Administration Team:

Principal Vice-Principal Vice-Principal Vice-Principal A. Daniel A. Gheewala D. Heron S. Maharaj

January 11, 2019

To the parents/guardians/caregivers of «First_Name» «Last_Name»,

And welcome back for the final weeks of Semester 1! On behalf of the administration, we hope that everyone enjoyed a restful, safe and happy Winter Break. For our team, the two week break from school allowed us to spend time with our loved ones, enjoy (too much!) delicious food and recharge our batteries for what is shaping up to be a fast and furious finish to classes before we reach culminating tasks in a few short weeks. Our final exam period begins on Thursday, January 24th and ends on Wednesday, January 30th (barring inclement weather days). Now is a great time to touch base with teachers to ensure that all of the required course work from Semester 1 has been submitted so that all students, parents, guardians & caregivers have an accurate idea of where we stand before writing final exams. January is also Tamil Heritage Month and we would like to acknowledge the start of the Tamil New Year on January 14th, 2019. On this day Tamils around the world will be celebrating Tamil New Year and Thai Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival. Thai Pongal is the most important and widely-celebrated festival amongst Tamils around the globe. Thai Pongal is a time to give thanks for the blessings of the previous year and a time to look forward to the New Year. Pongal refers to rice cooked in milk and sweetened with chakkarai (brown cane sugar). On Thai Pongal, members of the family wake up early in the morning, dress in new clothes and gather together to cook the traditional Pongal meal. Additional ingredients used in this special dish include milk-roasted green gram (payaru), raisins, cashew nuts (optional), and cardamom. Pongal is served with fruits (banana and mango) on a banana leaf, and the family gives thanks to the sun and the farmers for a bountiful harvest before sharing the special dish with family members, friends and neighbours. We would like to wish all members of the MCI family a very joyous Thai Pongal! Sincerely,

A. Daniel, A. Gheewala, D. Heron, S. Maharaj

Middlefield C.I.

Character Matters Trait of the Month: Optimism

“Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.”

- Nelson Mandela

What’s Happening:

January 16 Grade 9 EQAO Math

January 17 Grade 9 EQAO Math

Looking Ahead:

January 23 Last day of classes for Semester 1

January 24 Semester 1 – Period 1 Final Exams

January 25 Semester 1 – Period 2 Final Exams

MCI HIGHLIGHTS

Tamil Heritage Month

Below are pictures from the Tamil Heritage Month opening ceremonies from January 10, 2019.

A Message From Our Trustee

Open Forum Series

Chinese Newcomer Parent Support Group

A peek inside MCI’s Staff Meeting!

The first Monday of every month, MCI’s teaching staff and administration gathers for a 75-minute meeting where a variety of different topics are discussed. This month, MCI’s staff were treated to a performance by future MCI students from Cedarwood Public School and a presentation by Sudharshana Coomarasamy, a Registered Psychotherapist from Family Services York Region. The students from Cedarwood PS presented an original piece that had been performed at the Quest Conference in November, 2018. This dramatic presentation focused on Indigenous experiences and challenges in the present. MCI’s staff were amazed by the incredible performance and are really looking forward to this very creative group becoming Silverhawks next year! After the dramatic presentation, MCI’s staff had the opportunity to listen to Ms. Coomarasamy speak about further exploring and understanding Tamil heritage. This was a fitting way to bring in the new year as January kicks off Tamil Heritage Month. Ms. Coomarasamy was able give some very deep insights as to the background of so many of MCI’s students. This was a cultural learning journey that staff indicated was very fruitful and an engaging way to start 2019.

INFORMATION ITEMS – FAMILY STUDIES DEPARTMENT

It has been an exciting semester for the Social Science and Humanities Department. Students enrolled in our Family Studies courses have been learning important skills and creating innovative projects.

Learners in the Grade 11 and Grade 12 Fashion Courses were busy constructing garments such as pajama pants, dresses and cardigan sweaters. Just before the Winter Break, students in our Working with Children course presented their Children’s Fairy Tale e-books. In our Human Growth & Development course, students hosted their own on-line blogs to help peers improve their mental health.

We have been cooking up some delicious culinary treats in the kitchen as well. Our Grade 11 Food and Culture class made their own dry rub seasoning using spices and herbs inspired from different cultures around the world. As they learned about avoiding processed convenience foods, the period 1 Grade 10 class was making custom, stuffed-crust pizza and sauce from scratch, while the period 4 class was making fresh homemade pasta and sauce. They also examined how food availability impacts low-income families both locally in Canada and abroad. Our students are very much looking forward to their upcoming CHOPPED competition!

Finally, during the last 2 weeks before the break, we hosted the Family Studies Food Drive Challenge. All classes collected non-perishable food items to be donated to the Markham Food Bank. The class who brought in the most items would win a chance to have their teacher cook them a meal. We are proud to announce that the winner of the food drive was Ms. Derry’s Food & Nutrition class! Congratulations to all on an incredible semester!!

UPDATES FROM THE GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT

There is a positive relationship between regular attendance and success in school. Students at MCI are required to attend regularly, to be punctual, and to participate in all scheduled classes.

VALID ABSENCES include illness, bereavement or family emergency.

AUTHORIZED ABSENCES include dentist/doctor appointments, driver’s test, and court appearances.

EXCUSED ABSENCES refer to field trips and school sanctioned events. Students are still considered to be at school.

EXTENDED ABSENCES of four days or more require the completion of a “Special Leave” form at least one week in advance of the leave. This form may be obtained from the Main Office. A parent/guardian signature is required. It is the student’s responsibility to catch up on all work missed.

DO NOT plan absences or family vacations during culminating and exam periods as the evaluations CANNOT be rescheduled.

Type of Absence Parent/Guardian Responsibility Absent for a Full Day Phone the school with a valid reason the same day or send a note

upon return

Absent for One or More Classes Phone with valid reason indicating the time of absence or send a note with the student

Leaving Before the End of the Day Student signs out in attendance office with a note from the parent/guardian

In the Event of an Emergency Contact the office as soon as possible.

For safety reasons, students who have signed out must leave the building as they will not be directly supervised.

Dear parent/Guardian of «First_Name» «Last_Name»,

Please review the following attendance report. The report includes semester lates and absences from September 4th, 2018 – January 11th, 2019, as well as Community Service Hours submitted to date.

Course Period Teacher Total Absences

Semester 1 Total Lates Semester 1

«Course_A» «Period_A» «Teacher_Last_A» «Absence_A» «Lates_A»

«Course_B» «Period_B» «Teacher_Last_B» «Absence_B» «Lates_B»

«Course_C» «Period_C» «Teacher_Last_C» «Absence_C» «Lates_C»

«Course_D» «Period_D» «Teacher_Last_D» «Absence_D» «Lates_D»

«Course_E» «Period_E» «Teacher_Last_E» «Absence_E» «Lates_E»

«Course_F» «Period_F» «Teacher_Last_F» «Absence_F» «Lates_F»

«Course_G» «Period_G» «Teacher_Last_G» «Absence_G» «Lates_G»

Totals «Total_Abs» «Total_Lates»

Community Service Hours Submitted to date for «First_Name» «Last_Name» «Community_Servi»

This report lists the dates of each absence and the coding (ill, medical, truant).

Want more information about student attendance? Students under 18 and/or their parents can pick up a detailed attendance report from the main office.

ATTENDANCE REPORT

MIDDLEFIELD C.I. PHONE EXTENSION LIST

MIDDLEFIELD C.I. SCHOOL LINKS

Middlefield C.I. Webpage: http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/middlefield.ci

York Region District School Board: http://www.yrdsb.ca/

Y.R.D.S.B. Guide to the 2018-2019 School Year: Guide to the School Year

SHSM: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/morestudentsuccess/SHSM.html

Teacher's Name (Last Name, First Name)

VM # Teacher's Name (Last Name, First Name)

VM # Teacher's Name (Last Name, First Name)

VM #

Afsharnejad, Fatemeh 4600 Gordon, Jackie 4695 Nasreen, Tahira 4666

Arsenault, Michelle 4613 Guthrie-Stewart, Jureen 4647 Ng'Ong'Ola, Neps 4667

Atcha, Saeed 4654 Heron, Deanna 159 Nguyen, Vincent 4641

Bakshi, Shirleen 4605 Ho, Sonia 300 Nicolopoulos, Konstantina 127

Balakumar, Vithyani 4607 Hobbs, Andrew 4627 Okongwu, Ngozi 4669

Baldassini, Susanna 360 Huryn, Karolina 4629 O'Neill, Jeremy 4703

Bell, Catherine 4656 Hytman, Barry 4640 Owen, Melinda 4653

Blanchard, Dan 4608 Istanbul, Martha 4631 Quigley, Ryan 210

Boshoer, Janna 4638 Kafaf, Angie 4638 Patras, Sofia 4302

Boy, Martina 4609 Kapustina, Elena 4622 Pawlicki, Barb 4628

Brijmongal, Ganesh 4610 King-Sewell, Rockell 4701 Penak, Tori 4635

Brown, Tonya 4606 Klein, Darlene 4611 Pownall, Alyson 4625

Chan, Laura 4614 Koliviras, Eleni 4612 Prinsloo, Heather 4658

Chang, Mary 4649 Kumar, Rita 4615 Pulickeel, Jessica 4637

Chiejina, Pat 4619 Ladas, Niki 4665 Puri, Tanu 4697

Chu, Wan-Ling (Alice) 162 Lane, Janine 4699 Reid, Rebecca 4676

Cowan, Darrell 4635 Lawrence, Grace 4700 Rocheleau, Shawn 4646

Dabas, Jogender 4616 Li Kam Cheung, Priscilla 4651 Rutherford, Claudette 4673

Dadar, Mehdi 4693 Liau, Sandra 4662 Sadacharan, Skanda 4677

Daniel, Aline 158 Lloyd, Jonathan 4650 Sanchez, Rudy 4621

Del Rosario, Melissa 4648 MacPherson, Alison 4685 Stephenson, Paul 161

Derry, Joyce 4637 Maharaj, Susan 157 Suganthan, Piraveena 4636

Dornai, Angie 4678 Markandaier, Shiva 4644 Sukhera, Sabrina 4682

Duffy, Michael 4601 Markovitz, Robert 4645 Tamber, Kamal 4617

Escoffery, Nigel 4624 Mavridis, Peter 4659 Tang, Iris 4626

Falzarano, Janet 4633 Mcloughlin, Dawn 4639 Terranova, Tamara 4679

Farag, Randa 4648 McMullen, Dan 4642 Thakrar, Sandeep 4688

Firasat, Heera 4680 Mein, Andrew 4660 Thompson, Reginald 4689

Fister, Natalia 4603 Mobilos, Cathy 4630 Tsui, Ada 4643

Gauthier, Melanie 4663 Moore, Lara 4620 Van Den Kroonenberg 217

Gheewala, Amol 156 Morin, Mike 4664 Wong, Jack 4694

Glass, Jamie 4632 Murray, Stephen 4657 Woo, Rajvinder 4684

Wu, LuSi (Kitty) 4634