Arriving On Time for School

Thornwood continues to experi-

ence a high volume of students

arriving late for school in the

morning. Please remember that

school begins at 8:40 a.m. We

strongly encourage you to arrive

10-15 minutes beforehand to

avoid congestion at the main of-

fice and in our parking lot. Thank

you.

Safe Arrival

Safe Arrival will allow you to report

your child(ren)’s absences

quickly and conveniently in one

of three ways:

1. You can call into an automat-

ed, interactive telephone

system via a toll free number

1-855-209-6155. Please call

before the start of school.

2. You can log into

pdsb.schoolconnects.com, to

access a SafeArrival parent

Portal.

3. You can download the

SafeArrival mobile application

for Apple and Android

devices.

Principal’s Message:

Happy New Year! We hope that you had a won-derful winter break and enjoyed time with family and friends. It is an absolute pleasure and privilege to be joining Thornwood Public School as your new Principal. I have received such a warm welcome from chil-dren, staff and families, and I look forward to serving this exceptional community of learners. We hope you will join us, on January 26

th from

6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., for our first school coun-cil meeting of 2017. In the meantime, please call or come by the office if you have time for a quick introduction and hello. With appreciation and thanks, S. Stanford

Inspire Success, Confidence and Hope Principal: Mrs. S. Stanford

susan.stanford@peelsb.com

Vice Principal (Acting): Mrs. N. Madgett

nicole.madgett@peelsb.com @nikkimadgett

Office Manager: Ms. A. Allen

april.allen@peelsb.com

277 Mississauga Valley Blvd., Mississauga

905-275-4077

Superintendent: Mr. A. Edwards

Trustee: Mrs. S. Lawton

@ThornwoodPS

JANUARY 2017

Celebrating Faith and

Culture

January 2017 DATE

CELEBRATION FAITH AND CULTURE

Month of January K'aliyee & Spirit moon Aboriginal Spirituality

January 1 Temple Day Buddhism

January 1 and 14 (J) New Year’s Day Christianity and Canada

January 1 Gantan-sai Shinto

January 5 Sakyamuni Buddha’s Enlighten- Buddhism

January 5 Birth of Guru Gobind Singh Sikhism

January 6 and 19 (J) Epiphany or Feast of Theophany Christianity

January 7 (J) Christmas Christianity

January 9 Seijin-no-hi Shinto

January 12 Mahayana New Year Buddhism

January 13 Lohri Hinduism

January 13 Maghi Sikhism

January 14 Makar Sankranti Hinduism

January 15 World Religion Day Bahá'í

January 18 to February 5 Month of Sultán Bahá'í

January 28 Lunar New Year/Maitreya Bodhi- Buddhism

LUNCHROOM SUPERVISORS NEEDED

Thornwood Public School is looking for Casual Lunchroom

Supervisors. The role of the lunchroom supervisor is to actively

supervise students while they are eating their lunch and while they are

outside playing during lunch recess. Lunchroom supervisors also

help to promote positive behaviour and support students with

problem solving. Please contact Mrs. Madgett, Vice Principal (Acting)

if you are interested in applying for this paid position.

January 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 First day

back to school

Happy New

Year!

10 11

Pizza Day

12 13 14

15 16 17 Peter and

the Wolf

Performance

K—Grade 2

18

Cookie and

Milk Day

19 20 21

22 23

PD Day—No

School for

Students

24 25

Pizza Day

26

School Council

6—7 p.m.

27

Spirit Day!

Favourite

Team Day !

28

29 30 31

Mark Your

Calendars!

Milk and Cookie Day

Cookies $1.00

Milk $1.00

Wednesday Jan. 18

Wednesday Feb. 1

Wednesday Feb 15

Pizza Day

Slices $1.75

Wednesday Jan. 11

Wednesday Jan. 25

Wednesday Feb. 8

Wednesday Feb. 22

Congratulations to our students of the month!

December - Student of the Month

Grade Teacher / Room Student Character Trait

1 Geddes 112 Tringa Cooperation

Belvedere 115 Rajeash R. Caring

Simpson 114 Ishan Responsibility

2 Passarelli 111 Mahib Responsibility

Janthur 210 Ganesh Cooperation

Thampi 113 Taha Caring

2/3 Donnelly 213 Mohamad Caring

3 Vedi 215 Sudais Caring

De Castro 212 Vismayaa Responsibility

Zikmanis 209 Khadija Perseverance

4 Ryu 201 Sogol Caring

Zavarella/Smith

203

Reianna Responsibility

Caron 202 Umaama Caring

5 Stuckless 204 Adithi Responsibility

Wisner 206 Jaidyn Caring

Giblen 208 Nakana Caring and

Inclusiveness

ASD/

ISSP

Burgess 214/211 Kaleb Perseverance

French

/ Gr. 4

Smith 203 Hilary Inclusiveness

Bus cancellation & closing schools due to bad weather During the winter months, we may need to cancel buses or close schools because of inclement weather.

Information regarding details of cancellations or closures will be announced on radio and television stations and will also be available on Twitter @Peelschools, Facebook at www.facebook.com/peelschools, www.peelschools.org and www.stopr.ca or by calling 905-890-1010 or 1-800-668-1146.

One of the following messages will be announced

Peel District School Board buses are cancelled.

This means that schools remain open for students and staff, but buses are cancelled. Bus cancellations could occur in all or parts of municipalities. Bus-es will remain cancelled all day. All activities that require busing will also be cancelled. Permits, night school classes, child care and other activities in schools will operate as usual.

All Peel District School Board schools and board offices are closed.

This means that all schools and Board offices are closed to students and staff. All activities in schools and board offices are also cancelled, including child care, night school and permits.

All evening programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are can-celled.

This means that all activities in schools and Board offices are cancelled, in-cluding continuing education courses and events. The buildings will be closed.

All weekend programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are cancelled.

This means that all activities in schools and Board offices are cancelled, in-cluding continuing education courses and events. The buildings will be closed.

Winter bus safety The following winter school bus safety tips will help to keep your child safe throughout the winter months.

Allow extra time to get to your bus stop.

Wear bright clothing so the bus can see you in the early morning and late evening.

Stand away from where the bus stops. Buses need extra room to stop when there is snow and ice.

Use the handrail when boarding or exiting the bus to prevent slipping on wet or icy steps or road surfaces.

Dress properly—winter clothing, hats, and boots will keep you warm.

Don't throw snowballs at the bus or other children waiting for the bus.

Don't slide on the snow or ice patches in driveways or on the street.

Don't push or shove around the bus. Someone could fall down on the ice and get hurt.

School Bus Delays and

Cancellations If you are looking for addi-tional information on trans-portation procedures or school bus safety they can be directed to www.stopr.ca:

For School Bus Safety, click on the "Links" tab and follow to "Ontario Ministry of Transportation, School Bus Safety"

For Transportation Proce-dures, click on the "Procedures" tab for a com-plete list of Transportation Procedures

School Bus Delays and Cancel-lation Notifications:

Please note that Parents can now sign-up to receive email notifications of de-lays or cancellations for their children’s bus run. Parents should go to www.stopr.ca and click on-to the "delays and cancel-lations" link and then click "subscriptions" to sign up for this service.

It's time to register children born in 2013 for kindergarten We inspire success, confidence and hope in each student…and it all starts in kindergarten! If your child was born in 2013, he or she can start kindergarten in September 2017. You can reg-ister your child at any time during our regular school hours.

Thornwood will also hold a Kindergarten Registration Week during Feb. 6 to 9, 2017. Visit us from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 6, 7, 8 and 9 and from 5 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 9.

What you will need to bring to registration

Proof of child's age (one of the following)

Canadian birth certificate

Canadian passport

citizenship card/certificate

Permanent Resident Card

confirmation of permanent residence

work permit

refugee permit

Proof of address (one of the following)

Ontario driver's license

utility bill

bank statement/client slip (directly from financial institution)

credit card statement

federal government forms (e.g. Social Insurance Num-ber, Service Canada documents)

purchase agreement

Proof of custody – children must live with their parent(s) unless provided documentation supports an alternate living arrange-ment

Proof of immunization – proof that your child has been immun-ized/vaccinated

Nutritious lunches help children learn

Use Canada’s Food Guide to help your child get nutrients and energy needed to have a successful school day.

Try to give your child some choice about what to take for lunch. If possible, get your child involved in preparing meals.

Give your child a variety of healthy choic-es. Keeping your child interested in lunch is the first step to making sure it is eaten.

Make the food easy to eat. If it will take your child a few minutes to unwrap a sandwich, it may be skipped.

Resist the temptation to routinely send sweets, pop, chips and cookies in your child's lunch. Save treats for special occasions.

Try to avoid fast food or pre-packaged, convenience lunches, which are often high in salt and fat.

Do your best to role model healthy eating behaviours for your family.

To speak to a registered dietitian about healthy food choices, call Eat Right Ontar-io at 1-877-510-5102.

For more information about the policy, visit http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/healthyschools. If you have questions about how we are implementing the School Food and Beverage Policy, please call the school.

Kindergarten Registration

2017-2018

Middle School Regional Learning Choices Programs

Regional Learning Choices Programs offered by the Peel District School Board empower students by providing an opportunity to develop and explore skills in a particular area of interest. These programs are open to all students who meet the criteria for acceptance. Information Nights Students and their families are encouraged to attend the information night for the program of their choice to receive more information about the program and application details. If you are unable to attend the information night, program details and information about the application process are avail-able through the school. How to apply The application process for elementary regional pro-grams opens in mid-January 2017. Application dates for middle school programs vary from school to school. The application window for our secondary regional programs has closed for this school year. Visit www.peelschools.org/RegionalPrograms to learn more about our programs, application process and transportation eligibility.

Health and Physical Education Curriculum supports the physi-cal, emotional and social well-being of students

Working together to keep our stu-dents safe and healthy

The Peel District School Board implemented the Ministry of Education’s revised Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum in the 2015-16 school year. The curriculum is divided into four elements that work together to support the physical, emotion-al and social well-being of students:

active living

movement competence

living skills

healthy living

Peel staff will again teach the human development and sexual health component to students, beginning spring 2017. This provides time for teachers to de-velop strong relationships with their students prior to this phase.

Advance notice letters will be sent home with stu-dents two weeks prior to the human development/sexual health lessons. Families can submit religious accommodation requests at any time prior to the lesson by contacting the school directly.

To get more information on how the HPE curriculum will be taught, please visit our website at www.peelschools.org/HPE.

The Peel District School Board is hosting its annual parent conference on Saturday, April 1, 2017, at Mississauga Secondary School in Mississauga. Once again, the conference will focus on numeracy—25 out of 60 workshops help with math. Parents will still have the opportunity to attend workshops on other topics, including literacy, special education and science.

This free learning event is open to Peel parents of students at all grade levels.

Registration opens Feb.1, 2017

Stay up-to-date!

For more information, look out for the conference flyer at your child's school or visit www.peelschools.org/parents/conference.

.

Apply for French Immersion by Jan. 27, 2017

If your child will be starting grade 1 in September 2017, one of the important choices you will make is whether you want to consider French Immersion (FI). To find out more about the program, visit www.peelschools.org/French

The application form for grade 1 FI for the 2017-18 school year will be available online at www.peelschools.org/French as of Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 at 1 p.m. The deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at 4 p.m. Applications received after the deadline will not be included in the random selection process and will be placed on the school’s waitlist.

The FI school for our area is [INSERT: name of school]. The phone number is [INSERT: phone number of FI school].

Enrolment cap and random selection process

As there is a grade 1 FI enrolment cap in place, there are a limited number of spots available for students entering the program. The cap is set at 25 per cent of all Peel students enrolled in grade 1.

Spots are not assigned on a first come, first served basis. A random selection process system is used to identify students gaining entrance into the grade 1 FI program.

All students who apply by the deadline will be assigned a rank using a computerized random selection process. Once stu-dents have been assigned to all available spots, remaining students will be placed, again in rank order, on the school's waitlist. Each school has its own waitlist.

How to get more information

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

Call [name of school] at [phone number].

Visit the Canadian Parents for French website at http://on.cpf.ca/.

French Immersion