On the Horizon, Board Policies and Procedures, School Dress Code

Page 2

Library News Page 3

Literacy Corner Page 4

Monthly Wellness Tip Page 6

English Language Learners Page 5

April 2016

Dr. M. Richmon Principal

Ms. J. Giberson Vice Principal

Ms. D. Banaj

Administrative Assistant Ms. C. Price

Secretary

Phone: 905-731-8227 Fax: 905-731-8161

BPS Blog:

www.bakersfieldps.com

Mr. P. Mastrangelo Lead Caretaker

Mr. B. Pariselli Mr. D. Sirois Mr. V. Yabut

Caretakers

Ms. L. Aversa Trustee

Mr. P. Valle

Superintendent CEC West 905-764-6830

Ms. Sarah Greene

2015 - 2016 School Council Chair

Inside This Issue…..

YORK REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

Hello, Bakersfield P.S. Families!

It’s hard to believe we already find ourselves in April! With only three months of the school year remain-ing, second term school work contin-ues, and we encourage and expect all students to carry on diligently with their studies throughout the remain-der of the year. Though many preparations for next year are now underway, and the end of this year is slowly coming into sight for our stu-dents, our school focus continues to be on supporting student achieve-ment and well-being.

In recent weeks, we have become involved in a number of professional learning projects with our neighbour-ing schools, Carrville Mills P.S. and Thornhill Woods P.S., and we are looking forward to sustaining a col-laborative relationship with these school in a collective efforts to im-prove our professional work in the areas of Modern Learning, support-ing English Language Learners, and

Mathematics.

In looking ahead, we also wanted to share with our community about some opportunities for students be-yond the school year. The York Re-gion District School Board offers a range of summer programs includ-ing a kindergarten to grade eight Summer Institute program focusing on academics, recreation and ath-letics as well as a grade seven and eight Summer School program fo-cusing on Language and Math rein-forcement (registration via Career Cruising). For more information on summer learning programs avail-able through the board please visit http://www.yrdsb.ca/Programs/summer/Pages/default.aspx.

Other details about less formal summer learning activities for stu-dents will also be shared in the months ahead. In the interim, we wish our students success in the remainder of term two … and wish our community a wonderful spring!

Between May 25th 2016 and June 8th 2016 students in Grade 3 and Grade 6 will be taking part in the provincial Assessment of Reading, Writ-ing and Mathematics, Primary Division (Grades 1–3) and Junior Division (Grades 4-6). This assessment is administered to all Grade 3 and Grade 6 students in Ontario’s publicly funded school system by the Education Qual-ity and Accountability Office(EQAO), an independent agency of the Gov-ernment of Ontario. While the exact dates for the administration of As-sessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Primary Division and Jun-ior Division have yet to be finalized for the school, we would kindly ask that you avoid planning appointments, vacations or breaks that may make your child absent during this two week period. Our thanks, in advance.

Please Avoid Our EQAO Administration Dates

Administrators’ Message

Bakersfield P.S. Page 2

On the Horizon April 5, 2016—Immunizations (2nd Hep B Gr. 7 and 2nd HPV Gr. 8 Girls) May 6, 2016—P.A. Day May 12, 2016—Welcome to Kindergarten Evening (New Kindergarten Regis-trations Only, 6:30 p.m.) May 23, 2016—Victoria Day May 25, 2016-June 8 2016—EQAO Testing Period June 2, 2016—Spring Symphony Musical Showcase [Tentative] June 3, 2016—P.A. Day June 30, 2016—P.A. Day

The most compre-hensive and up-to-date list of important dates is maintained on the Bakersfield P.S. Blog. It can be found on the right side-bar widget of the web-site.

Board Policies and Procedures Policies and procedures govern the operation of the Board and our school. To ensure they remain current, the Board reviews policies and procedures on a regular cycle. Seeking feedback from staff and community members, including parents/guardians, is an important part of the review process.

All policies available for comment are sent to School Council chairs, and are posted on the Board website along with information about how to provide feedback. The policies currently available for comment include:

Student Accommodation Review (comments due by April 25) Anaphylactic Reactions (comments due by August 25) Respectful Workplace and Learning Environment (comments due by August 25) Environmental Responsibility (comments due by January 2, 2017) Appointment of Community Members to Board Committees (comments due by January 2,

2017)

To learn more, visit www.yrdsb.ca/aboutus/policy/.

School Dress Code Board Policy and Procedure #635.0, Student Dress Code outlines that “student dress code is a standard for all students that meets school community expectations for appropriate dress.” It also outlines that principals are responsible for “working with the School Council, [to] review the student dress code every two years.” At the School Council meeting on Thursday, March 10th, 2016, the dress code was reviewed and maintained, as follows:

Students need to dress appropriately to school. Examples of clothing that should not be worn at school include:

short skirts and shorts (if you wear these items the length should be at least full arm length with fingers stretched downwards)

tank tops (strap width should be two finger spaces wide), no spaghetti straps, no tops that leave the midriff exposed, or undergarments visible; no halter tops

flip flops (full sandals only)

refrain from wearing hats, bandanas and any other headwear in school, except for religious pur-poses

clothing with inappropriate slogans or logos

Bakersfield P.S. Page 3

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

~Anne Frank

On Tuesday, April 5th, students in grades 3-5 will have the opportunity to meet and hear award-winning author Cary Fagan, when he visits Bakersfield P.S. Cary’s many books in-clude the popular Kaspar Snit novels, the two-volume Master Melville's Medicine Show, and the picture book Mr. Zinger's Hat, winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and the IODE Jean Throop Award. Cary has also won the Jewish Book Award and been shortlisted for the Silver Birch Award (five times), the Rocky Mountain Book Award (twice), the Hack-matack Award (twice), the Norma Fleck Award, the Shining Willow Award, and others. Cary was born and raised in Toronto, where he lives with his family. You can write to Cary at info@caryfagan.com. Earth Day is annual event celebrated around the world on April 22nd. Reading and learning about environmental issues provides opportunities for you and your child to think critically, ask questions and reflect on what is important to them. Some book suggestions to begin your learning together include: Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler, Wangari’s Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter, The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland, and Polar Bear, Why is Your World Melting? by Robert E. Wells. Happy Reading! Mrs. Woolfson

Library News

Bakersfield P.S. Page 4

Literacy Corner There are many ways parents make a difference in their children’s success at school. Parents who talk with their children about their day at school or who make sure there is a quiet place to do homework are both reasonably common examples of engaged parents (Capacity Building Series, Parent Engagement, 2012).

It may seem obvious, but it is as important to listen to, as to talk with your child. Talking builds your child’s capacity for understanding new things. This kind of talk goes beyond telling your child something.

Children develop reading skills through both talking and listening. Supporting Reading at Home: Parents often ask, what does fluent reading sound like? Can your child read the text smoothly, paying attention to punctuation? Do you notice the strategies your child is using to attempt to read unfamiliar words? Encourage your child to try reading the text independently using the pictures. If you notice your child having difficulty reading unfamiliar words, encour-age him or her to re-read the sentence or chapter for meaning. It is very important to both listen to your child reading aloud, and to continue to read to them even after they become independent readers. There are many ways to read together:

Taking turns reading pages Reading in unison and stopping to talk about the reading Read the text to your child (even in their first language) to demonstrate how fluent and

expressive reading sounds Allowing children to choose books about topics that interest them, and showing your

interest in the same books, will can lead to rich conversations How do you know your child understands what he or she reading? Is your child able to an-swer a few questions about the text and retell the story using pertinent information from the text? Asking a few thoughtful questions (e.g., why did this happen? How could the main char-acter have behaved differently?) can gauge whether your child understands the text. Most of all, reading should be pleasurable, so be sure to model your enjoyment of reading books … and learning, generally!

Talking With Your ChildTalking With Your Child

Possible ‘talk starters’ As You Are Listening ...

What did you notice about… If you’re reading a book together, show your child you are enjoying the book by being engaged and asking questions

What would you do if…. Make connections to what your child al-ready knows

How do you know that? Be patient

Bakersfield P.S. Page 5

Our English Language Learners In our school, many of our English Language Learners are Canadian born. These students may enter the school system as early as kindergarten and may come from a variety of lan-guage backgrounds:

Some students may speak a language other than English at home and begin to learn English when they start school. They arrive at school with some proficiency and literary skills in their first language.

Other students may be accustomed to hearing a first language spoken at home and us-ing English to respond.

Still other students may use a combination of their first language and English in their homes. Some students may not see the two languages as separate.

(Adapted from: Capacity Building Series, Canadian-born English Language Learners, 2013)

It is important to encourage students to maintain and continue to develop their own languages even while they are learning English. Continued development of the first language enables students to think, talk, read and write at a higher level than if they were asked to use English alone. Students’ learning of a second language is especially effective when a learner’s first language is also well developed.

Parents can support their child’s first-language development by telling stories and reading to them in their first language, participating in formal and informal first-language community events, watching and discussing current affairs programs on TV, and reading first-language newspapers. Parents are also encouraged to enroll their children in heritage or international language programs. More information on Elementary International Languages programs of-fered through the York Region District School Board can be found here.

Throughout the year, we assess all our English Language Learners to provide for appropriate teaching. Presently, we are learning how to effectively use a new assessment tool called Steps to English Proficiency (STEP), in the interest of helping identify language goals for even our youngest student. In the Spring, we will be using this tool to help us determine next steps for our Canadian-born English Language Learners in early primary grades and to enable us to better support the needs of our English Language Learners as they continue to transition from year to year and grade to grade.

Bakersfield P.S. Page 6

Monthly Wellness Tip