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11 Coppard Avenue, Markham, ON, L3S 2J4 Phone (905) 472-4050 Fax (905) 472-4299

E-mail: armadale.ps@yrdsb.edu.on.ca Website: www.armadale.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca

Principal - Jay Wolkoff

Superintendent - Erik Khilji (905) 940-7800

Vice-Principal - Fawzia Durrani

Trustee - Juanita Nathan (416)885-3479

ARMADALE November 2015

Eye on

Remember Armadale is a

uniform school. Students

are expected to follow the

uniform guidelines.

Scholastic Book

Fair

November 23-27

Courage is the

character trait for

November!

@armadaleps

Collaboration

is the learning

skill focus for

November!

Armadale Public

School… There’s an

app for that! See

details pg. 7

Secondary

Schools-

Information

Nights see

page 8

Hardcopy

of

newsletter

available

upon

request.

Message from the Administration

October was Learning Disabilities Awareness month. Like all schools, we have students who have been identified with a learning

disability. LDs (short form for learning disabilities) affect one or more of the ways that a person takes in, stores, or uses information. LDs

come in many forms and affect people with varying levels of severity. Between 5 and 10 percent of Canadians have LDs. LDs are a

life-long condition. They do not go away, but can be coped with successfully by using areas of strength to compensate and

accommodations such as technology. People with learning disabilities are intelligent and have abilities to learn despite difficulties in

processing information. If your child is experiencing challenges or is diagnosed with a learning disability, please contact your child’s

teacher to discuss ways to partner together to support your child. Imagine a world without the stigma of learning disabilities.....If we can

imagine it, we can do it!

While we have had a very warm start to November, it is approaching that time of year when snow starts to fall, gloves and hats need to

always be at hand and the days get darker quicker. Please remember that students should come to school dressed for outdoor recess.

Just a few reminders:

1. In order to excel at school, it is essential that students start their day off with a nutritious breakfast. Breakfast Club runs daily

from 7:30 am – 8:15 am in room 132. There is no cost to the program and students do not need to register in advance.

2. Our Healthy Snacks program is a huge success. If you wish for your child to be part of this program, please be sure to contact the

office.

3. Extended Library Hours take place Tuesdays & Thursdays from 4:30 -6:30 pm. Students can come to the school to access our

library resources, technology, and receive support with their homework. There is no cost to the program and students do not need

to register in advance.

We wish all our families who are celebrating Diwali, a happy Diwali with family and friends.

Jay Wolkoff Fawzia Durrani

Principal Vice Principal

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FOOD ALLERGIES and CELEBRATION TREATS In our school community, we have students with severe and life-threatening allergies. While nut/peanut allergies are the most known allergens, other common allergies are to shellfish, seeds, berries, insect bites, dairy (milk, eggs) and others. We also have numerous students with faith-based, dietary and health related food requirements. In order to keep all our students safe from allergens, as well as to accommodate for dietary needs, we strongly ask you to avoid sending any food that is not for your own child. Peanut and nut products should not be sent to school. Please ensure that you check labels carefully. When celebrating special occasions, like a birthday, please do not send food items. Stickers, pencils, and erasers are examples of acceptable alternatives. Thank you for your understanding and continued support of our students and staff who have life-threatening allergies.

Safety Week Safety Week was the first

week of October.

The students of Armadale PS

reviewed a number of policies

with regards to safety and well

being. The students learned

about bus safety, fire drills,

hold and secure drills, and

lockdown drills. By law, each school in the

province of Ontario must practice six fire drills

and two lockdown drills within a school year.

A further suggestion from the local fire

department is for families to create and practice

home safety plans with your children. Does

everyone know what to do when the fire alarm

goes off in your home? Healthy Schools—Walking to School

There are many good reasons for kids to walk to

school:

Walking keeps kids active and helps prepare

children for learning-movement gets the blood

flowing into the brain.

Walking and talking builds helps to build

friendships with a classmate or school mate.

Walking is good for the environment, less car

pollution.

Walking allows children to connect with nature

and observe changes in the environment.

Walking creates safer routes-less traffic means

safer roads.

Encourage your child(ren) walk to school and enjoy the

benefits!

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MICROSOFT OFFICE AT HOME FREE FOR

YRDSB STUDENTS IN GRADES 4-12

Microsoft Office is being offered to YRDSB

students in Grades 4-12 free of charge after a

short validation process. Visit the website

https://products.office.com/en-ca/student. Using

student number@gapps.yrdsb.ca email, click

“sign up”. If you encounter any problems dur-

ing this process or have issues related to instal-

lation, please visit Microsoft’s support site at

https://support.office.com/ or call Microsoft support at (877) 568-2495.

From the Desk of the Music

Notes:

Did you know that people who ac-

tively participate in music will im-

prove their memory?

Thank you Armadale students for another

successful Terry Fox Walk. Together, our

students helped raise much needed money

towards cancer research. It was nice to see the

entire school outside and walking

for such a great cause. Once again

your continued dedication towards

such a noble cause has helped

tremendously.

Every Minute of Learning Counts!

A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at

higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear

early in a child's school career. A recent study looking at young children found that absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with

lower achievement in reading and math. Lateness also impacts students because they will miss chunks of lessons and the late entry

of a student can disrupt a lesson. Teaching students to be on time and at school ready to learn is a good life skill. Let’s work together

and support our students to be at school on time.

Inclement Weather

As the cold weather approaches, it is timely to start thinking about inclement weather reminders.

Being physically active during winter is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and recess is one opportunity for students to have that

activity. Students need to come to school dressed ready to play outside during recesses. It is advisable for children to bring an extra

set of dry pants and socks to store in their back packs in case they get wet.

We keep a close eye on weather conditions, including wind chill. When conditions necessitate, we may decide that students will

remain inside for recess or sometimes go out for a shortened recess. In general, if students are well enough to attend school, they

will be expected to go outside for outdoor recesses.

We ask that parents be sensitive to the demands placed on our office staff and not call the school to inquire about indoor recess, but

rather send their children dressed appropriately for outdoor winter play. If poor driving conditions necessitate the cancellation of

school bus services, local and Toronto radio and television stations will broadcast the information.

EXTENDED HOLIDAYS Sometimes parents plan extended holidays during the school year. Parents who choose to remove a student from school for extended holidays are responsible for providing the learning experiences the student has missed while away. Teachers are often asked to provide work for the time the student will be absent. This is very difficult to do because, of course, the child will need instruction prior to being able to do the work he/she will miss. At best, teachers can assemble some work they think the child can do independently. When the child returns to school, he/she will need to catch up on the missed concepts taught. This again, is the responsibility of the parents. Please remember that each week of absence, a child would miss approximately 30 hours of instructional time.

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Extended Library Hours Have Begun! The Extended Hours Library Program is a supervised evening program. Every Tuesday, and Thursday evenings from 4:30-6:30 p.m. students and their parents will have access to the school library. The program offers the use of the library

computers and books, as well as having high school tutors available to help your child with questions related to their homework. Students must sign up before attending and kindergarten to Grade 4 must be accompanied by a parent.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 Snack starts

again for Nov.

3 4 5

Photo Retake Day

6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

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News from the Armadale

Parenting and Family Literacy Centre

Art @ the Centre is back in the Armadale PFLC!

Professional artist, Tiziana Guido, will be coming back to the

Armadale PFLC to help you and your children create art.

She will be in the Armadale PFLC on the following days:

Monday November 9th – Watercolours

Monday December 14th – Paper Sculpture (New)

Tuesday February 16th – Pastels (New)

Monday April 11th – Clay

Monday June 6th – Environmental Art

Please come to Room 128 and speak to Inna, the Armadale Parent Worker about this exciting chance to create

your own family masterpieces!

This year, we have new hours:

Monday: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday – Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Parent Worker: Inna Veprinska Open: Every school day

No cost or registration required Snacks are provided for the children

Positive Parenting TIP

The Power of Playfulness

The “motivation to freely and joyfully engage with, connect with, and explore the surrounding world’ is one of the keys to promot-

ing wellness and preventing obesity according to Anthony Coombs, Director of Community Playmaking, Life is Good Playmakers.

He goes on to say that most children do better when they have healthy, optimistic, joyful adults around them who create environ-

ments filled with a sense of playfulness.

Where are you most playful?

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ARMADALE Public School 11 Coppard Ave, Markham, Ontario

L3S 2J4 Tel: 905-472-4050 Fax: 905-472-4299

Website: armadale.ps.yrdsb.ca

Learning From Each Other

Armadale Public School… There’s an app for that! That’s right, you can now keep up with all of the who, what, when and where for Armadale Public School through the Armadale Public School app by SchoolInfoApp available on all mobile devices! Click here or scan the QR code below to download the Armadale Public School app by SchoolInfoApp on your iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry or Windows device. With our new app, you can:

• Keep up with all of our latest news, information and announcements

• Find out about events and activities

• Contact teachers, staff and administration

• Access school menus, our online gradebook system and more

• Get important documents, picture galleries & other media

• Track homework, tests and projects through a virtual assignment book

• Help promote school safety through the TipLine

Through the support of education-friendly businesses, apps by SchoolInfoApp are 100% sponsor funded for many schools & districts. To learn more about becoming a sponsor and advertising your business in the Armadale Public School app by SchoolInfoApp, visit http://www.SchoolInfoApp.com or call .

Grade 8 Information Nights

Secondary Schools - Grade 8 Information Sessions

(for September 2016 Enrolment)

School Date Time

Alexander Mackenzie HS October 29, 2015

October 21, 2015 - Arts Alexander Mackenzie @ The Richmond Hill Performing Arts Centre

7:00 pm

7:00 pm

Aurora HS January 14, 2016 6:00 pm

Bayview SS January 21, 2016 7:00 pm

Bill Crothers SS October 7, 2015 (for West & North YR)

October 13, 2015 (for East YR)

October 15, 2015 (for Central YR)

7:00 pm

7:00 pm

7:00 pm

Bur Oak SS December 10, 2015 7:00 pm

Dr. JM Denison SS November 19, 2015 6:30 pm

Dr. GW Williams SS December 1, 2015 6:30 pm

Emily Carr SS January 19, 2016 7:00 pm

Huron Heights SS November 19, 2015

November 26, 2015 - Arts Huron Heights @ Huron Heights SS

7:00 pm

7:00 pm

Keswick HS January 14, 2016 6:00 pm

King City SS January 14, 2016 7:00 pm

Langstaff SS November 19, 2015 7:00 pm

Maple HS December 10, 2015 7:00 pm

Markham DHS November 26, 2015 7:00 pm

Markville SS January 13, 2016 6:30 pm

Middlefield CI November 12, 2015 6:30 pm

Milliken Mills HS December 8, 2015 6:30 pm

Newmarket HS December 3, 2015 6:30 pm

Pierre E Trudeau HS November 19, 2015 7:00 pm

Richmond Green SS November 17, 2015 6:30 pm

Richmond Hill HS January 12, 2016 7:00 pm

Sr. William Mulock SS December 2, 2015 7:00 pm

Stephen Lewis SS December 10, 2015 7:00 pm

Stouffville DSS January 14, 2016 6:45 pm

Sutton DHS January 14, 2016 6:30 pm

Thornhill SS December 3, 2015 7:00 pm

Thornlea SS October 22, 2015 6:30 pm

Tommy Douglas SS November 25, 2015 7:00 pm

Unionville HS January 14, 2016

November 3 2015 - Arts Unionville @ Flato Markham Theatre

6:00 pm

7:00 pm

Vaughan SS January 13, 2016 7:00 pm

Westmount CI November 5, 2015 and October 14, 2015 - Arts Westmount @ City Playhouse Theatre 7:00 pm

Woodbridge College November 19, 2015 7:00 pm