2420 Homelands Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5K 1H2 Phone (905) 822-2031 Fax (905) 822-4502 Website: http://schools.peelschools.org/1323 Follow us on Twitter @Homelands323 December 2019 Newsletter Mateja Drinovac Principal Simone Wallace Vice Principal Roberta Leonardi Office Manager Robin Sciascia Office Assistant Nina Jaiswal Superintendent (905) 366-8800 Brad MacDonald Trustee Wards 2 & 8 (905) 828-6929 Transportation Stopr.ca (905)890-6000 Attendance Check 1(855)209-6155 Safe Arrival Parent Portal pdsb.schoolconnects.com December School Senate Report Equity Bulletin Board: Indigenous and Hindu Heritage Month By: Jonathan, Kaiha & Zoya Senate Activities in November Did you know that there are more than 370 million Indigenous people living across 90 different countries in the world today? There are over 1.6 million people in Canada who identify as Indigenous. Did you know that Indigenous people account for more than 5% of the world's entire population? This November, here at Homelands, we celebrated Indigenous heritage and cultural traditions. As part of our celebration we wanted to raise awareness about many of the challenges Indigenous people faced and continue to face. We need students like us who are committed to learning and helping to promote greater inclusion, equity and social justice for everyone! This November, we also celebrated Hindu heritage and culture. Did you know scholars have discovered that the game of “Snakes & Ladders” was first invented by the Hindu poet The Homeland's Herald
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toiletries, hats, mittens, gloves and gift cards and
put them in the Colour House boxes in the front
foyer. The Student Senate Leaders promoted
the Food Drive by creating posters and giant
paper thermometers to track the items coming
in. The Colour House with the most items at the
end of the Food Drive is going to help out in the
community for a day. Great job to all our Colour
Houses! The winning Colour House will be
revealed soon. There was also a very
successful Clothing Drive in November run by
our EcoClub in order to support families in the
community. We had our Student Senate
representatives speak at the School Council
meeting on November 21. They did an amazing
job speaking on behalf of the entire Homelands’
students! Finally, on November 22, Homelands
had our first Spirit Day of the school year! Our
first Spirit Day was “Twin Day”. We had great
participation throughout the school!
Other Activities at Homelands
Students and staff at Homelands enjoyed a
variety of activities during the past few weeks.
Recently, the school hosted an “Activity
Afternoon” on November 14 in which different
workshops were made available to students.
These workshops included: technology rooms, a
craft room, a coding room, basketball in the gym,
and three different movie rooms. At the end of
November, students went to see “Matilda the
Musical” at the Meeting House, which is a local
community theatre. Several Grade 7 students
from Homelands were part of the cast! It was
pretty entertaining and a very funny musical to
watch. The performers must have worked hard
to sing and dance so well! Let’s not forget
sports! Many students signed up to play
European Handball intramurals and now
basketball is starting up. There are also
volleyball teams for boys and girls. These teams
are taking part in tournaments. Additionally,
students are participating in clubs like Art Club,
Baking Club, Drama Club, EcoClub and so much
more! There are so many fun and exciting
things happening at Homelands!
Coming up in December
First of all, we would like to acknowledge the
celebrations coming up in December. There is
the Buddhist festival “Bodhi Day” (December 8),
Yule/Winter Solstice on December 21, Hanukkah
(Chanukah) from December 22 - 30, Christmas
on December 25 and Kwanzaa from December
26 - January 1, 2020. Best wishes to those
celebrating! We are also pleased to tell you that
the first Student Voice Survey is also coming up
soon. December is going to be Colour House
Celebration Month here at Homelands! On
Mondays and Wednesdays in December, we will
be celebrating Colour Houses by having lunch
together (two Colour Houses at a time) and
playing dodge ball with another Colour House for
some friendly competition. Students are
reminded to wear their Colour House T-shirts to
get more points! Finally, we are planning another
Spirit Day to be voted on by Student Senate.
As always, stay tuned for more clubs, teams,
events, and Student Senate news.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Important Dates
December 5, 12, 19 ~Pizza Days
December 06 Chocolate Fundraiser Reward Trip
December 11 Winter Concert @ 6:30pm
December 19 Monthly Assembly
December 23 Winter Break begins
Up Coming Events
January 06 Back to School
January 16 Ski Trip
Pasta Mondays – Beginning in January, Pasta
lunches will be on sale from Palma Pasta
Physical and Health Education
Students have completed their first term Health
unit that covers personal safety and injury
prevention, as well as mental health and
substance abuse issues. This information will be
further solidified by visits with Officer Billy in the
New Year.
Tying into Indigenous Heritage month, students took part in Lacrosse lessons and mini games. We have also completed our volleyball unit. In December, students will begin our basketball unit. PLEASE ensure your child is coming to school with a change of clothing for gym. This includes a top, bottoms AND running shoes. Most often, students come to school in boots in the winter and forget to bring their runners. These are needed EVERY day. Students who do not change will be given alternative exercises to complete. NOTE: Homelands has signed up for Jungle Sports. They will be setting up their climbing equipment, and students will participate the first week back from the holidays. We ask that all students come to school in active wear clothing as there will not be time to change into gym clothing.
Sports Corner Our two volleyball teams have been practicing diligently for their tournaments. Our Senior Girls
competed at the South Peel Championships on November 27th, and finished with GOLD medals! Congratulations to all of the girls and Ms. Moscatel!! Boys results will be shared next newsletter. In January there will be tryouts for basketball. Good luck to all of our students. In intramural action, European Handball came to a close and sign ups were held for basketball. Students will begin playing games during the lunch hour the first week of December. Every student that plays MUST change into gym clothing or they will not participate. MUSIC CORNER Greetings from the Music Department! The bands, choir, dance groups and grade 6 classes have been working extremely diligently this Fall to prepare for our upcoming Winter Performing Arts Spectacular on December 11th! We hope that you will be able to join us at 6:30 pm for this anticipated annual event. As a reminder, students will need to arrive at 6:00 pm to prepare for the performance. Don't forget to dress appropriately for the event. A separate letter will be going home with those students who will be performing indicating what each ensemble's dress code will be. See you on the 11th! Mr. Allen Ms. Cooper Ms. Randall FOOD DRIVE Congratulations to ORANGE house, the winner of Homelands’ House Colour Food Drive Challenge. The members of ORANGE house will be helping out at the Out of the Cold program on December 13th. Purple house came in second and Pink house was third. A big thank you to everyone who contributed items to support this worthy cause. FUNDRAISING We are pleased to announce that Homelands first Bag2School clothing collection was a success. You donated160 kg of items! Our goal is to get one tonne. Our next clothing drive will be in March 2020. Thank you for your continued support.
NO SCENTS
GUIDELINES –
Be Aware!
Staff, students and visitors are asked to
remember that the Peel Board has “No Scents is
Good Sense” guidelines. In consideration of
those with allergies, staff, students and visitors
are urged not to wear or use scented products
such as perfumes, deodorants, lotions, shampoo
or cologne. Thank you for contributing to a
healthy indoor air environment for everyone.
Medications at School
Any students requiring medication at school
should come to the office and pick up an
Administration of Medication Form (Appendix A
and B) and a Plan of Care Form. The Plan of
Care form must be completed by parents and
the Administration of Medication Forms must be
completed by a physician and signed by the
parent/guardian. When completed they must be
returned to the office where they will be kept on
file.
Keeping lunches and
snacks peanut-free
Anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening
allergic reaction that affects some children. We
ask that you help us take care of these students
by sending lunches and snacks for your child
that are free from peanuts or nuts, because
these foods are the leading cause of
anaphylaxis.
Please read the label of any food you plan to
send to school with your child. If the label says,
"May contain nuts or peanuts," please do not
send it to school.
You can get a complete copy of the Peel board's
anaphylaxis guideline at www.peelschools.org
under the Parent tab, under Student Health.
School Council Corner
Parents/Guardians: You can make a difference in your child’s education! Each month this school year we will be sharing
The Peel Region High Performers Program is available
to students in grades 4 to 12 at Britannia Public School,
Dolphin Senior Public School and Mississauga
Secondary School.
Applications are open For more information and applications, visit
www.peelschools.org/HighPerformers.
Apply for Extended French by
Jan. 31, 2020
If your child will be starting grade 7 in September
2020, one of the important choices you will make
is whether you want to consider Extended
French (EF). To find out more about the
program, visit www.peelschools.org/French
The EF school for our area is Green Glade Sr.
P.S. The phone number is 905-822-8386.
Online application
The application form for Grade 7 EF for the
2020-21 school year is available online at
www.peelschools.org/French
The deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. Applications received after that date will be put on a waiting list. Please note that students’, who are currently or
were previously enrolled in French Immersion,
cannot apply for grade 7 Extended French – you
will continue grade 7 in the French Immersion
program or an English program.
For more information
visit www.peelschools.org/French
call your nearest Extended French school
connect with families who have children in the Extended French program
visit the Canadian Parents for French website at http://on.cpf.ca