UPCOMING EVENTS

Every WED is PIZZA DAY

Thu April 7: Cup Stacking Tour-

nament

Fri April 8: Student Success As-

sembly (Gym @ 9:45 - 10:15am )

Tue April 12: Loretta Penny

Presentation

Fri April 15: PD Day (No School)

April 25-29: EFN Make Change

for Children Kick Off

Tue April 26: bring in NICKELS

for EFN & SAC Council Mtg

(6:00pm)

Wed April 27: bring in DIMES for

EFN

Thu April 28: bring in QUARTERS

for EFN

Fri April 29: bring LOONIES for

EFN & Staff/Student Volley-

ball Game

Please check the calendar tab

on the school website for more

events

Quaker April 2016

D I S T R I C T S C H O O L B O A R D O F N I A G A R A

Volume 1, Issue 1

April 2016

Mindset Matters 3

Playground Equip-

ment Update 4

EFN’s Make Change

for Children 4

Talent Show 5

Newsletter Quiz 6

Inside this issue:

Our Own "March Madness"!

Hard to believe that we are already heading into April; although the mild weather in February and March might have fooled us all into thinking that Spring had ar-rived quite some time ago! March has been a fabulous month at Quaker Road School. Students in classrooms have been actively engaged in learning activities.

March at Quaker Road provided student with a wealth of additional opportunities and experiences over above the great things happening in the classroom and I sincerely thank the staff at Quaker Road School for their commitment to making these events possible. Just prior to the March Break our students treated us to great, talented performances in our Annual Talent Show. Students were also treated to two 'memorable' and entertaining performances by the Quaker Road Staff. Our Jun-ior Basketball teams have kicked off their seasons, competing well and having a lot of fun and Inter-mediate Badminton practices have already begun. In and amongst it all, we still find the odd empty gym time to fit in some QHL (our Quaker Road Ball Hockey League) matches for students in grades 1 to 8. On March 22, we were finally able to have our Third Annual Family-Fun- Night at Quaker Road. It was a great opportunity for many of our students, their parents , and siblings to get together to participate together in some engaging math, reading, and physical activities, as well as an opportuni-ty to learn some interesting facts about nutrition, the environment and about Dreambox technology. It was great to see community members out at this event; there was a lot of positive feedback shared by parents, students, and teachers.

Professionally, many of our teachers have been engaged in learning about Numeracy and Assessment during our Professional Development Days and during School-Based Professional Learning opportu-nities. The opportunity to work with colleagues within our school, and with colleagues from our partner schools; Glynn A Green and A.K. Wigg has been invaluable. Supported by our DSBN Mathe-matics Consultant and Instructional Coach, these learning opportunities have provided us all with some very rich learning opportunities that have allowed staff to engage in rich dialogue around stu-dent work, particularly how students reason and prove their ideas in rich mathematical problems and effective Math instruction.

As parents, it can sometimes be challenging when the mathematics homework our children are en-gaged in looks different than “when we grew up”, and for the most part, it is. The Ministry of Educa-tion has shifted the teaching of mathematics away from solely rote memorization of facts and text-book teaching on a daily basis, however, it is still important for kids to practice basic math facts and skills to increase mathematical efficiency. Research supports a greater focus in class on developing conceptual understanding of these important math concepts and the connections between them to promote a more natural transference of skills to solving a variety of problems. Mathematics today invites student voice through math talk and the use of rich problems designed to be solved using var-ious strategies. Math today involves communication, rich opportunities for demonstration of critical thinking and problem solving and is most importantly designed to be accessible to all learners – not just for the mathematically minded.

A recent news report from Canadian universities stated that they have record numbers of students leaving their programs after the first year of study. They note that for many students, the demand to apply their mathematical knowledge in new and creative ways in science, math, engineering and technology courses is proving to be too challenging. They call for elementary and secondary mathe-matics to provide students with greater opportunities to apply their skills in new and different ways and to think “outside the box”.

Principal

Page 2 Quaker April 2016

We are incredibly proud of the following Character Trait winners:

Front (lt - rt): Carson W. (Gr 1), Rachel G. (Gr5), Anna W. (Gr7), and Sydney S. (Gr5)

Middle (lt - rt): Grayson R (Gr1), Hannah S. (Gr3), Brayden S. (Gr3), Garrett S. (Gr2), Eowyn B. (Gr2), Caden P. (Gr2), Elsie J. (Gr2),

and Harlee M. (Gr2).

Back (lt - rt): Emma U-S (Gr5), Matthew M. (Gr4), Kyle M. (Gr4), Maddy D. (Gr8), Carter T. (Gr8), Kai Xiang (Gr8), and Claire N. (Gr6)

Absent from photo: Sierra Brown (Gr2), Zach Perna (Gr7), Ryley Sheere (Gr2), Dalton Slack (Gr7), Elliot Slack (Gr4)

MARCHS CHARACTER TRAIT WAS ... INTEGRITY: Quaker students are hon-

est, trustworthy and genuinely sincere with others. Quaker students strive to be

careful to make sure that their actions match their words.

SCHOOL WIDE DREAMBOX CHALLENGE

In March, student’s from JK - 8 went were able to

go to the lab for 30 minutes each to complete

DreamBox lessons.

Shown to right is Rachel G., from Mrs. Smalley’s

class.

We are incredibly proud of the following Character Trait winners:

Front (lt - rt): Carson W. (Gr 1), Rachel G. (Gr5), Anna W. (Gr7), and Sydney S. (Gr5)

Middle (lt - rt): Grayson R (Gr1), Hannah S. (Gr3), Brayden S. (Gr3), Garrett S. (Gr2), Eowyn B. (Gr2), Caden P. (Gr2), Elsie J. (Gr2),

and Harlee M. (Gr2).

Back (lt - rt): Emma U-S (Gr5), Matthew M. (Gr4), Kyle M. (Gr4), Maddy D. (Gr8), Carter T. (Gr8), Kai Xiang (Gr8), and Claire N. (Gr6)

Absent from photo: Sierra Brown (Gr2), Zach Perna (Gr7), Ryley Sheere (Gr2), Dalton Slack (Gr7), Elliot Slack (Gr4)

Page 3 Quaker April 2016

JUNIOR GIRLS

BASKETBALL

Basketball season has begun for the junior girls team. The team is work-ing hard and having fun. The Lady Comets have started the season

with one win and two losses and are improving with every game and practice. Team members are:

Laurel B., Belle B., Amber H., Lucy H., Katie M., Claire N., Cayla P., Gwenyth P., Sydney S., Emi-ly W., and Miki X.

The team continues with regular season games

through mid-April with playoffs starting April 18th.

Good luck girls!

Mindset Matters!!

Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research

on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference.

In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their

time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—

without effort. They’re wrong.

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains

and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplish-

ment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the

worlds of business, education, and

sports.

Mindset explains: - Why brains and talent don’t

bring

success

- How they can stand in the way

of it

- Why praising brains and talent

doesn’t foster self-esteem and

accomplishment, but jeopardizes

them

- How teaching a simple idea

about the brain raises grades and

productivity

Quoted from: http://

mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/

chart taken from: http://www.mindsetworks.com

Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset

- Avoid challenges - Seek challenges

- Mistakes are failures

- Mistakes are temporary set-backs from

which to learn

- Threatened by and avoid feed-

back/constructive criticism

- Invite feedback/constructive criticism as a

means of growth

- Avoid practice or using a variety of

strategies to meet a goal

- Practice as a means of improvement and

use a variety of strategies to meet a goal

- Give up at the first sign of struggle - Keep working at a task until completion

- Don’t ask questions - “Play it safe”, don’t express your own

ideas, unengaged

- Ask questions, challenge thinking, self-

reflect

- Take risks and confidently share your

thinking

Page 4 Quaker April 2016

PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT

UPDATE

At Quaker Road, we are lucky enough to have two playground structures in the back of our yard. However, one of the structures

has become old, is beginning to erode, and has to be torn down. The structure furthest from the school is slated to be removed as soon as the Grounds Department can do so. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? We have started a playground committee with staff, par-ents and students to look over our options to replace our playground equipment. Stay tuned! We look forward to working with our entire community to make our playground even better! by Mr. McLean

HAVING FUN AT

QUAKER!

The Koch Family came to

school in true St. Patrick’s

Day fashion on March 17th,

sporting green… green…

and even more green!

Something tells me their

mom was somehow in-

volved in these great stu-

dent attires.

lt - rt: Logan K. (Gr5), Mrs. Koch,

and Parker K. (Gr2)

A duet by Owen

W. (Gr4) on

piano and Jay S.

(Gr4) on violin

was masterfully

played.

Page 5 Quaker April 2016

Owen W. (Gr4) entertains

staff and students on the

piano.

Master’s of Ceremony;

Claire A. (Gr8) and

Drew (Gr8) H.

David B. (Gr 4) left the

audience in awe with his

Irish Dancing. The Quaker Road Annual Variety Show was held on March 11th. The show enter-tained the students and parents with dancers, singers, lots of musicians, and drama. Even some of the staff showed everyone some of their hidden talents. It was a fun time had by everyone.

by Mr. Secord

Watch

them

Nae

Nae!

Page 6 Quaker April 2016

Newsletter Quiz Congratulations to the March Newsletter Quiz win-

ners:

Grace C. (3-1),

Rachel V. (5/6) &

Taylor V. (3-1)

1. What date is the Cup Stacking Tournament? (pg 1)

2. What grades participated in the DreamBox

Challenge in March? (pg 2)

3. What date is the colouring contest due for the EFN

Make Change for Children fundraiser? (pg 4)

To qualify for our Newsletter Draw

please bring your answers to the

office on a piece of paper with your

name and class.

On March 31st, the grade 4 class went outside and did chalk art on the kindergarten wall to make it look more like spring. They coloured the flowers on the the walls for the kindergartens as a surprise to make them happy. The grade 4 class coloured more than just flowers; they also coloured bees and dragonflies. They even made their own art like beehives for the bees and different kinds of flowers. They had lots of fun! All of the grade 4 students went outside and did the chalk; none of them were left inside to do work. It exactly took them 2 periods because they worked really hard on the drawings and the colouring. They are really good at colouring and drawing.

This was also an activity for our Eco certification; we were beautifying the school grounds.

by Kamran K. and Dylan S.

ORAL COMMUNICATION

IS A FOCUS IN JK

When you get to interview the principal and

ask him important questions like how many

children you have and how did you become a

Principal, it leaves kindergarten students such

as Coral S. and Emily L . From Mrs. Boon’s

class, beaming from ear to ear.

Ms. Bernard played some tricks on her

grade 1 class on April 1st. The class

was quite excited when the office

paged the classroom to say “Brownies”

were delivered for each student. Unfortunately, the stu-

dent’s received “Brown-E’s”. The student’s were also

asked to write a Grade 8 test….. APRIL FOOLS!!!! ;-)

BOOMERANG Those Batteries! The Green Team wants everyone to boomerang your batter-

ies so they can be recycled rather than them going to the

landfills. So bring in those batteries Quaker Comets and check

out our amazing Boomerang Battery Box! Contest runs from April 1st –30th and Quaker Road can win $2,500.

written by: Genny W. and Ceila J.

From Mrs.Secord’s gr.4 class.

Sincerely, The Green Team :D