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

Even with the dramatic weather changes that we have experienced over the last

couple of weeks, the energy and enthusiasm in the school community remains high.

Some of the wonderful activities to support safe, healthy active living that have taken

place this month include: Eco-school’s Winter Walk to School morning; Pump up

Your Heart week; and visits from our local Police Liaison Officer Staci Branton.

These activities would not happen without the commitment and dedication of staff

members and volunteers. Pump up your heart activities were coordinated by our

Snack Program Coordinator Nellie Hollywood. Ms. Hollywood coordinated a variety

of healthy snacks and learning opportunities for students over the week of February

11-14. The theme for the four days was Eat, Drink, Sleep and Be Merry. Staff and

students participated in exploring Canada’s Food Guide on Day 1. On Day 2, the

Senior School participated in water workshops by Public Health and the Junior

School participated in milk workshops by the Dairy Farmers. On Day 3 the

importance of developing healthy sleep habits and tips for getting rest were shared.

Throughout the week some classes had a new experience and opportunity to

participate in yoga class thanks to talented community volunteers Albert Lum and

Sheila Gill. The week ended on Valentine’s Day with a dynamic school-wide Daily

Physical Activity (DPA) work out led by Mr. Butters and Mr. Murtaugh. With

everyone dressed in red students and staff heated up the dance floor and got their

circulation moving. A special thank you to both teachers and staff for coordinating

this special school spirit day!

The theme of keeping our students healthy and emotionally safe will continue

throughout February as Guidance Counselor Kelley Miller-Caise and administration

will coordinate a variety of learning activities for students including: Police

workshops for grades 2-5; Crime Stoppers for grade 7 & 8; and a presentation for

kindergarten to grade 6 classes from the anti-bullying troupe, The Power of One, on

Wednesday, February 27th

. This day is also Pink Shirt Day, and an opportunity for

students to wear their Stand Up Bowmore shirts and learn about the story of the pink

shirt.

I am happy to share that many parents took the opportunity to attend the parent-

teacher interviews and connect with their child’s teacher about their child’s progress.

It is essential that we maintain this strong school-home connection. Keeping students

engaged in the curriculum, healthy, well supported and encouraged as we work

through Term 2 will remain a priority for all of us at Bowmore.

Sincerely,

Thelma Sambrook

February 2013

February | 13 – Police Visits JK/SK

February | 14 – Valentine’s Day

February | 15 – PA Day

February | 18 – Family Day

February | 20 – Police Visits Gr 2-5

February | 21 – Parent Council

Meeting

February | 25 – Crime Stoppers

Presentation

February | 27 – Pink Shirt Day/

Power of One Presentations K-6

March | 6 – Caring and Safe

Committee Meeting 3:30-4:30

March | 7 – Big Crunch 11:00!

March | 7 – Toronto Scrabble

Competition

March | 11-15 – March Break

Bowmore Kid Lit Team #B

Calendar of Events

Guidance Dept.

Claude Watson School for the Arts

Each year students audition for admission to the school. There are 60

places available in the grade four year. Auditions for vacancies in grades

5-8 will also be held. The audition process for students is a series of

studio experiences in dance, drama, visual arts and music. Auditions are

conducted by a team of adjudicators, both professional artists and

teachers.

The school will be holding two information evenings at the Claude

Watson School for the Arts, 130 Doris Ave. on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 and Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. School parking is

limited so families should leave sufficient time to find street parking.

These meetings are to inform parents of the school's program, to review

the application process and to provide parents with an opportunity to ask

questions. Application forms will be available during the meeting, from

the school website, or at the school as of the second week of October.

They have set a deadline of Friday, December 14, 2012 at 4 p.m. for all

applications to be handed in to Claude Watson School for the Arts, 130

Doris Ave. All necessary paperwork required for applying to the program

can be found on their website.

They would be more than pleased to further acquaint you with the Claude

Watson program or to answer any questions you may have regarding the

audition process. Parents are invited to contact the school at 395-3180

(press #2) if you would like further information.

Healthy Heart Week – February 11-14th

Yoga with Albert

Albert, a very kind man, came to volunteer to teach yoga to the

grade six students. The first class to go in was Mrs. Jarvis’s class. Albert

started with a question and asked everyone, “What is the most important

part in yoga?” People gave good answers but he thought it was the

breathing. So he started off with some breathing exercises. He said all the

time to keep breathing, because he thought nobody was breathing. After

that, he got into some balancing poses. He was being very nice and said

“A challenge for the people who think they are good at it, is to close your

eyes.” The time was running out and he decided to end with a relaxing

sleeping pose. He then ended the yoga with the traditional way of saying

goodbye, Namaste. Everybody thought it was a fun exercise and asked if

Albert could come back. I think everybody would welcome Albert with

open arms. Namaste

Senior School Photo – Rethink Your Drink – Public Health

Milk Presentations Ms. Hutchko's class, Room 3 really enjoyed the Dairy Farmer's presentation

on February 11th. The group did a great job of listening and following

instructions from Dawn, our presenter. The students enjoyed our cheese

strings for snack!

Dairy Farmers presentation (observations from Room 3)

Sumanta liked the stuffed, plastic cow. He thought she brought it to teach us

where the milk came out. Ceara learned that there are more cows, different

types, than she thought there were! She also learned that cows drink a

bathtub full of water each day. Tashfiq learned that the cows’ milk go in the

pipes to keep the milk fresh for the milk truck. Naomi liked learning about

different types of cows. The black and white cows are called Holstein cows.

Sleep Tips When you get enough sleep you can: Pay attention better in school

Be creative and think of new ideas

Fight sickness so you stay healthy

Be in a good mood

Get along with friends and family

Solve problems better

Without enough sleep you can: Forget what you learned

Have trouble making good choices

Be grumpy and in a bad mood

Have trouble playing games and

sports

Be less patient with brothers,

sisters

Have trouble listening to parents

and teachers Pump Up Your Heart Day!

Seven TDSB Principals

honoured as Canada’s Outstanding Principals for

2013

This week The Learning Partnership released its list of Canada’s Outstanding Principals for 2013 and

seven TDSB principals have been recognized for their hard work and dedication to supporting students. This year’s list features more TDSB

principals than ever before! The following principals have been honoured by The Learning Partnership for their unwavering commitment to nurturing

relationships and student success: Peggy Aitchison, Forest Hill Collegiate Institute Sheryl Freeman, Central Technical School

Rob MacKinnon, Etobicoke School of

the Arts Maria Palermo, Downsview Secondary School Tammy Ross, Crescent Town Elementary School Thelma Sambrook, Bowmore Road Junior and Senior School

Jim Stathopoulos, Huron Street Junior Public School Congratulations to these outstanding principals and our very own incredible Principal! Congratulations,

Thelma!

Bowmore Kids Lit Team #A

Kid’s Lit Quiz is an international program is designed to improve children’s literacy

and celebrate readers and reading. It combines a child’s love for games and thrilling

competition with reading. Participants train for months before the competitions,

reading as much as they can across every children’s literature genre to prepare for the

contest. With every word on every page, kids gain reading mileage and have an

exciting venue to stretch their own possibilities. During competitions, teams are

asked a series of questions based on any children’s book published in English. At the

National Final the team buzzing in fastest has the first chance to answer the quiz

question and score two points. If the answer is incorrect they lose a point!

By weaving many of the Kid’s Lit Quiz themes into the grade 7/8 language

curriculum and library book time, Ms. Partridge and Ms. Polgrain were able to

support students learning about Kids Lit Quiz. Ms. Sambrook, who had coached Kid’s

Lit Teams before, worked with the students to develop two well-rounded teams and

assisted in the coaching to prepare them for the Kids Lit Quiz competition. On

Wednesday, February 6, the semi-finals were held at Bowmore with two heats, one in

the morning and one in the afternoon. Canadian Kids Lit Quiz Coordinator Nancy

Davidson, and Councillor Margaret McMahon welcomed everyone to the sport of

reading competition. Quiz Master Wayne Mills from New Zealand had a series of

challenging questions for the students and the audience. Eighteen teams from public,

catholic and independent schools participated in the morning, and another eighteen

teams participated in the afternoon. Five teams moved on from the competition in the

morning and another four in the afternoon. The event went extremely well with both

of Bowmore's teams advancing to the national final.

The exciting final took place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 7, 2013 at Toronto’s

Crescent School, and up until the final round Bowmore Team A was leading and it

looked like they were going to South Africa, but the final round of questions on

Folktales was not in their favour. The University of Toronto Schools (UTS) edged out

Bowmore Team A by four points. The quiz ended on a high and everyone was pleased

with Bowmore’s results, and this their first time competing in the quiz: 1. UTS; 2.

Bowmore Team A; 3. WR 3, TDSB; and 4. Bowmore Team B tied with Hillfield-

Strathallan College.

The teams were awarded cash prizes and stacks of books to support their love of

reading. A huge crowd of family and friends were there to cheer on both Bowmore

Teams. It was a great evening. Prizes were sponsored by Mabel’s Fables Children’s

Book Store. The finals were broadcast to other schools across the country and UTS

will now represent Canada in South Africa in July at the Kid’s Lit Quiz World Final.

Bowmore students and staff would like to send a very special thank you to the owner

and staff at Ella Minnow book store for the informative book talks and helpful reading

suggestions leading up to the competition. We would also like to thank the amazing

team of volunteers, caretakers and student prefects that helped host the Bowmore

semi-final event. The students were exceptional hosts and the school looked amazing!

About Kids’ Lit Quiz:

Kids’ Lit Quiz Canada, www.kidslitquiz.ca, is a registered not-for-profit

organization run entirely by volunteers. Kids’ Lit Quiz is designed to improve

children’s literacy in a fun, meaningful, long-lasting way. Designed around teamwork

and competition, the program adds fun to reading for children here and around the

world. Over 1,000 schools worldwide participate in the reading-based competition,

with a world champion team crowned every year. This year’s finals are in Durban,

South Africa.

Library News

SILENT AUCTION DONATIONS NEEDED- Looking for donations for the Bowmore Rocks! silent auction of theatre, sporting event, and music event tickets. Also electronics are desirable, restaurant gift certificates, and gift cards for amusement and family fun destinations in the GTA are always big winners. Camping equipment, sporting equipment etc. Please contact bowmorerocks@gmail.com to donate, to volunteer or for general

inquiries.

THINK RECYCLE FUNDRAISING PROGRAM NOW LIVE!

Beginning Friday February 8th - Bring your unwanted electronic waste to Bowmore! We are thrilled to announce that our school has joined the “Think Recycle” program, an initiative that allows everyone to safely and responsibly recycle their electronics in order to raise funds for our school. Mr. Norris and his grade 7 class are spearheading this initiative which makes direct connections to the concept of Sustainability and Stewardship and the “Big” idea of how human activities have the potential to alter and control the environment in both positive and negative ways. Think Recycle has a ZERO landfill policy - focusing on refurbishing and reusing first and safely recycling the rest. Collect 24 qualifying product and 1 tree will be planted through Tree Canada. To date, Think Recycle has planted well over 55,000 trees! If you have a contribution to make and can’t deliver it to the school, or if you would like to place a collection box at your place of business to raise money for Bowmore contact:kimantonius10@gmail.com ***Our goal is to raise money for

outdoor classrooms at the

school***

NEXT SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING: THURS FEB 21, 6PM

Your participation matters. Every parent that attends has the right to vote. Come join us, make your voice heard.

NEW TO THE SCHOOL? We want you to know that at all School Council meetings free child care is always

available, and we provide pizza for everyone; both are paid for by the Ministry of

Education.

PIZZA LUNCH COMMITTEE UPDATE

Pizza Lunch is this Friday, February 22! Volunteering on pizza lunch days is a fast & fun way to spend time with our

appreciative pizza loving kids. The shift is from 11:20am-12pm. Dates we need help:

Feb 22, Mar 22, Apr 26, May 24. ***Please send us an email if you can help:

bowmoresc@gmail.com ***

If you did not get an order form and would like to order for the remaining available

dates, you can download the form at www.bowmoresc.com (click on “forms”) or get

one in the school office.

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE UPDATE

The super fun 80's retro dance party for parental units is back! This year will be bigger and better! Get your dancing shoes and

book your babysitter!

All proceeds from the dance will fund enrichment programs which benefit Bowmore students JK to grade 8.

Date: Saturday April 20, 2013

Time : 8pm – 2am

Location: Royal Canadian Legion 243 Coxwell Avenue Featuring: The live 80's cover band Knuckle Babies and DJ Malik spinning all your old retro favourites Tickets go on Sale March 1st, get yours before they're gone! $15/ticket cash or cheque made out to ‘Bowmore School Council’. Visit the Bowmore Rocks Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BowmoreRocks and vote on the "Faces of Bowmore Rocks" Contest, where three parents whose 80's photos were submitted for last year's event will appear on this year's posters and tickets.

Bowmore School Council www.bowmoresc.com

THANK YOU FOR MAKING BOWMORE AN IDLE-FREE ZONE:

For the month of March we will be giving out free coffee

coupons to drivers we “catch” outside Bowmore with their

engines OFF! Fact: A recent study in the City of Toronto found that more than a third of parents idle their vehicles while waiting to pick up their children.

Fact: Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution – they breathe faster than adults and inhale more air per pound of body weight.

Fact: Health Canada estimates that more than 5,000 Canadians die prematurely each year because of air pollution.

Fact: Stopping unnecessary vehicle idling is one relatively easy way to contribute to improved air quality and respiratory health in our communities. Myth #1: The engine should be warmed up before driving. Reality: Idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to do this is to drive the vehicle. With today's modern engines, you need no more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days before driving away. Myth #2: Idling is good for your engine. Reality: Excessive idling can actually damage your engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs and exhaust systems. Myth #3: Shutting off and restarting your vehicle is hard on the engine and uses more gas than if you leave it running. Reality: Frequent restarting has little impact on engine components like the battery and the starter motor. Component wear caused by restarting the engine is estimated to add $10 per year to the cost of driving, money that will likely be recovered several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling. The bottom line is that over ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine.

How can you decrease unnecessary vehicle idling?

1. Reduce "warm-up" idling to 30 seconds. 2. Turn your engine off if parked for more than 10 seconds. 3. Avoid using a remote car starter. 4. Spread the word to family and friends.

BOWMORE SCHOOL COUNCIL – KEEP IN TOUCH!

Email: bowmoresc@gmail.com

Web: http://www.bowmoresc.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bowmoresc

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BowmoreSC

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 School Council regularly sends out useful e-blasts and the

monthly newsletter. To be added to the distribution list, please email us at

bowmoresc@gmail.com, or click the email link at www.bowmoresc.com

ECO TEAM UPDATE

DONATE NATURALLY FUNDRAISING PROGRAM Donate Naturally

http://www.donatenaturally.com

/ is an online grocery store, your

purchases are delivered right to

your front door - for free! Each

purchase generates a 15%

donation to Bowmore!

It’s simple:

1. Visit Donate Naturally

2. Set up an Account using the

My Account link (top right)

3. Choose ‘Bowmore Road

Junior and Senior Public School’

as your Donation Recipient from

the drop-down list in the review

and submit order screen during

checkout.

FAIRMOUNT PARK COMMUNITY CENTRE

SWIM SCHEDULE Lane Swim Wed & Fri 7:45pm-

8:45pm, Sat 3:30-4:30

Family Swim Sat 1:30-2:30

Leisure Swim Wed & Fri 6:30-

7:30, Sat 2:30-3:30

MOVIE NIGHT COMMITTEE UPDATE

Mom's Movie Night is this Friday,

February 22 @ 7pm (doors open at

6:30)

Junior Gym - Entrance under the

bridge.

Movie – Crazy Stupid Love

A movie night just for the mom's!

We'll be showing a movie that is NOT

kid appropriate so please leave the kids

at home for this one! Please feel free to

bring a snack or treat to donate to the

table - no food guidelines for this

movie night :) Please consider a $2

donation for the movie. Donated treats

and drinks will be available to buy!

Don'y forget your camp chair! Watch

our Facebook page for more details as

they become available!

Bowmore is pleased to introduce two

new lunch time programs; Chess Institute of Canada -

Thursday 11:30 -12:25 and Sportplay – Tuesday’s starting,

February 26th, 10 Week program,

11:30 - 12:25pm, the children will eat their lunch in the Jr. Gym along

with a Sportplay Coach and then be taken to the Sr. Gym for the

remaining lunch period.

The Chess Institute is a non-for profit organization that provides opportunities for people of all ages to learn and play chess. All CIC children’s programs are taught using the highly engaging Chess World curriculum, which was developed with two goals in mind: 1) To ensure that learning chess is accessible for everyone, and 2) To use it as a tool to help improve academic and life skills. Kids will... • receive lessons using an innovative structured curriculum with engaging booklets and hand-outs • enjoy friendly and competitive chess games • develop critical thinking skills • sharpen their minds with fun chess

challenges • gain confidence and a love for chess! Beginner to advanced - all skill levels welcome! Open to kids in Grades 1 to 8 Sportplay is a multi-sport program for children of all ages with a focus on teaching and developing gross motor skills and overall athletic skills rotating through several different sports throughout the session. Kids will learn..

Gross Motor and Athletic Skill

development in a fun supportive, non-competitive environment Skill instruction combined with play

based learning so kids learn the correct technique and have an opportunity to explore and practice skills. Multi-sport and Sport-specific programs

Active, participation-based activities

Inclusive program ideal for addressing

kids with special needs. High energy, qualified instructors

Cell Phones Laptops Toner Cartridges

Inkjet Cartridges

Digital

Cameras

iPods

Think Recycle By: Windsor Smith

On behalf of Bowmore PS, we (class 7-1 and 7-0) have started the Think Recycle

Fundraiser. This fundraiser is different from any other fundraisers because we aren’t

asking for you money! Instead we are asking for your old and used electronics. We want

all your unwanted cell phones, laptops, printer cartridges and other high-value qualifying

products (check out the website for more information www.thinkrecycle.com). The

electronics that you bring in will be recycled responsibly and will also help Bowmore

earn money to build an outdoor classroom and plant more shade trees to beautify our

grounds. We can tell you that even a broken cell phone is worth a minimum of $0.50 and

some working devices can be as much as $150.00!!! Please check with your parents

before bringing in any electronics and donate today.

Your Community

Health & Wellness Bowmore students keep teeth

healthy!! Dental screening was available to all children at Bowmore Public School from Kindergarten all the way up to Grade 8. Dental screenings are mandatory in order to catch dental problems that parents may not be aware of.

Dental screening is a quick visual inspection by a dental hygienist that helps find dental problems and let parents know about them. If families cannot afford dental care for their child, the dental hygienists will tell them about Public Health and OHIP funded supports. Everyone is encouraged to maintain oral health and brush daily.

i-Walk Day by: Bailey Allems and Keely O’Brien

On Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 the students of Bowmore PS

participated in an event called i-Walk Day. It was a cold morning

and luckily we had a big turn out with lots of students, parents and

teachers. The biggest reason we took part in this event was not only

to have fun but also to get out of the car, move our bodies and get

some exercise. We need to stay healthy, and what better way then to

start the day by walking to school.

We all had a good time exercising and dancing. The hot chocolate

was nice too!!! A special thank you to the School Council for

organizing the event and teaching us the dance moves. It was nice

to see so many smiling faces that early in the morning.

WINTER IWALK -

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY, 6TH Wow, thank you so much to all of you for taking part in this year's Winter Walk event. It was so much fun seeing you all their and watching you tap your boots to the music and making the best of a very cold winter day. I would like to take this time to say

thank you to some people who's help made this event came together so beautifully!! Thank you to Beth, Career Fit Mom, for your enthusiasm on the day which was inspiring! It got everyone moving and shaking and having fun. Thank you so much for volunteering your time to teach us the flash mob moves to "Walking on Sunshine", for a fantastic work-out and just putting all of us in a great frame of mind to start the day. A big thank you to you and your team at Career Fit Mom. And thank you to Mr. Butters, for setting us up with some great music to start our day and for your spirit to keep us moving and shaking. Thank you to Mr. Murtaugh, for having the children learn about the importance of walking to school and how much fun it truly can be even when it's terribly cold outside. Thank you to the Mom's that helped on the day of the event, who warmed everyone up with the hot chocolate and your lovely smiles. Here are just a few quotes from Bowmore kids and parents. "I don't want this party to end",

child

"Everyday should start this way",

parent "This was so much fun, can we do

it again", child

"What song are you singing?", Parent "Walking on Sunshine",

child

"Where did you learn that?, parent,"At school today" child We'll be back in April with another

event, so we hope to see you all then.

Thanks, ECO Team

Bowmore’s Eco-Corner

Our eco-heroes are:

Julia Cole Laura Barrett

for helping with our

snack survey

On January 31, 2013, Michele Perpaul (Aunt of Kendra in Room 204) came

in and talked about the First Nations traditions with Room 204 and 202.

Michele performed many native songs on the drums and all the students got

to try drumming as well. Did you know that up until the 1980's, First

Nations weren't allowed to get together to eat and sing, which is called a

Potlatch. Did you know that every beat of the drum represents Mother

Earth's heart beat? She also talked about the importance of the 4 directions

and the importance of learning about all peoples. We would like to thank

Ms. Perpaul for coming in and teaching these valuable lessons and amazing

songs. By Kendra, Maija and Claudia from Room 204

TDSB Parenting and Family Literacy Centre Celebrate Family Literacy Day at Bowmore: Coordinator Janice McGann planned a very special Teddy Bear Pic-Nic with a fantasy theme for children and their families at the Bowmore Family Literacy Centre today in honour of TDSB Family Literacy Day. Children enjoyed dressing up and toting their favourite teddy bear to school. Many popular stories such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear were shared and families snacked on sandwiches, teddy cookies and special drinks to celebrate the day. The morning was capped off with Bowmore Music Teacher Paul Butters partnered with the Parenting and Family Literacy Centre to do a reading and a sing-a-long with the story ‘A House is a House for Me.’ It was a great day for all and the community was happy to be part of the special literacy day celebration.

Bowmore Public School Registration

Kindergarten Registration Checklist,

1. Age: a birth certificate or baptismal

record or passport

2. Citizenship: a birth certificate,

passport, or Record of Landing

3. Address: Two pieces of identification that show your address, such as your telephone bill, driver’s license, bank statement, income tax form, rental of lease agreement

4. Health Card

5. Immunization: the card that

shows a list of needles your child has received to date

6. Legal Custody Documents (if applicable).