car-loads of toys to Secord to be distributed to needy families. Once again, thank you to the students and parents of Presteign Heights for stepping up and showing our concern for others.

Mr. Cuthbertson

Recess During Cold Weather Elementary school students are kept indoors for recess and lunch times for a number of weather conditions such as rain, lightning in the area, extreme winds and extreme cold. When temperature and wind chill measure -28C or lower, stu-dents are kept indoors. Recesses and lunch hour may be shortened if the tem-perature and wind chill reading is between -20C and -28C. If a student's medical condition requires further consideration due to weather conditions, or if parents have other questions or concerns about how and when weather conditions affect your child's school day, please contact the school office.

We are very excited to announce that we will be attending this

years annual Toronto Foundation For Student Success, TDSB

day at the MARLIES game on Wednesday February 24th 2016.

As a special surprise this year, our school was selected to

participate in THE FUTURE STARS EXPERIENCE!

We will select 5 students from our school to join the Toronto

Marlies on ice for a pre game skate and then stay with the

players on the ice for the playing of the National Anthems.

Permission forms will be coming home next week as well as

sign up forms for the lucky draw of our five students that will

be experience FUTURE STARS!

Experience the Magic at Presteign on :

February 11th 2016 at 1 pm

A special thanks to our Home and School for fully

Sponsoring this exciting event!