In This Issue:

☺ Principal’s Message

☺ Growing Success

☺ Poetry Contest

☺ Extended French

☺ Guidance Notes

☺ Counting on You

☺ Sports Updates

☺ Terry Fox

Principal:

Mr. A. Meyer

Vice Principal:

Mrs. B. Gibson

Office Manager:

Mrs. J. Slater

Office Assistant:

Mrs. J. Shaw

Superintendent of

Education:

Ms. H. Mason

Trustee:

Mr. D. Green

Address:

491 Bartley Bull Pkwy.

Brampton, Ontario

L6W 2M7

Phone: 905-459-3661

Fax: 905-459-9365

November 2010November 2010November 2010November 2010

Growing Success What you need to know about as-sessment, evaluation and reporting in Ontario schools

“The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning.”

Processes around assessment, evalua-tion and reporting are governed by Minis-try of Education and board policies. In April 2010, the ministry published Grow-ing Success, a policy document that di-rects the assessment, evaluation and re-porting of student achievement in Ontario schools, from grades 1 to 12. What’s changed?

The new assessment, evaluation and re-porting policy resulted in changes to ex-isting practice effective September 2010, including: · the introduction of a new progress report card for elementary schools that will not contain grades or percentage marks which indicates whether students are or are not on track to meeting learn-ing goals—sent home between Nov. 15-18, 2010

· two report cards for elementary schools with grades or percentage marks—the term one report card will be sent home between Feb. 7-10, 2011, and the final report card will be sent home in June 2011.

· on progress report cards, teachers will now indicate if a student is “progressing well,” “progressing very well” or “progressing with difficulty” in subject areas

· six new learning skills/work habits will replace nine previous learning skills—grades 1 to 12 - responsibility

- organization - independent work - collaboration

W. G. DAVIS SOCCER UPDATE

Boys Soccer News From Left to Right Back: Mr. Skinner, Abiram, Elliot, Amrit, Yousaf, Cameron, Inderpal, Michael, Ibnul, Matt, and Mr. Rutter Middle: Rohit, Sunbir, Jagmeet, Ashwinder, Travis, and Komal Front: Jeevan and Shiva On September 31st, the Senior Boys Soccer Team travelled to the annual North Peel Soc-cer Tournament. This is an all day event that tests a team’s skill, de-termination, and endur-ance. Having only practice experience and no game action, the team entered the day with cautious opti-mism about how they would stack up against the competition. The team finished round robin play 4th in their division. This meant they would be facing the 1st place team from the other division in the first round of the playoffs. The boys showed that they weren’t ready to go home just yet and shocked Earnscliffe by scoring 3 times in the first half. The boys endured the second half pressure put on by Earnscliffe and won 3-1.

In the semi-final game the team faced a strong Lagerquist team who had beaten us earlier in the day. This was a new game! The boys played an excellent defensive game and narrowly missed a few good scoring chances with the game ended in a 0 – 0 draw. Penalty kicks were needed to decide a winner. A penalty shootout usually does not last past the five shooters. After 5 shooters, if the score is still tied, each team sends one more shooter out at a time to determine the winner. We went to 11 shooters!! Shiva (‘The Animal’)was playing in net and stopped all but three shots!! On the 11th shot, they scored and we did not, which ended our run to the championship game. Everyone played exceptionally well and we should all be proud of the way these gentle-men represented our school.

Girls Soccer News

Team Members: Paige, Sydney, Seerat, Vanita,

Gagan, Krysten, Loveleen, Brett, Sahibjot, Darcy,

Annika, Peranavi, Zoe, Jasleen, Megha, Harjot,

Athena

Mrs. Alletson and Mlle. Graff want to congratulate

the Girls Soccer Team for

demonstrating excellent

sportsmanship and teamwork

in order to come in FIRST

PLACE at the North Peel

Girls Soccer Championship.

The girls exemplified STEL-

LAR Davis School SPIRIT!

Way to go Girls!!!

THE BULLDOG BANNER

Together our bestTogether our bestTogether our bestTogether our best Ensemble Notre MieuxEnsemble Notre MieuxEnsemble Notre MieuxEnsemble Notre Mieux

For more information check out http://schools.peelschools.org/1573

- initiative - self-regulation

· teachers will comment on student strengths and next steps for improve-ment for learning skills/work habits and some subject areas

· teachers will indicate how each student is progressing on learning skills/work habits--excellent (E), good (G), satis-factory (S) or needs improvement (N). Teachers will comment only on what has been taught, assessed or empha-sized with students in the first six to eight weeks of the term.

· parents/guardians and students will have space to comment on the provin-cial report card

How often does reporting take place? Formal reporting to parents occurs regularly throughout the school year. Summary of Progress Reports are issued twice a year to parents of kindergarten students. Grade 1 to 8 students receive one provincial progress report card and two provincial report cards throughout the year. Students with Individ-ual Education Plans will follow the same for-mal reporting period.

Who can I talk to about my child’s pro-gress? As always, we encourage you to discuss concerns and questions with your child’s teacher at any time. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress at a parent-teacher conference on Nov. 25 or 26, 2010.

Learn more Please contact your child’s principal if you have any questions or concerns. For a copy of Growing Success, visit the ministry web-site at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/success.html.

Holiday Wreaths

Reminder: Beautiful, all natural fragrant, balsam wreaths being sold by School Council. Cheques payable to W. G. Davis Senior Public School - orders due by Monday, November 8th Volunteers needed - daytime for sorting - evening for distribution to those who have purchased wreaths For more info. or to volunteer please contact school office

EXTENDED FRENCH

Extended French is an optional program that starts in grade 7 and provides a French immer-sion opportunity for students. Students spend half of their school day studying language arts and social studies in French. In high school, students take four credits in extended French and three credits in other subjects taught in French.

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION FOR EXTENDED FRENCH IS JANUARY 28 Extended French is offered at: Allan Drive Middle School, 254 Allan Dr., Caledon, 905-857-9144 Green Glade Sr. Public School, 1550 Green Glade, Mississauga, 905-822-8386 Sir. John A Macdonald Sr. Public School, 250 Centre St. N., Brampton, 905-457-5535 W.G. Davis Sr. Public School, 491 Bartley Bull Pkwy., Brampton, 905-459-3661 All schools are offering information nights for ex-tended French on Nov. 18, 2010 at 7 p.m. To find out which extended French school your child will attend, call 905-890-1010/1-800-668-1146 ext. 2212.

Congratulations to: Top Grade 7 Fundraisers: Jade 7J ($389.25) Michele 7H ($377.00) Arun 7E ($330.00) Top Grade 8 Fundraisers: Rachel 8D ($1858.00) Chloe 8I ($500.00) Gaganpreet 8I ($448.03) Top Grade 7 Classes: 7F who raised $1084.19 7J who raised $1083.53 7G who raised $1079.75 Top Grade 8 Classes: 8D who raised $2360.36 8I who raised $1502.98 8E who raised $1254.97 On Wednesday, October 20th the entire school gath-ered to celebrate our fundraising efforts. A big thank you goes out to Mr. Hurlbut, who offered to have his head shaved by the class that raised the most money, and to Mr. Ford-King, who graciously offered to be dressed up by every class that raised over $1,000.00. After bringing out the weed eater and garden shears, Isaiah finally used regular hair trimmers to sculpt a remarkable design onto Mr. Hurlbut’s head. While there was a great deal of laughter in the audience, the end result was good. Even Mrs. Hurlbut was pleased with his new look! Class 8D was the first class chosen and did a remarkable job of dressing Mr. Ford-King up from head to toe! Take a good look at the pictures to see the new and improved Mr. Ford-King! We look forward to his next “look” for the next 5 weeks! Thank you to both staff members for making the assembly and our 2010 fundraising effort so much fun!

“I don’t feel that this is unfair. That’s the thing about cancer. I’m

not the only one, it happens all the time to people. I’m not special.

This just intensifies what I did. It gives it more meaning. It’ll in-

spire more people. I just wish people would realize that anything’s

possible if you try; dreams are made possible if you try.

—Terry Fox

For more information check out - http://schools.peelschools.org/1573 For more information check out - http://schools.peelschools.org/1573

Creative Creations Poetry Contest Winners

During the 2009/2010 school year students from 7B and 7A had the opportunity to participate in a poetry writing contest that was sponsored by Creative Communications. Creative Communications is a publishing company operating out of Logan, Utah in the Untied States. The students worked very hard and their hard work paid off. I entered 52 poems in the contest and I am pleased to announce that 30 students had their poems accepted to be included in the poetry anthology that Creative Communications publishes each year. The 30 students are in the pic-ture above . Congratulations goes out again to W. G. Davis’s newest published poets!

Ms. Bailey ☺

Terry Fox Run 2010

“If you have given a dollar you have been

part of The Marathon of Hope.” - Terry Fox

On September 30th, every Davis student par-ticipated in the Terry Fox run located at the Kiwanis Park. It was a beautifully warm day and our spirit was strong! Thanks to Mr. Ford-King and our Athletic Council for set-ting up and marshalling the course and to all the students who walked and ran, knowing we are doing our part to support cancer re-search. After collecting all of the money and pledge forms, I am proud to say that W.G. Davis raised an incredible amount of $17,570.09!! For many years, we have been one of the top 10 schools in all of Ontario to raise the most money and we are hopeful our record will continue to stand with this year’s contribu-tion. Thank you to all students and staff who made the effort to raise money and to the fol-lowing students and classes who were the most successful!

On November 12th and 15th, I will be meeting with all Grade 8 students to talk about High School and the choices they have. Students will be receiving a Course Selection Informa-tion Booklet as well as a Course Selection Sheet. Students, in consultation with parents and teachers, will be choosing appropriate courses that will enable them to be success-ful at the high school level. When selecting which program and courses your child will take, consider the following statistics:

• Recent findings indicate that On-tario's secondary school dropout rate has climbed from 20% to 25% (2008).

• Of those students who graduate, 50% will immediately enter the workforce and 50% will continue their post-secondary education at either a col-lege or university.

When choosing programs and courses for next year, it is important to keep in mind that there are many different Pathways to Suc-cess. Only 50% of all students will go on to college or university and only 25% of stu-dents who do go on to post-secondary will graduate with a degree or diploma. Many stu-dents will benefit from becoming involved in the trades, which are also a valued part of society today. Other students will become valuable and successful members of the workforce. It is important that you and your child discuss which program would benefit your child the most and would allow him/her to follow their most appropriate pathway in life. On Tuesday, November 16th, we will be hosting a Grade 8 High School Information Night for parents of stu-dents who are currently in Grade 8. It will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the gym, where informa-tion about transitioning to high school will be presented, along with a question period following the presentation. Please feel free to contact me at school if you have any further questions. Mrs. Kate Holloway

Guidance Notes

This time of year is very busy for Grade 8 students in par-

ticular. Not only are they working hard in anticipation of their

first report cards, but will soon be visiting High Schools and starting to think about which program would best suit their

needs. Grade 8 students have been told on many occasions, that first term marks are ex-

tremely important and will not only be submitted with applications for alternative high school pro-grams, but will also be used to help choose high

school courses.

This week, all Grade 8 students received two information sheets with regards to High School Programs and Open House Dates. It is important for both students and parents to attend any special-ity high school pro-grams or the high school located in the area in which you live, to learn more about the various programs available at that par-ticular school. Application and course selec-tion deadlines are also listed on the informa-tion page. If you live in the Turner Fenton area, their Open House is being held on Wednesday, December 1st at 7:00 p.m. in the North Hall.

COUNTING ON YOU W.G. Davis is proud to be implementing the Counting On You program for our Grade 7 and 8 students and our community. The pro-gram is designed to improve student learning and to provide students with the necessary skills that will ensure fu-ture academic success. This program will run out-side of regular school hours and will provide those students enrolled in the program with skill building in the areas of literacy and numeracy. Student eligibility for this after-school program will be based on teacher and principal recom-mendation. In this program students will re-ceive small group, intensive support through tasks that will target and develop their skills. Students will also learn key strategies to im-prove critical thinking skills – skills that can be used in all subject areas. The expectations of the Provincial curriculum are demanding and can be overwhelming for students. For this reason, some students can

benefit from a small, alternative learning environment; a setting that can provide them with an ex-tra boost in obtaining essential literacy and/or numeracy skills. Through active participation and commitment to the program, we

at W.G. Davis feel that this opportunity will make a difference in students’ academic ca-reers and attitudes toward learning. The program is expected to start at W.G. Davis in late November or early December. Parents of eligible students will be contacted via letter following the Term 1 Progress Reports. For more information contact Mr. Haynes or speak to your child’s homeroom teacher.

Peel board plan helps ensure safety of students with severe food aller-gies

The Peel District School Board has a progres-sive approach to making sure that students with severe food allergies are safe at school. If your child has anaphylaxis—a severe aller-gic reaction to a food, insect bite or medica-

tion—please contact the office. We will work with you to develop a plan for keeping your child safe at school. We have several students

at our school with severe or life-threatening allergies to nuts. We ask that you help us take care of these students by choosing lunches and snacks for your child that are free from peanuts or nuts. Please read the label of any food you plan to send to school with your child. If the label says, "May contain nuts or pea-nuts," please do not bring it to school.

On defence, Tajais had 4 sacks in the first game and continued to put pressure on op-posing QBs all afternoon. Amrit had two in-terceptions, followed by AJ and Shiva who each had one. Other members of the de-fence played vital roles in making big plays shutting down other opponents offenses. Those players include: Shagoo , Zach , and Liam.

A special thanks to all the boys for a great day of football and competition!

GIRLS FOOTBALL NEWS

Congratulations to the girls flag football team for a spectacular season. They finished first in their division during the regular season with a 5 and 1 record. During the playoffs they lost in the first round in overtime by one point to the eventual tournament champi-ons. They ended up finishing in 5th place. The team would like to thank the ad-ministration, staff, students and parents for all their support.

Dates To Remember November - December 2010 November 4 - Picture Retake Day November 9 - Wreath Orders due November 11 - Remembrance Day Assembly - public welcome November 16 - Grade 8 High School Info. Night November 18 - Reports sent home November 26 - Reporting to parents December 2 - Immunization Clinic December 14 - Peel Police Internet Safety

Boys Football News

The boys flag football team competed in a tour-nament on October 28th, 2010 with 16 other schools from Peel. The boys placed fourth over-all and did so in a very dramatic fashion. The round robin games proved tough, but when the game was on the line, the bulldogs came to-gether and did what they needed for a win! The first game saw Davis win a close game 8-6 vs. Treeline with a game winning safety courtesy of Ryan . Game two wasn't as nice to the bulldogs as they lost a truly hard fought game against a tough Gordon Graydon 32-15. That wouldn't be the last they saw of Graydon though. The final round robin game was a "win or go home" game for the boys and the defense rose up and blanked Roberta Bondar by a score of 7-0. The Bulldogs placed 3rd in their division and that meant another game vs. Gordon Graydon stood in their way of advancing in the tourna-ment.

In game 1 of the playoffs, the boys rallied to beat a very heated Graydon team 13-6. In game two of the playoffs, the boys had to face the first place team Royal Orchard. This was the semi final game, that saw the winner playing in the fi-nals. After a back and forth battle, Royal Orchard beat the bulldogs on the last play of the game by a score of 26-20. This meant that the Bulldogs would not advance to the finals, but instead would play a consolation game for 3rd or 4th place.

The 3rd and 4th place game saw the bulldogs playing Castlemore. This game went all the way to quadruple overtime where the bulldogs came up short, therefore finishing fourth and holding their heads high because they battled in a mara-thon of a football game.

On offense, QB Jacob threw 11 touchdown passes. Four of those TDs went to WR Charn-veer, four to Joshua , two to Eugene, and one to Travis.