Sam Steele’s Birthday Celebration and Trek

We had a very successful and productive April and May. On Friday May 2nd, we celebrated Sir Samuel B. Steele’s birthday in the morning, and had the pleasure of having RCMP Constable Meeks join us in the festivities as she visited classes. In the afternoon we held our annual Trek, a walk-a-thon fundraising event. The weather was great for the walk. Both events ran very smoothly and a good time was shared by all. With the funds we raise, we will donate 10% to Scarborough Hospital’s (Birchmount Campus) pediatric ward and the rest of the funds will be used for school wide activities and events, e.g. birthday ribbons for the students, school T-shirts, the Scientist-in-Schools program, Grade 6’s Farewell, excursions, special workshops and presentations, etc. On behalf of the staff, I would like to thank all of you for your generous support of the Trek fundraising event. Your support has made a significant difference for the students, staff and the community. In fact, the total amount raised by our school community this year was $7571.03 - $311 more than in 2013! Well done Sam Steele!

Ms. Flann’s grade 6’s are shown saluting Sir Sam Steele’s birthday.

Constable Meeks visiting a kindergarten class on Sir Sam Steele’s birthday.

Community and parent volunteers helping to set up the treats and refreshments for our annual Trek.

Mrs. Azami’s class ready for our Annual Trek!

Some of Mrs. Montanaro’s students having fun during the Trek.

All finished and enjoying the treats!

Education Week 2014

Each year the TDSB celebrates Education Week which is an annual event for students, parents/ guardians and staff to celebrate teaching excellence and student achievement. This year, during Education Week we had a variety of events to celebrate student successes. The following are highlights of how we celebrated all the wonderful things happening in our schools:

• Speech Arts competitions• Eco Schools Celebration Fair• Participating in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) showcase

at Bethune C.I. • Kids Have Stress Too, an evening workshop for parents, presented by Karen Kerry,

Aisling Discoveries worker, Sam Steele staff and Elysa Tarascio, Guidance Teacher• Developing Anti-stress Strategies for Grade 3 and 6 classes with Karen Kerry, Aisling

Discoveries worker• Recognition Assembly• Sam Steele Birthday Celebration and Walk-a-thon fundraising event• Grade ! students working with MacMillan’s Grade " students on visual arts project• 1 week dance workshops for Grade 5 and 6 students, with Dance Specialist, Kim Fiocca

Children’s Mental Health Week May 4 – 10

Each year, Ontarians mark the first full week of May as Children's Mental Health Week. The

week is about increasing awareness of the signs of child and youth mental health needs, decreasing stigma and understanding that help is available. Throughout the school year, many staff members have made an effort to help students develop a sense of belonging, social interaction opportunities outside of the classrooms, and the physical health, by organizing various extra-curricular activities for students. In addition to our student leadership programs, (e.g. Mounties, Captains, Licensed to Learn Tutoring Program, Parent Safety Program), Eco Schools Club, Chess Club, Library Pages, the following are a few examples of the activities that many students have been involved and engaged in, to help them develop their physical and emotional well-being:

* Guardian Angels: supporting students with special needs and assisting students with social interactions

Guardia Angels: school year (40 students);

* Girls Club - self-esteem and healthy eating habits

Girls Club (50) from Feb - May;

* Boys Club Boys Club (30), Feb - April;* Caring Adults Caring Adults - ongoing;* Public Health Nurse Grade 6's: Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies* Character Recognition- monthly all students* Roots of Empathy Grade 4 class- Oct-Apr;* Peacekeepers/PAL Peacekeepers Junior Students (50 students)-school year,* Fitness Club- Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Fitness Club, Mon-Fri, 8AM (25 students) - Feb -June; * Breakdance Breakdance Club, Thursdays, at 8:15am, April -June* Working with Social Worker on anti-bullying and social skills development

Social Worker ongoing and as recommended by SST;

Music Clubs and Programs for Grade 5 & 6 students

Ukulele Club, Grade 5 & 6 students at lunchWednesday and Thursday Extra-Band practice after school

* Aisling Mental Health Workshops with students and parents

Aisling Mental Health Workshops - Dealing with Anxiety (Grade 3 and 6) April 14 and 17, 2014; end of September 2014 (whole school); Kids Have Stress Too, Helping Families Cope, 6:30-8:00pm May 8, 2014

* Newcomers Program24 students, 12 mentors and 12 mentees (ELL); 8 weeks, Friday at lunch and after school 3:30-5:30pm

We are very proud of the great things that happen in our classrooms each and every day and is committed to providing all of our students with the supports they need to achieve the highest levels of academic, emotional and personal success.

Voices for Change – Creative Movement and Social Justice

Between April 23 and 29, our Grade 5 and 6 students had an opportunity to work with an artist named Kim Fiocca, who is a dance/movement specialist. Each class focused on a Social Justice topic and created a dance project. The students explored personal and community values as they delved into the choreographer’s role. Using the language of levels, shapes, energy and time, they deepened their understanding of children’s rights and human rights and created responses in dance to global or local issues that resonated with them. I would like to thank Mrs. Montanaro and Mrs. Bryan for organizing the dance workshop for the students.

Grade 5 students from Mrs. Montanaro’s class sharing their student-created dance routine.

Speech Arts Competitions –French and English

February 28 we had our school French Speech Arts held in the library and two winners were selected. Dineth Silva, a Grade 6 Extended French student represented our school for the Area French Immersion Speech Arts. Safwan Khan was the other winner who represented our school for Extended French Division competition.

On April 30th, we had our English Speech Arts competition for students from Grades 4 to 6. Dineth Silva, again, won the competition and represented our school for the Area English Speech Arts competition at John A. Macdonald C.I. Dineth represented our school successfully. His topic was, "Distracted driving." Dineth spoke very eloquently about this mature subject.

On Saturday May 10, Safwan participated in the annual Ontario French Speech Arts Festival that took place at York University. Over 250 students from over 24 different school boards participated at the Provincial level. The festival was a non-competitive opportunity for school board winners to present their speech. Safwan presented his speech about Cyber-bullying in an eloquent manner. He received positive feedback regarding his knowledge about the topic and his French speaking skills. Safwan received a gold medal and a certificate for his participation. Congratulations Safwan!

Congratulations to the following students who represented their classes to participate in our school`s Speech Arts competitions:

English Class Representatives:Grade 4 Yolanda Li, Queenie HungGrade 4 EF, Brydon Ly, Smrithi ShivkumarGrade 5: George Papadopoulos, Saad AliGrade 5 EF: Steven Voung, Saad AhmadGrade 6: Varun Nikam, Emily ZhangGrade 6 EF: Dineth Silva, Molly Chen

Extended French Class Representatives: Grade 4: Smrithi Shivkumar, Jia ZouGrade 5: Saad Ahmad, Safwan Khan, Rachel OuGrade 6: Dineth Silva, Molly Chen, Nikita Alwin

Above are the English Speech Arts class representatives.

These students, shown with Mrs. Montanaro and Mrs. Bryan, are the class representatives for our school’s Extended French program.

French Rock Concert and French Festival

On Thursday, April 17, the grade 5 & 6 Extended French students attended a wonderful French rock concert. It featured the French Canadian singer, Etienne and DJ Delf. We were given access to their website, to download the various songs. The songs were all curriculum related for Core French, Extended and French Immersion. It was also helpful to have had the lyrics on wide screen. The students were free to sing and dance along with the music. Prior to the concert, Etienne spent time in the audience, talking to the students and signing autographs. The students really enjoyed the event.

Sam Steele students asking one of the singers at the French language rock concert for an autograph.

French Festival - by Mrs. Bryan

French Festival - On Wednesday, April 16, the junior division experienced a very successful French Festival. The students from grades 5 and 6 Core French and grades 4, 5 and 6 Extended French all presented dialogues, and poems. Some of the poems were learned, while others were written by the students, themselves. The poems that they wrote were submitted to the TDSB Urban Voices. This is a publication of poems written by TDSB students. The presentations were non-competitive. The main purpose was to have fun, while showcasing the students' knowledge of French. Special thanks is extended to Minaal Ateeq and Gabriel Tenn for their additional fine work as MC's. The students all received certificates of participation, as a memento of this event. Also, we would like to thank the parents who were able to join us in the gym and cheer for the students. We all had a wonderful time.

Members of Ms. Flann’s grade 6 students are shown participating in our first annual French Festival.

Environment Events

Eco School Celebration Fair

On May 1st our school’s Eco Club organized and operated the first ever Sam Steele Eco School Celebration Fair. The main purpose of this highly successful event was to have each and every student in our school learn about environmental topics while taking part in a variety of activities that span the entire spectrum of our school’s curriculum (language, mathematics, science, social studies, music, visual arts, physical education). During this event, the 35 members of our Eco Club demonstrated strong organizational skills and leadership skills.

Some of the members of our Eco Club, following our first ever Eco School Celebration Fair

Learning about digital photography of objects from nature.

Community Clean-up

This year the Community Clean-up event was unique as we collaborated with our neighbour, Sir Ernest MacMillan Sr. P. S. for the first time ever. The collaboration between the teachers of both schools made this event a great success. The students and staff worked closely to clean up both of our school yards. Thanks to Mr. Drakos for planning and organizing the event for us.

Students from Mr. Kim’s grade 5 class are shown cleaning the area next to our school’s butterfly garden.

S.T.E.M. Celebration in ER18

Recently our Family of Schools, ER18, organized an exciting celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) at Dr. Norman Bethune C. I. Six students from Sir Samuel B. Steele represented our school in a variety of S.T.E.M. areas. Alan Bu demonstrated how he created an iBooks Author e-book using a variety of multimedia tools. Rachel Ou shared the benefits of using MangaHigh.com to learn a variety of mathematical concepts. Katerina Yasnitsky and Natasha Arabian explained how they are using digital photography to document our school’s natural environment. Daniel Lo showed how he created a computer game using Khan Academy’s programming tools and javascript. Finally, Hillary Shi wowed everyone who listened to her explanation on how she used Sketchup to create an accurate 3-D model of our school that will appear on Google Earth. Our students‘ participation in this even was organized by Mr. Drakos and Mrs. Montanaro.

(Left) Alan Bu explaining how he created his iBooks Author e-book to Mr. Peter Singh, director of the Toronto District School Board’s I.T. department and Mrs. Katina Papulkas, vice-principal of Sir Ernest MacMillan Sr. P. S.. (Right) Hillary Shi demonstrating how she used Sketchup 15 to create a photorealistic 3-D model of Sir Samuel B. Steele Jr. P. S. to high school students.

The trip to Ripley’s Aquarium - By Eric Zhang (Mrs. Weiss’ grade 1 class)

On May 14, we had a field trip to Ripley’s Aquarium to have fun. I liked the Dangerous Lagoon because I didn’t have to walk. Only grade 1’s, 2’s and 3’s went. We went on the bus. Nazar was my partner inside. Ryan and Carolyn sat next to me on the bus. I think it was double the fun. My partner was scared of the swordfish and the nurse shark. I was scared of drowning in the underwater tunnel and Dangerous Lagoon. We went on the school bus. It was the best trip ever! I can’t wait for the next trip. The sting rays feels so smooth and one of them stinged me and we go to play on the playground and it was fun!

Students from our grade 2 and grade 3 classes appear with a special new friend that they made at Ripley’s Aquarium.

Mr. Peter Chang (ER 18 Superindent), Mr. Sam Sotiropoulos (School Trustee) recently visited out school. They are joined by our Principal, Ms. Mei-Lian Lam and grade 6 students Daniel Lo and Hillary Shi.

Members of our school’s Girls Club, organized by Ms. Mirali and Mrs. Azami, attended a special Earth Day event at the Scarborough Town Centre on April 22nd.

Mr. Lam helping Tharin and Matthew, members of our Boys in Action! club, record a T.V. interview.

Our Boys in Action! members along with Mr. Drakos, Mrs. Ogden and Mr. Kim, following our fun trip to listen to author David Bouchard at Vradenberg P. S.

Sir Sam Steele staff members recently took part in the ER18 Family of Schools Volleyball Tournament at Dr. Norman Bethune C.I.

Mr. Yoon with some members of the Ukelele Club performing in our Main Office.

(Above): Members of the Silver Birch Club board the school bus to Harbourfront. (Left): Salwa reading a question to an author from the Forest of Reading Stage.

Pedestrian Safety - Safety Tips for Parents

Children under nine should be accompanied by adults or older children when crossing the street. At this age, their judgment and perceptual skills are still immature, yet they often eagerly try to cross streets on their own in order to demonstrate some independence. Teach your children the rules of the road - start when they're young. Think of it as gradually training your children about safety until all the connections are in place. By the time your child reaches age nine and can act independently, the road safety rules will be second nature.

- Teach children how to cross the street safely. Teach them to stop (before stepping onto the road), look left, right and left again, and listen for traffic before stepping out into the street. Teach children to wait until the street is clear and to keep looking until they have crossed the street. They should also look the driver in the eye before crossing.

- Teach children to recognize pedestrian crossing signals but not rely on them. Before crossing, children should also be sure the traffic has stopped. Remind them to continue across if the light changes to "Don't Walk" while they are in the crosswalk.

- Teach children to be extra alert when crossing at a corner with no traffic lights.

- Teach your children to stop at driveways, alleys and areas without curbs and to never run out onto the street.

- Teach children about the dangers of crossing the street between parked cars or when not at a corner. Children should cross only at corners and pedestrian crosswalks, not diagonally or between parked cars.

- Teach children to respect the role of the crossing guard and to understand his/her signals.

- Teach children that wherever possible they should walk on the sidewalk. In areas without sidewalks, teach children to walk as far away from the road as possible, facing approaching traffic (when there is no choice but to walk on the road).

- Teach children that playing games at railway crossings or around trains can be deadly. Teach children that the only way to cross railway tracks is to use designated railway crossings.

Follow the same rules that you want your child to follow. You may want to cut across the street in the middle of the block, but you want your child to learn to cross at the intersection. Be a good role model.

Reprinted with the permission of Safe Kids Canada. Visit http://www.safekidscanada.ca for more safety tips on keeping children safe.

Student Attendance and Punctuality

Regular student attendance and punctuality are important in order for students to be successful at school. The Education Act states that it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to ensure that their children attend school regularly. A student's academic progress depends on regular class attendance.

TDSB elementary schools practise the Safe Arrival Program that requires schools to perform a school-home attendance check. Notify the school when your child will be absent. Students are expected to fully participate in learning opportunities and complete all homework assignments and tests when they are absent so make sure your child is getting homework assignments when they are absent.

You can help ensure that your child is in school and on time for classes by:

- being involved in your child's education; - knowing the school's schedule;- communicating regularly with classroom teachers (use your child's planner to send notes to the teacher);- calling the school if your child is going to be absent;- writing a note if your child is late due to an appointment; - ensuring that your child gets a good night's sleep so that they have the energy they need for the next day.

WHAT’S AVAILABLE FOR THE SUMMER?

Continuing and International Education Elementary Summer School

Elementary summer programs are tailored to increase engagement and build self-confidence in our students. This summer, TDSB is opening schools across the city to help build literacy and numeracy skills in students from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Visit http://www.tdsb.on.ca for more information.

Adult ESL Summer Program July 2 - 25, 2014

Learn English with TDSB this summer! Build your literacy and English language skills. Learn about your community and the services available. Prepare for further education, citizenship and language proficiency tests. Improve your conversation skills. Discover our bilingual programs, where English is taught with the help of other languages. Find out about our adult ESL summer program by visiting http://www.tdsb.on.ca/adultlearners View our 2014 ESL Summer brochure

Summer International Languages Programs

Do something different this summer. Broaden your child’s horizons with TDSB’s half and full day international languages summer programs. Open to all students from Kindergarten to Grade 8, our programs language learning with engaging cultural activities like games, songs, dance, storytelling, traditional crafts and writing.

In an increasingly globalized world, learning languages and cultures benefits children today and helps them build skills for the future.

Visit http://www.ileprograms.ca for more details.

Summer Music Camps

Enrich your child’s summer vacation with music camp. Through three unique programs – Summer Sounds, DownTown Strings and Toronto Summer Music Camps – the TDSB offers band, strings and orchestral experiences for students from grades 3-9. Registration opens March 5.

For more information visit: www.tdsbsummercamps.ca

From our Classrooms:

“Portraits in the style of Shakespeare's time” (grade 2 and grade 3 classes).

“Trying to sell a pioneer house” (Social Studies in Ms. Bonner’s class)

“Limericks” (Language and Art in Mrs. Marschall’s class)

Art in Mrs. Azami’s class.

Art in Mrs. Sheth’s Diagnostic Kindergarten class.

“Studying change in plants as seeds grow” (Mrs. Weiss’ grade 1 class).

“Addictive substances” in Health Education (grade 6 classes)

Digital photography of our school’s natural environment:

Photos by grade 5 student Katerina Yasnitsky.