Administrator Update
Northlea is Proud to be an OPAL School
Newsletter Updates
The Administrator Update & The Dates to Remember sections have been updated with new information.
Stay Connected with Northlea
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @NorthleaTDSB. You can also check out our website at www.northleaschool.ca. Special thanks to Frank Chang for his work on Northlea's website.
Pink Shirt Day - Wednesday, February 27th
Please mark this special day in your calendars. We encourage everyone to wear pink on February 27th. This year, the Glitter Squad is running a door decoration contest and a button-making fundraiser. Kindness counts @ Northlea!
For more information, please visit www.pinkshirtday.ca
You might be interested in this tip sheet for families about supporting children to have healthy relationships.
Capes for Kids - Superhero Day - Monday, March 4th
Northlea was recently selected to partner with Holland Bloorview and host their official Capes for Kids 2019 launch. The launch is going to take place at Northlea on Monday, March 4th on our SUPERHERO DAY. All students are encouraged to wear capes.
More information about the campaign and Holland Bloorview can be found here.
What Are We Doing at Northlea?
Everyone will be asked to wear a cape on Monday, March 4th for our SUPER HERO DAY for Capes for Kids and also bring in a toonie or more. We also ask you to encourage donations at our official site: http://donate.hollandbloorview.ca/northleaems Every dollar counts!
We would love to see our families wearing capes on March 4th throughout the community and at your workplaces. You can tweet to us in your capes @NorthleaTDSB.
Check out latest commercials:
OPAL Play Day - Take II - Friday, March 1st
We have rescheduled our OPAL Play Day. It will take place on Friday, March 1st, 2019. We are excited! Many classes have begun playing with loose parts and we appreciate all of the loose part donations families have been sharing with us. Please keep them coming! Check out our latest OPAL video:
Pizza Lunch
Quick reminder that Pizza Lunch is this Thursday, February 28th. Thanks H&S!
Spreading the Love @ Northlea
Our hearts were bursting on Valentine's Day at Northlea. We were especially proud to have members of our choir perform at the Sunnybrook Veterans' Centre with MP Rob Oliphant. The choir shared both a beautiful performance and handmade cards with each of the community members. We also spent some time spreading the love into our math program and sharing what we love about our library. Warm fuzzies indeed!
Thank you Home and School!
Special thank you to the Home and School for the Staff Appreciation Breakfast and surprise treats in our mailboxes. Thank you to Angie Novachis and Allison Maselli for taking the time to prepare and coordinate everything.
Spring Fling - Save the Date
The Northlea Home and School Council is moving Family Fun Night from February to Thursday, May 30th. It's going to be called "The Spring Fling" and it will be a fabulous community-building event. We can't wait to see you there and please stay tuned for more information.
7th Generation Innovation
Please save the following date: Thursday, April 11th at 6:00 PM
Our teachers have begun planning for this year's 7th Generation Innovation design thinking initiative. Our theme this year is SUSTAINABILITY. We are drawing upon both the wisdom of the Seventh Generation Principle from many Indigenous communities and the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals to frame our problem based learning.
Classes are diving into their learning. Recently, several classes hosted a panel discussion on the topic of inclusive and accessible fundraising at Northlea. To begin their research, they invited in an esteemed panel of parent leaders and a staff representative from Holland Bloorview to answer their queries. Their questions were amazing and they are going to be preparing proposals the will enhance access and belonging at future events. The panel was so knowledgeable and it was a very special experience to observe such a rich and meaningful discussion between children and adults. We share special appreciation with the following panel members:
Arti Panday - School Council Chair
Natasha Stoddart -Pizza Lunch, Welcome Back BBQ & Spring Fling Chair
Jennifer Aziovsky -Past Family Fun Night Chair
Mona Ghiami - Chief Inclusion Officer at PwC Canada
Angie Novachis - Staff Appreciation Co-Chair and School Council Co-Treasurer
Trustee Rachel Chernos-Lin
Kara Kane - Class Parent Program Chair
Shelagh Cummins - Business Consultant, Coach and Speaker.
Molly McKeown - Development Officer, Corporate and Community Partnerships at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation
Another team of staff is leading students through the design thinking process on the topic of meeting individualized sensory needs in a shared learning environm
ent. Check out the fun our Grade 7's were having when learning about their 8 senses: Taste, Touch, Sight, Smell, Hearing, Proprioception, Vestibular Processing & Interoception. We are so excited to see how their innovations develop during this process.
Grade 6 Introduction to CPR Training
February is Heart Health Month. We celebrated in a very special way. Last week our Grade 6 received an introduction to CPR and AED use led by The Toronto Paramedic Services Safe City Program.
This event was co-facilitated by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. They graciously donated 30 CPR manikins for use during the CPR workshop which will permanently be housed at Northlea.
We are proud to support learning experiences that grow CPR awareness. This opportunity is also aligned with Northlea’s Code Pink Procedure. The Code Pink procedure emphasizes fast and organized intervention in the event of medical trauma. Northlea developed Code Pink in partnership with the Northlea staff team, TDSB central departments and our parent community.
Thank you to parents Joanna Degez and Sandra Zambon for their partnership and leadership.
Check out the amazing afternoon we spent together in our short recap video:
Concours d'art oratoire
We have officially submitted our candidates for the TDSB "Concours d'art oratoire" which will take place on Wednesday 20 March at the East Education Office. From there, they will select candidates to represent the TDSB at the Provincial Festival which will take place the first Saturday in May at Glendon College. Last year, two Northlea students were chosen - this is a huge accomplishment!
Our candidates are:
Jacobi Kay - Francophone 4-6
Janine Burtnick - French Immersion 4-6
Arnav Shah - French Immersion 7-8
Ashley Gray - Francophone 7-8
Thank you to all of the students who worked so hard to prepare their speeches and to our Junior/Intermediate French team led by Mme Gardner. Bravo!
Walk & Roll to School Wednesdays - The Golden Shoe Winners
We love to see Northlea walking and rolling to school. You've been doing a great job! Congratulations to February's top classes:
MOST IMPROVED: Mme Sepetdjian's class
TOP PRIMARY PARTICIPATION: Ms. Roberts' class
TOP JUNIOR PARTICIPATION: Mme Loares' class
TOP INTERMEDIATE PARTICIPATION: Mme Gardner's class
TOP PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL 3 MONTHS RUNNING: Ms. Fazl's class.
Way to go!
Please mark your calendar for our upcoming dates:
Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019
Wednesday, May 1st, 2019
Wednesday, June 5th, 2019
Athletics Update
Grade 7/8 Boys Basketball: The boys played with passion and emotion during their tournament hosted at Northlea. They lost a couple of extremely close games and unfortunately did not advance to the next round. Congratulations on a great effort and display of sportsmanship boys!
Grade 7/8 Girls Volleyball: The girls had a fabulous 1st tournament! They finished up 5-1 at the tournament hosted at Northlea. Their next tournament is this Tuesday, February 26th at Ledbury Park from 1-3pm. There is a great chance that the girls will advance to the Conference Finals, which takes place on Friday March 1st at 10:00am at Fisherville.
Grade 5/6 Boys Basketball: The boys played with grade energy and enthusiasm during their tournament and had a few games that went right down to the wire. They will not be advancing to the Conference Finals.
Grade 5/6 Girls Volleyball: The Grade 5/6 girls advanced from their qualifying tournament and are headed to the Quarter Finals on Monday, February 25th at Zion MS. Good luck girls!
Grade 7/8 Ice Hockey: The Grade 7/8 team played 4 hard fought matches throughout the season, culminating in a very close defeat against Forest Hill P.S. Great season boys!
Grade 5/6 Ice Hockey: The Grade 5/6 team has had an enormous amount of success during the 2018/19 season. They have been rolling ever since their Leaside Cup victory and are looking to continue this at the Conference Championship this Thursday, February 28th at Baycrest Arena. Game time will either be from 12-1pm or 1-2pm.
Early Spring sports are starting up in early March. Stay tuned!
Parents as Partners Conference
The TDSB Parents as Partners conference is on Saturday, March 30, 2019. There is an incredible range of workshops to attend. Please visit https://www.parentsaspartners.ca/ for more information.
February is Kindergarten Registration Month
We are looking forward to welcoming new students and families to our Kindergarten program for the 2019-2020 school year. Registration begins in February.
There are two options for beginninging registration: ONLINE or IN-PERSON
Both options require a second step of in-person document verification. We invite you to call the main office at 416-396-2395 and arrange an appointment with Ms. Keith or Ms. Saroglou.
Please follow this Kindergarten Registration Link for all of the required forms and instructions for Kindergarten Registration.
Please also mark your calendars for two special Northlea Welcome To Kindergarten Events:
Kindergarten Orientation at Northlea: Friday, June 14, 2019 @ 9:40 am in the Library
The Great Kindergarten Play Date: Thursday, August 22, 2018 @ 6:30 PM
Additional information can be found via this link:
https://www.tdsb.on.ca/EarlyYears/KindergartenMonth
Sunnyview Inclusive Kindergarten Model
Below is information about a very special Kindergarten option:
The Inclusive Kindergarten Program (IKP) to Sunny View PS for the fall of 2019.
For 20 years, IKP was a joint laboratory school project between Bloorview School Authority (BSA) and the Jackman Institute of Child Study (JICS)that operated out of BSA. The study’s primary focus is to examine best practices around inclusion with a lens on the social dynamics that need to exist in order for the children with disabilities to be as successful in the classroom as typically developing children.
Unlike usual integration efforts where a physically challenged child is placed as a minority into a mainstream educational setting, the IKP offers reverse inclusion, i.e., placing children without physical disability directly into a congregated school. Special needs children do not lose their group affiliation and they are not placed in the position of entering extant social groups in community school settings.
The program was recognized internationally as an example of successful integration; the founding teachers were awarded the Premier’s Award in 2011; and the classroom was used as training site for teacher candidates from the Master of Arts in Child Study and Education program (MA CSE) candidates at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE).
If this program is of interest to you, please contact Edward Goldring at: edward.goldring@tdsb.on.ca.
More information can be found in the following document:
Summer Camp Opportunities
Below please find a PDF document with numerous adaptive and therapeutic camp options. A number of the camps focus on an inclusive model and are wonderful options for students of all learning profiles.
Yearbook Photo Submissions
We invite you to share photo submissions with the yearbook. The online link is: https://www.northleaschool.ca/upload-pictures-201819-yearbook/
My Life Online - Parent Webinar
MY LIFE ONLINE WEBINAR: Teaching Kids to be Safe, Smart & Kind Online
Thank you to everyone who joined the webinar. It was great to test our the webinar co-learning format on such a snowy day. The online parent turnout was fabulous. If you'd like to view the webinar, the link will be live until the end of the school year.
Thank you to Home and School for this opporutnity and special apprecation is shared with Shelagh Cummins for her leadership wiht this initiavitee.
More information can be found in this package:
Trustee Corner
Please visit Trustee Chernos Lin's website for updates about Ward 11: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/ward11/
Grade 8 Transition to Grade 9
Secondary Course Selection
February 22, 2019
Course selection sheets due at elementary schools
March 1, 2019
Course selection sheets due at secondary schools - Northlea staff will deliver these course selection sheets.
TDSB Policy Consultations
From the TDSB Website - We Want to Hear From You - The objective of consultation is to gather public input regarding options, alternative courses of action, as well as to identify unintended effects for various participants and to find solutions. We would like to know your thoughts about our policy decisions by inviting you to our policy consultations. Please click on the policy of your interest to see the current draft. You are welcome to provide your comments, including suggestions on the wording and provisions of the draft policies, questions or recommendations using the contact information below.
Student Dress Code Policy (P042) - To establish standards and fair and equitable practices for student dress in schools; centered on student engagement and student voice. To recognize that students need the freedom to express themselves and experience school as an important social environment, not a professional work environment, and that dress plays a fundamental role in how students build healthy relationships and express themselves. Click for Draft Policy (save as word document) Student Dress Code Policy Survey - Closes February 28, 2019 Contact kenneth.jeffers@tdsb.on.ca
Safe Schools Policy (P051) - To ensure that all students feel that they belong, are heard, accepted, safe, supported and cared for through the creation of positive school climates that reflect themselves, value their voices and foster a culture of mutual respect and healthy relationships; and to enhance and maintain working and learning environments that embed principles of equity, anti-oppression, anti-racism, acceptance and inclusion in procedures, practices and programs that support the safety, dignity, health and well-being of all. Draft Policy Share your feedback using the survey here: Survey Link Closes March 4, 2019 Contact: ted.libera@tdsb.on.ca
Home Instruction Policy (P060) - To establish the Board's commitment to providing home instruction services for all eligible pupils in accordance with the requirements of Ontario Regulation 298, Operation of Schools – General under the Education Act. Draft Policy Closes March 15, 2019 Contact ron.felsen@tdsb.on.ca
School Cash Online
We use an online payment system for school related items such as field trips. You can register at: https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ .