Monthly Newsletter :

April, 2019

ÉCOLE WILLINGDON SCHOOL

Upcoming Events April 2

GAIN Meeting

April 4

Lockdown Practice

April 9

Volunteer Event Plaza Volare

April 11

Spring Concert at RoyalVale

April 16

H & S meeting

April 24

Secretary’s day

April 25

Governing Board Meeting

April 26

Pizza day

April 28

Thoughtful Thursday

April 30

GAIN meeting

LOCKDOWN PRACTICE

In order to be well prepared, it is imperative that the staff and students take part in a yearly mandatory lockdown practice. Essentially, once the lockdown command is given, the classroom doors will be closed and locked and the students will be asked to sit in silence. The entire drill should last about 20 minutes. This should give the administration and the SPVM enough time to walk around the building (indoors and out) to ensure that the practice is being executed properly. A lockdown practice is never a surprise to anyone and therefore the teachers will instruct the students on their roles and responsibilities prior to this exercise. Willingdon will hold its drill on April 4. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Spetsieris at sspetsieris@emsb.qc.ca.

TALKING ABOUT PERSONAL SAFETY WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

As a result of the recent coverage regarding the MOMO challenge, the issue of safety concerns has been paramount in the minds of parents. Attached to this email you will find some information issued by the SPVM.

GAIN The first GAIN (Group Advising on Implementation and Notification) will be held on April 2nd, 2019 at 6:30 PM in room 28. The 4 parents’ representative are Cynthia Quarrie (GB), Nadine Ishak (H & S), David McLeod and Sandra Soule. EXAM SCHEDULE

This is a reminder to all parents that the end of the year exams are scheduled to take place between April 15th, 2019 and June 14th, 2019. Attendance to the exams is mandatory. Please make sure that your child is present.

SNOW DAY

Please note that the June 7th pedagogical day will be canceled due to the snow day. Therefore, June 7th will be a regular school day. Students will follow the regular Friday schedule on that day.

OUTSTANDING FEES AND VERIFICATION FORMS

Lunch fees last installment is due April 25th, 2019. A STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT will be issued in May for all outstanding fees. Also, please note that the verification form and address verification form will be sent on April5th, 2019. We kindly ask you to review the information, sign and return the form to your child’s homeroom teacher by April 12th, 2019. We thank you for your cooperation.

SECRETARY’S DAY

Willingdon is blessed to have two amazing secretaries who work hard to make sure the school runs smoothly. They love and care for our children and always have a smile on their face. On April 24th, 2019 we will be celebrating our secretaries Rosie Mili and Nikita Parsons. Feel free to spoil them!

STORYTELLING AND ART ORATOIRE REGIONAL EVENT

The regional competition for Art Oratoire and Storytelling was held at Willingdon on Thursday, March 28th, 2019. The winners of the Willingdon storytelling competition that was held on March 20th, 2019 are Seren Brady (Grade 4 winner), Philippe Bertin (1st place), Justin Melville (2nd place) and Anna Drozhzhin (3rd Place). Congratulations to all the participants!

SPVM VISIT

On April 3rd, 2019, we will be receiving our SPVM Agent Socio-Communautaire in grade 4 classrooms to discuss bullying.

CABANE À SUCRE FIELD TRIP FOR GRADE 2 STUDENTS

On April 5th, 2019, Willingdon grade 2 students will spend the day at the Cabane à Sucre La Goudrelle. A gentle reminder to dress the children accordingly.

SEGAL CENTRE: ALICE IN WONDERLAND

On April 30th, 2019, all our cycle 2 students will be attending the play Alice in Wonderland at the Segal Centre. The school will absorb the cost of this field trip.

TANDEM

Joseph Lambert from Tandem CDN-NDG makes his annual visit to Willingdon. He will be delivering workshops in all classrooms from April 2-11. Cycle 1 and K will learn about stranger danger. Cycle 2 will be discussing bullying and intimidation. Cycle 3 will be learning about digital citizenship.

EMSB VOLUNTEER EVENT

On April 9, 2019, the EMSB will be hosting their annual volunteer appreciation event. Many of Willingdon’s volunteers will attend this event. On behalf of the students and staff of Willingdon, I want to thank you for volunteering so generously during the past school year. We know your time is valuable, and your willingness to contribute some of that valuable time to our school shows your commitment to the well-being of your child and all of our students. The contributions you have made have really made a difference in our students’ educational experience. As you know, students, staff, and parents here at Willingdon enjoy a warm, caring community that fosters the highest standards of academic, social, and emotional growth. The efforts of volunteers like you are a vital part of that community. Thank you again, and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future.

TRANSITION TO HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM FOR GRADE 6

Grade 6 parents and their children are invited to a Transition to High School Workshop, presented by BARTIMAEUS on Wednesday May 8th at 7:00 PM. This event is a follow-up to the 8 sessions the children participated in during the past months. These sessions covered a variety of topics such as: long-term project planning, managing weekly homework, successful methods for test preparation, organizing notebooks and binders and much, much more.

GEOGRAPHY CHALLENGE

The Geography Challenge final test was held in March. The winners are: Seokhyun Kwon (1st place), Atom Chauvin (2nd place) and Emily Anderson (3rd place.) Even Mr. Steve participated! He scored 45/50.

MATH CHALLENGE

Mathematica Centrum is a Canada-wide math contest that Willingdon students, in grades 4 to 6, take the adventurous pleasure in joining the challenge. Since 1990, more than 1, 000, 000 students in Canada & the United States have participated in these contests. Thanks to our dedicated volunteers, Mrs. Gail Issenman, who organize the lunchtime study sessions, our school is able to participate in this fun & challenging contest. Study sessions have already begun, and the math contest will take place on Wednesday April 17th, 2019. All students will receive participation certificates & the top 3 finalists will receive medals. We thank Mrs. Issenman for her commitment in ensuring that Mathematica Centrum is an integral part of Willingdon's lunchtime activities.

Beehive update:

Our beekeepers return on April 8th to open the hive! We look forward to another nectar-filled season with our lovely ladies (worker bees), their majestic Queen and the burly drones! We look forward to comparing honey from our two campuses next fall!

WILLINGDON’S GOT TALENT

Calling out to all Willingdon parents, teachers, staff, students and alumni to show us your talents! All amateur and professional performers are welcome to audition: Dancers, singers, jugglers, comedians, fire eaters, acrobats, magicians, you name it! You just need to impress our organizers: Amaze us, make us laugh, tap our toes or simply sing along to be in the show. This year, we will also have a Dance Off contest for all students who want to sign up, and the prize will be… CANDIES! Please send all audition recordings or videos to: WillingdonTalent@gmail.com by April 19!

MCLD PARENT WORKSHOP

The MCLD is pleased to present Renowned Special Education Expert Rick Lavoie M.A. M.Ed. as a speaker at the seminar outlined in the attachment. Presentation flyers are attached & Early Bird registration fee is available. The seminar is designed for parents of children/teens with LD, ADHD, teachers, school support staff, psychologists, special educators and educational consultants.

OSEntreprendre at Willingdon:

Congratulations to our Green Committee for successfully submitting two entrepreneurial grant applications this year: Colour my World: Turning Markers into Energy and I Bee-lieve in Sustainability: making beeswax food wrappers. This month Green Committee will participate in a beeswax food wrapper making workshop and then be on the look out for this product at our honey sale next fall!

Earth Day Bake Sale: Wednesday April 24th at lunchtime

Bring a loonie to purchase cupcakes, cookies and other treats to support worthy Green Causes. Way to go Green Committee!!!

Earth Day Whole School Photo April 24th:

Green Committee has worked hard planning this year’s whole school photo. Please keep an eye on Willingdon’s facebook page closer to the date to find out what colour your child’s homeroom has been assigned.

Grade 6 Water Cycle projects to be shared with Kindergarten:

In science class Grade 6 has been learning about the ancient and endless nature of water on Earth. From writing stories about the adventures of a water drop from prehistoric times to today to doing hands on experiments in the science lab and research in the IT lab these students are now ready to share their knowledge about this life-giving resource. On April 2nd and 4th teams will work with Kindergarten who will participate in hands on workshops and presentations on the water cycle in the Draper lunchroom.

Mr. Dimitris’ Choir:

On March 29th, Willingdon students from Mr. Dimitris' choir were so excited to be at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall with Mr. Ilias. Throughout the day, our students, along with many others from 12 other schools, recorded the music for the Carnival of Miracles and Monsters, the newest book to be published. It was an amazing experience for all involved. Thank you Mr. Dimitris and the entire production and recording team.

The Canadarm at Willingdon:

On March 28th Grade 6 enjoyed a presentation on Canada’s Space Program and the Canadarm given by well known space educator Brian Ewenson who has helped train many of the best known Canadian astronauts including Col. Chris Hadfield, Julie Payette and David St. Jacques. Students were then challenged to build models of the Canadarm including a working end effector - very cool! Thanks goes to Sara Iaturo, science and robotics consultant at the EMSB, for organizing this special event!

Toonie Challenge for the MUHC:

This year our Grade 5 Toonie Challenge Teams really pulled off a great fundraiser with digital posters, excellent in-class presentations, enthusiastic collectors and creative party planners we managed to raise over $2000.00 this year! On Friday March 29th the winning class got to enjoy a beach-themed lunchtime party up - way to go room 27 for raising $258.10!!!

Willingdon Welcomes our Second Turtle: Baba Ganoush

As fate would have it now that we have two campuses we also now have two turtles! Dr. Kat took in Baba Ganoush from the Hachem family (Leo graduated last year and older brother Sam in 2016). Obediah, or Obi as he is known, Willingdon’s original red eared slider turtle, is getting to know Baba through the glass of their aquaria but so far doesn’t seem too impressed!

Dr. Kat is looking for Garden Volunteers:

Please send an e-mail to kusher@emsb.qc.ca if you would like to volunteer in the garden this spring and summer. Growing vegetables with our students has become a tradition at Willingdon but requires maintenance help over the summer - if your family can take on a week or two please sign up! In addition to this, pruning, weeding and general clean up need to be done this spring, if you are available Wednesdays at lunchtime please let us know.

"Willingdon Lost & Found...

Lost items have been piling up! Please stop by and pick out what belongs to your family and help us to keep the area neat and organized. Thank-you!

In other exciting news, a table will be set up to display everything on Thursday, April 25, so that everyone has one last chance to take what is theirs. On Friday, April 26, all unclaimed items will continue to be displayed and may be claimed by any family at Willingdon who could make use them, before sending them out to Share the Warmth.

Please stay tuned for news about an upcoming fundraising project to distribute much-needed name tags that can go on all your children’s clothing.

Thanks to everyone who has been trying to make the lost & found a closed loop system at least, or one big empty box at best! Suggestions and help always welcome."