Principal Mr. B. Taha

Vice Principal

Ms A. Rye-Brown

School Council Chairs Mrs. P. Wood Mrs. D. Radia

Superintendent

of Schools Mr. P. Valle

(905) 764-6830

Trustee Ms A. Debartolo (905) 898-9653

A message from the Office...

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs states: Volunteers are the most important resource community organizations have. The ability of people to work willingly together for the betterment of their community and themselves is a valuable resource.

At Mackenzie Glen Public School, we are no exception. Volunteers enable us to bring rich programming to your child. Volunteers come in many form at our school. We have volunteers who help prep, serve and clean daily in our Breakfast Program. We have volunteers that come in to read with some of our emerging readers. Other volunteers support class trips and our Scientist in the Schools program. We have volunteers that give countless hours support-ing school productions such as our musicals and other performances. Some of our volunteers support by driving students to and from school events and tournaments.

One other way volunteers support student well-being and achievement is by volunteering to be part of School Council. The Mackenzie Glen School Council creates numerous opportuni-ties for our community and students. As a parent, you can be part of School Council by at-tending meetings or supporting the various initiatives.

This year, School Council raised funds through the Hot Lunch program to raise money for student agendas, transportation to tournaments, new sound system for the gymnasium, and additional technology for student classrooms. Your support of our hot lunch program truly im-pacts the school experience of your children.

As parents, you are always invited to support our school with the gift of time. Please contact our school office to discuss volunteer opportunities at Mackenzie Glen PS!

Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time; They have the heart!

Volunteering is essential to our success. We thank our dedicated volunteers for their count-less hours and efforts supporting our students and staff.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns, please call us at the school.

Your partners in education,

Mr. B. Taha & Mrs. A. Rye-Brown Principal Vice Principal

June 2016

Mackenzie Glen Public School 575 Melville Ave, Vaughan, Ontario L6A 2M4 Tel: (905) 417-9771 Fax: (905) 417-8492

e-mail: mackenzie.glen.ps@yrdsb.ca @MackenzieGlenPS

There will be NO SCHOOL on

Fri. June 3 Due to a PA DAY

All Library Books are due

back by

Mon. Jun 6

Last Day of School—June 29th Early Dismissal

Please note that on Wednesday, June 29th, 2016 an early release day will take place to allow elementary teachers and support staff to participate in activities in the afternoon of that day in support of student achievement and school planning.

Students will attend school during the morning of Thursday, June 29th, 2016 only. Please plan to have students attend school until 11:15 am. This will be the last day of school for students this school year.

Parents whose children attend after school child care should make appropriate ar-rangements to address this change in schedule. Arrangements have been made to ensure that students who are normally bussed to and from school will receive trans-portation at this time. The Bus will pick up bussed students at 11:15 am and de-liver them to their regular drop-off stops.

Mackenzie Glen PS School Council Presents our annual

Family Barbecue

Wednesday, June 1, 2016 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

ORDERS ARE PAST DUE There will be LIMITED Burgers and Samosas for sale.

Volunteers Required!

Food Service, Supervision and Clean Up

Please contact the school office.

Burgers Corn Samosas Inflatable Bouncy

Castles Photo Booth Dancing with

Justin And much much more!

Student Busing Eligibility

Did you know that students’ busing eligibility changes throughout their school ca-reer? Your son/daughter’s eligibility to ride the school bus may change according to their grade and distance from home to school. Below are the provisions for eligibility identified in the Board’s Transportation Policy #680:

All YRDSB students in Grades JK-3 who live within 1.2 km of their school are not eligible for transportation

All YRDSB students in Grades 4-8 who live within 1.6 km of their school are not eligible for transportation

All YRDSB students in Grades 9-12 who live within a transit served area are not eligible for trans-portation.

To view Board Policy #680 Student Transportation, please visit www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca. For more information about bus transportation and to determine your son/daughter’s eligibility please visit www.schoolbuscity.com.

Character Corner: Optimism

The Character Matters Trait for June is Optimism. Optimism is defined as the belief that goodness pervades reality. It is an important character trait to teach our students.

Studies from Penn State University find that boosting optimism may increase the likelihood of students’ long term happiness and school success, as well as emotional and physical health.

This research by Martin Sligman also finds that students with optimistic outlooks are less likely to be de-pressed and suffer from anxiety disorders, they are also more likely to bounce back with a resilient spirit when the going gets tough.

As a parent, there are many things you can do to turn negativity into a more positive outlook.

Curb Negativity—it is suggested that children not be exposed to the ‘scary’ news. It is also suggested to try and limit the negativity children may be exposed to at home. State-ments like, “I hate this lining up at the bank and listening to stupid people!” will have a lasting impact on children.

Start “Good News Reports”—Students benefit from praise. It is recommended that par-ents praise their child at dinner for doing something positive.

www.micheleborba.com

The Sound of a Musical

On Thursday, May 5, The halls were filled with the ‘Sound of a Musical’! Students, under the direction of Ms Browning, performed songs from the 1965 Academy Award winning The Sound of Music. Numbers included ’My Favourite Things’, ’Edelweis’, ’Lonely Goatherd’ to name a few. A lot of hard work went into our musical this year. Thank you to all of our volun-teers including Ms Wood, Ms Miles, Ms Woodly-Hall.

To support the relief efforts in Fort McMurray Alberta, all money collected from ticket sales, concession and the VIP upgrade draw were donated to the Canadian Red Cross. A total of $1195.00 was raised. Thank you to all who attended our performance!

Are You Planning on Moving?

In planning for next year’s classes, it is most helpful to know if your child or children will be attending another school in September 2016 (high school not included). If your child(ren) will not be returning, please complete and return to the school office. If your child currently attends Mackenzie Glen P.S. and you have moved out of the school’s atten-dance area, please contact Mrs. Kemble at the school office. Mrs. Kemble will advise you on how to make arrangements for your child’s September placement at their new school.

Student Name(s): ____________________________will not be returning to Mackenzie Glen PS

in September 2016. Next School: __________________________________________

Warmer Weather

Warmer weather brings with it enjoyable activities, but hot weather can also endanger our health because of heat stress. Please be sure that your child comes to school with appropriate light clothing, hat, sun-screen and water to ensure rehydration. Students not following the dress code will be asked to change.

Hot Weather Action Plan In order to protect students and staff from heat stress, each school is to have a Hot Weather Action Plan. A Hot Weather Action Plan is implemented when the humidex reaches or exceeds 35 degrees Celsius. Our Hot Weather Action Plan involves a number steps including: Reducing outdoor physical activities Closing blinds Turning off unnecessary lights Turning on fans Keeping students hydrated Ensure students wear hats and sunscreen If you have any questions regarding our Hot Weather Action Plan, please contact us at school.

Dress Code

A reminder that students are to dress in an appropriate manner when attending school and school events. Hats are appropriate and recommended for outdoors. Hats are not to be worn in the school building. Use of cologne and perfume is not permitted as we have many people with scent sensitivity. Shirts must cover pants or pants must cover tops. No midriffs are to be shown. Visible underwear is not permitted, bra straps must be covered. Tank top straps must be two finger

spaces wide. Shorts and skirt hems must be down to the length of the middle finger—just above the knee.

Students not following the dress code will be asked to change into appropriate clothing.

University of Waterloo Gauss Math Competition

Each spring, students in grades 7 and 8 write the Gauss Math Test. This year we had 44 intermediate students compete. Congratulations to our top scoring stu-dents:

Dasley B in Grade 7 Hashir H in Grade 8

Congratulations!

The following Mackenzie Glen Students have been recognized: Alliance of Educators for Black Student Awards

Crystal A for Academics Jermaine B for Student Involvement

Uukkamathu Kaividale Tamil Award Raven M for Athletics

Mithuraa S for Citizenship

Eco Camp

On May 2nd to May 5th, Mackenzie Glen PS sent 5 students to YMCA Cedar Glen for YRDSB’s Eco Camp. Students participated in many outdoor activities and learned ways to help our school become more eco conscious. Students came back with an ECO plan that will be im-plemented this fall. The plan proposes a ban on disposable water bot-tles, and ways to eliminate plastic bags in our green bin program. Eco team is excited to announce ‘Walk to School Wednesdays’. Students and their families are encouraged to walk to school to reduce carbon monoxide emissions.

Eco Team is looking for community volunteers to water our newly planted cedar saplings in the butterfly garden over the summer break. If you are interested, please contact Mr. Aulakh.

Currently, we are a ‘Certified Silver Eco School’. Our goal is to up-grade our status to Gold!

YRDSB Teacher of the Year Nominee: Ms Di Mascio

Each year, the York Region District School Board recognizes outstanding teachers. This year, our very own Ms Di Mascio was nominated for the honour. She was honoured at a lunch-eon for her and 7 other elementary teachers from across the Board. Congratulations Ms Di Mascio!

Left to right: J. Parappally (Director of Education), Trustee Anna Debartolo (Board Chair, Stephanie Di Mascio (Mackenzie Glen Teacher), David Clegg (ETFO-YR President, Belal Taha (Principal), Paul Valle (Superintendent).

Cultural Heritage Assembly

During the month of May, Mackenzie Glen students and staff recognized Asian Heritage Month. As part of our celebration, we held a Multicultural Assembly. Our school’s ‘Dance Club’ presented dances from around the world. Thank you to Ms. Raviandran and Ms. G for their hard work in organizing this wonderful assembly. As a YRDSB school, we always strive to include all members of our community.

Follow us:

@MackenzieGlenPS

Way to go Mac G! Thank you to all families that donated generously to

the Fort McMurray Fire Relief.

Together we raised $1195.00 to donate to the Canadian Red Cross to support relief efforts.

Message from our Trustee, Anna Debartolo

As the school year comes to a close, I would like to thank you for all that you have done to help make this school year a successful one for our students. We share a common goal - to give our young people every opportunity to reach their full potential, and we all have a role to play in supporting that goal. However you choose to get involved, your engagement and sup-port make a difference. We know that good schools become better schools when they are connected with families. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of our students, families, staff members and community partners, we are creat-ing a welcoming, caring and inclusive learning environment that fosters student achievement and well-being. As we move into summer, I encourage you to seek out opportunities to continue and complement the learn-ing that takes place throughout the school year. That could mean taking a nature walk, visiting a museum or reading a book. Whatever your plans are over the next few months, I hope you have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable summer.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Day 2 Intermediate Track & Field School BBQ, 6PM

2 Day 3 Junior Track & Field

3 PA Day—No School

4

5 6 Day 4 Ramadan Begins

7 Day 5 8 Day 1 9 Day 2 10 Day 3 Last Day for Breakfast Club

11

12 Shavout

13 Day 4 14 Day 5 15 Day 1

Area Track & Field

16 Day 2 Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji.

17 Day 3 18

19 20 Day 4 21 Day 5 Grade 8 Graduation National Aboriginal Day

22 Day 1

Primary Play Day

23 Day 2 24 Day 3 25

26 27 Day 4 28 Day 5 29 EARLY DISMISSAL Last day of Classes Ghambar Maidyoshem

30 PA Day—No School

Please note that the Wednesdays highlighted with a Burger are also Pasta days.

To report your child’s absence, To report your child’s absence, please call our Attendance Lineplease call our Attendance Line

(905) (905) 417417--97719771 Leave a message at any time!Leave a message at any time!

JUNE 2016