Bowmore Road Public School 80 Bowmore Road, Toronto, Ontario M4L 3J2

T:416.393.9450 F:416.393.9448

Thelma Sambrook , Principal

Peppi Kondilis-Minos, Vice-Principal

Roula Anastasakos, Superintendent

Sheila Cary-Meagher, Trustee

Email: bowmore@tdsb.on.ca

School Website: http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/bowmore

Toronto District School Board Website: http://www.tdsb.on.ca

Message from our New Principal…

We have had a busy, exciting start to the school year, and although we did

experience a little rain on the first day of school that did not dampen the

positive energy of staff, students or the families on the school yard. There were

lots of photos taken by proud parents of their children attending school for the

first time. A few special back to school moments of Bowmore students were

captured by the media and their photos were highlighted on the front page of

our local paper, The Mirror, this past week-end. New families to Bowmore

enjoyed a very special welcome to the community on the first day as they were

greeted with delicious snacks and coffee prepared by School Advisory Council.

A big thank you, to the council members for providing an enthusiastic welcome

to those families!

The September weather has been simply beautiful and it has made the transition

for many students from summer holiday to the return to school activities a little

easier. The children have settled into classroom routines and learning

expectations very quickly. Students have also enjoyed the opportunity to play

and have fun outside, and connect with friends from other classrooms. Teachers

and support staff already have many outdoor sports and enrichment activities up

and running. There is lots of positive energy to go around at Bowmore, and my

first two weeks as Principal have been great ones.

School Opening Acknowledgements

Thank you to our Head Caretaker Randy Langlois and the entire caretaking

team for preparing a clean, safe learning environment for all students and staff

to return to. The school shines from end to end and it is exciting to see samples

of student learning decorate the halls again.

Thank you as well to our office team Krista Baines, Office Administrator;

Wanda MacFarlane, Clerical and Vice Principal Peppi Minos who worked daily

to answer questions and concerns and create a warm welcoming environment

for all students and their families. Their dedication, care and concern eased

many families’ worries about the beginning of the school year.

We want to thank our parent greening team for attending to the school gardens, and

beautifying the front entrance to the school. Their time and efforts are greatly

appreciated!

Thelma Sambrook

September 2012

September 4 | First Day of School

September 5 | Regular Board Meeting

September 8 | International Literacy

Day

September 10 | Caring and Safe

Schools Weeks begins

September 15 | International Day of

Democracy

September 17 | Rosh Hashanah begins

September 17 | Herb Carnegie Week

September 19 | Powley Day &

Camp Wahanowin Information

Evening, 6:00-7:00

September 20 | Paryushana Jarva &

Curriculum Night at Bowmore,

POST-PONED

September 21 | International Day of

Peace

September 22 | Autumnal Equinox

September 26 | Yom Kippur

September 30 | Sukkot begins

October 3 | Regular Board Meeting

October 5 | World Teachers' Day

October 10 | International Walk to

School Day (Eco-kick-off at Bowmore)

Calendar of Events

Welcome Back!

Welcome to a new school year at

Bowmore Public School. Our staff is

looking forward to working with you

and your child. Your continued

involvement in your child/children’s

education has a significant impact on

their academic success. One of the key

components to success for all of our

students is good communication

between home and the school. School

and classroom newsletters will provide

you information regarding curriculum,

school activities and special events.

Should any questions arise throughout

the year, please do not hesitate to speak

with your child’s teacher or to contact

the office to arrange a meeting to

discuss your concerns. We have

postponed our Curriculum Night. Please stay tuned about re-

scheduling this information evening.

We hope you already had the

opportunity to connect with many of

our 2012-13 staff. We had a few staff

changes over the summer . This list will

be updated on the school website in the

near future. It is an important time to

update and confirm student enrolment.

We are closely monitoring our class

sizes in alignment with Ministry

requirements. Please keep in mind that

should our enrolment at Bowmore rise

or drop significantly during these first

weeks of September, a reorganization

of classes may need to occur.

Guidance Dept. GUIDANCE NOTE…(from Ms. Miller-Caise) I am excited about being back a Bowmore again this year. I look forward to working

with students, teachers and parents in both our junior and senior schools. Once again

my focus will be on supporting students as they develop their interpersonal skills,

explore future options and prepare for academic successes. I can be reached through

the main office.

The grade 8 transition to high school begins this month. I will be meeting with

students in class and reviewing timelines. Together we will be exploring high school

options and requirements. A parent information evening will be scheduled for mid

October. Families are encouraged to monitor the school website for updates and

important information. High school information nights are only one month away!

Mad Science Returns Applications for the Mad Science program were sent home last week.

Families interested in enrolling in this lunch-program are encouraged to register via

the Mad Science website. The program will run once a week on Wednesday at lunch.

Participants will eat their lunch in the activity location supervised by Mad Science

staff.

Additional registration flyers can be found on the main office front counter. You may

also visit the website to register directly on-line -

http://register.madscience.org/toronto/

U Got Dance is Back! Once again this dynamic program is coming to the Bowmore primary division.

Students will have the opportunity to join in and move on Monday at lunch. There will

be a total of three sessions during the school year. Join one or join them all!

Application information will be coming home with students later this month. For

more information visit: www.ugotdance.com

Theatre Extravaganza Theatre Extravaganza presents an upcoming Musical Theatre program at Bowmore PS: Mary Poppins (Grades 2-6) Dates: Wednesdays from Oct. 4th to Dec.5th (9 weeks) Time: 3:15-4:30pm Cost: $113.00 ($100 plus $13 HST) Act, sing & dance in this fun-filled musical adventure. Act, sing and dance in the popular story of Mary Poppins! Join in the adventures of Mary and Bert as they dance on the rooftops of jolly ol’ London, England and spread their joy to the Banks family household. The songs include Chim Chim Cheree, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Let’s go Fly a Kite. This course will develop

social and communication skills and build confidence as we focus on individual talent as well as group collaboration. A final presentation will be held for family and friends. TO REGISTER: Please contact Donna at theatre.extravaganza@gmail.com or 416-526-6589 by October 2nd to reserve a spot in the class and receive a registration form. Register early as space is limited!

PREFER TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO SUPPORT

BOWMORE STUDENT ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES?

HERE’S HOW:

You can make a tax-deductible

donation to Bowmore through the

TDSB for the purpose of enriching

our children’s educational

experience, simply by writing a

cheque payable to the "Toronto

District School Board" and clearly

mark in the Memo section of the

cheque where the money shall be

sent to (i.e. Bowmore PS Student

Enrichment Initiatives). Bowmore

will forward the cheque to the

TDSB, who will process a tax

receipt for donations $25 and over.

These funds will be directed back

to Bowmore for use as indicated

on the "Memo" section of the

cheque. Alternatively if you are not interested in a receipt for tax purposes you can write a cheque for any amount directly to Bowmore School Council and your funds will be directed towards student enrichment with other funds raised by the School Council.

Donations to our Snack Program

The Bowmore Nutrition

Committee is pleased to continue

the snack program. We hope your

children are enjoying a healthy

nutritious snack every morning.

We are fortunate to receive partial

subsidy from our Municipal and

Provincial Government, but we

still need your donations. Our goal

is to offer a nutritious snack to

every child. We encourage you to

make your donation through a

cheque made payable to The

Toronto Foundation for Student

Success. Please note that for any

donation over $20.00 a tax receipt

will automatically be issued to the

donor.

If your child is not signed up for

the snack program it is not too late.

Please pick up a registration form

Student Library Record - The Library will soon be up and running. All students will attend an orientation session with their homeroom teacher. They will also receive information about the status of their Library Record. Special thanks to all those students who have returned their library books and are ready to start this school year off borrowing books with a clear A+ library record. Please return any outstanding overdue books found over the summer ASAP. If your child has an overdue book, please help them to clear their record by returning that book, donating a book, or payment ($5.00 softcover, $10.00 hardcover). Thank you for helping to keep our records up to date. Library Monitors - Special thanks to all our library monitors from last year. Student Library Monitor applications for this school year will soon be available. Grade 4 and 5 students who enjoy books and like to organize are encouraged to apply. Interested students should listen to the announcements and come by the Library to pick up an application. Parent Volunteers - In the Library we are always looking for help organizing, shelving, labeling and sorting books. We would like to invite any interested parents to come and volunteer in the library. If you have an hour a week to help out, that would be most appreciated. If you have a special interest related to books, reading, writing or computers, we would like to invite you to the Library to share your expertise with a group of students. Please call Ms. Polgrain if you have some time to share in the library this year. Book Club - Our Book Club will be starting up in October. Students will meet at lunch to read, share and discuss their books. Students will also use technology to support their interest in reading. I am looking forward to hearing about the books students read over the summer. Beyond Books - Over the next few weeks students will be busy in the Library resetting their passwords for computer access, learning about the Library Website, and engaging with the Smart Board. Some students will participate in Student Vote by completing their election ballots in the Library. Staff and students will be learning together about all the wonderful ways to use our new Document Camera. Book Exchange - Open Book Exchange is everyday in the Library from 11:00am - 11:30am and from 12:30pm - 1pm. The Library is open after school until 3:45pm everyday. Parents are invited to come by to sign out books during Open Book Exchange times or after school. Book Fair - Many thanks to those families who have supported Bowmore's Book Fairs in the past. Our Fall Scholastic Book Fair will be from September 19 - 27th in Room 205 (the Drama Room). We will have the Book Fair open during the evening of Bowmore's Curriculum Night, (Thurs. Sept. 20, 2012). It would be wonderful to see as many families as possible on that evening. This is also an opportunity for families to purchase a book for their child's classroom. The benefits from your purchases will be used this year to purchase material for our school library. Once again we will need the support of our parent volunteers to make our Book Fair a success. Please contact Debra Polgrain, Teacher Librarian, (416) 393- 9450 ext. 20020 if you are able to volunteer at the Book Fair.

Library News

Welcome to the 2012/2013

Bowmore school year! Thanks to all the parents who stopped

by our welcome table for the first

morning back at school on September 4,

and for the Kindergarten welcome

morning on September 7.

And a HUGE thank-"moo" to Dawn and

the staff at Lazy Daisy's Cafe for the

delicious free coffee & snacks - their

ongoing support of our Bowmore

community is truly "moo"velous!

First School Council Meeting

Thursday September 27, 2012 School Council meetings are held

regularly throughout the school year.

Regardless of whether or not you choose

to join Executive Council, all Bowmore

parents are encouraged to come out and

join us at every meeting.

At the September 27 meeting we will be

discussing fundraising plans for the

year, as well as other vital school issues.

This will be a terrific opportunity to

meet Principal Sambrook as well as the

new executive members of Council. At

every meeting we review and vote on

funding requests, hear from our

principal, and discuss a variety of issues

affecting our students and school

community.

Each meeting includes free pizza and

childcare, making it easy for parents to

attend – no worries about dinner or

babysitting!

Agendas are emailed to all parents on

our email list a few days in advance. We

also publish minutes on our school

bulletin board and on our website

following each meeting.

Every Bowmore parent has a voice and

a vote at School Council- make yours

count! We hope together to continue to grow as

a strong and vibrant school community.

Please join us!

Important dates to remember:

Monday, September 24

Nominations close at 4:00 p.m,

(self-nomination forms available at the

office)

Thursday, September 27

First School Council Meeting 6-8 pm

Who are we? We’re you! School Council is made up of parent volunteers

representing your voice in ensuring the enrichment of our children’s education

at Bowmore, and to coordinate communication between parents and

Bowmore’s educators.

Self-Nomination Deadline Extended: New Deadline September 24, 2012

School Council Needs You!

Key Executive Positions Available Are you thinking about joining School Council this year? We need your help!

September nominations are for key positions on the Executive. To nominate

yourself, fill out the form at www.bowmoresc.com and drop it off in the school

office no later than September 24. Printed forms are also available in the school

office.

Key positions for September elections:

Chair or Co-Chairs - Provide leadership and guidance to the Executive

Committee and liaise with the Principal and Vice Principal on School Council

related school matters. Responsibilities also include overseeing School Council

initiatives and providing guidance and support to sub-committees, chairing

School Council meetings (minimum of four per a year) including leading the

development of meeting agendas, and representing School Council at various

external TDSB meetings.

Treasurer - The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the School Council

financial records including issuing cheques, making bank deposits, preparing

financial statements (including annual statement to TDSB) and bank account

reconciliation. The Treasurer is a signatory on the bank account. The Treasurer

also provides administrative support to School Council fundraising endeavours.

Key candidate requirements include comfort with and basic understanding of

bookkeeping and accounting principles.

Secretary - The Secretary attends and takes minutes at each School Council

meeting. The Secretary prepares these minutes for draft review before each

subsequent meeting, and works with the Communications Coordinator to

ensure their publication in approved form on the School Council website.

Fundraising Chair - The Fundraising Chair organizes fundraising activities,

by coordinating and implementing a fundraising plan that is decided upon by

School Council by the end of October. Funds raised in this role are key to

student enrichment activities at Bowmore.

Ward 16 Representative - Attends Ward 16 Trustee meetings and reports on

learnings at School Council meetings.

Communications Coordinator - Manages website, e-blasts, social media and

School Council newsletter submissions.

Members-at-Large - Participates in Council work as needed, occasionally

spearheading specific projects as determined by Council.

But that’s not all! Other roles may be developed depending on school needs

and applicant's interests and skills. Examples of such roles implemented to date

include Movie Night Coordinator, Green Team Lead, Communications Support

and QSP Support.

Bowmore School Council www.bowmoresc.com

Character Development

Throughout the year, we will continue

to focus on the 10 attributes identified

at the TDSB and we encourage

parents to reinforce these attributes at

home whenever possible: Respect,

Responsibility, Empathy, Kindness

and Caring, Teamwork, Fairness,

Honesty, Co-operation, Integrity

and Perseverance.

Jr Cross Country Running

Team (Gr. 1 – 6)

(from Ms. Jarvis and Mr. Murtaugh)

The Junior Cross Country team is

having its first practice on

Wednesday, September 12th at 8:05

am to 8:30 am. We will be practicing

on Monday, Wednesday and Friday

mornings for the month of September

until our first race which takes place

at Ashbridges Bay on October 3rd.

Permission forms went home on

Friday, September 9th and need to be

returned before you join a practice. If

you need a form, you can get a copy

outside Room 204 or from Mr.

Murtaugh. All filled out forms are to

be returned to your teacher or to Mrs.

Jarvis. If bussing schedules are a

conflict, please come and speak to

one of the coaches so we can make

alternate arrangements. We look

forward to a great running season.

Please dress in layers as the morning

can start out cool but then as the

runners run they get very warm.

Students must be wearing running

shoes to participate. Parents are

always welcome to run with us ( a

great way to get a morning run in!!)

and as the team consists of over 100

runners, volunteers are needed to

make the team a success. Please fill

out the volunteer form if you are able

to spare some time in September or at

the meet. Our goals are participation,

healthy attitudes, team spirit and

personal achievement! Let’s go

Bowmore!!

Terry Fox National School Run Day

On Thursday, September 27th, Bowmore will be supporting the nation wide

Terry Fox campaign by participating in a run. All classes from JK to Grade 8

will be scheduled during the day to run / walk as many laps as they can

around the field. Grades JK-3 are asked to support the campaign by bringing

in a Toonie and Grade 4-8 will be taking home Pledge forms. More

information will follow shortly. The Terry Fox run has been a long standing

tradition at Bowmore and parents are always welcome to come run with us

and cheer on our classes. We will also be looking for volunteers to help

monitor the snack, supervise the course and to keep the music going. Please

contact Debra Polgrain/Library (416) 393 9450, Ext. 20020,or email at

debra.polgrain@tdsb.on.ca. if you are able to help on Thursday, September

27th for this very worthy cause. We are also showing our Bowmore spirit by

wearing BLACK and RED clothes or Bowmore spirit wear. In class, students will

be reading books about Terry Fox and learning about why he is a true

Canadian hero.

Dropping off and Picking up students

The safety of our students is of paramount importance to all members of

the Bowmore community. Please make sure that you drop off your

children within the drop off zone on Wrenson Road and use the pathway

between the parking lot and the tennis courts to enter the school yard.

Do not use the school parking lot or the bus loading zone in front of

the school to drop off / pick up your child. The school parking lot is

only for TDSB staff/volunteers between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00

p.m.

SafeArrival - Reporting Absenteeism

If a child must miss school due to illness or appointments, parents/

guardians should phone the school and inform the office staff of the

absence. The school Safe Arrival phone number is 416–393-9450 and

you may leave a message 24 hours a day. Please leave a message with

your child’s name, room number and reason for absence. According to

TDSB policy on Safe Arrival, if you do not inform the school of your

child’s absence by telephone or note, we will need to call you at home

or at work. Therefore it is very important to have current phone

numbers at school.

With a school the size of Bowmore, you can appreciate the number of

phone calls we must make twice daily and this is very time-consuming

for our staff. You can help! If you know in advance that your child will

be late or absent, please inform the school either by calling or by

sending a note to your child’s teacher. Thank you for your help.

Your Community

Health & Wellness

Bowmore students, teachers and parents worked hard last year to earn our

school an "Eco-Gold" certification! School lunches are a major source of

waste in Ontario with the average student’s lunch generating a total of 30

kilograms of waste per school year. This means that an average of 8,500

kilograms (18,700 lbs) of waste is trucked to landfill from each school

every year- that's the weight of two full-grown elephants!

Please help by ensuring that your child brings a litter-free lunch to school

each day. Avoid ziplock bags and foil-wrapped individual packaging:

Reusable containers, washable cloth napkins, refillable bottles and simple

metal cutlery are healthier & cheaper over time. Save money, and the

planet too!

Please help by continuing to support this important initiative and promoting the “Three R’s” (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) when packing your child(ren)’s lunches.

Children are asked to return any garbage or compostable waste

home.

Visit http://www.wastefreelunches.org for ideas about packing waste-free

lunches.

Looking to volunteer in the Classroom!!

All individuals from the community who wish to come in to Bowmore PS to

volunteer with a teacher in the classroom or in a sporting activity or on a field trip

need to certified by the TDSB through completing the Police Reference Check

Application.

If you are a current volunteer with Bowmore PS and you have submitted a

completed Police Reference Check Application and payment, you need to come

to the main office to sign an Offence Declaration form for the 2012-13 school

year in order to update our data base for this current year.

If you are a new volunteer to the school , you will need to come to the main office

to request to fill out the Police Reference Check Application and submit a

payment payable to the Toronto Police Service in the form of a certified cheque

or money order. The fee is $ 16.95.

JOIN BOWMORE’S GREEN TEAM!!

You can only do so much on your own. Working together as a team we can have a positive effect on our school, our community, our city, our planet and the health of our kids! Over the past few years, our

wonderful Bowmore students,

administrators, teachers, and

parent volunteers have been

involved in a number of

environmental initiatives including

our litterless lunch program, our

anti-idling campaign, our Eco-

stewards program (just to name a

few!).

We want to keep this terrific momentum going so we are looking for your ideas, your time, your passion for the health of our world – whatever you have to share. If you are interested in getting involved with the Green Team or have a “green” idea please email Jennifer Jones at bowmoresc@gmail.com

BOWMORE SCHOOL

COUNCIL

COMMUNICATION TOOLS Did you know that Bowmore School

Council has a website and Facebook

page, and sends out useful e-blasts

about upcoming Bowmore events and

news regularly? Joining the email list

is a great way to be informed in

advance of upcoming school events,

movie nights, and School Council

activities. We also distribute the

monthly school e-newsletter. If you

are not currently on the list and would

like to be added, please email us at

bowmoresc@gmail.com, or click the

email link at www.bowmoresc.com

Email: bowmoresc@gmail.com

Web: http://bowmoresc.com/

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/bow

moresc

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/bowmor

esc

Place a note in the School

Council mailbox, located in

School Office

Call the office and leave a

message for us, 416-393-9450

Bowmore’s Eco-Corner

Code of Conduct

One of the TDSB’s mission statements is to provide learning

environments which are safe, nurturing, positive and respectful. The

TDSB Safe Schools Policy and procedures help us in our schools to

build a safe and caring environment. All Bowmore students are

expected to behave in a respectful and responsible manner. Students

are expected to resolve conflicts without the use of force of any kind

and to seek the advice from a teacher or supervisor. We all have a

responsibility to teach our children (parents and school staff) this

important life skill using appropriate strategies for the age or skill

level of the student. Our school’s Code of Conduct and Dress Code

are outlined in the Student Agendas or classroom information sent

home at the beginning of the school year. These policies are in place

to establish expectations for student behaviour and consequences for

inappropriate behaviour. Under certain circumstances infractions can

result in suspensions.

Lateness A student who arrives late interrupts the teacher, fellow students and

the office. As well, children are not adequately prepared for the day

and may miss important instructions or messages at the start of the

school day. Children should be in the schoolyard 10 minutes before

the entry bells at 8:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m for the Junior School.

Senior school students need to arrive by 8:40 a.m. each morning and

return at 12:15 p.m. from lunch. Students who are late must sign in at

the office and pick up a late slip before going to class.

It is also important that students are picked up promptly at dismissal

time. Primary students are only dismissed to their parent/guardian. If

a parent/guardian is not on time at dismissal, the child will be brought

to the office to wait.

Student Supervision Our students’ safety is always our number one concern. We would

like to remind you of supervision starting time: 8:30 a.m. Please

ensure that your child comes to school at the appropriate supervised

time, not before. Arriving earlier can put their safety at risk. We also

would like to remind you that students are expected to leave for home

promptly at dismissal, unless they are involved in remedial support or

extra-curricular activities. School yard supervision ends at 3:25

p.m.

Anaphylaxis – Peanut Allergy Alert We have several students attending our school with severe allergies.

The most common are severe allergies to peanuts or peanut products.

These allergies are potentially life threatening and even the smell of

peanuts or peanut butter can trigger a severe life threatening reaction

in some cases. As a result, it is necessary for us to request that parents

/guardians refrain from sending any foods to school that might contain

peanuts or peanut products. We all need to be vigilant in order to

ensure that no child is put at risk due to a food allergy. Students are

asked not to share snacks. Although this may or may not affect your

child’s class directly, we are asking your help to keep the school

peanut free. The TDSB has a policy and procedure for the prevention

and management of anaphylactic reactions. If you are interested,

contact the school office or Anaphylaxis-Canada (416-785-5666) for

further information.

Monthly Pizza

Lunch Fundraiser

We are looking for volunteers for

the Pizza Lunch Program. Parent

and teacher volunteers have made

pizza lunch a success in prior years

and it is great fun for the kids. The

monies raised by Pizza Lunch go to

support enrichment programs such

as Prologue Theatre, Artist in the

Classroom and Scientists in the

School. Please join us this year in

continuing the tradition. This year

pizza lunches will be offered to

Grades 1 through 5. If you would

like to volunteer, please email

bowmoresc@gmail.com, with

“Pizza Lunch” in the subject line.

QSP Magazine Fundraiser It's back! Friends and families are

invited to purchase or renew

magazine subscriptions from over

600 magazine titles through our

school program. Last year we raised

over $9,000, putting the funds

towards wonderful programs such as

Scientists in School, Prologue

Theatre and buses for school trips.

This fundraiser is a terrific way to

encourage reading while helping our

school! Look for a catalogue and

more information to come home

with your child on September 26. If

you need to renew any subscriptions

before then, go to www.qsp.ca and

you’ll be supporting the school

before we even kick off the

campaign!