Sunday 19 March 2017

Week of March 20th


A Message from the Administrative Team:


"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."                                                                                                                       
                           ~ Henry Ford

We hope you enjoyed the March Break and had lots of opportunity to relax and enjoy your time.  We are in the last few months of this school year and it will go by so fast as we have lots more planned to keep the kids excited and enthusiastic!

Please make sure you continue to check the school calendar for events and trips planned for your child.  If you don't see an event or trip, please contact your child's teacher or the organizer/coach of the event.

If you are planning to have an extended vacation, please contact the school via bessborough@tdsb.on.ca or call our safe arrival line at 416.396.2319 to avoid having our system call you at home.

Have an incredible week!
~ Ms Broderick and Ms Rosenbloom


Did you know... 


... Having older students mentor and teach younger ones is a great way to build community?

Buddy Hour was organized for intermediates students to plan and work on activities in a variety of classes. The younger students worked in small groups with an older mentor. What fun for everyone! Thank you Ms Ciobanu, Ms Angheloni and Student Engagement for organizing Buddy Hour!




Gail is Retiring from Bessborough!


Gail has been a big part of Bessborough and for a very long time!  She will be starting her transition to retirement and retiring her morning position at Bessborough.  Friday March 24th 2017 will be her last day with us so pop by the office to wish her well!



Moving or Changing Schools? 

If your child is currently in K-7 and you are moving or changing schools for the 2017 - 2018 school year, please let the office know as soon as possible as we will soon begin planning the classes for next year.

Classes are created based on a variety of factors including number of students, gender, group dynamics and other needs to ensure a balance within the grade.



Late Arrivals:

Just a reminder that if your child is late for morning and afternoon attendance, students are marked absent and our automated voice call will call out to parents.  To change the status and avoid the calls, students must report to the office for a late slip to change the status to late.  In this case, a call will not be made home.

Please review the attendance procedures with your child.



Grade 8 Graduation - Save the date!

Just a reminder to save the following dates for Grade 8 graduation:
  • Thursday June 22nd 2017 - Ceremony @ Northern SS 
  • Monday June 26th 2017 - Grad Evening event @ The Breakout Room
Details will come closer to the events.


Spring Lunch Programs: 

There will be a new set of Spring Lunch Programs coming up! See the Bessborough Home & School Website to sign up!  Programs begin the week of April 3rd.




From the French Department:

Got old food toys you need to recycle? The French Department is looking for items to be used in our future units. If you have old toys or other materials that you would like to donate please drop them off for the French Department.

We’re looking for items related to food:
  • Plastic foods, fruits, vegetables, meats, desserts,  etc.
  • Plates, cutlery, pots, pans
  • Tablecloths, aprons, trays
  • Grocery flyers in French
Thanks in advance!
Ms Reid and Ms. Rambarran

Athletic Council

The grade 7-8 badminton tournament schedule has been posted outside of the big gym. The first games are Wednesday at lunch. If you are not able to make it, please inform your opponent, and an athletic council member. We will reschedule you.


This Monday, Movement Matters will be taking place again, in the gym at 8:20am. We are inviting all grades 1-6 to join us, and participate in some fun activities, and get some exercise to start the day off right. We hope to see you there!

The Leaside Everything Kid Sale

The South Leaside Monday Group will be holding a rummage sale and are looking for donations. Please see the attachment for more information.



Parent Presentation:
The Secrets of Discipline with Ronald Morrish

Location: Bennington Heights Elementary School
Time: April 4th 2017 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

You are invited to attend an information night with leading expert and international speaker, Ronald Morrish (please see attached flyer).  His presentation will provide parents with many practical strategies for teaching children to be responsible and co-operative.  Parents will also learn how to discipline without all the deal-making, arguments and confrontations. 


School Clubs


Many staff have dedicated their time to provide opportunities for students to be leaders, have an impact at the school or community. Please see the schedule below for the clubs and times these are available.


Name of Club
Teachers Involved
Student Grade/Division Applicable
Location
Day of the Week
&
Time of Day
Tech Committee
Ms Surdivall
Ms Collins
Ms Rosenbloom
5-8
Rm 10
All year - lunch (Mondays)
Smoothie Chat (Aka Girls’ Group)
Ms Angheloni
Ms Ho
7&8
Staff Room
Wed All year- before school
Movie Making Club
Mr King
Ms Reid
6-8
Library
Wednesday after school starting in January
Yearbook
Ms Thurow
6-8
Rm 17
Wednesdays after school
We Club
Ms Ciobanu
Ms Angheloni
5-8
Rm 31
Every Friday at lunch
Folkfest
Ms Cook
Ms Willoughby
3-6
Gym
Tues lunch Feb - May
Primary STEM
Ms Ho
Mr King
1-3
Rm 1
Wed October-May
Library ambassadors
Ms Surdivall
5-8
Library/
Rm 10
Tuesday, all year, lunch
Thursdays, all year, lunch
Junior Boys Club
Mr Baker
4-6
Rm 11
Thursdays @ beginning of lunch
ECO club
Ms Gamm
Ms Pornaras
1-8
Rm 2
Thursday @ lunch Jan-May
Concert Band
Mr McMillan
Ms Collins
7-8
Music Room
Thursdays after school (3:25-4:25), all year
Student Engagement
Ms Angheloni
Ms Ciobanu
Ms Wong
6 to 8
Rm 31
Thursday @ Lunch
Wellness Group
Ms Buksner
3-8
Rm 9
Wednesdays, Lunch
(November-June)
Junior Girls Club
Ms Wong
Ms Azodi
5/6
Rm 12
Tuesdays @ Lunch - 12 pm start



Spring Lunch Programs
March Break is behind us and now we can gear up for Spring! Woo hoo!  Not only can we look forward to better weather, we can also look forward to a new set of lunchtime programs offered this term.  Check out our site for all the details and to register.


Host Hunting
We are looking for families to open up their homes for a good time and a good cause!
Two popular Social Series events are in need of hosts.  


Ladies Night is slated for Thursday June 22nd and the Street Crawl will be held in the fall on Saturday September 23rd.  All the funds raised from these fun parent parties go to classroom tools and activities, sponsored through Bessborough Home & School.  


Please contact Cabrina Skillen at Cabrina.Skillen@hotspex.com or Lauren Morgan at lauren_swinburne@hotmail.com if you are interested or want more info.


H&S General Meeting - New Date!
Our next meeting - originally scheduled for April 4th - will now be held on Wednesday April 5th at 7pm in the library.  Babysitting will be provided in the mini gym.  


Still Looking for Feedback on a Special Bessborough Charitable Initiative
On request from many Bessborough families, Home & School is working on developing a special charitable initiative with the intent of helping a Toronto school in a community that does not have access to community-based funding the way that our school does.  We would like to make a financial contribution to help their students and enrich their school as a whole.  This would be an ongoing annual initiative.


Please send us your thoughts on this, and more specifically, how you would like us to gather the funds.  There are a few ways that we can do this and we would like your help to answer some of the following questions:


1) Would you like to participate in a direct fundraising drive? Gifts would be made to the TDSB and earmarked for our charitable initiative AND charitable tax receipts would be issued for these kind donations.  This may be tied to an existing Home & School event or may be a new event specifically for this cause.


2) Would you prefer that we take an annual amount or percentage (for example 5%) from our overall enrichment budget to support an agreed-upon project?  We know that some other Leaside neighbourhood schools have taken this approach.


We have learned in our research that it is important that causes be vetted to ensure those receiving funds have all the tools they need to achieve the intended objective.  Both Ms. Broderick and Ms. Rosenbloom have agreed to assist us in understanding which schools have both the greatest need (there are ‘bands’ of rankings to qualify schools for additional board funding), and the ability to use the funds as planned.  This year we would look at supporting a school in implementing the Empower Reading program.  Many Bessborough students have benefited from this reading program developed by the smart people at Sick Kids to bring kids up to grade level. More info to come as we iron out all of the details.


Thank you. Your input is appreciated! Please email lisa.suutari@gmail.com with your thoughts.


Excellence Awards
We are so lucky at Bessborough to have so many qualified and dedicated teachers.  If you would like to recognize one of them for going above and beyond you can!  The Excellence Awards honour and celebrate outstanding TDSB individuals and programs.  The deadline for nominations is THIS Tuesday March 21 at 4pm.  For more info, go to www.tdsb.on.ca/excellence.


Appreciation Corner

A shout out to all the teachers who give their time to run sport teams, lunch programs and after school events.  All the amazing opportunities our kids have would not be possible without you. THANK YOU!

Visit www.bessboroughhomeandschool.com now for details on all of this and more!  


Trustee Gerri Gershon



For more information visit http://www.tdsb.on.ca/ward13