cation. (from: http:// www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/ parents/involvement/ ) One way to be involved at school is to attend our monthly Parent Council meet- ings. As a school council member, you can help your council discover new and exciting ways to contribute to the education of students in our school. Welcome to Markham Gate- way P.S. We look forward to a great year of learning ahead for all of our students, and encourage all of our families to be actively involved in our school. Parent engagement matters. Study after study has shown us that student achievement improves when parents play an active role in their chil- dren's education, and that good schools become even better schools when parents are involved. It is recognized that parent engagement is a key factor in the enhancement of student achievement and well-being. Students are more likely to be motivated, to earn higher grades, to have better behav- iour and social skills, and to continue their education to a higher level when their parents are actively engaged in sup- porting their success at school. It is equally important to recog- nize that parent involvement takes many forms. serving on school councils and Parent Involvement Com- mittees (PICs) volunteering for field trips and school activities making sure there is a quiet place set aside to do homework, helping with homework meeting with teachers talking to your child about their day at school. These are all examples of en- gaged parents, they are all con- tributing to their children's edu- Across Ontario, schools work towards achieving EcoSchools certification. EcoSchools cer- tification provides a rigorous province-wide set of criteria that assess achievement of environmentally responsible actions and environmental learning. Engagement in Eco- Schools reflects a school com- munity’s commitment to the environment. There are 4 levels of EcoSchools certification: bronze, silver, gold and plati- num. At MGPS, we have worked hard to achieve a Bronze Certification, and we are now going to challenge ourselves to go for gold! Over the next few weeks we will establish our EcoTeam and begin the work. Using the guidelines, we will work to reduce waste, conserve en- ergy, green our grounds, and foster environmental leader- ship within our school com- munity. We invite parents to be a part of our team. If you are interested , please con- tact the school, we need your help if we are going to achieve our goal. Next Parent Council October 24 6:00—7:00 pm in the Library See you there! Council Executive 2013 Lisa Volpe-Brehaspatt—Chair Ratna Muralitharan—Treasurer Elaine Bernard—Secretary Principal’s Message Parent Involvement Leads To Student Success Going for Gold! MGPS Newsletter F O L L O W U S O N T W I T T E R @ M A R K H A M G A T E W A Y IMPORTANT DATES Oct 2—Student Council Speeches and Elections Oct 8—Area Cross Country Meet Oct 11—PA Day, no school for stu- dents Oct 14—Thanksgiving holiday, school closed Oct 17—Regional Cross Country Finals Oct 21-26—Celebrate Character Community Week Oct 21-27—Waste Reduction Week Oct 24—Parent Council Meeting Oct 28—Theatre Performance of “Wired” for Grades 5-8 in gym Oct 31—Pizza Lunch & Halloween Primary Parade of Costumes HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES Oct 5 Navaratri Oct 6—World Communion Day Oct 14—Thanksgiving, Day of Haj (Day of Arafat) Oct 15—Eid-ul-Adha Oct 20—The Birth of the Bab Oct 24—Pavarana Oct 25—Kathina Oct 31—Samhain Navarati is a nine day celebration. This festival marks the victory of good over evil. Eid-ul-Adha is celebrated in Muslim communities throughout the world. It is a time marked by special prayers and many Muslims gather for special prayer services. Many people also visit family and friends, exchange greetings and gifts. Eid-ul-Adha is also a time for forgiveness and compassion, and is also know as the Festival if Sacrifice. Families make donations to the poor and needy as an act of thanksgiving for God’s forgiveness. and Home of the Titans SEPTEMBER 2013
4
Embed
MGPS Newsletter - yrdsb.ca 2013.… · 6:00 —7:00 pm in the ... Oct 20—The Birth of the Bab Oct 24 —Pavarana Oct 25—Kathina Oct 31—Samhain Navarati is a nine day celebration.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
cation. (from: http://
www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/
parents/involvement/ )
One way to be involved at
school is to attend our
monthly Parent Council meet-
ings. As a school council
member, you can help your
council discover new and
exciting ways to contribute to
the education of students in
our school.
Welcome to Markham Gate-
way P.S. We look forward to
a great year of learning ahead
for all of our students, and
encourage all of our families
to be actively involved in our
school.
Parent engagement matters.
Study after study has shown
us that student achievement
improves when parents play
an active role in their chil-
dren's education, and that
good schools become even
better schools when parents
are involved. It is recognized
that parent engagement is a
key factor in the enhancement
of student achievement and
well-being.
Students are more likely to be
motivated, to earn higher
grades, to have better behav-
iour and social skills, and to
continue their education to a
higher level when their parents
are actively engaged in sup-
porting their success at school.
It is equally important to recog-
nize that parent involvement
takes many forms.
serving on school councils
and Parent Involvement Com-
mittees (PICs)
volunteering for field trips
and school activities
making sure there is a
quiet place set aside to do
homework,
helping with homework
meeting with teachers talking to your child about their
day at school. These are all examples of en-
gaged parents, they are all con-
tributing to their children's edu-
Across Ontario, schools work towards achieving EcoSchools certification. EcoSchools cer-tification provides a rigorous province-wide set of criteria that assess achievement of environmentally responsible actions and environmental learning. Engagement in Eco-Schools reflects a school com-munity’s commitment to the
environment. There are 4 levels of EcoSchools certification: bronze, silver, gold and plati-num. At MGPS, we have worked hard to achieve a Bronze Certification, and we are now going to challenge ourselves to go for gold! Over the next few weeks we will establish our EcoTeam and begin the work. Using the
guidelines, we will work to reduce waste, conserve en-ergy, green our grounds, and foster environmental leader-ship within our school com-munity. We invite parents to be a part of our team. If you are interested , please con-tact the school, we need your help if we are going to achieve our goal.
Next Parent Council
October 24
6:00—7:00 pm in the Library
See you there!
Council Executive 2013
Lisa Volpe-Brehaspatt—Chair
Ratna Muralitharan—Treasurer
Elaine Bernard—Secretary
Principal’s Message
Parent Involvement Leads To Student Success
Going for Gold!
MGPS Newsletter
F O L L O W U S O N T W I T T E R @ M A R K H A M G A T E W A Y
It’s time to remind children about being safe in our community.
With the start of another school year, it’s a good time for parents to remind children about personal safety. Here's what children need to know:
Their name, age, telephone number, address, city and province. This can be done through rhyme or song.
How to contact their parents at any time, by memorizing cell or work numbers.
How and under what circumstances to call 911.
To never approach or enter a stranger's vehicle. A responsi-ble adult would never ask a child for directions or any other question for that matter.
Make sure they know they have a right to say "no" to an adult, especially when the adult is asking them to do something they have been taught is wrong or feels uncomfortable. Re-minding children of this right is important because children are taught from a young age to respect adults.
To always tell parents where they will be and to never enter someone's home without their parent's permission.
If home alone, never admit it when answering the phone. Never answer a knock at the door or speak through it. Adults can be very persuasive. Teach your child to call you if there is a knock at the door and if they fear for their safety, teach them to call 911. Make sure they know that police officers are there to help them and would not get mad if it were a false alarm.
If they think they are being followed or are in danger they should run home or to a public place. If someone grabs them, they should try to get away, yelling and screaming while doing so. It is important to play in safe areas, never take shortcuts and stick with a buddy whenever possible. It is never too early or too late to teach children the importance of personal safety. Common sense, communication and consis-tency are the keys. Remind children to alert a responsible adult if something strange happens that makes them feel uncomfort-able. Remember, crime prevention is everyone's responsibility. For more information on this subject, visit www.yrp.ca.
Safety Counts!
It has been wonderful to welcome so
many new and returning
families to the Markham Gateway Par-
enting and Family Literacy Centre in
September. At the Markham Gateway
PFLC, families can play, learn, sing,
and read together with Carlene, the
new Parent Worker.
One of the favourite activities each day is the time that families
spend making a nutritious snack together. This snack includes a
fruit or vegetable, a protein like cheese or humus and a carbohy-
drate like crackers or bread. Once a week, we even try cooking
together - making things like apple crisp, and yogurt parfaits.
We hope you will be able to join us any time between
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday to Friday in Room 127.
There is no registration and no cost for the program.
Parent Worker: Carlene Nembhard
Open: Every school day between 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
No cost or registration required. Snacks are provided for
the children
Positive Parenting TIP
Cooking is a wonderful way to spend positive time with our
children. According to the dieticians at
York Region Public Health:
“Kids that plan, shop, cook and eat with their families en-
joy benefits that go beyond nutrition. Families that eat meals and snacks together usually eat more vegetables
and fruit, drink less pop and eat less junk food. Children also tend to have more self-confidence and stronger lan-
guage skills and teens are less likely to engage in risky
behaviours.“ For young children, cooking helps them to learn new words and
concepts needed for reading. They can develop their small
muscle strength and coordination needed for writing and they
can learn important problem solving and measuring skills
needed for math.
For more information about how you can
“Cook Up Some Fun” in your home, please
go to
http://www.york.ca/nutrition and click on
Parent Family Literacy Center (PFLC)
Community Board
Check out our Community and Parent Informa-tion bulletin board outside our office for ongoing news and information around resources within our school community and Markham / York Re-gion.