Hello everyone,

Now that we are into December, we are asking stu-

dents to kindly bring warmer coats, boots, etc., as

we will endeavour to go outside for as many breaks

as possible. We have already seen that the tem-

perature can drop drastically on any given day, so

better to be prepared for whatever comes our way.

This past month, I attended a Mathematics confer-

ence in Houston for a couple of days, run by the

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Ef-

fective Mathematics instruction is a priority for the

District School Board of Niagara and I learned a lot and was able to bring a lot of resources

back for our teachers and students. “Paws”, our school mascot, joined me on my Mathematics

adventure. I took pictures of him everywhere, from the plane to his NASA visit, to show the

kids. Here’s the link you can paste in your browser if they want to see it again:

https://animoto.com/play/0NXZEaUoQpEIOcW01jiiYw

Finally, this month is sure to bring lots of excitement as we all get caught up in the holiday sea-

son - whether we are observing Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Diwali or any other celebra-

tion, it will be a month filled with fun and anticipation. Our Primary (Grades 1 - 3) “Holiday

Concert” is on Thursday, December 11th at 2:15pm and 6:30pm. Please come and join us if

you can. Students will finish school on Friday, December 19th and will return to school on

Monday, January 5th.

From our Westdale family to yours, I want to take this opportunity to wish you and your family

a very safe and happy holiday season!

Mrs. Poppy Gilliam

From the Principal’s Desk

I n s i d e t h i s

i s s u e :

Math Help 2

Inclement

Weather

2

Food drive 3

Kindergarten

Open House

4

Literacy 5

Cyberbul-

lying

6

French

Immersion

7

Westdale Public

School

D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 N E W S L E T T E R

Principal:

Mrs. Poppy Gilliam

Vice-Principal

Mrs. Jane Brown

Secretary:

Mrs. Dawn Holderney

If you are a family in need or know a family who could use some extra support this holiday sea-

son, please kindly call Mrs. Gilliam to let her know as we will be distributing the food and toys

that we collect internally to our own Westdale families. Anything extra will be donated to Com-

munity Care. Thank you.

Help this holiday season?

Calendar 9

P a g e 2

Inclement Weather Conditions

Math Support

Does your child struggle with their math homework at

times? Would they benefit from free math tutoring pro-

vided by certified Ontario teachers?

Online math homework help is available for all Grade 7‐10 math students. Registered students can log in at

http://homeworkhelp.ilc.org from Sunday to Thursday, 5:30‐9:30 p.m. for

20 hours a week for one‐on‐one confidential tutoring, all within the comfort

of their own home. Contact your student’s Math teacher or Guidance coun-

sellor to register. The District School Board of Niagara has over 3,000 stu-

dents registered, many of whom are accessing the free tutoring service to

support their efforts to successfully complete their math assignments and

support their learning.

In cases of severe winter weather, the following radio stations will announce any bus

cancellations or school closings starting at 7:00 a.m. The bus company that serves our

area is DanNel. We ask for your support in listening to the radio announcements

rather than calling the school to see whether it is open or not.

CKTB 610 CHTZ 97.7 CHRE 105.7 CKEY 105.1 CHSC 1220 CKOC 1150

KLITE 102.9 CHML 900 CHAM 820 Y 108 107.9 FM SPIRIT

91.7

Also, the DSBN website will have notices posted if schools are to be closed.

As well, each family should have a contingency plan in place in the event of an emer-

gency closure during the school day. Each child should know where they are sup-

posed to go and what they are supposed to do if the school is closed early. You have

already indicated your wishes with respect to this on the student information form

sent home in September. Please keep in mind that we do not have sufficient phone

lines to contact each family immediately. Therefore, it is very important that your

children be aware of the arrangements you have made for them.

Don’t forget indoor shoes are needed at school at all times! We want your student to

be safe and dry.

W e s t d a l e P u b l i c S c h o o l

Math Support

Website:

http://

homework-

help.ilc.org

December Celebrations

P a g e 3 N E W S L E T T E R

Our School Council will

help us spread some joy in

our classrooms and the

school on Monday, Decem-

ber 1st. Students will be

involved in making decora-

tions to celebrate holiday

cheer. Festivities will be

concluded with a cookie and

hot chocolate provided by

School Council.

FOOD & TOY DRIVE JOY DAY

Get ready to “boogie” on Tues-

day, December 9th! Thanks to

School Council for organizing

our annual student Dance-a-

Thon!!! Kids will have an op-

portunity to get some great physi-

cal exercise and dance for a good

cause! School Council is doing

the dance-a-thon for kids to have

fun, as a fund raiser, and as a way to collect canned

goods to help families in need this holiday season.

What a great way to teach kids how they can make a

difference and help others!

DANCE-A-THON

Westdale School and our School Council have

been offering a breakfast program 5 days a

week. Foods offered are healthy and include 3

food groups on any given day (e.g., bagels,

fruit, yogurt, cereal bars, oatmeal) . If you are

able to help out or have any questions, please

call the office. We are looking for a volunteer

for Monday mornings, and a different volun-

teer for Wednesday mornings to help hand

out food to kids. Your commitment would be

from 8:15am until 8:45am. Please call Mrs.

For the month of Decem-

ber, Westdale will be fo-

cusing on the character

trait of “Caring”. To help

put this character trait

into action, we will be

collecting food items and

toys for all ages that can

be distributed to families in our community who

need them most. (You will notice our piles of

food growing at the front doors.)

To encourage the giving of food, School Council,

for their annual dance-a-thon, have offered stu-

dents the opportunity to either make a cash dona-

tion or a food donation to get tickets for the

draw. Thank you School Council for your sup-

port in this initiative as well!

As the protective surface on the playground has become frozen, the play structures (e.g., slide,

climbers) will be closed for the winter to ensure the safety of our students. Please note that this

closure also pertains to children who do not attend Westdale School (e.g., younger siblings).

WINTER PLAYGROUND SAFETY

We are collecting Canadian Tire $ until Monday, December

15th. All funds collected will help purchase toys for some

of our families in need.

BREAKFAST CLUB

CANADIAN TIRE $

Kindergarten Open House

Secondary Open Houses

Westdale’s Spotlight on Literacy

P a g e 5 N E W S L E T T E R

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more

that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

- Dr. Seuss

Oral language is the foundation for reading. Listening and speaking are a child’s first

introduction to language. Talking and singing teach your child the sounds of language,

making it easier for him or her to learn how to read. These oral experiences are neces-

sary for reading skills to emerge. Some fun ways to engage your child in oral language

include:

•singing songs •saying nursery rhymes •reciting poetry •playing rhyming games •making up silly riddles •telling funny stories

By engaging in these activities, your child will build an appreciation for words and lan-

guage. This is fundamental for reading and writing to happen.

If your child’s first language is not English, he/she can still become an excellent Eng-

lish reader and writer. You can support your child at home by developing oral lan-

guage skills in his/her first language, as well as by reading with your child in your first

language. In other words, do the same kinds of activities mentioned, but do them in

your child’s first language. These experiences will prove to be invaluable!

MOVEMBER

A special thanks out there to the men who helped raise

money and awareness this month for Movember! A very

special thank you to Mr. Strickland who brought in cook-

ies each week to sell to raise money for the cause, and

raised over a $1000! Mrs. Philip’s class also got into the

fun and wore mustaches as well and contributed funds to

help Mr. Strickland’s campaign!

The French Immersion program (offered at French Immersion sites) is open to all students in Senior

Kindergarten. If you want your child to develop a high proficiency and fluency in Canada’s two offi-

cial languages, French Immersion has a great deal to offer.

FEATURES OF THE FRENCH IMMERSION PROGRAM:

Development of French language skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing from grades

one to twelve;

Designed to be a second language program for children whose first language is NOT French;

Current enrolment of over 2,000 elementary students;

Certificate of French Immersion Studies awarded upon successful completion of the elementary

and secondary Immersion program;

Promoting understanding of different cultures;

Providing additional opportunities for employment using French as the working language;

An increased ability to communicate and interact with confidence in French.

Registration will open January 5th, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. and will close February 17th, 2015

at 9:00 a.m.

For more information about French Immersion in the District School Board of Niagara visit

www.dsbn.org/fi or speak to your school principal. Parent Information evening sessions will be held

in January. Parent Visitations to the Grade 1 French Immersion classrooms will occur during desig-

nated daytime hours if desired.

*N.B. – With recent revisions to the French Immersion program at the DSBN, McKay Public School in Port Colborne, is the only site accepting Grade 4 entry registrations. Please note, beginning September 2016, the DSBN will be a single entry program with French Immersion starting only in Grade 1.

St. Catharines (Central & South) and Thorold

Jeanne Sauve Public School (Grade 1 entry)

Parent Information Night:

Wednesday, January 7, 2015 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Grade 1 French Immersion Classroom Visits (if desired):

Thursday, January 8, 2015 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. & 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. & 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. & 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m..

FRENCH IMMERSION

Grade 1/2 Wind Socks

Mrs. Guitard took the Grade 1/2’s and 2/3’s outside on a windy day to test the wind socks they cre-

ated with her. The kids had a blast determining which way their sock would blow.

Rembrance Day Assembly and Westdale Remembers Buttons

Thank you to Ms. McClay and Mrs. Philip

who planned a beautiful Remembrance Day

assembly, and to our student emcees that

day, Reem, Dana, Hayley, Natajah and

Jenna. Thanks to Mrs. Shapiro, Mr. Nelson,

Ms. Patten, Mrs. Philip and Ms. McClay and

each of your respective classes for presenting

some beautiful pieces at the assembly. Stu-

dents took time to reflect and remember dur-

ing the assembly. We also thank Mr. Strick-

land, Mrs. Kershaw, Mrs. Derose and their

class for making our Westdale Remembers

buttons. Their class raised approximately

$290 to give to the Legion!!! Amazing citi-

zenship boys… well done!

UPCOMING DATES:

Monday, December 1st: Joy Day (Thanks to School Council for our hot chocolate and cookies!)

Tuesday, December 2nd: Gr. 8 girls’ immunizations

Wednesday, December 3rd: Grade 2 - 8 trip to see Wizard of Oz

Monday, December 8th: Please bring back Dance-a-thon pledge forms with donations ($ or food). Thanks!

Tuesday, December 9th: Dance-a-thon

Thursday, December 11th: Primary (Grades 1– 3) Holiday Concert (2:15pm and 6:30pm)

Monday, December 15th: 2pm: Caring Assembly and carol sing - wear Pajamas for spirit day

Wednesday, December 17th - Grade 4 trip to St. John’s Outdoor Education Centre

- Primary (Grades 1 - 3) Grinch Day (wear green)

Thursday, December 18th: 2pm: Kindergarten Holiday Concert in the gym

Friday, December 19th: 9am - Grade 4 - 8 Skating Trip

THANK YOU SCHOOL COUNCIL FOR OUR T-SHIRTS!