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DECEMBER 2016 FROM THE OFFICE…

Dear Parents & Guardians,

The month of November was a busy one as staff and students were engaged in many activities such as our school volleyball teams, a Metis presentation, and various field trips. We had a wonderful Remembrance Day Ceremony on Novem-ber 11, 2016. Many of our students from primary, junior, and intermediate divisions participated in the assembly. Thank you to Ms. Hoekstra for her leadership in organizing and carrying out a respectful time of remembrance for our heroes, past and pre-sent. Thank you to those families who contributed family pictures to our assembly as well. Bully Prevention week took place across our school board during the week of November 21-25, 2016. During the month, all of our students had an opportunity to discuss and learn about “Peace” as part of our school-wide social justice and character ed pro-grams. Thank you to all parents, and guardians who were able to attend the progress report interviews. It was a great opportunity for par-ents/guardians and teachers to meet and discuss your child’s progress, share highlights of your child’s strengths and areas to improve upon. November flew by. Now, we are looking forward to time with family and friends as the holiday season will soon be here. Many thanks to our amazing School Council who works hard to support our students through volunteering in our building, provid-ing hot lunches, snack programs, supporting the purchasing of items in the classroom, and off setting the bussing costs for field trips, through their many fundraising initiatives. Your time, hard work, and dedication to our Credit Meadows students is much appreciated!

We would like to announce that at the end of December Mrs. Langman will be retiring from her teaching career. The CMES Team and our amazing students want to thank you for all your good work at CMES in your role as teacher. We appreciate your dedication to your students in always striving to create a positive and productive learning environment. We wish you all the best in your retirement and know that you will enjoy your time with your family and friends.

As always, a friendly reminder for Parents/Guardians to please check the Upper Grand District School Board website and our own Credit Meadows website for the latest information and news happening in our Board and school . We are looking forward to a productive and busy month ahead.

The school will be closed from December 26, 2016 until Jan-uary 8, 2017 for the Christmas Holidays. The first day of classes for our Credit Meadows students will be on Monday,

January 9, 2017(Day 1).

On behalf of the staff at Credit Meadows Elementary School, we want to say thank you to our parent community for the many ways you support your children. Have a restful and fun holiday season with family and friends. Wishing you all a happy holiday and a joyous new year! Ms. Lagundzija-deFreitas (P) & Mrs. Papavasiliou (VP)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Cookie days continue each Friday. All pro-ceeds go towards grade eight grad.

December 1 Volleyball tournament December 1 Pizza Day December 1& 2 Fire Safety Presentations Primary grades December 8-12 Book Fair in Library December 8 “Christmas in the Meadows” 6:30-8:30 December 8 Pita Pit December 13 Smoothie Day December 15 Pasta Day December 15& 16 Theatre Orangeville Trip, “Miracle on 34th Street” Junior grades December 21 Band to ODSS December 22 Sub Day December 23 Last day of School before the holidays ***Christmas carol singing will be announced soon. Please look for information that will come home by email and on our school website.

***See spirit days below

Mitten Drive

Mrs. Popovic and her class will again be organizing a mitten and hat tree for our school. Any donations of new hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves would be greatly appreciated. All items will be donated to the Salvation Army. Thank you

Spirit Days at Credit Meadows: We have planned the following Spirit Days for December: Mon., Dec. 19th– Wear your favourite holiday colour day Tues., Dec. 20th— Pyjama day & Gr. 8 Stories Wed., Dec. 21st— Sparkle & shine Day Thurs., Dec. 22nd— Wear your favourite holiday hat day Friday, December 23rd— Holiday sweater Day

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CMES Code of Conduct:

Please review the following with your child (ren):

Do:

Behave in a safe and respectful manner by acknowledging differences in people, their ideas and opinions

Treat one another with kindness and re-spect, especially when there is a disagree-ment

Follow instructions that are given by staff members and supervisors

Use a respectful tone when speaking to oth-ers

Assist the victim of bullying by seeking the help of a trusted adult (i.e. teacher or su-pervisor)

Ask an adult for help, if you can’t solve a problem in a respectful manner

Travel safely on sidewalks – crossing at des-ignated areas

Use sidewalks to enter school grounds (do not cut through parking lot)

Dispose of garbage appropriately and maintain a clean environment

Don’t

Engage in rough play or play fighting Use snowballs, Indian rubber balls, golf balls,

skateboards, roller blades, wheeled shoes, scooters or bicycles on school property

Use tobacco, alcohol or drugs Use cellphones, pagers, cameras, personal

media devices or gaming systems during the school day

Bring music or wear clothing that promotes hatred, violence and/or inappropriate be-haviour

Engage in bullying types of behaviour – this includes social, electronic, verbal or physical bullying

PLAYGROUND REMINDERS: Now that winter weather is upon us, we’d like to remind students that snowball throwing is not permitted on school grounds. Parents please take a moment to review this school expectation with your child(ren). While throwing snow can be fun, it also has the potential of causing injury to others, especially when small stones or ice chunks accidently get mixed into the snowballs. For the safety of all stu-dents it is very important that this expectation continue to be reinforced. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Dress for the Weather! This is a reminder to students (especially older students) that winter is here and it is important to dress appropriately for the cold. We have had a number of students going out for re-cess without appropriate warm clothing on, or students who remove their jackets once outside. Some remind-ers from parents may be helpful in this matter. Thank you

December is a time to celebrate…. Some important days of commemoration for our students and their families this month: 8th– Bodhi Day 10th-Maun Agiyaras 11th or 12th– Milad-un-Nabi 13th– Birthday of Imam Agakham 15th– Amitabha Buddha’s Birthday 21st-Yule/Winter Solstice 25th– Jan 1st– Chanukah 25th– Christmas 26th– Boxing Day 26th-Zarathosht-no-diso

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CMES School Council Corner

It seems impossible that the autumn season has flown by so quickly, and that we are already into December! Our 3nd annual Poinsettia fundraiser has been a huge success! Bradford Greenhouses outdid themselves, and the plants were gorgeous! Thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser, as well as our cookie dough fundraiser. CMES School Council would also like to thank everyone who has supported our Food Days! Our Food Days Coordinator, Jan Pettigrew, is looking for volunteers to help on food days. It’s a great way to meet other parents, and have some fun! If you are able to help, please contact Jan at: JanP.sc@gmail.com Our next CMES School Council meeting will take place in the Staff Room at 7pm, on December 5th, 2016. Meetings are open to all parents, and we would love to have you join us! Christmas in the Meadows 2016 will take place from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Thursday, December 8, 2016, at the schoo. There will be music acts, a family sing-a-long, a photo booth, crafts, snacks, and beverages. Students can visit the CMES Holiday Store, to purchase small gifts for their family members. Gifts will be wrapped, and priced $5.00 or less. It promis-es to be a very fun evening, and we hope to see you there! Donations to the Food Bank would be greatly appreciated. Please note that the Scholastic Book Fair will also be open during Christmas in the Mead-ows.

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Curriculum Connection for Parents

Everyday children go about their daily lives exploring and discovering things around them, and by doing so they’re exposed to the

world of mathematics. And since mathematics has become increasingly important in this technological age, it is even more im-

portant for our children to learn math at home, as well as in school.

Attitude is Important How do you as a parent feel about math? Your feelings will have an impact on how your children think about math and themselves

as mathematicians. Take a few minutes to reflect on these questions: Do you think everyone can learn math? Do you think of math

as useful in everyday life? Do you believe that most jobs today require math skills?

If you answer "yes" to most of these questions, then you are probably encouraging your child to think mathematically. Positive

attitudes about math are important for your child's success.

Mathematics as Problem Solving, Communication, and Reasoning Helping your child learn to solve problems, to communicate mathematically, and to demonstrate reasoning abilities are fundamen-

tal to learning mathematics. These attributes will improve your child's understanding and interest in math concepts and thinking.

A problem solver is someone who questions, investigates, and explores solutions to problems. They stick with a problem to find a

solution and understand that there may be different ways to arrive at an answer and attempt different ways to get there. You can

encourage your child to be a good problem solver by involving him or her in family decision making using math.

To communicate mathematically means to use words, numbers, or mathematical symbols to explain situations; to talk about how

you arrived at an answer; to listen to others' ways of thinking and perhaps alter their thinking; to use pictures to explain something;

and to write about math, not just give an answer. You can help your child learn to communicate mathematically by asking your

child to explain a math problem or answer. Ask your child to write about the process she or he used, or to draw a picture of how he

or she arrived at an answer to a problem.

Reasoning ability means thinking logically, being able to see similarities and differences about math concepts in different domains

and make choices based on those differences or similarities. You can encourage your child to explain his or her reasoning behind

answers and encourage them to ask themselves, “Does this make sense?” As you listen, you will hear your child sharing his or her

reasoning.

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What is an IEP?

An Individual Education Plan, or IEP, is “a

written plan describing the special education program

and/or services required by a particular stu-

dent.” (Ontario Ministry of Education, Individual Edu-

cation Plans: Standards for Development, Program

Planning, and Implementation , 2000, p. 3). IEPs can

be developed for exceptional students (as identif ied

by an Identif ication Placement and Review Commit-

tee), or based on student need, regardless of identifi-

cation. IEPs can address academic and behavioural

learning needs; they are written by teachers in con-

sultation with parents, as well as students, where

appropriate.

All IEPs must include a student profile which identifies the child’s name, their date of birth, teacher’s name, grade, class placement (if applicable), relevant assessment infor-mation, relevant medical diagnoses, as well as their strengths and needs (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2000, p. 6). IEPs including modified or alternative expectations must include annual program goals.

IEPs must also list any accommodations that are required for the student to learn. Accommodations can be en-vironmental (e.g., a quiet place, a special chair), instruction-al (e.g., reading instructions aloud, breaking tasks down into shorter steps and chunks), and for assessment (e.g., allow oral responses, allow more time on tests). Some accommoda-tions are offered to all students (e.g., use of graphic organiz-ers), however, they are essential for a student if listed on the IEP. Modified and alternative IEPs include goals for each semester. Modified goals can be goals from a different grade curriculum (e.g., for a child in grade 4 who is reading at a grade 1 level), or can be at grade level (i.e., when a child can do some grade level work but is completing fewer or less com-plex expectations). Alternative IEPs can address behavioural goals and life skills. Report cards for children with alternative or modified IEPs are based on the IEP expectations and goals. For more information about IEPs please speak to your child’s teacher, principal, or consult the following websites: The IEP Process: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/individu.html The Individual Education Plan (IEP), A Resource

Guide (2004): http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/

elemsec/speced/guide/resource/

People for Education: Special Education Tip Sheet http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/

uploads/2011/06/Special-Education.pdf

Monthly Environmental Activities to help celebrate our planet

December 10th

is Human Rights Day!

It is vital to teach our children to respect and take care of the environment.

“This year, Human Rights Day calls on everyone to stand up for

someone's rights. It starts with each of us.” Step forward and defend the rights of someone whose voice is not being heard. Demonstrate an understanding of equality, human dignity and justice. Consider and be respectful of the rights and opinions of others, especially if they are different from yours. Recognize that human rights include the right for all of us to have access to clean water, unpolluted air and healthy food.

“There is no action that is too small: wherever you are, you can make a difference. Together, let’s take a

stand for more humanity.” -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein” http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/

Simple yet meaningful ways for your family

to celebrate the rights and responsibilities

that we all share as human beings!

Learn about how children live in other parts of the

world. Look at pictures on the web and discuss

how we are the same and how we we are different.

Read the book: We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures by Amnesty International

Read the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights. Decide if there is a cause your family wants to support, or an Ecojustice action you want to take on.

Talk to someone you know who is from another coun-try. Where are they from? What was their life like there? What language did they speak? Did they go to school? What do they miss? What do they like about their new country?

Start a tradition of doing a family service project on Human Rights Day. There are many opportunities to

volunteer, such as preparing and serving meals at a local homeless shelter or simply gathering enough to put together a bunch of care packages of simple needs and necessities. https://humanrightswarrior.com

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Discover the Awesome Tools that Students

Can Access in the Read & Write Toolbar

Every student in the Upper Grand District School Board has access to a handful of incredible tools via an app called Read & Write

that can help them with reading, comprehension, written expression, & gathering research.

Read & Write is attached to student accounts, so students need to be logged into Chrome to use this feature.

Check it out! … Supports on the R&W toolbar include;

Word Prediction

Quick access to dictionary tools

Having text read out loud in English or in French

A tracking tool that provides a focus when reading

The ability to turn your speech to text

Highlight and collect text, & build vocabulary lists

Changes to Voice, Speed & Language can be made easily in Settings

Read & Write tools are powerful for ALL kids, but they make a huge difference for those with learning disabilities. These tools

allow students to read independently, comprehend more of what they are reading, and demonstrate their understanding; allowing

them to work smarter, not harder.