BEAVERTON P.S.NEWSLETTER 270 King Street West, P.O. Box 400, Beaverton, ON, L0K1A0

Website: http://www.ddsb.ca/school/beaverton

705-426-9081

June 2016

Mission Statement

In collaboration with

the school, local and

global communities,

we will provide a safe

and respectful

learning

environment which

prepares, encourages

and inspires

students to meet

Principal

Peter Bozanis

Superintendent

Anne Marie Laginski

800-265-3968

Administrative Officer

Greg Island

Trustee

Elinor Hansen

905-852-4262

Principal’s Message

It is once again that time of year! The end of another amazing year at BPS! I am so impressed with the Beaverton Public School community. My first year as Principal has been an incredible one and I would like to thank all of the students, parents and staff of our community for welcoming me and helping me understand the history and culture of our school. The end of the school year was a busy time for everyone! From Grade 3 and 6 EQAO, to field trips to Brooks Farm, Saint Marie Among the Huron, the Blue Jay game and Dave & Busters, it was a great ending to a great year! In addition to the trips, there was a visit to Holy Family Catholic School for the musical, “Little Mermaid”, the visit to the Beaverton Historical Society and many athletic events and primary play day. We were also pleased to celebrate with our most senior students, as the Grade 8 students completed their elementary school career last night. It was a fantastic night that celebrated the great accomplishments and successes of our grade 8 students. We also celebrated our Kindergarten students who completed their two years of Full Day Kindergarten program and move up to Grade 1 where we look forward to all the accomplishments and experiences that lay ahead. For the upcoming school year, a number of changes have already taken place in regard to our classes and teaching staff. All classes at BPS will be spit classes due to our enrolment. Again we will start the school year with a full time Kindergarten class room with a teacher and Early Childhood Educator, and a second class having a maximum of fifteen JK/SK students working with one teacher,

also with full day programming. Staff Changes A couple of staff changes have resulted through teacher transfers and returning staff members. We are sorry to be losing Mr. Garey but we welcome Ms. Douglas-Harbridge back after a year of leave. We would like to congratulate Mr. Garey on securing a permanent teaching position at Beau Valley Public School in Oshawa. Thank you to Mr. Garey for a great year working with most of our BPS students in the classroom, the gym and on the field. We are also sorry to be losing Ms. Kish, but very pleased for her that she will continue working in the north at Scott Central Public School. Many thanks from the BPS community, Ms Kish, for your time here in Beaverton working in grade 5/6, the resource room and in the gym. Mr. Bozanis is in the process of hiring to fill the big shoes she is leaving behind. School Community Council Thank you to the BPS School Community Council and all of the members who met monthly and helped to organize and coordinate fundraisers and events over the course of the year. Your time and commitment to the students of Beaverton is greatly appreciated. SCC members included: Shawna D., Pam Ca., Theresa F., Tanya B., Christy D., Kari J., Mme Peters, Cassandra A., Brianna S., & Makayla D. Consider joining us in the fall! Healthy Snack Thank you to the volunteers who have organized, prepared and shopped for food for our Healthy Snack Program. Thank you for all of the hours of time all of you spend to make this program possible. It is a big job and we are asking for any interested individuals to contact the school office in the first week of July or the first few weeks of September. Healthy Snack Program volunteers include: Christy D., Lisa B-O., Pam C., Lorraine M., Shannon I., & Lisa L.

Page 2 BEAVERTON

Sparks Fly Stationary Bikes Thank you to Mme Peters and her Spirit Bears for their work throughout the year involving the Speak-Out Grant. This year Mme Peters and her Spirit Bears were able to secure two Speak-Out Grants that allowed us to have speakers from Covenant House, artist Amanda Pfeifer, and football coach Glen Mills. In addition to the amazing speakers, the grant allowed us to purchase a Sparks Fly stationary bike. The use of stationary bikes in classrooms is supported by brain science: for more information on it and the SparksFly program, see http://sparks.runforlife.ca/.

The success of the Sparks Fly stationary bikes has been amazing at Beaverton Public School! Mrs. Mary Newman Jordan, a former teacher at BPS heard about the success of our bike and wanted to do something to support us. Mrs. Newman Jordan belongs to an organization of women in Brock Township called, “100 Women Who Care”. The organization is a group of 35 women in the area who seek to make a difference for charitable organizations and schools in Brock Township. Mrs. Newman Jordan shared our success with the ‘100 Women Who Care”. The women felt that our work with the Sparks Fly bike was worth their time and generous giving. The organization decided to give our school a donation of $3500 to purchase three

BPS Successes What a year it has been! The year has flown by. We have had many successes over the course of the year and most recently in the past few months. Jr. Girls Basketball The Junior Girls basketball team had an amazing season this year, posting a 20-2 record. The girls competed in the Simcoe Challenge and won the entire tournament! The girls played hard all season, with a runner-up finish in the Brock-Uxbridge-Scogog area finals, winning a pennant for our school gym. This allowed our Beaverton Bears to move on to the top 24 team in the entire region. The girls traveled to Bolton C. Falby P.S. in Ajax to compete against the top teams in the D.D.S.B. Although their win streak ended there, the girls had a fantastic season! Congratulations to the team and to Ms. Kish and Mr. Gardner on a fantastic season!

Track and field at Beaverton is a big deal! The girls and boys from grade four to eight took part in a day of track and field events on a beautiful day. Who would have thought that a little school in Beaverton would have so many amazing athletes in comparison to the huge schools of the southern cities of Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax and Pickering? Well, we sent three competitors and all three of them placed on the podium! These three students were in the top three for their event and their age group in all of Durham Region! Congratulation to Haylee S. who place third in javelin, Mason U. who place second in shotput and Vanessa G. placed first and set a new DDSB record (beating the previous record by over 5 meters). And huge thanks to Mrs. Warren, whose incredible coaching skills were behind our success. Special Olympics Torch Relay On Wednesday, June 15th Officers from the Durham Regional Police Services, along with BPS students, started the Special Olympics Torch Relay at Beaverton Public School. This is a yearly tradition in which our school takes part. This year, our Sun Runners and Track & Field athletes led the way. Great job runners!

Ready...Set...Grow! Growth Mindset @ B.P.S.

Since the beginning of this school year, our

teachers have been striving to develop a “Growth

Mindset” in our students. The following passage,

explains the concept of a growth mindset.

Growth Mindset from http://edglossary.org/growth-mindset/

The concept of a growth mindset was developed by

psychologist Carol Dweck and popularized in her

book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In recent

years, many schools and educators have started using Dweck’s

theories to inform how they teach students.

A mindset, according to Dweck, is a self-perception or “self-

theory” that people hold about themselves. Believing that you

are either “intelligent” or “unintelligent” is a simple example

of a mindset. People may also have a mindset related their

personal or professional lives—“I’m a good teacher” or “I’m a

bad parent,” for example. People can be aware or unaware of

their mindsets, according to Dweck, but they can have

profound effect on learning achievement, skill acquisition,

personal relationships, professional success, and many other

dimensions of life.

Dweck’s educational work centers on the distinction between

“fixed” and “growth” mindsets. According to Dweck, “In a

fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their

intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their

time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of

developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates

success—without effort.” Dweck’s research suggests that

students who have adopted a fixed mindset—the belief that

they are either “smart” or “dumb” and there is no way to

change this, for example—may learn less than they could or

learn at a slower rate, while also shying away from challenges

(since poor performance might either confirm they can’t learn,

if they believe they are “dumb,” or indicate that they are less

intelligent than they think, if they believe they are “smart”).

Dweck’s findings also suggest that when students with fixed

mindsets fail at something, as they inevitably will, they tend to

tell themselves they can’t or won’t be able to do it (“I just

can’t learn Algebra”), or they make excuses to rationalize the

failure (“I would have passed the test if I had had more time to

study”).

Alternatively, “In a growth mindset, people believe that their

most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and

hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This

view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential

for great accomplishment,” writes Dweck. Students who

embrace growth mindsets—the belief that they can learn more

or become smarter if they work hard and persevere—may

learn more, learn it more quickly, and view challenges and

failures as opportunities to improve their learning and skills.

The students quickly learned that hard

work and dedication to learning could pay-off in

the long run. Students were encouraged all year

to take chances and try new things with a growth

mindset in mind.

Early on in the school year, we were able to take

some great photos of students. With the support

and help of our Literacy and Numeracy

Facilitators, Deborah K. & Anne A., we were able

to display these photos of our students in the

entryway of the school along with some quotes

from the students describing how we learn. It is an

amazing display for all and students, and staff are

quite proud of our school community’s

accomplishments.

Grade 8 Graduation

On Tuesday, June 28th our Grade 8 students

graduated from Beaverton Public School in a

beautiful ceremony attended by parents, family

members, staff (past and present), the Mayor of

Brock Township - John Grant and Trustee Elinor

Hansen. Our graduates celebrated their

accomplishments and started the evening off with

our valedictory address from this years

valedictorian, Adam C. Adam gave a wonderful

address and also went home with the Drama,

History & Geography and Math awards. Cassandra

A., received the Ontario Principal’s Council award

for leadership as well as the French award. Owen

B., received the Jim Effer award as the most

improved student and the Music award. Jadeyn G.

received the Best Overall Student, Art and Female

Athlete awards. Josh B. received the Male Athlete,

and the Science & Technology awards, and Grace

K. received the Dick Goard English award.

Congratulations to all award winners and all of our

graduates. Best of luck in high school!

Page 3 BEAVERTON

New Online Program

Provides Convenience for Families

Your Child’s Homeroom Placement for the

2016-2017 School Year

Report Student Absences Online

Dear Parents and/or Guardians:

At our school, our greatest priorities are to ensure

that all of our students are safe when at school and

that they arrive safely each and every day. To

enhance our existing absence procedure, stating in

September 2016, the Durham District School Board

(DDSB) is introducing a new student absence

reporting system called Safe Arrival for all

elementary and secondary schools.

Beginning in the new school year, parents

may to choose report their child’s absence in

advance, or before bell time for the current

day in one of two ways:

1. Toll Free Number: 1-844-350-2646

2. Website: attendance.ddsb.ca

This summer, any parents who have provided the

school with a valid email address through

verification or registration form will receive an

email with instructions on how to activate an

account through any computer in order to notify the

school of future absences. All DDSB parents will

receive a phone call with information about this

new service. Please expect to receive the phone

call with details a couple of weeks before the start

of the school year.

Online registration is not necessary for those

parents who only wish to use the toll free number

to call in absences. Both phone and online options

will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

As part of this program, we will also be introducing

an automated notification system that will contact

parents when a student is absent but no notification

was relayed to the school. If our automated

system is unable to reach a designated contact,

office staff will follow up.

To assist you we have included an information card,

containing the 1-844-350-2646 number and the

address of the Safe Arrival Parent Portal website.

Please keep the card in a convenient location for

quick reference when reporting your child’s

absence.

The Safe Arrival system will also indicate your

child’s homeroom teacher for 2016-2017 school-

year. Please read page 2 to find out more about

this new feature.

Information Regarding Your Child’s Homeroom

Placement Next Year

Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year,

elementary schools in the DDSB will no longer

display class lists in the schools. Privacy concerns

no longer allow schools to provide these lists to

community members.

Starting this summer, parents may find their child’s

teacher’s name and homeroom in any of the

following ways:

via phone call or email from DDSB/

SchoolConnects to register for our new Safe

Arrival Attendance program. Creating a Safe

Arrival account for yourself will also enable

you to access the name of your child’s

teacher and homeroom number. Those who

register will be able to view this

information online beginning on the

Thursday before school starts.

Parents who are unable or do not wish to create

an account, may still come into the school on

the Thursday prior to the first day of school and

locate their child’s teacher using a posted list of

Ontario Education Numbers (OEN). If you wish

to come in to look up your child’s homeroom

teacher, please bring your child’s report card

or student OEN with you.

Parents who have misplaced their child’s report

card or who do not have a student OEN number

may visit the office. Staff will notify you or your

child’s teacher.

We realize that this is a change of practice for all of

our families and urge all those parents who can

register online to do so, in order to avoid lengthy

wait times at the school.

Though you may still phone the school during

the first weeks of September to report an

absence, ALL PARENTS/GUARDIANS MAY

BEGIN BOOKING ABSENCES EITHER THROUGH

THE TOLL FREE NUMBER OR THE ONLINE

APPLICATION AS SOON AS YOU REGISTER

ONLINE.

We hope families will appreciate the new online

conveniences and understand the change in

practice to address privacy concerns.

Please watch for more information in your email or

voicemail coming this summer!

June 2016 Page 4

Grade 8 Fundraising: Covenant House

Throughout the year, our intermediate students were fortunate to have representatives and presenters from the Toronto based youth homeless shelter, Covenant House, present at Beaverton P. S. through our Speak-Out Grant.

The students approached Mr. Bozanis about holding a Covenant House Sleep-Out fundraiser on the night of their graduation. The event would be a fundraiser in support of Covenant House where students would spend the night at the school sleeping on gym mats in their classroom and the library.

The class established a goal of fundraising $500 in support of Covenant House. The fundraiser started with our grade eight students selling freezies at recesses. They also asked classroom teachers if they could hold a “gum chewing” day for students. Students paid to be able to chew gum in class if their teacher would allow it. Finally, the grade eight students rehearsed and ultimately performed in town in front of the CIBC bank as street performers. This gave students the opportunity to experience what homeless youth might experience to support themselves on the street.

Through all of the initiatives our grade eight students took part in, they raised a total of

$665.47 to donate to Covenant House! On behalf of the grade eight graduates, we would like to thank you for all of your support for this worthwhile cause.

June 2016 Page 5

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

4 5

Labour Day

6

First Day of School

3:00 p.m. dismissal

7

8

9

10

11 12 13

14

15

Picture Day

16

Beaverton Fall Fair

17

18 19

Farm Fresh Fundraiser

begins

20 21 22

Curriculum Night/

Meet the Teacher

23 24

25 26

27

28

29

First SCC Meeting

30

1

SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!