Dear Families,

Helen and Krista

.

April 2017

Message from the Administrators

John McCrae News John McCrae Public School Principal: Helen Hart 565 Fred McLaren Blvd. Vice Principal: Krista Keirstead Markham L6E 1N7 Phone: 905-294-9122 Superintendent of Schools: Dan Wu - 905-940-7800 Fax: 905-294-8196 School Trustee: Billy Pang - 647-461-9965E-mail: john.mccrae.ps@yrdsb.ca Twitter: @johnmccraeps School Website: http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/johnmccrae.ps/Pages/default.aspx

It is such an exciting time for us here at John McCrae P.S.! Our Family Math Night is only a few days away. The event will take place on Thursday April 6th from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm. We will have many engaging activities designed to help you understand what math looks like in our classrooms and hope that you will attend. There will be prizes to be won, as well as a 'goodie' bag for you to take home. Please bring a piece of personal technology to the night, as this will help you engage in all of the activities (e.g., phone, tablet, etc.)

We have many things happening at the school in April - some of our Primary students will have a visit with the Markham Fire Department and others will go to Markham Stouffville Hospital, our grade 7 and 8 students will have their Extended Day, as well as immunizations, the Area Band Tour will happen over a couple of dates, we will have a Huddle Up Assembly, Pause to Play, and we will have a Scholastic Book Fair - definitely a busy building!

We hope you enjoy the start of Spring!!

All About Safety!

April, 2017 John McCrae News

Puncuality and attendance are very important to Safe Arrival. Please ensure your child does not miss important material being taught. It is critical that you call the Safe Arrival line when your child is going to absent or late so that the school can ensure all students are safe. If you do not call Safe Arrival, the school will call home, business, and then emergency numbers provided to ensure your child is safe. In the event that we are unable to contact anyone, it is Board policy that we contact the police.

Spring is here!!All students from Year 1 (i.e., Junior Kindergarten) to Grade 8 are expected to go out for every recess unless the Principal or Vice-Principal decides that weather conditions are so poor that it would be detrimental for them to be outdoors. Students are to come to school ready for spring weather and prepared to be outdoors up to 40 minutes after lunch. We always monitor the weather and will keep students in if it is raining. If there is a very light drizzle, students will go outside.

We often receive requests from parents asking us to keep their children indoors during recess times because they are not feeling well. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff or facilities to supervise students who are sick or still recovering from an illness. Students with heavy colds, etc., which are serious enough to prevent them from participating in physical education, recesses or other outdoor activities, should remain at home until their condition improves. This will likely benefit the students concerned and prevent the spread of this illness to others.

Please make sure that your children are dressed properly for any type of day. It is advisable for students to bring extra pants and socks. A change is often necessary due to the wet weather - the puddles seem like an invitation to some students! To avoid adding to our clothing collection in the lost and found, please be sure to label all articles of clothing. Rainboots, hats, mitts, and gloves, for the younger children will help make recess an enjoyable time.

Families: A great way to keep in touch with things that happenat school is Twitter! Follow us @johnmccraeps and @JMPS_Healthy

Pause to Play is April 24-28/17. The Pause to Play challenge encourages students and their families to put their television, video games and computers on pause for one full week for one hour per day.

Many YRDSB schools are participating in the Pause to Play Challenge this year. We will have pledges that students and staff can sign, they will be posted on the Healthy Schools bulletin board.

At the end of the week there will be prize draws for students that made a pledge. ***As you do your 'spring cleaning', please be aware that we are in need of donations

of skates at JMPS to allow students to participate in this fantastic physical activity. If you have skates and/or helmets (for skating) that your children have outgrown, we

would gladly take them here at school. Thank-you!As always, we are encouraging to students to walk to school every day, especially on Wednesdays when we take

our tallies and see which class moves the furthest across Ontario on our map! We will have our school-wide walk on Wednesday April 26th

Punctuality

John McCrae News April, 2017

Please join us for our

Family Fun Night

on Thursday, April 20th,

2017

from

6:30 - 8:00 p.m. *Students must bring a family member to supervisethem, as well as a pair of indoor shoes!

School Council 2016 - 2017

Chair: Michael Chun

Vice Chair: Helena Ke

Treasurer: Lavina Yip

Secretary: Christy Chen

Voting Members:

Anna Leung, Said Salameh, Yolanda Smidt, Deepak Varma, Yamini Varma, Jennifer Shum, Rakesh Yadav, Juan Du

Please plan on joining us for the next School Council Meeting, which will be held in the library at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

Year 1 (i.e., Junior Kindergarten) Registration Registration for Year 1 began on January 20th, 2017 for the 2017-2018 school year. Registration forms are available on YRDSB's website: www.yrdsb.ca. Children who turn four years old during 2017, live within the school boundary and whose parents are public tax supporters will be eligible to register for Kindergarten. A kindergarten information session for parents is being planned for this spring. For more information, please visit the YRDSB website or contact the school. If your child did not attend Year 1 and turns five in 2017, they would also register on or after January 20th for the 2017-2018 school year.

You will be required to please bring the child’s original Birth Certificate, Citizenship papers, and Proof of Residency such as a Tax Bill, Purchase Agreement or Lease Agreement to the school when you come to register. Please register your child early.

Music 'Note'

The John McCrae Spring Music and Visual Arts night will be held on Thursday, May 11, 2017. All students in grades 1-5 and members of the junior concert band, jazz band and senior concert band will be performing. Please mark your calendars.

John McCrae News April, 2017

Healthy Snack Program

Every Tuesday and Thursday our students are offered a healthy snack. A variety of healthy snacks (e.g., apples, oranges, bananas, car-rots, etc.) are available in the front foyer.

Planning on Moving??Each year at this time we begin to plan our staffing and classes for the upcoming school year. It is important for us to know how many students to expect for September at John McCrae Public School - grades JK to 8. If your children (i.e., Year 1/JK to grade 7) will not be returning to our school in the fall, please inform the John McCrae Public School office as soon as possible - 905-294-9122

Way to go, JMPS!!!

John McCrae PS participates in BrightBites and we are ranked #1 with a chance to win a drum fit class for the school. Staff and families can log on to brightbites.ca to see our ranking and information.

FYI: BrightBites was formerly named “Nutrition Tools For Schools”, and is written and maintained by Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health (OSNPPH) members. BrightBites is a free, non-profit program designed for both elementary and secondary school environments. Every badge we earn gets us closer to winning a prize - keep sending healthy foods to school to show your support for our healthy eating environment.

This month in the library we are excited to be hosting our second Scholastic Book Fair. We raised over $2000 for the last fair for materials for our Maker Space! We are hoping to raise the same amount this time. Please come and visit us in library before or after math

night, or between 3:30 and 4:00, between April 6th and 11th. During Learning commons time, the grade three students have been building their own

video games using Bloxels. They have all designed their own characters, and are now working on designing backgrounds and different worlds!

Literacy and Library Corner

Some pictures from March:

From Eco Crew In March we celebrated Earth hour every day for a week by turning out the lights for an hour and using natural light sources. As we get more day light hours, look out for ways to reduce energy usage by going outside or simply letting more light in.

Coming Up This Month - JMPS will be celebrating Earth Day over the course of a week. The week will include different activities. We will be pairing up with the Healthy School Team to host an Eco Family Fun Night on Thursday April 20th and we will be doing our community clean up on the same day as our school's monthly Walking Wednesday. Students will also have a chance to participate in different Eco focused curriculum activities. If you would be interested and willing to support these activities, please contact the Eco Crew and let us know. We would love your support!

Nature Walks will continue on a biweekly basis. Students should listen to the announcements so that they know when we will be walking. Students should ensure that they have outdoor shoes and appropriate outdoor clothing. This month we will continue to reflect on seasonal changes.

Finally we encourage parents and children to find ways to walk rather than drive now that the weather is better. There are a lot of proven health and mental wellness benefits to walking and being outside, it saves money and helps to keep our air clean!

Thanks for all you do to make our Community an awesome place to be!

Eco Crew

Helping kids eat well and perform better. APRIL 2017 UPDATE

WELCOME SPRING!

Spring is in the air! Celebrate the arrival of Spring with our annual Spring Special and enjoy our April specials and combos for the whole month!

2017 Spring Special

Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice and a mini Vanilla Cupcake topped with a fresh Strawberry. *Gluten-Free option available.

April Features Available as an entrée only or as a combo

Chicken Shawarma in a whole wheat pita (Shawarma chicken strips, shredded red cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce and a creamy cucumber dressing wrapped in a pita) *Halal option available.

Falafel in a whole wheat pita (Crispy falafel, shredded red cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce and a creamy cucumber dressing wrapped in a pita)

Ordering is easy!

Login to place your orders at www.kidskitchen.ca Orders are accepted until 10am the previous business day (on Friday for Monday orders).

Spend more quality time with your kids. Leave the lunches to us!

905.944.0210 | www.kidskitchen.ca | information@kidskitchen.ca

Communication??

Social Skills??

Anxiety?? Behaviours??

Do you want to learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? Come to this informative presentation to learn the basics about

Autism, gain knowledge and learn strategies for common challenges. This is a great first step in your journey to becoming an

Autism ‘expert’! This year, we are going to facilitate sessions at Markham Village Library in English and Chinese (Cantonese &

Mandarin)

Come find out on: Thursday April 20, 2017 from 10:00 am to 12:00pm!

Where? Markham Village Library (6031 Highway 7 East, Markham, ON L3P 3A7)

*Please park at the backSpeakers

Michael Morris-Kerry’s Place Autism Services Ellen Chan & Annie Zhang-Community Living York South

Cathy Ng (Teacher Liaison) - Inclusion School and Community Service, York Region District School Board

For further information and/or registration, please contact Annie Zhang: 905-884-9110 EXT. 382 or Email: azhang@communitylivingyorksouth.ca

Please indicate what language you prefer (English/Chinese)

DR. BETTE STEPHENSON CENTRE FOR LEARNING INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGES PROGRAM

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGES PROGRAM- SECONDARY CREDIT PROGRAM 2017-2018

Why Study International Languages at High School?

Language is our connection with our community and the world. Through language we identify the world around us, express our concerns and hopes, and share our experiences and ideas.

So what are you waiting for?! Now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity and register for a YRDSB International Language CREDIT course of your choice! We offer CREDIT courses in 15 languages at 4 high schools.

Learning another language…

can enhance intellectual functioning

strengthens first language skills and facilitates learning additional languages

creates pride in one’s own cultural background and better understanding of other cultures

enhances career options (source: http://www.ilea.ca 03/11/15)

COURSE Level 1

(Grade 9/10)

Level 2

(Grade 11) Level 3

(Grade 12) SCHOOL LOCATION

Prerequisite:

Level 1

Prerequisite: Level

2MIDDLEFIELD C.I. RICHMOND HILL

H.S. THORNLEA

S.S. UNIONVILLE

H.S

ARABIC LYA BD LYA CU LYA DU Saturday

CANTONESE LKC BD LKC CU LKC DU Saturday Saturday Tuesday

FARSI LYF BD LYF CU LYF DU Saturday

GERMAN LWG BD LWG CU LWG DU Saturday

GREEK LBG BD LBG CU LBG DU Saturday

GUJARATI LIG BD LIG CU LIG DU Saturday

JAPANESE LKJ BD LKJ CU LKJ DU Saturday Tuesday

KOREAN LKK BD LKK CU LKK DU Saturday

MANDARIN SIMPLIFIED LKB BD LKB CU LKB DU Saturday Saturday Tuesday

MANDARIN TRADITIONAL

LKM BD LKM CU LKM DU Saturday Saturday

MANDARIN SIMPLIFIED LKB DUE Saturday

ADVANCED PLACEMENT

PUNJABI LIP BD LIP CU LIP DU Saturday

RUSSIAN LRR BD LRR CU LRR DU Saturday

SPANISH LWS BD LWS CU LWS DU Saturday

TAMIL LIT BD LIT CU LIT DU Saturday

URDU LIU BD LIU CU LIU DU Saturday

Register online via Career Cruising commencing May 1st

, 2017.

Once you have registered, print a sign-off sheet and get your parents to sign for parental approval

Students who have pre-registered in class will not need to register again in September

Attend the first class according to the above schedule and bring your signed Career Cruising Sign-off Sheet

Course locations will be posted in the foyer of the International Languages school on the first day of class