May 2017

Upcoming Events

Spring Concert – Wednesday, May

3rd, 2017 @1:00pm (Dress

Rehearsal)

7:00pm (Performance)

Pizza Day – Friday, May 5, 2017

Caribou Math Contest- May 3, 2017

Character Counts Assembly –

Friday, May 5th @ 8:30am

21st Learning Parent Technology

Workshops- Thursday, May 11, from

6 – 8pm

Grade 7 and 8 Vaccinations –

Monday, May 15, 2017

Victoria Day Holiday- Monday, May

22, 2017

Gauss Math Competition –

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Special Olympics – Friday, May 12,

2017

Track and Field Day – Thursday,

May 18, 2017

From the desk of the Principal and Vice Principal …

Dear Southwood Families,

It is hard to believe how quickly the end of the year is approaching! We are looking forward to many fun events and learning opportunities here at Southwood Public School. In April we had many wonderful activities that our students took part in. We are very proud of our Mindforce Team and their efforts in their competition at Tecumseh Vista. Our intermediate leadership students raised over one thousand dollars for Hospice with their Loonie for License Day and then attended a leadership camp where they participated in social justice activities. We are so proud to have such a socially responsible and involved school community.

There were many fantastic activities that occurred in April to help celebrate Earth Day. We had our annual litterless lunch picnic, which was a huge success where students took part in many environmentally friendly themed activities, and our walk, bide, and ride to school day. As always, our Eco-Team did a fabulous job in ensuring that our school is clean and recycling is well taken care of. Thank you to staff, students and families for your commitment to our environment.

We remind families how important it is that our students and families are “social media savvy”. At school we are stressing to students that leaving a positive digital footprint is very important and part of our curriculum is learning about “netiquette”. We encourage responsible internet use. On that note, our Parents’ Council is pleased to offer an interactive and educational evening focused on technology and learning. We are hoping that families will be able to join us in learning about implementing technology in the classroom and at home to further learning. The partnership between home and school is a crucial part of learning and culture in our wonderful community.

We continue to look forward to many more exciting events throughout May and June and thank our school community for their commitment and involvement in learning at Southwood. Go Sabres!

Partners in Education,

Mrs. Lowes Mrs. DeHetre

Principal Vice Principal

Southwood Staff

JK/SK – M. Savo-Newman ECE – C. Woschenski JK/SK – C. Djelebian ECE – A. McKane Grade 1 – A. Mamo Grade 1/2 – C. Coulter Grade 2 – S. Tessier Grade 2/3 – D. Hunt-Robinson Grade 3 – K. Malcolm Grade 3 – S. Forget Grade 4 – M. Dragicevic Grade 4/5 – K. Aversa Grade 5 – N. Baughan Grade 5 – P. Mio Grade 6 – J. Piescic Grade 6 – K. Camlis Grade 7 – M. Lucier Grade 7 – D. Chisholm Grade 8 – J. Dunlop Grade 8 – M. Cichon SERR – M. Brown LST- D. Edgar GAINS 1 – K. DeHetre/M. Brown GAINS 2 – A. Bellemore French – M. Hermle French – J. Meszaros Music – J. Cadarette Physical Education – K. Trudell Learning Commons – V. MacDonald DSW – D. Branch DSW – C. Jubinville EA – T. Campbell EA – S. Kovacevich EA – K. Quick EA – A. Renaud EA – S. Szostopal EA – L. Zittlau CYW – J. Glover Custodian – S. Allard Custodian – D. Sherlock Secretary – L.Ladoucer Clerk – I. Costenaro

Follow us on Twitter @ SPSSabres

Kindergarten Registration Continues

HOW DO I REGISTER MY CHILD?

In order to register your child for Kindergarten, you may book an appointment with your local school's secretary.

You may fill out the registration form and health form prior to your visit.

Age requirements:

Junior Kindergarten children must be 4 years of age by December 31 Senior Kindergarten children must be 5 years of age by December 31

Please bring the following information to your appointment:

A document to confirm Canadian Citizenship and birth date Address Parent contact information (work and home) Emergency contact person and telephone number Custody information if applicable Family doctor information Medical information (immunization record, allergy information, etc.)

Information on registering your child with special needs.

An Important Safety Reminder

We would like to remind families that

safety is a priority at Southwood, and ask

that you not use our staff parking lot as a

pick up and drop off point for your

children. It is very dangerous for children

to be in the parking lot and this is why we

have our Kiss’n Ride program, which runs

from 8:05 until 8:18am. Please use the

Kiss’n Ride or walk with students to school.

It is also very important for students to

cross at the crosswalk with the crossing

guard at Cabana and Mount Royal. Thank

you for keeping all of our Sabres safe!

21st Learning: Parent Technology Workshops

Please ensure that you RSVP by Friday, May 5th to the invitation sent out by our

Parents’ Council inviting you to the workshops we are presenting to teach families about technology. There are 4

different workshops to choose from that will teach you about

using technology, including Edsby, Edmodo, Office 365 and Learning Commons data bases. We hope to have you join us on Thursday, May 11, 2017 from 6 – 8pm. See you there!

Recognizing Excellence at Southwood School

We are very fortunate at Southwood to have a community that contributes so actively to

create a rich learning environment for our students. It takes many people to offer the

fantastic programs at our school.

We would like to recognize Mrs. Laurie Bradbury, our dedicated volunteer who runs the

snack program, works in our Kiss’n Ride, and participates in numerous school events and

activities. We are so appreciative of Mrs. Bradbury’s efforts and were pleased to honour

her at the public board meeting on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Laurie received a Champions

of Education award for all of her contributions to Southwood School. Congratulations,

Mrs. Bradbury!

We would also like to recognize Cathy Jubinville, one of our Developmental Services

Workers. Cathy works in our GAINS classrooms, assisting our students in programming.

We are so proud to announce that in recognition of Cathy’s efforts and work with

students at Southwood that she has been honoured by the Council for Exceptional

Children, and received an award in the educator’s category. Thank you for all to do to

make a difference at Southwood, Mrs. Jubinville!

Bell Changes for Next Year

A new school year brings some changes to

school. Next year we will be starting our day

five minutes earlier. Our day will start at

8:15 instead of 8:20 and supervision on the

yard will begin at 8:00am. We are doing this

in order to make changes to supervision

during nutrition breaks. Our dismissal time

will remain the same.

Growth Mindset Monthly Message

SHORTS and TOPS Reminders Students and Parents/Guardians: now that we are into warmer weather, please make sure that shorts and tops are of an appropriate length. That means: SHORTS: need to be at the end of your hands in order to be OK for school. TOPS: need to be at least two fingers wide over the shoulders. We understand

that finding appropriate clothing for school in stores is not always the easiest task for parents, but it is important that our students maintain appropriate attire in a school setting. We greatly appreciate your support with this and if you have any questions concerning this, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or Mrs. Lowes or Mrs. DeHetre in the office.

Monthly Math Tips for Families

NOTE TO PARENTS

How is Ontario’s math curriculum helping students learn the essentials? Ontario’s mathematics curriculum reflects current research and is similar to that of other high-performing jurisdictions. The curriculum provides instruction to build mathematical concepts, procedures and skills. It also provides a balance of problem solving and practice. These types of activities help build the mathematical knowledge and skills our students need for a successful and rewarding participation in society. Helping students understand and apply mathematics knowledge and skills is a collective responsibility of parents, teachers and principals. Students need to learn mathematics in a way that will serve them throughout their lives. Understanding mathematics can provide our students with many job and career opportunities. This is why students need to know why mathematics works the way it does, how to use it with confidence and competence when solving problems. Understanding mathematics enables us to:

• Solve problems and make sound decisions

• Perform calculations with ease

• Explain how we solved a problem and why we made a particular decision

• Use technology such as calculators and computer applications to help solve problems

• Understand patterns and trends so that we can make predictions

• Manage our time and money

• Handle everyday situations that involve numbers Before your child can learn mathematics, he or she needs to believe in his or her ability to do so. That’s where you come in. You can be your child’s first role model for learning. When you engage with your child in a supportive, relaxed atmosphere, your child will enjoy exploring the world of mathematics.

Doing Mathematics with Your Child, Kindergarten to Grade 6: A Parent Guide

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/parentGuideNumEn.pdf

Welcome to Kindergarten Night!

Once again we look forward to an opportunity to meet our new Early Years friends who will be joining us in September. Our new JK students will be joining us for an evening of fun and resource sharing on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 from 4:00 to 5:00pm

Way to Go, Mindforce!

We would like to congratulate our Mindforce Team who

competed at Tecumseh Vista Academy on April 8th to do some problem solving and flex their brains by working

together! Our team worked on scenarios and learned collaboration. Many thanks to Mr. Renaud and Mrs.

Aversa for their help throughout the term with Mindforce, and to Mr. Gray who helped out on the day of the

competition. Way to go, Sabres!

Loonie for License Day Was a Huge Hit!

Thanks to all of our Southwood families, teachers and students for

participating in our Loonie for License Day on April 13th. We were

able to raise over $1000.00 for Hospice and our students got to have

a lot of fun for a great cause! Nice work, Sabres!

Pitching In at Southwood

Our students did a wonderful job

working together to keep our

playground safe and clean by picking

up litter together on April 18th. Well

Done!!!

Monthly Math Moments…