CLARK CONNECTIONS

Looking Ahead

Nov. 1—Progress Reports go Home—Grades 1-5

Nov. 5—Grd. 3 Swim to Survive—Ms. Spurrell’s class @

10:30 a.m., Mrs. Clarke’s class @ 12:30 p.m.

Nov. 7—Grd. 3 Swim to Survive—Ms. Stolk’s class @ 10:30

a.m., Mrs. Masih’s class @ 1:00 p.m.

Nov. 7 —Parent Teacher Interviews-Grds. 1-5 (3-5 pm &

6-8 pm)

Nov. 8—Parent Teacher Interviews-Grds. 1-5 (8 am—12 pm)

NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS!!!!!

Professional Activity Day!

Nov. 11-Remembrance Day Assembly—11:50 am in the gym

Nov. 18-22—Bullying Awareness & Prevention

Nov. 15—Photo Re-take Day

Nov. 20—Choose to Action-Powerade Ctr.-Grade 5’s

Nov. 20-22—Dental Screening—Grades: JK, SK, 2 & 4

Nov. 21– School Council Meeting 6:30 p.m. in the library.

All are Welcome! Childcare provided!

Nov. 29—Primary Assembly 9:00 a.m. Grades 1 & 2

Nov. 29—Junior Assembly 11:50 a.m. Grades 3-5

Nov. 29—Book Fair 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Nov. 29-Sprit Day—Diversity Day-wear your Cultural

Clothes

ALL STUDENTS CAN SHINE!

A reminder to parents that supervision starts at

8:25 a.m.

Clark Boulevard P.S.

Telephone 905-793-6060

Absence Reporting 905-793-0235

Superintendent of Schools—Jan Courtin

Trustee—Beryl Ford T. 905-793-0800

http://schoolspeelschools.org/1408/Pages/default.aspx

November 2013

From the Principal's Desk Dear Clark families,

October has been a very busy time at Clark. We started out the month

with our newly re-organized classes, and are ending the month with the

completion of our progress reports. In between, the Clark staff had a

Professional Learning day, which focused on working collaboratively to

examine our EQAO data, and create school-wide goals on curriculum

areas like Literacy and Numeracy, but also our Community, Culture and

Caring goal. In the new year, we will be publishing our goals, in the

form of a report to the community. This will be made available on our

website. Please stay tuned for more information.

On October 17th, despite the pouring rain, we also held our first School

Council meeting. Thanks to the parents who attended. These meetings

usually take place on the 3rd Thursday of the month in which they are

held. Our start time is 6:30 pm and the meetings usually last for about

one hour. Babysitting is available at no cost. The agenda and the follow

-up minutes are posted on our website. School Council is also a good

opportunity to understand: school program priorities, planning for im-

provement, and board initiatives that effect student achievement. Our

next meeting will take place on Thursday November 21st at 6:30 pm

and we will, at that time, be holding our elections. I encourage you to

become an active member of your School Council. We value your sup-

port and input!

Looking forward at our calendar, things aren't about to slow down at

Clark. Our Grade 3 students have been actively involved in the Swim to

Survive program at Balmoral Recreation Centre, and groups will con-

tinue into November. A big thank you to Mr. Calabria for organizing the

sessions along with the Grade 3 homeroom teachers. We continue to

encourage families to walk to school. With the help of our Region of

Peel Health nurse, Carla Alfieri and our PE staff, Mrs Neal and Mrs

Lewis, we have surveyed parents and kids around the barriers to walk-

ing, and are ready to report the results (see enclosed). On November 6th,

the team has organized a "walking school bus" which will take the entire

school on a safe walking tour of our most frequently walked

route. Walking school busses will also take place on the parent inter-

view evening. Please join!

Last month, we raised money for the Terry Fox walk. As many of you

know, Ms Mody has been effected personally by cancer. This month,

Ms Mody will be organizing a special assembly on November 18th with

celebrity chef Vikram Vij. See enclosed for more information about

how you can support Ms Mody and her goal to raise funds for cancer

research.

The week of Nov 18 –22nd is Bullying Prevention and Awareness week.

Our Climate Committee has planned some exciting activities for the

school, which will be showcased at our November 29th assembly. As

always, you are welcome to join us in the celebrations!

Sincerely,

Deborah Falcao-Linton

ALL STUDENTS CAN SHINE!

A recent excursion to the greens of BraeBen Golf Course had 40 grade 5 students from

Clark Boulevard P.S. happily mastering their golf swing. For many of these students, it was

the first time on a golf course.

Mr. Calabria promotes golf as a great activity for his young students to stay active. “Not

only were these kids active, walking up and down the beautiful hills of BraeBen, but they

also learned about discipline, honesty, and golf etiquette such as respect and courtesy.

Shawn Morey and his team gave the kids a brief history of both the game of golf and Brae-

Ben itself. After a quick lesson, the students were eager to practice their swing.

ALL STUDENTS CAN SHINE!

November 18th to the 22nd is Bullying Aware-

ness and Prevention week across school boards in

Ontario including Peel District School Board.

One of Clark Boulevard’s character traits of the

month is inclusiveness. During this week students

will be encouraged to learn about and demon-

strate this character trait with regards to Bullying

Awareness and Prevention. Topics of discussion

may include bullying at school, cyber bullying

and taking an active role to include everyone.

Please take this opportunity to discuss what it

means to be inclusive with your child at home at

school and in the community

Remembrance Day Assembly

Lest we Forget!

Clark will be holding its annual Remembrance

Day assembly on Monday November 11th at

11:50 a.m. in the school gymnasium.

All students will be offered a poppy to wear on

the day in honor of our soldiers and veterans. A

small donation would be greatly appreciated. We

would like to invite you to join us at this solemn

occasion.

November 3rd @ 2 a.m.—don’t forget to

turn your clocks back 1 hour!!!!

ABSENCE REPORTING

CALL 905-793-0235

Before 9:30 a.m.

If your child will be

absent from school!

SCHOOL HOURS

8:25 a.m.—Supervision begins outside

8:35-8:40 a.m.—Entry and Opening Exercises

11:00-11:40 a.m.—1st Nutrition Break/Recess

1:00—1:40 p.m. –2nd Nutrition Break/Recess

3:00 p.m.-School Ends

Cancer Fundraiser

My name is Sara Mody and I am a grade one teacher at Clark Blvd. Public

School. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2009. Each day, I focus

on things that are important to me: eating healthy foods, exercising including

yoga, laughter and positive thinking. Recently, I had the opportunity to meet a

Canadian idol of mine at a fundraising event. Vikram Vij, is a well renowned

Indian/Canadian Chef, who owns two successful Indian restaurants in Vancou-

ver. He believes that spices such as, turmeric, cumin, ginger, garlic, onion and

foods play an important part in keeping us healthy. Presently, I am working

towards participating in the Cook for Cure fundraiser highlighted on the Food-

Network. My goal is to raise $2500 by the end of November in order to cook with Vikram at this huge

cooking showdown in December and compete against other Canadian Chefs! My 5th year anniversary

of being cancer-free is quickly approaching, I would love the opportunity to cook alongside Vikram and

learn how to cook Indian food from the master, himself. Vikram will be tentatively, based on his sched-

ule, visiting us at Clark Blvd PS on November 18th for a special, whole-school assembly. Stay tuned for

more information!

Please support me and cancer research by contributing to the cause. For more information please check

out http://www.cookforthecure.ca/ Any donation would be greatly appreciated (e.g. $1, $2, $3, $5) and

will be collected by homeroom teachers.

ALL STUDENTS CAN SHINE!

Progress reports and Parent-Teacher interviews

Progress reports will be sent home for grade 1 to 5 students on Friday, November 1st.

Parent-teacher interviews will take place on the evening of Thursday, November 7th

and the morning of Friday, November 8th.

Kindergarten Observations and Parent-Teacher Interviews

Parents of children in the first year of kindergarten will be invited to observe your child

in their class during the week of December 9th.

Parents of children in the second year of kindergarten will be invited to attend an inter-

view with the teacher in January.

This will allow teachers to have more time to spend with the children to assess their de-

velopment in the different areas of the kindergarten program. Parents of kindergarten

children will receive their child's report card at the interview.

ALL STUDENTS CAN SHINE!

Prevent the flu. It’s in your hands.

Hand washing is the most important way to prevent the spread of

infection. Always wash your hands with soap and water when they

are dirty.

Clean your hands before:

touching your eyes, nose or mouth

touching/preparing food or drinks

eating or drinking

caring for someone in your home who can easily get sick

(baby, elderly or someone who has an unhealthy immune

system)

first aid

Clean your hands after:

touching pets or other animals

touching raw meat, particularly chicken

touching surfaces such as a railing or grocery cart

touching money

touching objects sick people have touched

touching blood or body fluids such as urine, vomit or feces

contact with those who have a cold, the flu, diarrhea or virus of

any kind

changing diapers

wiping your own or a child’s nose

sneezing or coughing

using a facial tissue

using the washroom

removing gloves

cleaning

gardening

What to do when you cough or sneeze:

cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve

put used tissues in the wastebasket

clean your hands with soap and water or a hand sanitizer

For more information call Peel Health at 905-799-7700 or visit

www.peelregion.ca/flu.

Help your child prepare for tests

Many students will become anxious at the thought of

writing a test. Anxiety about an upcoming test can

affect a child's behaviour, thoughts and actions. Here

are some ways you can help minimize anxiety at test

time:

Organize & Prepare

Encourage your child not to leave assignments,

studying and homework to the last minute.

Schedule time for review and work on assign-

ments each day.

Establish a regular time of the day for home-

work, studying etc.

Make the home a homework-friendly environ-

ment where learning is regular routine.

Remove distractions like the television, stereo,

telephone when studying.

Tell your child to make sure tests and due dates

are marked in their agenda.

Practice

Encourage your child to think about what,

when, where and how when preparing/

completing assignments.

Develop practice tests and help them anticipate

questions.

Review previous exercises.

When appropriate, encourage your child to pair

up with a friend to review information and

brainstorm.

Build learning into family activities— suggest

keeping a journal, writing a report or a news

article about family events, outings or trips.

Be in the know

Check out the curriculum for your child’s grade

level (available as PDF files at

www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum)

Ask your child’s teacher about major topics

studied and how these topics are structured—

homework, assignments, exercises

Use your child’s agenda to communicate with

their teacher—ask questions, check for home-

work tips, etc.

For schools in Brampton/Caledon

Peel Board Advantage Education Fair on Nov. 9

If you live in Brampton or Caledon, plan to attend the Peel Board Advantage Education Fair at

Harold M. Brathwaite Secondary School on Nov. 9. Drop by between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to

learn about our middle schools with regional programs and secondary schools in Brampton and

Caledon. Staff and students will be available to answer questions about the schools’ academic

and extracurricular programs.

The day will also include student musical performances and sport games in the gymnasium.

Snacks will be provided. Register for French Immersion by Jan. 31, 2014

Are you thinking of registering your child for French Immersion (FI)? For the 2014-15 school year, parents must

register children for entry into grade 1 FI by 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014.

Registration for FI will be done through an online registration form that will be available on Nov. 22 at

www.peelschools.org/parents/programs/French/registration.

What is the FI program like? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the program? How can you tell

if it is the right choice for your child?

One way to help answer these questions is to attend the information meeting at the FI school your child would at-

tend. Meet the principal and some of the teachers from the school. Hear about the program and have an opportunity

to ask questions. Talk with some parents whose children are now in the program. A parent information night will

be held at each FI school in Peel on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.

Registration process

A grade 1 FI enrolment cap is in place. This means that a specific number of spots are available for students enter-

ing grade 1 FI. If the number of students registered by the deadline exceeds the number of spots in grade 1 FI, a

lottery system will be used to identify students gaining entrance into the grade 1 FI program.

All students who make the registration deadline will be placed in a lottery and assigned a rank using

a computerized random selection process. Spots are not assigned on a first come, first served basis. Once stu-

dents have been assigned to all available spots, remaining students will be placed, again in rank order, on the

school's waitlist.

Some students will be automatically placed in grade 1 FI. To find out if your child does not need to participate in

the lottery, and for more information about the lottery and waitlist processes, visit www.peelschools.org/parents/

programs/French/registration.

How to get more information

Visit the Peel board website—www.peelschools.org/parents/programs/French/registration.

Call Dorset Public School at 905-793-5210.

Visit the Canadian Parents for French website at www.cpfont.on.ca.

ALL STUDENTS CAN SHINE!

ALL STUDENTS CAN SHINE!

Open House Survey Contest Winner, Shivansh

The classes of:

Ms. Hayman Ms. Stolk

Mr. Fox Ms. Monte

Ms. Chadwick